Leaving the guild hall with Bishop, the man explained a bit about the guild emblem and how the ranking and identifications worked. There are six ranks to be an adventurer; Trainee, Initiate, Established, Advanced, Elite, and Champion. Matt joined as an initiate, which has a bronze pendant while Bishop is an Advanced adventurer, so he has a gold pendant.

Trainees apparently have iron pendants, Established have silver pendants, Elites have mythril pendants, which is some kind of multicolored magic metal that Matt is excited to find, and Champions have orichalcum, a dark magic metal that Matt also very much wants.

Most people who are at his Energized tier usually join as Trainees, where they are a type of pseudo member. They can’t take up quests on their own unless they have permission from guild management, but they can join other parties made of a higher rank as long as the other members sign something. After a bit of experience and usually growing in tier, the trainee can become an official member as an Initiate. However, since Matt's skill was up to the standard he didn’t need to do that and could join right away.

The quests have a rated difficulty classed on the different types of metal, and you can only accept quests of your rank or lower, unless you have permission from management. Apparently there are some newly energized that join the guild who have a lot of potential, but just haven’t quite met the standard of skill yet to qualify, but they can handle themselves so the guild has policies to make exceptions if they deem it appropriate.

These rising stars then go on and become great adventurers, or they die horribly. Usually they are able to back up the expectations placed on them and succeed, but rarely the guild management doesn’t make the right call and some newbies just aren’t up to the tasks they take on. This hasn't happened in a while, the management have stepped up their requirements a little, but it used to happen occasionally.

However, none of that was applicable to him, except the newly awakened part but he apparently was good enough to pass the standard. There was probably a different test for the different types of energized, but he didn’t need to worry about any of that as a shaper.

The sun was starting to dip below the horizon by now, bathing the streets in an amber glow as Bishop took Matt to one last place. A block down the street away from the guild hall were several different establishments for hunters, everything from your blacksmiths and armorers to alchemists and equipment. And most importantly,there were a number of inns that primarily hosted adventurers.

Matt didn’t know if he was going to stay in the town long term yet, so inns would probably be the best option for now. Leading him down, Bishop showed him an inn that was a bit further down the street. Giving him some advice, the best inns that Matt should look for that aren’t aimed as a luxury would be in the middle of the strip of buildings.

For adventurer based inns, stuff too close to the guild hall is usually overpriced or overcrowded, and stuff too far usually isn't able to keep up quality service, so looking in that sweet spot between the two is usually where the better establishments were. Good to know.

Instead of having Matt make his own judgment and try out this new advice, Bishop directly led Matt to a building that he recommended. Walking down the cobblestone streets, the pair walked to a two story building that was mostly made of wood. It was fairly unremarkable, but it did look clean and well maintained. Hanging above the door on a pole was a stylized sign with the words ‘Silver Blade Inn’ that were in the shape of a large blade, written in shiny silvery ink.

Matt focused a bit on the image because it looked strange to him for a moment, and after looking carefully he realized what was wrong with it. It wasn’t written in english! That was what was bothering him, the pictogram wouldn’t have worked if it was english characters. If he didn’t focus really hard on the sign he just glanced over it and perceived it as English, but when he paid attention it was something else he didn’t have the name for but could read just as easily.

Thinking back, it was the same for speech. Not paying attention to the words themselves made it so he just perceived English, but actually listening to what was being said revealed it to be a completely alien language that didn’t sound like anything from earth. It was a bit disorienting, listening to words he didn’t recognise and yet he could understand so in the same way he tuned out his material sense, he just focused on what the translation was feeding him.

“Well kid, it’s been nice and I hope to hear from ya again but this is where we part ways. Just go in and tell Hannah that Bishop sent ya, she runs a good inn.”

“”Thank you so much Bishop, for everything. I definitely would have had a harder time in town without you, and I don’t even know if I would have made it here in the first place without you saving me in the forest.” That was a close one, but Matt was incredibly lucky that Bishop came over his skirmish.

