After about an hour of traveling in relative silence, only the natural sounds of the forest and the thumps of his stumbling steps around him, Klarion felt the need to speak up. Though he was already beginning to feel tired, not being used to hiking through the woods like they were, his mind was constantly churning over all the questions he had. What was the System? How did everything work? What did he need to know about the Empire? The questions went on and on. He didn’t know exactly how far they had to travel, but he was worried that any minute not spent trying to learn more about his new circumstances would be time lost that he would regret later.
“Since Franz told me essentially nothing beyond the broad strokes that I was heading to the Imperial Academy to learn and that House Blacksword was the reason I was going, I was hoping you could begin explaining things to me as we traveled?”
Rolfun glanced back at Klarion, then slowed his pace while Alesin came up to his side.
“We had been planning to begin explaining things once we made camp tonight. To give you time to adjust. Are you sure you wanted to start now?” Alesin asked.
“Yes,” Klarion nodded hard, well aware that he was pressing but he had so many things he wanted to know. Before either could respond, some of the questions began pouring out. “What is the System, and how does it work? What is going to be expected of me at the Imperial Academy? How dangerous will it be? How do I fit within the Empire? What—”
“Woah, woah!” Rolfun raised his hands and chuckled, “It’s a good thing we can’t move at full speed. Otherwise, we might not have enough time to answer everything you want to know.”
“Sorry,” Klarion said somewhat sheepishly. “There is just so much I want to know.”
“And there is so much you need to know,” Alesin said with a nod. “Alright. We will get started explaining things as we go rather than waiting for tonight. Let’s start with the System itself.”
Over the next few hours, Alesin and Rolfun explained to him the best they could what they knew about the System. Both clarified rather early on in their explanations that they were not proper scholars and only knew the basics about much of it. Klarion did not care. Any information was better than no information.
According to his escorts, the origins of the System itself were shrouded in mystery, with even the most powerful leaders of the Empire rumored to not understand where it came from or why it governs the Multiverse the way it does. For her part, Alesin leaned towards the more mystical theories of the emergence of the System as being the result of primordial beings. According to her, the System itself was a divine construct that was designed to maintain a balance in the Multiverse, ensuring that all worlds, races, and individuals that were Integrated within it would possess the potential to rise or fall based on their own merit. She did admit, however, that what this balance actually looked like still seemed to be unfathomable.
For his part, Rolfun added that he hadn’t spent much time thinking about it compared to his wife, who had snorted in amusement at his admission. He did confess, however, that he felt the System was not so concerned with imposing balance, but instead was some sort of trial for the powers of the Multiverse. When Klarion had asked what the trial would be for, the large half-ogre had only shrugged.
Eventually, they came to a halt. With no further explanations on the history of the system to hold his attention, Klarion realized exactly how heavily he was breathing and how heavy his legs felt. He slumped more than sat on a nearby downed tree. While Rolfun pulled out some trial rations from his pack, Alesin handed Klarion a bottle. Eagerly unscrewing the lid, he took several quick gulps of the cool, refreshing water inside.
“We could debate the origins and purpose of the System the entire way, but far more important is how it affects you and the odds of survival at the Imperial Academy,” Alesin said while Klarion closed the bottle and struggled to get his breathing under control. “Before we can start walking you through the gritty details, however, you need to know the basics.”
“Something every child of the Empire knows by the time they are old enough to participate in the basic Integration Ritual,” Rolfun said with an amused grin, before stuffing his face with what looked to be jerky of some sort.
“Hush, Rolfun,” Alesin glared. “The young lord can’t help the circumstances that prevented him from gaining access to the System earlier. All he can do is come to grips with it as quickly as he can.”
“I promise to work as hard as I can to learn,” Klarion interjected.
“We know,” Alesin said, turning back to him. “Alright, time for some practical aspects of working with the System. First, focus on your Interface and pull up your Interface.”
Following the sun elf’s direction, Klarion pulled up his Interface. To his surprise, some of the numbers had increased.
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Name: Klarion von Sturmwacht
Race: Human (Noresyn)
Class: TBD - Level 0
Profession(s): TBD
Essence(s): TBD
Faction: Treverorum Empire - House Blacksword
Rank: Scion - Unlanded
Strength: 12=>13
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 14=>15
Endurance: 19=>20
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 7
Luck: 4
Traits: Greater Soul Oath (Unknown - Hidden)
Skills: N/A
Abilities: N/A
“I’m guessing one of your stats has gone up?” Alesin asked upon seeing the surprise on Klarion’s face.
“My Interface is showing a point increase in Strength, Vitality, and Endurance.”
