Dad congratulated me on reaching Level 5. Since I hadn’t announced it to anyone, I explained that I reached it right after the zebor fight.
Odd Earth and Unbroken Stone caused quite a stir at the beginning of training. Everyone knew of Earth Elementals, but not many people have the experience of meeting one, and here were two. Last ‘Tuesday’ Sun and Ferret were the new apprentices, and now there was another with its elder. Onre introduced them to the other students and masters.
After a few minutes of general socialization, Master Trillet took charge. “Young Odd Earth, we have limited knowledge of your people and capabilities. Since you lack classes, meeting your needs as a student will require us to have a basic understanding of what you can do now and expect to learn as you gain levels. Right now I know you are a Level 7 Earth Elemental, and that is about it.”
Before replying to Master Trillet, Odd turned to his Elder and asked if there were elements of their lives he should not reveal. Elder Stone told him that in allowing him the opportunity to become a student here, they knew those of flesh would learn much about their people. Yet they had no great secrets, so Odd was free to say whatever he felt was important.
“Okay, Elder, thank you. We are rarely seen because most of the time our people live quiet lives in caves, sometimes taking time to explore dungeons. I personally have not yet been in a dungeon, yet. For any of you who don’t know, I am an unborn awakened and have only been on Heere for about six months. So I personally am familiar with several caves and the mountainous area where we lived. I have seen more in the journey to Cottages than in the rest of my life. I’m sure you’ll be learning more about our lifestyle in the months to come.”
“As Master Trillet said, we do not have classes. We can learn skills just like all other sapient beings, but as creatures of aether our common skills are not limited to either mana or ki types. Our condensed aether empowers both equally well. For example, casting a Torch while Dark Sight is up is ordinary for us. The one common skill I think to be unavailable is Infertility. But being sexless, that is not really a problem.” He smiled at that.
“We gain a new species capability every three levels. Unlike our learned skills, these capabilities don’t have ranks; they simply improve through use and with level. At Level 1 my first capability, well they are the same for all of us, was Shunt Damage. It is basically a damage resistance power, shifting attack damage directly into the ground.. Our Level 4 capability is a taunt aura, sort of making us natural tanks. There is not really much to see with those. But last week I reached Level 7 and finally got Tar Patch. I used it seriously for the first time earlier today. Let’s move to the road, and I'll put one up. There will be no permanent changes. Follow, but remain several yards away from me.”
We followed as requested. There was no traffic, allowing him to immediately go to the road’s center. He made the patch and told us it was up. Nothing visually had changed, but he asked anyone who wanted to to approach him. Two of the Master’s did along with Kossa. As they approached him, we could see that their movement was slow. Their feet made sucking sounds as they lifted them out of the thick goop.”
As they continued to fight the ground, Odd explained, “The radius is not even three yards yet, but I’ll eventually be able to make it fifteen yards. Its depth is about two inches now, but I’ll eventually be able to make it about twelve. I can always use less than my maximums.” Suddenly Master Brune ran past Odd, and out of the patch. “As the Master experienced, normal motion is inhibited, but travel powers of those I consider to be allies are not affected. That includes Run.”
That was why my Dodge still worked.
Yes.
“If you are done testing it, back away and I’ll restore the road.” They did, and the small mounds of tar smoothed over, the ones which had been built where they lifted their feet. “Thank you. At Level 10 my new capability will be Throw Boulder, giving me a ranged attack. I won’t need to have a pre-existing boulder, I will be able to reach down and grab one from the ground, which will then reform. In general I hope to eventually gain a master with the geomancer class, because many of my capabilities closely align with those skills. Um, should I go on?”
Master Trillet said that was enough to give them an idea for building up a lesson plan, but they would continue to appreciate his feedback if something is not working well. Without words he led us back to the school ground. Then he invited Odd and Elder Stone to his apprenticeship session where he could train both swordsmanship and demonstrate Wallmastery techniques. The Elder was especially intrigued at that, not knowing what that class was but thinking it might be related to their elemental earth mastery capabilities.
A while later, during my session with Master Birch, my Basic Martial Arts ranked to E. Fighting the zebors had probably helped with that as well. I observed Ferret with Teacher Marson, it surprised me that he had already acquired basic reading skills. Well, come to think of it, Covargh spelling is very regular, and pronunciation closely matches the letters. It is like Spanish in that regard.
Since Master Birch was a teacher too, I asked him, “why is our language called Covargh? Everyone seems to speak it, including Humans, Skolturi, and even Sun and Ferret.”
