We follow along after the half-elf.
"My name is Crestin, it's lovely to meet the both of you. I am assuming that you want to know how this is going to go?"
"Very muchly so." I tell him, feeling strangely nervous.
"Yes please, I must confess I’m not too familiar with this proficiency thing. Which of course makes no sense as I have read quite literally all the books on adventuring." Kay says over top of me.
We look at each other and smile, which helps break some of the tension.
"Yes, that would make sense. It is a relatively new thing we have started doing. I am going to test both of you on different forms of commonly used weapons. It's common that you will only be good at a small handful of these, so there is no pressure. Have fun with it, I insist." he said, and flashed us a bright smile.
Crestin didn't seem to be too much older than us, but looks can be more than a little deceiving, especially when it comes to adventurers. As long as you stay healthy you hit your peak age and then more or less stop aging. A fun thing to do is look around and see what ages people stopped aging at.
Crestin takes us into a large room with different forms of targets hung up, scrolls to write our scores in I do believe, and a large array of weapons laid out.
"Now then. I am testing you with each of these at the same time, and in no particular order. My only request is that you test with each weapon back-to-back. It can be unnerving to have others watching you flail around with unknown weaponry. I'm not assuming either of you have anxiety, but I feel this way is easier. And it is fun to watch, personally I hit myself in the head twice."
"How so do you believe that it is fun?" I ask him while pondering which weapons would be the least painful when striking one’s own head.
"Well, there is just something exhilarating at picking up a new weapon and swinging it wildly at your friends and compadres. Don’t worry it is perfectly safe, now."
We stare at him. How is that fun? It would most painful as well as painfully inconvenient to injure ourselves or worse, I look over at my new friend.
“Oh my goodness, this is going to be” Kay for once doesn’t finish his thought as he runs over to examine the weapons.
"Well then, nothing to do but get started. Let's start with items I believe you will both be bad at. I am willing to be surprised and admit if I am wrong if you are good at these, but I'm not often wrong."
Crestin moves to close the door and in wanders the cat that I had seen around the Inn and Tavern. What is he doing here?
"Ah Cat, good to see you. Are you here to help me evaluate as well?" Cat yawns. "Or are you here because you have taken an interest in one of, or both of these kids?"
Cat walks over to me and rubs around my ankles a few times, then walks over to Kay and rubs against his ankles once, before lifting a paw and bopping Kay on the leg with it. I don't know how to interpret this behavior.
“I have been chosen, second choice, but still chosen. Thank you, Mr. kitty.” Kay says as he fails at trying to pet the cat on the head.
"Very good. Now hop up on this table and help me evaluate them. Or..." Crestin said and drew out the word. "How about you pick the weapon order. Oh yes, this will be much more fun. Do you two object?"
"To the cat choosing the weapons we use and in what order?" Kay asks, seemingly to make sure that he is understanding the question.
"Precisely."
"I do not mind at all." I say. "I indeed concur that this might indeed make things more enjoyable all around. And it keeps me from feeling that I am expected to fail at any of these weapons." I say and nod.
"I meant no offense." Crestin says.
"I know." I say and watch to see what was going to happen.
"Oh, I am a little bit excited about this." Kay begins. "I mean, I have always thought to myself, Kay you are destined to be a famous mage, you will wow and dazzle with your magnificently majestic magics! Your fireballs will burn fire itself!
“But, what if I was wrong this entire time and I am meant to be a knight, an archer, or perhaps even a bard?" Kay says and opens his mouth as though he was going to begin serenading us.
Cat cuts him off by striking his claws against the first weapon creating a surprisingly loud ringing.
"Alright! The first weapon has been chosen! Close and lock the doors." Crestin says to me.
I walk over to the doors and begin to close them when I catch eyes on me. I look towards where I feel them and see Rex. He grins at me and mouths the word "soon". Oh no indeed good sir. Not soon. Unless you would like me to "accidentally" knock into more sensitive areas. If that is the case then soon indeed. I slam the door and lock it.
"Are you okay Amaya?" Kay asks, and hurries over to me. "For a minute it seemed like the doors were too heavy, which made me think oh no! Was closing and locking the doors some sort of trick test? That would be rather mean spirited don't you think, and yet I would be glad it was not me the tiny weak one given it.”
"It was Rex." I state simply.
"Oh. Him, I know who you are talking about." Crestin says shaking his head slightly. "Let's hope that he doesn't interfere with the testing. He is a nobility of sorts and feels that he entitled to doing anything that he wants to do."
"Of sorts?" I inquire. Tis quite an odd and puzzling answer.
"His dad a top tier adventurer who owns some of the surrounding lands, making him a spoiled princeling of sort."