Had Klarion not been so absorbed in looking at the changes, he would have seen the shocked look that appeared on Alesin’s face and the way her head wiped around to look at Rolfun, who had frozen, a piece of jerky still sticking from his mouth. He slowly swallowed.
“That is because your Interface is not a static screen, but a dynamic reflection of your potential and growth. If your stats have increased, that means your body has been pushing hard as we escort you through the forest.” Rolfun pulled out another piece of jerky, this time coming over to hand it to Klarion. “Beyond training, the process of gaining levels, consuming certain items, and temporary enhancements through gear or magic can all impact stats.”
Nodding his thanks, Klarion took the offered piece of meat. It had a bland, salty flavor, but after the past few hours of exertion, Klarion did not much care. He eagerly took a second piece when Rolfun offered it.
“That makes sense,” Klarion spoke around the jerky. “The Interface is similar to some variants of games I have played back on Earth. The stats displayed, or some version of them, are pretty much what many of those games used as the basis of the playable characters.”
“So you don’t need us to walk you through what each means?” the sun elf Fire Mage asked while about to begin eating her own piece of jerky.
“Not really,” Klarion shook his head. “If I come across any surprises on this trip, though, I’ll make sure to ask.” He paused as a thought struck him. Perhaps they might have insight on how he might maximize his odds of survival. “I would, however, like your input on which ones you think I should focus on.”
“It is too soon to tell,” Alesin said. “Everyone is a little different, and depending on what challenges you face and the choices you make to deal with them, especially during your first levels, will shape you in specific ways. Without experiencing those things, neither of us can give you advice on what you should do.”
“Ok, that makes sense.” Klarion struggled to keep a bit of the frustration from his tone. While he had expected some version of Alesin’s response, a small part of him had still hoped some input from his escorts would have helped him begin the process of picking what he needed to focus on.
“If it helps, we will be making sure you get some experience in combat against wild monsters as we get further along. After some practice of course. Perhaps those experiences will help you find the answer to what you should be focusing on.” Rolfun said after picking up on the young lord’s mood.
“You need to prepare yourself, though. You likely won’t know until you get a Class of your own,” Alesin added.
“A class?”
“Something you will learn more about in your first year at the Imperial Academy. Really, I had expected you to need to know more about your stats. Since you seem adamant you have a grasp of them, I think we should avoid going deeper into the other aspects of your Interface.” She held up her hand as Klarion immediately looked to protest. “I say this because, so long as you are with us, you won’t need to know any of that. In addition, the professors at the Imperial Academy would likely do a far better job guiding you as a young noble. Our experiences as commoners and then sworn bondsmen of House Blacksword will likely have few similarities to what you will likely learn there.”
“So there is nothing else I should do right now?”
“No, that would be a bad idea too. I would encourage you to think about what kind of role you want to play in the Empire. Do you want to be a leader of Legions on the front lines in the middle of the Empire’s wars? Would you rather be a scholar of magic? A crafter? A diplomat? Only you will be able to make those decisions. Luckily for you, given your place in House Blacksword, you have very few limitations on what role you might pursue. So long as it helps the Empire.”
Rolfun reached down to pull Klarion to his feet. While the half-ogre’s size and obvious strength still intimidated him, he could now tell was more of the protective sort. Despite his class. “Don’t you worry, young lord. Both of us will work with you to establish a training regimen to help build up your stats regularly.”
“It still feels so overwhelming,” Klarion confessed quietly.
“It is normal to feel overwhelmed,” Alesin said with some sympathy. “Even nobles struggle when they first start their System journey. And you have a longer way to go than most. But persistence, training, and careful planning will help you no matter the direction you go in. We will do all we can to help so long as we are your escorts.”
While he was still concerned, Klarion had to admit he was feeling a bit better about everyone. Nothing would likely be sorted out completely, or even partially, before they arrived at their destination. But the way Alesin and Rolfun were dealing with him, the way they were explaining things, and the way they were promising to help, went a way towards reassuring him. He had been worried that his escorts would end up being like Franz. The Arcane Pathfinder had saved him, and Klarion would always owe him for that, but Franz had also struck him as more of a ‘sink or swim’ kind of guy. It was nice that Alesin and Rolfun were going to train him a bit first before throwing him into the deep end.
“Thank you,” Klarion said.
“Alright, that’s long enough.” Rolfun turned his back on Klarion to hide his expression of embarrassment at being thanked by the young noble. The half-ogre then moved to continue in the direction they had been hiking. “We have a bit of a way to go yet to get to our campsite. Hold the rest of your questions until we get there.”