Tutorial Day 7
It may seem odd, but I didn’t stay in my room. Instead, I travelled the streets to the Academy, dropped off my Mining Armor, and other gear before changing and heading out one of the side doors of the School. I just couldn’t shake the odd feeling of being watched, or of wrongness that had grown over the previous week.
While I wasn’t planning to try to spy on the group, or even catch them in the act of spying on me—I did hope to walk around the District and perhaps learn some things from others. I had plenty of reasons to talk with others already, too—so, it wasn’t even suspicious.
First, I needed to get a proper teacher to discover how to tap into my Qi, and Force Pools. According to London and the group there were people who specialized in that sort of training—for the right price.
I’d start there, and maybe try to weasel some information out of whoever I chose. The other area of import, from my observations, was Stats. Clearly mine were currently capped at ten, or High F. However, just a Quick Look at what the shop offered had made something clear to me that I had only suspected based on the name of the—well the whole place.
Tutorial Town was meant to teach people how the System worked—but also it seemed to be a great area to increase stats and gain additional Skills. If my hunch was correct, this place was built by the System to give the Human race a better chance against the Monsters.
There was just one major problem with it. Something meant to help us, was trapping us. I’d spent a few sleepless nights this week fretting about just that. Yet, there wasn’t an obvious answer—at least not to me.
What would the ultimate purpose be, of a place meant to teach Humanity about the System?
I believed it had to be some sort of achievement that would prove your knowledge. A test, maybe? Or a trial of combat, maybe? I’d leaned away from the second at first, because of the Crafting Professions that seemed to thrive here—but I still wanted to see how much power could be gained from us Crafter’s through Qi and Force.
If it was as much as it seemed from that joking tap of Sarah’s, then I might have to re-examine that trial idea later. There was a glaring problem with that solution, or key to our cage. With all the people who’d been here for decades—no one had discovered it.
Fong was probably out there looking right now…
I peeked my head into the first permanent structure across the street from the side door I’d exited the Academy using. It was quite clearly another School—so, I went inside. Even from the doorway I could tell it wasn’t a combat oriented school, but why people were using pen and paper eluded me.
Moving closer what I discovered made my eyes bug out. They were drawing intricate lines that could only be one thing. Enchantments!
Almost as soon as I saw the man’s paper he covered it and spun on me. “What are you doing in here?!” He exclaimed. “It’s one student per room—wait where is your badge?”
The reddening face of the man told me that his frustration or perhaps even anger was climbing. He also indicated what ‘badge’ he meant. It was a patch that had been sewn into his black clothing.
Quickly I held up my hands and went with my usual excuse in situations like this. “I’m so sorry. I just arrived in the Tutorial and Maelstrom District. I’m just exploring.”
The redness of the man’s face continued to escalate, making him look like he might pop a blood vessel soon. When he shot to his feet I stepped back.
“Did you get a good look, kid?!” The angry man shouted, while jabbing a finger at me. Thankfully I had already stepped back, or he might have hit me. I wasn’t sure if that was good for him or myself. If he made contact wouldn’t the massive Giant Guards come?
That thought alone was enough to make me turn and sprint back out of the building. It was only when I was outside the side door again that I paused long enough to realize a few things. He definitely had been posturing. Maybe not about the internal Guards, but definitely with the finger jab and the ‘apoplectic’ rage.
But most importantly what had he been trying to hide no his page?
I hadn’t seen enough of the scribbles to make a determination, but all it took from me was a peek back inside to confirm the man was gone. That was some good acting—I was about to re-enter when I saw two of the Hunter guards similar to the ones in the Alchemy Building stroll down the hallway toward the side room the man had used.
Hurriedly I closed the door and then power walked to the next building in line. This one was only three stories where the ‘Enchanting’ one had been four. It also had a few people milling about outside. In front of two well dressed men acting as guards.
When I say well-dressed, I mean it more as a statement to their quality of armor and weapons. I joined the back of the line as I studied them. Full plate armor that clearly was coated in some sort of red paint. No—that wasn’t it. The sheen of the metal still shone through. Was it an additive to the metal before it was cast? Was armor often cast?
Some niggling thought, told me that it probably was hammered in movies for a reason, but what that reason was, I couldn’t say. Then an additive before creating ingots—
“Do you have an invitation for today?” The person in front of me asked. She practically whispered the words without looking directly at me. As I frowned in consideration she put both hands up and hurriedly explained, “It’s just that if you aren’t waiting to see Donahue—you can go right in. This line is kind of specific.”
