The increase in my strength and speed became more noticeable as I walked through the streets. If anything there seemed to be a synergy between the two. I felt lighter on my feet which fed into being quicker. I would have to experiment with my combat to see how much translated but added speed would increase the force of my strikes as well as how many. I could see how developing stats became almost an obsession for many adventurers, it was a heady feeling and I had barely even started. For once it was nice to feel like I actually made progress. I had a grade for each stat to physically measure my development. Which while nice left me with harder decision to make.
I still had no idea what style of adventurer I wished to become, and with such quick advancement the question became more pressing. No one could invest the time in developing in every direction, it became counterproductive especially when I could form a party to cover any deficits or to multiply the amount of force we could bring to bear.
It looked like learning skills, which I felt wasn’t a waste of my time, but less important than actually fighting, was going to be vital to augment my stats. I still didn’t know if it was an actual grade increase or something like the party blessing boosting my original stat. Either would be good, but a blessing could serve me better. It wouldn’t increase my grade but it would grow as I did. Or would it increase my grade?
There was so much I just didn’t know, and I had no one to ask for all the details because everyone seemed to have a different piece of the puzzle. Someone somewhere must know it all. The mages seemed like a good bet, and I did have things to sell to them, the wardings, the robe, and the staff.
But mages were known for being stuck up. Most G grade adventurers didn’t come across magic items as they were higher grade drops, so few ever had any dealings with mages. No G grade was ever a mage. It was too early in an adventurer’s career to develop more than basic magic, and more than the basics was needed to be considered a mage. I had caught on to hints of a rivalry between the adventurers and the mages, not that there was all that much difference between the two. Both were technically adventurers, just mages thought better of themselves due to the sort of fighting they did. I guess wielding the powers of creation and destruction by strength of will would inflate someone’s sense of self-importance. Pretty much any adventurer would agree on one point: Mages were arseholes.
That inescapable fact would make asking the obvious choices difficult. All I could do was try. That couldn’t hurt, right?
Walking through the great doors of the mages guild I was struck by how bright and gaudy it was. The places gleamed with wood, stone and metal, all polished to mirror brightness. The light came from globes hanging from shining silver chains.
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It was the most impressive building I had seen, which wasn’t saying all that much. So impressive that I instantly felt dirty and small for sullying the place with my presence. But I soldiered on and stepped forward to the large desk at the front of the hall, at which sat a young man.
He was thin and sported a feeble attempt at facial hair that I’m sure everyone kept telling him would grow in, and clearly hadn’t. He was also asleep.
“Excuse me,” I said.
The young mage, for that was all he could really be in his robe and beard, started.
“What? I’m awake,” he asserted loudly to a very empty room, except for me.
“I can see that. Now that you are awake, I was wondering if you could help me.”
“Hang on.” He looked at me while rubbing his eyes. “I’ve never seen you before. Who are you, and what are you doing here?
“I have some questions, and some drops to sell.”
“Seriously? You can’t be old enough to be more than a F grade. Anything of that level the Adventurers will take.”
“I was told to come here by Master Kerril of the Adventurer’s guild to dispose of some of the loot gained from the goblin lair.”
“Huh. Well, I guess that makes some sense. Sending an errand boy to do the grunt work while the higher grades deal with the monsters,” he declared, seemingly satisfied with his interpretation.
I had no desire to correct him, not if his mistaken assumption got me what I want.
“I don’t really handle that. I will have to summon one of the appraisers to view the drops. And they don’t really like being summoned at the best of time. So you better have something good to show them.”
“I have some things, but you know how it goes. I can’t tell if they are great or junk without them being appraised,” I said with a deliberate shrug.
It earned me a smirk from the mage boy.
“Just hang around a bit, someone will be through to have a look shortly. So, were you a part of the goblin drama, or just running errands?
“Well, you know the bell rang. So I was out there doing what I could. But I’m new so there wasn’t much for someone like me to do.”
“Yeah, I was out there too. Mages are always called out for things like that. Shame I didn’t get to face any goblins. I could have done with the experience. But I levelled up barriers and warding, so it wasn’t for nothing.”
I opened my mouth to ask about wardings but before the words came out I heard footsteps on the stone floor. Turning my head, I could see what must have been the appraiser coming from the back of the hall. She was tall, in a tight fitting red dress with long sleeves. It looked like some odd cross between dress and robe.
“Jensen, you called for an appraisal.”
“Yes, magister Violet. This young man has been sent by the adventurer’s guild to have some of the goblin loot inspected.”
Her sharp, green eyes fell on me before Jensen had even finished talking.
“Very well. Come with me and we will examine what you have,” magister Violet said as she turned and headed back the way she came.
I looked over at Jensen who was gesturing that I should follow her, and quickly by the frantic movement.
Left with little else to do, I hurried to catch up with her. Man, she was fast.
We wove through a warren of low corridors and twisting turns till we reached a plain wooden door that Violet opened with a wave of her arm.
“Do not touch anything in here. Place your items on the table and keep your hands to yourself. Do you understand?”
“Of course. There are just a few items. A staff, a robe, and several wardings.”
“Let’s have a look then shall we?”