“I don’t know how our common language became known as Covargh. It is actually Skolturi, who taught it to the entire world. The various races must have liked it, because we’ve all been using it for 2000 years.”
“On Earth, languages would drift far apart in that time frame. There are literally thousands of languages, sometimes multiple ones in a single country. And everyone there is Human.”
My Master replied, “All I can tell you is that did not happen here. If it is normal for languages to drift like that, maybe the gods helped us keep the one common tongue.”
A voice in my head added, “Lenyet is correct. If there were thousands of languages on Heere, we would have to learn all of them. Can you imagine what a pain that would be? There are other languages used deep in dungeons, however, so we know five total.”
“Oh, hello Skawa. You have permission to monitor my thoughts if you are hanging out. And yes, I can imagine it would be a pain, no matter how smart you are.”
Greetings, Skawa. You have my permission also.
“Thank you,” the god replied. “I see it has already been an interesting day. Your day has barely started, however.”
“Well, cool. Should I expect something in particular?”
I heard whistling. I didn’t know one could whistle mentally. The message seems to be the same as Interface often uses – ‘watch and learn.’
When training ended, Lenyet plus our group of seven approved students went to the cottage that was apparently our home now. Unbroken Stone accompanied the other masters to, um, somewhere. On the way, I said that I’d like to discuss my skill selection with Lenyet and anyone else interested. Odd was very happy to be included among ‘actual adventurers’, and was anxious to learn what my options were. At our cottage, the only furniture in the den was a desk and chair. It also had a large, rectangular area rug filling most of the floor, and we all sat on it.
Excluding Lenyet, Odd was most senior by level, and who knows how far advanced they were as a fairy. So I asked.
“She only made it to Level 43. You could think of her basically as an entertainer, using her Aeromancer and Light Dancer classes to show off and compete with other fairies and entertain visitors. We generally had a pretty easy life. Heere feels fairly safe, but Eversail was often downright unchallenging.” Ferret asked what a Light Dancer was, and all of us might have been wondering the same thing. “Kossa is going to be a Bard, and I heard Onre sing. So you understand the power of music. Now imagine being able to do the same sorts of things, but with light instead of sound. That is light dancing.”
My initial reaction to ‘only Level 43’ had been quickly replaced by imagining the wonders that a light dancer must be able to achieve.
“Is Light Dancer a class available on Heere?”
Yes. It is a popular choice among professional sex workers.
“And if you can picture a money machine,” Skawa added, “imagine a pleasure provider with both the Light Dancer and Bard classes.”
“Woah, total sensory overload.”
“And over, and over, and over …,” said Skawa, laughing.
“Seriously?” asked Onre. “Have you guys not heard of light dancing before?” No one had. He added with a grin, “Fifth Duchy bumpkins.”
“Hey, I’m from the Fourth Duchy!” corrected Kossa.
“Have you heard of light dancers?” She replied no. “Fourth Duchy bumpkin!” Onre responded with a grin.
Arrjee asked, “Why is it so funny that we don’t know this class?”
Onre got a little more serious. “It is not, really. The funny part is who tends to take the class. At least in big cities, a lot of prostitutes have it. I’m not saying being a prostitute is funny, but I am saying that you guys not being aware of it was funny. And Odd, I don’t mean to imply anything bad about your former self.”
It was the big Elemental’s turn to laugh. “You weren’t. I said I was an ‘entertainer’. Interpret that word broadly and in many contexts. It’s one reason I really don’t mind being a sexless monster now. She had enough of that for two lives.”
My mind goes where it goes. “How tall was she, Odd?”
Looking me up and down, “About the length of your forearm, from your elbow to almost the start of your palm.”
“So I guess most of your, uh, clients were fairies?”
Odd really laughed now. “What did Onre call you, ‘bumpkin’? You’re limiting your imagination to smaller than my size had been. I had clients of many species and heights. Good sex is as much in people’s minds as their bodies. And I was quite creative. This ‘sexless’ thing might turn out to be simply a new challenge.”
A horny, sexless chūnibyō. I wasn’t expecting that.
“Chūnibyō?” asked Skawa.
“That is an Earth word, for an adolescent who frequently imagines having super powers. I thought of the term earlier, when Odd was revealing their intense interest in becoming a big, strong adventurer after their boring life as a fairy. I guess it wasn’t so boring.”
The ‘new challenge’ remark got everyone laughing, and I joined in. When we calmed, Lenyet brought us back to our purpose, for me to discuss my skill choices.
