Diablo looked out the window of the orphanarium. He saw many different people pass him by. Some were adventurers, others workers. Every once in a while a child would run past, often with some sort of toy. Even a few street rats, or beggar children as they would rather be called, were running around with an old mutt, playing with it. Diablo wished he could be out there playing with them. Or at least sitting outside and watching them instead of being cooped up inside.
Suddenly, Diablo felt a sharp pain to the back of his head. The owner and caretaker of the orphanarium was standing over him with an old wooden cane in her hand. "Diablo! Pay attention now. You won't get anywhere in life if you don't have an education." The old lady said with a hoarse voice. She was large, incredibly fat. Gray hair ran down her back in mattered tangles. Her face was covered in warts and pox scars. All in all, she looked like some kind of witch that ate children.
Diablo resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the woman, but he did not have nearly enough courage to do so. This was the fifth time he had learned this subject. He was the oldest in the class at ten years old. Most the other kids had jobs of some kind. The boys working at delivering messages for the various merchants of the city, and the girls working at sewing or shopkeeping. Ten was the age most children started their first jobs while working at the orphanarium.
The reason Diablo was not working with the other children was simple. He didn't have the stats required for working. His Constitution, at a lowly one, was not enough to run around all day without tiring quickly. With a Charisma of one, he couldn't even speak a word without getting nervous and stuttering, let alone work in a shop. With a Dexterity of two, he could sew, but it was nowhere near enough to be worth the trouble of him distracting the girls, even if he didn't mean it.
Thus, with his unusually high Intelligence and Wisdom, the carer was trying to give him a better education. She hoped he could pick up writing somewhere and become a scribe, but no one had yet to bother to teach him to read and write. With the carer being unable to, things were not looking good for the boy.
"Now. As I was saying. Stats, Titles, and Skills. All are very important to our daily lives. They determine who and what we are. We can go against them, but we will never be as good at those who go with them. Although there are cases where a warrior has learned magic or a scribe showed great strength and fought off bandits." The matron of the orphanarium prattled on. Diablo listened with half interest.
"Stats are the most simple. They determine how strong you are. Strength is how much you can lift, carry, or damage someone for in close combat. It is the most simple of the stats and is the easiest to get more of. You need only to run around and be children." Diablo couldn't help but scoff slightly. In his head, anyway. He wouldn't bring her attention down on him that quickly again. The young man had many problems in gaining more Strength, as he didn't have enough to lift anything heavy enough to help gain more Strength. Or, at least, that is how his childish mind saw it.
The matron continued on, oblivious to the child's woes. "Dexterity sounds simple, but is not. It counts for many things. It is how accurately you do something. From threading a needle to sewing to chopping down a tree. Without Dexterity your life requires a lot more effort and things take a lot longer. The higher your Dexterity, the less likely you are to trip while running, the better you dance, and all other manner of things."
"Constitution is how long you can last." A few of the older children, around eight and nine, snickered at that, but the carer, used to it, carried on. "It determines how long you can run, how long you can work at physical labor, and how many hits you can take before you go down. The specifics on the last example are not known to us, as there are too many variables between even the weakest of people and monsters."
"Intelligence and Wisdom are tricky stats. One is useless without the other." 'And I am just useless' Diablo said to himself in his mind. Yet again, the matron continued onwards. "Intelligence determines how quickly you can learn things and helps understand complex puzzles. Wisdom is the natural sixth sense that people sometimes feel. A sense of when something is out of place if you will. It determines how willful a person is and to tell what the best decision is."
"Charisma is an odd skill. People can be very charismatic without many points in this skill, as such, many consider it a dump skill. Something that is useless. But any good shopkeeper will tell you that has helped them find the words needed to strike a great trade deal on a regular basis. It is used for persuading people to your side as well. If you ever felt a word on the tip of your tongue, then that is your Charisma being slightly too low to give you that work that would tip the balance of the argument."
[Ding]
Diablo's heart almost died at the sudden sound. It frightened the daylights out of him. He had heard about it from the other boys, but never experienced it himself. Due to a constant practice at something, he got a free stat point. Most the boys got two or three in both Strength and Dexterity over their time in the orphanarium, and the girls a few in both Charisma and Dexterity. Yet, now it was Diablo's turn to get a start point.
A small box appeared right in front his face. It was see-through and did not impair his vision in the slightest.
[Congratulations. ]
[Due to constant study and education, you have shown your dedication to the noble pursuit of Intelligence.]
[+1 Intelligence]
[This is an effort stat. It can only be gained from years of effort or a natural understanding of how things work.]
'It was utterly useless.' Diablo thought to himself. He wanted to cry. If he got a few stat points in Strength or Constitution, he could join the other boys. But to his young mind, it felt like the entire universe was determined to make him useless. 'Well, I guess I should keep paying attention. Even if I only get another useless stat point out of it.'
"That is the basic description of stats. Next is Titles. A few of you will have one, but most will not. One in fifty children start off with a Title. That Title comes with a free Skill, but more on that in a bit." The elderly lady stopped speaking for a second and took a drink of a murky brown substance. He was told once by an adult that is was rather poorly made whiskey. The matron winced slightly after drinking, then continued on.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Titles can be earned by anyone, and give a plus one to all stats associated with it. They cannot be leveled. But they do give another advantage. Anything associated with that Title turns out slightly better then if you did not have it. For example, the Blacksmith Title gives plus one to Strength and Constitution. It also means that anything the smith makes will turn out slightly better then if a smith of the same skill made it. Unfortunately, unlike with stats, no one can tell what Titles and*4 Skills others have, so one cannot prove or deny that another has a certain Titles or Skill."
