Chapter 8

Advancing

Less than half an hour after leaving the Tailoring Guild, Jay stood outside the Blacksmith's Guild. He pushed open the black iron door with effort, entering. Inside was an open room filled with light. He had thought it would be a forge, but it seemed the entrance was a reception area. He could hear a slight clanging from somewhere at the other side of the room; it seemed the smithy was further inside the stone building.

In the entrance room sat lots of people—tall and short—around small round wooden tables. Most had a piece of metal or other material in their hands and was engraving their material with small tools. Some of the people looked up as Jay entered, but none came up to him as people had in the Tailoring Guild.

“Hello,” Jay said, awkward about being stared at. “Anyone interested in buying some Giant Beetle Carapaces?”

Almost everyone that had looked at him lost interest, which was for the best. Jay didn't like suddenly being the center of attention.

A smiling, red-bearded, tall man with a leather apron and thick muscular arms walked up to Jay, the man's boots clanked loudly as he walked. Jay didn't think he could even lift one of those thick metallic boots; he wondered what the man's Strength was to be wearing those boots casually.

“Hello, newbie,” the man said. “I'm Fengil, a Blacksmith. If you're willing to trade the Giant Beetle Carapaces for items I might be interested."

“Hello Fengil, I'm Jay.” Jay said. “Ehm, the thing is: I'm really in need of money. But I might be able to take one item and some money. I have a hundred and fourteen giant beetle carapaces. What will you offer for them?”

Fengil put a hand to his shin, scratching himself through his thick red beard. “How about 27 copper coins each and one item of your choice from a couple I've made?” Fengil motioned that Jay should follow him to a table.

At the table Jay sat down on a stool and looked back at Fengil. “What items do you have to offer? I would like a dagger or a light sword. I don't have a lot of Strength.”

“Hm,” Fengil said, as if contemplating. “If that's the only things you need I only have two daggers and one short sword.” Fengil brought out the items from his Inventory and placed them on the table in front of Jay.

Jay looked at the things. The sword had a requirement for 48 Strength and one of the daggers was more of a short knife than an actual dagger. The other dagger was interesting, though. It was slim and long, longer than Jay's forearm. The dagger's guard was a cross-guard that bent slightly outward. It looked ordinary, but good. Observe.

Lesser Steel Stiletto (Dagger Weapon) (760g) Attack: 5-11 Durability: 22 / 24 Attack Speed: +20% A Stiletto Dagger made from crude steel. It is made for stabbing attacks, and will lose durability fast if used with slashing attacks. It was made by the Beginner Blacksmith Fengil. Requires 14 Strength to use. Requires 20 Dexterity to use.

The stiletto dagger wasn't something Jay could use right away, but it wasn't far from being usable. And he dearly needed some sort of weapon if any creature ever came close to him. This seemed like a good starting weapon to use until he found something else.

Seeing the dagger also made him realize that he had to think about how to distribute his Stat Points and in which direction he was going to advance. He thought it would be best to go the route of Magician because he only had one life and attacking from a distance made it easier to survive if it was done with care. His home-made Spell that shot small pieces of metal with Mana Manipulation was a great weapon too, it made it possible to attack from a distance and do devastating damage. It was an Attack Spell which made it almost impossible for him to not use his Stat Points like a Magic User would. Somehow it felt like he had already chosen what Stats he would prioritize without even thinking about going another direction because of the massive damage he could do with his home-made Spell.

“Hey,” Fengil said, rousing Jay out of his contemplation. “Do we have a deal?”

Jay thought for a while longer. The deal wasn't bad, but he had to try squeezing out a little bit more. “How about you give me 35 iron coins and this Stiletto Dagger?”

“That's a bit rough for me. I only need the giant beetle carapace for some lesser armors I'm making to learn an Engraving Skill. I will barely make any money from the things after selling them. How about 33 iron coins and the Stiletto Dagger?”

That was almost a raise of 1 copper coin per beetle carapace; Jay felt pleased that he had been able to raise the price, if only by little. Every little bit of money counted. He really needed all the money he could get to buy food for the continuation of his nightly training sessions. “Fine. We have a deal. Here.” Jay brought out all the giant beetle carapace from his Inventory, heaping them on the table, receiving 33 iron coins at the same time.

“Great doing business with you,” Fengil said. “Add me as a friend. If you collect any crafting materials later, you can contact me. I'll most likely buy any material I can use for my smith-work.”

“Sure,” Jay said, and thought Add Friend 'Fengil' “There we go. Well, I'll see you around Fengil. Thanks for the dagger.” Jay took the Stiletto Dagger from the table and stood.

