When Han recovered from the light's brightness, he could see sparkles all around him that twinkled like stars. He held his hand out and watched as a sparkle moved around his hand. The entire room looked like it had been filled with star dust and platinum glitter. So this was the true might of a [ Skill ].
His skill paled in comparison. He could feel the power thrumming in the air.
Old Man Joe Light chuckled. "If there were any scrying spells or detection marks used on you, they would have been dispelled. Now you can freely tell me what you have in your heart."
If this moment had to be played without the free-reign mode, he could already imagine the available options for him to say.
> Why don't you tell me what your class and level are first?
> This is amazing! Can you explain to me more about your skill?
> Please let me be your apprentice!
The silent nudge to say those words even without the blinking screen and dialogue options were strong, but he sought to not follow any scripts.
"I'm still a [ Peasant ] at [ Level 2 ], Old Man Joe." There he said it.
"Huh? That's just your class… well you are fairly young." The older man stayed silent for a moment. "And I suppose your level is somewhat common for the people here, well a bit lower than average. I actually expected you to be a little higher to be able to defeat Gargoyles. You must have been exceptionally skilled or lucky."
It must be because he had a boost to his luck stat, but he didn't feel the need to say that. "Ahaha… What do you mean, Old Man Joe? I don't understand what you're saying."
"Boy, we may lack proper education in this place—but you should really know about classes and levels." The old man rubbed his face. "Classes and levels are essential in our way of living, boy. They give us [ Skills ] that help us face the world a little better, which is important because it's a dangerous place."
"Um, is being a [ Level 2 ] a bad thing?" He had to get more information, and the man was more than willing to give it to him now.
"Most people can get around to about twenties during the duration of their lifetime, so as a young man with that level—it's not that bad. You really should think of getting another class though."
"Another class? Multi-classing?"
"Multi-classing? Bah, you wouldn't be able to focus if you keep getting many classes." Old Man Joe rubbed his beard. "Hmm, maybe you can start out as a [ Farmer ] and gain useful skills… but we don't have the luxury of time for that, if anything we might need to have you leave the village."
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"Are you kicking me out?" Han recoiled for a moment. Was he too useless that they wanted to abandon him?
"Well, if someone is already eyeing you as a dandy little thing—we wouldn't want the village to get attacked, would you? I'm too old to keep everyone safe and you're still too weak."
Han felt the need to bring up what he already accomplished. "I managed to defeat insects at the Enchanted Forest! I'm not that weak."
"Pfft? Are you praising yourself over that?" The old man chuckled and winced slightly, rubbing his shoulder. "The kids here can deal with those damn critters by themselves. If you had a hard time with them, it only means that you're weaker than I thought."
He blinked. "What? Kids like Tom can…? But Lumberman told me..."
"Well, the man is wary of something else." The older man gazed at him with a steely gaze. "It's not the bugs he's concerned with, it's the Elf that lives there."
They knew that an Elf lived there? "An Elf? Is he dangerous?" He wasn't sure if bringing up that he knew who they were referring to was a good thing.
"He's been there for a couple of decades now when I first moved to this village to retire. Usually keeps to themselves but that's the worst thing—we don't know what he wants." Old Man Joe Light frowned. "They don't even want to deal with us Humans, probably thinks we're beneath them."
It was a little silly to think that they were afraid of an Elf… but then again, that was someone who had considered killing him. He rubbed his forehead. "I see, I see." The Elf didn't seem narcissistic though, they actually wanted an Alliance with him.
"Well, what we should be considering is what class you should get." The old man continued.
"And how exactly do I get a class?"
"Well, pick up a sword and get some few swings and in no time you'll be a [ Swordsman ] or try your hand at magic and you could become a [ Mage ]."
"It's that easy?"
"I made it look easy, but yes, with enough actions related to a profession or hobby—you could get a class associated with it."
Han raised a brow. "Hobby? Do you mean if I start sewing clothes I'd become a [ Tailor ]?
"Well yes… but I don't recommend you getting too many classes."
If he could get any class… wouldn't it be good to get something like a [ Gamer ] [ Player ]? Heck, maybe even a [ Roleplayer ]! The world was already similar to a fantasy video game, but perhaps he could use it even more? A cheat! Yes, he could rise to the top if he had a class like those three or anything similar!
"Han?"
"Oh, oops, did you say something?" He sheepishly scratched his head. He was getting way ahead of himself.
"My back is still recovering so I can't train you until it's fully healed. Have you ever wanted to go to the City of Gloria?"
"City of Gloria?" Was this something that Han should already know? He should start finding if there was an available manual on this, but from the name itself, he could surmise that it must be an important place.
"The Kraelonia Academy for Warriors and Wizardry is there. I think it would be a good choice for you to embark and apprentice there… though I expect that you may catch a few more people's interests, now that I think of it." He laughed sheepishly but stared at Han. "What do you think? Would you like to head there?"
> Yes
> Give me a moment
> No
.
.
.
With the Human finally back in their village, the Wood Elf decided to finally check what the Demon Lord wanted to tell him. He checked the messages:
Demon Lord: Hey! Send me the screenshots from the Universal Chat, I think the Moderator kicked me out!
Demon Lord: He's now online and back in your territory—You better not think of touching him! He's mine!
Demon Lord: He's my prey, by that. I don't want you to get any weird ideas.
Demon Lord: ...you're not doing anything right? You're ignoring me aren't you? The insolence! I can burn that forest down to the ground! I'll burn everything and with you in it, show me some respect.
Demon Lord: I was kidding about burning it to the ground… I could do it, but I won't waste any energy on you. I'm blocking you, you're no use as a minion.
Demon Lord: Did you kill him? My detection on him vanished—so you must have killed him! I told you he was my prey.
The Elf squinted for a moment at the block of messages. Him? A minion of the Demon Lord? They needed to respect him more. He wasn't a High Elf or the more well-known and feared types like the Shadow Elf, but he was still an Elf! He sighed and rubbed his face. The Demon Lord was a tad obsessive with the Human, they weren't like this when the Halfling sprung up recently. He rolled his eyes and considered not replying and leaving them unsatisfied… but they might actually try burning the Enchanted Forest. That would be a shame and a bother to take care of.
Wood Elf: The retired [ Hero ] is in the village, they probably dispelled it. And can't you see the feature when they're online?