“No problem kid, take care.” Bishop reached over and ruffled Matt's hair one last time with a chuckle before walking back towards the guild hall and waving a hand back without turning around, before he vanished into the crowd and streets.

Staring at the spot where he lost sight of Bishop for a few more seconds, Matt took a deep breath and turned to the door, pushed it open and stepped into the building. Walking inside, he examined the building's interior. Along the back wall was a bar with stools set along it, and a shut door behind the bar, probably leading to a back room. Hanging on a plaque above the door was a large two handed sword that gleaned a shiny silver.

At the bar was an elderly woman stacking wooden bowls and plates on a little cart near the wall, who as he entered looked up and smiled at him with a small wave. She looked like she was a few decades older than Bishop but looked to still be in good shape, like those old ladies who go on morning walks often and could probably beat you up if you were rude. She was fairly tanned, which seemed to be the standard for most of the humans he has seen so far, making him stand out a bit as he was noticeably paler, only being beaten by those light skinned elves.

The main room had round tables scattered about the room, with a few other patrons in stripped down adventuring gear sitting at them and eating what looked to be the same meal, a plate of some kind of meat, a bowl of some kind of stew and a bit of bread. Weapons and gear of all types were at the adventurers' sides either leaning against the wall or table, strapped against their chair or just resting on the floor.

Some of the adventurers turned to look at him, as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, but after giving him a look over they quickly returned to their meal and previous conversations. Adjusting the strap of his pack, now just holding twenty pounds of wood that has been shaped to be lighter. It was an interesting look, he had to admit, wooden armor that definitely wasn’t the best looking and a lot of lumbar strapped to his back.

Moving past the tables to the bar, the old lady set down the plate she was looking over and focused on Matt. “Hello there, welcome in! I’m Hannah, and I would recognize a youngin like you if ya have been here before, but since I don’t I take it ya are new in town?”

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“Uh, yeah! I have been traveling for a bit before, um, getting a bit lost in the forest before Bishop stumbled upon me and helped me out. He helped me register at the guild,” Matt said as he pulled his pendant out from his pocket and flashed the emblem. “Then he pointed me here, and said you had a good place to stay.”

“Ahh, Bishop helped ya out? That’s good, he is always a pleasure. Well, it’s always nice to have a young Shaper around. I take it you can do wood then, or maybe you’ve just got a strange fashion sense?” She chuckled a bit in the way old ladies do that made Matt feel a lot less tense. He nodded to her question and made the wood on his bracer ripple a bit in demonstration.

“Alrighty. Usually it’d be a bit more, but if I can get you to fix some stuff up or make the occasional utensil or dish, you’ve got a room with your name on it and meals for just five silver. Usually it’d cost ya closer to ten, but Bishop sending a Shaper has done you a pretty decent favor.” She said the last part with a conspiratorial wink, like she didn’t own the inn and was doing something against the rules.

“Thank you, I appreciate it a lot, that sounds great.” He accepted the deal happily, taking his stack of coins and undoing the knot again, removing the last of his silver leaving him with just one gold coin on the cord. Putting the lone coin into his pocket, he quickly shaped some rope fiber into a new cord for the stack and handed it over. Smiling at him, Hannah traded the coins for a small key with a wooden tag that listed his room as ‘5.’

“Well then sweetie, there is still some dinner left for the night so why don’t you go ahead and head up, settle in and drop off your gear before getting something to eat. I bet you’ve had a long day if you have been traveling.” Matt nodded and after giving his thanks again, Matt headed up the stairs and found his room. Stepping inside, he looked over the room. It wasn’t very big, maybe a ten foot square worth of space but it was good enough.

There was a simple bed with nice, if old fashioned bedding on an equally nice and old bed. There was a desk next to the bed with a simple stool, and on the desk was a little candle holder and a small wood box of what looked like matches, but they had thicker heads and were made of a slightly translucent green material. Striking them made a larger puff of green smoke that smelled a little acrid but quickly faded away, but the match lit up with a small green flame. Cool. He lit one of the candles so his room was properly lit.

