"So, if you don't mind me asking, how'd you clear the Dungeon? And, what did you ask it to do?" The jolly dwarf seems keen to talk while we walk. As we leave the fort I look around at a, perhaps mid sized town? The fort with the dungeon entrance in it is on the southern edge of the town. Most of the construction seems to be wood, and single floor, though there might be basements I can't see from here. Odd, I'd have thought dwarves would use stone.

"Fought and killed a Goblin Commander. I imagine you're more wondering how I got to it though? In which case. I'll just say what little I know. I woke up in a tower in the Dungeon, and when I left it, there was a magic circle of some sort around it. I thought the circle was a ward to protect it at first. But now I'm thinking that circle was concealing it instead. So, anyway, the boss room was outside the tower's back door. And, I asked it to make more of the parts us Automatons are made of? I wasn't terribly sure what was going on though."

"Parts? . . Ah. You can use the Dungeon to make more of your friends then? Well, that'll give this little town a big draw. Marel will be happy about that. He'll probably try to make a profit off the situation though." I tilt my head questioningly. "Well, his family has been trade-nobles for several generations."

"Trade-nobles? Is that, as simple as it sounds then?" I don't question his statement of the dungeon producing automaton parts being a big draw, because obviously its something new and interesting, and the loot of a dungeon logically belongs to whoever obtains it.

"Pretty much! Ha ha ha! They were skilled enough ah' merchants to work their way up. Not sure what his father's exact rank is, but he is the ruler of Aldebran, a city a couple dozen Kilometers north of here. Ah, but don't bother asking where, here, is." He hand waves the idea. "Too small to have a name."

"Why's an important Noble's son a Vice Guildmaster in a town too small to have a name? For that matter, why does a small town have a, er, Adventurers Guild I assume?" We are approaching a two story building with a wider layout than any of the single floor ones, still wood though. This one at the northern edge of the town.

"Thats personal business there. As for the guild, well, gotta have some place for rowdy kids looking to level up and evolve to put their energy towards something constructive. At least, thats the idea, but half the town is involved one way or another. Though we still have less than fifty active full time members. The only real selling point around here was the dungeon, but it was such a weak stage one dungeon that its only really been good for training low leveled solo adventurers. But, the chance to make the dungeon progress and a unique type of treasure is sure to change things."

Granzine stops in front of the large building's broad double doors. Up above the doorway is a logo of a crossed sword and staff, an indication of it being an adventurers guild perhaps. He turns to look at me. "So, did you see a dwarf named Shali in there?" I freeze up abruptly, then he gives a short nod. "He attacked first did he?"

"H-how did you?" He is already opening the door, and doesn't seem upset about the idea that Shali and I had fought. He leads the way into the building, the first room is rather large, and has a trio of counters, though none are currently occupied. The counter to the left has what looks like a quest board next to it, the one to the right has some kind of safe or vault behind it, and looks like the sturdiest of the three, lastly the one at the back has another pair of large doors behind it. There is also a stairway leading up in the far left corner.

"Gehe, I might not always be the smartest, but I know people. You seem a curious and passive sort overall, he was rather strongly driven to get money. Er. Not quite like how Marel is. Say, Marel takes genuine enjoyment in the process of earning money, but Shali just wanted to get rich quick? S'that make sense?" Once my whole group is inside he leads the way towards the stairs. "Point is, I wouldn't be surprised if you tried talking and he figured he'd attack because he didn't think you were sentient and thought he could sell your remains off somehow."

"That, might have been his side of things? I couldn't speak or understand Dwarvish yet at that time." He pauses halfway up the stairs to look at me there. "Ah, sorry. I can only speak it now because of a, magic tool of sorts I guess. Though it was because of him that I managed to set the tool to the language. I'm hoping that the others who have the same kind of tool will be able to learn it the same way." With an expression that implies that he's filing that away for later, he nods and continues up the stairs.

The upper floor starts in what seems to be some sort of lounge, a bar off to one wall and tables scattered throughout, and couches of some sort along the other walls, specifically, the cushioned parts look like leaves. Granzine weaves around the tables through the room to a hallway on the far side. The hall has several doors along its length, though I can't guess the purpose of the rooms, given that the doors are all closed. We approach a door at the end of the hall, he opens it, looks into the room briefly, then calls out. "Maaaaar! The situation is a lot different than we expected."

