~‌  ‌1.16 ‌-‌ You Get A Promotion! And You, And You ~‌

 

Noto’s Adventurers’ Guild

2nd Darkday of The Full Moon

The three players, Flea, Khorwin, and Martina, were informed of their promotion to rank Tin division one, skipping past any Copper divisions they still had. Niseph was given Tin upon joining, a perk of the Golden Chit.

 

“The Dryad hasn’t been allowed to rejoin the Adventurers’ Guild since our race lost in The Games eons ago. The Golden Chit has given me the ability to respawn and rank. You have no idea how much this means to my race and I; Flea, Khorwin, and Martina. This is our first step for the Dryad to have a chance to return to The Games.”

 

“I have heard NPC’s say ‘The Games’ multiple times now. What are these games, Niseph?” Martina asked.

 

“You are new to Mea. You newcomers will find out in time. I am not permitted to speak of them to you at this time.”

 

Fenix returned minutes later with their goods. Giving Niseph her magic bag, the Feline then handed each of them an ornate tin box. The receptionist requested their tags and left again to update them to their new ranks. Opening his box, Flea found a sizable purple cloth sack and a large purple, hexagon-shaped coin with a hole at its center. Opening the bag, Flea guessed it held around a hundred cores. Putting them in his magic bag confirmed it to be 100 Clear Cores. 

 

Upon returning, Fenix handed each of them their brand new Tin tags. Finished, Fenix asked each of them to soulbind their new tags. Upon dropping his blood on the new greenish colored tags, a prompt asked the Gnome if he wished to change his rank. Accepting the prompt, a second informed the Gnome his Copper tags have been destroyed.

 

Martina held up the purple coin and asked Fenix about it. The receptionist informed the group it was a token given to adventurers upon reaching Tin rank. The token could be turned into any Adventurers’ Guild for their choice of available Skill Cores from their vault. This Skill Core would be the first most adventurers would be able to get their hands on. 

 

Fenix continued to explain once they used their cores and leveled up, they should be over level 10, opening their first Mana Gate. Once they’ve achieved this feat, the three of them should return to the hall to turn in their tokens. 

 

“Thank... Thank you!” Khorwin started hopping up and down, cheering.

 

Flea waited for Fenix to help Niseph soulbind her magic bag before speaking to the Feline.

 

“Could you explain to us what Mana Gates are, Fenix? I’ve been told some by Sveny, but would like to hear some more.”

 

“Sure, Flea. Mana Gates are pockets created by the mana channels within every living creature. When the body has developed to a certain degree, the channels expand and spread farther throughout the body. When these channels reach specific anatomic points, they develop a type of bubble or shell within that location. We call these spaces; Mana Gates. The body can then absorb a Skill Core and imprint that skill inside the bubble where the body then adapts to use that skill. I believe there are more to these Mana Gates, but most scholars could debate that for eons.”

 

“Thank you for that knowledge, Fenix.” Flea said.

 

“So guys. everyone back to their inns and level up?” Martina asked.

 

“Yep, leveling up and getting my first skill is on the top of my list,” Flea replied.

 

“Martina, thanks again for rushing to help us. I think the promotion chits were rewarded for surviving that Abomination and bringing the news back to town. I wouldn’t be surprised if this questline gets more interesting tomorrow and with even better rewards,” Khorwin said.

 

“I should thank you guys. I was farming ore for money. After today, I doubt I’m going to have much of that issue. I’ll see you guys back here tonight to organize our groups.”

 

“Alright, see you guys later tonight,” Flea said.

 

Minutes later, as Fenix was finishing up writing his report, he suddenly dropped his quill. Turning around to speak to the group again, he found them gone. Running out the doors and into the street, he found the group to be long gone. He cursed into the air and turned around. The Beastman flattened his ears as he walked back into the hall and spoke in a whisper.

 

“I’m so getting in trouble for this tomorrow.”

 

Flea and Niseph walked to The Drunken Ogre together after leaving the other two at the town square. Reaching the inn, they were greeted by a large group of people asking them questions. They tried to explain what was going on, answering their questions as best as they could. 

 

Niseph was asked to cover her chest by a few women, to the men's protests, causing her to get frustrated enough that she left Flea and stomped up to his room. Excusing himself, the Gnome followed her up and unlocked the door for her. The Dryad jumped onto the bed and poured a couple of marbles onto her hand.

 

“How do I use these?” Niseph asked, raising them in her hand.

 

“Hold one in the palm of your hand, and just crush them. It’s easy once you’ve done it once. Crush all of yours first, then choose the attributes you wish to level.”

 

“How do I see these attributes?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. After you’ve crushed them all, think or say ‘status.’”

 

“Thank you. I was born after the fall of the Dryads, so I’ve never been able to level, please excuse my lack of knowledge.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. You should lay on the bed before you level. You’re going to get knocked out as soon as you accept the changes.”

 

Niseph nodded and laid back onto the bed, taking out the cores one at a time and crushing them. Flea decided to do the same and sat next to the Dryad.

