Myron sipped on the cold cup of tea he was offered, with just a dollop of thick Cream, created from the Milk of Aimon in Breeding Farms and Estates, Queen Aimon in specific. The idea itself disgusted Myron, but Marissa had assured him that the Guild Master did not take produce from just any farm. Standards had to be met to both in the diet of the Queen’s Children as well as the treatment and consent of the Aimon herself.

This particular product was Keegs, a famous farmer with on of the largest estates in the Northern Pastures. Myron smiled and didn’t comment further instead listening to the explanation, about how the territory of the Duchy was split in half. With the Norther-Eastern area starting from Great Oak being pastures and livestock farm, while the South-West took care of all the grain farming the duchy would need and more, as well as orchards, berries, and a whole lot of vegetables. All things that Humans haven’t figured out how to create and produce in a land filled with Aether.

“Things Aether filled environments tend to have weird properties, and especially living things, they tend to mutate, making the business of farming non viable, and the large population centers that cities uphold none sustainable. The Oakenshield Duchy supports nearly four tenths of the Mortal food needs of the Empire.” Marissa continued.

Myron let Syl pick up the conversation as he retreated into himself to appreciate the changes he expected to see in his Status, as well as the Status of the Team.

Myron’s Status

Tier: Unearned

Level: 9!

Distributable Points -> 8

Instructor

Aether: 8/42

Bonds

Syl - Level 30, Emeramantis Queen - Plant/Metal Type

Mery - Level 9, Pygmaleon - Fighting/Water Type

Dakini - Level 10, Kitsune - Dark/Fairy Type

Attributes

Explosiveness - 5

Might - 4

Tenacity - 9!

Instinct - 10!

Focus - 10

Impact - 8

Spirit - 11!

Clarity - 10

Skills

{P} Heart of Purpose (lv9)!

{P} Mind of Intent (Lv4)

Already he could feel his brain tingling at all the progress, the dopamine rush was real and coming at him with full force. He checked his class before he did anything else.

Class: Instructor

Level: 2

Titles

Achievements

Brave First Step

Fledgling Tactician

True Bond

Skills

Inspiration (Lv1)!

“Guys! Great news, got three levels in one jump! And, I got a new Skill! It’s my first Class Skill.”

Davosh perked up. “Don’t! Say what it is.” He warned before Myron could continue.

Myron scoffed. “Can’t you find out on your own?”

“I can, but that doesn’t mean I should. It is considered incredibly rude to do so without reason. Actually it’s not just rude it’s illegal. Two Trainers need to have a dispute, and be in active battle for one to have the freedom to look into the Status of another.”

“How is that rule enforced?”

“A Trainer can tell if they have been [Observed] or [Inspected], just examined in any way. If they are not stressed or hyper focused on something, like during a challenge against the Guild Master of Great Oak City.”

“They can know with precision who did it?”

“Yes and if they report it, that person is in for a whole lot of trouble. Like. Really. Life ending amounts of trouble. No one wants their secrets discovered and spread. Everyone is in competition because anyone can be the next big trainer, the higher up you go, the harsher the secrets are kept hidden. Between the Duke, The Emperor, and The Leader of the Daimyo Alliance to the South, there are three people in Emerald Tier, along with their Aimon, they are the closest and only contenders for Sapphire Tier in the Empire. Doubtful as I may be that they will ever reach it.” Davosh supplied and Myron took that in.

“Despite that. I know nothing of how Skills work so to me it seems dumb to keep this hidden if you may know something.”

“Well, go ahead, say it, don’t keep us waiting.”

Myron glared at Davosh at the faux hesitation he had displayed. “It’s called Inspiration.”

“That’s interesting. You are an Instructor, right?”

“I am. Why is something wrong?”

“No, it’s great. Intuition is an amazing skill to have as a Trainer of any type. It works incredibly well with the Instinct Attribute, which Instructor increases, thankfully. It helps in and out of battle, in many circumstances and it enhances the sixth sense that is instinct once it increases a bit. It’s a good skill to have out of the 2 skills available to you as a Human without a Tier yet.”

“Then what got you so intrigued?”

“That the Skill is usually earned by Brawlers. Talented Fighters? Wild Fighters? Just anyone that wants to be anyone wants to have Inspiration in their Repertoire. Not only for as a Trainer and tactician but also as a Fighter themselves.”

“From what I understand it’s not impossible for An Instructor to Earn skills related to Brawlers or Primers, since that is how the Class System works. Only Craftsmen are off limits.”

