The Way Ahead

“Well, you’re braver than I, that’s certain,” Rizzali noted, reclining in his seat as he made the last few notes on his stack of papers. “Taking two Paths pertaining to the fey?” he shook his head, whistling softly, “This is what sets the successful Adventurers apart from the failures, I do suppose.

“Although I must say, your Skill Researcher path… it seems quite promising. It is quite worthy of a special note, and it seems as though it were relatively simple to earn? If the information you provided is actionable, we may seek you out for a commendation of some sort.”

Edwin nodded, and had a thought strike him, “Oh yeah,” he spoke up. “I was wondering about something. How many Adventurers are there, anyway?”

“Well that’s a tricky question, young man,” the gnome set his papers off to the side as he finished writing on them, and Edwin caught the brief flash of a Skill illuminating them as he did so, “As the individual identity of Outlaws is rarely accounted- how does one tally the absence of something? However, it is estimated that some half of all Outlaws are adventurers in Rhothos, a number which I can only commend Lady Tara for, as said count is largely from her work.”

“I thought she hated Adventurers?” Edwin cut in with a furrowed brow

“Lady Tara is an exemplary Enforcer, and doesn’t allow her personal feelings to interfere with the duties of her office. The benefits of Adventurers for the grander society is not found in their futile efforts to do the work of the Guards, but in their sacrifice providing new information for the Registrars, that we might always determine greater Skills and Paths for future generations.”

“What prevents someone from just lying?”

“We have our ways,” the Registrar replied with a smirk, “And as all Skills have weaknesses, I shall not reveal what it is to you lest you determine how to circumvent it.”

“That’s what you get from knowing Adventurer’s complete classes, isn’t it?” Edwin realized, “So you can try to figure out what their pressure points are.”

“Their what?”

“Their, uhh… Weak points. The places where you can leverage just a bit of strength to cripple a powerful Skill.”

Rizzali nodded in understanding and winked at him. Yeah, that checked out, and he probably could have figured it out himself if he had put more than two minutes of thought into the matter at some point, but it had never really bothered.

“What about my unknown Skills, then? If you don’t know them…”

The gnome dismissed the concern with a sweeping hand, “I needn’t know the specifics of your Skills which allow you to… Take notes, yes?” Edwin nodded, “And an Efficient Space variant.”

“…Fair enough,” Edwin conceded.

“In addition, Tara vouched for you personally, which is far from typical, I assure you. Speaking of which, did you have any questions for me in my capacity as Skill advisor?”

“Yeah, actually,” Edwin recalled, “I had a few. What’s the Skill set for normal alchemists like? I’m curious how mine compares.”

Rizzali’s eyes briefly flashed with a Skill and he rifled through a stack of papers, consulting one near the bottom. He muttered something and tossed it to the side, then hopped off his high chair and started ransacking some unseen drawers in his desk. Just as Edwin began to zone out and start meddling with Almanac, he jumped up clutching a paper.

“Aha! Here it is. I knew I still had the basics stashed somewhere. Let’s see…” he muttered, scanning over the page, eyes aglow with some ability, “Process, Herbalism, Mixing, Measure, Reading, and Writing!”

“No Alchemy?”

“If you had found a way to directly obtain Alchemy as a basic Skill, young man, you’d be the hero of Panastalis! But no. The Potioneer path upgrades Eating to Potion-making, and taking the Alchemist Path once more brings the Skill to proper Alchemy by the third tier.”

“So late?”

“My dear friend, the third tier is usually considered a mark of adulthood! You truly were secluded in your youth, were you not?”

That was… true enough, so Edwin vaguely nodded in agreement.

“What else? I may have exactly none of those Skills, but it’s still interesting to learn about what they have to work with.”

In response, the gnome just handed the paper to Edwin. It took a moment for Polyglot to help him adjust to the written language, and a bit longer to parse the lingo being used, but he got there in the end. Hmmm… Let’s just copy this down into the Almanac while we’re here….

He ignored the conjecture and hypotheses scribbled all over the page, as well as what the Class name should be at each step of the way, focusing instead on the bare essentials, but even that provided a wealth of new information.

Walking through Sentry: Standing, through Sentry again: Sentry’s Vigilance, through Marathon Reader: Project Focus

Seeing through Artist: Colorimetry, through Nighttime Hunter: Thermal Vision

Language through Chanter: Chanting, through Astrologer: Timing

Identify, Beginner: Common Knowledge, Alchemist: Alchemist’s Insight

Status, Novice: Status Log, Expert: Detailed Record

Herbalism, Medic: Poultice, Potioneer: Potency

Reading + Scholar: Book Smarts + Mental Memorialist: Mental Notebook

Writing + Scribe: Transcribing + Marksman: Steady Hand

Mixing + Cook: Emulsify + Blacksmith: Alloy

Measure + Merchant: Precision Measurement + Alchemist: Allocate

Process + Alchemist: Induce Reaction + Batch Alchemist: Speed Reaction + Practiced Alchemist: Potent Reaction

Eating + Potioneer: Potion-Making + Alchemist: Alchemy

“I expected more uses of the Alchemist path, I’ll admit.”

