“Like what?”

“Like it is possible to gain special jobs, or one is able to gain the blessings of the Gods, or that accepting the blessings curses you with slow growth, or that rejecting the blessings curses you with slow growth. There are many, many such strange rumors.”

“Any of them you think might be true?”

Garnedell grew a bit nervous, saying nothing before slowly shaking his head and replying, “No, master.”

Joe let the last ‘master’ go, realizing the kid was quite nervous, but went over the options that the kid listed, trying to link Garnedell’s nervousness to a rumor that would make him nervous about to discuss about in a … Wait! Blessings! Or curse?

“Garnedell. This coming of age and birthday blessing. Where does it come from? Where do people believe it comes from?”

“It’s the blessing of the gods!”

Blessing of the gods, so likely no explanation. One of the rumors says it’s a curse. And this system doesn’t seem to really be looking out for anyone living here. Joe grimaced, his suspicious nature unwilling to accept coincidence.

“So, uh…” Joe considered his next question but then realized that the common room had long sense emptied and their dishes were empty. He had no way to tell the time but decided to head back up to their bedroom and maybe continue before heading to bed. “Why don’t we get ready for bed. We can talk more while we wash up and maybe some while we try to sleep. I’ve got more questions, but I want to be rested for tomorrow.”

Garnedell nodded in agreement and the two took their plates up to the bar before turning towards the stairs leading to their bedroom. “Of course, Joe. I will help as much as I am able.”

“Thanks, man. It means a lot to me! Um… How about anything else you can say to help me with what we’re doing? We’re heading down into the dungeon and killing every day. Is there any better way? Is there some place I can get information or learn anything? How about a better place to kill? Are there more? Is there a way I could get a basic outline of what jobs are out there and how to get them? And I know Legendary have ten cores, and we’ve killed two and three core slimes, I’m assuming there are four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine core monsters, too? Three core slimes weren’t too hard to kill, is that normal? What are ‘hard’ monsters to kill for most people? What’s the ‘normal’ level to be killing? And, what are dungeons, anyway? Uh… sorry… probably too many questions now, eh? Um… Just tell me what you can. OK,” Joe trailed off when he saw Garnedell getting a bit overwhelmed.

“Uh… Well, I guess I’ll try to answer one at a time,” Garnedell began as they headed for the stairs and slipped into their rooms.

“OK, sounds good. Um… maybe a way to help us fight right now. Right now, we both have to fight a monster each. We don’t really have a group or anything like that. Is there something like that here?”

“Hmm. I’m not much of an adventurer, Joe. My family has a lineage of a great adventurer, but ever since the curse, we have lost our ability to adventure well…”

“Yeah, that curse was really bad! I’m glad we got rid of that for you,” Joe interrupted.

“It means much to me, Master. Truly.”

“Garnedell? Friends, right?”

“Ah. Sorry ... Joe.”

“It’s fine, I’m teasing you a bit. Just tell me what you can.”

“Well, yes. There is a way to group so that the group shares in gains from the adventure, but it requires a special job and skill.”

Joe’s eyes flickered with interest, “Oh! Really? What job? I’ll get it pretty fast.”

Garnedell opened his mouth to contradict Joe, but then stopped, “Well. You do go through jobs very fast. How… how… would you be willing to share how you do that?” Garnedell’s tone quickly shifted from observation to timid worry.

“Sure. It’s easy. It’s from your learning stat.”

“Learning stat? What is ‘stat?’ And what is learning?”

Joe stopped and stared at Garnedell, surprise overwhelming him with his hand frozen on the door to their room without opening it, “You don’t… it’s your status window with all the numbers. The one that says learning is the one that determines how quickly you can grow in your job!”

“My status window? What numbers? And where is learning.”

Joe squinted slightly at Garnedell’s question before opening the door and letting the kid in. He beckoned Garnedell to the small table where a chair rested while he sat on his bed. The two sat next to each other and Joe opened up his status window and showed it to Garnedell, “Right here, Garnedell. This is your learning stat and the number there, you can see mine? It’s quite high. That’s why I can grow my job from one to fifteen in only one day. If I do another couple jobs to twenty, I’ll soon be able to get enough base learning that I might be able to level almost any job to twenty in about one day!”