“True enough. It’s just that you got one of the Holy Skills for another Class as your first class. Are you sure you didn’t go against the Path the System suggested for you?”

“I didn’t. My path said None.”

“None!” Davosh was stunned.

Syl jumped in. “I can attest to that. It didn’t say All, it said None. It was one of the first things we talked about that caught me off guard.”

“That’s peculiar. I haven’t heard of the System giving no evaluation.”

“It let me choose out of all the options, and didn’t provide any particular tug towards some Class on another, so I feel there was no problem.”

“Apparently there isn’t. Well, congratulations anyhow. Hope it serves you well.” Davosh slapped Myron on the back and almost shoved him to the ground.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“You spoke about being allotted 2 skills as Human without a Tier yet, though I am close to it. What is that about?”

“It’s the limit of the System. Humans can only have so many Skills. The Class part of the System, it is assumed by those that aren’t blinded by these new religions, that was created exactly to give more slots for skills to humans.”

“What are Skills then? Did the people before the System feel their Skills, those attributed to… their Tier I guess, and where able to use them distinctively?”

“They did, that is what is believed. But as to what Skills are? Well we don’t know. I think they are awfully similar to Abilities but at the same time, they are weird. They’re just their own thing. As you know, with those two passives of yours. More than impressive might I add.” Davosh nodded in praise, lips pursed.

“So how many more Skill slots will I be able to get when I advance a Tier, or when I… do something with my class I don’t know about yet.”

“Two are added for its advancement. In Tier and in Class. Now you have Two for each as well, adding up to four, but also… When? You’re that sure of yourself?”

“Why? Is it hard to advance into being a First Tier Human?”

“It requires a few things at the very least. Your Attributes to be at 11 at the very least. All of them, it Requires you to have a Class. To have Earned to Skills, and to have leveled them at least once. While also needing a Bond, an active bond at the time of ascendance. But all of that is easily done. You have all those things and you’ve been here for a week. A Very tough week admittedly but others have 20 years.”

Davosh sat deeper into his little thrown, letting his arms rest on the intricately carved and polished wooden supports. “The Most important bit is the hardest bit. You need Aether, and Crystals. Meaning that you need Money, but as a Human without a Tier, you don’t have any money that is why you want to advance a Tier. This is the first major hurdle in the lives of many, many young men and woman who want to truly pursue the life of a Ranker, both in the Guild and Outside of it. Those Soldiers you saw fighting for the Duke in the North? They were without Tier, Level 9, and will be stuck like that unless they raised their position.”

“Poor, poor souls… did they, choose to enter the Army?”

“Some Chose, others had no other choice, and many where conscripted and rehabilitated criminals in their youths, some are slaves fighting to become free.”

“There are slaves in this world? In addition to Aimon being treated as slaves?”

“The slave trade is booming. On all accounts.” Davosh nodded gravely, to him it is fact he has had to live with for all his life.

“Myron, the Weak don’t survive in this world on their own. If you want to do your own thing, to live a free life, you need to be strong. Otherwise you need to enter an organization that will have your back, no matter what that may be. If you don’t that choice will be made for you, and you will die, or worse, loose all your Aimon.”

“How Much Aether does one need to be able to Ascend to Ruby Tier?” Myron asked, Dakini and Mery suddenly hooked on the conversation.

“You need 100 Points of Aether. As you can see your pool is currently standing at an Incredible 42. You would need 25 in each - Clarity and Spirit, or some other way to add them up to fifty, to be able to do it. And even then… Aether is a precious resource that trickles in and has to be saved for absolute emergencies. It is a paradox that all trainers face. Do I use this precious resource that I get so little of, now, when I am in Danger? Can we make it through this? Am I forced to? How much is this going to Delay my Ascendance? We lead dangerous lives that require us to spend Aether in Combat, but at the same time we need that Aether not only to invest in ourselves but to use in Ascendance, taking off from the cost of Buying Aether filled crystals and doing it that way.”

Myron closed his eyes and sent a warning through all three of his Aimon as he swallowed that piece of knowledge. ‘Syl keep talking, you two, don’t do anything, don’t make a noise, just listen. Don’t look, don’t stop breathing, don’t change anything. I don’t want them to know anything, not them, not anyone.’

“What Crystals store Aether in them? How many types of Crystals are there? And do I need other Crystals on top of that?”

“To Answer your last question first, you do. The Same Crystals that are used to create Tethers. Gena and Bahaar. The Crystal that can house all Types of Aether, and the Crystal that holds Pure Aether with no Type at all.”

