Leaving the Guildmaster’s office, Lan felt both disappointment and frustration. Before leaving, he had made one last attempt to convince the Guildmaster to no avail. He wouldn't get anywhere without solid proof or at least a location. The worst part was that Lan couldn’t blame the Guildmaster, and now that he knew about the Summoned Heroes, he had more questions than answers.
Could a Summoned Hero be mad enough at their summoning to want to do something like this? But that wasn’t even the worst possibility. If Lecaea did summon something other than a Hero, then there may not be a way to stop it.
Reeling from his thoughts and injuries, Lan braced himself on the bannister, looking over the ground floor as the Guildmaster called for the next person.
The Other World God… Lan let the word ring out in his mind as someone passed him.
‘Scab.’ The person whispered, but Lan didn’t even care to look.
What did it mean that he had these abilities? And the Other World God…was it something brought here from a tale to aid those summoned or a progenitor God maybe? That would explain why the voice acted the way it did. At least, he thought as much; how could he know for sure?
Then there was the last thing the Guildmaster said about the all guilds campaign.
Feeling his frustration rising, Lan turned his attention to his second ability. He hadn’t really had the chance to use it with everything that had happened, and needing something to distract himself, now seemed like a good time. So Lan activated his Other World Sight and watched the adventurers below burst into red flames.
After a moment, Lan realised they had not just been attacked or set on fire with his eyes as the flames did not seem to hurt the gathered adventurers. Looking closer, Lan noticed that even though the world had darkened in his altered sight, the fire was translucent, almost like spectres surrounding them.
Some, like in the cases of Drevin and the other larger people who Lan assumed worked as their teams’ defenders, had fires that reached a foot around them. While others like Locke and Vulk had fires around half the size of that. And as Lan started to put together, Olivia, Vasha and Sora had flames smaller still.
But it wasn’t just that. Drevin’s flames were easier to see than the others as well.
Lan almost laughed as he realised he was looking at their Health Points. He would already be able to see them when he was in a party, but seeing them when not in one was an incredible advantage.
It took much of the guesswork out of fighting, Lan reasoned now that it would have been advantageous in nearly half the fights he had been in.
Deciding it was better not to think about it, Lan spotted something else. He saw it in a few people around the hall, but none was as clear as with Olivia. Sitting in her chest within the fire of her health points was another ball of blue fire.
Now that he could see it, he found smaller blue flames in Locke and Cassandra. It was mana pools. Thinking back to the Mage liquor that had left him feeling like his brain would freeze over, the large mysterious woman’s reaction made sense now.
Wondering if he could learn more about his ability, Lan sent a trace of mana into his eyes and froze. In a moment, as the lines of mana filled his sight, Lan saw Olivia’s blue flame solidify, filling the mana lines through her body, but before he could see more, Cassandra’s head snapped up to him.
For a moment, Lan saw the same monster he had seen during the Razorwolf battle before it vanished and was replaced with the most accusatory blank stare he had ever seen.
Having been caught, Lan didn’t try to hide, just waved with a sheepish smile before making his way down the stairs.’
‘You know, looking at a girl’s mana pool without asking for permission is not polite.’ Olivia said as Lan reached the bottom step.
Turning, he found her propped up against the wall grinning at him. ‘Then again, I don’t mind you asking for forgiveness instead.’ She winked,
‘Y-you knew I did that?’ Lan said, crumbling without even trying to deny it as her concern from earlier had seemingly been replaced by a return to her usual self, and she seemed to be making up for the lost time by being more enthusiastic in her approach.
‘Although Cassandra ruined the surprise, yes, I could. Whereas I don’t mind you looking at me, other mages may not be as nice if they catch you looking at them like that… with enhanced sight, that is,’ She giggled.
‘Oh, I didn’t know… That mages don’t like it!’ Lan half shouted as he saw the gears turning in the head of the mage at the opening.
Pouting at her fun being ruined, Olivia sighed dramatically, ‘Well, they don't. Every mage has their own reason, but for the most part, it is seen as the easiest way to disrespect a mage. In fact, if you ever want to show a mage how little you respect them, all you have to do is openly use an enhanced sight to see their mana pool, as it’s considered to be like looking under their clothes.’
‘Oh! You know that I…’ Lan started before Olivia smiled at him.
‘I know you didn’t mean anything by it, and plus, I already said I didn’t mind... as long as you ask for forgiveness after.’ She added with a wink, making Lan wonder how serious she was being. ‘Still, I must say it’s surprising that you came back with both an Item Box type spell and an enhanced sight.’
‘Oh, they aren’t spells.’ Lan said, which seemed to intrigue the beautiful mage even more.
‘Is that so… well, I think I found another way for you to apologise.’ She said with a smile, but before Lan could answer, Locke and the others noticed him and called them over.
