NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 – The Party’s Status
Without delay, I handed the now complete registration forms back to Neko. She scanned the forms, then took out what looked like a strange wooden emblem and placed it on the bottom of each form. The wood briefly glowed a bright golden colour, then was removed by the attendant. Left behind was the markings of the Solara Adventurer’s Guild Branch. Neko then grabbed the emblem and handed it to me.
“Thank you, Jake, for completing the forms. Everything looks good from my review and the emblem validated the information provided as well. There were no errors in the records. Please take the guild emblem to the back room for our appraisal attendants to complete your identification plates.”
Neko motioned towards another room that connected the main entranceway and tavern portions of the guild. Then, after a short pause, bowed, then waved towards the next patrons patiently standing in queue to call them over to her counter.
It didn’t take long from us stepping away from the counter towards the back room for Kael and Lyra to speak up voicing their opinions.
“Ugh, filthy demi-humans. Honestly, it’s a shame they haven’t all been expelled from the kingdom. The only use for them is slave labour and target practice, and don’t even get me started on the actual beastkin. Dirty, savage, and unsophisticated the whole lot of them!”
“Calm down Kael dear, you wouldn’t want your beautiful face damaged from a ruptured vein from all that anger now, would you? While I agree with your resentment towards them, they are at least somewhat useful. After all, who would take care of my family’s garden, or file the necessary paperwork with the ministry for us if they were all gone?”
“Ugh, you’re right Lyra, I suppose they do have some value sticking around in this kingdom.”
Drogan and I remained silent while they continued to complain to one another. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure what I could say in this situation. I didn’t think all demi-humans or beastkin were bad, but a lot of them always seemed to be involved whenever there was crime in the kingdom. One could simply take a look at all those sentenced to slavery and quickly draw the conclusion that beastkin weren’t to be trusted. As for the demi-humans, since they shared similar physical traits to the beastkin race, they were often discriminated against as well.
Once we entered the room at the back of the guild hall, one of the attendants was quick to run up to us and offer a formal greeting.
“Greetings, most humble patrons and adventurers, it is my pleasure to offer you my services of appraisal and combat attribute discovery. Would you please graciously provide me with the guild signet received from the attendants up front?”
“Finally, someone who knows a proper introduction. Jake, could you please hand this fine man the wooden emblem you’re holding in the palm of your hand?”
Not skipping a beat, I placed the wooden signet into the outstretched hands of the attendant. Without pause, the attendant took the signet, walked over to his desk, and placed it on a small pedestal. Instantly, several holographic screens popped up above the disk and displayed all the information from our registration.
“Perfect, everything appears to be in order. I will now begin the appraisal for the party members of Crimson Steel Lux. I see here that Kael and Lyra are already registered with the guild and currently at rank F. Would either of you like to be re-appraised to see any changes in your combat aptitudes?”
“Why of course, if anything to show Jake the vast difference between our skill levels now.”
Geez, didn’t take long for Kael to respond with that comment. Seriously, its almost like he’s forgotten whose beaten him each and every time in a mock duel?
“Absolutely splendid. I will first start the appraisal process with the party’s leader. Jake Valkin, if you could be so kind as to stand in front of the wall here, I will promptly get started with the procedure.”
“Thank you, also, if you don’t mind, could you please communicate in Common? My Formal isn’t the best.”
“Certainly Jake. Alright, please stand still. As a reminder, you might feel a slight tingling sensation when I cast the spell.
World reveal onto me the secrets within, show me all that lies inside, Appraisal!”
When the attendant finished the familiar incantation for Appraisal, he was correct, I felt a strange tingling sensation as if my whole body vibrated for a brief second. This is a commonly known side effect from using appraisal on another living being. From what I remember, magic scholars theorized that this was the result of the mana inside us resonating with the spell and providing the information back to the caster. Consequently, this meant that anyone could realize they had just been examined if they felt this sensation. As a result of this discovery, the casting of appraisal on living beings was generally prohibited in most public areas, with some exceptions. Otherwise, the general public wouldn’t feel very safe, always being on edge wondering why someone was examining you.
Sure enough, floating slightly above my body was a holographic, grey box showcasing my status. Now, as for why people didn’t just cast appraisal on themselves? That’s because such a feat was currently impossible! As such, this was my first time seeing my own status.
---
Name: Jake Valkin Level: 1 Rank: G
Race: Human HP: 20/20 MP: 8/16
Age: 18
Profession: Swordsman
Status: Strength: 12 Defence: 10
Magic: 6 Dexterity: 10
Skill Proficiencies: [Fire Affinity] [Swords – Good] [Reflexes]
Titles: None
---
Overall, I think these status values are pretty fair! Harold had mentioned that most adventurers starting out had an average status sum of 30, and here I was sitting at a total of 38, well above the average! After seeing my stats, I quietly heard Kael click his tongue and curse under his breath. Seems things weren’t going to go his way after all!
