“What do you mean by using monster cores?” Ethan asked, remembering the items in his storage and the prompt asking him to use the core when he first examined it. It had felt a bit sketchy then, and he was interested in what using one really meant.
“I mean that by finding and successfully absorbing an aspect seed, one just puts the foot in the door of getting magical powers. However, once you open the door, it is never enough power for some,” Alice continued.
“There is only one sure way to advance through the ranks as an aspect user and thus live long enough to find immortality. And that is by using the cores. If you do not consider those who do not use them,” she added.
“Alice, it is proven that you can advance without using cores,” Claire protested. Ethan looked at their bickering and saw what he had been missing over the weeks once coming to Erde - his friends.
I wonder how everyone is doing back home, he thought and weighed the decision to mention that he advanced without using cores. Even without fighting monsters, if Gloomy did not count as one. Then, however, he remembered Claire’s warning and stopped himself.
Ethan put his hand up in the air and interrupted, “Sorry, ladies. Before you go too far in discussing who is right or wrong, I have another question.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Claire said, calming down and leaning back in her seat.
“As we get closer to Veer, I still want to clarify a few things, the first being, how do I fit in?” Ethan asked, a bit embarrassed by such a simple question. He felt that he was back in the first grade when he asked his stepfather the very same question.
“By keeping your mouth shut, of course,” Alice immediately responded and smiled. Claire elbowed her in the ribs, and Alice asked in turn, “What? Claire, common, everyone with a brain can see that Ethan here is an outsider and does not know the most basic of things.”
“Yes, that is true. But it is not as hopeless as you make it sound. We just need to give people probable cause not to doubt him being a clueless fool. The main thing is not to make him a complete outsider that must be caught and interrogated,” Claire said.
“The usual ‘I am from the woods, the son of a hermit’ story?” Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.
Claire nodded and turned back to Ethan, “Yes. Ethan, how do you feel about playing a role of sorts?”
“A role?” Ethan asked. “I have been playing a role ever since I came here. To Erde, I mean. Nothing has made any sense, and I have acted like everything is all right. So what is one more page added to my book of tricks?”
Claire nodded, “Then let us advise you what you should say to people who ask you things or stuff you do not know about. Just say you are a clueless son of an old hermit living in the woods a bit south of here. The guy was your mentor until you grew up, gave you an aspect seed he found, and helped with the absorption ritual. You got lucky, and he even trained you with the sword. You did not, however, want to stay on the farm he lived on and decided to explore the realm more. Easy, right?”
Ethan looked at her serious expression, highlighting her cheekbones, and laughed. “I mean, sure,” he said, looking at the slightly smirking Alice. “I can sell that. First time being in the big city either way. Not like I will not be looking like a country bumpkin.”
Claire nodded, “Good. Now, while we still have time, what other questions do you have?”
Looking at the passing tree line, Ethan thought for a moment and asked, “You talked about the guilders and the Order, right? It occurred to me that these must be people who know some things, right? Such as how I could get back home. And if they do - would they be willing to share this information?”
Claire nodded, “True, but not share - sell. And let me tell you that it would cost you a pretty token to get even a notion of who could possess that information. Very few guilders will know anything—none from the ones in Veer. Most are useless and have not seen the wider world stuck at the adept rank. So no, you need to go to the capital.”
Alice nodded eagerly, “Yes, that is where all the knowledgeable people gather. Be it from Hunter’s guild or the Arcane order. The best teams are formed there.”
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“Teams?” Ethan asked.
“Yes,” Claire nodded, “teams are the standard way guilders operate. Usually of up to five people, the teams are formed to specialize in tactics taking down a single powerful or weaker group of monsters.”
“Like adventurers in games?” Ethan asked.
“What games?” Claire asked in turn. “No, it does not matter. The point is that the best chance to succeed while fighting monsters is by doing it in a team with people dedicated only to dealing damage, someone who can heal, another person to tank the damage, and maybe a knowledgeable utility specialist. Unfortunately, not everyone can fight an antler deer as you just did.” Claire shook her head, still not understanding how he did it.
