We sit at a table layered with all manner of foods. Central to the configuration rests a large copper tray upon which a whole roast lamb sits beside potatoes, carrots, and onions. Situated around the copper tray an assortment of fruits and cheeses rest in a mish mash of plates and bowls. Completing the fanciful scene are a variety of half-finished bottles of wine and ale laying haphazardly around the table, each with intricate patterns proudly displaying their origin and vintage.

I’ll admit the guild’s feast of the day is an impressive display. Still, it doesn’t feel great to be patroning the Guild’s business after being robbed of nearly all the loot I spent the day earning. Even if I’m not paying.

“Straighten your back, Reed. I know you are still annoyed about the guild cut, but we can’t have our guest of honour fresh off the high of his first delve sitting like an old librarian reading an obituary!” Laela cheerily remarks.

“I guess we can’t.” I smile back and sit up a bit taller.

“Good. Now eat some more meat, you are too skinny for an adventurer. You should follow Gorm’s great example.” Laela leans in and whispers, “do it quick or you won’t get a chance.”

Gorm, to his credit, demonstrates her point by grabbing a second mutton leg in his free hand; seemingly having decided one was not enough. Now he sits there voraciously tearing meat off bone while dual wielding the bone remnants like a pair of clubs. For all Gorm’s antics, Laela hasn’t shifted her gaze away from me. The expectation is clear.

“Fine.” I reach out and cut a few hefty slabs of meat off the roast before moving them onto my plate.

“Much better. So, you misjudged how poor you’d be as an adventurer, so what? It’s a temporary struggle, that just means you’ll have to kill more goblins tomorrow. And even more the next day. And even more every day after until you pay off the loan. Is being poor really as scary as fighting in the dungeon?”

Sleeping under the bridge with Floofy versus terrifyingly sharp hobgoblin teeth approaching my throat. Pretty easy question. “No. It’s not.”

“Then forget about it and focus on your victories today.”

“My victories?”

“Yeah, your victories. Like killing your first goblin and saving our backsides.”

“Or the fact that I levelled?”

“Yeah, or the fact that you-” Laela jolts in her chair before slamming her ale cup down on the table. “Reed levelled!”

“Already?” Gorm’s sputters out causing him to choke on his mutton. With a swig of ale, he forces it down.

The full focus of our little party turns to me and my accomplishment. Suddenly Jaed, red-faced, raises her cup. “Three cheers for Reed! Bartender, another round of ale!”

Graem responds, “uhh, Jaed, we already did that. No need to embarrass hi-”

Jaed raises her free hand to Graems mouth and smothers it with her palm. “Who is a good Adventurer in the dark!? Reed!” Jaed half-slurs and half-cheers. To my chagrin Laela and Gorm cheer after.

“Who is very, very, very smart?”

“Reed!” Laela and Gorm cry out.

“Who has a heart!?” Jaed cries out the loudest I’ve ever heard her. Laela spills her drink, she is laughing so hard, then she, Gorm, and Jaed once more cheer this time in unison “Reed! Reed the Adventurer!” Followed by a cacophony of cheers throughout the room.

Graem having at some point removed Jaed’s hand from his mouth, thankfully changes the subject. “So, what class did you end up choosing?”

“I’ve not actually picked yet. I have a variety of options, but the two that stick out the most are Dungeoneer and err, Vagrant.”

“Vagrant?” Graem’s voice raises with interest, “I’ve not heard of that class before. What does it do?”

“It gives me a random statistic boost every five levels.”

Graem whistles thoughtfully. “That’s pretty good. How did you unlock it?”

“It’s got to do with being poor.” I laugh awkwardly before sinking my lips into my ale cup.

“But what are the specifics?”

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“Err. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Sleep in the wild with nothing but clothes. Many tribe elders take it for their class.” Gorm states before tearing another large chunk of meat from his now third mutton leg.

“Interesting.” Scratching his chin, Graem continues, “well, I’ll agree it’s a fairly good option.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, I chose tactician because it gives an extra point into both intelligence and wisdom every fifteen levels. Once I get to level thirty that’s an extra four free stat points, forty-five an extra six, and so on.”

“So, I’d have an extra twenty free stats at level one hundred. Does that mean you think I should take Vagrant?”

“I didn’t say that. Dungeoneer is also an excellent choice and there’s a reason most adventurers take it. First of all, the benefits of receiving extra experience is useful regardless of level, whereas I don’t receive any benefits to my class until I reach level fifteen. Even then the difference a couple stat points make at level fifteen is minimal, and the same can be said for an extra four stat points at level thirty. Especially when factoring in that the extra ten percent experience might mean an adventurer is a few levels higher regardless negating the stat bonus.”

