Chapter 14

A Difference in Experience

It didn't take long before Jay realized the pants he had just put on didn't suit him. With every step his legs moved erratically, as if both encumbered by weight and hampered in his coordination. Observe. He looked at his new pants.

Lesser Chitin Plated Leather Legs (Leg armor) (5490g) Defense: 16 Durability: 37 / 38 Movement Speed: -5% Flexibility: -10% Leather leggings covered with chitin plates from a Beetle to increase its defense. Requires 50 Strength to use. Requires 30 Dexterity to use.

Seems like I've been given something I can't really use, Jay thought.

Yes, Jay, you should only use equipment that you can fully utilize in accordance to your Stats, Claudine said.

Why didn't I think of that? Jay thought to himself.

How would I know? Claudine asked. I can't answer unasked questions or guess what you've never thought. It's an impossibility. I think that what you haven't thought of would be an infinite amount of things. It would take up an eternity to guess all that. Claudine paused, saying nothing for a few seconds, then continued. What didn't you think about?

Now that I've got some money I should get equipment that suits me, Jay answered. The best things he could think about getting was some things that would increase his Wisdom and Intelligence. He turned around, intending to walk back into Bluth's store. The best person to ask about equipment was Bluth.

Oh? Claudine said. That was the 127th guess I thought of.

The 127th guess? Jay was stunned and stopped moving. What was Claudine doing? Was it possible that she really tried to answer his random thoughts and questions? Was that why she sometimes became quiet for a long time after he thought things to himself? Jay found it very strange. Claudine, when I think of things, do you try and give me an answer to every question I have thought?

Yes, Claudine said, a happy note in her voice. That is my purpose.

Jay had never thought of that possibility. Claudine, that can't be efficient, right?

No, guessing never is, too many possibilities and variations of possibilities exists within guesswork, Claudine said, the lecturing tone she used when talking for a long time was back. It isn't easy to think of everything, you know. It is practically impossible.

Then why do it? Jay asked, curious about the inner workings of Claudine's 'mind'.

I function through your commands, Claudine explained. I can only do as I'm instructed.

Then you shouldn't spend so much time on my idle thoughts. If you have to answer all my random questions it would make you unable to even process what's more important. From now on, don't spend more than a few minutes on any question I ask. If you can't come up with a definite answer or you think for too long about something, just ask me what I meant by the question or stop thinking about it until I state a more specific question relating to the subject. Jay wasn't sure if those commands would improve Claudine's inner workings, but he had to give it a try. Claudine had helped him several times already, and if she could become more optimized he would be able to get more assistance from her.

Yes, Jay, I'll only spend 4 minutes at most on any question from now on, Claudine said. And thank you, I was getting a headache from having all those random inquiries looping at the back of my mind without an end in sight.

What? Jay thought. Had he truly been cluttering up Claudine's mind and functionality? How come he hadn't been told about such a thing? He had too many questions that he couldn't answer, but it didn't matter much right now. Now that he knew Claudine's information processing patterns was something he could control he had to spend some time to try and figure out exactly what the best way of using Claudine was.

What what? Claudine asked back, a faint giggle accompanying the vague question.

Claudine, remind me to ask you about how you work a day after I've killed the Black Ooze, Jay thought. Right now I have to focus on how to kill that boss before anyone else finds it.

Yes, Jay, Claudine said.

Jay went back inside Bluth's store.

“Oh? You're back so early,” Bluth said, smiling at Jay. “Did you forget something?”

“Yes,” Jay said. “These pants you gave me aren't suitable for me and you can have them back. But I had a thought, I need some equipment which suits me. Do you have any items that increase Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity or Perception? Wisdom is most important, Intelligence and Dexterity second, then Perception. I'm willing to spend up to 50 silver coins, but only if you have many different kinds of equipment for my current Level which can increase those Stats. I need to get some real equipment to replace this beggar outfit I'm wearing.”

“I have a few things,” Bluth said, closing his eyes with a thoughtful expression on his face. “I need to check the list of things I have in storage. Wait a minute.” A minute passed and Bluth opened his eyes. “I have a few things I was going to put on auction in the Auction Space, but if you're willing to buy them I'll save some time. You said you're willing to spend up to 50 silver coins, does that mean you'll pay that for all the things I have that suits your requirements and Level? We could do such a deal, a small gamble, of sorts.”