“Yeah, thanks for the material Jay. See you.”

Waving to Fengil, Jay walked out of the Blacksmith's Guild with light steps. If nothing else, he now knew a fairly easy way to get more money now. All he had to do was kill Giant Beetles outside the city. But now was not the time to do that. He had his Quest from the Magician's Guild to do. And the sun was setting soon, he had to prepare for the Quest tonight, so he could go down into the sewers after training through the night.

- - - - - - - -

Entering Bluth's General Store Jay made a mental list of what to buy. “Hey Bluth, I'm here to buy some things.” He walked up the counter and shook hands with Bluth.

“Hello again Jay. Your patronage is appreciated.”

“I want fifty pieces of the Large Nourishing Traveling Bread, two sheets of paper, a pencil, five torches and... do you have anything cheap that gives instant Healing?”

“I have a few vials with Healing Potion, but it would be cheaper to buy such things at the Herbalist Guild's Alchemy Department. I have torches, but an oil lamp is cheaper in the long run. Though you can buy twenty torches for the price of an oil lamp it is still cheaper if you spend lots of time where you need light. The lamp-oil is quite cheap.”

“Yeah,” Jay said; he only had this little problem, his money was needed for more urgent things. “I'll buy some torches for now. I can't afford an oil lamp. How much does the Healing Potions heal... and their price?”

“After drinking this vial of healing potion,” Bluth took out a small glass vial capped by a brown cork from under the counter; it was filled with a reddish brown liquid. “You heal about a hundred Health. It isn't very good, but for a beginner it can be the difference between life and death. It's only five iron coins each.”

“Only five?” Jay asked, unable to hide his discontentment over the price. “I want two vials of Healing Potion. What's the total price?”

“The total would be fourteen iron coins and 70 copper coins,” Bluth said. “But because you've visited so often lately, I'll give you a discount. How about 13 iron coins total?”

“Wow,” Jay said. “The potions sure are expensive. I wish I didn't need this sort emergency aid, but it can't be helped, I'd rather burn money than die rich. So, it's fine, we have a deal Bluth.”

Bluth brought out all the things and put them on the counter. Jay handed over the 13 iron coins. “Thanks for this.” He opened his Inventory, first storing the food in the food storage space, then opening another space and lay out the rest of the things in small piles inside. He kept one vial of Healing Potion and a torch outside his Inventory, keeping them close by in his yellow bag, knowing that if he ever needed the Healing Potion he would need it quickly. And the best thing he had for quick access was the bag that was fastened around his waist. He left the bag opened slightly, so that he could reach inside in a hurry if he ever needed to.

Evening was closing in when Jay left Bluth's store. It seemed another day had gone by without him having any time to think beyond his closest needs. He had Leveled up a few times and sold some things; it had been a good day. Now he would spend the night training his Strength and Endurance.

Claudine, Jay thought. I've been thinking, why do I not need to sleep? I haven't felt sleepy since I entered this world. Is that how it is for everyone? Bluth seems to close his store before night comes and the streets have a lot fewer people. Even the Guilds seem to close during night.

You've used Meditation instead of sleep when you had to rest, Claudine explained. I think that has lessened your need for active rest such as sleep. But I do not know how long you will be able to go without sleep. So far as I know you will get benefits such as being Rested if you sleep, but beyond that I don't know. I don't sleep.

Thanks for the info, Jay thought, running toward the open deserted plaza he had found earlier. Then he began his, now almost routine, physical training of running around and lifting rocks that was heavy enough to be troublesome to lift. It had given results so far; so, he had no reason to stop. It would be very good if he could gain a couple of Stat Points every day by exercising at night. He was, after all, stuck inside this world, so why not use all the time possible to become stronger. He still didn't know what the man who had hired him was going to have him do here. So, becoming as strong as possible, as fast as possible, was important if he wanted to survive.

During the night he thought about what he was going to do with the Stat Points he had gained from Leveling up. He now had 64 points to distribute, but what would be best to put them in? He had very little Health, but he attacked from a distance and was almost never close enough to be hurt. And now after he had gained Endurance points from exercise he wasn't critically low on Health. He also had his 'Enduring Willpower' Skill that let him increase his Strength to a degree that was sufficient for his style of fighting; standing wasn't even tiring anymore. Maybe it was a good idea to increase his Dexterity so he could dodge and run away if he need to, but that was also something that increased from his physical exercise. If it was more difficult to train and increase his physical Attributes the higher they were, then it was important to not raise them with the Stat Points he got from his Level-ups only because it would hinder his possible growth from exercise.

