The Forgotten Legacy

After being led into the room they were offered both something to drink and eat, which they all accepted without hesitation, another Goblin brought out enough for each of them to eat their fill and more, and all thoughts of selling their loot went out the window. They were given a variety of drinks to choose from, and he ended up grabbing a juice made of some fruit he had never heard of, it was the best thing he had ever drank in his life. The food was the same, although platters were brought out with bite sized portions there was so many of them that they tried everything that was on offer, sometimes going in for seconds if something was really good. They weren’t rushed though, the Goblin was overjoyed at their expressions of delight at the things they were given, happy that he was making a good impression. He didn’t know what the angle was here, but he would take advantage of it non the less.

Once they were done they sat down at a large table that had many sorting containers along the edges where he was directed to put in everything he wished to sell. And he did, he filled one container after another, making sure that he was taking out duplicates of the same thing and putting them in the same containers to make the process easier. When he was done he had cleared out most of his inventory and filled dozens of the containers. None of what he had taken out was impressive or worth any great amount, but every little bit added up in the end.

It didn’t take long for the Goblin to go through everything and put a price on each of the items he had taken out, he assumed that there was a profession at play that had a skill for doing this that much easier. In the end he was offered 18 silver and 6.3 bronze coins for the lot. He really didn’t know if that was a large amount, but from what he had seen in the stores as he walked through it would be enough to get his hands on a few useful items. The process was repeated with Gabe and Eric who were given less than a quarter of what he had been, but they also had significantly less to sell. Once they were all done and ready to leave, he thanked the Goblin and said that he may be back depending on what they found in the dungeons here.

“Before you go Master Shaun, if you would allow it, may I look at the gauntlet you have on? No need to take it off, I would just like a better look and I will happily tell you what it may be worth.”

He thought about it for a moment but didn’t see a reason to say no. Holding out his arm so the Goblin could get a better look, they quickly rushed up and started inspecting the different aspects of the gauntlet, spending time on the orbs, gem and especially the runes.

“Where did you find such an item in the tutorial if I may ask?” The Goblin didn’t look at him, still engrossed in the gauntlet, but there was no mistaking the curiosity in his voice.

“The orbs I got as rewards from dungeons, the gem and metal was from a trident I got from one of the bosses. But I crafted it all into what it is now.” Shaun replied, curious now as to what the reaction to this revelation would be.

“You crafted this? This is an epic ranked item! Your saying you made the gauntlet, set in all of the orbs and gems and also did all of the rune work?” The Goblin had taken a step back now, looking at him less with curiosity and more now with a good dose of fear and respect.

He knew the gauntlet was impressive but the Goblin in front of him was at least in the D grade, this shouldn’t have been that impressive. Unless he had completely mis interpreted just how much work and power it took to create something like this. He knew his class and profession were heavily tied to the elements, and in turn, tied to his heritage, but were they really that overpowered?

“I have a crafting profession, it has a few skills that make creating new things easier, as well as upgrading already made items. The rune stuff was a skill I picked up when I first got my initial profession though.”

“You have upgraded your profession? You class as well?” Shaun nodded at this. “And your profession is fully based around some sort of crafting? Not just rune crafting but something more?” Again he just nodded, not seeing where this was going. “You do not realise how impressive this item is, do you? Or how rare it is to have such a wide-reaching profession?” Now it is just getting awkward.

The Goblin seemed to pick up on the change, sensing that it was getting uncomfortable, as he composed himself once more and brushed off what had to be imaginary dust from his suit. “I apologise, I lost myself for a moment. As promised, if I was to offer you an amount to buy the gauntlet it would be priced in gold, going from anywhere between 80 -100 coins. This should give you an idea of how much it would be worth in the multiverse. It is rare, very rare indeed, for someone of your level, no matter what profession they have, to be able to craft something of such power. D grades and even some C grades would pay a large amount for such an item. Keep it safe, and some advice if you will, do not advertise what you are capable of. Seek a clan to join sooner rather than later Master Shaun, you will find their ability to help you grow will have a large effect way into your future.”

