Adventurers were gathered all around the town hall, all with weapons stained by blood. Many were wounded from the goblin raid, but they all waited patiently for the victory ceremony to begin. Grinston tried to see the mayor but a tall Shieldman stood in front of him, blocking his vision. Grinston elected to simply check his stats as he waited.
Name: Grinston Race: Human Class: Raider Personality: Merciless Contender Player Magic Tier: 1 Ascension: Locked at level 100 Level: 5 Strength Dexterity Intelligence Charisma Mana HP: 100 10 15 10 10 0 Skills Combat Sight Perks Unlocked at Level 15
Interestingly, he had unlocked a class during one of his fights. He clicked on it mentally.
Tier Class name Description Basic Raider(unlocked) Applies +15% modifier to all physical actions Basic Scholar Applies +15% buff to learning new skills Basic Looter Applies +15% bonus to finding treasure Advanced Spearmen
Applies +30% modifier to all physical actions
Unlocks special attack: Normal Poke, Heavy Poke, Precision Strike
Adds Perk: Dexterous
Advanced Swordsman
Applies +30% modifier to all physical actions
Unlocks special attack: Normal Slash, Heavy Slash, Parry
Adds Perk: Strong
Advanced Shieldman
Applies +30% modifier to all physical actions
Unlocks special attack: Block, Shield Bash
Adds Perk: Enduring
Advanced Mage
Applies +30% modifier to all mental actions
Unlocks special attack: Mana Charge, Counterspell, Mana Manipulation
Adds Perk: Intelligent
Advanced Thief
Applies +30% modifier to all stealth actions
Unlocks special attack: Normal Stab, Heavy Stab, Back Stab
Adds Perk: Perceptive
He realized that if he wanted to unlock more advanced classes, he would need to level up more. Nonetheless, he moved back on to the scene at hand. Trisha, the Guild Manager, was handing out awards. Apparently, a young female swordsman had slayed the Goblin Chief in single combat. She was Rank 15 and the whole audience applauded as she was given the gold reward. Grinston was barely paying attention when he heard his name being called.
He looked up and saw Trisha gesturing for him to approach. "Young Grinston had the most kills of anyone here." She announced. "They were mostly goblin children, but the achievement remains." She handed him a sack filled to the brim with silver. "He killed 3 goblin fighters and 13 goblin children bringing his reward to 48 silver coins. This was more than Grinston had made in a month of adventuring, but the moment didn't feel right. For one, unlike for the rank 15, the town hall was dead silent. After a few awkward moments, Grinston wondered if he should just take the coins and go. His fears were not well-founded because all of a sudden, the crowd began to cheer.
Grinston had never been the center of attention before. He held his hand up as he walked back to his seat. When he finally sat down, he was grinning ear to ear. He could get used to this, he thought as the ceremony continued. Name after name was called and smiling adventurers accepted praise and coin. Some old adventure had saved a life, while a different one managed to protect someone's home from being destroyed. By the time they stopped calling names, the sun had set and stars took its place.
Trisha cleared her throat loudly. "Due to the outstanding success against the Goblin raid, the tavern owner has generously donated to us three barrels of beer and the mayor has given us permission to use the town hall for the rest of the night. Please drink responsibly.
Grinston was six cups of beer in when a party of adventurers approached him. It was a group of three and all of them were the same rank as Grinston. "Hey... you are the one to kill those babies right?" the inebriated scholar asked.
"I defeated them, yes. What of it?" Grinston replied as he continued to grab another cup full of alcohol.
This time their response came from a man holding a large wooden shield. He did not seem to have been drinking during the party. "What my friend is trying to say is you killed more goblins than anyone here, yet we have never seen you before. Why is that?"
"I'm new to adventuring." Grinston answered as he took another sip. "Besides, I've never seen almost all of the people here. It's not like there is some adventurer hangout I'm unaware of, is there?"
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"No, but it's just strange is all." the sober man replied. "I try to keep track of new adventurers and find out if they are any good. Good enough to join our group." Grinston waited for him to continue, but he never did.
Grinston was drunk, but not so much so that he would miss this obvious clue. "Thanks friend, but I work solo. I'm not planning on sharing my loot."
The fellow adventurer scratched his beard, or at least the makings of one. "I was like you before. Chasing glory, I mean. But let me tell you this: no man can do everything alone. You see we already got the beginnings of a mage here." he said as he patted the first drunk on the back. "And we got a tank in myself as well as a good economy guy in my other friend. Add you into the mix and we add some good DPS to all that. Ain't that sound good?" Grinston noticed that the third member of the group was a [looter] who only carried a cloak and dagger.
Grinston wiped his brown hair as he thought about it. Truthfully, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of teaming, but this was far too quick for his liking. "Yeah, but what's in it for me?"
The man sighed in exasperation. "Not only do you get 15% of the parties' loot, you also get to do harder quests that require more adventurers."
"Wait, a second, why 15? There would only be four of us."
"Well, you would be the last one to join and seniors always get privileges."
"Yeah, then I'll just make my own party then."
The man laughed at that. "I knew these guys since before we were adventurers. It's not that easy making a group."
"Just wait and see, then." Grinston promised. He then walked away to see what else was happening during the celebration. As he searched around, he spotted a pair of adventurers arm wrestling. The two men's arms were locked together until eventually one of them managed to overwhelm the other. The stronger man roughly smacked his opponent's arm onto the wooden table leaving a sickening crunch sound. The loser of the match screamed in pain, but the winner took another drink and laughed.
"Anyone else care to try me? I'm not even tired." he boasted. His hair was long and braided and his arms were muscled like oxen; Grinston knew he had no chance against him. Grinston continued searching for other activities that wouldn't result in broken bones. Eventually, he found a less rowdy group of adventurers playing dice. Grinston sat down to join them.
