The next morning, during breakfast (roasted Dire Bear) Prof remembered that he had some unknown magical items.
“Foxy, I found some magical items in my first dungeon. Common sense and a lot of folks told me not to equip unknown stuff, and if I’m correct, a mage can identify them. Could you please take a look at them?”
“All right, show me! It’s not a complicated thing, it’s the very first thing we had to learn in school. For months, we had to identify all sorts of things over and over until we could do it in our sleep. For some reason, I loved it… Let''s see!”
Foxy murmured over the three objects for a few seconds, then handed them back and willed three mental parchments to appear before Prof, who immediately applied [Valuation] to the items.
<u>Runner’s Medal</u>
The speed of the wearer is calculated as one higher than the speed resulting from the Stat.
Value: 10 silver
<u>Necromancer’s Bone Ring</u>
The wearer of the ring can cast all Necromancy spells with slightly higher strength for the same cost.
Value: 15 silver
<u>Anti-Poisoning Ring</u>
The health of the wearer is considered to be five times higher against all forms of poisoning.
Value: 20 silver.
Prof equipped the first and last immediately, a little extra speed and poison resistance didn''t hurt anyone yet. The necromancer ring could not be used by any of his teammates, but he did not want to sell it yet. It didn’t take up much space.
Eventually, he also showed Foxy the mushrooms he found in the dungeon. It turned out that one was really food, the other from which he collected a lot could be used to extract a weak poison from, but neither was really valuable. One of the four unknowns was a drug, and it was illegal in the Elven Domain, another might have been what Shinead had drawn his attention to, and could be used in a variety of potions. The third could produce ink, but it didn''t last long after harvested, so it was virtually worthless to Prof, and the fourth didn''t have any special features at all.
Prof couldn’t really decide if it made sense to go back into the dungeon for another looting tour – they couldn’t preserve the rabbit skins, the mushrooms only made sense in larger quantities (and it was questionable whether they could withstand transport), only the rabbit horns and crystals represented non-perishable value. Prof, however, was reluctant to fight through the mossy hall, narrow corridors, and the like again.
Finally, he asked Foxy for her opinion. The half-blood mage was also not thrilled with the idea, so after convincing themselves they didn’t want to go into the dungeon, they spent the day lazing around and talking. This time, for the most part, Foxy answered Prof''s questions.
“No, we don''t see our Character Parchments from birth. Everyone gets it at the end of their teens, with Humans this is the sixteenth birthday, if I recall correctly, with other species, initiation is linked to another birthday, of course. For example, I got access to my Parchment on my sixteenth birthday."
“The experience gained before the initiation is only reflected in the Skills and Perks, and only from the initiation are you counted as Level 1. There are very few who start their adult lives as Level 2, Level 3 beginners exist almost exclusively in legends, I don''t think there has ever been an example of a Level 4 beginner. The general theory is that younger people would not be able to make responsible decisions. Personally, I''m not sure a sixteen or even thirty-six-year-old can definitely make a responsible decision, but well, I didn''t invent the rules."
“At the initiation, the Character Parchment makes suggestions for the Highlighted Skills and Stats, based on the new initiate''s life so far, two of the former can be changed freely, and in the latter, each value can be reduced or increased by one point – but the end-score can not be higher. It also informs about the collected Perks so far – mostly three to five, but more are rare. In addition, everyone will receive three more points as a gift, which they are free to use for Stats or Perks, or even to remove negative Perks."
"Everyone can buy new Perks, be they positive or negative without limit, provided their values are equal or they have to pay for the difference with free points or possibly with lower Stats. Most of the people I''ve met so far haven''t done this, however, mostly just buy a few positive Perks. Most just get rid of their negative ones, without spending extra Points for new positive ones – at that point, they would have to pay with lowered Stats. I am a rare exception, I bought all my Chi-talent this way."
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“It is customary for a child to be sent to someone who can look at their pseudo-parchment at least half a year before initiation, who will explain to them what to expect, help them decide what they are suitable for, and give suggestions on what will need to be changed to achieve their purpose in life.”
“Leveling is a huge secret, indeed. The elves did some experiments in the past, I read some studies about it. According to their theory, the population can be grouped into three categories: commoners, adventurers, and heroes. All three groups apply the concept called "Experience Points" differently, and for different reasons. If they collect enough, the leveling will take place. The whole theory is unproven since it is not possible to tell which group they belong to! It''s just a conjecture based on how fast one levels in his chosen occupation."