If he didn't believe he had to get as strong as possible as fast as possible because of his enigmatic employer, he would spend a month just exercising his physical Stats. But he had to become at least one of the strongest people in this little city, because sooner or later, he knew he would be part of some sort of competition with the other proxy-players. And it was most likely some sort of deadly competition.

He didn't know how much each added point to an Attribute affected his whole, but for now it was probably best to wait and see. He was going to the Magician's Guild when the sun rose to buy some Spells anyway. He could wait. Feeling he had an affinity toward Magic and enjoying its use, he figured it was what he should focus on right now. But he didn't have to add any points to his Intelligence or Wisdom just yet; it was better to know what requirements the Spells he was going to buy needed and then only increase those Stats to that bare minimum. It is also better to not engage an enemy up close if I can avoid it, he thought. I can't forget that if I die once I die for real.

Yes, Jay, Claudine said in his head. There are severe penalties if you die.

It wasn't really a statement that needed to be reaffirmed, Jay thought back. But thanks for... worrying?

No problem, Claudine said, a slight tone of what could only be described as a barely audible tinkling laughter followed.

During the night Jay advanced his Strength by 2, his Dexterity by 2, his Endurance by 1 and his Vitality by 1. It was a productive night this time as well. And Meditation was leveling quicker than any of his other Skills. View Skill 'Meditation'.

[Active Support Skill] Meditation Level 8 (37%) Meditation is the foundation of exploring your mind and its connection to your body. Through resting your body completely and actively attuning your Mana flow, you gain the ability to boost your natural abilities of Regeneration. Increases Mana Regeneration by 2.4% Increases Health Regeneration by 2.4% Increases Stamina gained from food by 435%, distributing a forth every 15 minutes for 1 hour. This Skill is interrupted if you move or are moved. If this happens it can only be reactivated after five minutes.

About the same time as he was fed up with the monotonous training, the sun rose, painting the sky a slight bluish color dotted with speckles of white clouds. It was morning again, and he felt refreshed. It was time to go back to the Magician's Guild and try doing the Quest once more.

- - - - - - - -

The Magician's Guild was as weirdly magnificent as ever. Entering the compound's open gates, he looked around.

A slender elderly man with white wispy hair and bushy eyebrows greeted Jay. “Hello, how may I help you?” The man's eyes was was framed with wrinkles, but otherwise the man looked younger than the seemingly old man he actually was. The man smiled at Jay.

“Hello,” Jay said, not recognizing the man. He had hoped to meet that Fairwater guy again, but it wouldn't really matter who he spoke to about buying Spell Scrolls. “I'm here to learn a couple of Spells. Do you have a book or something that I can go through to learn about what Spells do what and their costs?”

“Yes,” the man said. “Come this way. Let's go to the Library. About the Spells you are looking for, within what ranges of Intelligence and Wisdom do you want to read about? You seem young and inexperienced, so it would be the Beginner Spellbook with Spells that requires up to 200 in both Wisdom and Intelligence. Am I right?”

“You are,” Jay said, not knowing how the man knew that. “How did you know that?”

“I can discern much about you,” the man said. “I have discerning eyes, after all... and the Spells and Skills to go with that.”

“You don't say,” Jay said. “Something like the 'Observe' Skill?”

“Well, yes. Something like that, though I use the Spell Identify and Enhance Perception to get a better range of information than the 'Observe' Skill can give. It's a benefit of being a Magician,” the man chuckled to himself. “Using spells to know, understand and influence reality is what we do after all.”

“Okay,” Jay said. “Are those Spells easy to learn?”

“It all depends on your Attributes,” the man said, smiling. “And how much you are willing to pay.”

Passing a few small gardens, they walked in silence, Jay following the old man. Soon they arrived at a strange structure that could only be described as a collection of smaller buildings intertwined and connected by walkways and corridors stretching between the buildings on not only ground level but also in the air. It looked a bit like there had been hundreds of upgrades and additions to the building over the years. Not only was the building strangely assembled, the structure also had different styles that clashed with each-other; some sub-buildings had ornate stone carvings and others looked like plain wooden structures. The jumble made Jay feel a bit dizzy looking at it.

In the middle of the jumble was a enormous stone building with a large open archway; the entry into the Library, Jay assumed. Passing through the large archway, Jay was in awe. The open doors were engraved with swirls and geometric patterns and shone with a dim metallic light. It was clearly both a piece of art and something magical. Inside the building was a vast room; the walls, covered in dark golden brown wood, glowed slightly; the floor, made from some black and white marbled rock, shimmered; it screamed of luxury. There was a large number of people in different kinds of robes sitting in soft sofas surrounding small tables. People were scattered everywhere in the vast open room.