‘What did the Guildmaster say?’ Locke asked as the others gathered around Lan.
‘That I give a detailed debrief.’ Lan said wearily, getting an understanding smile.
‘Yeah, well, that's still better than what he said to me. But what I know now is you should go see a healer. If you would like, we can introduce you to the one we use.’
‘Huh? Oh, that’s alright. I already have someone.’ Lan said, knowing that Lily would not be happy to see him in the state he was in. He had hoped to give her a little more time before giving her a serious job, but it didn’t look like he would be able to do that.
‘Oh? Well, if you like, we can come with you?’ The party lead tried, his concern evident on his face.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.’ Lan said before wondering if he really would be. He had just pissed off a noble, half the guild, and there were always pickpockets and robbers to watch out for. ‘Before that, I wondered if you had any advice on picking a class.’ Maybe it was the state he was in having knocked some sense into him, but the thought had finally come to him at a somewhat appropriate time.
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Locke and the others shared a smile that conveyed just what they thought about this subject.
‘I was wondering what combat class you had picked, seeing what you had gone through?’ Locke said, making Lan scratch the back of his neck as, once again, more eyes turned to him.
‘Yeah, about that, I met this odd old man named Art.’ That was all Lan needed to say before Locke and the others let out a collective sigh.
‘Let me guess, he tried to get you to invest in some outlandish path?’ Sora asked.
‘No… he gave me this ring with a curse on it. At first, I thought I was in trouble, as you can expect with the curse, but the ring seemed to react to me as I fought, changing my stats as I needed. Only it reset my stats at the end of the fight at the hollow.’
‘Did you just say you put on a cursed ring that Art gave you?’ Locke asked incredulously.
‘He didn’t tell me it was cursed, and who honestly just carries around cursed objects.’ Lan tried, getting an understanding sigh from Locke.
‘Honestly, with the other stunts Art has pulled, I should have expected something like this, even if his advice is often right regarding stat alignment… when you can get a straight answer out of him, that is. What else did he say?’
‘He said finding the right combat class would take a few jobs, but I would appreciate any advice.’
‘Hmm, well, we haven’t fought with you enough to say one way or another.’ Locked scratched his chin.
‘Back with the Razorwolves, you showed good situational awareness, in my opinion,’ Drevin shrugged. ‘Obviously, you’re crazy enough to throw yourself in the path of danger. Maybe guardian is right for you,’ The large man finished.
‘You just want him to be a guardian like you.’ Sora frowned at the tower of a man. ‘He was also good at drawing attention before running away. That’s hit and run. I think rogue works just as well.’
‘He just returned from a solo job with over thirty goblin ears.’ Locke shrugged. ‘sounds like a Strider to me.’
‘Let's not forget that he has mana. It would be a waste to neglect that.’ Olivia said, adding her two coppers to the conversation.
‘You think he has that much potential?’ Locke asked the mage.
‘Well, he has mana and has shown he can manipulate it. I don’t see why he couldn’t be a Mage with a little guidance.’ Olivia smiled at Lan.
‘I have mana too,’ Cassandra added, ‘maybe he should be a berserker.’ She said, and although most of the party started to talk, they all decided against it and shook their heads.
‘In any case, if that cursed ring does as you said, you don’t have to rush into anything, which is good. The last thing you want is to pick a path too hastily and end up with poor alignment or attribute decay to make up for it.’ Locke said, which seemed to be a sore subject as multiple people around the hall chuckled bitterly.
Lan knew what bad stat alignment was. It was one of the things drilled into the minds of every child and how once an attribute was spent, there wasn’t a way back, but he hadn’t heard about attribute decay.
‘What’s attribute decay?’ Lan asked, ignoring the comments from around the room.
Looking around at where the voice came from, Locke went on. ‘Attribute decay is when one attribute is so high that it starts to negatively affect the others, meaning you get less out of investing in them. Too many points into Strength, and you get less out of any new point you spend in Dexterity if the disparity is high enough. This mostly goes for the three physical stats because of how they affect a person’s body, but not always. You don't expect backflips from a strongman, but you have heard the saying, too smart to be brave?’
‘Too much Mind, not enough Will?’ Lan tried getting a nod.
‘Of course, you can focus on just the physical stats keeping them balanced, but then your mental and social stats will suffer.’
‘it’s all about the right balance.’ Vasha said before the others burst out laughing.’
‘Sorry.’ Locke smiled at Lan's perplexed expression. ‘the joke is that, except for the mages, none of us has perfectly balanced stats.’ When Lan looked confused, Locke went on. ‘As you know, most of us started off in the army. Well, military Class Items, amongst other things, allocate stat points for you. That way, all scouts are the same, or archers and all infantry all the same.’
‘Which is good for the army. The last thing you want is an archer not being able to shoot as hard or as far as the others.’ Vasha said.