Another voice calls out from within, "Could you please refrain from that nickname when we're in the Guildhall, Guildmaster?" The wording and tone of voice make the new person seem more, professional than Granzine. "So, was it that Shale guy then, or a dungeon monster going rogue?" The axe wielding dwarf walks into the room. "Or did someone sneak in, . ." The speaker pauses mid sentence when his gaze lands on me.

He has paler skin than either of the dwarves I've met so far, and his beard is white with some blue-gray threads running through it. He has a pair of round framed glasses on his face, which he pushes up slightly while looking me over. He is sitting at a desk with a surprising amount of paperwork on the surface. He clears his throat then speaks, quite politely. "Guildmaster, could you please join me in your office for a moment?" Without waiting for a response, he stands up, walks over, and literally grabs Granzine by the beard before dragging him through a door on the wall to the side of his desk.

Its obvious that they are discussing the situation, but I can't hear what they're saying at all. Soundproofed door? I shrug, then look around the room. The room is lit by some kind of crystal lanterns, placed strategically on the walls. The back wall has the younger looking dwarf's desk, and the door to the Guildmaster's office, both side walls have bookshelves, which are all quite full. Though the books don't have titles on the spines, they still catch my attention quite well. I approach a shelf and pull a random book from it, as I open it I notice that its made from parchment instead of paper, which causes me to pause and look closer at some other books for a bit.

Most of them use parchment, but there are a few that use paper instead. Having determined that, I turn my focus back to the book I'm already holding. The first page has the title "Production and Usage of Black Powder." in bold text. "Ah, isn't that an old name for? . . ." I lose track of time as I leaf through and read the book. After reading a particular section, "They have cannons, but not guns? And, it looks like they haven't tried combining magic with it? Oho, I'm gonna have to play around with that. Or will this be one of those situations where guns aren't as good as other weapons?"

I make it most of the way through the book before the two dwarves come back out, the younger dwarf, Marel, speaks up. "I see you helped yourself to my library. Not that I mind, few around here care much for literature. Though, that clearly means that you have Scan at least at level five." I turn to look at the two of them, and tilt my head. "Ah, you didn't know? Scan gains a text translation function at level five. As I doubt a speech specific magic tool includes the ability to read a language, I drew that conclusion."

Wow, hes much smarter than Granzine. . . The high level dwarf narrows his eyes at me. "You just thought somethin' rude didn't ya?" I slowly shut the book and place it back on the shelf. He laughs softly, then mutters, "Guess I was right."

Marel clears his throat softly. "Guildmaster, I've left a number of documents on your desk that require your signature, please take care of them while I give this Anima person a brief lesson on the world."

"Fine, fine. Just don't forget to write up a letter to the King for me. He'll want to know about this." Granzine turns back to his office.

"Guildmaster, there is an order of operations for situations like this. We have to send a letter to the Grand Guildmaster in the Capitol's Adventurers Guild, and he will report it to the king." Marel holds a hand to his forehead and shakes his head after that correction. The other dwarf gives an affirmative grunt, but continues back into his office.

"Well. I confess, I'm not entirely certain how to compress potentially years worth of common sense into a reasonably short conversation. Do you have any questions you would specifically like to ask?" The bespectacled dwarf throws the ball into my court.

I spend several moments thinking, then decide to go with a classic. "Well, I guess. Is there a Demon King threatening the world or anything like that?" A common enough trope in this sort of situation, but it isn't until the pale dwarf adjusts his glasses with a glint like a certain Strategist that I realize I may have slipped up.

"No knowledge of the world, and yet you have a concept of Demon Kings huh?" It seems like I walked right into that one. "Regardless of what you're not saying, its also clear that you are lacking quite a bit, so, at the Guildmaster's request, I will endeavor to teach you properly. Though, I might request a certain, concession from you." He straightens up in his seat. "Specifically, I will gather any information you require, but in exchange, I would like to receive credit for convincing you to allow the King to study you and your kind when he, inevitably, arrives."

Couldn't I just ask the king to gather information for me? . . No wait. He's, staring at me. . . "I-I guess that would be fine." I can't guess what exactly he hopes to gain from that credit, but I'm not sure I want to try and cut him out of the situation.

He nods slightly, then settles his hands on his desk. "Very well. Then, on to your first lessons. Though I suspect that you'll be able to supplement the lessons by reading a bit when I'm busy." His gaze drifts to a bookshelf for a moment before looking back at me. "Now then, you asked about a Demon King. So I suppose that is a good enough place to start, or rather, a midpoint on a subject you would need to know? Hm. There is no Demon King at present, but there will be one in about forty years." Oof, going for a slow burn if thats what I'm here for. 