“Absolutely splendid Jake! I can’t say I remember the last time I saw a brand-new adventurer with these stats! I must say I’m already looking forward to seeing your future contribution to the guild!”
“Thanks, just remember this moment, as I’m going to become the best adventurer in all of Solara! You’ve had the honor of seeing the incredible Jake Valkin as he just began his journey!”
With a pip in my step, I confidently walked back towards my party mates. Next, I would get to see their status, something I’ve always been curious about myself!
“Next up, Drogan Wicks. Please stand by the wall over there and I’ll get started.”
Without delay, Drogan stood where I was moments ago along the wall and the attendant began casting the appraisal spell.
“World reveal onto me the secrets within, show me all that lies inside, Appraisal!”
---
Name: Drogan Wicks Level: 1 Rank: G
Race: Human HP: 24/25 MP: 10/10
Age: 18
Profession: Blacksmith
Status: Strength: 10 Defence: 12
Magic: 3 Dexterity: 7
Skill Proficiencies: [Attention to Detail] [Crafting]
Titles: None
---
“Oh darn, and here I was hoping I would have similar status to you Jake! I think it’s kind of unfair that your status are so much higher than mine.”
I could hear the disappointment in Drogan’s voice. Clearly he had thought himself a fitting rival for me, but didn’t like realizing his status sum was only 32, just slightly above the normal. It was interesting to note though, that his defence was equal to my strength. Perhaps this is why I had issues beating him in all our mock duels? He also didn’t appear to have any combat related skill proficiencies, and instead was gifted with crafting.
“Don’t worry buddy, you’re still above the average, plus, you’ve held your own plenty of times against me in our duels! That’s something to be proud of!!”
Drogan didn’t say anything, but I did notice his facial expression was a little bit lighter, so hopefully some of my words got through to him.
“Thank you, Drogan, next up, Kael, please stand against the wall and I’ll get started.”
Continuing with the usual ritual of appraisal casts, these were the status shown for my friend Kael
---
Name: Kael Sai Level: 2 Rank: F
Race: Human HP: 25/25 MP: 18/18
Age: 19
Profession: Ranger
Status: Strength: 10 Defence: 8
Magic: 10 Dexterity: 14
Skill Proficiencies: [Perception] [Bows – Good+] [Reflexes] [Sharp Eyes]
Titles: None
---
“Tch, not good enough”
Kael’s status sum was 42. However, the reason why this was a disappointment to him was simple. Kael had already level up once and his status were only slightly better than me, a still level 1 adventurer. Take that you arrogant pretty boy!
“Thank you, Kael, I’ve updated your status on your identification plate. Next up is Lyra.”
Upon hearing her name, Lyra managed to find the time to put her mirror down, dropping it into a small magic hole that appeared seemingly out of nowhere for storage. Then, the attendant dutifully completed his appraisal cast.
---
Name: Lyra Sai Level: 2 Rank: F
Race: Human HP: 17/17 MP: 35/35
Age: 19
Profession: Mage
Status: Strength: 6 Defence: 4
Magic: 22 Dexterity: 8
Skill Proficiencies: [Magic Affinity General - Average] [Concentration] [Fire Affinity] [Ice Affinity] [Magic – Good+]
Titles: None
---
Overall, Lyra’s status values were pretty good. Nowhere near mine, but she definitely stood out in one aspect.
Magic.
It didn’t take a genius to know that her status was clearly geared towards being a powerful spellcaster! Having an offensive stat above 20 was absolutely incredible!!! Even though her status sum was only 40 at level 2, the shear magnitude of her magic strength meant Lyra could inflect some serious damage on her enemies! The only downside to her lopsided status though, was it made her weak to any close-quarters combat. Lacking the reflexes to dodge enemies, and having a low health pool meant she was at risk of injury if she found herself anywhere near the frontlines.
Fortunately, Lyra was to be our second dedicated attacker, so having such a powerhouse in the backrow was reassuring for me! Nothing would stand in our way with this combination.
“Thank you, Lyra, I’m impressed to see your magic status has gone up even further since you were last checked. You should be very proud of your values!”
Without saying a word, Lyra walked away from the attendant. Then, making a flicking motion with her right hand, she magically produced the empty void space again. Sure enough, she reached inside and retrieved the mirror she had placed their moments ago. Man, being a mage was so handy! I would have to ask her how she managed to cast that spell sometime.
“Alright everyone. I have finished updating your status, I will now distribute to each of you your official Solara Adventurer’s Guild Identification Plates. Please take great care not to lose them, as a replacement will cost you 5 silver Solara.”