“One theory says, it is decided at birth, another claim that a person''s own decisions or lifestyle determine the category. It is a fact that Adventurers - the occupation, not the category! – reach a higher level in most cases than, say, bakers. It is unknown, of course, if they will be higher Level because they are constantly killing every creature that gets in their way, they will become Adventurers because they fall in the higher categories, or they will fall into higher categories because they are Adventurers. The experiments only suggest that we have the categories, everything else is just theory."
“I know Humans have quite a few theories about this too, as do Dwarves and the Undead. Some of these, I think, are utter nonsense, especially those that link Leveling to the Heavenly Game Master or other abstract concepts. Even the Ork''s belief, that overcoming as many higher leveled creatures as possible is the fastest way to level is more rational. After all the elves came to comparable results with their experiments, at least in terms of higher categories."
“I rule out that any sensible person would believe in supernatural beings, why would he? Why should an abstract concept, a natural phenomenon, be personified? What sense would make to bring sacrifices for him if his help was questionable at best? The same could be given to someone who can prove with their Character Parchment that they are fit to perform the task and is willing to do it. The problem will thus more likely be accomplished than if time and valuables ??were wasted waiting for some non-existent entity to have mercy on you.”
“No one expects the legendary heroes of ancient times to come out of the grave and solve problems. They are just role models for later generations and are decorative elements on ostentatious buildings. Yes, like Gheorgious the Great, Fiona the Fast, and others. If you want to believe in something, there''s the local Lord, magister, clan leader, they really solve the problems, that''s why they are there."
“The only exception is the Heavenly Game Master. He is certainly more than a simple mortal, and his existence can be proven by the existence of Character Parchments. Except for a few lunatics, I don''t think anyone would expect intervention or help from him. According to all philosophical schools, if the Heavenly Game Master wanted to intervene in the events of Arkadia through some "Chosen One", he would be able to prove it with his Character Parchment. Be it a Perk or a hitherto unknown Skill."
"Those who had tried to establish themselves as “Chosen Ones” so far did not have one of those, but they did have things like Severe Mental Illness, Bluff Master, Impudent, Liar and their [Con] or [Convincing] Skill was high too.”
Shinead hasn''t returned that day or the next. Prof wasn''t too worried yet, after all, she had warned him in advance that it could take up to a week for her to return. On the fifth day, however, he found himself watching the path through the hazelnut grove, and Foxy became more and more impatient, even if they had no other urgent matter to attend to.
But, at least Prof learned a lot about Arkadia, the things folks figured out about the rules in thousands of years, which, annoyingly were not included in the Rule Book he read and the Elves in particular. According to Foxy, Elves were not the original inhabitants of Arkadia, not even the second, but probably around the sixth. Humans, on the other hand, weren''t the latest addition (at least as far as could be determined), the Greenskins came millennia later, and lately the Lizardfolk in the south.
Elves were not a monolithic species either (Shinead told him so already), but a conglomerate of different races with the ability to cross-breed – interestingly, Humans and Elves could cross-breed in certain cases, but the practice was frowned upon by both sides, and Elves could not cross-breed with other species. Humans could do it with almost everything. Prof was informed, there were Centaurs on Arkadia, but shut down that discussion immediately.
Besides the seven "true" Elven races (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, White, Silver, and Black) there were the three Beastkin races (Foxes, Wolves, and Cats) that were called Brown Elves (the word for each one in Elvish was different, but could not be translated into Bergian), Pixies (the best appropriation was "Glitter Elves") and Sirens (also called Blue, but with another meaning). Prof wondered if the whole conglomerate should be called Fae, but Foxy informed him, that those were a completely different race, mostly extinct, called the Grey or Shadow Elves.
The inner political landscape of the Domain was so chaotic and incomprehensible for Prof, that Foxy gave up on teaching him. Obviously, there were Princes and Clans and Lords of certain territories, but their structure was horizontal and not vertical like in Human lands. Only the High King could, theoretically, command everyone, except for…
This was the point, Prof got a splitting headache. But at least he got a few Points in [Culture: Elven], [Politics: Elven], and a few other Skills.
On the sixth day, however, Prof began to worry seriously – after all, it was the day before the last, and Shinead set the lower limit for her return at two days. In the afternoon he took a short walk down the path but found nothing. On the afternoon of the seventh day, Shinead still hadn''t returned, so Prof realized with a heavy heart that he probably wouldn''t even see her again. He decided with Foxy that they would head for the cart trail the next morning and then spent several hours deciding where to go afterward.