For Dawn Light, there was no class that could compare to the author. Sure, she was currently suffering extreme hardship from its all around low-level abilities, weak attributes and reliance on expensive items; but she knew deep down that it would eventually be the most powerful class of all. If she could get twenty sheets of paper and some leather, or wood in a pinch, to bind them with, she could craft a special book that would let her replicate any ability she had seen, from any class. Only abilities she of a player level lower than her own could be used, however, and at a reduced effectiveness, also. She also didn’t have any of the speciality equipment that those classes had, so she would have to buy those, also. Despite those setbacks, she knew that, going forward, her class would show its worth. She had absolute confidence that the research she put into the choice and the time she spent planning would definitely pay off. Even if the amount of paper she would need for higher level skills increased drastically, and carting around books was heavy, they were small problems compared to the versatility her class brought.

So far she had the following books; Tinker: Carrying Capacity Boost, Tinker: Tinkering, Merchant: Expert Evaluation, Geomancer: Crystal Casting, Geomancer: Crystal Knowledge. The reason she had so many books already was because she was working for Fred. Every time she went to make a book, she would be required to make ten copies of that book in return. The paper was pulped by her, and other workers trying to pay off their debt, with wood and tools made by other debt-workers. Books were a surprisingly popular item, despite only providing the skill effect to two classes. Because a skill book contained a detailed analysis of how a skill works, people would often buy books about their own class skills to get more competent at using them, and to help uncover secrets and alternative uses. The only class that could write a skill book was the author, but they weren’t the only class that could gain skills from using them. The loremaster was a class that could also do so, and as a support magic class, it was a reasonably popular choice.

Dawn had chosen the books she wanted fairly carefully. There were a number of skills that sold well, and a number of skills that were useful to her, personally. Skills that were both had the highest priority. The skills that she got from Fred, carrying capacity booster and tinkering, were particularly important to her. Since she intended to carry a lot of books around with her she got carrying capacity booster, which she needed to be able to carry more. Tinkering was a skill that let the user craft any category of item, though with a higher difficulty when compared to more specialised skills, including providing her with an innate, though limited, knowledge for how to use tools and materials. Having that let her craft the items she would need to use acquired skills, and pay off her debt sooner.

The merchant skill, expert evaluation, let her understand how much an item or service would be worth, whispering into her mind approximately how much it would be worth in the general area or in the currently occupied territories generally. It wasn’t a skill that she wanted to get, but Fred insisted that she get it, and help out with managing the shop and dealing with customers. The only combat skill she had, so far, was crystal casting. It was the core talent for geomancers, and let them convert power from creatures and stones into special crystals, and then uses the crystals in magic. It was the reason geomancers were being called Money Mages; they had to burned valuables to power spells. If a group found a large stone overflowing with fire energy they would have to choose, have the stone turned into a weapon, or other useful item, or let the geomancer take the energy out, and turn it into a normal rock. It wasn’t Dawn’s first choice, but it was the first magic type she saw used, and was relatively simple to use. Of cause, that power was only useful with the Crystal Knowledge skill, that identified what crystals were, how much and why types of energy they could trap. While Geomancy could be used without it, the user would almost certainly overcharge their crystals and break them.

She originally planned to stay at Fred’s place for a short time, but had already spent several in-game days there. Her debt loomed over her, as if daring her to make a break and escape. She may well have done that, if not for having been the person who processed the report on what happened to the last person to try it. Instead, she was going to pay it off as fast as possible, while observing as many skills as she could. Once she paid of her debt, and after getting a few more blank books, she would start her adventure.

After working for Fred for nearly three weeks of in game time, she had finally paid everything off. With relief streaming from every pore, she stretched, facing the rising sun, and set off into the forest. The experience she had gained from working there had pushed her up a few levels, and she had gained the second key author skill, voice. Voice was a form of magic that converted certain nonsense words into spells. Unfortunately, it was also very tiring. The highest level author player boasted that he could use Voice three times without rest, but when told to prove it, he fainted after the third. There was no doubt it was powerful, but fainting in front of a monster meant death. Instead, she used it to farm energy to use in crystal casting. All she had to do was command the ground to freeze, and then collect the energy in a crystal for later use. She had tried it with other elements, but ice was both the safest and easiest to work with. Paying back the damage her experiments with fire had cause added an extra day to her work.

It was a very slow, grinding process, as each time she did it she would only empower the smallest speck of a shard and then have to rest. During the time she spent at camp, she built up a small pile of near worthless crystals chips that were going to be thrown out, a pile that would disappear quickly when she started to cast spells. After writing book after book to pay off her debt, Dawn was sure that she could stand any repetitive tasks. She was sure that she could secure a supply of crystals.

Hefting her heavy bag and adjusting the weight to sit more comfortably, as it shifted about when she walked, she walked towards the nearby forest. For the first time in a long time, she would be by herself. Thoughts about the dangers being alone would bring floated into her mind briefly, but she shrugged them off like they were someone else’s concerns. She was a master of ice magic, whose very words could burn or cut, what could possibly harm her? The ground crunched and squelched under her sturdy leather boots, as she walked wistfully through the forest, not feeling any of the stones through the monster bone soles. It wasn’t long before she encountered her first creature. It seemed to be a large brown rat, about the size of a medium dog, with fur that stood on end. As she cautiously approached, she could hear it snarl as a static crackle sounded, faintly but audibly, came from around the rat’s body. Before she could react, a bolt of energy struck her in her side and pushed her backwards as her muscles contracted and pulsed, stiffening painfully without her control. She rolled to her side as fast as she could, trying to get back onto her feet while her body felt both numb and inflamed.

The rat was fast. The rat was way too fast. By the time she stood up, it had moved from where it was. Looking around in terror, the rat was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly pain shot through her body through her back and she collapsed to the ground. Her body shook with a spasm, pain unlike anything she had ever felt rocketed through her body, like she was being torn apart by her own body, like her flesh was something foreign and no longer wanted to be attached. Tears streamed from her eyes as she tried to somehow manage the burning pain. As abruptly as it started, the pain ended. Turning around she saw the rat had been split in half and a strange woman was placing a plant based paste on her shock burnt flesh. It surprised her just how quickly the soothing effect of the plants seeped through her, as comforting as a warm bed in winter.

The woman was shorter than her, though by how much was hard to tell while Dawn lay on her side, and seemed younger. She had long black hair that flowed all the way down her back. Her fierce green eyes seemed like jade, twisting in sharp waves like the anger of the forest itself. Her healthy tan skin could be seen through a fine layer of forest dust and she had an intangible quality about her that radiated a quiet kind of power. Not an aggressive power, like a fire, but something resolute and unmoving, like a falling stone. The stone wasn't destructive, but only a fool would try and get it its way. A small shutter went down her back as she was both drawn to and repulsed by those eyes, a shudder the reminded her that the paste had yet to finish its work.