Garnedell listened carefully, but seemed a bit confused, “Where is learning?”

Joe pointed again, showing his learning, “Right here. Learning, see?”

“Learning? Uh… how do you see it is learning? How do you see a word? I hear nothing.”

“Hear? No, read. Can’t … You can’t read,” the shock of that realization hushed Joe’s statement to a whisper of surprise as he looked to Garnedell.

“Read? What is reading?”

“It is being able to turn these symbols into words. Reading is taking symbols already written and turning them into words so you can understand. Writing is what makes these symbols.” Joe quickly opened up his notebook and flipped it to a written page and brushed a hand across it in a wave of presentation, “This is my writing. Here. This word here is learning. It is in English, my home language, so you probably can’t read it.” Joe pointed quickly a word.

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“I have… I have never heard of such a thing before!”

Joe flickered his brow, crinkles quickly forming before fading away under a carefully maintained facade, “There must be many who can read. Maybe you had no chance to learn of reading?”

“Reading? No. I have never heard of such a skill. Nor of writing.”

“Nobody reads or writes?”

“I have never heard such thing. Maybe the great ones, or Powers, but … no.”

An illiterate society? Not surprising, but no one? Joe schooled his face to hide is incredulity and tried to verify, “So how do scholars and researchers keep records of their studies and notes?”

“They use memory crystals.”

“Memory crystals? What are those?”

It was Garnedell’s turn to show a bit of shocked surprise, although he kept it well hidden. Crap. Guess I’m showing my ignorance… “They are crystals you can store thoughts and memories in them and pass them onto others or teach others great skills, powers, or knowledge. They are powerful, but can only truly be used once.”

“Do you read them?”

“Read? No! You… you just… feel them. Live them. They become a part of you as you use them.”

“So… so… If I had a memory crystal of… of… of English. My entire language. And I gave it to you to use, you could learn English with it?”

“Yes, although you would have to be well practiced and versed in the art of memory crystals and enchantments! They are difficult!”

“How … How long would you have to study the memory crystal?”

“It depends on how much knowledge is shared. A very simple skill would take less than a second. The densest of memory crystals may take an hour? I have heard of legendary memory crystal’s taking days, but such things are only myth, I believe. Most language memory crystals take five to ten minutes.”

Joe froze, mind boggling at what he’d just learned, “What about… what about learning a job?”

“There are job memory crystals. They are… incredibly rare and expensive. Few are willing to make such a memory crystal as the time and effort is overwhelming! But they do exist.”

“So, for… a blacksmith,” Joe quickly ran through possible examples of intellectually intensive examples in such a medieval setting, “or… or philosopher or theologian. How long would it take to become an expert in these jobs with a memory crystal?”

“Probably an hour or two. Learning entire jobs is possible, but they do represent some of the densest of memory crystals and would take quite long to learn.”

“So… after an hour or two of … studying?”

“Not studying; merging, or melding.”

That adds a completely different perspective on education! “So after merging with a theologian memory core, how well would this person do compared to a theologian who has studied on their own and became a theologian through… normal... hard work?”

“Oh. That depends on the level.”

“Ah. Same level.”

“Oh. Then they would be the same. Although the memory crystal may have come from a… legendary expert? A hero? And they may have skills and abilities significantly better than the average theologian, either from creating their own skills or from having practiced better. Then the one who used the memory crystal would be much stronger. But it depends!”

“So… in about an hour or two, a person can learn and become an expert the same as anyone who has studied for years?”

“Yes, but do not get your hopes up! Such things are almost impossible to find! To hope for growth from such things is a fool’s wish!”

“I… no… I’m not going to seek such things. I’m just… stunned. Give me a moment, I need to figure this out!” Joe’s mind ran through all the ramifications, considering everything, and at the end of all his considerations, he came to an absolutely startling conclusion: They never needed to learn how to read! Everyone wealthy would just use memory crystals since they are incredibly superior to reading and anyone who couldn’t afford them wouldn’t have the money or time to waste on trying to develop writing! There is no writing at all! Joe’s realization left him frozen with shock, a small whisper escaping his lips, “No one here knows how to read!”

