"When it comes to those in a leadership role, having an suitable class is extremely important. While it is certainly not impossible to be an effective leader without any system help, you will find that even a mediocre leader is far better with the help of skills than a great leader is without any."
-Excerpt from 'The Importance of Class Choice', by Edwin Boyd
----------------------------------------
Later that day, after the hunting group returned, we talked about the invitation we had received, and it seemed everyone was leaning towards accepting, but it would still be better to see how it was for ourselves before committing. After a lengthy discussion it was decided that Leo, Leo's dad, my dad, and I would go in person to check both them out, and while there was a brief talk about checking out the one that we were invited to first as well, they had apparently started to integrate into the Mayor's group, as Leo had encountered the cutlass guy again, who let him know that they would no longer be by the fountain. Talking to or checking out the third faction was never brought up for obvious reasons, and the reason only the four of us were going was because the others were going to pack everything up so that we could easily move to the group, or run if things went wrong, which we thought was unlikely but it was better to be prepared.
The next day, the four of us set out, taking all of the healing crystals and the gauntlet with us in case of a confrontation, and after about an hour of walking, what we assumed to be their settlement came into view. It seemed to be half in the city and half in the clearing, as we could see a number of refurbished buildings, all of which looked smoother than our own, as well as a number of houses that seemed were shaped from one solid piece of stone, all of them having doors and windows that lacked glass, but had wooden shutters that could be closed. The settlement was pretty large, with around 20 houses that I could see, and it did have quite a bit of visible activity, with people moving to and from houses or working on various crafts with varying levels of mysticality. Since nobody seemed panicked or especially fearful, we took it as a good sign that there wasn't anything shady going on with the mayor and approached the settlement. Surprisingly, we were actually stopped by a group of four after we got within ten or so meters of one of the houses, the group being fully equipped and led by a level 12.
"Hold it right there, y'all aren't registered as residents so I'm gonna need to ask you what your purpose is, and if you harbor any ill intent towards our group or any of the people in it. I would advise against lying as one of us has a lie detection skill."(Level 12)
After stopping us and making his declaration in a bored voice that was contrary to the sharp look in his eyes, we took a second to process his words before Leo's dad stepped forwards.
"We are here to check this place out and see if its a good idea to join up."(Leo's dad)
"Alright, and do you harbor any ill intentions for the people in this group, or the group as a whole?"(Level 12)
"No."(Leo's dad)
Hearing his response, and turning to one of the men accompanying him who gave him a nod, the level 12 had all of us agree that our purpose and intentions were the same before he nodded and asked us to follow him to Mayor Jonathan. Since talking to him was our goal in the first place, and the settlement was bigger than we had thought, we happily accepted a guide and he led us past a few houses until we came across a building that was similar to the other refurbished ruins except for the fact that it had two large double doors and had town hall written in a different kind of stone than the rest of it above the door. Ushering us inside the large room the man walked to the back where there was a closed door and knocked on it a few times before calling out.
"Jonathan! We got a few more people that wanna join!"(Level 12)
"Alright, I'll be out in a moment."(Jonathan)
After he got a response, the level twelve gave us a nod and left with his group, presumably to return to whatever it is they were doing before we came along. About two or three minutes later, the back door opened up to reveal a man about 5'8-5'9, with an average build, but exuding confidence in the way he carried himself despite wearing mostly starting gear, with the exception a few rings and a bracelet and lacking any visible weaponry, and to my surprise he was a whopping level 15! Taking notice of us, his eyes flickering just above our heads, a telltale sign that he checked our levels, he closed the door behind him and motioned us to the side where some simple chairs were, only talking once we were all seated.
"Well, Nathan said you were looking to join our little community?"(Jonathan)
"Not quite, we are considering it but we wanted to ask some questions beforehand if that was alright?"(Leo's dad)
"Of course, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have."(Jonathan)
"Great, first of all what's expected of us should we join, and what will we get if we do."(Leo's dad)
"Well, as for expectations, while we won't force you to work, only housing is free, with food and amenities needing to be bought with contribution points or otherwise acquired yourself. As for the points themselves, they are gotten through either doing work for, or giving items to, help the town, and with my rare [Merchant] class, the points are stable and reliable to use."(Jonathan)
"That sounds all well and good, but how do we know that we'll get a fair price for our labor."(My dad)
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Hearing the questions, a wry smile appeared on Jonathan's face that made me feel like this is far from the first time he has heard those questions, and we shortly felt a ping from the system as he shared a skill description with us.
[Honesty 1/5] You and any number of willing creatures become able to discern any lies told by the other party for as long as this skill persists. Can be deactivated at any time by any linked party.
Giving us all a moment to read the skill, he waited for us to acknowledge him before we all felt a brief mental tug, one that we somehow instinctively knew would link us to this skill, and after he felt all of us accept, he stated.
"All that I have said is the full truth, and the price of labor is determined so that even menial labor will be able to afford food and basic amenities if you work at least six hours a day five days a week, while the price of items when sold to the city is determined by an appraisal skill that I have, which is unbiased and fair in the systems description, there is also a guarantee that you will be able to find work should you choose."(Jonathan)
Sensing no lies in his statement was a relief, and after a few more questions, mostly revolving around housing, contribution points, and general rules, which were basically the same as in previous society, it became clear that there wasn't anything shady going on, and Jonathan seemed to be actually trying to reestablish society as opposed to just trying to be in charge of the rubble. As such, it was pretty much decided that we would join up, and while Jonathan was slightly surprised to find out that our group was actually 12 people, he assured us that he still had enough housing for everyone and that we could still live near one another, though he did let us know that the housing was the stone buildings we saw, with the refurbished ruins being used for more utilitarian things, mostly various workshops for the different crafting classes.