"Deal me in." Grinston said, pushing five silver coins into the center of the table.
For the rest of the night, Grinston sat at the table rolling. He won some, and he lost some, but by the end of it, he was down all five silver. He took another gulp of his beer and left with a new goal- spend his loot.
Grinston counted all the silver to his name: 52. The scrap metal sword he collected also sold for an additional 1 silver meaning he now had 53 silver coins to spend. His current gear was leather, and his spear was wooden with an iron tip. Grinston was ready to begin shopping for improvements. Chainmail costed 30 silver and an iron helmet was 15. Metal boots were priced at 10. A better spear would cost him a whopping 40 silver coins.
At first, Grinston was going to purchase a superior spear, but the more he thought about it, he realized he could potentially loot one during a quest. The same could not be said for armor which would be unlikely to fit him. In the end, he sold his leather armor for half of what it had costed him which gave him 3 silver. In turn, he bought metal boots, an iron helm and chainmail. This left him with only a single silver coin in his pocket. As he finished paying, he caught the back of the head of his old friend. He was in his typical old robe
"Master Flynn!" Grinston called, as he jogged up to him. "It's been a while."
"That it has," he said with a sad smile. "It's been difficult since the raid. Almost all of the outskirt homes were burned, but that's not the most troubling development. I've heard some things about you, Grinston. Terrible things."
"Oh, yes. A dramatized account, nothing more." Grinston replied. "You should know I killed more goblins than any adventurer here. All those people who died were avenged. I guess divine justice really does happen sometimes."
"There was nothing godly about that slaughter." Flynn said. "This is why I advised you not to become an adventure; it's corrupting you."
"You'd prefer me to be some farmhand? Breaking my body for copper and saying 'yes, sir' to any jackass with a parcel of land?"
"It is honest work being a laborer. I cannot say the same for being the paid murderer of babes"
"Babes grow." Grinston replied, anger now evident in his voice. "Ask any villager who had their families destroyed. I'm sure you will find them thankful for my act. I must say I forgot how judgmental you are."
"And I forgot how naive, you could be." Flynn responded with a scowl.
"Then, I guess you shouldn't waste your time on me. Go and lecture some other farmboy, see if he is up to your high standards." Grinston turned his back to leave and Master Flynn went back to his journey. An unsatisfying conversation, Grinston thought. He would have to make Master Flynn understand some other time. Through, the word 'flexible' was not in the old man's vocabulary. Regardless, Grinston headed to the Adventurer's Guild looking for more work.
Trisha looked hungover as she manned the table. "Have fun last night?" Grinston asked.
"Too much fun, unfortunately. I take it you are here for some quests?" Grinston nodded. "I actually forgot to mention it during the ceremony but you got a promotion when you reached level 5. Bronze plus. This opens up new opportunities for you such as Tier 2 quests."
"Very good!" Grinston exclaimed. He felt as though his hard work was paying off. "What do you have for me? I'd like to try my luck at one of these Tier 2 quests."
"Well, we only have one of those quests remaining. It's a scouting mission for the east side of the mountain. The reason that it is rated as a Tier 2 quest is that the region you will be scouting is located next to an Elvish settlement. Now, don't get it twisted. We are not trying to start a border skirmish, but if you have to kill a few Elves to get away, I doubt anything will come of it."
"What exactly do you want me to investigate?"
Trisha held the pencil up to her lip. "All kind of things, really. Special landmarks are very useful because they can be used to figure out if there are valuable resources in the area. Any magical creatures are also important to note. Really, just anything out of the ordinary. One time, an adventurer found a whole dungeon on a scouting mission. As a reward, he got his pay and partial ownership rights. For you, the pay will be around 15 silver if you can find something of interest. 3 if you can't find anything"
Grinston nodded in understanding as he pulled out his map. "Show me where you want me to go."
Iron boots crunched down on the soft ground. Grinston pushed the foliage away with his spear as he made his way along the mountain. Stoneshire was on the northern side of the mountain and he need to go southeast to find the region of interest. His map was a godsend in this mission. Grinston was at the eastern cliff right before the sun dipped below the horizon. He had to march in darkness. 'I should've bought a torch,' he thought to himself bitterly, as a branch struck him in the head.
The moon shone down on him and guided his path. All he could see were trees, tall and majestic, and grass that swayed with the wind. Pretty yes, but nothing truly of value. The stars were beautiful, too. Grinston took a deep breath of the mountain air. He continued forward. He heard the crunch of leaves to his side. With his spear at the ready, he turned to confront the threat. A rank 15 Bear stood on its rear paws near him. When it finally realized that it had been noticed, it let out a terrifying roar. Grinston ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't mind the branches smacking at his head anymore. They would be nothing compared to the bear's class across his back. Suddenly, his foot caught upon a rock and he came crashing down on to the ground with a thud.
Damage received: 10
He saw the monster's shadow behind him so he ignored the pain and pushed on. He could hear the bear right behind him and Grinston thought his life was soon to be over, cut short by an animal's hunger. He didn't notice that once he passed the final tree in the forest the bear gave up its chase. Grinston was bleeding from his fall and out of his breath, but he was alive.
'Why didn't the bear follow?' he wondered. It seemed like just an ordinary clearing. /However inside the clearing, there was a small stream of water which Grinston walked towards. He put his hand in the running water and drank a small amount. It seemed clear enough so he refilled his flask. As he continued to search around he saw a cave. Well, perhaps too small to be considered a cave. It looked more like a hole in the side of a mountain. Grinston shoved himself through the crack and was plunged into complete darkness.