"Skills can be earned in a number of ways. By reading a Skill book, by having someone with a skill over level sixty teach you, or by repeating the same thing over and over until you have the basic understanding of it. You can teach yourself a Skill with the last method, but it takes a lot longer to get started then the first two. The end result is the same, however. Many Adventures utilize the last method without even realizing it." The matron's passive face got a small scowl at the mention of Adventurers. It was not a highly praised job, no better than mercenaries really. Yet, like Mercenaries and Knights, it was often romanticised by poems and sagas.
"Skills learned at birth through the Title people are born with are a little different. They are all unique. Not just in what they do, but in name too. Although over the years, the same Skills have been seen with the same names, never while both people are alive. As such, it is believed that they are passed on upon death Where Titles make the things associated with them slightly stronger or better, the Skill at birth makes them level slightly faster, improving other Skills usefulness a lot faster. These birth Skills are all Passive, and are always at Maximum Level."
Diablo felt like dying. Everything he was born with could not help him. He could become an Adventurers or Mercenary, but first, he would have to use the self-teaching method. But that required at least some idea of how the Skills even worked. The boy sighed to himself, accidentally letting it slip out of his lips as he put his head down on the desk. Soon he felt the pain of a cane to the back of his head once more.
----------------------------------------
Two weeks later
----------------------------------------
Diablo, at the fine age of ten, had decided he would do it. He would become an Adventurer. Although the matron didn't like them very much, it was the best idea his young mind could come up with. Without any more ideas for his Wisdom Stat to help pick from, it was the only option.
First, he would sneak over to the Mage Guild and watch the Mage initiates from outside as they practiced the basics of magic, then he would sneak back into the orphanarium and copy them at night when no one was looking. If fate gave him a bad hand, he would take it and throw it back into fate's face! Or so he thought. It never crossed the child's mind that the Mages would be more than willing to take him in and teach him. Afterall, he had yet to tell anyone about his Title or Skill. Telling an adult was the same as murder for a child.
That night, Diablo set out. He slept in a common room with around eighty other children of various ages. Most where asleep. Those that were not had a never-spoken vow that they would not tattle if the other did not. Some older boys went out drinking, others went out to steal things. Still yet, others just enjoyed the nighttime.
The boy stalked his way across the city. It never crossed his mind that this may be a bad idea. Slaves were perfectly legal in the Kingdom Of The Plains. No one would bat an eye at a missing orphan either. Yet away he strode as if the path were made out of gold and he had a dragon at his back to protect him. Although he did have the common sense to avoid the city guard. Only so they did not take him home.
After roughly ten minutes, Diablo arrived at the guild. There where many people still up. Unlike most of the city, that went to bed a few hours after dark, the Mage guild stayed up late with the use of magic candles to brighten each room. Working his way from window to window, the boy soon found what he was looking for. A group of four students, all with heavy tomes, speaking aloud to each other about the basics of magic theory.
Diablo grabbed hold of a window and lifted it open ever so slightly. [1] "-But I'm saying that Water magic is better. It is easier to control in the long run. It also allows for healing, the only element other than Light and Dark to do so."
[1]"Dark magic cannot hea-"
[2]"Yes it can. It heals undead. Thus, although uncommon to heal us, it can still be categorized as a healing magic."
[3]"Whatever. That is not the argument we have going here. Save it for another time. I am saying Fire magic is better. It has a higher damage potential and does not require water to be carried around at the lower skill levels. It is also more versatile. It can be used for both common things, such as a campfire, to burning an entire field of enemies in a matter of seconds."
[1]"Water magic is versatile too. You can save yourself from dehydration!"
[2]"Yes. But we were discussing magic of our level. Not Low-Mid tier and higher. You wouldn't have a weapon if you drunk all of your water."
[3]"Plus Fire magic is more simple to understand. You gather magic into your hand, then vibrate it at intense speeds so it catches alight. Then you feed it mana to grow it, or at a lower rate to keep it the same size. To use Water magic you must first infuse your mana into the water so you can control it."
[1] "Yes, but it costs lower man-"
[3]"No, it costs more. If you were to infuse water with mana then use it in battle right away, it would cost more. It's just that most Water Mages at our level carry some on them at all times, so they are always at full Mana. It only gives the illusion of costing less."
Just as the first Mage to speak started getting red in the face, the fourth person, the only girl in the group, finally spoke.
[4]"Earth magic beats both. You cannot hit if you do not know where I am. [Rock Wall] on all four sides of you three and you are all out of the fight. I can just drop rocks on your head all day if needed. Perhaps a [Root Of Binding] just to make sure you cannot try and climb out too."
All three of the boys looked ashamed. They were outdone by the girl when they had been arguing to impress her. Diablo couldn't tell what they looked like, but he did see some strands of brown hair from the female Earth Mage's hair flowing out of her hood. All four of them had their Mage hoods up, hiding their faces. The boys so the girl could not see their flustered faces, and the girl to tease the boys.
[Ding]
[Due to the attention you have been giving to the magical arts, you have proven you have the makings of a powerful mage.]
[+1Intelligence]
[+1 Wisdom]
[Error in the creation of [magic theroy]. Incorporated into [Flame of the beginning]]
Diablo
Level 1
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Constitution: 1
Intelligence: 7 [+2]
Wisdom: 6 [+1]
Charisma: 1
Titles
[Fire Duelist]
Skills
[Flame of the beginning (Max)]