“So…”
“What?” Alessia asked as they watched the blood drain from the hanging bear corpse, the slender woman having somehow managed to get it strung up from a nearby tree.
“Oh, just, uhm…” Brian stammered slightly as she turned to glare at him, “I was just wondering…about this world…or more specifically this forest. Where are we, exactly?”
“The Blackleaf Woods,” Alessia replied, “On the northern border of the kingdom of Astera.”
“Oh,” Brian nodded, filing the knowledge away, “Uhm…anything else important I should know?”
“Only those who are level ten and higher should venture into these woods,” Alessia replied, “There are Rune Hares and Greater Bears that roam it. Though that doesn’t seem to have stopped you from wandering around.”
“Yeah, not like I had much of a choice,” Brian chuckled, “Like I said earlier, I just appeared here after the whole being summoned thing.”
“I still find that hard to believe,” the woman grunted as she stood, the last of the blood having dripped out of the bear, pulling a long sharp knife from the sheath on her hip, “You claim to be like the Heroes, yet are not one of them. So how are you strong enough to take on a Greater Bear all on your own?”
“My magic,” Brian shrugged, “I have a spell that lets me steal the strength of my opponents.”
“A Spell that steals strength?” Alessia paused in her work as she turned to look at Brian, “I’ve never heard of such magic.”
“It’s a max level Curse Ability,” Brian shrugged again, “I’m a Dark Mage, so it’s what I specialize in, Curses and negative Status effects.”
“A Dark Mage?” Alessia hummed, “I’ve never heard of that Class, is it rare?”
“No clue,” Brian laughed, “I’m pretty much brand new to this world, so I don’t have a lot of knowledge about what’s normal or not.”
“Hmmm,” Alessia replied, continuing to skin the bear, “Then a word of warning, do not share your Class with just anyone. There are those out there that would try to capture those with rare or exceptional Classes.”
“What about Jobs?” Brian asked.
“Telling others your Job is fine,” Alessia said, “Though I have no idea what kind of Job an Andrews is.”
“What? No, that’s my last name, my Job is Scribe,” Brian chuckled, blinking as the woman looked at him in confusion, “What?”
“Last names are usually dictated by ones Job, only the nobility uses family names,” Alessia sighed, returning to her work again, “I would suggest that you start referring to yourself as Brian Scribe to avoid arousing suspicion.”
“Oh, thanks,” Brian nodded, “I can do that. So that means your Job is Hunter, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, what’s it like? I mean, I’m sure you have, like, tracking Abilities and stuff that makes you better with a bow,” Brian asked, “But does it have any really powerful Abilities?”
“I will ignore that question,” Alessia growled, making Brian swallow nervously, “It is considered extremely rude to question a person on their Abilities, for their Job, and especially for their Class.”
“Right, sorry,” Brian nodded, “I, uhm…I didn’t know.”
“Of course not,” the woman sighed, peeling the hide off the bear corpse, and quickly rolling it up.
“How are you going to carry tha-woah!” Brian began to ask, before gasping as Alessia touched the rolled-up hide, the entire bundle disappearing into a ring on her finger, “Is that a magical storage item? Ooh, I want one! Are they hard to get?”
“Yes,” Alessia replied curtly as she returned to the corpse, starting to cut the meat from the bones, “And no, they are not difficult to get, though only the smaller ones. This one is quite large by the standards of the town I live in, as it can fit a whole Greater Bear’s worth of materials in it.”
“Oh, that seems like a lot,” Brian hummed as he looked at the large corpse hanging from the tree.
“I have heard stories of rings or bracelets capable of carrying entire mansions inside,” Alessia hummed as she worked, “So this one is not that impressive in comparison.”
“And how would I get one?”
“Buy it.”
“Okay, but where?” Brian continued.
“In a city, from an Artificer or Enchanter,” Alessia replied flatly, “They can be quite expensive though. Unless you are able to provide materials or something else in exchange.”
“I see,” Brian nodded, “So, uhm…How much of the bear do you want?”
“What?”
“I mean, I did kill it, but you’re the one cutting it up for me and leading me out of the woods,” Brian explained hurriedly, “So I figured I could give you a portion of the bear meat as payment?”