“That’s the common mistake! Utilizing only a single Path can result in your Skills merging with one another in function, reducing the spectrum of distinct abilities you can call upon. Whereas with our expertise, it is possible to gain a vast array of utility Skills! After all, the Alchemist path would never grant the capabilities of Sentry’s Vigilance!”

Edwin furrowed his brow, “Oh yeah, what does that do? What’s up with the Sentry paths in general, actually?”

Rizzali nodded, and Edwin noticed a faint flash of Skill light around his ears as he answered, “’Tis a common upgrade for many tedious jobs. Standing does exactly as it suggests and enables its users to stay motionless for exceptional lengths of time. Sentry’s Vigilance chases off weariness and sleep while standing. Together, they enable alchemists to brew potions that take hours or even days of continuous attention.”

“Huh.” Okay, he had to admit, that was pretty neat. Edwin made a quick note in the Almanac about their functions, “I see how that’d be useful. I would have never thought of that on my own.”

A beaming smile spread across the gnome’s face, “That is what we provide! And why I am always oh so very sad when a promising individual breaks free from the Management because they feel as though they know better than millennia of accumulated knowledge.”

Edwin nodded, “Makes sense, I suppose. Man, I really wish I had you when I first-” he caught himself just in time, “Actually, nope, can’t say that. I wish I had you as an advisor a few years ago. Out of curiosity,” he added, “What does Walking give if evolved with Alchemy?”

“Walking and Alchemy….” Rizzali looked into the air and tapped his desk, “Ah! Alchemical Stamina, which improves the efficiency of stamina-restoring alchemical potions. Not terribly useful, you understand?”

Edwin nodded, “Wow. You guys really have a lot catalogued, don’t you?”

The gnome spread his (tiny) arms at the piles of paper around the room, “These are my most common references, and you can see how many I have called upon in the previous two seasons alone.”

“So I was wondering what a lot of those Skills did? It’s not on the paper? Can you help fill me in on that sort of thing?” Edwin asked.

“But of course! As it is directly related to your profession, I can answer any questions you may have about the Skills! Unfortunately, I am not cleared to discuss further Skills which you do not possess. If you desire such, Xarenia and its Grand Library has the records you would seek, and is open for all scholars.”

“Wait, why?”

“Imperial policy. I believe the reasoning I was given was ensuring that such information does not fall into too many hands.”

“How does going to the library help with that, though?”

“How many blue-feathered youths would be liable to make the journey and then go diving off trying to determine their own Classes? With a single location, it aids in increasing the barrier for such individuals.”

“Fair enough, but it still doesn’t seem like that would be enough for the people living near it?”

“Young man, would you like to hear what I have to say or not?”

“Right, right. Sorry.”

The gnome cleared his throat and began, a Skill soothing his throat as he spoke. Edwin, for his part, scrambled to get it all written in the Almanac as the Registrar provided his explanation.

Standing: Reduces strain when standing. By the time it hits level 60, can be done indefinitely and even when sleeping

Sentry’s Vigilance: Pushes off need for sleep while standing, with the maximum length increasing with level

Project Focus: Aids with attention span when focusing on a single task

Colorimetry: Improves color perception- apparently useful in some potions

Thermal Vision: Allows for estimation of temperature with a glance. Something about Detailed Record?

Chanting: Reduces vocal strain and improves rhythm, useful for potions which require actions repeated on a tempo

Timing: Accurate estimation of time passed. Apparently useful with Detailed Record.

Alchemist’s Insight: Learn quality and effects of ingredients/potions (man that sounds useful)

Status Log: look back on previous System notifications

Detailed Record: System records all uses of Skills. Such as the exact temperature of an object measured with Thermal Vision, or time passed with Timing. (Oooh. That’s cool.)

Herbalism: Aids in the growing and harvesting of herbs- more specific than Gardening, usually only T2 or above

Poultice: Make medical potions with improved quality, power, and proficiency

Potency: All potions made are more potent

Reading: Read faster

Book Smarts: Recall information from books, and where to find information in a read book easier.

Mental Notebook: Store memories and notes in a mental book with perfect recall

Writing: Speed of writing is improved

Transcribing: Ability to copy a text precisely greatly improved

Steady Hand: Improves hand-eye coordination and reduces hand shakiness

Mixing: Mixed ingredients are mixed more completely. Also includes what is being mixed in Detailed Record

Emulsify: Incompatible elements are more easily mixed

Alloy: Mixed ingredients become permanently mixed

Measurement: Similar to Numeracy, but based around counting and quantities, allows Detailed Record to access the information.