“Oh,” I answered lamely, before flushing slightly red. The girl smiled, and showed me a golden piece of paper. A quick squint told me that it wasn’t paper at all. It was gold that had been hammered so thinly—that it resembled paper. There was an insignia stamped into it, and somewhat beaten out of shape as well.
Shaking my head I admitted, “No, I don’t have one of those. What does a visit with Donahue get you?”
The girl looked through her lashes at me, still blushing. I blinked not understanding why my question might be embarrassing. She turned away without answering me, but it didn’t seem disdainful.
The guy in front of her was of similar age and looked enough alike her that when she tapped him on the shoulder and he spun—I figured they were related in some way. Both had dirty blonde hair, with green eyes, flecked with gold. They both were skinny—which was much more noticeable on the young man, since some women chose the tall lanky look.
The man was of a height with me, and the woman was likely half a foot shorter. When the kid saw her red face he shook his head, and turned slowly more until his eyes met mine. Then with a blink he tilted his head appreciatively.
I blinked not understanding, until he asked, “Any chance you bat for my team?”
It took me longer to understand what he was asking then I’d care to admit if pressed—but my silent confusion seemed to be answer enough, cause he sighed. “Dang. Well, Amelia this ones all yours. Sorry for my sister—she doesn’t know how to talk to—” he gave me an up down with his eyes then finished, “—men”
The way he said the last word was definitely meant to be a compliment, but only drove home his intended meaning from earlier. I took the compliment in stride—quite aware that something about me seemed to have this effect on gay men. The only part that made my skin crawl was the unwanted advance—
Still, it wasn’t like Dave wouldn’t have done the same thing to a pretty girl. Maybe even to Amelia—she certainly was pretty enough for my friend to try his Casanova approach. In response to the man’s advances I asked, “I was just asking Amelia about the token for Donahue.”
“Oh. He’s on of the best Blacksmiths in our District. He rarely returns to the city though. So, when he does any favor he owes to people comes due, and theirs a line to queue up orders from him. He’s owes me a set of greaves to go over my boots. Amelia here is going to commission—was it a bracelet?”
Amelia didn’t respond but did bob her head up and down while still not looking directly at me. After a moment of consideration I saw a flaw in the story. “If he never returns to the city, how can he owe you favors?”
“Oh, there are plenty of people that built houses out in the Wilds,” the man answered. After Amelia gave him a shot in the arm he flinched and shook himself. “Oh, right. I’m Liam. What’s your name?”
“I’m Brodie. So, you met him outside the city?”
“Well, yes and no. We went to him outside the city, but met him in here. He commissions materials while in town—and once you’ve collected it—you bring it to him.”
“Then how does someone get to meet him and get a commission if he only sees people with favors in town?” I asked, confused by how this process started.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Have you never been inside?” Liam asked, sounding more confused than I felt. He got another shot in the arm from Amelia.
“Ignore his tone,” she whispered. “You’re probably just new here. Head inside—you’ll see.”
“Thank you,” I responded including them both in my words and my Canadian dip of my head. Then to avoid anymore awkwardness—and to save Amelia from her clear stage fright of others, I walked by the line and entered the door. There were still others lined up inside the entryway—forming a single file group on the wall, just inside the doorway.
I walked by them all taking the fifty-feet of hallway on the left, that then opened into a large open entryway, similar if not identical to the Alchemy Building. The line continued to snake along the left wall of the entryway to the first open door. There were two more guards who physically barred the entry—each wearing suits of red armor identical to the men outside.
It only struck me now how odd having Guards was, if no physical harm could come to people in the Town. Well, I guess I wasn’t quite clear on that, yet. If I attacked someone quickly enough could I kill them or injure them before the massive Goliath Armored Guards showed up?
I shivered—not wanting to find out first hand.
Only with the shiver did I feel how out of place the action was. The entry way was at least five to ten degrees Celsius warmer than outside. I couldn’t see into the Classroom with Donahue, but a quick glance showed me that my assumption of the building being the same as the Alchemy School was false.
The classrooms were filled with forges, anvils, shelves, and other Blacksmithing equipment—and only one person worked in each space. To my pleasant surprise an apparatus similar to the one I’d grown used to in the Naga Ruins was occupying the forge. Clearly intended to vent the smoke, and some heat.