 

 

Holy shit, that’s an average of 19.4 Energy per Clear Core. 

 

Pulling up his Status screen, Flea took a look at his current status.

 

Flea found he could only level his attributes to 10. This forced him to spend points on Wisdom and Intelligence. Maxing the four remaining attributes to 10 cost him 1603 Energy. He couldn’t put any more points into his attributes, so he decided to finish. Mentally accepting his choices, Flea heard Niseph let out a scream, startling him. Seconds later, Flea let out his own scream before the darkness of sleep took him.

 

Opening his eyes, Flea immediately noticed the stench in the room. It was by far the foulest thing he had ever remembered smelling. The Gnome immediately noticed he had difficulty moving his body and it felt like he was lying in something wet. Looking down at himself, then over at the still sleeping Nispeh, he could see a pitch-black, tar-like substance all over the both of them. The last thing he noticed was they were not alone in the room. Dross was standing over them, seemingly very pissed off.

 

“Who the hell ascends in a place of business? I had to close my damn inn down due to the stench. As soon as she awakes, both of you get down to the bathhouse and scrub yourselves like your lives depend on it. Leave all of your clothes and armor in the burlap bag inside the bathhouse. They’re going to be burned.”

 

“What? I just bought these! Their soul bound, can’t we just clean whatever this is off of them?”

 

“No can do. That smelly as hell shit was a part of you. So even if I killed you right here, you’d spawn with it still on your clothes. Didn’t the receptionist at the Adventurers’ Guild warn you two what would happen when you hit level 10?”

 

“No, they didn’t. The Guild just gave us our Tin ranked rewards, and we left.”

 

“Tin rank? How?! This island shouldn’t have anywhere near enough Tin quests to promote anyone before you lot leave for the mainland.”

 

“Flea explained everything again to Dross.”

 

“Damnit, I’ll forgive you for the loss of business. This is bad news, indeed. I must let my family know what’s going on. It looks like your Dryad is stirring. Take her down to the bathhouse now, please. I’ll burn the blanket and bedsheets with your clothes. I just hope it didn’t get into the mattress.”

 

“How will you break the soul bind on the armor?”

 

“We’ll take care of that after. You bathe now, please go already. It’s killing me slowly to just stand here. It’s even worse for my wife and child.”

 

With Niseph awake now, Flea explained what was going on. The Gnome had her follow him to the bathhouse. He found the burlap bag quickly enough and a bar of soap with it. Flea assumed it was to clean off whatever the black junk was on his body.

 

Cleaning himself took hours. For every part of his body, Flea had to scrub, scrape, then scrub some more. Once he was satisfied with the results, the Gnome sank into the bath and relaxed. He was rudely disturbed not long after by Dross, yelling for them to hurry up. Walking outside with a robe around himself, he found Dross, Niseph and an Elf he hadn’t met before.

 

“Flea, this is Elder Nyana. She will break the soulbinding on your armor for you. Please hand her the bag.”

 

“You’re the third stop for me today. Two other adventurers broke through as well. Elder Whoden is going to get a damn earful from a lot of people, I suspect. Not warning those close to ascending about the issues of such a feat.”

 

“Excuse me, Elder, but what changes? What was that black stuff we woke up in?”

 

“You both now have your Mortal Bodies. You can now absorb Energy through meditation and unlock your first Mana Gate, allowing you to absorb your first Skill Core. Normally adventures reach this point before being promoted to Tin, but with what’s going on around here, the fault may therein lie with the two Elders not informing you of what would happen to your bodies. As for the black substance you awoke with inside. Well, that was what your body expelled out. It was all of your impurities and any diseased body tissue,” The Elder explained.

 

The realism this game is going for is on such another level than anything before it.

 

Flea handed the bag over to the Elder. A moment later, he got a notification pop up in his vision.

 

 

Flea mentally selected yes before he could regret it. The Elder closed her eyes and concentrated. Moments later, the bag lit up like a light bulb. 

 

“It is done.”

 

“Good,” Dross said as he took the bag and threw it on the bonfire he had behind the bathhouse. 

 

Walking back to the group, Dross handed Flea a key. 

 

“New room, first on the right, on the second floor. Your old room is going to take a while to get the smell fully out. I’ve already moved your things.”

 

“Thank you again, Dross.”

 

Getting into the new room, he found it more spacious, with a larger bed and a dresser against the sidewall. The room also had the same size desk and chair as the last room.

 

I think Dross has misunderstood some things.

 

[Congratulations are in order, Kyle. You three are the first players to achieve level 10. The news is already spreading amongst the other players. Your names have not been made public due to our privacy settings. I would suggest you and your friends do not make it known. Many players wish you three harm now.]

 

“Thank you, Bob. I will speak to them about it.”

 

“Who is Bob?” Niseph asked.

 

“Oh, I’m not sure how to explain. Bob’s from my world and lives in my head, like a type of magic helper.”

 

Niseph shook her head. 

 

“Can we go visit Granny? We should also get you new armor, and maybe something to cover my chest up. If I’m to join your group, I should be less distracting to your kind.”