Precision Measurement: Increased precision of measurement, improving Detailed Record precision.

Allocate: Dole out precise amounts of substances (exactly 1 gram grain of water, etc)

Process: Following a formula or recipe has improved accuracy, and is Recorded

Induce Reaction: A Catalyst skill, makes components which might not react do so.

Speed Reaction: Speed up a targeted reaction

Potent Reaction: The results of anything made that has a reaction involved have the end product be stronger

Potion-Making: Improved proficiency and potency with potions

“That’s a lot of potency improvements.” Edwin whistled as Rizzali finished and took a sip of water from a goblet retrieved from his desk somewhere.

“Indeed. Their quality is unmatched.” The gnome agreed.

“I wasn’t expecting Detailed Record to be so impressive, either. How’d that combination show up?”

“Such is the might of the Empire’s knowledge. It was originally found by a warrior who had little use for its endless tales of how her strikes landed true or missed. However, such information was capitalized upon by my predecessors, who swiftly determined which classes could benefit from said information more than other possible Status upgrades.”

“So how do you know that what you have is the best possible Skill evolution?”

“The best? Alas, we usually fall short of such a prestigious standard, as the truly fantastic Skills require accomplishments which are simply impractical to be obtained by many, be it on account of time, lethality, or unknown factors.

“However, all we have determined is still more than satisfactory, and even beyond the third tier we are capable of providing a stunning amount of guidance. In time, we can hopefully determine in totality which Skills are optimal within the fourth tier and so ensure that none waste their precious Skills on failed Paths.”

“I… guess that makes sense? Also, that reminds me of what I was going to ask a while ago. Adventurers? How many are there, that they can keep expanding what you know?”

“Ah, well as I said, half of Rhothos’ Outlaws have registered as Adventurers, and while I am not the only Registrar in the province, far from it, I am rather commonly consulted among your kind. I have… oh, perhaps two or three dozen whom I see regularly?”

“That’s it?” It seemed… low. There had to be hundreds of thousands of people at least living in Vinstead, and only a few dozen Adventurers?

Rizzali nodded sadly, “Alas, on account of them frequently ignoring the quality advice dispensed by my peers and I, it is quite common for Outlaws and Adventurers to gain Skills they are ill-suited for, and when combined with a hazardous lifestyle, very, very few survive long. I have met and registered hundreds of Adventurers, yet only the truly exemplary survive. Sadly, those few inspire the hotheaded youths who think that being an Adventurer means they will be exemplary and so seek to reject their citizenship. Those poor, poor fools. If I could strengthen the Management, I would. But alas, only the Emperor knows what is required to obtain or strengthen it.”

Ouch. That had to sting. It sounded like he’d had something personal happen, but Edwin didn’t pry. It wasn’t his place. He tried steering the conversation to something less tragic.

“Do you have any advice for my Flight skill? You must have seen something like it before, as you work with Avior?”

“I have seen the Flying skill, yes. Flight however, particularly magical, is utterly outside of my experience. Mages are truly, truly rare. Even here, where plant mages are so common, that is still mere dozens out of thousands of citizens. With such few numbers, we are mostly blind to their grand potential, and so we find that their abilities are squandered. Such individuals have their own Registrar whom they tend to visit, and I know not their stratagems.”

“Huh. So not many people can use magic, then?”

Rizzali shook his head, “With precious few exceptions, no. Those who can are greatly valued by all of Rhothos for their grand nature-related spells, but every single individual is unique and irreplaceable, making it problematic when one does pass on, no matter how rare such an occurrence may be.”

“Wait, they don’t die much? Why’s that?”

“One of their Skills, I do believe. This is once again far out of my specialty, but one of the few established Path guides aids them in upgrading Eating all the way to Boundless Verdancy, a tier six Immortality skill.”

“An Immortality skill? That’s a category?”

“Any Skill which adds more to your lifespan than it takes to level it is considered such. Immortality itself is perhaps the most well-known of such, as it adds one year to your lifespan every level, and levels once a year.”

“That seems…”

“Less than ideal, yes. It is a pitfall we have steered many away from. Unaging, Eternal Youth, Incorruptible, and Living Legend are all generally considered superior, as they do not require one to never tier up again to continue being immortal.”

“How do you get those?”

“That is restricted information.”

Edwin tried to control himself, but failed quite quickly, “Restricted? Restricted? You know how to make people immortal and you’re withholding the information? You’re almost literally killing people by not giving them the tools you have that would save them.”

