"You have their nas?" Reymond asked, his tone calm but sharp.
"Alan, Bob, and Kiwi," Dave replied, glancing at a piece of parchnt in his hand. "They’re not from this region, according to the townspeople."
"And where are they now?"
"They departed from this town yesterday... heading toward the capital," Dave said, folding the parchnt.
Reymond’s gaze narrowed. "Find them in the capital. Extract whatever information they have."
"Yes, prince." Dave bowed deeply.
Their eyes drifted down to the plaza below. Laughter echoed through the square as a young woman played with the children, her face radiant with joy. Won gathered around her, smiling and chatting like old friends. Her presence seed to brighten the entire town.
"She’s too kind for a world this cruel," Dave said quietly. "Princess Reika... she doesn’t belong in a place like this."
Reymond clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes never leaving her. The sunset began to sink behind the hills, casting golden light over the town.
"I’ll build a better world for her, and for everyone," Reymond said. "That’s why I want to beco stronger. So I can protect the ones who are dear to ."
He looked at his clenched fist, trembling with determination.
"That is a noble cause, prince," Dave said, bowing.
Reymond turned back toward his group and shouted, "Get ready! We’re heading for that tower!"
He then looked at Dave. "Lead the way, Sir Dave. I want to see it with my own eyes."
"Follow , Your Highness."
Dave nodded and began leading Prince Reymond and his group of guards and knights toward the distant tower.
---
The next day, we were out on a quest, or more like a field trip, if you asked .
We stood on a wide open plain, with hills, rivers, and distant mountains surrounding us. The early morning sun had just begun to rise, casting a warm glow over the grassy fields where wild animals grazed peacefully.
We stopped beneath a massive tree, the only one in sight. As usual, Bob had brought his trusty picnic mat. Evelyn and Maya brought food, while William carried supplies like potions and tools. It was the full goblin raid team again, with one new addition, Yui.
I still do not know how, but sohow Bob had convinced her to tag along. When I pressed him for details, he just shrugged and said he asked Evelyn to do the convincing.
"The most basic thing both of you need to learn before taking the initiation test," Maya began, her pointed hat bobbing as she took on the role of lecturer, "is how the adventurer and class ranking system works."
Bob and I focused on her, munching on sandwiches. Evelyn was scanning the area for any nearby monsters, while William continued unpacking from what must have been a bottomless bag. Yui was preparing food as well, wearing a tight shirt that left little to the imagination. I tried not to stare... but Bob was not as subtle. He kept sneaking glances.
Thwack!
A stick flew through the air and smacked Bob right on the head.
"Ouch!" he yelped, rubbing the spot as he glared at Maya.
"Pay attention when soone’s teaching you!" she scolded.
"Yes, Sensei!" Bob quickly sat up straight, hands on his knees like a scolded student.
Maya cleared her throat and continued.
"Adventurer ranks are divided into S, A, B, C, D, E, and F. As you probably guessed, S is the highest, and F is the lowest. Evelyn and I are both Rank D. William is Rank C. Most mbers of the Dawnbloom Guild are between Ranks C and D, with a few at B or A."
"What about E and F?" I asked.
"There are a few of them," she replied. "But most are support-based or non-combat classes."
Bob and I nodded along, still chewing.
"Are there any S-ranks?" Bob asked, his eyes lighting up.
Maya hesitated and glanced at William, who gave a silent nod.
"There are," she said carefully. "But due to... current circumstances, most of them have moved on to other guilds."
Moved on to other guilds? Current circumstances? It sounded shady. I exchanged a glance with Bob, he was clearly thinking the sa thing.
"Anyway," Maya continued, "you can increase your adventurer rank by taking a special trial. But to qualify for that trial, you’ll need to et specific requirents set by the guildmaster. So guildmasters are lenient. Others, very strict. Guildmaster Mirinda falls sowhere in between."
Evelyn walked over and joined us, picking up so food before sitting down beside .
"You found them?" Maya asked.
"Yup! They were just by the river," Evelyn replied casually.
We were currently in the middle of a quest to hunt a group of Trihorn Bison, a Rank C mission. Trihorn Bisons are notorious for damaging farmland and being extrely territorial. They tend to drive away other livestock and, despite being cattle-like, cannot be dosticated. Because of this, many farrs put out quests to eliminate them. On top of that, their at is said to be delicious.
Which is exactly why Bob picked this quest.
"Whoa! When can we hunt them? I can’t wait to grill that at!" Bob said excitedly, nearly drooling.
"I’m not done explaining yet," Maya said sharply.