“How does Gena work? Does it Hold all Types at the Same time?”

“The one you need for Ascendance does. You have to buy one fully charged or go around and paying to charge it. Though with your team of Aimon you save yourself quite a bit of the cost.”

“And what Crystal comes empty of Aether? Is that even a thing? From what I understand Gena and Bahaar come with Aether inside of them which is the supplemented.”

“I don’t know Myron, how those Crystals are formed or if they are natural and simply kept secret. I am not privy to those details and I never will be. I signed off on that when I decided to become part of the Guild, until much-much later in my career.”

“With the Empty Crystal ready, all we need is Enough pure Aether within a Bahaar Crystal and a Gena Crystal with all the Types of Aether that exist. They way Enchanters get enough Aether and Type to imbue into the Empty Crystal, and the Way Bahaar is filled may disgust you.”

“Go on.” Myron frowned.

“For Gena, they keep Aimon captive, They open up their chests and pull out their crystals. In weird ways that I don’t know either they manage to take out all the Aether from inside their Cores and destroy them in the process.”

“Why can’t they ask the Aimon to give all their Aether?”

“That Myron would require cooperation, and consent and Trust. The Aimon that end up in such situations are not entirely in the mindset to be cooperative. It’s a failed System, from the Start. I understand. But there is never a Chance that any random Trainer would be willing to offer up doing this without payment, and it’s thus much cheaper to do it otherwise. That is the sad conclusion I have reached at least.”

“And what about Bahaar? How do they get pure Aether?”

“Humans are weaker creatures than Aimon. Their loyalties falter, their minds bend and break under pressure. We are more susceptible to torture.”

“This Aether is extracted with Violence or with Death if someone is not cooperative, from the Aether Pools of Humans, like you and me.” Myron concluded.

“Not always like me, and certainly not like you. Whether it be War slaves, debt slaves, Servants of all types who have their Aether taken as part of their contract, the poor or the homeless those that were not brave enough or fortunate enough to be able to both afford a tether and get the chance to Capture an Aimon. Those that give their Aether can even be taxed citizens. After all, whether you are worth something or worth nothing, the Empire will find a use out of you, and if you have an Aimon lying around with which you produce Aether why not move to that nicer neighborhood in exchange for that Aether?”

“Thankfully, if it is any conciliation. It has been shown that Aether in Humans is produced only if they maintain a Bond with Aimon, and at the same time - as of recently - it has been found that Aimon that are abused and mistreated and have no emotional fulfillment are incapable of creating Aether.”

“It’s no conciliation at all, but thanks for the effort Guild Master.” Myron ran a hand thorough his hair, only to remember that not long ago they had shaved it clean. Now he stood with but a buzz cut growing outwards in spikes.

“In a world with the most majestic and wondrous creatures, where they can live in ways unimaginable to 8 billion people. With true connections of trust like no other. With increased lifespans, and a System that lays it all on the table for them, with the capability for ascending into super-people and increasing their lifespans, magical solutions to cleanliness, to disease, to all the comforts that my world spent thousands of Years and so much effort to try and create for themselves. Yet here they are, treating each other as horribly as you would expect. Humans, I guess never change.” Myron laid back on the sofa. His eyes aimlessly staring at the ceiling.

“Meh-“ He shrugged. “Not the time for it. Let me enjoy this world and life a bit more.” He stood. “Guys I think it’s about time we get out of here.” He said right as hurried footsteps thudded down the hallway leading to the Guild Master’s office. The man knocked.

“Guild Master, Something Urgent requires your attention.” The man said form outside the door, cordial. Never opening the door since he hadn’t been allowed to do so. Davosh stood and placed a finger over his lips, demanding silence from everything.

“What is it?”

“The Ducal Guards are here. Demanding for a Trainer taken to the back of the Reception by Lady Marissa. Myron, the newly wanted trainer of Three that tried to Kidnap Princess Elektra apparently. They have investigated and are certain that he entered the Guild under disguise some hours ago.”

“Alright, go back to work. I’m coming to deal with this.” Davosh said and waited as the messenger left without saying another word.

“It was fun meeting you Myron. Hope you have more luck with the Local authorities wherever you end up. Marissa, show him the Back door, the Back Back Door, you know. I’ll be off to delay The Guard until Marissa reports back.”

“Thank you.” Myron bowed his head and Davosh waved it off. “I’m waiting for you to make good on that challenge, young Trainer.” He disappeared down the flight of stairs seconds later.