----------------------------------------
“Interface, do you mind if I let Odd know that you are sapient? If he knows, we can establish a party and you can interact with everyone like we did last time I leveled.”
I do not mind. I have come to learn it would not take long for a former Level 43 unborn awakened to figure that out anyway.
“Okay, I’ll thank you ahead of time for all your opinions and ideas. When I reached Level 4, we discussed it in a very special manner.” I saw Arrjee and Onre get big smiles, knowing what was coming. “Odd is the only person here who has not learned about my interface. He is sapient, just as smart as anyone else. Since I chose this form of extended life, I got a very special Interface.”
anticipate:surprise
Who then proceeded to invite everyone in the room to a party. Ferret was happy to have his party interface back, saying this was only his third time. He may not have immediately realized who invited him, though.
I: Hello, everyone. I am Forrest’s Interface. You can speak normally with each other, and what Forrest hears, I will hear. If I have something to add, I’ll share it in this manner.
OE: Well, golden fart! Can my interface do that?
I: You will have to ask it.
After a moment’s pause,
OE: It says taking part in a conversation with others is beyond its programmed parameters.
Arrjee reminded Odd that we can speak normally. Then, “That’s more than my interface does. As a born awakened, it wouldn’t respond to a question like that at all.”
Ferret restated to verify his understanding, “Forrest’s interface is like a person then, right? He talk to us like anyone else?”
Ferret’s grammar has improved.
“Yes,” I replied. “But not like a person, Interface (that’s his name) is a person. He shares my mind and I guess body, but fully thinks for himself. He can only talk to anyone else if they are in a party with him, though.”
“Forrest, Interface one.” || Forrest and Interface are one.
“Three lobes I have. Two minds Forrest has.” || I have three cooperating lobes in my mind, but Forrest has two active minds.
“That’s right, Sun. Interface and I usually cooperate, too.”
as friends
“Now let’s begin with my character sheet so everyone knows where I am before choosing a skill. Query character sheet.”
I: Name: Forrest Rhodes
Race: Covargh Hybrid
Sex: male
Age: 16
Primary Class: Martial Artist
Secondary Class: Ki Healer
Level: 5
Base Attributes
Agility: 23
Charisma: 10.5
Dexterity: 23
Endurance: 21
Intelligence: 22
Luck: 10.5 (1 from river stone)
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Perception: 20
Strength: 21
Vitality: 24
Wisdom: 23
Free Points: 3
Level bonuses
Race: +2 Agi, +2 Dex, +2 Str, +2 Vit
Primary Class: +1 Agi, +1 Dex, +1 End, +1 Int, +1 Per, +2 Wis
Secondary Class: +1 Cha, +1 End, +1 Int, +1 Luc, +1 Vit, +2 Wis
Consolidated Level Bonuses
+3 Agi, +1 Cha, +3 Dex, +2 End, +2 Int,
+1 Luc, +1 Per, +2 Str, +3 Vit, +4 Wis
Stats
HP: 326/326, max = (Luc + Str*3 + Vit*6)*(1 + Lvl/10)
SP: 322/322, max = (Per + Agi*3 + End*6)*(1 + Lvl/10)
Ki: 312/343, max = (Int + Dex*3 + Wis*6)*(1 + Lvl/10)
Temp: 203 (Int + Wis*3 + Cha*6)*(1 + Lvl/10)
Granted Skills
HP Regen, C
SP Regen, C
Ki Regen, C
Ki Punch, D
Dodge, D
Claw Strike, E
Heal Other, D
Bless Blood, E
HPR Boost, E
Learned Skills
Meditation, D
Running, D
First Aid, C
Swimming, E
Wrestling, E
Drafting and Sketching, D
Tactics, D
Firefighting, F
Common Labor, F
Field Dressing, F
Basic Martial Arts, E
Group Mind, E
Common Ki Skills
Analyze, E
Dark Sight, E
Infertility, C
“Interface, why is my race listed as ‘Covargh Hybrid’ now?”
With the arrival of Ferret as a Covargh Emergent Ferretman and the possibility of Heere beginning a sudden evolutionary epoch, it seemed best to be precise.
“So that’s what you are calling it, ‘sudden evolutionary epoch’. I like it!”
“What do you call it?”
“Variety.”
I was giving everyone time to process all the information. Lenyet had moved to the desk and was taking notes. As my Master, I probably should have shown him this before.