“I see,” Alessia nodded, “I’ll take a quarter of the meat and bones.”
“That seems fair,” Brian nodded, “Would you also be able to help me sell it in town? I kind of don’t have any money, so that would be a great help.”
“Sell it?” Alessia asked, looking at Brian as he nodded, “No. But I can point you in the direction of someone who will buy it for a decent price.”
“Good enough for me,” Brian smiled, “Thanks.”
“Thank me when we get out of the forest,” Alessia grunted as she cut through a particularly tough tendon, freeing a slab of meat, immediately storing it inside her ring before it could hit the forest floor.
“Uhm…sure,” Brian nodded as he watched her continue to work, the area falling silent but for the sounds of the forest.
------
“So how exactly does Experience work in this world?”
“Why ask me that?” Alessia sighed as the pair walked through the forest, the woman leading them down barely visible hunting trails, “Would it not be better to ask someone with more knowledge?”
“I don’t know how much you know without asking,” Brian chuckled, “It’s fine if you don’t know, I was just curious.”
“A victory will always give you at least one point of experience, regardless of how easy the fight was,” Alessia suddenly said, “But even the most difficult of fights can only give you a maximum of one quarter of your current total needed experience.”
“Wait, so that’s why I only got twenty-five points from beating the bear?” Brian groaned, “All those wasted Experience Points! It’s unfair!”
“I don’t know about unfair,” Alessia replied flatly, “It is simply how things work here.”
“And what about the in between numbers?” Brian asked, “I got four points from a Rune Hare when I fought against it for a bit, why was it so low if it’s supposed to be a tough creature?”
“I do not know that, though there are many theories,” Alessia said, glancing at Brian as he looked at her expectantly, “Some claim it is the will of the gods, others say it is to do with the effort you exert in the encounter and the lessons you learn. Others still claim it is completely random.”
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“What do you think?” Brian hummed as he looked around, noticing that the trees were starting to thin.
“Personally, I don’t particularly care,” Alessia replied, “That’s all.”
“Oh, okay,” Brian nodded, following behind the woman as they finally reached the treeline, Brian smiling as he looked out over the fields of wheat and vegetables that surrounded the town in the distance, “Wow, that’s a hell of a view.”
“It is,” Alessia nodded as she led him towards the road, the pair turning onto it as they began walking to the town.
“So, what’s the name of this place? The town, I mean,” Brian asked.
“Blackleaf Town,” Alessia responded, “Named for the forest beside which it sits.”
“Good to know,” Brian nodded again, “So, uhm…I was wondering if you could show me to this place you were talking about earlier? The place to sell the bear meat and bones?”
“It’s the local butcher, anyone could point you in the correct direction,” Alessia sighed.
“Yeah, well…I kind of don’t have a way to carry all that bear meat and stuff anywhere, so I was hoping you would come with me and help me out with that?”
“I…” Alessia paused, seeming to think on it for a moment, before she nodded, “Fine.”
“Thanks,” Brian grinned as they continued down the road, eventually reaching the town gates, passing by with a wave from the guards.
It didn’t take long for the pair to reach the butcher’s shop, a large wooden sign hanging outside stating as much. They entered the building, the man behind the counter looking up as they walked in.
“Ah, Alessia,” the burly butcher chuckled, “What have you brought me today?”
“Greater Bear,” the woman replied simply, holding out her hand and dropping the collection of meat and bones onto the wide counter, all neatly stacked.
“Damn, must have been a hell of a hunt,” the butcher laughed, “Looks like you have most of an adult here. You want the usual rates?”
“I didn’t kill it,” Alessia said, looking back at Brian, “He did.”
“Huh? This scrawny looking brat?” the butcher guffawed, “Well, colour me impressed, kid! Not a lot of folks round here who even go deep enough into the woods to encounter Greater Bears, let alone are tough enough to kill one!”
“Uhm…thanks?” Brian said slowly.
“You look to be some kind of mage, judging from the robes, so the hide is probably little more than a crispy mess, huh?” the butcher chuckled, “Anyway, I can give you about ten silvers for this lot, at Alessia’s rates.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Brian started, the man holding up his hand to stop him as he counted out a number of coins.