“I will leave you here,” the man said, motioning with his left arm to a opening in the wall where a young woman stood. “Go to the receptionist and ask for a Beginner's Spellbook.”

“Thanks for the help,” Jay said, walking away from the old man, going to the receptionist.

“Hello, how may I help you?” a young, busty woman said. Her smiling face was beautiful, her green eyes almost sparkled. Dark hair stuck out from beneath a large pointed green hat that flopped down on either side of her face. Jay felt a strange feeling of warmth fill his chest.

“Hello. I was told that I could get a Beginner's Spellbook from you.”

“You are correct,” the young woman said. “It costs ten iron coins.” She smiled again. Jay felt dizzy and had trouble focusing, the heat burned hotter in his body, rising to his face, to his head; it felt... something was wrong!

“What are you doing to me?” Jay asked. “Something is wrong here.”

“Why, nothing,” the woman said, her smile slightly faltering. Behind her, another woman, shorter, with blonde hair and blue eyes, smacked the young woman's back. The blonde had an older air about her, as if being more dignified, with glasses hanging from a string around her neck. It suited her just right; a tidy scholar. The blonde smiled at Jay and the strange warmth disappeared.

“I'm sorry for that,” the blonde said. “I've told her not to use her Charm Spell on customers, but she won't listen, only telling me that it's the fastest way of training it.”

“That was a Spell?” Jay asked, flustered; it felt strange to have his emotions so thoroughly pulled. “It doesn't matter. If you say it's a Spell, it's a Spell. But back to why I was here. 10 iron coins for a Beginner's Spellbook is fairly expensive, don't you think?”

“She said ten iron coins, huh?” the blonde said, looking at the young woman with a scowl. “It's only eight iron." She turned to face the dark hair woman. "And because you did something I told you not to do Miran, you will give the customer a discount. Go get the book,” the blonde looked back at Jay. “It will be seven iron coins. I hope that is satisfactory.”

“Thanks,” Jay said, scratching his shin. “I think? What was that all about? Did she really try to have me pay more than the book is sold for? Is that allowed?” He frowned.

“Allowed?” the blonde asked. “Of course it is.” She looked a bit puzzled at the question. “If you don't know what something is worth and is willing to pay more for it, isn't that something you should fix in yourself? Knowledge is power, you know. Why should another be responsible for treating you fairly? If you believe you've been treated fairly, isn't that the same thing as having been treated fairly?”

“Okay,” Jay said. “I guess you have a point, though a crooked one. But isn't this a business? You could make customers dissatisfied by such treatment. They could go somewhere else.”

“Not likely,” the blonde said. “You can only buy our Spells at the Magician's Guild. So, you don't really have a choice if you want to buy our Spell Scrolls and learn Spells quickly.”

That was a disquieting thought. It meant he would be at their mercy whenever he wanted a new Spell. “Is that so? That seems a bit unfair.”

“Fairness is an illusion,” the blonde said, flatly. “Oh, here we are. The book. It contains the descriptions of about a hundred Spells that requires less than 200 in Wisdom and Intelligence.” From behind the blonde, the younger woman he had first spoken to handed Jay a beige leather-covered book with a wooden spine. On the front of the book “The Beginner's Spellbook” was printed with large black letters; beneath that, a blue circle inside a red square was raised up from the cover.

“Thank you,” Jay said, hoping courtesy would ingratiate him to this woman. It was never bad to be friendly with people. Especially scheming people. He handed over seven iron coins. “I'll look through this book and then come back when I have decided which Spells to buy. Is there any you would recommend?”

“Hm,” the blonde said. “Every Beginner Magician should have at least one good Defense Spell, two good Attack Spells, and if possible an Enchantment Spell. Maybe 'Magic Wall' for defense, 'Fire Blast' or 'Icicle Shot' for attack, you could also get 'Magic Bullet', but that Spell is one of the weakest. And I don't think you can learn an Enchantment Spell, you're a bit too Low-Level.”

It was a good thing he had asked. Jay hadn't really thought of getting a Defense Spell, but it was a good idea. He already had an incredibly strong improvised Attack Spell. Sure, it used metal pieces to attack with, and lots of Mana, but he had bought a lot of metal pins, and his Mana was his strong-point. There was no reason to think he would run out of those any time soon. Maybe that meant he needed a weaker Attack Spell? He was always overkilling his enemies. It wasn't a bad idea to have some weak Spell he could use with only his Mana.

