I had never told Basha the truth of where I'd grown up. I'd grown up in Coburg, not exactly a town, but it had the aesthetic of one, which was fine by me. The city of Wyrvale was a busy one, with a population of over 2,000 people, it was a city built at the foot of a mountain range, and indeed was a major trading hub between the Empire of Bahrati, where it was built, and the Kingdom of Albitia.
The Empire, as I noted, was predominately non-Human, with Beastfolk, Aelfan, Bahrati- Draconic Humanoids, Kobolti- very much like the Kobolds one would find in tabletop games, and some sort of tree-like creatures covered in armor that weren't too dissimilar to a D&D Warforged.
"So, those... uh..."
"They are a form of golem." Nash said. "Called 'The Forged Warriors of Arch-Mage Azur', they are naturally known as Azurites." He glanced at me. "They have souls, and their status as a constructed race is a fact that does not bear repeating to them."
"They appear to be made of wood." I noted.
"That is simply how it is colored." Nash said. "They are more akin to a giant colony of worm-like strands of muscle. The coloration is simply because having it look like raw muscle was upsetting to civilians."
I nodded. So, it was a similar concept, but ultimately different.
There were some Humans in the city, but notably a lot less. There were also very short and stout Humanoids, which were either classical Dwarves, or Humans with dwarfism.
"And them?" I asked, subtly gesturing toward the little people.
"Duvari." He said. "They are considered a Human subspecies, as they can interbreed without issue."
"Ah." I said. "Then they're Humans with dwarfism." I remarked.
Nash's tail wrapped around my neck and yanked me closer. "The term 'dwarf' is extremely rude to them." He said. "Refer to them as Duvari, and they won't try to kill you."
Noted.
"They exist on your world?" He asked.
"Yeah. The word I used is the term used for their condition and is not considered rude. They're just a Human with achondroplasia or growth hormone deficiencies." I said.
Nash sighed. "The Duvari do not see it as such, they may be a subspecies, but they are their own race and are fiercely proud of it. Not to mention, they do have a greater capacity for magic talent than Humans, which does lend some credence to this."
Even rarer than the Humans and Duvari were the Humanoids with gray to pale green skin and large bottom canines protruding from their mouths.
"Half-Oruk." Nash said. "The Oruk are a vicious race of war-minded savages whose only saving grace are their extreme adherence to a strict code of honor. They're easy to avoid war with, but when you slight them, they have no problem attacking. The Half-Oruk are the result of them breeding with Humans they capture, who act as ambassadors due to their comparatively tame tempers. Do not make eye contact, act submissive, and if they for whatever reason decide to talk to you, do not try to make any bold claims you cannot back up."
"Noted." I said.
We came to a stop in front of a large building, there was a large sign that I could read as 'Windsong Guild Hall.' I said this to Nash, who nodded approvingly.
"You've been studying, at least." He said.
"The Kanat written above the Kan helped." I replied.
We entered. The Guild Hall was perhaps busier than outside, with people of varying races sitting at tables either eating food or drinking from large mugs, a few people glanced our way. The area in front of the main doors was a relatively quiet reception area with a large board covered in notices, all of them missions for removing some sort of threat. There were three women behind the reception desk, a Human, an Aelfan, and a wolf-like Beastfolk. The main area, where all of the eating and drinking was being done, was directly connected with no wall or other partition existing.
Nash approached the desk and said, "I have a Human here for registration."
"Ah, Nash, it's been some time since you brought someone here, and a Human at that." The Human said. "Does he have the registration fee?"
Nash started to pull out his coin purse when I asked, "How much is registration?"
"Five Velkas." She said.
I took a gold coin from my pouch and handed it over. "I appreciate the gesture, Nash, but you've already done a lot for me." I looked at him as I received five silver coins in exchange. "I'm going to buy everything I need with my own earnings if I can."
Nash looked at me proudly as the Human brought out a crystal sphere.
"An Appraisal is required to fill out the requisite documents." She said. "Appraisals manifest differently to everyone, it is my job to write them down as-is and answer any questions you may have."
She handed me the sphere and I held it in my hand. What manifested was a character sheet similar to D&D, but with several notable differences. As this happened, Nash handed her a letter, which she absently took while staring at the image.
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"This... is unusual." She noted.
