PART XXV - SCOREKEEPING
The Druid activities now concluded, Rowani turned the proceedings back over to Master Trainer Thorn, as he assumed the amplification sigil.
Thorn worked to get everyone’s attention, but with all the new forms, especially those of Tazrok, almost all attention to the assembly had faded. Thorn finally was forced to send out a Command Aura pulse to get everyone settled and facing forward. “We only have one more thing to review, and trust me you’ll want to pay attention to this next one,” he said, once he had control of the proceedings.
“To begin, thank you to all the Druids for sharing that experience with all of us. All of you should feel honored to be part of our little tradition, and remember this day. You’ve witnessed the … birth if you will … of four new Druids.” He led a short round of applause, to which the five Druids bowed their heads in acknowledgement.
“One last thing, then,” Thorn began, re-addressing his audience. “I’m going to tell you another secret query you can make.”
Instantly, there was silence and absolute focus on the Ratkin.
“Yes, I thought that might get your attention,” Thorn said with a chuckle. “I’ll keep this simple. If you ever want to know how close you are to your next Tier, you need only ask ‘What is my level’.”
Almost in perfect synchronization, every single recruit suddenly became still and looked inward, and Callie was no different, immediately submitting her query.
What is my level?
LEVEL: IRON.056
Within a moment, people started calling out various random numbers, trying to see who was the highest. Many seemed to be below one-hundred, and a notable number of those below fifty. Quickly, Callie asked Jesca her number.
“IRON.198,” Jesca said with a shrug.
Callie polled everyone else in her group and Pixyl revealed her IRON.781 rating, Lena IRON.551, Xin IRON.219, and Vanis a whopping IRON.941, eclipsing every other number she heard being shared around her. Fynisse had a depressing IRON.000, and was a little bummed about that. Juniper, of course, had no idea what they were really talking about, but just seemed happy to sit next to Vanis and be with people.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Koda said his score was SILVER.169, wowing everyone with his high Tier. He reemphasized he was only a recruit though, and that by the end of training, everyone would catch up and surpass his current score.. His compatriot, Jitta, ranked like most as Iron, with a score of 175.
“On the chance any of you are wondering,” Thorn called out, everyone immediately going quiet, “My own class is Martialist, and my level today is PLATINUM.982.”
There were several murmurs as people tried to put the pieces together as to what the numbers could mean, although to Callie it was pretty self-evident.
“When your number reaches one-thousand, you will rise to the next tier,” Thorn continued. “Using this query, you are able to track your progress, and not wonder what your status may be. However, one thing you all need to know: Progress will only occur when you are in deep sleep, and it must be a natural sleep where you are dreaming. No spells. No potions. Simple herbal sleep aids are fine if needed, though. For those of you with low numbers, and I suspect there are a few zeros out there, rest assured you’ll be well into the triple-digits come morning. By the end of the week, all of you currently at Iron will progress to Bronze.”
“You’re so close!” someone called out to Thorn.
The Master Trainer chuckled. “Yes, I know. Your number increases when you learn something new or different, or apply what you know in a newly creative way. Doing the same thing over and over doesn’t raise your score much, or eventually raise it at all. As a result, at high Platinum, there’s not a lot for me to do that is actually new and different. I had been stuck at .981 for a while now, and only rose to .982 this morning.” Thorn shrugged. “Do your best, and the numbers and new Tiers will come. That’s absolutely the best advice I could possibly give you. Wasting energy worrying about your rank is just a distraction.”
“Vanis, you are almost there, too” Callie said to the Warlock.
“Yes,” Vanis confirmed. “Yesterday morning, I was in the low eight-hundreds, but apparently with Dunni’s summoning shenanigans yesterday, I rose this morning.”
“Wait!” Lena snapped, “You knew about this whole ‘query’ thing before today? Why didn’t you tell us?”
Vanis shrugged. “It was not my place to share that information. Obviously some people knew; Dunni for example, as he was able to unlock his Summon Fiend skill. But you saw what happened there. Now, imagine the chaos if word got out to all the recruits?”
Lena frowned, knowing Vanis was right. She smacked his arm, “Still, you should have told us at least.” But there was a smile on her face, and she bore no grudge. But suddenly, Lena frowned again, looking at Callie. “You knew, too, didn’t you? Your little sword fight …”
Callie winced, “I did.”
“How?”
“Xera told me, when I got my Sniper Shot skill in the shower and was recovering. But they swore me to secrecy.”
Lena threw up her hands. “I feel like I’m the last to know everything around here!”