After exiting the gate, I noticed that there was a large camp of people surrounding the small fort surrounding the entrance to the Abyss. There were merchants peddling wares, teams of adventurers walking about, and a makeshift hospital with priests and alchemists healing wounded adventurers. There were plenty of both men and beastmen in camp, and the sheer number of people speaking, shouting, and laughing was beginning to give me a headache.
“Hold my hand and follow me. We’re heading straight to the road to the port to find a ship to take us to Tamery. In the meantime, I am sure you’ve got plenty of questions to ask, right?” Azoth said telepathically.
“Okay. Why did you make me look like a human? Anyone who touches me would be able to tell that this is just an illusion.”
“Well, just don’t let anyone touch you then.” She grinned, and I felt my headache get worse.
“I cast an illusion spell on you because someone was scrying on us. That person has been a pain to deal with for the last few decades, so I’d much rather they not find out I am taking care of a young dragon like you. It’s less risky to pretend I am following a few humans on a whim; that is not unusual or interesting for a dragon like me to do.” She explained.
“Well, then why do I know a bunch of things I’ve never seen before, but only when I do see them? I’ve never seen a rope ladder, the sky, or a ballista before, but I knew what they were the moment I laid my eyes on them.”
“Did you think you can learn a language without understanding what its words mean? By learning Coptic and Draconic Akashic, the definitions of these words were buried in your mind by the system. This is something you would have learned on your own by listening to enough people speaking; all I did was just make the process faster.”
“Hmm…”
After a turn in a narrow corridor, we entered a large street with a view of the port and the sea downhill.
“We’re getting closer to the port. Usually, we’d have to wait in line for a week or so to get a ticket to a ship, but our affiliation with the Temple of the Gods lets us hop on to a ship rather quickly.” Said the old man.
“Who is this person who was a pain to deal with for you?” I asked Azoth.
“That is for me to know and for you to find out. But that won’t be for a while. Not if I can help it.” She responded.
“What is this Republic the guards were talking about? And why did they seem to hate it?”
“I know I said you can ask anything, but you really are flooding me with questions.” Azoth said, shaking her head with a smile.
“There are five nations on the Serpent’s Maw – the continent on which we are located. They are The Beast Nation of Tyr, The Theocracy of Tamery, Kengir – The Kingdom of Heroes, The City-States of Iona, and the Latium Republic. Of these nations, the Latium Republic is the one they have been referring to. The Latium Republic is human-supremacist nation, where beastmen are loathed and treated with disdain.” Azoth explained.
“They also denounce the worship of the gods, particularly the Goddess of Fertility, who created the various races of the beastmen. Needless to say, as the nation friendliest to the beastmen, and host to the largest number of Gods, including the Goddess of Fertility and the Goddess of Fortune, the Theocracy of Tamery’s relations with the Latium Republic is very hostile. Since their societies stand on opposite ideological grounds, there is deep enmity between the two peoples as well. The countless historical grievances between the two certainly don’t help either.”
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With one hand on my chin and the other supporting the first, I nodded sagely.
“I think I understood some of those words…”
Azoth laughed.
“You don’t need to worry about these things for now, kid. You’ll figure it all out in time.”
***
Soon enough, we arrived at the port. The old man turned towards us and spoke once more.
“Pardon me, but I am going to go and get the three of us tickets to the earliest ship to Tamery. Please wait here while I obtain the tickets.” He said, lightly bowing and going to a building with a long queue extending from the door.
As the old man blended into the crowds, my eyes turned to the great structures floating on the water. Some of them were attached to different kinds of monsters at the helm, while others had sails even larger than the greatest of these beasts. One even had a large number of gigantic oars that seemed far too heavy for even a dozen men to raise, let alone push the ship with!
Noticing my astonished glance, Azoth helpfully explained.
“Humans are weak creatures, born at Rank F. In a direct conflict, most humans would be completely overpowered by the weakest monsters. That said, humans have three advantages over monsters that you would do very well to remember. The first is their sapience, although I am sure you already know how powerful an advantage that is. The second is their ability to use tools. When you fought that party of adventurers, I am sure you realized how dangerous the weapons in their hands were, right?”
“Yeah. One swipe from my claws was strong enough to throw the largest of them across the room, but the things they held posed a grave threat to me and blunted the claws that went for their necks.”
“Yes. The weapons humans create and wield are very powerful; but it’s not the only kind of tool they create. The ships before you, the buildings and the roads, even the clothes and armor they wear are all products of the three things that make humans dangerous.”
“That gets me to the third advantage they possess over monsters, and that is their access to classes.”
I held my breath and recalled the wind mage throwing me over the edge.
“Humans, among some other sapient beings like dragons and beastmen, have access to classes. Classes are a path that an individual chooses to walk, granting them skills and abilities that elevate them in their field compared to their peers. A warrior will thrust a spear faster and harder. A merchant will find that earning wealth is much easier. Most relevant to your current conundrum, a sailor would be able to use oars that are larger than a regular person could – and do it much more efficiently as well.”
“Raw stats have their use, there is no doubt about that. However, when you face a sapient opponent, particularly one with a class, you must be much warier of their class and skills rather than their stats or rank.”
“Are there any exceptions to that? Or are monsters just much more powerful than sapient beings?”
“There are many exceptions, young one. There are hardly any iron-clad rules in the world; A human with a berserker class may give up all of their skills and even their sanity to reach heights of strength that vastly exceed their rank, and many opponents were crushed by it. The most important thing is to be intelligent in a fight; all else is secondary. Although it is easier said than done, given how chaotic a battle could be.”
My first fight with the Abyssal Titanoboa came to mind. A monster like that should never have died to a mere Abyssal Lizard like I was, if not for my planning and luck.
As we were talking, my eyes caught sight of a pair I would never forget at the other end of the port.
[Wind Mage]
[Beast Tamer]
My muscles tensed, my teeth were clenched, and veins expanded across my forehead. I glared at the two of them with all great malice, as if they were the root of all evil in the world. As I was about to move towards them, Azoth held my shoulder and spoke tersely.
“Don’t even think about it. You’re not nearly strong enough to murder two people in open daylight and get away with it.”
“And I am supposed to just let them walk away after they tried to enslave and kill me?!” I said, my wrath flowing through the telepathic connection.
Azoth simply responded calmly as she always did.
“I thought you didn’t want to rely on my strength. Or were you hoping to attack them without any regard for your own life? You certainly might have a chance to take them down, but the people around you aren’t just going to watch you try to kill them. That said, there’s no need to go after their heads, at least not right now. Let’s go and speak to them; might as well find out who they are and why they attacked you. You can do something about it later on, depending on what we hear.”
Azoth walked ahead, disregarding my protests. After a moment of stunned silence, a scowl graced my face as I followed her, stewing with frustration.