"You see, the advent of a Demon King is the final stage of the Great Cycle, which is itself one of many cycles in this world. In order to understand cycles, I suppose we'll need to cover the Thirty Gods of Origin who created our world. Oh, the world's name is Valrok." He taps his fingers on the desk, considering how to proceed. "Well, the Thirty were divided into three camps. Those who desire Change, those who desire Stasis, and those who do not side with either. The creator of the dwarves, Geosia God of Craftsmen, falls into the third group. Once the world was created, and the System first established, the gods of Change sought to continue to change the world at their own whims, and the gods of Stasis wanted to leave it as it already was. The Free gods of course didn't care either way."

He stands up, and walks to one of the shelves, grabbing a seemingly random book, then carries it over to me. "If you wish to learn more of the individual gods, this book covers the Thirty. Other gods are less well documented though." Then he returns to his seat to continue. "Due to the disagreements among them, they came to a compromise. The Cycles. Each Cycle is a self contained series of events that can potentially lead to changes. The great Cycle being the most important. The beginning of one Great Cycle is the completion of a Demon King's mission, or their death. At heart, I guess you could say that the Demon King is the ultimate agent of Change."

He gives a brief yawn, unsurprising given that he was up, potentially even before dawn. "The Great Cycle has a series of five specific events. At year twenty, any being already at their max level has their level cap raised by ten. The typical cap for the Races is level one hundred, though that can vary. At year forty, a few powerful "World Boss" monsters are spawned on each continent, the killing of which grants special titles to anyone involved. At year sixty, I.E. Where we're at now, come the "Gifted Children" who can be born anywhere from year sixty to year eighty. At year eighty there is an EXP event where for one full year any combat results in twice the experience compared to normal. Then finally, year one hundred, the birth of a new Demon King."

I raise my right hand questioningly, he rolls his eyes then nods. "So, about these, gifted children, what does that mean?"

"Well, that requires a bit of information on one of the gods. One of the gods from the Free camp, Lau Ozvin, originally the god of souls, was asked by the other gods to bring in souls from other worlds and reincarnate them as part of the Great Cycle. As such, his domain changed from Souls to Reincarnation. And those gifted children, are born possessing a greater compatibility with Skills compared to others. In fact, a few each generation are said to have a Unique Skill from the moment of their birth." That is, totally me isn't it? Guess that explains that voice I heard before I woke up too. "As for the Demon King, and how they are an agent of change. The Demon King will rise from one of the Races. Specifically, when a person of one of the Races sees something in the world that they cannot tolerate, they will undergo a special evolution called "The Fall" and become that generation's Demon King. And if they succeed in overcoming that self assigned challenge, then the god of that race is allowed to make a change to the World or System. And otherwise they are only allowed to intervene in the world in very limited ways. Typically by granting miracles to Priest type Classes."

I raise my hand again. Then go ahead without waiting for a response. "What if someone from a race ruled by a god of Stasis becomes a Demon King?" I expected that question to throw him for a loop, but he give a short nod.

"In such cases, the Demon King has the possibility to become a god and establish a new race. The most well documented incident of that, was a human. He was born as a slave, one owned by other humans at that. When he became a Demon King, he was given the unique title "Demon King of Rebellion" instead of the typical title of "Demon King" and lead the slaves in the human empire in a great revolt against the slave owning upper class. Eventually he became the god of the Magi race, The God of Learning Aphestis. That was about five thousand years ago. Additionally, all of the Stasis races outlawed slavery practically overnight to prevent such an event from occurring again."

I am left stunned by that information, so he moves on on his own. "I suppose I'll give you a quick overview of the next two most important Cycles as well. The Cycle of Evolution. An unusual Cycle if any can be called as such. The Cycle of Evolution trends towards most existing life to become more intelligent. Animals, monsters, even plants, they all have the potential to evolve towards sentience and being counted as one of the "Races", though they don't always follow that simple of a route, and explaining all of that is too much to handle." He waves a hand off towards one of the shelves, apparently that one has all the books on the subject that he possesses. Gonna have to read up on that later.