“Gamble?” Jay asked, incredulous. “A Merchant, gambling? You're funny.” He laughed at the idea. How could Jay ever believe Bluth was not profiting from such an exchange? “You're obviously making a large profit that way if you say it like that. Just show me the best things and give me a price and then we'll see.”

Bluth smiled at the remark. “Sure, the customer's always right, or some such platitude. To me it doesn't really matter much, I will make a profit either way. I just thought I'd rack up some quick Experience Points from such a deal instead of maximizing my monetary profit. Well, no matter, no matter... maybe I'll just auction off what you don't want and get the Experience that way.”

“Experience? How?” Jay was curious. He hadn't thought of that possibility. He didn't have the perspective of a Merchant. “How do you gain Experience usually? Isn't the best way to go out and hunt creatures and do Quests?”

“Not necessarily,” Bluth said. “I've not hunted anything since Level 16, and that's 50 Levels ago. The greatest amount of Experience I've ever gotten was when I bought this store. I got 1600000 Experience Points from that. It was well worth the two flawed crystal coins I spent. Now I even have a Storage Space for all my things that's not accessible to others and I don't have to have everything I own inside my Inventory. The way Merchants and many other Crafting Professions get their Experience is by using their Profession Specific Skills and Spells.

“For example, I can buy an item in the Trade Auction, tag it with a Merchant Specific Spell and then resell it there. If make a profit I gain Experience Points, if I lose money I lose Experience Points. And for every trade I make with another player or NPC, I get a small amount of Experience Points for each item I sell. There are some restrictions too, but those are minor to me since I only play as a Merchant and have no Sub-Professions of a battling nature. The largest restrictions are that I can't sell more than 10 different items in the Trade Auction at the same time and that I can't use any of the items I tag with my Skill.”

“Interesting,” Jay said. That was something he hadn't thought of. He really needed to get some more information about this game. “It seems a bit exploitable though. What if I agreed to buy something like a piece of rock from you for an extreme amount of money? That way I could give you lots of Experience and money if I was so inclined. Would the trade make you Experience then?”

“It would give me Experience, but there is a Merchant Specific Spell, or maybe it should be called a Curse, that all Merchants are forced to get when they choose this Profession. The Spell is passive and is always on, monitoring every action and trade the Merchant does. The Spell records the Merchant's sales. This information is then collected at the Merchant's Guild and analyzed. If I sold you a rock from the street for a gold coin I would lose in Credibility and if my Credibility is lowered beyond a certain point they would fine me according to the fraudulent sales I've made. Such a fine has to be paid or I would lose my Merchant Profession. And when I pay the fine it would also reduces my Experience. If the fine is 1 gold coin, which is 1000000 copper coins, I would lose 1000000 Experience. All the Stats and Skill Experience I got during those 1000000 Experience would also disappear. That's not worth it.”

“Sounds very intricate. And truly terrifying if you make a mistake with your sales, but the system also makes Merchants very trustworthy when it comes to their sales. Then how much Experience do you get when you sell something? It can't be the same amount as the fines take away, right?”

“You're right,” Bluth said. “Merchants get a specific amount per traded item that's not tagged. With items tagged for resale we get the percentile difference times the amount of silver coins the item sold for. Or something like that. I can't remember exactly how it worked. All I know is that if I make money with my trades I get Experience, and the more profit, the more Experience. It's enough to make it fun.”

“So, the items you want to sell me are not tagged?” Jay thought of how Bluth said he wanted to make some quick Experience.

“They weren't, no,” Bluth said. “But after you choose which ones you want I'll tag those if I haven't used up all my daily Spell tags before that. So, I'll try and make as large a profit as possible now instead of trying to sell many things.” Bluth laughed slightly.

“Seems like I can't win against your business strategies. No matter what you do you'll profit. Truly ingenious. Seems you chose the right Profession at least.”

“You'll profit too. I never sell anything without giving something worth the price. You'll see. I'll bring out the things from storage when I've collected everything else you ordered.”

“That sounds good,” Jay said, remembering why he came back into the store. “I need another pair of pants before that though. I don't have the Stats to use these properly and I can only walk with a staggering gait with them on. Do you have any other, more suitable, pants?”

“Sure, these should do well enough, for now,” Bluth said, taking out a pair of beige rough spun pants from under the counter. “I'll bring a better pair with a Dexterity bonus later for you to see. I don't have any with a Wisdom or Intelligence bonus.”

