Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Well hello there lad. We’ve been waiting to talk to you for a while now.”

A short man looked up to Arthur with a smile on his face. A young woman in her early 20s stood a few feet behind him.

“And who might you be?” Arthur asked as he took a step away and turned to face the two.

“I am Hambel and this nice woman is Cassia.” The short man reached out his hand.

“And I am Arthur.” Arthur took Hambel's hand and shook it. “Is there any particular reason why you were waiting for me?”

Hambel smiled, “We wanted to know what you saw down there, for safety reasons of course. The worst thing you can do in a dangerous situation is not seek out information that could help.”

“Well there isn’t much to tell. Mostly everything was already dead. What little was alive was just a group of these short green skinned things with pointy ears.”

“Sounds like you found a group of goblins.” Cassia spoke up. “Violent, twisted, cannibalistic, and untrustworthy, and where you find one you find many.”

“So it is very likely there are more hiding down there?” Arthur asked.

“Yes, that is most certainly the case. But that raises the question, what are they eating?”

“My personal guess is that the fortress dug into a cavern with lots of plant life that has allowed them to thrive. Possibly more than one cavern.” Hambel added.

“I can already feel the headache those green fuckers are gonna cause.” Cassia sighed. “But if we can kill their leader and cut off their food supply they will probably scatter, and after a few days all we need to do is mop them up.”

“Divide and conquer, but this is under the assumption that they only have one food source.

“Then we will either burn it, seal it away, or leave a group to guard it.” Said Arthur.

“We will most likely require reinforcements regardless of what we decide to do. Cassia sighed. “The best we can do is prepare for all possibilities.”

An uncomfortable silence surrounded the group of three.

“Well that is enough of this depressing talk, Arthur why don’t you tell us a bit about your skill set.” Hambel said, breaking the silence.

“My skill set?”

“Yeah, what skills do ya have and what level are they at? It's at the bottom of your HUD.”

Arthur looked at his HUD.

/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\

Name : Arthur

Level 2

Exp : 650

Next Level at : 900

Mana : 2

Class : The All Knowing

Class Bonuses :

Advanced Learning

Photographic memory

Jack of All Trades

Attributes :

Strength 10

Dexterity 10

Vitality 10

Constitution 10

Intellect 10

Perception 10

Charisma 10

Arcane 10 (Locked)

Faith 10 (Locked)

Devotion 10 (Locked)

Available points : 20

Skills :

Block Level 0

Long Blades Level 1

Heavy Armour 0

Throwing Level 0

Sneaking Level 1

Assassination Level 0

Running Level 0

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Scavenging Level 0

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -/

“I have Block at level zero, Long Blades Level one, Heavy Armour Level zero, Throwing Level zero, Sneaking Level one, Assassination Level zero, Running Level zero, and Scavenging Level zero.” Arthur listed his skills to Hambel and Cassis. The two were baffled.

“How did you even survive down there?!” Hambel almost shouted.

“The element of surprise and I only encountered one group of these goblins, and even then I almost died with an arrow through the face.” Arthur didn’t feel that he had done anything particularly impressive.

“What level are you?” Cassia followed up with another question.

“Level two.”

“You killed a group of goblins at level 2?”

“Technically I was level one when I fought them and achieved level two after I killed them.” Hambel and Cassia looked at Arthur with baffled expressions as he explained what happened. “After I killed the leader the other four huddled up in terror and didn’t put up a fight.”

“And you didn’t hesitate at all?” Hambel questioned.

“Why would I? They attacked me first and almost killed me. Who knows who else they have done that to, or who they would have done it to if I hadn't stopped them.”

“Well lad-” Hambel paused for a moment. “-I guess that you… are… strong willed for someone who hasn't been killed until recently.”

“Yes.” Cassia said in an attempt to change the darkened mood. “I still remember when I killed for the first time. A person I mean.”

“How did you kill them?”

“It was a woman. She was a neighbor of mine when I was younger.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Oh It's alright, I don’t even remember her name anymore.” Cassia took a seat on a large box and continued with her story. “I was 17 and I was visiting my family in our hometown Wellspring. Wellspring was a farming town that attracted a few tradesmen due to its proximity to the border allowing for trade with the Yolan empire. My family was pretty well off which was why I was able to afford a magical education. One day I returned home as I had some time off the Yolan empire had begun an invasion.”

“I remember that day.” Hambel said with a saddened look in his eyes. “I was on the front lines when it happened. It was that bastard of an emperor that stole the throne after he killed his father who did it!”