"Isn't it truth that there is no royalty or claims given over a dungeon town?" I ask. I had been told that all were to be seen as equal here one of the few decrees given to us by the Gods. Equally monster chow someone delightfully put it, but equal none the less.
"While technically true as all things go with dungeons, truth tends to be relative. Some rival you got yourself there..." he says, indicating to Kay.
"Oh, yes. I am Kay."
"Amaya."
"Very good. Please write your names at the top of these." he says and points to the scrolls. “Since this is new we still have to enter it in manually.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
We do so and are more than ready to begin testing our proficiencies. I am rather curious as to know what I am skilled in.
I choose to ignore them.
"Looks like Cat decided that you will be starting with longswords. This should be easy. Just go see if you can lift them."
Kay and I walk over to a pair of longswords and try to pick them up. Kay gets his up a few inches before dropping it. I lift mine a bit higher, lose balance, and fall onto my posterior. How unsightly.
"Good try!" he says, jovially. "Next!"
Cat walks over and points to a rather large axe. It goes about the same as the longsword. My poor posterior.
"Next!" Cat swats a shield.
"Do we need to lift a sword and shield?" I query.
"No. Lift it and run forward, if you can, while trying to hit the dummy."
No problem. Honestly how heavy could a shield be? Very. Heavy. Indeed. We manage to pick up the shields, take a few steps, then fall forward. My body tries to roll, but ends up rolling onto the shield. Somehow Kay gets pinned underneath his. We look at each other and laugh.
"Hey Amaya, look! I'm an adamantine turtle."
"I suppose that makes me some sort of food served on a dish? Am I the main course? Oh do tell me I am. It would be much less fun to be a side dish."
Kay attempts to shuffle towards me while making snapping sounds.
Crestin helps get the shield off of Kay. Cat, for that seems to be his name, walks over to me and somehow slams the shield with his paw, causing me summersault through the air. I land on my feet while the shield crashes against the wall. Oh my! What?
Before I am able to say anything though Cat leaps back over to the weapons and puts him paw over a gauntlet. Fist fighting? Was there a brawler class? Fascinating.
We both walk over and grab a pair each and slip them onto our hands. It feels as though oil covers my hands and the gauntlets form to fit my hands. What a peculiar sensation.
"What shall we do to test these?" I ask, physically holding myself back from saying pray tell.
"Punch those over there. Throw a swing with both fists twice." We nod and scamper to do as we are told.
"Heyaw!" Kay says and hits them. "And a pow, whoop and bang!" he says, making noise to cover how weak his hits are. Mine were hardly any better.
"Now then, here is where things get a bit interesting. You had no skill with any of those, none whatsoever. But I have a feeling that these will suit you well. I knew it when I looked at you both, that our courses were for you. What first Cat?"
Cat paws some throwing knives.
"Watch and repeat my motions." he says and shows us how to throw the knives.
I watch Kay throw his first. This was one where we would be doing them one after another so as to have less projectiles in the air at once. Kay’s throws all miss. Some don't even get halfway to the targets before falling from the air and pinging to the ground.
“Take that floor, my true target and enemy. Ha, ha!”
I suppose it is my turn. I form my hands as he said and throw. Many went wide but stuck to the wooden board surrounding the target. However! One of the daggers stuck near to the marker.
"Wow Amaya! Look. You were great!" Kay compliments me, I blush and look at my feet.
"Thank you very much."
"Congratulate one another later. We have a lot more to do. Though yes, very good throw Amaya!" he says, and I feel warm.
Next Cat paws the bow and arrows. I see Kay recoil a bit.
"Are you alright Kay?" I ask him.
"I'm fine. Rex just used to practice shooting arrows at me." Kay replies in a barely audible tone.
"That arrogant, peeping, loathsome slime licker!" I snarl. Wow, another creative insult. I do believe that I am rather creative when angered.
"It's fine Amaya. It's just a weapon. I doubt that I would be skilled in the same things as that, what? Slime licker? Yes, as that slime licker."
Kay takes up the bow, knocks an arrow and lets it fly. Twang, thump. It hits the edge of the target. Twang, thump. A second time. Twang, thump. The third lands closer to the center. Kay quietly hands the bow over to me. He clearly has a lot on his mind.
I take it and my shooting arrows goes as well as his throwing knives.
"Good showing Kay! Alright Cat, lets keep it moving." Cat lazily reaches out a paw and slaps it on a bladed fan.
"Now there is an art to this, and I am not at all good at it, so let me show you without holding one. Fans are unique. If you have no talent then it is dull, and no more than a useless fan. If you have skills in it than it can slice your enemies cleanly."
He shows steps and motions as though he was dancing. It would be a rather deadly dance if done by one proficient with the weapon. It looks so smooth and flowing, graceful like water. Kay and I each lift and splay open a fan.