“Thanks,” Jay said, taking off his plated pants right there, and put on the pants given him. He tried a quick dash to the side. There were no hindrances in his movement. It was good enough, for now. “How long before you have all my stuff ready? I'd like to get them today.”

“That can be arranged. I'll message you when I'm done.”

“Sounds good, thanks for this, I need to go now,” Jay said, smiling a Bluth. He really had found an interesting friend in Bluth. Bluth had a completely different way of playing the game than Jay; it was a way that Jay had never thought of, but now he knew that there was an unimaginable amount of different ways to play the game. And best of all, Jay could see the possibility of a flourishing cooperation between them. He stopped. “You'll have to explain in more detail about how the Merchant Profession works later. Is there any way for us to cooperate and both make a profit? As I'll likely spend most of my time killing creatures to get Experience, I might find some nice item that I can't use, but maybe I could trade it with you for some equally good item that suits me?”

“That sounds fair,” Bluth said. “You can also give items to me and let me sell them in the Trade Auction. Merchants have a discount on the transaction fees in the Trade Auction because it is run by the Merchant's Guild.”

“You just want me to give you some good item when I find it?” Jay asked. “That would mean I completely trust you, and we're not there yet.” He tried to say that in a light tone, as not to offend Bluth.

“No worries,” Bluth smiled, as if he already knew Jay would ask that. “We'll just use a Bloodbinding Contract with whatever terms are agreeable to both of us. Anyone that breaks such a contract will automatically lose 10% of their total Experience Points. It might be worth breaking such a contract for you since you only have a tiny amount of Experience, but not for me, definitely not. I'd lose almost 450000 Experience. It would take days for me to gain that back.”

Jay was speechless. 450000 Experience was 10% of Bluth's total Experience? View Experience.

Experience (to Next Level) (% to Next Level)

33695 (4105) (51.96%)

It seemed like the Experience needed to gain Levels later on would increase exponentially. Once again, Jay had realized how valuable his Available Stats were. He was glad he hadn't been frivolous with them, and that he had first come up with an idea on how to deal with the Black Ooze using his current Stats, Skills and Spells. He almost regretted putting so many Stats into Dexterity when he ran from the Black Ooze earlier, but not really. He'd rather stay alive with some certainty than risk his life without reason.

“Yeah, if such a contract is used, I'd have no problems handing over my items to you,” Jay said after a moment of silence.

“Good,” Bluth said.

“I'll leave now,” Jay said. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

- - - - - - - -

While walking to the Beginner's Guild, Jay brought out the Beginner Spellbook and started looking through it for any Spells he might be able to use for killing the Black Ooze. But before long, he realized that there weren't many other Spells that would be worth their cost. The two Fire Spells he wanted had requirements in Intelligence and Wisdom that was too high. He could spend a few silver coins on cheaper Spells, but it didn't feel right. He had to wait until after he got his new equipment from Bluth before he could decide about new Spells from the Magician's Guild.

Claudine, where can I get Skills and Spells from the Beginner's Guild? Jay asked in his mind, thinking back to his first day in the game, realizing he felt like a different man in comparison to how he was back then. Walking into the Beginner's Guild without feeling feeble was a great thing. It showed him he would grow stronger by doing what he was doing.

This way, Claudine said, pointing a bluish white tendril out in front of Jay.

Thanks, Jay thought, following the tendril until he reached a wide towering round structure with an open stone gate-way leading inside. Above the gateway was a sign with the words 'Beginner's Guild Auxiliary Tower'.

Go to the third floor, Claudine said.

Jay went inside and was met with a gloomy stark room, its walls, floor and ceiling was made of gray stones, a few rows of worn wooden benches was all the furniture inside. People sat scattered all over, standing, sitting, all looking bored, like they were waiting for something. At the side of the room was a door with a sign saying 'Stairs' on it.

Walking up to the door, Jay tried opening it. Nothing happened.

“Hey!” someone said from behind Jay in a slightly loud voice. “You've got to wait in line like everybody else. You can't go up without the correct ticket anyway. Grab one and wait your turn.”

Looking around, Jay saw a little piece of paper with the number 1131 on it sticking out of a box beside the door's handle. He pulled on the piece of paper. It came loose and another piece of paper with the number 1132 replaced it.

