Knowledge Is Power 9 (1/2)
“What?!” screamed the catgirl in shock, only to put a hand over her mouth after she realized how much she’d raised her voice.
“I’m not an idiot, Keira. I know the thing in your back is a soulstone, and there’s only one way that would’ve gotten there. There’s no way you wouldn’t be aware of that, either.”
“… You can’t tell Rowie. Or miss Hilda. Or anyone!”
“I imagined you didn’t want anyone to know, which was why I kept silent about it. You have my word that I have not, nor do I intend to tell anyone such a heavy thing. I can even swear it on Teresa’s name if you want.”
“Your word will have to do. Me and that Goddess, I doubt we’d get along, all things considered.”
“Ah, right. The Hero Killer thing…”
A heavy silence hung in the air as the catgirl and the wolfboy took sips of their tea.
“So, uhm,” stammered Keira, “as I was saying, I ended up picking a Level 25 Wizard Job in one go.”
“You did, did you? Dare I ask how?”
“I said I’d rather not talk about it. Look, the thing is, I have all these new incantations in my head, but I’m scared to give them a try. I’ve done magic through Skills and stuff before, but this is different. Spells are like… official, you know? I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself or those around me if I start playing around with the mystic arts.”
“Oh, I see. That’s a good attitude to have, I suppose. Lots of people forget that magic is not a toy and… You want me to be your tutor, don’t you?”
“Mmm, s-something like that. I just, I figure if I’m given this power, then I should probably learn to use it responsibly and safely, you know?”
“Well, sorry to say, but I’m not a holder of the Wizard Job myself. I have my hands full with the Scribe, Alchemist and Enchanter already, so… yeah.”
“I already know you’re a wimp. You made that clear when you wet yourself yesterday.”
“Hey!”
“But you still know stuff about things, right? About how magic works?”
“I would certainly hope so! Otherwise I might as well be the Hero of Muffins!”
“Heh. Muffins.”
“Seriously though, why not just go to one of the guilds for lessons? They’d be able to do a lot better than I would”
“Oh yeah, that’ll go over well. ‘Hi, I just instantly got 25 Levels of a Job because I’m special.’ I’d rather not.”
“It’s not that bad. Anyone can get Level 25 in a combat Job if they work on it for one or two months.”
“I’m not just ‘anyone’ though. I’m the Hero of Chaos. I don’t want any more horrible rumors spreading, especially about how I’m an entitled brat that had everything handed to her. That’s the last thing I want to be known as. They can call me violent and crazy all they want, but at least I’m willing to admit there’s some truth to those.”
“But-”
“And don’t get me started on the glory hogs who just want to ‘teach’ me in order to elevate their own status. I have to beat those pricks off with a stick as it is. So I’d really rather not invite a bunch of wand-twirling pajama-wearing twinkle-fingers breathing down my neck!”
“… Twinkle-fingers?”
“Sorry. Heard that from a dwarf recently and it sort of slipped out.”
“No, I’m not mad. That’s actually surprisingly apt, all things considered. But, you’ve made your point. I suppose since I’ll be here for another week I might as well show you the basics. Until then, please consider getting a proper teacher.”
“I will! Thanks a lot!”
“Don’t mention it. I actually needed something to keep busy before my ride home showed up. Before we start though, I’m gonna need a few things from you.”
The wolfkin stood up and reached into his robes, pulling out a notebook and an enchanted quill.
“Wait, we’re starting right now?”
“No, no, I’m far too tired for that. This is just prep work,” he explained. “Here, I want you to note down all your Attributes, Jobs, Skills, and any relevant Perks.”
“Uh, what? Why?”
“Because I need to know what I’m working with.”
“No I meant-”
“I know what you meant. I’m just not a Scribe capable of Full Appraisal just yet. I can barely even do a Basic one, to be honest. All your non-caster Jobs and Skills would fly over my head since I lack a great deal of knowledge in that area. Besides, I wouldn’t want to put you through that gross-feeling process. Nobody likes being Appraised, y’know?”
“Yeah… Thanks for the consideration, Nao. That’s very sweet of you.”
Nao blushed ever so slightly at Keira’s bright smile and kind words, both of which were positively oozing with charm.
“D-d-don’t mention it. Hah! Ahahah! Ahah!”
The wolfkin ended up stuttering his way over to some cabinets with a forced, nervous laugh, as he was unused to this sort of treatment from the opposite sex. He began rummaging through them while Boxxy, who was currently feeling like it dodged an arrow, began writing out Keira’s Status in his notebook. Or at least, the part of it that it wanted Nao to see. The wolfkin, in the meanwhile, had some trouble finding what he was looking for, as he was a visitor here and didn’t know where everything was quite yet. He finally found it a few minutes later, which had given Keira plenty of time to finish her task.
“All done?” he said while taking back his notebook. “Let me see here…”
“Uh, Nao? What’s that crown-looking thing in your hand?”
“It’s an aptitude scanner, don’t worry about it. More importantly, your Job Levels are kind of ridiculous.”
“Uh, what? Why? What’s wrong with them?”
“You said here you’re Level 41 Ranger, a Level 39 Blade Dancer, a Level 23 Artificer. Skills are all reasonably developed as well. And that’s not even counting the Level 25 Wizard Job you said you got lucky with.”
“Okay? And?”
“It’s just hard to believe this is the Status of a sixteen year old who’s only been an adventurer for- How long was it?”
“Little over half a year?”
“Well! It’s extremely impressive you managed to get so strong this quickly. What’s your secret, if you don’t mind my asking?!”
“… Taking part in a war and going on grueling month-long treks through the monster-infested wilderness. People tend to go up in Levels with that much death around them.”
“Ah… I apologize. I said something insensitive.”
“It’s okay. A lot of things happened, but I’m stronger for it. And if there’s anything being Jordan’s Hero has taught me, it’s that you can overcome ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ or whatever as long as you have two things - mettle, and the power to back it up. If I’m going to make the world stop treating me and my loved ones like its playthings, then I need to harness every weapon I can. Be it the bow, the blade, the bomb, or a Wizard’s magic.”
“… You are a lot more complicated than you initially let on. You know that, Keira?”
“Yeah. Story of my life.”
“Ahem! Right! Speaking of magic and blades and whatnot, I was wondering about something. Is it true Blade Dancers can evoke Spells purely through motion?”
“What? No, not exactly. I mean, there might be a high-Level thing that can do that, but the most I can do right now is conjure flames and ice through a Skill, not a Spell. I’d even say it’s more of a Martial Art.”
“Ah, so it was a Skill! Sorry, I heard it was magic that scaled with one’s Intelligence Attribute so I assumed Spell, but if it’s not, then that makes me even more curious about it! I would be quite interested in seeing it sometime, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh. Sure, I don’t mind.”