Ferret wondered what all the numbers and words were in the Stats section. I kept it simple, saying that showed exactly how my attributes and level affected my derived stats. I let him know that he should eventually learn that kind of math as he learns numbers.
Kossa asked, “what is ‘Temp’?”
“Oh, that is short for temperament. It is a derived stat that most people don’t track. At Level 1, my charisma was only 6.5, which made my temperament low also. It was really easy for me to start getting mad.”
“What is with the point fives, anyway?” I explained to her and everyone why I have those.
“Excellent advancement, brother. I’ve reread grandma’s Level 4 copy of your character sheet several times, and you have made some great gains.” || happiness
He was sincere, but I might have heard something hidden beneath the spoken words – ‘for someone who is only here one day out of seven’. Probably not; it didn’t leak to his Group Mind. So that was my thought, not his.
“Thank you, Arrjee. I look forward to training and helping to advance everyone’s skills. Speaking of that, I have a choice of two right now. Interface, describe Boost Armor.”
I: Boost Armor adds to the existing resistances of worn unenchanted armor and charmed jewelry. The boost is reduced by half for bare skin or normal clothing. Effectiveness is a function of level, while capability improves with rank. The skill will remain active unless intentionally shut off or you run out of ki or stamina. Rank F values:
Physical Resistance: +5%
Ki Rate: 5/min
SP Rate: 10/min
I was surprised to see an ongoing cost in both ki and stamina. Lenyet commented, “That would work very nicely for you, Forrest. Your two arm bands and the belt buckle already grant 7.5% resistance, so with Boost Armor you would have 12.5% physical resistance over your whole body. Armor pieces will add 2.5% resistance to the area they protect, and you will still have 1.25% added to bare skin or clothed areas. Beginning at Rank E, you will begin gaining resistances beyond physical, such as acid and elemental. The amount of resistance rises at a rate of 1% per level.”
“Nice.”
Yes.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll select this, but let's take a look at my other choice. Describe Athletic Kick.”
I: Athletic Kick is a concussive attack of a foot or knee. Invest ki to provide more power than your muscles alone do. Ki adds a penetrative effect. Rank F values:
Base Damage: 0-3 + strength/20
Ki used: 0-5
SP used: 6
Recharge: 5 seconds
Woah, a concussive attack of my knee to a guy’s nads. That’s gotta be effective, even against a well-guarded cup.
Or a kick to their knee.
“This is certainly good, but”
“Well, I have to say I like that a lot, and plan on taking it soon. But does anyone feel that this should take priority over Boost Armor?”
There were several seconds of silence until Lenyet spoke. He must have wanted to give someone else a chance to speak first. “My choice of Boost Armor at Level 5 has proven to be a productive one. You are correct to like Athletic Kick; it was my Level 2 attack and is incredibly useful. But you already have two attacks now. You’re getting better with them, but improving your Basic Martial Arts first should have a higher priority than a new attack skill.”
“That makes sense, Master. Thank you. Last chance for anyone else to venture an opinion.”
I looked around. Just before I chose, Ferret wondered, “Do Dodge and resists work together? I wonder cuz I would be afraid resists get too good for Dodge to work.”
Onre had an immediate answer. “There are two basic kinds of attack protection, and they work together fine. Dodge is a form of defense, which means if it works, Forrest does not get hit in the first place.”
Lenyet interrupted, “An opponent faster and more powerful than Forrest can sometimes break through his defenses. You’re not wrong, I was just making sure Ferret knows defense is not absolute protection.”
“He’s right. Defense is good, but not 100% even when it is active. Resistance doesn’t stop Forrest from getting hit, but when he is hit, it will always reduce physical damage by some percent.”
“Okay, I see. It’s two different kinds of good. Cuz they’re different kinds, they can both be helping Forrest.”
I said, “Right., I’m choosing that second kind of good. Interface, I select Boost Armor.”
I: Granted Skill: Boost Armor, F
Everyone congratulated me. Lenyet said, “I didn’t tell Forrest one of the best features of this power. He can turn it on in the morning and forget about it unless his ki or stamina starts running low. He’ll be passively training SP and Ki regen all day long.”
I brought up my stats and focused on circulating ki throughout my body. I imagined having better resistance, and I sort of felt something kick in, and saw both my Ki and SP drop by a point. “It is on. So this will be using one ki every 10 seconds and one stamina point every 5 seconds, right?”
“That is correct.”
Just then there was a knock on the door, and without waiting Carrie came in. She announced, “Dad sent me to get you all. You’ll want to see this!” Lenyet asked her what it was. “Uh-uh Master, I can’t tell you. You’ve got to come see. It’s at the campus.”