“Thanks for the info,” Jay said. “I'll be back soon.” He walked over to a wall nearby and leaned back, looking through the registry of the book. There was seven Defensive Spells, 61 Attack Spells and 37 Enchantment Spells.

He first checked the Defensive Spells, and the only ones he could learn was the Spells 'Magic Wall' and 'Air Shield'. From the descriptions, 'Magic Shield' made a wall of about a square meter from pure Mana that hindered all damage up until a specific point, then it shattered; 'Air Shield' didn't nullify damage up until a point, it dulled the damage taken by percentiles and was better against ranged attacks than close ones. An easy choice then: 'Magic Wall' was the Spell he needed; it was essential to be able to block something completely if he was going to use the Defensive Spell to slow his opponent when he ran away. The 'Magic Wall' Spell cost less than 'Air Shield' too. Only ten iron coins.

He sighed. He didn't want to spend more than thirty iron coins on Spells, but the cheapest Spell-Scrolls cost 10 iron each. Maybe he only needed one Attack Spell, not two as he had decided earlier.

Looking through the Attack Spells took a bit longer. There were fourteen Spells he could learn if he was willing to put all his available Stat-points in Wisdom and Intelligence. And he had already decided that he would do that if it was needed. The first Spell he decided on was 'Magic Bullet', it only cost 10 iron coins, and was a Spell the blonde had recommended, sort of. She seemed to know what she was talking about, and he needed a weaker Attack Spell that had a low Mana cost, and 'Magic Bullet' fit those criteria.

The other Attack Spell was more difficult to choose. All the Spells that looked like they could be really good, such as the 'Fire Blast' and 'Icicle Shot' that the clerk had recommended, cost forty iron coins each. He couldn't afford that. His earlier assumption that he could buy three Spells for at most thirty iron had to be scrapped. If he bought another Attack Spell it had to be better than 'Magic Bullet', which meant it would cost more. He chose to only focus on the Spells that cost 20 iron coins, hoping that it followed that double the cost meant double the effect.

Among the three Spells that cost 20 iron coins, there wasn't really anything to choose between, though. It was easy to see that 'Lightning Spark' was the best. The other two: 'Flash Strike' and 'Cold Spike' didn't seem like they would suit his long-range attack strategy. 'Flash Strike' and 'Cold Spike' had a range of only five meters, always doing the same amount of damage, and the only difference being that one shot fire and the other ice. While 'Lightning Spark' had a range of 20 meter, but would decrease in damage depending on distance. He wanted Spells with range more than anything, so, it really was no choice at all.

He wouldn't have thought his choices would be this easy. 'Magic Wall', 'Magic Bullet' and 'Lightning Spark' seemed the best he could get. After deciding to buy these Spells he had spent more than half his money during the course of the day; it felt like all the money he had worked so hard for disappeared in an instant. But he had to get stronger if he wanted to challenge the sewers and do the Quest he got from Fairwater. It was such a great Quest that he couldn't ignore it; it would give him more Experience Points and money than he had gotten since he entered this world.

Moments later he bought the three Spell-Scrolls without saying more than the three names, giving the money over, taking the Scrolls. He felt emptied out, it was strange that the fluctuation of his wealth would influence his temper this way. Now he was poor again, but he had everything he needed. Actively trying to forget his previous negativity over his decreasing funds, he forced himself to feel like his life was going in the right direction. He had a couple of good Spells, he had food for days, pins for weeks, and a couple of Healing Potions. He felt prepared to face anything... within reason. His thoughts brightened, it felt good to finally have the basic things he needed.

The most Attribute-expensive Spell was the 'Lightning Spark' that needed 30 Wisdom and 40 Intelligence to use. He had the Wisdom, but was 24 short in Intelligence; so, he quickly opened his Status Window and upped his Intelligence to 40.

Unrolling the Spell-Scrolls one by one he read through the information, and when he read through it completely, a flash of light enveloped the Scroll, disintegrating it, and the light flowed into Jay's mind. The Scrolls vanished and he had now learned three new Spells, and understood them as if he had always known how to use them; it was a strange sensation.

Walking out of the Library, he went to the training ground under the pavilion and began using 'Magic Wall' while Meditating. Before he went into the sewers he wanted to get 'Magic Wall' to at least level five. At level five he would be able to erect five walls at the same time. Hopefully, that would be enough to make him safe at all times while exploring the sewers. A few hours passed and he reached his goal.

It was time to begin his Quest.

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