Horace fished out an ID card from his pocket, along with a pouch full of mana stones for the finished contracts and handed them to Bones. Bones swiped the pouch of the table then took the ID, eyed it for a moment before storing it as well.

"Horace can you tell me, how does the crystal…thing at the reception desk work?" Bones wondered for some time now.

"Thing?" *chuckles* "Through the system of course. The inner network is one of the few things recognized and applied by the system. It allows us to store the information, add new ones and update the existing ones - among other things."

"The system… I think I understand. And the badge records the quest progress, right?" Horace confirmed that it does and Bones asked: "Why the need for the bandit leader's heads then?"

"Because the system isn't perfect and sometimes, not often mind you, the badge isn't able to rightfully register who cleared the quest." Horace said but sensed that Bones needed more of an explanation.

"To give you an example. Let's say you, Forbes and Calem, without having formed the party killed the One Eyed Garrison. Who do you think would gain the kill?"

Bones thought for a bit, then said he didn't see a reason why all three wouldn't gain the kill. Horace replied that he wasn't wrong but if the contribution in killing the target was too one sided, the person with the most contribution would get the kill.

"Of course, being the one with the highest contribution would also make you the target of the other two. You can still complete the quest if you have the quest item you know? Even if the badge didn't register you getting the kill."

"Isn't that easy to abuse then?" Bones raised a good question. "Why bother going through the whole process of acquiring the quest item when you can simply ambush someone returning to the guild after completing the quest?"

"That is a dangerous way of thinking Mr. Jones. Unfortunately, there are some people that do exactly that. That's why we have investigation teams in the Adventurer's Guild and if the suspect or suspects resorting to such methods are found guilty, the penalty wouldn't be something as simple as the expulsion from the Guild. Depending on the gravity of the crime, the punishment can go as far as the death penalty!"

"That's good to know, because I would never resort to such despicable methods! You mentioned Forbes and Calem?"

"Ahem, yes, both parties returned two days ago having failed the quest." *exhales* "Shame about the young mage… Forbes mentioned they encountered a lone adventurer during the quest. That was you, correct?" Horace asked and Bones confirmed it was him.

*laughs*

"You are as reckless as Darsumi made you out to be in his letter!"

Bones was surprised to suddenly hear the dwarf's name. He didn't remember Dar mentioning knowing Horace personally. He simply thought Horace was the connection he made through the dealings with his information network but…that doesn't seem to be the case. Horace explained he, Darsumi and Hemdus were adventurers back in the day and raided a few dungeons and taverns together, but kind of split up after their adventuring days were over.

"Darsumi…mentioned your unique circumstances as a Bonemancer. I had my doubts but I'm glad you were able to clear both quests - and with flying colors too! Made me a bit nervous to be honest!"

*chuckle*

"How much has he told you? Can I count on your discretion given your position in the Guild and…the side business you run?" Bones turned serious.

"Of course. Discretion and reputation is what allows me to run this business. Everything we talked about will stay between the two of us and don't worry, he didn't reveal everything, just enough to keep me in suspense."

Bones cackled, relaxed, then took off the gloves and pulled back the hood covering his head. Horace fumbled his glasses after taking them out of his pocket, put them on and leaned closer and over the table. He observed Bones as if he was looking at a treasure.

"You are…an undead? Not a zombie… I don't recognize the upgrade." Horace murmured. "That makes so much more sense! That Darsumi… anyways Mr. Jones, what did you hope to accomplish by joining the Adventurer's Guild?"

Bones put the glove back on and pulled back the hood over his head. "You don't seem overly surprised or worried about me being an undead? I didn't really plan to join the Guild, but due to the circumstances, I was forced to. I stayed in the Guild because it made moving around much easier and I wish to travel the world - no, to be honest, my priority right now is leveling up and growing stronger!"

Horace curved his lip, slightly cracking a smile. "Mr. Jones, so far, you haven't given me a reason to be wary of you so why should I worry? Besides, the undead I previously encountered in my life served as nothing more than a punching bag! Though I admit, I've never encountered an undead such as yourself, completely self-aware. If you haven't decided on your next destination, may I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, I planned on heading east wherever my feet take me after I finish my business here." Bones said, ignoring the "completely self-aware" part.

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"Then, since you're already heading east, I'd like to suggest heading further north-east, through the Triwen Kingdom and beyond, until you reach a small region under the Goldenford guild. They operate a small sized dungeon that might be of interest to you!"

"Well color me intrigued. Why there?"

"The dungeon isn't your final destination, but a necessary stop to experience what awaits after!" Horace paused in anticipation.

"Uh what awaits.." Bones started but got interrupted.

"Your final destination, The Kingdom of Everlasting Dusk! There you will find an opportunity for great growth, I'm sure of it!"

"That's quite a mouthful. What kind of place is it?" Bones asked.

"It is a kingdom in name only, the size of a major kingdom and without a king, with many towns and even more guilds stationed in the area. The people living there are in constant battle against the creatures of the night and in dire need of adventurers! The true rulers, while occupying small portions of the land in the north, are the bloodsucking creatures living in castles, posing as nobles while oppressing the living! The creatures in question live in clans and are called Vampires. Each family of vampires owns a domain under a clan."

"Vampires? Isn't there an Alliance that was supposed to deal with such threats?"

Horace shook his head and somberly explained. "The situation isn't as simple and has never escalated to the point where the Alliance was forced to intervene, so the adventurers are needed. You could say the vampires and the humans have reached a pact, a sort of status quo without a winning side."

