“Just a Marine,” Owen answered while shrugging his shoulders. “I woke up near Grest. I’m kinda just here since Gorden pointed me in this direction. Now I’m here cause I can’t stand that bitch Crea. I didn’t tell the others, but after I killed the Elite in the village, Crea sent me a message and gave me a Tombstone.”
“I’ve heard about that. The Church’s biggest pushing point is that the Gods will always reward you. Though I’ve never heard someone openly defy the Gods, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Apparently, when you slay an Elite, what you need most is supposed to appear at your feet. I’ve never done that, though.”
“Wait, you’ve never defeated an Elite? How are you so strong then? What kind of Achievements do you have then?”
“Achievements? How would some Nobel awarding me something make me stronger? I mean, you could afford better gear, I suppose.” So Achievements is also part of the ARMS System then, but still how- Before he could finish the thought, Fell continued, “For my strength though, that’s easy. War. Lotus and I killed a lot of things when we fled. Pushed both of us up to Tier 3, though since we’ve gotten here, it’s slowed down. The count is preventing us from getting good jobs, so most of the time, we get missions to clear some Tier 1 trash. Honestly, I should be asking you how you got so strong. It hasn’t been a Cycle yet, and you are Level 8. A few more Levels and you’ll Tier up.”
“Yeah, I’m almost halfway to 9. Not getting any good jobs? What about the Dungeon one I just finished?”
“Gods, Owen,” Fell whistled out, “You’ll Tier up in no time, but that Dungeon job was a fluke. The Knights should have taken that job, but they can’t be bothered with it being so far away. Also, it’s so new that it should have been mostly Gobbo’s or mutations. That means maybe 50 or 60 experience for destroying it; that’s just not enough. I would need to destroy ten of them just to level up; worse, I won’t get any Stat points until I get to Level 26. Since you're still Tier 1, just head into the woods and kill every monster you see. You seem pretty good at it for some Royalty with amnesia.”
“I swear, Fell, I’m not some Nobel.”
“I know, I know,” Fell waved him off laughing, “I’m just teasing you, Owen. You only have two more days until it’s Crea’s Day. So you should head out in the morning, hopefully, Tier Up before then.”
“Crea’s Day?” Owen asked, confused, “Why is it important to do it before then?”
“Yeah, your something else. Crea’s Day means no monsters can manifest,” Fell says before continuing mockingly, “To give her faithful a day of rest. Here, give me some of that paper.” Owen handed a piece over with his pencil. After Fell wrote some things on it, he handed it back over. Owen began to read it as Fell explained, “Each Day is associated with one of the Gods. Elasus, Isaeckac, Tris, Vaet, Elodur, Josifon, and finally Crea. Each God has their own Day that makes up a cycle, with only Crea’s Day being special. There are six cycles per season; each cycle is named after one of the six Stats. After that are the six seasons, each named after an element. What I wrote here,” Fell said while pointing at a series of symbols, “Is the date, Today is Vaet’s Day of Dexterity in Earth, Year 630. Now I feel bad for Todd. Any other dumb questions, Owen? Because now I want to suddenly run off to bed as well.”
“Just one more,” Owen said as he remembered something, “When you destroy a Dungeon Core, what kinda message should you get?”
“Well, you should just get the regular slain message. Why did you not get that? Do we need to head back to the Dungeon?”
“No, no, I got that message.” Owen hurriedly answered, “Just wanted to make sure since I wasn’t sure.”
“Well, that’s good that you wanted to double-check. But yes, after smashing the Dungeon Core, depending on how old the Dungeon is, you have to wait for it to finally die. Yours was very new, so it shouldn’t have taken so long, but once a Dungeon finally does die, everyone inside it, as well as any who have recently reached the final floor, will receive the slain notification. As soon as that happens, the Dungeon stone will begin dissolving; this is why the larger dungeons take longer to die. Now, it is my turn to run away from all the questions. Goodnight, Owen; see me before you leave in the morning. I have some of that meat curing overnight, so you’ll have some jerky tomorrow.” Thanking him, Owen watched as he left through the front door; hearing a click, Owen looked around the now-empty Hall. Looking up, he finally noticed the thin white crystals evenly spread throughout the ceiling.