“But I do, it ain’t everyday that I see the young lass with someone, let alone a man! That means you must be friends, and any friend of Alessia gets her rates,” the burly man chuckled, handing over a bulging coin purse, “I split a few of the silvers into coppers for you, to make divvying up the shares easier.”
“Oh, thank you,” Brian nodded as he accepted the purse, looking over to Alessia as she gave a quiet groan, “Uhm…let’s go, shall we?”
The two of them stepped out of the butcher’s shop, Brian looking up at the late afternoon sun as he shaded his eyes.
“Here,” Alessia said as he turned to look at her, the man gasping as the large rolled-up hide appeared in his arms, Brian scrambling to prevent himself from dropping it, “The leatherworker’s shop is just done the street. You’ll know it when you smell it.”
“Oh, uhm…thanks,” Brian nodded, watching as the woman turned to walk away, “Oh, right! Sorry, but I have one more question!”
“What?” Alessia sighed as she glanced back at him.
“How would I go about getting to a city?” Brian grinned, his cheeks slightly flushed, “I want to get my own spatial ring as soon as possible.”
“There’s a trade caravan that comes about once a month,” Alessia replied, “It should be here in a few days. You can probably pay for transportation with them.”
“Okay, thanks!” Brian nodded as he turned away, hefting the large bundle onto his shoulder, cringing slightly as the last of the blood oozed out onto his shoulder, “Oh, gross.”
Alessia stood and watched as the man walked away, carefully weaving between the other people on the street as he made his way towards the leatherworker’s shop. Shaking her head, she started walking in the opposite direction.
------
“Hmmm, good condition, well skinned,” the woman behind the counter of the leatherworker’s shop hummed, “I can give you four silvers for this. You skin it yourself?”
“No,” Brian shook his head, “Alessia did it.”
“Alessia, huh?” the woman narrowed her eyes at him, “And how do you know that girl?”
“I met her in the woods,” Brian shrugged, “I was lost, so I offered to give her some of the Greater Bear in exchange for leading me out of it.”
“That all?” the woman growled, startling Brian, “No other reason?”
“No?” Brian blinked in confusion, “I’ve already given her…wait! Shit! I never gave her the money from the meat and bones!”
“That so?” the woman hummed, “Well, I’m going to choose to believe you, at least this time. So, you get Alessia’s rates. Five silvers, no more, no less.”
“I…” Brian started, before snapping his mouth shut at her glare, “Thank you. You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find her at this time of day? I want to pay her for her share of the meat.”
“Try the Twilight Orchard,” the woman replied, chuckling when Brian gave her a confused look, “The Inn. It’s off the main square, pretty lively, but Alessia always goes there after a hunt.”
“Okay, thank you!” Brian smiled as he nodded to the woman, accepting the small purse of coins from her, and hurrying out of the shop.
“No need to thank me,” the woman laughed, “Either you’ll find her and pay her, or you’ll regret ever having used her name.”
------
Alessia sat quietly at her usual table, nursing a tankard of sweet mead, the slight buzz of the alcohol calming her.
She glanced around the inn, the few other patrons pointedly ignoring her as they talked in hushed tones, sipping from their own mugs. She sighed as she took a deeper drink, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes as she thought over the strange encounter she had had earlier that day.
The man, Brian, was obviously an outsider of some kind, especially as the Blackleaf area seldom saw travellers despite the town’s size. He had had gaps in his knowledge that any child would have known, lending credence to his claims of being from another world, and yet had proven himself strangely adept at fighting. She still wasn’t sure if he really was only level one, but his claim of only receiving twenty-five Experience Points from killing a Greater Bear seemed to confirm that.
“Of course, he could have been lying,” she muttered, opening her eyes at the sound of approaching feet.
“Afternoon, Lessie,” the waitress grinned at her, a plate of food in her hand which she placed in front of the Hunter, “Got your usual. You’re back early today, good hunt?”
“In a manner of speaking, Veronica,” the woman replied, pulling the plate closer and starting to eat.
“Well?” the young woman grinned as she sat on the chair opposite Alessia, “Tell me about it! Rumour has it you came back with a man!”
