Ritzy was about to begin explaining the mana mastery ranking system he and Gerhart were used to when he realized they had gotten distracted. His exhaustion helped him keep a calm face as he began hinting with his eyes in the direction of the thing that might still be following them.
Mognog thought for a second as he saw Ritzy’s slightly anxious eyes flit back and forth.
The thing following them didn’t seem to be very intelligent. Or, it was too intelligent to fall for the trap they had tried to bait it into. In either case, it didn’t seem like it was going to attack them any time soon. In the first place, whatever it was didn’t emit any bloodlust that a predator stalking its prey might do.
Well, it could be suppressing its murderous intentions to stay hidden from Ritzy and Gerhart and launch an ambush. But in that case, why not completely suppress its presence? Why would it let Ritzy and Gerhart feel and hear its existence ruffling through the nearby bushes as it followed them?
They still had no idea what it was that was stalking Ritzy and Gerhart. But at the moment, Mognog was pretty sure they would be fine. Even if they weren’t, there wasn’t much they could do about it without wasting unnecessary energy.
Instead, it would be better to let Ritzy and Gerhart relax their minds. Staying on alert at all times is mentally draining. And the last thing the two need is another outlet for their rapidly dwindling stamina.
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s a need to worry about what’s following you.”
Ritzy was surprised and doubtful of Mognog’s words, so he furrowed his brows.
“Are you sure? Its gaze is pretty sharp, you know.”
“Yeah, how can we not worry?”
They didn’t stop walking as they walked, but they slowed down even more.
“Just look. It doesn’t understand we’re talking about it, so there might be nothing to worry about. Maybe it’s just some curious forest creature who’s taken an interest in you two.”
Ritzy was about to say something, but Mognog didn’t let him and spoke first.
“In any case, worrying about it is not going to do you any good. The kiddo will keep carrying me like this so I can watch over his shoulder and warn you if there’s any movement. You two just need to focus on placing one foot after the other.”
“...if you say so.”
“Alright.”
After getting Ritzy’s and Gerhart’s understanding, albeit hesitant, Mognog hummed in satisfaction.
“Good. Now, if it’s not too much, please tell me about your mana mastery ranking system.”
“Yes.”
Ritzy was the one most enthusiastic about becoming stronger, what with his dreams of surpassing the Dark One and all that. He had also dedicated as much of his free time and money as he could to learning necromancy and whatever else that was related to it, such as the mana mastery ranking system that, as far as Ritzy and Gerhart knew, everyone on the Killgara Continent followed.
So, although Gerhart had formal education in the shape of Lenny’s Ranger apprenticeship and had an easier time trekking through the forest while talking, Ritzy took it upon himself to answer Mognog’s request.
“The first thing that I noticed was different was how the ranks work.”
“How so?”
“Your ranks were, like, independent, I guess you could say. But our ranks are more like prefixes to one’s Path.”
“For example?”
Since Ritzy’s short explanation wasn’t enough, Mognog had to ask for more details.
“Well, I am a Novice Necromancer. So, I’m a necromancer at the Novice rank. And Gerhart would be a Novice Ranger, a ranger at the Novice rank.”
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“I see….”
“Mmm. And after the Novice rank is the Apprentice rank. Then, it’s Acolyte, Adept, Grand, Master, Grandmaster, and Arch– whatever the Path of choice is.”
Mognog listened and memorized the ranks Ritzy listed.
“And that’s all of them?”
“Well, yeah. I haven’t heard of anymore after that. Have you, Gerhart?”
“Nope. According to Lenny, Arch is the highest rank.”
“Huh. Kiddo, what can an Arch Swordsman or something along those lines do?”
Mognog was naturally curious about how the Killgara mana mastery ranking system compares to the Mognog one and what a combatant at the highest rank could do. He also wondered how he would have been ranked on it when he was alive.
“Good question.”
“Huh?”
However, Ritzy couldn’t satisfy Mognog’s curiosity.
“Yeah, I don’t know what an Arch Swordsman can do. I’ve never met one or heard of one’s abilities.”