----------------------------------------
She seems excited and happy, so whatever it is must be good.
“Oh, it’s good,” Skawa verified. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.” He started whistling again.
It would behoove us to go see.
“Interface means for you to get your ass in gear and head for campus.”
Yes.
“‘Ass in gear’?” I asked with a mental smile.
“A wonderful Earth phrase I picked up on galaxy net. Now move it!”
Lenyet had already stood, and then everyone else got up, including me. Interface announced he was disbanding the party, and did so. We followed Carrie out the door, and she commenced running at a moderate rate.
The campus was teeming with people and quite a number of horses. There must have been over 20 guardsmen, who probably had escorted the two large wagons and a carriage. They were all ornate vehicles. I was used to high quality and functional; these went beyond that with artistic flourishes such as the duchy’s flag and apparently its coat of arms embossed in probably silver and permanently attached to the front of each.
“Is the Duchess here? Aren’t flags only used when she is near?”
“Typically you are correct,” Skawa informed me. "Note flags are not flying; instead the metal emblems are being used to identify the wagons and carriage as royal property. The Duchess is not here.”
The two Skolturi were standing near the carriage, surrounded by people I knew from the village. Dad and Mom were there, dressed up nicely as they had done for Master Bustel Sendrin’s visit a few weeks ago. Grandma was with that group, standing close to Sterbian Morse, the former mayor. They were also dressed up; whatever was going on was significant to attract both mayors and such a crowd.
Uncle Ralf was standing a few steps back with his daughter Rina. I noticed Asha Yon standing alert near the center wagon. Wait, are these guys from the fort? I started looking closely at the other guardsmen. Yes! There was Captain Randolf Pokka, standing alert near the rear of the same wagon. I couldn’t see his wolves, but they are quite likely with him, currently behind the wagon and out of my sight. Guarding the wagon from its front were Wern and Norran Ograth.
Whatever or whoever is in that wagon must be important.
Skawa began whistling that short little tune of his.
“So many people here,” observed Ferret. “What they here for?” Arrjee responded that he didn’t know and he could only remember one other time when a full guard contingent came to Cottages. There were two carriages and a wagon that time, and the Duchess had come to visit.
I heard footsteps behind us. I turned and saw Masters Runtel Trillet and Brune Thorn had joined our group along with Unbroken Stone. “A messenger informed us that there was an event taking place at the adventuring school campus. We were invited as members of staff. Do you know what is going on?”
“No,” Lenyet answered. "Carrie was sent to fetch us, but she wouldn’t tell us anything.”
Carrie responded. “I sort of know a little, but I’m not really sure either. They didn’t want me to say anything, but just to bring the students.”
Just then Asiel and Orian began walking toward the administration building, alone with some teenage Human boy I didn’t recognize and had not noticed before. Err, wait, no. I wasn’t close enough to get a Rank D report on him, but the Rank E analysis was:
Harron Ronvaldt - male Human, age 28
Level 35 Cleric of Honor
My eyes didn’t match with the report. He didn’t look any older than 15. “I didn’t know there were half elves on Heere,” commented a puzzled Odd Earth. “Or Half Skolturi I guess I should say. Haven’t they all been dead for thousands of years? It’s curious; my analysis says he is Human, but he is too cute for that. No offense.”
I responded, “That’s the youngest looking 28-year old I have ever seen. Arrjee, you never said he looked like a teen.”
My brother responded, “It didn’t matter to the adults what he looked like. They considered his frequent dalliances with pre-leveled teens to be unacceptable behavior from a cleric his age. But it should be obvious why we teens were interested in spending time with him.”
“We would have accepted an occasional coupling,” remarked Runtel. “We tried to take his youthful appearance into consideration. But he was openly having relationships multiple times a week. When we asked him to act more his age, he did back off some, usually choosing older teens to partner with. That didn’t stop him entirely, though.”
Odd Earth commented, “I would have done him.” Brune, puzzled, verified that he had been a very short fairy. “Yes, but when most sapients are four to six times your height, a girl gets creative.”
My thoughts of Tinkerbell and Peter Pan are never going to be the same.
“Interface, why does he look so young?”
Insufficient data, but his youthfulness is beyond normal Human parameters.
“Forrest, your surprise is still coming up, but I didn’t expect for me to be surprised. Doing a detailed analysis. … Oh my, I had not envisaged this. Odd Earth is basically correct. Harron is over 30% Skolturi. He should be classified as a Human Skolturi Hybrid Primitive, with his genetics somehow being a throwback to earlier times.”