Two women worked in one of the room together, but other than that the rooms only had a single man or woman inside. I made a slow spin trying to understand what Liam and Amelia had meant about being inside—
Right in the center of the Entryway was an easel made from fused swords. It was almost artwork, if it wasn’t rusty and a bit lopsided. A large board sat canted on top of the rusty sword shelf of the easel. And on it there were notices pinned so thickly—that for a moment I thought the board might actually just be paper stacked so thickly it looked like a board.
One other person was looking at the board, while scratching his chin. Occasionally he reached up and lifted a paper to get a look at what was underneath. I slowly walked over, and as soon as I arrived the man glanced at me, before asked, “Do you know which one is Donahue’s?”
I shook my head. Then trying to get a bit more information I risked saying, “I just got here. What’s so special about his favor anyway?”
“Pshhh. Do you see his guards?” The man asked in turn. At my nod and glance at the blocked doorway the guy continued. “That’s Magna Inferni Steel. It uses Magna Steel as its base—which is already tough to work with, but Donahue has added something more making it extremely resistant to all forms of Magic. See the red tint?”
I nodded again and this time the man waved at me dismissively, seeming to realize that he didn’t want to keep explaining himself to someone who didn’t even understand the greatness of Donahue. I shrugged, happy to have lost the man’s attention—so I could peruse the board.
Sure enough there were requests for specific information all over the board. In almost every case a favor was offered in exchange for the material. I wondered why it would be a favor and not just a piece of gear, but then realized that with a favor you could appeal to everyone. With a specific piece of gear, you might lose the interest of someone because they didn’t need the option you gave.
Smart…
Still, this board was practically useless to me. I didn’t know where a cavern or mine even was in this place. Not yet at least. Still, in my quick scan, I did discover Donahue’s request, and with a smirk I read it while ensuring the guy who was still searching didn’t notice.
Request
Bring Metal of E or D-rank Quality to Donahue’s Forest Smithy. If the Material is needed, then earn Donahue’s favor. Favor’s available:
Copper
Silver
Gold
Jade
Maps available by touching this notice.
Frowning, I glanced first at the guy beside me. Had he been touching the other notices for Maps? How in the world could this thing provide a if I touched it? Scanning the paper again I did see something odd. I possibly only realized it was something at all because my first visit had been to the Enchanting Building.
The paper was for the most part a crisp whitish-yellow rectangle. However, there was a pattern to the fading—maybe? It looked almost like an ampersand. Well, that’s probably not true but I could somewhat make out a pattern in the yellowing that didn’t look natural.
There was only a few lines of the unnatural fading I could make out, and they crossed into other spaces. If I assumed they were straight then it was close to an ampersand but what happened in the hidden areas was anyone’s guess. Dissapointed I would have to give away the location of Donahue’s request, I reached out and touched the paper.
All that happened was the text on the page vanished, before changing to a sheet with symbols and markings that made it clear to anyone looking that it was a map. Triangles without the bottom clearly marked hills or perhaps mountains. A star at the center with TT over it, likely marked this town.
A hut with smoke emerging from a chimney, was at the very top of the page, far to the North. It was probably Donahue’s Smithy. It was at the base of a broken triangle larger than others that also smoked.
A volcano? That seemed the only likely possibility. Shrugging I scanned around the TT star to try and find something that might be the shelf I arrived on, or the forest I’d just spent a week farming in. I was just hoping for some context in regards to distance. Unfortunately, while there was a forest marked in the general direction I thought we’d farmed in—it was behind mountains, that I knew I hadn’t even seen yet.
As for the shelf. Well there was a small semi circle right beside the star—to the east. They almost touched. If that was the shelf, then the cabin and volcano were weeks of journey away. Sighing, I let go of the page before looking at the man beside me—I was planning to tell him about the Request, but his had shot past me almost as soon as I let go of the sheet.
Rolling my eyes, I turned and left. I considered studying the other Requests, but I figured I should find a Mine first, before I even bothered. I did study the equipment inside the rooms and wondered if picking up a Forge from the Demonic Shop would allow me to use some of this area—mostly to gain the Blacksmithing Skill, but then dismissed that too.
It was quite clear what was burning inside the Forges was Crystals—which was actually a really good thing. That meant I could mine them, and sell the Mana inside. Which could get me more stuff from Demonic Vault or maybe I’d actually finally buy a Skill.