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“Dam even got internal lighting. They pretty much have the normal amenities, just powered by magic. This place is just so different, yet strangely similar. I guess it’s more I’m the anomaly than anything. ARMS gives me so much more than whatever System they have. That list of Gods also doesn’t seem to have Dae on it, but I know they are out there. I have a fucking letter from them, but that Elasus asshole is the one who made the Dungeon. Everyone gets the normal messages, though, so they don’t know that a God made it. Is it just him, or do they all make them? Does that mean the Gods are responsible for the Monsters, after all? Fuck man, is that why Dae rewarded me? Whatever, I’ll worry about that once I can find another Dungeon.” Getting up, Owen made his way up to his room and crashed out.
Waking up the following day, Owen went through his usual routine before heading into the Hall.
“Morning, Todd,” Owen greeted as he walked over, “Any jobs before I head out for the day.”
“Morning, Owen, and no, just the standard safety job: clear out any monsters you find.”
“Alright, I may not be back tonight, so don’t wait up, okay.” Owen joked as he headed over to the canteen. “Sergeant, I’m here for my meat.” Laughing, Fell walked over and handed Owen a package.
“Your lucky it's empty here, or people would get the wrong idea. Anything else, Jarhead?”
“Is Sergeant Boulder over in the building this early?” Owen asked.
“Yeah, he’ll be awake, a bit grumpy, but awake.”
“Alright, I’ll see him before I head out. I want to get more of the basic’s before I head out again. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Sergeant, bye Todd.” Owen said as he exited the Hall and walked next door. Entering the building, Owen called out, “Sergeant Boulder, it’s your best friend, Private Grest. I’m here to sell you things and spend coin.” Hearing a hearty laugh from the back, Owen waited as Boulder walked over to his counter.
“I’m awake now, lad, so what do you have for me today, eh?” Dumping out his pack, his mana stones and the Alchemical coins spread out onto the counter. “This is a nice haul, lad; what did you have in mind to spend it on?” Boulder asked as he began counting things out and writing them down.
“I’m planning to camp out tonight, get as much exp as I can before Crea’s Day. I’ll need a bedroll, basic aid supplies, some lighting supplies, and extra clothes for everyday wear. Also, do you have any idea what to do with this?” Owen said as he held his torn and bloody uniform.
“I’ll fix that up for you, lad. Don’t forget you’ll also need cleaning supplies. Don’t walk to sleep in your bedroll all nasty like. I got everything you need, only a few silver, this more than covers you. Give me a moment, and I’ll get everything for you. After a few moments, Boulder returned with multiple things piled into his arms; dumping them onto the table, he began explaining what they were. He had a bedroll, some stones that provided light, and a few torches. Two new sets of clothing, spare cloth, needle, and thread. “And finally, my own creation,” Boulder said as he placed a small white bar, “My own soap; this one doesn’t need water, and no sticky after effects. I throw it in for free; just let me know how it works. Your trades were worth 6 silver and 20 copper. This all totals out to 3 and a half silvers. If that’s good, I’ll get your change.”
“That sounds fine, Sergeant; I’ll pack all this up in the meantime.” As Owen began packing things, he inspected a few of them.
All Weather Bedroll: An enchanted bedroll that allows the User a comfortable night's rest in any environment. Light Stone: A mana-infused stone that produces a constant light source. Field Soap: An alchemical enchanted soap. This allows the User to clean themselves without water and leaves no residue.
“Alright, here’s 2 silver and 7 big coppers. I’ll be expecting another big haul when you get back. Also, I should have your extra uniform all stitched up. Be safe, Owen.”
“I will, Sergeant, see you later,” Owen said as he exited the building. Turning southward, Owen was excited to try out some of his new skills, gain more levels, and see what else this world has to offer.