Ajax had a problem putting together the movements of the old librarian. He had spent a considerable amount of time analyzing his own movement and that of other people with decently high physical stats and yet the old man was unlike anything he had seen before. All of his movements were consistent with the slow shamble of an old man yet somehow he moved as if someone hit fast forward on a recording.
Despite trying to figure out why the old man’s movement seemed so odd to him he still made sure to pay attention to his surroundings so he was careful to look at the isle they entered, it was marked as Punishments which would have been his second or third try after maybe Retributions.
“What are you looking at so focused on?” the old man asked as he was extending a thick scroll he pulled off one of the shelves.
“Your movements” Ajax answered honestly. “They are different from anyone else I’ve seen with higher stats.”
“This is your first time seeing a full body speed enhancement?” he said as his free hand motioned towards the thin cloak that covered his body and was latched with a decent size gemstone near the neck. “That’s odd, but anyway if you have any questions I’ll be over there by the desk for a little while.”
The desk he pointed to was very similar to the one the headmaster had in his office, the only real difference was that this one was sitting in a more open space, it even came with two smaller chairs sitting opposite the large more comfortable chair that sat behind the U- shaped desk.
Ajax nodded his thanks as he took the scroll and headed over to one of the free tables over to one side. He sat down, pulled a small little notebook to take notes and a pencil out of his ring as he rolled out the scroll.
Punishment : Bullying
Bullying is a progressive retribution, starts off at the first rank Bullying I and grows linearly up to ranks Bullying V. It has a three step progression and a follow up infinite punishment that doubles the original two thousand experience penalty once Bullying V is reached. The punishments of Bullying never reduce the level of the person even if incurred at zero experience.
Bullying is an adaptive punishment that comes from several variations of retribution and presents with a different penalty depending on the retribution that triggered it. Progress counted by number of incidents regardless of the number of infractions per incident. Punishment triggered after one hundred incidents for the first time after receiving Retribution and every ten after.
Variant I : Obtained by consistently killing enemies that are weakened or trapped by others with you lending any assistance before, after or during the fight. Number of incidents required to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observation required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly if the helpers are higher level.
Punishment Variant I : Experience and skill progression when killing enemies that are not at least one tenth of your level higher then you decreased by 20% if helped by people at or above your level. Observation : battles where enemies outnumber allies at least ten to one do not count towards punishment.
Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 100% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V.
More tests required for this variant when taking on groups of enemies that consist of a large variance in levels.
Variant II : Obtained by repeatedly weakening or trapping enemies at or below your level for others to kill after. (Note trapping for enslavement or taming purposes does not count if the new owner paid for them with that understanding in place even if they killed them after). Number of incidents to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observation required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly depending on level difference. (Note : Incidents where you intervene after a fight has already started.)
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Punishment Variant II : Decreases the experience and skill progress made by all allies when working together by 5% in all forms of combat.
Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 25% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V. Punishment is active at all times regardless of size of group or level of enemies. Observation : having more people with this punishment stacks up to a 50% reduction in experience and skill progression total for the group.
Variant III : Obtained by repeatedly making marked increases in experience or skill when fighting and killing enemies that are less than three fourths your level. Number of incidents required to trigger is unknown but over one hundred. Observations required incidents to trigger decrease rapidly as level difference to enemies increases (Note incidents where both enemies and allies number over one hundred do not count).
Punishment Variant III : Experience and skill progression reduced by 20% when killing enemies lower than 90% of your level. Observation group size affects the level range of enemies that do not trigger then punishment. When fighting at least ten enemies with a level 80%-90% of your level, punishment does not go in effect and incident doesn’t count. When fighting at least thirty enemies with a level 70%-80% of your level, punishment does not go in effect and incident doesn’t count.
Punishment penalty progresses linearly to 100% loss of experience and skill progression at Bullying V.
Warning : Multiple Variants of Bullying can be earned. When earning another variant the effects combine while the Bullying Punishment increases by a full rank.
Bullying progression and rank can be counteracted by the Achievement : Against Overwhelming odds on a one to one equivalency but lost experience is not refunded. Observation earning the Achievement while at rank Bullying I will lift the punishment. (Note : punishment will be afflicted again should you have five incidents in one month or through the regular requirements).
The scroll answered a lot of Ajax’s questions. Most importantly he would not be losing any levels due to the punishment, he was also kicking himself for practicing his healing skills on low level animals and killing them after as surely those counted for a lot of the incidents that lead to him triggering the first punishment, that and the snakes quest. The next thing he focused on was the Achievement Against Overwhelming odds that could remove the punishment from him; that was something he had to look into shortly.
The different variants also explained the disdain that the librarian had shown when Ajax mentioned the punishment. Considering how young he looked it was easy to assume that he had gotten the first variation of the punishment.
Having gotten what he came for Ajax headed over to the librarian with the scroll in hand.
“Yes?” the librarian asked without looking up from the scroll he was writing.
“I’m not sure which shelf I should return this to.” Ajax said with a slight blush of embarrassment, he had been too focused on the old man’s movements at the time and when he went to return it he found two isles marked for Punishments.
“Just leave it off to the side.” The old man gestured without stopping his writing.
“I would also like to ask if you have a scroll on the Achievement Against Overwhelming Odds.” Ajax said after placing the unfurled scroll where he indicated.
“Of course you would.” The librarian finally stopped writing and he looked up towards Ajax and responded with a dismissive tone.
Ajax felt [Enigma] activate as the librarian used an inspection skill. For the first time he also felt the skill failed at blocking the inspection, though he did know that the old man only got a look at his stats and name, he had also tried to get his level but [Enigma] had managed to block that.
“That’s a surprise.” the old man said as he stood up. “It seems that I owe you some apologies.” He also gave a rather deep bow, though that was more because of his already hunched back. “I am guessing that you are suffering from the third variant of the Bullying punishment.”
“It’s fine.” Ajax said coldly, he also calmed down a moment later when he realized that his own classmates had done the same thing in trying to inspect him and the only reason he was angry at the old man was that he succeeded in getting some information, as long as he didn’t get to read his skill it wasn’t something he was going to make a big fuss about and he knew the old man hadn’t even attempted to read that part of his status, leveling up [Enigma] however rose on his priority list.
“Ajax you’re still here?” Professor Silvertongue said as he entered the library. “ I see you have already met Balthazar.”
“In a way.” Balthazar responded. “It seems all of my manners have waned with age. I am very sorry about that young man. I haven't even introduced myself to you, I am Balthazar Young.”
“I am Ajax.” Ajax responded with a slack jaw at the name the old man gave. ‘How can someone so old be called Young’.
“Yes most people react this way when introduced to Balthazar.” Professor Silvertongue laughed. “ The name used to make sense because of how young he used to look but now that he is approaching four thousand years old it seems more of a misnomer.”
That bomb brought all of Ajax’s thoughts to a grinding halt, this man was four thousand years old? How was that possible? Even kings and heroes didn’t live much past one thousand years at best.
“Is he one of the freshmen this year, Abbot?” Balthazar asked as he gave Ajax a moment to come to grips with what he just heard.
“Not exactly.” Professor Silvertongue said. “Ajax here is a teaching assistant for the freshman class. His unique situation made it difficult for him to enroll as a student in the Academy.”
“Yes, I can see that.” Balthazar nodded. “Well let's see if we can get you that scroll boy, it’s the least I can do after I was so rude to you.”