“I have never heard of reading, or writing. Such things are unknown to me.”

“Do you believe Powers or wealthy would know reading or writing?”

“I do not know, ma… Joe.”

“Using reading, it takes years to become expert in a job or skill. Some can take ten to twenty years.”

Garnedell’s eyes rose, surprise overcoming him, “Then it is unlikely if becoming an expert in such a way is just as difficult as normally leveling.”

“Yeah… I thought so.” Joe paused for a moment in his thoughts. “That explains a lot!”

The two fell silent for a moment until Joe shook his head and brought himself back to their pertinent conversation, “Well, as interesting as all that is, that’s neither here nor there. I can teach you how to read, but for now, go ahead and open up your status page and I’ll at least show you what it all means.”

Garnedell eagerly opened up his status and sat down next to him as Joe began explaining each of the parts of his status, naming each stat and the value that Garnedell had, showing him his strength, attack, and the rest. He then flipped through each page and explained what each page was and then showed Garnedell what he actually had, explaining since Garnedell couldn’t read it himself. After they’d gone through each page, stat, and skill, Joe wrapped it up and promised Garnedell he would teach him how to read so he could understand it for himself, although Joe was a bit overwhelmed with the idea of having to develop an entire alphabet and written language for a language he’d only spoken about an hour or two. Joe did promise to show him examples of English before trying to put effort into developing an entirely new written language. The two wrapped up Garnedell’s writing lesson before moving on to toweling off and washing their clothes, continuing their previous conversation.

“OK. Back to the original question. What about that job or skill that is good for groups?”

“Ah, yes. There is such a job, although I’m not sure how to get the job, but I believe it is partier? I’ve also heard of guides and mules, although mules are considered worthless for a group and only to carry materials. Often, they are used to just carry goods and are not a part of the group since there are only six members to a group. I have also heard of leaders, but, I’m uncertain what they do.”

“Partier. OK, got it,” Joe mumbled to himself as he quickly jotted Garnedell’s words down in the book, making sure to highlight job names, even if Garnedell was unable to describe their functions. Joe’s writing was quick and a bit messy as he juggled his book on the outside edge of the basin, cautious of getting it wet. “Great, do you know how to open the partier? Do you know what job I have to get first before I can get that one?”

“Sorry. I really don’t know.”

“Huh. OK? Is there a place or a person I can ask questions about this, find out information to understand what all this means?”

“Uh. There are libraries, but their memory crystals are incredibly expensive, as I said! And you may be able to get advice from certain Powers or clans, but you would likely have to join them as an outer member or apprentice. You would owe your allegiance to them.”

Joe grimaced at Garnedell’s words as he jotted it down, unhappy with those options, “Well, except maybe the library,” Joe mused to himself. “We’ve got lots of cores, and those are expensive? Maybe we can trade it for some? Hmm… Hey, Garnedell?”

“Yes, Joe?”

“Could we check out the library tomorrow… Is there a library here in the city?”

“I do not know, master… Joe, sorry! Uh. I do not know. If there is a library, it would likely be in the city center amongst the clansmen.”

“Clansmen? Oh… right. No nations here, so no nobility. But the clansmen are going to pretty much be nobility,” Joe muttered to himself as he remembered another oddity. “Then we’ll see if we can’t go. Can anyone go in there?”

“The wealthy may? I think? We are wealthy, but we… we do not look the part.”

“Ah… right. Clothes make the man. OK. Tomorrow, the tailor as well. We’ll still see if we can’t get into the library anyway. Is there another way to get to the library?”

“Ah. A great Power could easily get to the library.”

“But we aren’t,” Joe muttered, chewing on the tip of his pencil a bit before jerking it from his mouth. Shoot! Can’t chew it away! Gotta save these pencils as much as possible.

“Well, Joe. You are quite strong. You could easily claim to be a power. Few would dispute it.”