Rizzali held up a hand to calm Edwin, and he reluctantly complied.

“It is restricted because the Skills and Paths required to get said Skills are non-replicable by the general populace. Incorruptible requires no less than two uses of the Unkillable path, among other hazardous Paths and Skills, which I believe you have experience with? Yes. To obtain that Path, one must survive a situation which would ordinarily kill them save for extraordinary circumstances. While there have been attempts to determine a systematic and relatively safe way to obtain Unkillable, the high life-cost has forestalled significant progress from being made. Is it immoral to pursue an avenue of immortality at the cost of so many lives? And what if an Outlaw were to obtain the secrets to the Skill? There is one Immortality skill which has been found that requires the regular consumption of, and bathing in, the blood of children. Would you like such knowledge to be publicly known, Edwin?”

He closed his mouth, slightly mollified but still indignant, “Well… no, but maybe? But also, shouldn’t you be pursuing that sort of thing really heavily? You’re still kind of condemning people to death through inaction.”

The gnome inclined his head in agreement, “I will not dispute that such Skills are tremendously beneficial for the common folk, and that is why we are attempting to replicate them reliably. In the meantime, I have faith in my superiors and colleagues that they are upholding their duties to the best of their ability. That they have not yet found a way for all to benefit from an Immortality skill speaks to the difficulty of the problem at hand, not their motives.”

I don’t. Not immortality. They’ve got to just be controlling it for themselves. Edwin didn’t voice his thoughts, nodding in agreement instead.

“I… see, I suppose.”

Rizzali grinned at him, “You may not believe me, but I do have faith in the Empire. We’ve done many great works these past centuries.

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word for it. Though with your Management skills and the like, how are there any criminals? I mean other than Outlaws.” he preempted the obvious case, “Surely there are more lawbreakers than those who would wholly revoke association with the empire?”

“An excellent and frequently asked question. The simple fact of the matter is that there are those who would seek to improve their capabilities outside of the System. Pickpockets learn to choose their targets from those without Perception or a Vigilance skill and cut purses, thieves use the Running skill for ill gain, and so forth. Such petty criminals are scarcely much threat to any but the naïve and unaware. It is with Outlaws where such crime becomes problematic, for reasons I am certain you can grasp.”

It wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it did explain enough to set Edwin at ease that his coins likely weren’t to be stolen from where he kept them by some stupid undetectable pickpocketing Skill.

He sat silent for a moment before speaking up again, “Thank you for your time. I’ll be honest, I kind of expected Tara to have come and snatched me away at this point, so I don’t really have a plan for what I should do now. Do you have any input on that matter?”

The gnome stroked his chin, “Yes, I suppose Lady Tara is off on some mission or other at the moment, which would forestall her normal greeting of you. What is your remaining purpose in Vinstead?”

Edwin shrugged, “Not entirely sure, to be honest. I want to get a healer’s license, but I don’t really know how to go about doing so.”

“I see. I do not know the process there, though I presume that it likely involves speaking with the Senior Physician.”

“Do you know where I…”

“No.”

Edwin sighed. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, “Well, do you at least know where I can start?”

He shook his head again, and Edwin had to suppress his reactions. Fortunately, while he hadn’t needed to control his emotions that much in the past year, being around Inion who didn’t care what he was actually like, he still had the required skills to hold back a rant or at least some rather rude exclamations.

“Fine. Do you at least know where I might be able to find an inn for the time while I’m staying in the city? Or know who I can ask?”

“Hmmm. Yes, I suppose so. Two of the better establishments of which I am aware would be the Golden Grain, not far from here, and the Black Wheat near the outskirts of the city.”

“The outskirts?” Edwin asked, surprised.

“Popular among merchants, I believe,” he clarified. “Nearer that end of the city.”

Edwin nodded in understanding. Okay, that made enough sense.

“How about getting a friend into the city? I don’t think she’d want to be an Adventurer, but she did want to see the city. Last time we were here, though, the guards wouldn’t let her in.”

“I am once again unable to aid you with that, I am afraid. The Governor or Lady Tara would be the ones whom might know the proper procedures for foreign guests to enter.”

“I see. Well, I suppose I’ll take my leave then. Thanks for all the information.” Edwin bowed out, hefting his bag. He looked out at the massive central foyer, dozens of feet below, and had a thought cross his mind. On a whim, Edwin stepped off the stone platform which held Rizzali’s office, tying his Flight tether to the wall.

Even though he had to stay within about a foot of the side, Edwin couldn’t help but feel satisfied as he drifted to the ground. Even still, the sight of hundreds of Avior flocking up and down the garrison’s spire still inspired a pang of jealousy in Edwin, and he vowed to figure out how to fly freely at some point.

Level Up!

Flight Level 21→22