‘Or a scout with lower stealth and reconnaissance skills than the others. When all your plans are based on knowing as much as possible, knowing that any soldier can perform to the same level as anyone of their combat class is key.’ Sora continued.
‘As good as that is for the army. It’s a nightmare for those that leave it and become adventurers.’ Locke finished.
‘For example, an army archer only needs enough Strength to draw a bow, and then all points go into Dexterity to be able to fire better and move. Health points, on the other hand, are deemed unnecessary, so I have had to spend a good few levels to make sure that I don’t get killed by a stray shot, not to mention Strength so I can carry more than just my bow and arrows or the fact that my Dexterity is much higher than what I really need for my level and equipment unless I have them custom made.’ Vasha said clearly, still not over the experience.
‘We all have similar stories. With the exception of your ladyship over here.’ Vulk said, making Olivia pout.
‘It’s not my fault that a mage is a mage.’ She huffed.
‘You too Drevin and Vulk?’ Lan asked before looking to Cassandra, wondering if he wanted to know.
‘Yeah, I was a Rune Guard.’ Vulk said with a shrug. ‘Pretty much the same thing.’
‘Shield Knights aren’t meant to do that much moving; Just be an unbreakable wall,’ Drevin said, and Lan remembered how fast the large man had moved during the Razorwolf fight and tried to think about the commitment to get that way. ‘Luckily, skills can sometimes make up for any deficiencies.’
‘Especially when you have the access nobles have.’ Vulk prodded, getting a roll of the eyes from the former knight.
‘You know Lan, starting as a level one might be a great advantage for you.’ Sora said off handily. ‘As you heard, you can probably fit into most classes, and as a level one, you can be the perfect version of any of them.’ the moment the young rogue finished, what he said seemed to ring home for him before it slowly sank in for those around him.
One by one, the realisation of what this meant, more importantly, what it meant for any party that Lan would end up with, painted itself on the faces of all those throughout the hall.
Lan didn’t notice as someone called his name. Turning, Lan was greeted by a Page. A young man dressed in a magistrate page uniform looked around the hall like a rabbet which had wandered into a dog pit.
‘Master Cross?’ he asked nervously.
‘Yes?’ Lan answered.
‘Uh… a letter, I mean orders, no summons.’ Clearly feeling the pressure of the room, the boy trailed off before sticking his hands out with a letter gripped tight enough to crease the paper.
‘Thank you…’ Lan said, taking the letter before trying to retrieve a copper for the boy, but the boy vanished from the guild hall by the time he looked up.
That was all Lan needed to know what kind of letter this was. It was customary to give a little something to a messenger. They wouldn’t accept it only when they brought bad news.
“You are hereby ordered to come before Magistrate Lirose on the third day of Helos. You have been called to contest the challenge brought forth by Obern Dell. On the day, you must bring forth any evidence to defend your name.”
After that, the letters listed everything Dell was asking for. One thousand Dragons and planned to discuss how to repay it.
Despite the situation, Lan felt a tight grin form on his face. So that was the plan. Lan knew exactly what Dell planned to fight for, and it said how little the old snake thought of him if he believed that Lan would allow it.
As he reread through the letter, any humour turned to cold anger as he promised he would make Dell pay for this before opening his tome and looking at his mother's hairpin as his anger gave way to disappointment for a moment. He wanted to return it to her in person, but he needed to consider his next steps now that Dell had played his hand.
‘Lan, is everything alright?’ Locke asked.
‘Yeah, I have been summoned to stand before a Magistrate.’ Lan said, turning only to find the guild staring at him. Not in the way they had before. No, now they looked at him like he had become a solid gold statue that could tell the future.
‘What?’ Lan asked, stepping back as Locke looked around.
‘Lan, did you hear what Sora said. You’re starting from the beginning as an adventurer, something almost no one gets. Whatever combat class you pick, you can be the perfect version of it, a light send to any party you pick.’
As Lan thought about it, he could see why the mood in the hall had changed and why many of the faces looked like they had stepped in horse muck.
The more Lan thought about it, the better the position he had found himself in seemed to be. And that was to say nothing of the fact that he was now Light marked.
Lan had thought that he would need to get stronger before asking to join Locke and the others, but with this, he could be a valuable party member sooner. He thought, looking up only to find Locke and the others sharing a worried look. The looks made no sense, but a voice broke through the hall before he could think of a reason why.
‘Alright, everyone, listen up! As you all know, there is something out of the ordinary going on, so I would like to thank all of you that provided information, and I expect going forward that you all continue to do so until we find out what is causing the disturbance and do what we are called to do.’
At this, all around the hall, adventurers stomped their foot lightly. ‘There is one other thing that I expect from you. Although it is too early to call it, I expect you all to spend the next few weeks as if preparing for an All Guilds Campaign.’ The Guildmaster said as his eyes fell on Lan.