Chapter 24: First Quest

Wind Domain was a strange spell. It was less of a spell and more of a technique. It turned the air around me into an extension of my mana network. If I could learn to use it accurately, I would be able to cast in any direction at a reduced cost; as my power wouldn’t leak into the ambient mana, and I would be able to recycle any residual magic. Right now however, it felt as though I had sprouted a dozen waving tentacles that swayed wildly in the breeze, each covered in fine Villi, bombarding my senses with everything around me; a rather disorienting feeling. I shut off the spell and could finally hear Loretta’s raving:

“Dual affinities! Dual affinities! How have I never heard of him before? There’s only a handful on the continent.”

She looked up from her pacing and saw that I was once again cognizant, “Arrrr, I want to strangle you, how long have you been working towards that. To think you’d used me to push you over the edge. What level are you?” she asked rhetorically, before I felt a faint itch over my skin, “Only level 22 that can’t be right…” She narrowed her eyes, shaking her wand at me threateningly, “a Lich, how are you a Lich?”

I tensed up at the question, ready for a fight but still answered, “how do you think?”

Her posture relaxed slightly and she lowered her wand, “I know how someone can become a Lich. I also know they would have to be an incredibly powerful mage to begin with. And yet even with Identify maxed out, I can’t see any other classes. I don’t sense any interference; did you somehow relinquish your first class?” She asked with genuine curiosity.

I let down my guard slightly, confused, “I… Well, aren't you supposed to attack me or something?”

Now it was her turn to look confused, “Why? Because you’re undead. The adventures guild is practical, you’re not going around murdering people mindlessly so why should we care. Most of our best adventure’s have their fair share of secrets…” she paused and waggled a finger at me, “don’t go telling that Church of Light lot, they’ve been on the warpath ever since they got that new Paladin. Anyway, back to my question: how are you a Lich? And none of your cheek!”

“Why would I answer that?” I asked, now that she had calmed down.

“You studied my use of Wind Domain without asking, pushed you over the edge into learning it too, this is the least you can do,” she said, having regained some of her composure. I considered correcting the old woman but I felt that wouldn’t help either of us. I internally debated what to say, she already knew I was an undead, apparently anyone with a high enough Identify skill could find me out. I was lucky I hadn’t been spotted already.

“Is there a way to hide from Identify?” I asked, hesitantly.

“Yes… several?” she allowed, after a moment.

“If you give me a way to hide my Class from the Skill I’ll tell you,” I offered. She took her time to think it over, eventually agreeing. I gave her the bare bones of my story, not revealing any details lest it come back to bite me. I told her that I had been a magi in another world, a world without a System. The concept seemed bizarre to her and she had a million questions. By the time I got through them all the sun had begun to rise. Loretta had been initially excited by my tale but later admitted disappointment, she had hoped to find a way to relinquish her main class, Witch, because she didn’t believe she would be able to gain another level in her lifetime. When I asked what level she was, she only smiled. Asking about other Classes proved more fruitful. Normally, someone could have only one class, received when they came to maturity, between twelve and sixty-six depending upon the person and their race. There were a number of theories of how Classes were assigned, the most popular being: the actions you took up until that point determined it. The only problem was, all Classes were combat based and very few kids did any real fighting. She also let me know, although one's Class was assigned, anyone could choose their Profession and that gave similar, if less powerful, abilities and skills - but no attribute points.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Apparently, Identify gave people’s combined level when assessing someone. There was no way to gain a secondary class, although some people received them. Anyone could obtain a Subclass. One attains a Subclass at levels 25, 50, and 75. Subclasses level slowly and retard the levelling of your main Class, but each level in a Subclass grants a powerful Spell or Skill. There are five levels to a Subclass. To obtain the highest level, one not only has to earn enough experience but also complete a System mandated test. Since one’s main Class couldn’t level up without the Subclass levelling, this acted as a bottleneck for many adventurers.

☠

When Loretta’s interest finally waned, and she had assured me that the guild was obliged to keep my secret, it was time for her to fulfil her end of the bargain. She took me outside, where Tintagel was still dutifully holding out his weights. It had been hours, and he still hadn’t broken a sweat. She ordered that he teach me Conceal and in return she might forgive the article he had written. Learning the skill was surprisingly easy if tedious. It required one to notice, and try to hide from, someone using Identify on them… 128 times. I still had 1 SP(Skill Point), from increasing my Skills, but Loretta insisted they were better used to obtain Skills one couldn’t so easily learn. Evidently, using 3 SP on Identify was a terrible waste, as one got fewer and fewer with each level of one’s Skills.

By the time I was ready to set off on my first adventure, the morning had fully arrived. If I didn’t know better, I might have thought a zombie plague had struck the town. People stumbled about moaning and clutching their heads - trying to stay out of direct sunlight. Some of the employees that shambled into the adventurers guild building seemed particularly the worse for wear after last night's debauchery.

Congratulations:

* You have learned the Conceal skill.

When I reentered the boardroom, staff were still setting up their section of the monodesk and none looked up as I entered. I scanned the boards briefly, but couldn’t choose, so I walked up to the most alive looking adventurers guild worker and asked:

“Which job should I take?”

“I haven’t seen you before, are you new to Wiccawick?” she asked in response.

“New to adventuring,” I replied with a grin.

“In that case, we have a bit of a tradition around here. Everyone takes that recurring quest as their first job, it always needs doing and someone has to do it,” she said, indicating a poster. I walked over to it. The Quest was to slay something called Ratechin, the image looking somewhat like a rat but with lamprey teeth. The pay was good, a silver piece per head, and there didn’t seem to be a limit. The location, however, was undesirable: in the sewers.

“How many Ratechin are there?” I asked.

“It’s Rat-e-chin, not Rate-chin,” she corrected, “and no one knows exactly, but definitely hundreds. The sewers are filled with them.”

I nodded in reluctance, setting out on my first quest.