“...I guess that’s reasonable. Well, can you give me an example of what any of the ranks other than Novice can do?”
Ritzy nodded with a hum.
“That’s possible. An Adept Necromancer can summon tens of lower-level undead in one go without trouble. They can also cast more elaborate spells and rituals that let them summon individually very capable undead. As far as I know, most Adept Necromancers worth their salt has at least one Death Knight under their command. The Adept rank is also the cut-off line between people destined for greatness and those who aren’t serious about what they’re doing.”
It looked like Ritzy would continue babbling about necromancy and necromancers if he didn’t do something. Mognog wouldn’t have minded it since it would let him know more about things that could be useful. But at the moment, the mana mastery ranking system was at a higher priority.
“And what can an Adept Ragner do?”
Mognog directed his question to Gerhart to get another point of view.
“Well, it depends on their specialization and what kind of spells they’ve learned. But if it’s someone that uses bows, it would be weird to expect them to shoot several arrows, maybe up to ten arrows each second. It can be either rapid-fire or multi-shot. Usually.”
Gerhart fell silent after giving his answer.
“Okay, so an Adept Necromancer can summon ten disposable undead in one go. More than once a minute?”
“Yeah.”
“And a skilled Archer can shoot ten arrows each second. But since Necromancers have stronger undead at their command, they won’t suffer a loss, even if they’re up against a skilled Archer.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And I’m guessing it’s similar for other… did you call them Paths?”
“Yeah, Paths. Like the specialization of one’s mana usage. It’s the Path you will be walking after stepping on the road of mana or something like that.”
“Okay. I think I get it.”
Mognog went over what Ritzy had told him about the Killgara ranking system and the strengths of an Adept. However, without knowing how powerful someone of the highest rank was, it would be difficult to make a comparison between the Killgara system and the Mognog System.
And with how the Killgara system used Paths, it seemed like there might be more of a difference between the two civilizations than Mognog first thought. He would have to find out a lot more before he could make any accurate judgments. Hopefully, he would get the opportunity to do that.
Ritzy and Gerhart had been doing good work and had gotten a good flow as they walked through the seemingly endless forest. But if Baron Michmond loved his son as much as everyone in town knew he did and had even a little money or a few useful subordinates, Ritzy and Gerhart were sure to be hounded to the Chitron border if need be.
Considering their relative weakness and fatigue, Mognog wouldn’t be able to blame them if they failed to escape. But he could blame himself if he didn’t do all he could to help his master and his master’s friend.
Mognog hadn’t looked away from the direction where the thing following them was, but now, he glanced at Ritzy’s serene and subconsciously concentrated face. Since there was so much undergrowth, bushes, and vegetation littering the forest floor, Ritzy had to take care of where he put his feet so they didn’t get stuck and he tripped.
“Thanks for telling me all that, kiddo. You too, Ranger-boy. I still have a few questions and things I want to know to find out all the differences between our two different systems. But it will have to wait until we’re in the clear.”
“Mmm.”
Ritzy hummed in response, and Gerhart remained silent. He nodded, but Mognog couldn’t see it. Mognog continued,
“But once we’re safe, I would be pretty interested in sitting down and going through the two different systems to see what’s similar and what’s not. The system I know is the only one I know, so I’m quite interested in how the Killgara system works.”
“Yeah, same. I didn’t even know there could be other mana mastery ranking systems.”
Mognog had successfully gotten Ritzy to look forward to something that wasn’t merely survival and a distant wish to resurrect Talia. It was a slightly brighter reason for him to keep going, which wasn’t unnecessary when it was easy to lose hope in such a dire situation as theirs.
Mognog considered talking some more to help alleviate boredom and generally help Ritzy and Gerhart keep the mood up. But he could sense that they didn’t feel like talking or listening anymore.
The thing following them had helped keep their minds sharp as long as they stayed alert. But when Mognog calmed them and helped their minds relax, the mental fatigue that had built up crawled over them and encouraged mental activity, even if was just talking, to stay away.
So, Mognog stayed silent and fulfilled his duty as an extra pair of eyes that watched Ritzy’s back.