For the past thirty minutes, everyone at the table had been working hard to make sure no food was left uneaten. The tier ones were extremely disappointed they couldn’t try everything on offer because of the dangers of eating food too high above one’s tier.

“I wouldn’t give him that if I were you,” Phevona said in between bites of some sort of fish. “He’s been here for two years, but somehow, he still doesn’t know how money works.”

“I know how money works,” Duncan insisted as he grabbed the bag of shining silver coins Cinder had just placed on the table before him. With a soft glow, the contents of the bag vanished. “Where’d my money go?!” Duncan yelled in panic.

Phevona burst out laughing. “See? I told you. What have you been teaching him the past two years?” The question was directed at Cinder and Neta, who took a break from their meals to look innocently back at Phevona.

“To use a sword,” they both answered, then continued eating.

“Realm coins always do that,” Dean said, a little confused at Duncan’s reaction.

“No, they don’t,” Duncan insisted. “I’ve used them before, and they don’t just disappear.”

“You didn’t have a Subject interface before.” Dean held his hand up, only for a tier one realm coin to appear in between two of his fingers. “I didn’t summon that from a storage device. Realm coins are directly deposited into your interface. People with Subjects don’t handle the actual physical coins too often. You can still access them from your balance, but it’s a lot easier to just transfer them from your balance directly to someone else's.”

“The Realms have their own online banking system...” Duncan muttered to himself, willing his realm coin balance to appear.

Realm Coin Balance

Tier One Realm Coins

97

Tier Two Realm Coins

3

Every coin Duncan had left over from monster hunts had been in that bag. He’d spent the majority of his earnings on armor repairs, metal for swordsmithing, and his enchanted boots. The boots, in particular, had been expensive.

“Why doesn’t the balance add up the value of all the realm coins into the highest tier?” Duncan asked in confusion. He knew that every tier of realm coin was worth ten times less than the next tier. So, ten tier one realm coins had the same value as one tier two realm coin. His 97 tier one realm coins and three tier two realm coins were worth a little over one tier three realm coin.

“Because their monetary value isn’t the only value they have,” Orneta explained. “They’re a common component in enchanting. While ten tier one realm coins have the same monetary value as one tier two coin, an enchantment that requires a tier two realm coin can’t use ten tier one realm coins as a substitute. It has to use a tier two coin. Since you can’t combine ten tier one realm coins to make a tier two coin, the actual physical coins you have matters. Many enchanters will charge you the value of their services on top of the required physical realm coins to create the enchantment up front.”

Duncan made sure to burn that information into his mind. He’d have to go to an enchanter to add enchantments to any swords he made. The thought made him miss his aunt Donna. She would have loved to work with him. His little brother Wayne would have, too.

“So, now that you’re all registered, what are your plans?” Jen’s question brought everyone's attention to the reason they’d gathered at the restaurant—one last celebratory feast for the newly registered adventurers before they started on their paths. Duncan, Dean, and Phevona would be the masters of their own fates from then on. No monetary support. No free shelter. No free equipment. No more training. For the foreseeable future, everything would be on them. Another Kunish tradition, apparently. Until they reached tier five, they were pretty much on their own.

Duncan would have liked to see how some of the nobles from Earth faired with similar treatment. Personally, he was excited. He didn’t come to Dintarnum for others to hand him everything. Yes, he’d been lucky enough to receive some of the best training he could have asked for. He’d even gained a new family. But now, it was time for him to do what he came to this realm to do. Progress. Gain magic. Explore.

Phevona looked at her two teammates before she answered Jen’s question. “For now, we want to start clearing temporary realms as much as possible. We’ll probably stick around Kunora for a bit. Earn some realm coins. Maybe try to find an Ability Slip or two. I’ve already set us up at an adventurer boarding house near the Guild. What we really need is funds to gear up.”

Duncan nodded in agreement. They’d already left any equipment they’d been gifted by their families and masters behind. That gear was meant to get them through hunts and training as tier zeros. It had done its job; now it was time for the trio to equip themselves.

For now, Duncan only had his realm coins, some extra clothing items, four unenchanted swords he’d made with his own materials, and his enchanted boots. Even adding up all three of the teammate's savings, they didn’t have anywhere near enough money to buy even a single spatial ring, so Duncan held all of their equipment in [Quintessential Armory]’s storage space for now.

“As for after that, we haven’t decided yet.” Phevona shrugged her shoulders. “We’ll discuss it more once we have a few missions under our belts.” Phevona nodded at Duncan, who understood his team leader’s intentions. He summoned three sheets of paper from his storage and handed them to her.

“We ended up grabbing a few missions from the Guild,” Phevona said, sliding the sheets across the table for everyone to see.

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Mission:

Temporary Realm Clear

Tier:

1

Expected Difficulty:

Normal

Location:

North-northwest side of Mount Myphen (See back of listing for map marker)

Magnitude:

Standard (1-6 people)

Priority:

Non-critical

Reward:

50 tier one realm coins

Special Note:

None

All three sheets were the same, except the map marker on the back of each listing was slightly different.

“The Guild Master was kind enough to let us sign up for these before they got posted. They would’ve probably been taken quickly since they’re all in the same area.” Phevona looked at her mother, who was starting to say something before her daughter cut her off. “Yes, mom. I checked to make sure there were no critical realms or higher-tier monsters spotted in the area. There are a couple of tier three realms, but they were reported at the same time as ours. None of them are close to overflowing.”

“Good girl,” Pheobe said, pride in her voice. “It always pays to know what you could run into, even in Dintarnum itself. Will you leave for those right away?”