“But the stat bonus would still exist for adventurers at the same level?”

Graem nods. “Which brings me to the second reason. Abilities can level through repeated use and the Dungeoneer class effect also boosts ability experience gain when inside the dungeon. This means abilities can be more easily levelled through use making them more powerful. Leveling the playing field even more.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, when abilities level up their power increases are always multiplicative meaning the value of an extra ability level never decreases.”

“Wait, what do you mean by ability level ups are always multiplicative?”

“Take Berserk for instance. At level one it gives a one hundred percent boost to strength. When it levels its boost to strength is always multiplied by a factor of one point one. At level two it therefore gives a one-hundred and ten percent boost in strength. At level three it gives a one-hundred and twenty-one percent boost in strength. Instead of an additive bonus of ten percent each level it is multiplicative. This means that the bonus for leveling an ability to a higher level never has diminishing returns as it might if the increase were only additive of ten percent of the base each level.”

“Okay, I might be too drunk to understand what you’re saying Graem, so correct me if I’m wrong. But basically, it’s a choice between more stats and higher level abilities, and the difference for most people doesn’t really matter?”

“Basically. In theory higher stats is better, but in practice because you also have to factor in your starting stats it is highly unlikely to ever make a significant difference. You talked about an extra twenty free stats at level one hundred which sounds like an extra twenty percent total stats. However, in reality when you add in starting stats that will only be around ten percent of your total stats which again might be cancelled out by having lower level abilities and levelling ten percent slower.”

“If Dungeoneer is so useful that most adventurers pick it, how come you still picked the Tactician class?”

“I knew I was going to take the Wizard subclass, so I knew I would be maximising intelligence and wisdom stat boosts regardless and that I’d consequently have plenty of mana to spare to level my abilities without the Dungeoneer experience boost. Plus, stat boosts are constant while ability boosts only work while the abilities are active meaning stats are slightly more reliable. Finally, the biggest reason is that I planned on always adventuring with a group and that means if I fall behind in levels, I will be boosted until I catch up with the rest of the party.”

“Huh, you are sneakier than I thought Graem.”

“Compliment taken.” He grins.

“Okay, so if repeated ability use grants experience then why aren’t adventurers using their abilities all the time?”

“Some do, but being low mana can give quite the headache, and abilities capable of impairing or harming others such as Mana Bolt are illegal to use outside of combat with monsters. Plus, the difficulty of leveling abilities increases exponentially with each level gained through experience. For many, it’s just not worth the effort to level abilities that way.”

“And what do you think?”

“I currently use Second Wind every opportunity I get outside the dungeon. One day the improvements might save all of our lives.”

“I see. I guess I should be doing that too then. Is Berserk considered an illegal ability to use out of combat?”

“It isn’t.” Graem raises an eyebrow. “Is that what you chose?”

“Yeah. Kind of wish I had taken Mana Bolt though. It’s so damn cool.”

“Won’t be long till you are level three. You can take it then.”

“I can!?” My cheeks sting from smiling so hard. “You don’t have a clue how happy I am to hear that. I guess all I can do is make sure I level up as quickly as possible then.”

“That’s the spirit. If you ever want any more clarifications I live for this stuff. There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about evaluating ability choices to optimise delving efficiency.”

“Thanks. I’ll definitely take you up on that.”

Laela leans over in the space between Graem and I. When did she even get up? Her arms reach up and over each of our backs pulling us into a close hug. “Great, now I assume you two system addicts can get back to enjoying the celebratory feast we are supposed to be having.” There is a subtle threat in Laela’s smile.

“Alright, alright. No need to stare daggers sis. I know you want us to relax and forget our adventurer troubles. I’ll save the system talk for tomorrow.” Graem smiles then picks up a purple pear-shaped fruit which he begins chewing on.

“Good. And yes, I want us to unwind a bit. But don’t forget that this goes beyond Reed’s daring escapades.”

Goes beyond my escapades. What does that mean?

“Yeah, I know.” Graem winces before sipping some more ale.

“Is everything alright?” I hesitantly ask. Graem and Laela stiffen. I quickly finish speaking, “things just feel a little tense.”

Suddenly Laela beams me a jubilant smile and slaps my shoulder with vigour. “Of course, buck up Reed. We’re here to party!”

“Party!” Jaed eagerly yells and then wildly toasts a half-empty wine bottle. Throughout the hall patrons burst out in agreement with roars and cheers. Everything returns to normal, yet I can’t help feeling that whatever I sensed between Graem and Laela wasn’t just my imagination.