I watch Kay for a few moments, a few clumsy steps and he tried to cut the fan across a dummy. It bounced off, completely harmless.
I whip mine open and begin to dance. It was similar to how I danced at the Pleasure Gardens. It was smooth, no jerks or jitters. I imagined water flowing through my body and guiding my movements. I take a step forward, spin with my fan pointing out and slash against the same dummy. The fan bites into it and sinks deep. I blink my eyes a few times, as though I am waking from a trance.
"How peculiar. That felt as though my very self was liquid and danced alongside of the fan."
"Amaya! That was beautiful somehow while somehow being violent. I liked it!" Kay says with a huge grin.
It seems my successes make him happier than his own. Without pause, Cat walk over and paws the short sword.
"Go ahead and swing that." We both do.
It bounces out of Kays hand. I am able to smack the dummy but it is jarring. It seems as though Cat is laughing, like he played a joke with throwing in the short sword now.
Cat next swats at the wands. How many more of these are there? Goodness there are so many.
"Next, imagine channeling power into it and hit that stone board with it."
Mine sparkled for a second then nothing. How utterly disappointing. However Kay shot dazzling light from his that splashed against the stone. He was able to replicate the same from the staff. Mine sparkled again.
"Kay you are rather good at those!" I say joyfully.
"Hehe thanks. It feels good to be good at something!" Neither of us mention the bow.
Daggers came next.
"These are different than throwing knives because, well, you don't throw these. You want to do quick jabs with them." he says, and shows us, again without a weapon. "I'm poor with these so I wouldn't be able to demonstrate properly. Now then. Show me what you can do."
The daggers settle into my hands, kissing my palms. They felt right. I liked the feeling. They felt almost as correct as the fans. I lash out as shown and slash right into the dummy. Kay's bounce out of his hands when they touch the dummy, leaving nary a single mark.
"Second to last is orbments. The last shall be the lute. I always save that for last, before testing magic proficiency. It always brings cheer whether you are good or terrible. Now then. Hold these and say a spell. Kay, you first."
Kay happily takes the orbment.
"This orb is enchanted with the spell breeze, focus on it and see if you can activate the spell like this.” The orb in Crestin’s hand glows lightly green and a refreshing breeze flows through the room.
“Oh rats. I am super excited that I get to use any magic at all but I was really hoping to use fireball.” Crestin laughs and hands the orbment over to Kay.
“I understand what you are saying Kay but goodness, imagine how destructive such a spell could be! You might light the entire wall on fire. And I am sure you would think that pretty, but it would make the room quite balmy and a touch uncomfortable.” I say to him.
“I like the feel and smell of a refreshing breeze, and that is why I save this one for second to last.” Crestin explains to us.
“Well then I am going to make the best breeze you have ever felt!” Kay says enthusiastically. “Breeze!” Kay shouts.
In disregard to the enthusiastic shout the orb glows with a soft light and another refreshing breeze washes over us. Kay then hands the orb to me.
I hold onto the orb dubiously and say “Breeze?” this time the orb slightly flickers as a small breeze washes over us. I… I can use this? How interesting.
"Goodness and I thought I was only skilled with small sharp things." I hand the orbment back to Crestin and he hands Kay a lute.
"Alright Kay. Regale us!"
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket, but I like the feel of these strings.
Magic makes me say to my enemies suck it, it makes their ears bleed when I sing.
I guess that’s why a lute is a weapon and gives my voice quite the chore.
However I feel really bad as this, as they often find me a bore."
"Well that was truly awful." Says Crestin laughing. "You really are talented Kay. Being awful at the lute is a true talent." he says with quiet chuckles.
Me and Kay burst out into fits of laughter.
"Alright alright, sing us something while I finish off your proficiency scrolls." Cresting says as he plucks the lute from Kay and hands it over to me.
"May my words carry wonder, may this tune be a balm.
May this grant you the gifts of power, with simply the tune of my song.
May all your wounds be healed now, and let my enemies fall to rest.
So that way we may slaughter them and show how we are the best.
Well now instructor Crestin, please tell us how we did on our test"
"That was actually quite beautiful, though you should narrow the focus. I think that included a buff, heal, sleep spell, and a divination." says Crestin, finished writing something down and passes them over to us.
"Now, in many of these you will see all weapons, including the ones with zero proficiency. Those would show as H1. I have left those off”
Kay's:
Bows - G73 | Wands - F81 | Orbments - F78 | Staff - F80
Amaya’s:
Short Sword - H35 | Throwing Knives - H75 | Fans - F93 | Wands - H5 | Orbments - G3
Daggers - F2 | Lute/Flute/Drum and Strum! - H81
“Now before we can get your recommend classes we have one more thing to test. let’s test how you handle magic.”