“That bad?” Lanek asked, to which Ograch nodded. “Well, that’s part of what I want to talk to you about. If you can’t tell, I’m not from around here. Where I’m from, I never really had to survive out in the wild.” As he answered, he summoned Sanguineus and Kazuma, causing the hobgoblin to tense up before both animals promptly disappeared into the forest.
“I couldn’t tell.” Ograch said sarcastically, looking around the camp once more. “So how did you end up here?”
“I wish I knew. I just woke up in the city with a gaunt stalking me shortly after.”
“Not a fun way to wake up.” Ograch replied with a laugh.
“You aren’t surprised? No more questions?” Lanek asked, thrown off by Ograch’s reaction.
“Well, you already said that you didn’t know how you got here and I assumed you were from a long way off since you’re the only human I’ve seen in gods know how long at this point.”
“Fair. Speaking of humans, where did you see them? Where did they come from?” Lanek asked, getting excited.
“The tribe never saw where they came from, some of the parties we sent into the city would report seeing groups of humans, elves, and other races moving through the city, aiming for the pit. Probably looking for loot. None of our parties have seen anyone aside from us entering the city in years, though.”
“Oh. That sucks, but I’m not surprised.” Lanek said in disappointment. “So, on to what I wanted to discuss with you. I would like training, specifically survival training. You’ve already seen the state of my camp, but even more than that, I don’t know much about storing and preserving food. I can fish and hunt just fine with my companions, but I only have a vague idea about how to make it last and I need to figure it out since its getting colder every day.”
Ograch looked at him seriously and nodded after a moment. “I can take care of that, but we would have to return to the tribe. They might need me with all of the gaunts roaming around. Is that all?”
“No, I have a few questions. Let’s start with how your groups supply themselves in the city. I saw the potions that get dropped, but I haven’t seen any signs of food. Am I missing something? As for the gaunts, do you know why they aren’t a part of the System? What stats are considered average? What’s the difference between skills that scale and [General] or [Martial] skills?”
When Lanek paused to take a breath, Ograch raised his hands and interrupted the flow of questions. “Whoa now, that’s a lot. Did you not have anyone to teach you about the System?”
Lanek shook his head before deciding to share a bit more information with the hobgoblin. “There wasn’t a System where I’m from. Well, not that I was aware of at least.”
“Okay, that means you aren’t from this world. That would explain a bit.” Ograch mused.
“Huh, you’re taking that well.”
“You aren’t the first thing I’ve encountered from another world. According to our shamans and their records, the gaunts aren’t from this world either. Apparently they just showed up one day, pouring out of rifts and attacking everything that wasn’t one of them. The System supposedly issued quests to fight them back when the gaunts first appeared, but that hasn’t happened in my lifetime or the lifetimes of anyone in the tribe.” Ograch stated, confirming Lanek’s theories that these creatures originated outside of the System’s influence.
Ograch continued, “The food question is easy, natural animals avoid the dungeon, so you can’t hunt in there, you have to bring food with you. Our shamans are pretty sure that the dungeon creatures do need to eat, but they assume that the food comes from deeper in, most likely from the pit. We don’t know for sure as no Night Arrow has ever set out for the pit and returned.”
“As for your skill questions, that’s pretty basic as well. [General] and [Martial] skills need to be utilized to make them level. Also, once they reach a set level that varies from skill to skill, they will evolve into a stronger skill. Your “regular” skills are class skills or skills that you need to learn from a trainer, book, whatever. You can’t just unlock them on your own. The only way to grow those skills are by raising your attributes or improving your class to unlock stronger variants of the skills.” Ograch explained.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Nice to have that explained, finally. No need to ask about skill rarity, that’s pretty straightforward.
“Finally, your question about average stats. This is a bit trickier since I can’t give you a definitive answer since it varies between the races. Depending on the race, average stats for an adult would be anywhere from 20 to 50. Humans would have a lower average CON than dwarves, for example. Of course, this is talking about people who haven’t taken a class yet, so children and teenagers. Prior to taking a class, children will work on the needed attributes to unlock the class they want when they reach adulthood.” Ograch concluded.