Waiting wasn't a problem for Jay, he could sit down and practice his Mana Manipulation and Meditation; it was something he needed to do anyway. He walked away from the door and sat down on the floor in the corner closest to the door, arranging his body, crossing his legs, straightening his back, relaxing, Meditating.

He brought out twenty small pins from his Inventory, laying them before him in an orderly fashion. Beginning his training, he looked at the pins and lifted them one at a time until his Mana was slowly draining. He could hold seven pins in the air at the same time, but it was an effort to move them around at the same time. He felt a headache coming on, like his mind was splitting apart because he tried to use his Mana Manipulation on several things at the same time. But he persevered, if he couldn't use Mana Manipulation on several things at the same time he wouldn't be able to use his other imagined self-made Spell he had came up with when he was sifting through sand earlier. His blinding attack Spell of tossing sand in the eyes of his enemies wouldn't be possible if he couldn't use Mana Manipulation to create a small cloud of sand he could then send into his enemies' eyes.

Swishing around the pins in geometric shapes, time passed by and it became easier and easier to control the pins with practice. The patterns he let the pins fly became more and more intricate.

During his training, number after number was called out until a dispassionate male voice rang out in the room. “1131.” It was finally Jay's turn to go to the third floor and get some new Skills and Spells.

Ascending the stone stairs, Jay thought back to what Bluth had told him. Magic Rope, Haste, Detect Trap, Detect Danger, Nightsight, Scope Sight and Null Presence. Claudine, was there any other things recommended by Bluth?

No, Jay, Claudine said. But you should look at their Skill and Spell information-book just in case. There might be some other useful Spells or Skills to buy.

True, might as well look, Jay thought.

Passing the second floor, which looked like it was some sort of store selling basic equipment and supplies, Jay arrived at the third floor. The room, stark and stony like the rest of the building, was small, and inside it was a stout short man sitting behind a darkened wooden desk. Behind the man was a wooden door leading somewhere deeper inside the building.

“Hello,” Jay said. “Do you have a book or something where I can read about what Skills and Spells you have for sale?”

The stout man's mouth turned down slightly. “Sure, don't take too long though, others are waiting to be helped.” He tossed a thin book clad in some rough gray fabric at Jay.

“Oh? How is that my problem?” Jay asked, catching the thin book, but not really liking the man's tone of voice.

“It isn't,” the man said. “But if you take too long I'll send you down to the waiting room again and you'll have to take another number.”

“Hey, that is my problem then,” Jay said, slightly baffled at the man's weird attitude. “Fine, I'll just get the things I know I want and then look through what other things I might need. Okay?”

“Sure, what do you want?” the man asked.

“I want to know about Magic Rope, Haste, Detect Trap, Detect Danger, Nightsight, Scope Sight and Null Presence. Could you tell me about those, please?” Jay said, repeating the list Bluth had recommended to him.

“I don't have time for that,” the man said, dispassionately. “Just read their description in the book.”

“Not very service-minded here, are you?” Jay said, sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah...” the man said. “Back down you go.”

“Wait!” Jay said. He didn't want to wait for another hour or more. “Sell me Haste, Nightsight, Scope Sight, Null Presence and Magic Rope.” However he saw it, those already explained enough about themselves with their names and he would most likely not regret buying them.

“Fine, come with me,” the man said, standing up, turning around and opening the door to the inner parts of the building. Jay followed, and soon they were in an even smaller room without anything but a chair in the middle of it.

“Sit down,” the man said. “Wait here while I get the Scrolls and Constructs.” Without looking back, the man left Jay in the room.

“Okay?” Jay said, trying not to have it sound like a question. What are Constructs?

Constructs are Magics created for a specific purpose, Claudine said. Constructs are like a Spell or Skill, but it is suspended in some material until it is activated. For example Spell Scrolls could be considered Magic Constructs, but are usually called Spell Scrolls instead because their configurations are two-dimensional Magic Constructs. Only three-dimensional configurations are called Magic Constructs. A magic weapon that gives its user access to a specific Spell or Skill can be called a modified Magic Construct, for example. Usually, Magic Constructs disappears after one use, though.

Hm, Jay thought. That's good to know, I guess. It seemed he learned something new all the time. And now that he had a little time before the man came back, he opened the book and started reading about the Spells and Skills he hadn't decided to buy yet.

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