Bob imdiately sat up straight and focused again, clearly terrified of Maya’s wrath.
"Now, the second important thing to understand is Classes. Every adventurer must have a class. These are divided into three main categories: Physical, Magical, and Spiritual."
"I know! Physical is like a warrior! Magical is like you, Maya the Mage!" Bob raised his hand, grinning as he answered like a student.
"Yes, that’s correct," Maya nodded.
Bob bead with pride while Yui clapped politely beside him.
Seriously... how did those two get close so fast? I need to dig into that later.
"What’s an example of a spiritual class?" I asked.
"Spiritual includes healers and support classes. So more radical ones deal with the soul itself, like Necromancers," Maya explained.
Imdiately, images of zombies popped into my mind.
"The class will be marked by color, Red for Physical, Blue for Magical, and Green for Spiritual," she continued.
"I have a question. Let’s say I get a magical class. Can I still train in physical skills too?" I asked, curious about how flexible the system was.
"You can," Maya answered, "but you won’t be nearly as proficient. It’ll be inefficient and, for most, a waste of ti."
"Got it."
I reached into Bob’s pocket and pulled out his notebook to jot the information down.
"Hey!" Bob growled.
"But," Maya added, "there are rare cases where soone might have two class types. It is very, very rare. While all three at once? That’s never been docunted."
She narrowed her eyes at us suspiciously.
Just like Kiwi, she was probably wondering how we could already use so many skills from different classes.
Bob and I gave her awkward smiles.
Maya sighed and continued.
"Classes also have grades, Low, dium, and High. It’s an unofficial way of grading but widely accepted way to gauge the strength of a class. For example, in magical class, ’Mage’ is considered low-grade. More specialized ones like ’Pyromancer’ or ’Icemancer’ are dium. High-grade would be sothing like ’Wizard’ or ’Witch’."
I nodded and kept scribbling in the notebook.
"Lastly, there’s Class Rank, which is different from Adventurer Rank. Class Rank is sothing you’re born with, and it cannot be changed. The three ranks are Novice, Advanced, and Pri. When you use a Knowledge Orb, it will reveal your Class Rank. Unlike adventurer rank, you can’t level this up."
"For example," she continued, ", Evelyn, and William are all Novice rank. That ans we’ll never be able to achieve the benefits that co with being Advanced or Pri."
"So... it’s predetermined," I said.
"Exactly. Class Rank is hereditary. Among nobles, marriages are often arranged to maximize bloodline potential. For instance, one noble might have Pri rank but a low-grade class. They’ll seek to marry soone with a high-grade class, even if that person only has Novice rank, to try and create powerful offspring."
"I know! It’s just like the Flower Prince, Cerdic. He’s a Pri-ranked, S-rank Flower Knight! His mother’s side is famous for having a high rate of Pri-ranked classes, while his father’s family all inherit the Flower Knight class!"
Yui clapped her hands, clearly excited.
Maya nodded.
"Exactly. Cerdic is a perfect example of strategic class pairing. You’ll probably see him at the carnival. He’s a regular participant from the Goldfang Guild."
"It really sounds like a pet breeding ga..." Bob muttered to , clearly annoyed.
"I can’t wait to beat that Cerdic guy," he added under his breath, probably out of jealousy.
Maya continued, "And finally, let’s talk about magic items."
"Ugh... my head’s already full from all this info dump," Bob sighed, leaning back with a groan.
I ignored him and tried to stay focused on Maya.
"Magic items are important. Watch what kind your opponents wear. They co in many forms, rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more. Higher-ranked adventurers usually have more powerful items on them."
"Like this!" Evelyn suddenly stood up with a grin and held out her wrist.
She was wearing a silver bracelet, engraved with the design of a tiny bow. A soft light pulsed from it, and in an instant, a gleaming silver bow materialized in her hands. The edges were sleek and well-crafted, polished to a shine, it looked amazing on her.
"What do you think?" Evelyn asked proudly, showing off her weapon.
The three of us, Bob, Yui, and I stared at the bow, srized by its craftsmanship.
"Where’d you steal it from?" Bob asked without thinking.
PANG!
A big lump ford on Bob’s head.
"I’m not like you guys, stealing from others!" Evelyn huffed. "I bought this from my savings! I plan to fight for a spot in the carnival this year, so I need to be prepared."
She spun the bow proudly, the sunlight glinting off its tallic fra.
While we were still admiring the bow, William finally finished unpacking his supplies. He walked over and clapped his hands together.
"I think that’s enough theory for now. Ti for so practical training," he said with a smile.
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