Great, even with my class and levels, my strength is below average.
“Thank you, Ograch. I think that’s all for now, but I do have a proposition to make for your tribe.” Lanek doubted that Ograch would know about his class considering how it had apparently not been seen in so long.
“I’m listening. Just so you know, I can’t make any decisions for the tribe, but I can present your proposition to the chief.” Ograch cautioned.
“I understand. It’s pretty straightforward, I want to trade with the Night Arrows. I know you guys need equipment and enter the city to evolve. So, my proposal is that you allow me to bring equipment that I loot from the dungeon to your camp to trade for food, hides, whatever I need as long as it is a fair trade for everyone involved. Also, if you let me know when you are sending a group into the city to evolve, I will help them so you don’t experience another setback like you did with your latest group.”
Ograch considered the offer, watching the “spirit beasts” return to camp with several rabbits and fish. They dropped the food near the campfire before settling down to sleep, completely unconcerned about the hobgoblin’s presence. Those are definitely not spirit beasts, spirit beasts don’t sleep or go hunting. They fight and protect the summoner then leave. What is this human? Ograch questioned silently.
“Who’s hungry?” Lanek called out as he lit the fire. Neither animal stirred in response to his question, so Lanek turned to Ograch. “Looks like they already ate. More for the rest of us, provided you are hungry?”
Ograch nodded, “I could eat. Thank you for the hospitality of your fire.” The hobgoblin started cleaning the carcasses alongside the strange human. “Is there a lot of game around here?”
Lanek thought for a moment, before responding, “It’s enough for me and the furballs over there. I don’t do the hunting, just the fishing at the river to the north.”
“You’ve not been attacked here?” Ograch asked, an idea forming.
“Nah, there’s a feral goblin village with bugbears to the west, but I think the gaunts are keeping them busy enough that I’ve never had them come looking for me. There’s a lake up north that I’m pretty sure is keeping things from approaching from that direction, something nasty lives in there.” Lanek responded, suspecting that he knew what Ograch was thinking.
“Yeah, I know the lake.” Ograch shuddered. “I think everything avoids it.”
Lanek continued with a nod, “So, looking to move in? It’s a nice neighborhood, really up-and-coming if you ask me.”
Ograch looked confused, “What?”
“Sorry, don’t worry about it. You’re asking all these questions because you’re looking for a new home for the Night Arrows, right? I don’t particularly mind giving this spot up, the hill is a nice vantage point for your lookouts, there is food and water nearby, and it is relatively safe. I don’t blame you for being interested.”
Ograch chuckled, “You got me. Yeah, I think the tribe would do well here and the chief would be open to it. But, what about you?”
“Me? I was thinking about moving into that building near where we fought the bugbears. Originally, I was going to come out here to hunt and fish every now and then, find some way to preserve the food, then go back to the city.” Lanek explained.
“Why in the hell would you live in the city? Are you insane?” Ograch blurted out.
“Probably a little bit. But, I need the experience and the loot that the city can provide. Also, unlike you and your tribe, me and the furballs are all alone out here. There are enough roaming bands in the forest that if they came up on the camp in the night, I’m pretty screwed. The city, on the other hand, has that monastery which is not only pretty easy to defend, but I can hide in the city pretty effectively. All I ask is that if you guys do move here is that you let me pass through the territory and let me stay in my cave when I come out here. If you need the cave, maybe let me stay in a hut or something.”
Ograch grinned widely, “I think the chief will like that arrangement and having someone to help us limit our losses in the city would help the tribe immensely. I still think you’re crazy, but I understand your reasoning. Fair warning, we’ll have to fix that thing on the cave, it’d be an embarrassment to the tribe to have that in the village.”
“Gee, thanks. Let’s eat before you insult my hard work some more.” Lanek said with a smirk.
Night fell to the sounds of uproarious laughter and conversation.