Once all of our questions were answered, we set off and went back to our group and told them what we had learned. Nobody had any problems with any of the rules or expectations, so it was quickly decided that we would join them. Since the housing already came with a table, chairs, and beds, most of what we had packed was going to be left behind, though Jackson did take all of the lights since he could apparently repurpose them, and all we ended up carrying was some tools we had made for ourselves and whatever extra equipment we had brought from the tutorial, which for everyone other that Leo, Jackson, Jason, and I wasn't very much, plus the various hides that we had been using as mattresses.
Getting back to the settlement was uneventful, and while we were intercepted by Nathan once more, this time he was alone and just told us to go to the town hall since Jonathan was already expecting us, saying that we would have to register with one of his skills and someone would show us to our housing afterwards. Getting to the town hall and registering was a pretty quick affair, with Jonathan asking for our full names and as much class information as we were willing to share, to which I told him I was a combatant and could make temporary crystal constructs and was rare, but as he called someone to show us to our new homes I remembered a topic that hadn't come up previously that I wanted to settle.
"Ah, I heard that you were purchasing and selling stuff from the tutorial right?"(Mason)
"Yes, we'll happily take anything you have and I have a stock list if your interested, I can even act as a liason should you want to look for a specific thing or if you are looking to specifically trade for something rather than sell, though do be aware that I only have control over what is owned by the city, and have no control over trades other than ensuring both parties get the agreed upon terms."(Jonathan)
"Cool, could I see what class gems you have?"(Mason)
"Of course, though do be aware that I am only acting as a liaison for most of them, and as such most are only available for trade and not sale."(Jonathan)
"That's fine, do you have it written anywhere or?"(Mason)
Hearing my question he let out an amused chuckle before I felt a ping in my system and felt access to a new menu, which seemed to list the various class gems and their associated information. Quickly sorting through the options and filtering out those I was uninterested in left me with these options.
Class Rarity Description Price Meta Mage Rare A mage that focuses on non-elemental types of magic Trade Spatial Mage Uncommon A mage focused in spatial magic Trade Bestial Constructor Rare A class that forms temporary constructs that mimic beasts to fight with Trade Alchemist Uncommon A class that makes potions with a host of effects 4,000 Illusionist Uncommon A class that uses mana to make lifelike illusions to fool foes Trade Rune Scribe Common A class that can inscribe symbols onto objects to give them various mystical effects 2,000 Flashblade Swordsman Rare A swordsman that makes use of multiple buff skills to move at high speeds 10,000
After narrowing my list, I asked about the prices, and found that the ones with numbers were owned by the city hall and their price was in contribution points, while the ones that had trade were people who would only accept other class gems or powerful items in exchange. Of the four that I wanted, Jonathan knew that the meta mage wanted a melee class, the spatial mage wanted anything rare, The illusionist wanted a caster that could do direct damage, and the bestial constructor wanted something with defensive capabilities, preferably rare but willing to discuss. Also when I had him appraise my class gem he told me it was worth 10,000, and I was able to get another 500 for some miscellaneous gear that I had from the tutorial, so I was realistically able to get any of them except for the meta mage.
Thinking for a bit, I eliminated flashblade, rune scribe, and alchemist from my list, as flashblade was only on there because it had a cool name, since I had an easier time controlling the elements when I made movements along the flow of energy, which wouldn't be possible if I was fighting in a melee, and I still wanted to explore the wilds so a crafting class wasn't suitable. The others were still viable options, as the only iffy requirement was convincing someone of the defensive abilities of a [Crystal Mage], but I was fairly confident in my odds. After spending some time imagining how various classes would work with mine in a fight, I was torn between bestial constructor and illusionist. The biggest caveat was whether I would be able to create the constructs out of elemental energy or not, similar to how Jason can make cards out of it, as if I could then the class would synergize extremely well with my current one, but if it couldn't then I would rather take illusionist so I could hide real attacks with fake ones in order to make them much harder to block.
In the end, I decided to ask for a meeting with the person who had the bestial constructor class gem and see its full description, as the one that screen was written by Jonathan and not the direct description from the system, and see if it's worth the risk before deciding one way or the other. Telling my decision to Jonathan, he told me that the owner was currently out hunting, but they would be back later in the day and he could send them to my new house tomorrow to discuss the possible trade, to which I agreed. Once I and a few others finished looking at what was available, most people selling some of their extra gear that we had no use for, we were taken to our housing, where we were split up by family but still adjacent to one another. The house itself was pretty basic, with one main room that had a table, chairs, and fireplace as well as three smaller rooms, two of which had beds and one had a large tub, sink, and toilet, both made of the same stone as the rest of the house. When I examined the sink to see if the rumors of water were true, I found that instead of knobs that twisted, there were runes etched on either side of the faucet that would faintly glow and make hot or cold water spew out when I channeled mana into them, and the entire house was lit via runes carved intermittently across the ceiling that gave of light. Altogether, we were all pretty satisfied with the housing, as it was better than where we were previously, and we didn't have to worry about raiders or anything now that we were in a much larger group.