Once back on the street I kept exploring going from Building to Building—until I finally found what I was looking for. I’d found a Cooking Building, Tannery, Green House, and to my surprise, a huge amount of simply empty buildings. I stored there existence away for now wanting to ask my group about them if I returned.
By the time I found a second Martial Pavilion—one my group hadn’t shown me on the fourth day here—it was clear from the few Sunstones I saw that it was past sundown. Why did I come to a different one?
Simple, if my group was actually reporting on me, which I was starting to doubt—the more I saw of this District. Well, then the Martial Pavilion they brought me to would have been one of their compatriots. As mentioned, my suspicions of the group were slowly abating, until I found this Pavilion in the shadow of the wall.
It instantly made me question everything again. First, the building they brought me too was a four story construction near the center of town. Jacky who was never nice had even brought me through the interior to meet someone in particular. Again, not suspicious on its own.
However, she claimed that the man she introduced me to was the cheapest in the District—at a thousand Tp per hour. Then why did this wooden Martial Pavilion have a sign with white pain that read, ‘A hundred Tp an hour. Qi and Force Lessons.’
I’d believe it was some scam if not for one thing. A familiar red screen popped up—which told me the exact same information as the four story stone building had.
Sanctified Martial Learning
This space will help students to understand lessons by putting them into a more naturally relaxed state. Concepts, techniques and epiphanies will occur at a marginally increased pace.
The only difference was that the word ‘marginally’ had said ‘fractionally’—which I guess could be better? What was considered more—Marginally or Fractionally.
Regardless, I had long stopped just entering buildings, once I left the stone constructs and was in the area reserved for wooden huts. I assumed that each building was individually owned out here—and unless it had the door swung open I didn’t examine them. The people with the doors swung open were always looking to sell something—and I felt that confirmed my consideration.
Here the door was shut, but the sign made me wonder if I should just enter or knock. I landed on the latter, only because even if I was wrong, I’d be politely wrong.
Once I did rap my knuckles on the thin wood barrel liked door, and pulled back for a second—a translated voice in my ear said, “Come in, come in!”
The door swung inward, and the tinkle of glass greeted my ears along with the creak of the hinges. Until my eyes adjusted from the exterior six sun brightness to the SunStone dimness of the interior, I assumed I was pushing some Crystals back from the entryway.
Instead, I found empty glass bottles. I blinked as I scanned my gaze over the ‘carpet’ of multihued glass. There was literally almost no place to put a foot, other than the immediate area the door had just ‘cleared.’
I had already stepped inside, and considered turning around immediately—but the voice came again. “Here for training, huh?”
A loud belch punctuated the question, and without the translation I could determine where it came from. It drew my eye to the center of the room where a slim black man stood leaning on a spear. Well, using one hand to lean on the spear, while the other held a somewhat full bottle.
The smell, which I hadn’t noticed on my first step into the building told me exactly what was going on. The scattered bottles and the one in his hand were clearly beer. It had that stale aroma of vinegar, or urine. My nose scrunched even as I watched the spearman take another swig of the foamy substance he held bottled in his hand.
“You’re the first person to knock in a while,” the translated voice said in my ear. As the man opened his mouth to continue I listened intently hoping to catch a word that would tell me what language he was speaking. “Je m’appelle Claude, I can instruct you on Qi, Force or even how to wield a spear!”
Claude, who was clearly French held up the ragged looking spear proudly, but then stumbled because he’d removed his third point of contact with the ground.
“I think I’ll take my business elsewhere,” I said politely—not wanting a drunk to teach me.
“Don’t be like that,” Claude said. His arm blurred, the spear vanishing with it. I felt the air stir from where I stood ten feet away. His body became hazy in the next instant, before the air stirring became a gale, then a hurricane. I raised my hands and squinted as pebbles or perhaps dust rushed by me, scraping at my skin.
“There that’s better, no?” Claude’s translated voice said. I lowered my hands and was shocked to find to all appearances a sparkling clean dojo. An inhale of shock told me the stale smell of beer was also gone. My glance over my shoulder showed a pile of sand in the street.
Has he just casually turned the bottles to sand, before blowing them and all accumulated dust out the door? I eyed Claude and the half full bottle of beer in his hands.
That was impressive as hell, maybe more so if he was a drunkard.