“The current emperor killed his father so that he could take the throne and invade the neighboring nations?” Arthur asked Hambel.

“Aye I bet my mothers front teeth on it. He had barely been emperor for a month when the invasion happened and his fathers death was suspicious too. The empress never even objected to his sudden rise in power, she should have been acting empress for easily twice as long as she did, but she wasn’t. Coincidence? I Think Not!”

“Hambel, please calm down. There was no evidence of any foul play involved. The emperor died peacefully in his sleep.” Cassia tried to calm Hambels rant that continuously rose in volume.

“Who said that? The physicians? Who says they can’t be paid off or even worse have been in on it!” Hambel continued on his rant.

Cassia sighed, “Why do I even try?” She then turned to Arthur who had watched his confusion as Hambel went off. “If you want to learn anything about magic I will be just over in my tent practicing.”

“Bah, magic is boring and complicated. Fighting with a weapon is far easier and it's more exciting.” Hambel began walking in the opposite direction. “I'm going to the training area if you need me.”

‘I still need to learn that spell that translates everything so I definitely should go with Cassia, and who knows I might learn something else cool.’

**********

Cassia smiled as she saw Arthur sitting across from her in her tent. ‘It appears at least someone is interested in listening to me.’ “Thank you for coming, Arthur. Is there anything in particular about magic that you would like to learn.”

“There is one thing.”

“Alright, and what is it?”

“It's that spell that translates all languages.”

“Oh, I know exactly what you are talking about. That spell is called Comprehend Language. As long as you know one language it will make all other languages sound like the one you know and like one everyone else knows.”

“So it wont work on animals or other creatures?”

“Unfortunately no, that is a completely different spell.”

‘Well shit, that sounds useful.’ “So how exactly does magic work? Is it something that anyone can learn or do you need to just be born with it?”

“Everyone has different talents. One person may have an easier time learning pyromancy over hydromancy for example, but yes basically anyone with basic common understanding of the world can learn magic.”

“Is there any way to measure this or do you just figure it out as you learn?”

“Unfortunately there are no methods that I know of aside from trying do people learn what magic they are talented in. Oh but your class may help give me an insight as to what type of magic you are skilled in.”

“My class is called The All Knowing. I have the passives Advanced Learning, Photographic memory, and Jack of All Trades. From what I understand my class is dedicated to learning anything and everything.”

“Oh my.” Cassia pondered for a moment. “Well in that case I don’t think it really matters what magic you try as it will likely be the same for you, but my specialization is hydromancy so I will start by teaching you that.”

“Thank you Cassia.”

“Don’t thank me quite yet. It will likely take you a few days to even manipulate a cup of water.”

*********

Arthur spent the day all the way into the night trying to manipulate a cup of water after Cassia gave him a short lesson.

“All you need to do is make the water in the cup move in a circular motion, either way is fine, just remember to keep a clear mind and remain calm. Allow the mana in your body to make contact with the water and give it instructions on how to move. I don’t expect you to do this in one try or even on the first day so take your time.”

‘Finally after so long.’ Arthur stood up and lifted his hand up with his palm facing upwards. ‘This is how mana feels when you manipulate it.’

/- - - - - -\

+ Mana manipulation Level 0 (New)

+ Arcane (Unlocked)

\- - - - - -/

‘I should try to get this to level one before I try manipulating the water again. From what I understand I need to either apply a force that goes around the cup and cause it to flow in that direction or displace the water so it flows and just keep doing that in a circular motion.’

Arthur stood up and took a large stretch. ‘I should go for a little walk before I continue here. I must have been here for several hours now. Arthur walked over to the entrance of the tent and took a look outside. ‘That's odd, why isn't anyone out?’

Arthur exited the tent and began to walk towards the training area that he vaguely understood where it was after seeing Hambel go.

Along the way Arthur did not encounter anyone excluding a few of the guards that he saw beforehand carrying torches. After about a minute Arthur found the training area and calling it makeshift was putting it nicely.

The training area consisted of a flat area presumably for dueling, several bags tied up on posts with training weapons off to the side, and a few tables that now only have a few overturned mugs.

‘Clearly I was there far longer than I thought I was. I guess I should go back to Cassia’s tent and sleep. I don’t even know what time of day it is.’ Arthur sighed as he felt fatigue that he didn’t notice despite all that had transpired.

Arthur upon returning to the tent found the mat he was sitting on before while practicing still in the corner. He laid his sword down next to the mat and then himself.

For about a full minute Arthur simply laid there unmoving.

‘What even is sleep? I have no memory of what it is but I know it is important for some reason.’