"Be that as it may, you still haven't told me why I should head there instead of other places. It seemed to me like the place would be crawling with adventurers and I'd rather avoid mingling with the crowd."

"And I understand, but exactly because of what you are is why I suggest going there!"

Is he implying I should head there because I'm an undead?

"Because I am an undead?" Bones asked.

"Well yes, that too, but more importantly, because you're a Bonemancer. You have the most effective arsenal of skills at your disposal to deal with the vampires apart from having light affinity. I'm sure bone spears and bone spikes would prove to be quite deadly!"

"I'm sure they are deadly regardless of the target." Bones added.

*chuckle* "Quite right." Horace agreed and continued.

"The Goldenford guild is a major guild that mostly operates in the Kingdom of Everlasting Dusk, and their dungeon serves as the testing grounds against the infected, ghouls, vampires and whatever other creatures lurk in the dark. You aren't obligated to do the dungeon of course, but doing it would provide you with much needed information on your target and you'd gain a first-hand experience fighting against them. Whether you heed my words or not is up to you, but I'd highly suggest you do!"

"Alright, that does sound good! - You got me convinced Horace! Thank you for everything."

"It's all a part of the deal Mr. Jones, but you're welcome. If there's anything else…"

"Actually, I would like to acquire information on one of the bandit leaders, Iam Broke. He should be somewhere in town and I'd like to know where and what he's doing here. Could you find that out for me?"

"Iam huh, sure I'll ask around. I'll be out of town for a week or two so you can pick up the information in the envelope at the reception desk tomorrow afternoon if that's all right?"

"Great! Again, thank you for everything."

Bones extended a hand and Horace took it and shook it. They both stood up and Horace escorted Bones out of his office. Before he closed the door, Bones turned to him and asked." By the way, does the Guild have a library?"

Five minutes later, Bones opened the door to a hall full of shelves filled with books. A stern looking lady approached him and asked for his ID, then asked if she could be of help. Bones paused for a few seconds, then asked for any books related to physical training, body reinforcement and summoner classes. The librarian asked him to take a seat at one of the tables and wait while she went to fetch the books. She returned with a dozen books in her hands, all top books on the topic. Bones thanked the librarian and dove right in, starting with the book on physical training.

What Bones hoped to find and learn were possible ways to strengthen the human body but also to confirm what he already assumed. After browsing through the first couple of books, he was sure that as an undead, he couldn't train his body nor learn any known body reinforcement skills.

Humans compared to other races are weak and have poor constitution. To compensate for that weakness, the system granted them an adaptive trait, meaning humans passively have an easier time adopting new knowledge. It was possible to go beyond the human limits, to a point, and where other races were given certain restrictions, humans weren't.

Every reinforcement technique listed in the book Bones read required a person to train hard, to continually push themselves beyond their limits and consume some kind of body strengthening elixirs until they break through the threshold of the next tier. Like that, humans were limited to three tiers of Body Reinforcement. Basic tier for bronze, advanced tier for silver and master tier for gold rankers. The bonuses were substantial with each tier and coupled with any racial and class skills that boosted physical performance and… Bones took a deep breath, said "I give up!" and closed the book in his hands. He put it on the top of the other books he already read and opened the next book.

Humans' base stats are low and have limited growth. Consumption of elixirs is necessary to level beyond the second tier and reach the threshold to the third tier. The information on upgrades and skills of third tiers and ascendants were hidden behind a veil of secrecy, but one book mentions High Humans. An evolution necessary to reach an Ascendant perhaps?

There's not enough information, at least not the information I'd consider useful. What I could gather though is that a lot depended on race upgrades, even more so than class upgrades, and is a crippling factor why most humans are stuck below a third tier…their bodies simply can't handle the upper tier skills.

Things will get a lot harder for me as I level up as well. It's only a matter of time before my skills become obsolete against higher level users. As things stand, all I can depend on in the future are my minions, unless I find a way to do more with Soul Magic.

The book on summoners Bones picked up and started reading contained the basic information on classes, minion skills and their pros and cons. From golems made of earth, metal and wood to ethereal familiars… all summons had one thing in common - they were powered by nuclei. The strength of the summoned minions and their capability depended on many factors. Like what the minion was made of and for what purpose, caster's skill mastery.. some minions, like Bones' golems, could be further strengthened with mana core. Soul Spark and the ability to grow wasn't mentioned anywhere. The link between Soul Magic and his golems, Bones would have to explore on his own.

Most of the summoned golems are used for variety purposes, like in construction and as combatants in dungeons, but due to their simple programming, they served as guards as well. Golems existed out in the wild too and they appeared naturally in the form of Lesser Elementals, sentient beings entirely made of one of the basic four elements, fire, earth, water and wind - excluding the variant types. Most commonly found were golems made of earth and stone, and each golem was usually found in an environment matching its element.

The rest of the book was about familiars and while Bones did show a slight interest, he didn't delve deeper and stopped reading. He closed the last book, stacked them all on top of each other and picked them up before carrying them toward the librarian desk.

"Excuse me. Are there no books on third tiers and ascendants in the library? All the information I've found covered the basics, without mentioning any variant or rare classes." Bones asked the librarian while putting the books down on her desk.

"I'm afraid not. Such information isn't disclosed to the public, or the adventurers of the Guild for that matter. The information you seek can usually be found in private guilds or private libraries. You could apply to join the Guild as a guild operative and you would have access to the Guild's private library."

"I see… and does every branch of the Adventurer's Guild have a private library?"

"Yes of course." The librarian replied. Bones said his thanks again and bid her a farewell before leaving the Guild.