“And even that happened in your favor by blind luck and the luck how you managed to get your abilities,” Alice chimed in.
“So you are saying it was all a fluke? Wait, how are you so familiar with the topic? I thought you were not a guilder and did not have an aspect seed?” Ethan asked.
Claire nodded, glancing at Alice,” Yes, that is true. However, I am well-educated in all manner of topics. Guild business included.”
“The same as me,” Alice added. “And yes, the best course of action besides playing dumb once in Veer would be to get yourself a team. That, however, is a lost cause in Veer, and I believe you will be better served to find one in the capital. Which would mean leaving with us.”
“Why do you think it is a lost cause in Veer? Is it not just going to take me a while?” Ethan asked.
Claire shook her head, “Finding a team in Veer will be tough, if not impossible. We simply do not have enough capable guilders. And the ones who do not belong to a team now are not stellar.”
“I have heard that a solid healer arrived from somewhere south recently from my brothers,” Alice added. “Managed to form a team with a decent local rogue no one had heard of before. Other than that? Better go south to find a team.”
“Oh, man. And how would I do that?” Ethan asked, exasperated, understanding that he did not want to run around the place trying to find people ready to trust him with their backs in a fight—a total stranger.
“Well, do not ask us,” Alice said. “Before you do, however, you would still need to polish your skills and learn to use your aspect powers. We understand you have barely learned to use them and still have a long way to reach the adept rank.”
Claire nodded, “Yes, that is true. And for that, the best bet would be to take the solo contracts the Guild posts occasionally and try to go for their evaluation programs.”
Ethan crossed his hands and looked down at the floor, deep in thought. So many things were not adding up for him. First, the fact that he had advanced his aspects without fighting monsters and absorbing cores was bugging him. If what the ladies said was true, then possessing Gloomy as a training partner was a huge boon many, no doubt, would be eager to have.
Next, the information he needed will likely not be available in Veer, and asking around might even get him in trouble. He did not want that, as fighting monsters was one thing, but trying to fight scheming humans was another, which meant that going to the capital was his best bet.
However, it came with risks, as he was no one and knew nothing of this world and its inhabitants. Therefore, before moving on, he had to make good connections in Veer and get as much information as possible.
Lastly, if what Claire said was true, his abilities were highly irregular to what one in this region or his rank should possess. That meant he had already shown too much to both of the girls before him, and that fact alone might be enough to cause problems for him in the future.
What to do? he pondered and looked back at the girls debating again over using cores. He could not make them forget what he had shared. Nor could he outright make them disappear because he was not that kind of a person.
That means I will have to trust them and see where it takes me, he acknowledged, while a thought occurred to him.
“Ladies,” he interrupted their bickering. “How does one usually learn things you have shared with me? Besides the casual chats with your siblings, of course.”
Claire thought about it for a second and said, “You mean, are there any schools that would teach you these things?” Ethan nodded as she continued, “Well, yes, some establishments are willing to teach you various simple things, such as reading and writing. However, nothing advanced. Certainly, nothing related to how guilders conduct their affairs or advanced magic theory.”
“Then how does one even learn anything?” Ethan asked.
“By having connections, of course,” Alice responded, drawing a pointed look from Ethan. “What? It is the best way to determine that the right information reaches the right ears. Apprenticeships are the common way how one studies a trade, while the more advanced topics are passed on by paying a tutor who is willing to share. Of course, you could go to the churches, but I would advise against it.”
“Wait, churches? Like multiple? There are gods?” Ethan asked, surprised.
Claire nodded, chuckling, and said, “Some think so. Churches are an odd collection of individuals who believe in some higher powers. They appeared when the first aspect seeds were collected and started preaching that to bear a power was to share with a higher being granting this power. As if the monster that generated the seed was just the middle man.”