"Then, the Cycle of Seasons, which is equivalent to one year. There are six Seasons, Land, Metal, Life, Oceans, Spirits, and Death." He takes a moment to gather his thoughts once more. "The current season is the first, the Season of Land. During which, landmasses appear, and grow larger. The second season, the Season of Metal, has veins of metal or other minerals appear randomly on bodies of land, and occasionally, altogether new materials appear during this season, though they are usually quite well hidden or well defended by powerful monsters. And for any new deposits of material that aren't discovered by one of the races during that season, they disappear. During the third Season, Life, new lifeforms appear, typically as mutations or hybrids of existing plants, animals, or monsters, though such new lifeforms are typically disliked by existing non-sentient creatures, and thus hard pressed to survive. During the Season of Oceans, the Landmasses that grew during the Season of Land are reclaimed by the sea if they haven't been inhabited by one of the Races. Additionally, the extra landmass on established continents or islands is lost if no race has laid claim to it. During the Season of Spirits, new Spirits appear throughout the world at random, Spirits themselves are a vast and varied subject though. Then finally, during the Season of Death, old and sickly things die, not among the races mind you, but among wild animals and monsters, primarily. Additionally, the Souls of the deceased from throughout the year rise as undead during this season, if not properly dealt with. Interred in the ground, or burned, or whatever funerary rights a given species practices."

He takes a minute to open a drawer on his desk, pull out a flask, and take a hearty swig that hardly seems to match his scholarly demeanor. "Beyond that, I suppose I'll tell you about the continent of Dvera. Dvera is the Dwarvish homeland, dwarves making up something like thirty percent of the population on the continent, though within the Bedhal kingdom the number is closer to sixty percent. Thirty percent is actually pretty good even, given that Races can emerge from practically any living thing, but still, doesn't sound like a high amount for the Dwarvish homeland to have huh?"

"Yeah, it is a little less than it seems like it should be?" I agree, but don't have much of a frame of reference. He stands up and moves to knock on the Guildmaster's door. "Huh? Oh, is that all you want to cover right now?" I try my best not to sound disappointed by that, but he clearly noticed, as he gives a wry smile.

"I do have a fair bit of other work to do." After that, he opens the door, pauses, then storms in without shutting it. "Why did you fall asleep at your desk instead of signing off on the paperwork?!" There is a loud thumping noise and a pained shout from the Guildmaster. I lean to the side, trying to look through the door. I hear some hushed speech between the two that I can't quite make out, then Marel comes back out and I straighten up abruptly. "The Guildmaster will be out to escort you to the shrine of Geosia in a minute, and your friends can use one of the unoccupied rooms in the hall outside the door. You're less likely to draw attention if its just you and the Guildmaster, instead of bringing a whole host of Automatons with you." A fair point, and they seem trustworthy enough, so I suppose I'll just go along with it.

He takes out a sheet of paper and begins writing, so I lead the others out of the Office to check the nearest door in the hallway. The room has a series of Bunks with personal chests next to them, there is a look to the room that makes it seem as if it hasn't actually been used in a while, its not dirty. Just, too neat I suppose? I turn to speak to the other sentient Automatons. "Sorry, but could you all wait here for the time being? Maybe practice some of your skills a little? They want the chance to show me around town without drawing an excess of attention." They all assent, Crimson pulling out their knitting supplies, and the others playing around with their MP or SP. The Blanks simply stand to the side, out of the way.

I nod, then head back for the Vice Guildmaster's Office. I re-enter just in time to see Granzine walking out of his own office, rubbing his head and grumbling under his breath. He hands a stack of paperwork over to Marel, and signs off on whatever he had been writing. Then he walks over to me, gives a brief nod, then leads the way back out of the building.

Once we're outside I strike upon an idea. "I didn't ask Marel about Classes, could you give me an explanation on them while we walk?" He rolls his shoulder, stretches out his left arm, then nods.

"Eh, well. The best I can say about Classes is that you use em to train skills. Basically, you get a choice between ten Classes that you're well suited to, and each one has a "Class Skill" that you gain the moment you take the class, and if you get the class skill up to level five, then you're effectively done with that class. Cause at that point it'll become a normal skill if you change classes. Also, if you have a skill at level five, then you're counted as a member of that class, even if you never took the class or change to another one. Which is good for gaining advanced classes." There are a decent number of people out now, most of them dwarves, though I spot a couple individuals that I can't connect to any typical fantasy race. One looks, kinda like a Demonic Jester? About the size of a Goblin, with red skin, purple eyes and hair, with the hair done up in spikes that almost look like horns, but are more akin to a jester's hat, and wearing a black suit, almost like a tuxedo, of all things.