I understood completely.
"I can explain it, actually." I replied. "These six attributes indicate my relative power in regards to each specific one. My Strength is 12, which indicates someone who is a little above being able to carry their own weight, and can carry heavy objects for short distances." I had been training with Nash, pushing myself beyond my limits and healing myself passively, so it made sense that I would have gotten a little stronger.
"My Dexterity is 14, which means I'm fairly agile and can react somewhat quickly to, say, having a ball the size of my fist being thrown at me and being able to catch it." I had always been somewhat agile, what with me running away from people who wanted to hurt me, dodging things that were thrown at me, what I did not have in strength, I had to make up for in agility.
"My Constitution is 11, which means I can't really take a hit, but I'm guessing that's been improved through training." How much had I been up and about cleaning and training? It was probably no wonder I wasn't any worse off.
"My Intelligence is at 17, which means I'm very quick on the uptake and able to learn new tasks fairly quickly, which makes sense given how easily I'm able to analyze a given situation and find a solution to problems." Always a big fish in a small pond, the moment I'd been released into the literal ocean of the adult world, I'd been crippled by the realization that, for as smart as I was, it was irrelevant when I couldn't do the menial labor required to have a basic job.
"My Wisdom is at 14, which is above average, which means I can determine if something isn't quite right and can tell when something is bothering another person." I noted that it was boosted by a passive ability. "However, it isn't natively that way, a trait known as 'Empath' seems to artificially amplify it, while also granting me the ability to sense emotion."
I looked at the next one. "My Charisma is at 12, meaning I'm capable of being interesting and knowing what to say in the right situations, but-" This floored me, and for a moment, I wasn't entirely certain what to think. It was something I'd always suspected. "It is somewhat reduced by my having Level 1 Autism." I stated. "Meaning I have difficulty reading and communicating through body language and thus take a penalty."
"You seem startled, but not surprised, by this." Nash noted.
"I always suspected, I was actually about to get tested for it but then I got yanked here."
I noted there weren't any Hit Points, which made sense, the Appraisal was a means to gauge my overall status, and this was simply a means for me to understand it based on a gaming abstraction. It wasn't set in stone, and while I noted some 'levels', they were mostly arbitrary. According to it, I had one level in Sorcerer, one level in Priest, two levels in Rager, and one level in '????', which was mildly concerning.
"Among my Traits is Magic Resistance, in parenthesis, (Magebreaker). This means magic does not affect me too much, but I do still take minimal damage. I do not have as high a resistance to healing magics, and potions seem to explicitly penetrate this resistance. I also have the trait 'Hermetic Mage', which means the way I can cast magic is different from the Vancian system most people are capable of using."
I had MP, which was currently capped at 100. I channeled energy, and concentrated on a shield that surrounded me. It cost 15 MP to cast, and required 1 MP per second to maintain. It seemed my Wisdom governed the amount of MP I had total, and my Intelligence governed how much I passively regained every five seconds. I recovered thirty per five seconds, meaning the shield was easily maintained.
"This means I can use magic as long as I have the energy to do it, however, it is also much weaker and therefore less potent. It would probably take me a lot of practice to get to the point where I could cast a spell as powerful as a basic fireball or something."
The Human was writing this all down.
"Talents, Initiative, Rank 1, the passive ability to perceive time as frozen while in a combat situation. Can be extended to others considered part of a party, magical telepathic communications are possible in this state. That's useful." She looked at me, then at the Appraisal, and blinked before wordlessly returning to her writing. "Champion of Bahamut, Rank 1, as a result of exceptional service to the Dragon God, I am able to cast one spell from the accompanying list every eight hours of rest. The spells being: Heal Minor Wounds, Cure Lesser Disease, Remove Lesser Curse, Lesser Holy Flame, Lesser Sanctuary, and Lesser Holy Strength."
"How did you manage that?" She asked.
"I killed a Faith Vampire who weaseled his way into the position of Archdrake." I replied.
"That was you?!" She exclaimed.
"I got lucky." I said. "Meditation, Rank 2, I can enter a calming trance that severely reduces the effectiveness of mind-affecting effects and can recover one spell per two hours of uninterrupted meditation. Anyone who meditates with me during this time also experiences the same benefits provided I am actively guiding them through it. That explains a few things. It also counts as a form of prayer required to petition a God for spells. That also explains a few things."
