“I think that’s enough,” Jake said as the two of them panted, Andy staggering as he held up his shield, the iron object covered in scratches and chips, “I’m pretty happy with how I feel using this new blade.”

“Good to know,” Andy chuckled as he finally lowered his shield, “Damn man, I got two levels in [Kite Shields] thanks to this training, you were a literal whirlwind of attacks! I actually have no idea how I managed to block some of those!”

“You’re welcome,” Jake laughed as the two men headed back to the doors of the manor, spotting a familiar face waiting for them.

Lyra, Esmeralda’s maidservant looked down at the two men in annoyance, before schooling her expression into neutrality.

“If the lord and Ser Strongarm are finished with their morning exercise, could I escort you to your rooms to prepare for breakfast?” she asked, her words clipped.

“Oh, yeah,” Andy nodded, “We are kind of sweaty. Let’s go, Jakey.”

Jake just nodded as they followed after the woman, returning to their rooms to find a fresh set of clothes laid out on the bed and a bath of steaming water waiting for each of them. Jake quickly washed in the hot water, allowing himself to soak for a minute, before getting out and dressing. The outfit was simple, but stylish, a pair of long brown pants and an off-white shirt with a frilled collar, over which went a waist coat the same colour as the pants. A pair of fine leather shoes was also included, Jake putting them on as he inspected himself on the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.

“I suppose this is alright,” he muttered, feeling strangely bare without his armour, before he heard a sharp knock at his door.

Opening it, he found Lyra waiting for him, simply nodding as she walked over to Andy’s room and knocked again. The man emerged in a similar outfit to Jake, except his pants and coat were a royal blue colour. The two nodded to each other as they followed after the maidservant. Soon, the entire party was back in the dining hall, seated in the same places as the night before with Esmeralda talking happily to Andy once again.

“You look quite dashing in that outfit, Ser Strongarm,” the young woman hummed, “I cannot wait to see you in your evening finery if you cut this impressive a figure already!”

“Oh, uhm…thanks,” Andy replied, blushing slightly at the woman’s attention, looking to his party for help.

Holi just shook her head, Shadow laughing at him while Sophie, Jake and Miri ignored him, making the Defender deflate slightly. The breakfast went by quickly, before the six of them, plus Esmeralda, were taken to a study, an elegant looking man waiting for them. He introduced himself as their new etiquette tutor, asking if any of them had any experience with events like the one they were to attend.

Jake and Sophie both nodded, allowing themselves to be grilled on etiquette by the man for over an hour, before he deemed them “satisfactory” and dismissed them. Miri quickly extricated herself as well, saying that she wouldn’t go to the party after all, as it would be a waste of her time when she would rather be crafting. This left Shadow, Holi, and Andy to the mercy of the tutor. The Mage, Champion and crafter left as the man started explaining the basics of polite conversation, a gleam in his eye.

“So, what now?” Jake asked the two women as they walked out of the house, half planning on exploring the city.

“The Crafters’ Guild for me,” Miri said immediately, “I want to see what kind of Commissions they have and if I can do any of them.”

“I’m going to go to the Wizard’s College,” Sophie nodded, “I want to find out what I need to do to be accepted by them and upgrade my Class.”

“Oh, okay,” Jake said, “Do you want me to come with either of you?”

“I’m fine,” Miri hummed, immediately walking away, leaving the other two standing awkwardly beside each other.

“Then I guess it’s off to the College, then,” Jake shrugged, Sophie laughing at him as they set off.

------

Amelia sighed as she sat on the back of the wagon.

She had just recently been able to reach level ten and, having secured a City Pass from the local Adventurers’ Guild, was now part of a convoy of trade wagons heading to Eversun. She had been hired on as a guard of sorts, but hadn’t even received a Quest for the job, making her regret not just going on her own. It didn’t help that the entire trip was to be a week and a half long, and that they didn’t expect to see any real attacks from monsters or bandits, as they were using a heavily travelled road.

And it was only the start of the first day.

“Lady Hart,” the nasally voice said as Amelia looked up, putting on a fake smile as she nodded to the apprentice Merchant sitting beside her, “Are you alright? That was quite the sigh.”

“Oh, nothing is wrong,” she said quickly, hoping to cut the conversation short before it started, “Just thinking on things. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Ah, I see,” the young man nodded, “Well, perhaps I could help you take your mind off of whatever has you so upset? I could tell you much about the local flora and fauna. For example…”

Amelia cringed as the NPC started to list off inane facts about the plants and wildlife around the area, the young woman only half listening when he mentioned beasts or monsters that seemed like they would be interesting to fight. What she wouldn’t give to run the irritating brat beside her through with her Queen’s Sting to shut him up. But she couldn’t, especially as she had been hired specifically to guard the twit by the boy’s father. Unfortunately, he seemed to think that that made her a captive audience to his inane ramblings about plants, animals, markets, and money.

The latter had almost made Amelia laugh in his face, his understanding of taxes and price fluctuations so rudimentary that she had known more when she was twelve. Of course, she hadn’t done that, but she’d kind of wanted to. Absentmindedly checking her Character Screen, Amelia kept half an ear on the blathering idiot beside her, checking her Skills once again to make sure she was ready for whatever Eversun and the surrounding area could throw at her. In the meantime, she would just have to weather this brat’s constant talking.