Reclassification acknowledged; database updated.
“Interface, I wasn’t asking you to update the database.”
“Actually, you did. You said, ‘He should be classified …’. Interface is very efficient. Besides, I think Harron might be part of that ‘variety’ you mentioned earlier.”
I heard a mental sigh. “So he is.”
Just as Harron and the two Skolturi reached the steps of the admin building, there were murmurs coming from various groupings within the crowd. I picked out the phrase, “Skolturi Hybrid” several times. Just like Odd and I had done, other people were analyzing him, and Interface’ database update was effective immediately. I re-analyzed Harron, and fully understood why people were talking. Not only had his race description changed, his age had been altered from ‘28’ to ‘youthful’.
The Skolturi seemed surprised that the crowd had not quieted so that they could speak. I shouted out, “Re-Analyze Cleric Ronvaldt.” They did so, and I’m sure they explained to the cleric what they saw. He got the strangest expression on his face, surprise mixed with relief, and then a smile.
Asiel spoke to us all, “Please quiet down; we will be making an important announcement. But first let me state that Orian and I are as surprised and confused as anyone. We had thought that Skolturi bloodlines had long since gotten so diluted that our race was completely gone. Yet here stands one of us. We had thought him to be an extraordinarily youthful-looking Human, although somehow familiar as well. So we are surprised, confused, and happy.”
“As am I,” loudly announced Harron. “For all my life I was too small, too young, never feeling normal. I didn’t know why, just thinking it was some sort of accident of birth. Well, it probably is exactly that, but finally I understand what I am. I very much look forward to learning about my Skolturi heritage from Asiel and Orian.”
“Skawa, do you think Honor knew this cleric was part Skolturi?”
If she ever met with him personally, most certainly. But it is more likely she never met him. Even if other priests had remarked on his youthful appearance, that probably would not have seemed unusual. If the priests had never seen Skolturi, it is unlikely they would have made the mental leap to the possibility of him not being fully Human, especially with their interfaces telling them that he was.”
Orian spoke loudly, “As we look forward to sharing it, Young Harron. For now, I suggest you tell us all what you have brought.”
“Alright thank you, Honored Orian, Honored Asiel. All these people are here for a reason, and it is not me. As many of you know, I was previously a cleric in the village of Cottages. Due to, well, circumstances, I lost my position here and went to the capital, where I have been serving as part of the Duchess’ court. Last month, a guardsman reported to her concerning the founding of a new school here, and one of its purposes related to a new healing class, Ki Healer. The Duchess appointed me to come back here as her representative to the school. She had me swear to not repeat the activities related to said circumstances, and I so swore.”
Ferret whispered, “What circumstances?” I reminded him about his activities with pre-leveled teens. “Oh.”
“My change in classification will not affect that oath. Even though I am just ‘youthful’ now, I accept that a Level 35 cleric might have more in common with other leveled people.”
Odd whispered to just us, “Hey, Harron, I’m leveled!” Some of us responded with light laughter.
Carrie commented quietly, “Well, Skawa’s Playground! He might not be an asshole any more.”
Runtel added, even quieter, “We’ll see.” I’m not sure he meant to say that aloud.
“The Duchess did not send me empty-handed.”
Skawa whispered in my mind, “Here it comes.”
“She has sent numerous training implements, such as wooden swords, dulled spears, old armor, old true weapons, a beginning stock of potions and bandages, all sorts of things. You may have been wondering why there would be an entire troupe of guardsmen to accompany that sort of rudimentary stuff. I assure you, they are not here for those things.”
“Duchess Tarbra Jossel is honored to present the Fifth Duchy’s Adventuring Academy with one of the treasures of the duchy, a Level 38 Formless Abider. Due to its aversion to sunlight, it is currently within its still-guarded wagon. As some of you may know, Formless Abiders are extremely rare. Duchess Jossel expects the school will find it to be extremely useful.”
I’m sure I was supposed to be impressed, but I had no idea of what a Formless Abider was.
“So, I guess it is formless, and it abides.”
Yes.
“Kids! Only your ignorance prevents you from being awestruck. Not counting any in deep, deep dungeons, there are only four on this continent.”
Forrest, a platinum coin is worth 1000 gold. If one were to be for sale, a Formless Abider would be worth hundreds of platinum.
“That’s approaching a billion dollars. Yep, I would have sent the troupe also.”