“I need to grab a new wand or staff first,” Phevona said. “I know the Abilities enchanted into anything I find won’t be as good as my Abilities, but I only have one right now. I need variety more than quality at the moment. Once I start filling out my Ability slots, I’ll switch from an Ability wand or staff to a spell-boosting version.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Pheobe nodded.

“While you're out, make sure you buy a reusable tier one compendium scroll,” Neta added. “It wouldn’t hurt to get a tier two scroll as well. You can start identifying your gear and loot that way. The exact details of your equipment didn’t matter much when you were still tier zeros and had a safer environment to train and learn how they worked. Now, though, you should use your Subject interfaces to keep track of your gear and loot.”

Duncan nodded his head in understanding. “All right. Anything else we should be doing before we leave? Should we be looking for some teammates, or are the three of us enough?”

“You three should be just fine,” Cinder answered. “You don’t have a dedicated defender, but all your missions have an expected difficulty of normal. While it pays to be prepared for the unexpected, it’s fairly easy to guess a temporary realm’s difficulty level with the right Abilities. The Guild scouts around here don’t often get their difficulty ratings wrong. Especially for tier one realms. Now, if you start taking on some missions with higher expected difficulties, you should at least find a defender to relieve some of the front-line pressure.”

The group continued to discuss the team’s upcoming missions. The experienced delvers among them gave the rookies advice ranging from traveling tips to material identification and gathering. The materials within a temporary realm can often be more valuable than the rewards for clearing it. They’d have to rely on compendium scrolls to identify materials until one of them unlocked an identification Ability.

Zak returned one last time to deliver a dessert made with rare fruits and a pie-like crust. Duncan was going to miss eating such good food. He’d been spoiled with Cinder’s cooking. Duncan had learned some things from helping in the O’Leon kitchen, but he’d never be able to make anything close to what Cinder could.

The group thanked Zak profusely for the meal after they finished their dessert, with DJ going as far as to jump up on his hind legs to lick the titan’s face. Duncan almost thought that if Dean hadn’t bonded with the wolf using his new [Packmate] Ability, DJ might have decided to abandon Dean for the titan’s cooking.

Leaving the courtyard, everyone began saying their goodbyes. Jen gathered Dean and DJ into a hug, one neck in each arm. Pheobe was drilling some last pieces of advice into Phevona’s head, even as the girl went to hug her father.

“It’s been a journey, Duncan,” Neta said as she approached from where she’d just finished saying goodbye to Zak in the courtyard. She raised both arms to take hold of her adopted son’s shoulders. “But, it’s just the beginning. You have plenty more in front of you.”

She pulled him into a tight hug, which he returned without hesitation. “You’re an O’Leon now,” Neta said as they separated. “It doesn’t change who you are, though. You’ll always be Duncan, THE QUINTESSENTAL SWORD. You’re more than ready for anything this Realm or any other can throw at you.”

Duncan thought of everything he’d learned from this woman. She and Cinder had taught him everything he needed to be the very best of his tier. However, he was only tier one. The very bottom of the pyramid. He knew Dintarnum would likely throw a lot his way over the coming years, and not all his problems would be at his tier.

He had some time before he’d have to figure out how to get Marie, Wayne, and maybe even Mikael out of Corvelin. However, he knew he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he left them to be taken advantage of and used.

“I’m likely going to make some powerful enemies in the years to come,” Duncan told Neta, letting his voice carry to the others as they started to group up around him and the matriarch. “I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do, but when the time comes, I’m going for my family. I’m sure there will be plenty of high tier Corveliners that won’t take too kindly to me after that. I’m not sure that’s something I’ll be able to handle.”

“I believe you mean we are going for your family,” Phevona scolded Duncan as she came to stand beside him. Dean and DJ followed her, clearly showing their support. “As if you could get anything done without us.”

“It won’t be entirely on you,” Pheobe added. “Your family is our family, now. We won’t leave our own behind. We’ll figure something out when the time comes.”

“As for those high tier Corveliners,” Neta said, giving Duncan a wicked grin. “Like I said before, your name is Duncan O’Leon now. It’s your job to make your peers respect and even fear the Duncan part. It’s my job to make everyone else respect and fear the O’Leon part. You focus on your job. I’ll focus on mine.”

***

It was just the four of them now. One human swordsman from a magically barren realm. One half-elf, half-human nature mage, who also happened to be a clan princess. One wolf-kin hunter who was ready to escape clan life and explore the Realms. One black-furred midnight wolf, who would follow his bond anywhere… as long as there was food wherever they were going.

They stood there for a few minutes, watching their loved ones disappear into the crowds of Kunora’s southern road, Mount Myphen looming over them like a silent guardian. The sun tried its best to shine through the clouds, but a thick sheet of white snow now fell from the sky.

“This is it,” Phevona said, breaking their silence as she turned to face her team. “We’ve been training our whole lives for this moment. What should we do first?”

“Shopping, I think,” Duncan said, grabbing the sides of his leather coat to shake off the accumulated snow. “I thought I’d be fine with the cold now that I’m tier one, but I think I’m going to want some warmer clothes. Couldn’t hurt to stock up on a variety of clothes in case we find ourselves in some realms with weird weather.”

“To the shopping district, then,” Phevona said after receiving a nod in agreement from Dean. “I need a new wand. We all need tents and other travel supplies, and I know for a fact Dean didn’t pack enough arrows into [Quintessential Armory] to last three realm clears.”

“Very true,” Dean agreed. “I miss my storage ring. We’ll have to pool our funds early on to get a couple for me and Phevona. Can’t have Duncan acting as our pack beast for too long.”

They started off toward the eastern shopping district, where most of the shops catered to adventurers like themselves. Walking side by side with his friends through Kunora, Duncan decided Neta was right. He was ready. They all were.

END OF PART ONE: THE O’LEONS