With that, the attendant dutifully went to each of us handing out a plate. Kael and Lyra received theirs back, while Drogan and I received new ones. I rotated and flipped the small metallic plate around in my hand. The front of the plate was bronze in colour and on the backside in small etchings read: “Jake Valkin – Rank G – Solara Adventurer.”
“That should cover everything, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me and I will answer to the best of my capabilities.”
“Yes, I have a question. Could you please explain the ranks of the guild to me? I don’t think our first attendant had mentioned them to us.”
“Why of course Mr. Wicks.”
What followed was a rather boring, and script like reading of how the adventurer ranks worked across the Kingdoms. Something Drogan should have known, but I guess he didn’t pay as much attention as I did during our conversations with Harold.
Essentially, the attendant explained that the Adventurer’s Guild had developed a letter-based tier ranking system with “+” or “-“ modifiers to further differentiate between new and more progressed adventurers. The system ranks were as follows:
S – National level, able to take on the most dangerous quests that threaten the existence of kingdoms themselves. Only legendary heroes have been granted this rank.
A – Able to take on the most dangerous quests offered. Parties at this rank are heroes of a nation, sometimes even receiving direct summons from the ruling royalty. Well known celebrities in the adventurer’s world.
B – Strong adventurers or parties that can take on “almost” any quest. Tasks such as taking out a group of dragons would be in the realm of an A group, but B’s could take out a single dragon without too much issue. It is considered an incredible feat to reach B rank for a commoner. Usually, only nobles or those receiving exceptional personal training by organized military can reach this level. Personally, I believed nobles with this rank achieved it by purchasing or donating large sums of wealth, and were rewarded the rank because of their generosity.
C – A veteran adventurer who has spent most of their life serving the guild and completing quests. Able to take on advanced tasks such as defeating large beasts such as basilisks, chimeras, etc. Earnings at this level would be like that of a successful merchant running several stores in a city. This is the usual “end goal” for those seeking to make a name for themselves in the adventuring world.
D – This rank is rather difficult in the scaling system, and often serves as the first real “road block” for adventurers climbing the ranks. D rank was recently added to the evaluation mix to reduce the amount of C(-) and E(+) adventurer ranks being issued. There is a large skill gap between successful Rank C’s and E, and even if a party could “technically” be considered C rank, sometimes they were missing a key level of competency. The same was said about the numerous E(+) ranks. Those were strong enough to complete most of their requests, but lacked in enough areas where C(-) didn’t seem reasonable either. As a result, D rank was added into the system to account for this. A lot of adventurers find themselves stuck at D rank, unable to progress any further. As for why the ranking system initially “skipped” this letter in the progression system, even I was at a loss for why this occurred. It honestly should have been added at the very beginning.
E – Adventurers who have successfully developed enough skill to take on more challenging requests, such as large monster subjugation. Adventurers at this rank can usually travel to another kingdom without issue to complete requests, serve as bodyguards for merchants, or be expected to travel long distances to remote locations for collection requests or rural village help. This is also a potential pathway into the nation’s military where you can usually serve as a Guard protecting the kingdom. This is a very popular option for many as it provides a stable income without too much risk.
F – The first rank many adventurers reach after successfully completing quests. Those serious about a career with the guild usually achieve F rank quickly after a few requests. This is also the rank that has the highest casualties amongst members, as the gap in skill level between F and E rank requests is relatively large. The average adventurer can be expected to spend a few years here as they develop their own method for handling requests and learn how to balance risk to reward.
G – New adventurer. Everyone starts here regardless of skill. Since registration is free, most achieve G rank just to see their combat stats and earn a little extra money completing low-risk requests such as herb gathering or courier services.
Looking at Drogan hearing the explanation from the attendant was rather entertaining. The attendant dutifully explained with delight about all of the ranks, the history, how to rank up, challenges, and expectations from the guild, along with a whole other manner of passion I even glossed over. Consequently, Drogan looked even more confused from their enthusiastic rambling, and I could only imagine his head spinning around, frantically trying to make sense of the vast amount of information thrown his way. From my perspective, his poor brain couldn’t keep up with the pace of the conversation and he looked rather dizzy as a result!
Eventually, I figured I should do something to help my poor friend out of this situation, after all, I desperately wanted to get started completing requests myself and reach F rank quickly!
“Thank you, attendant, for explaining to my friend the amazing ranking system developed by the guild. However, I think now would be an ideal time for us to head on over to the notice board and accept our very first request with the association.”
Nailed it, I think I came across rather well in my attempt at Formal Solarian there!
“Why of course, and best of luck to all of you, members of the Crimson Steel Lux party!”
And with that, we turned to make our way back to the entrance hall and decide on our first quest as a team.