 

“Sounds good to me. I’ll need to stop at the smith first to sell the ore from last night.”

 

After Flea changed into his starter clothes, they left the inn and headed over to the west side of town, stopping at Krom’s shop first. Flea offloaded his iron and silver ore to Krom, making over 11 silver for the lot. The Gnome and Dryad then headed over to Sveny’s shop, so Flea could buy another set of quill armor and something to cover up Niseph.

 

Entering the shop, they found a hive of activity. People were in almost every part of the place looking through the shop’s wares. There was already a line of people at the counter waiting for Sveny and his assistant to help them out. 

 

It didn’t take long for the players to notice Niseph and start whistling and catcalling. All their attempts seem to breeze right past her, as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Getting in line, Flea told Nispeh to go find any armor she needed. While the Dryad browsed the wears, she ignored any attempt by the players to get her attention. Flea stood in line, trying not to look at the ass in front or crouch behind him at his eye level.

 

I really hate waiting in lines.

 

Niseph didn’t take long to come back with a dark green leather corset and leather pants laced up at the sides, in her size. She also found a set of simple leather bracers. It took the two almost twenty minutes to get up to the counter to be assisted.

 

“Welcome back Flea, what can I assist you with today?” Sveny said.

 

“Hello again, I need a new set of quill armor dyed black. I also need to buy this corset, bracers, and pants for her.” Flea pointed to Niseph.

 

“Of course, what happened to your old set?”

 

“We hit mortal rank without anyone telling us what happens.”

 

“Oh my. Terrible ordeal all around, even if you planned ahead. I still have your measurements here, so I can have it crafted by tonight for you. Would you like it delivered somewhere for your convenience?”

 

“That would be amazing, Sveny. I also have these large terrorbear quills to sell as well.”

 

“Where did you get these? These are the largest quills I’ve ever seen.”

 

“Took them off an Abomination last night. How much would you buy them for? I can get you more tomorrow. If you haven’t heard yet, we are going into the mountain to kill the rest of them.”

 

“Yes, I’ve heard the news. I’d be willing to give you 50 copper for that quill. Do you have any more?”

 

“I have nineteen more, and I also have these scales from the Abomination as well.”

 

“Show me!”

 

Flea took out one of the Abomination’s scales and handed it to Sveny.

 

“I’ll give you a silver each, how many do you have? I could make the best armor I’ve ever crafted with these. Take a look at this.”

 

Sveny pulled out a dagger from his belt. He placed a scale on the counter and then set the dagger’s point against its flat surface. Grabbing a mallet from under the counter, the Elf drove the butt of the dagger down. Removing the blade, Flea could barely see a dimple on the scale’s surface.

 

“If I can get my hands on maybe thirty of these, I could make an entire set.”

 

“If I bring you more of them, could you craft me a set with them?”

 

“Bring me forty scales, and I’ll make it for free.”

 

“Ok, I’ll sell you the twenty quills I have. I need the quill armor tonight, and her pieces as well. What’s my total?

 

Sveny stared into the air, moving his fingers like he was manipulating an abacus, “Ten silver for the quills. I’ll do 34 silver for your dyed armor and delivery. Her pieces are 27 silver. You owe me 51 silver.” 

 

Flea thanked and paid Sveny. Turning to Nispeh, he could see she was already wearing her corset and was sitting on a box lacing the first side of her pants up. Waiting for her to finish, they walked out of Sveny’s and headed towards Sue’s Bakery.

 

“Niseph!!” Granny Sue screamed.

 

The older woman darted from behind the counter, rushed up and hugged the beaming Dryad.

 

“Oh, it’s lovely to see you again, Granny. I enjoyed the candies you gave Flea. I missed them dearly.”

 

“Oh, Princess, that pleases me to hear. Why are you wearing leathers? Oh My! Is that a magic bag? How have you become an adventurer? Does your mother know of this?”

 

Niseph giggled and placed a hand over her mouth. 

 

“Everything is happening too fast. I have not yet left the town to inform my mother of the change. Elder Loratoris had seen fit to give me the town’s Golden Chit and the opportunity to join The Guild.”

 

“Your mother is going to be so happy to hear that there is a chance for the Dryad again.”

 

Around this time, the crowd started to get a bit impatient on waiting.

 

“I need to help everyone right fast sweety, give me a few minutes.”

 

Granny Sue gave a discount to all who waited, pleasing everyone. Once the crowd cleared, she went into the back and returned with a large brown bag.

 

“Here Niseph, put this in your magic bag and don’t show it to your sisters.”

 

Taking the brown bag from Granny and opening it, she found it full of the pink rosewater flavored candies she loved.

 

“Thank you so much, Granny! I’ll make sure to give mother some as well.”

 

The trio talked a bit longer before Flea finally suggested it was time to go. They still needed to walk back to the forest and inform the Dryad Queen of the Elder’s plans. Flea and Nispeh dropped by the Adventurers’ Guild to tell them the duo would be back before sunset to set up their group of adventurers.