He thinks a moment, then nods slightly while continuing. "Like, if you take the basic Warrior class you'll get the skill [Weapon: Melee] Which sets you to gaining a specific [Weapon] skill. Once a weapon skill gets to level five you can get an advanced warrior class for that weapon. And advanced classes provide some bonuses aside from just helping you gain the skill. Ah, but fair warning, if you change away from a class before the skill reaches level five, you lose the skill. And any given class never shows up in your list again if you change away from it."

We apparently still have a ways to go to reach the shrine, as he starts in on a story. "Why, I used to know a couple elves who kept changing their classes too often and ended up with weird classes and hardly any skills. Partied up with them a few times when I was an active adventurer." His gaze drifts down to the prosthetic attached to whats left of his right arm.

"Do you, erm. That is. Is it okay if I ask why you aren't still active? I mean, you kinda seem old. But your stats are really high, would being one handed actually make it hard for you to fight like that?" I am rather curious, but I try to phrase it delicately.

"Well. You noticed my Axe Maniac title right? Basically, I got that because I only used Axes. Specifically, I have an advanced weapon skill called [Twin Axes]. But it replaced my [Weapon: Axe] skill line. So I don't have any single axe abilities any more. And Axe Maniac prevents me from gaining other weapon skills. Doubles all damage from axe type weapons, but still. Its hard to use two axes, one handed. Ya know?" He gives a helpless shrug, then rubs the back of his head. Then we walk on in silence until we approach a small building with a statue that looks like a tall dwarf in it. It is easily two feet taller than me, but still has the same bulk to it as a dwarf. And it is the first stone construction I've seen around this town.

"That is, quite the statue. Geosia I guess?" I look up at the statue and tilt my head.

"Supposed to be, yeah. But we don't really know what he looks like. So the statue is just modeled after a Gigant." When I turn to look at him and tilt my head further, he chuckles. "Right, right. Gigiants are the evolved form of dwarves. Basic Dwarves evolve into Gigants at level Eighty, Hill Dwarves at one hundred, Mountain Dwarves at a hundred and forty, and lastly Berskar Dwarves who like Hill Dwarves evolve at one hundred, though they also have to be in a battle were they've killed at least a hundred enemies. Some evolutions have special requirements." Right, I'll need to learn about subspecies too.

I nod in understanding, then face the statue again. "So, how do I go about gaining a class?"

"Eh, well. You just pray? Oh, right. You don't have to pray to Geosia specifically if you don't wanna. Just bow your head and think "Class Menu" and it should come up?" He gives a big grin, the gestures me forward. So I take a couple steps, putting me right in front of the statue, then I lower my head slightly. Class Menu?

[Current Class: None]

[Available Classes]

[Dark Mage: Dark Magic]

[Earth Mage: Earth Magic]

[Exorcist: Spirit Charge]

[Fire Mage: Fire Magic]

[Magic Swordsman: Mana Charge]

[Spirit Tamer: Spirit Binding]

[Water Mage: Water Magic]

[Available Advanced Classes]

[Armor Master: Armored Body, Armor Enhancement]

[Machine Smith: Mass Production, Machine Affinity]

[Spirit Warrior: Spirit Strengthening, Spirit Sword]

"Oh, thats a lot." I shake my head. "I take it the second part on each entry is the class skill?" Granzine gives a nod. "Then I'll need some time to think. Spirit Tamer sounds interesting?" Sapph abruptly pops out of her gem's pouch, flies in front of my face, and makes an X with her arms, as well as broadcasting an irritated feeling, its a bit of a jumble. Part afraid, part indignant, and part jealous. As if she's worried that I'd get more spirits than just her.

"Hoo, so I did see a Spirit before. Little odd that shes sticking with you without being bound though."

"Yeah she's," I pause once it occurs that maybe I shouldn't say that I can create spirits. "A real sweetheart." I reach up and pat her head. "Sounds like shes not a fan of the Spirit Tamer class though. Guess that makes sense."

Chaos_Sinner777

Well, if anyone wants explanations on what the class skills will do, I'll go ahead and explain em. Aside from that, vote as you like, but because of Sapph's objection, Spirit Tamer is starting at a disadvantage of -5 so it'll need at least six more votes than the nearest contender to win. Why am I factoring Sapph's opinion into a poll when I created her and the class shes objecting against? Eh, cuteness factor.