On the other side of the room was a chest that had an extra set of bedding, and space for any of his other things if necessary, which he didn’t quite make use of but he did set his pack down on top of the chest, and a small mirror hanging on the wall. Standing in front of it, Matt got his first good look at himself since coming to Helinos.

He still looked the same, short brown hair that was a bit messy after wearing his helmet and walking all day, dark brown eyes that matched his fathers identically, pale skin from a life of avoiding as much sunlight as possible. If he had to judge himself he would say he was fairly handsome, strong features and the like, but he definitely looked tired.

Aside from his face, he looked very different. He was still decently broad and fit, even if he hated going outside and didn’t get to play baseball anymore, he tried to keep an exercise regimen, but instead of the sensible modern clothes he was wearing an old timey tunic with wooden armor strapped to his body. It was honestly a bit of a shock, seeing himself look the same and yet in a way he never would have back on earth. Shaking away his thoughts, Matt Shaped the straps loose and shed his gear next to the chest on the floor and flopped backwards onto the bed.

Looking up at the ceiling, Matt took a second to relax before he pulled his status screen up.

Matthias Harding

Level 2

1st Bond Shaper

Purchase Points: 4

MATERIALS:

Wood

PROPERTIES:

Durability

Weight

Scale Level 1

Blueprint Level 0

Intent Level 0

QUESTS:

His pending quests had disappeared, which made sense, and he now had several points to work with. He already had a plan, and there was definitely no reason to hold it off so with a deep breath, he focused his intent on ‘Fabric’ and pushed one of his points into the feeling, and as he watched the point disappear and ‘Fabric’ appear under his list of material, he also felt the change in his perception.

The same way he was suddenly aware of the wood around him in the forest when he first unlocked his system, he was aware of all the fabric around him. There wasn’t a lot, thankfully, but his previously suppressed material senses came back in full swing as the clothes on his back and the badding beneath him was suddenly incredibly evident.

He could feel the differences in material, and while he wasn’t able to identify exactly what it was made from, he could feel the way the different materials had slight variances. He could also feel the way the various threads and fibers were woven together, stitching themselves into one larger whole. It was certainly different in the way wood felt, being more uniform and simple in its fibers, so it was an interesting experience.

Taking a moment to get his senses back under control, he sat up and decided to experiment and bonded with his shirt, sending his Connection through the fabric and feeling how he could Shape it.

The shirt fit fine as it was, it was decently made, but it felt a bit loose and while that was the fashion, he preferred a bit of a tighter fit. Getting used to the feeling of how fabric changed itself, he adjusted the fit of his clothes until he was satisfied and decided to move on. Looking back to his status, he pushed more intent to his pool of points and focused on the idea of ‘Hardness’ and unlocked the new property.

Thankfully his property senses weren't passive like his material senses so he didn’t need to get used to the feeling of new senses. Going back to his bond with his clothes, he Shaped it to be as soft as possible and was surprised at the difference. The clothes before were definitely not terrible, but now they could compare to modern clothing in feel. This was an incredible purchase.

He still had two points left and while he was ready to get the rest of his plan underway, he didn’t need to unlock anything else right now… Whelp, no use sitting on this. Matt focused his intent one last time and upgraded his Scale level. He felt his perception range extend a few feet, and while he wasn’t able to express it completely yet, he knew that the amount of material he could shape in one go has doubled.

New Achievement!

You have leveled your Scale for the first time! This is the foundation for a Shaper when trying to make more complex and massive things. Keep up the good work.

Reward: Small Level Progress

New Quest! Scale Threshold

The measure of a Shaper is in how much they can affect the world, and while usually they would grow before gaining more scale, you are unique!

Objective: Reach Scale level 3

Reward: Increase in Shaper Bond Tier, Large Level progress

Smiling, he looked over towards his pile of wood and got to work.