After all, her father was counting on her to make a good impression.

------

The Wizard’s College was surprisingly easy to find, a local guardsman pointing Jake and Sophie in the correct direction and telling the two of them to look for the towers. And they hadn’t been joking.

The Wizard’s College consisted of five massive towers arranged around a large green lawn, with the four smaller ones at each cardinal direction, and the largest in the centre. It was towards this central tower that they now walked, having been told by a passing student that that was where the administration and registration desks were. Sophie almost vibrated in anticipation as Jake just looked around.

The four outer towers were made of the same white stone that everything in Eversun seemed to be made of, though each was also decorated with coloured tabards. The north tower was blue, while the east was yellow, with the south being red and the west being brown. Sophie had explained to him that each tower represented one of the four elements, being water, air, fire, and earth in the same order. The central tower was undecorated but gave off a powerful feeling as they approached.

“Hello,” Sophie said to the man behind the front desk as they entered the building, “My name is Sophie Sticated, and I would like to register for the Wizard Class, please.”

“Good morning,” the man nodded back to them, “Elements?”

“Fire,” Sophie said proudly, blinking when the man just stared at her expectantly, “Just fire.”

“Ah, I see,” he muttered, before pulling out a form and handing it to her, “Here you go. You just need to fill that in and pay the registration fee of one gold coin and you can begin attending lessons by tomorrow.”

“A gold coin?” Sophie gasped, looking at her inventory, “I…I don’t have that much on me. Is there a payment plan, perhaps?”

“No,” the man said, shaking his head as the girl deflated, “But you can pay with materials at a reduced rate.”

“Really?” Sophie gasped, “I’ll do that then!”

“Are you sure? You might struggle,” the man said slowly, “Especially with only one element.”

“It’s fine, what do I need to do?” Sophie huffed, glaring at the receptionist as the man sighed again.

“Bring me twenty Obsidian Horse Horns,” he said, “That should be enough to cover the cost of your registration.”

“Then I’ll do just that!” Sophie said excitedly as the Quest Screen appeared in front of her, pausing just before she turned away, “Uhm…”

“You can find Obsidian Horses in the plains to the north of Eversun,” the man said, shaking his head, “But like I said, it may be difficult for you.”

“Why?” Sophie asked, starting to get annoyed, “It’s just some horses, right?”

“That would be because…”

------

“They’re resistant to fire,” Sophie sighed as the two of them walked through the city, heading towards the north gate. They had already made a stop at the local Temple of Healing to bind their respawn locations, and were now walking down one of the main streets, “Dammit, this sucks! How am I supposed to fight something that’s resistant to fire?! I only have fire Spells!”

“Slowly?” Jake chuckled, shutting up when the girl glared at him, “Sorry, I mean, they’re only resistant, right? Not immune?”

“True, but it’ll probably take all of my Mana just to bring one down,” Sophie sighed again, “And then I’ll have to wait for it to recharge fully before I can even think about fighting another one!”

“Well, I’m here,” Jake shrugged, “I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll help you. The receptionist never said you had to do it alone, did he?”

“No,” Sophie hummed, looking at Jake appreciatively as he walked beside her, “No, he did not. So, depending on how strong these Obsidian Horses are, you should be able to kill them quickly, right?”

“Sure, Eta and I…,” Jake nodded, petting the air beside him, trailing off as he remembered that the Shadow Wolf was still back at the manor, probably asleep on the bed, “Oh, well, I guess just me, then. Still, shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Right,” Sophie grinned, “Come on, let’s hurry!”

The two made it to the gate quickly, wandering outside into the wheat fields that surrounded Eversun, walking down a long road past numerous wagons and carts, all laden with materials and produce. It took them about an hour to reach the area the receptionist had described, quickly spotting a herd of the so-called Obsidian Horses in the near distance. They looked like regular horses, except each and every one of them was pitch black, their eyes glowing red and a jagged horn protruding from their foreheads like a nightmarish unicorn.

Inquisitive, Jake used his new [Identify] Skill on one of them.

Obsidian Horse

Beast

Level: 12

Strength: Fire Resistance

Weakness: Bludgeoning

“Huh,” He said, reading over the screen, “So they’re weak against bludgeoning? Pity we don’t have Andy with us right now.”

“How do you know that?” Sophie asked, Jake quickly explaining his newly Ascended Skill, the Mage huffing in annoyance, “I only have those two Skills at level seven right now! It’s unfair that you keep getting so far ahead!”

“Sorry,” Jake chuckled as he drew his bow, taking aim at the herd, “Shall I see if I can draw one to us so we can see how they fight?”

“Sure, just try not to aggro the whole group,” Sophie sighed, watching as Jake fired the arrow, the steel tipped shaft sinking into the flank of one of the horses.

As one, the entire herd turned to look at the two of them, before letting out a loud whinny and charging straight at them.

“Ah,” Jake said, looking down at Sophie, “Oops?”

“I said don’t aggro the whole group!” the Mage shouted as she turned and started to sprint away, looking back at Jake as he watched the herd approach at speed, “What are you doing? Run!”