“I did,” Alessia sighed, “I found him lost in the woods after he killed a Greater Bear. He asked me to lead him to town in exchange for some of the meat and bones.”
“A Greater Bear?” the waitress gasped, “He must have been strong, then! Even you struggle against those, right?”
“Yes,” Alessia nodded, “But he seemed to handle it easily, despite claiming to only be level one.”
“Level one?” Veronica chuckled, “That’s impossible! He’d have to have been blessed by the gods themselves to have had a chance!”
“Perhaps he was,” Alessia muttered as she continued to eat, glancing up at the sound of the door to the inn opening, letting out a quiet groan as she recognized the man that had just entered.
He made a beeline for her table, two other men following him as he grinned at her, the woman pointedly looking down at her food, ignoring him.
“Lessie!” the man said, “How was your hunt? You’re back early today!”
“It was fine, Tobias,” she replied flatly, “Please leave me to eat.”
“I told you already, call me Toby!” the man chuckled, “All my friends do.”
“And I am not your friend,” Alessia half growled, “Leave me to eat.”
“Oh, come on. No need to be so cold,” the man laughed, sitting down at the table, snapping his fingers at Veronica, “Wench, bring me an ale.”
“I’m not a wench,” Veronica huffed as she stood up, heading back to the bar to get his drink, “Rude bastard.”
“Hmmph,” Tobias huffed as the waitress left, “They need to get some better staff here.”
“What do you want?” Alessia grunted as she continued to pick at her food.
“Nothing,” the man laughed, “Just having a drink with a close friend! You know, there are rumours of you showing up at the gate with a man? What’s that about?”
“None of your business,” Alessia growled, making to get up from the table, pausing as the hand grabbed her wrist.
“And where are you going?” Tobias asked, a frown on his face, “You’ve barely touched your meal, and your drink is only half finished. Why not just sit with me for a bit?”
“Because,” Alessia snarled now, pulling her hand free and making the man blink in surprise, “I don’t like you. You’ve already ruined my appetite, don’t worsen your sins by fouling my mood.”
“Fouling your mood?” the man chuckled as he glanced back at the two large men behind him, both moving to block Alessia’s way out, “You talk as fancily as ever, Lessie. Why not relax a bit? I’m sure I could show you how?”
“Disgusting,” the woman growled, moving to push past one of the large men as he scowled at her, “Get out of my way.”
“I’d listen to her,” the familiar voice said, the four of them looking at the stranger standing just behind them, “She’s pretty scary. Was completely ready to kill me earlier today.”
“Oh? And who the hell are you?” Tobias growled as he stood, “You’re interrupting a conversation between friends here.”
“Pretty sure I heard her say you weren’t her friend,” the man shrugged, “Plus, I have business with her. I owe her some money.”
“Money?” Tobias scoffed, “What could you have possibly done to owe my Lessie some money?”
“Your Lessie?” the man blinked, “Oh, okay, I see how it is. Get away from her you creep.”
“Creep?” Tobias blinked, “Who the hell do you think you are calling me a creep?”
“Nobody, it’s just what you are,” the man laughed, “Now beat it.”
“Or what, Mage?” Tobias spat, “You’ll throw out a spell and burn this place to the ground?”
“No,” the man sighed, before a cruel grin crossed his face, “But I can do this.”
The sound of two bodies hitting the floor made Tobias spin around, staring at the frozen forms of his two lackeys, their faces stuck in a look of surprise.
“What?”
“Don’t worry,” the stranger said jovially, “They’re still alive, just paralyzed. Now, unless you want the same thing to happen to you, I suggest letting her go.”
“You think you can scare me?” Tobias snarled as he spun back around, his hand going for the blade at his hip, “I’ll gut yo-!”
The words froze in his mouth as he toppled forward, his body frozen in place as he stared wide-eyed at the floor. He tried to struggle, but his body just refused to respond, his breath starting to come in short bursts as he started to panic. A moment passed before he suddenly flopped down, his body no longer stiff as he scrambled to his feet, looking at the calmly smiling man in fear.
“So, you going to leave now?” the man asked, Tobias just grunting as he hurriedly shouldered past the man, his two lackeys following close behind.