"Is that everything?" She asked.
I shook my head. "Omniglot, ability to speak and understand any spoken language, does not carry over to written languages, does not carry over to dead or rarely spoken languages. Deathproof, incapable of being killed through instant death effects. Focal Affinity, Rank 1, ability to overcharge mana at a Focus Crystal up to a capacity of 1000 units of Mana, which seems to be the amount required for a basic spell. Mana can be held indefinitely or discharged." This was important. If charging up at a Focus Crystal was enough for me to cast a spell, that might make up for my overall weakness, and thus allow me to potentially heal Lady Oren.
"Spell Penetration, Hermetic spells penetrate all resistances, I guess so that my weak magic is at least capable of doing something. Lastly, Fiend Hunter, Rank 1. Through continued resistance to and subjugation of a Fiend of Avarice, any spells I cast against Fiends receives a 1.25% increase in effectiveness."
"You fought a Fiend of Avarice." She said.
"And used it to save the lives of me and a friend." I said. I showed her the scar on my chest. "My friend broke the crystal to save me."
"There is more on the Appraisal." She said, ignoring what I'd said.
"Curses." I said. "Curse of Deceit, all statements made while under truth-discerning spells are considered false. Can only be removed through Hermetic magic. Curse of Anonymity, any attempt to speak my real name are immediately stopped, can only be removed by Hermetic magic. Fiend's Mark, mind-affecting effects created by Fiends are 1.25% more effective against me, caused by destruction of a Fiend's Soul Crystal, can only be removed by a Fiend. Curse of Oppression, I enter a depressive state wherein I am incapable of acting, may be removed by Lesser Remove Curse." Speaking of which, I paused to use that spell, which caused me to feel a million times lighter. I gave a sigh of relief. "No other curses." I noted.
"Any special abilities?" She asked.
"Berserker Rage, Rank 2." I noted. "Under sufficient stress, I enter a state in which I passively gain strength at the cost of self-control. That would explain how I killed the Vampire. I can trigger this state at will for the cost of one hundred units of Mana, which lasts for thirty seconds. Mana Gift, I can transfer my current cap of Mana to another person to charge a spell, considering the rate at which I replenish mana, I can do that... approximately every 456 seconds, or every seven and three quarters minutes provided I don't waste a second."
"That is an extremely valuable ability." Nash pointed out. "You could allow a mage the ability to cast more spells in less time."
I nodded. "This also counts toward any spells I have available, so I could forego my divine spell to charge someone else's magic right off the bat."
I looked at the Appraisal again. "I also have an ability that is obscured, I cannot read what it is. That is all."
The Human nodded. "You certainly have a myriad of interesting talents." She said. "Would you say your combat ability wou-"
"He is mostly untrained." Nash said. "The only times he has been in a life-or-death situation he was able to overcome through careful observation or through dangerous means. As he is now, in a combat situation, he would be more of a liability considering his inexperience and lack of true offensive capability; his other abilities are incidental at best, detrimental at worst, and the only two things of use that he could utilize is his Initiative Talent and his Mana Gift ability, both of which require some degree of diligence."
She nodded. "Your appraisal notes three names, are you of a noble house?" She asked.
"Not really." I said. "Not to mention, I can't say my real name."
She nodded. "Do you have an alias you would be willing to go by?" She asked.
"Yes." I said. "Rex Bahrot Rotenkaiser." I said. Why Rotenkaiser? Because it sounded awesome, and Rex Rotenkaiser was the coolest name I could think of.
"Then you are fully registered." She said. "I presume you are a guest of Lady Wyrashe?"
I nodded. "Yes, she's been helping me with my curses." I replied.
"Then your identification will be delivered to her estate. Here is your temporary Adventurer License, please note that it is not viable after you have received your actual license."
"Thank you." I said.
Nash took it and looked it over. "You forgot to add the confirmed creatures defeated as detailed in Cier's letter of recommendation." He said.
The Human quickly opened the letter and read it. "A thousand apologies." She said as she took the temporary license back from Nash. She did a few things I couldn't see from where I stood and she handed it back. "There, you are considered to have met your quota for the month, and since these correspond with official Guild missions, you will receive compensation for your rank..."