With that the meeting ended, they left the room and the store, walking a little further away before any of the decided to speak.

“It got weird at the end, right? That wasn’t just me?” Gabe asked them.

“No it got weird, and rather serious. I agree with the Goblin though, we don’t talk about what Shaun is capable of. I don’t know anything about joining a clan but they seemed like it was something you should do, and quickly.” Eric directed the latter part at him, looking more serious than he had seen him in a while.

He just nodded, it was another thing he would need to keep under wraps for as long as he could, thankfully his affinity wont be hard to cover up now that he had the gauntlet, he could always push the blame onto it, although that would draw more attention to the item, it was still better than drawing attention to his heritage.

They decided to look through the stores together, starting with the place that he hoped he would get to find some answers, the bookstore. As they walked in the only person in the store was the shopkeeper, this time a human much like them.

“Hello there, welcome to Agran’s Books, I am Agran. You are the first people to come in here, and because of that, the smartest in my opinion.” Agran was a pretty standard looking guy, but seemed like he was happy with potential customers. “Are you after anything particular?”

“Not us, we are here for him.” Gabe pointed at him.

“Oh and what would….” Agran stopped talking for a moment, looking closer at Shaun and seeming to figure out who he was. This is going to get old fast. “Very interesting….. Are you after something particular?” The owner directed at him.

“Actually I am.”

“Hmmmm, it is odd that a new initiate knows what knowledge they seek. But tell me what questions you may want answered and I will try to point you in the right direction.” The owner, Agran, was now very interested in what he had to say, for better worse,

“I have a few questions, on different topics, so any guidance would be helpful. The first is about the major powers. Do you have a book that details what each of them are, what they are about, and even a bit of history on how they were formed?” This was going to be important information in this stage of the tutorial and he wanted to know who and what he was dealing with.

“I am surprised. That would be the first thing I would advise every single person here to read up on, and here you are, asking for it as the first thing you want to learn about.” He walked through the shop, past where they were standing, to a pile of books, all copies of the same one, before moving back to the counter. “This will cover what you are after, a brief history of the Ancients, how the major powers were formed, and information on what each one focuses on and does in the multiverse.”

“Thank you. The second thing I want is a bit different. I want a book detailing the different races of the multiverse. It doesn’t have to be too in-depth, but a general idea of what beings are out there and maybe even a general idea of what faction they may gravitate towards?” The purpose of this was simple, he wanted to see if he could find anything on lost races, and hopefully, find out more about his heritage.

“That…… is a very interesting request. Tell me, are you wanting information on the most common races or information on as many of the races, no matter how old or young, including general power level and where they may be located?” The intrigue on Agran’s face was plain to see, his question seeming more like a test.

“The second option. Please.”

“Hmmmm, you are an odd person Master Shaun.” He then moved through the shop and took a singular book of a shelf, on much larger than the first, and placed it on the counter. “Anything else?”

“A book of runes and also a book on affinity and elements.”

Rather than respond the owner of the shop went around and gathered two more books, one that was for runes and the other was a combination of affinities, elements and their powers. When he returned to the counter there was now a total of four books, all on different topics. It was an odd combination, even he knew that, but he needed information and this was the best place to start.

“I must say, you have me intrigued. If I thought you would answer my questions I would ask them, but I get the feeling that you are a private person so I will not try and pepper you with questions in the hope I will gain what I seek. These books will be a good starting point for whatever question you may wish to find the answer to, and if you find that you are willing to give me more information as to your questions I may be able to provide further books that may meet your needs.”

He appreciated the approach that Agran was taking, he wouldn’t answer many of the questions he would be asked, which in itself would provide information, so instead silence was the best outcome for him.

“For the four books, it will cost you 3 silver 1.4 bronze coin. If you are happy with this please pay to this stone.” Agran pointed to a plain looking stone on the counter, and as he concentrated on it felt that he could push the coins into it from his inventory, which he did without hesitation. Once he was done, Agran thanked him, Shaun put all the books in his inventory and they left the store.

“Spending time with you is not boring, I will give you that.” Eric was the first to break the silence after the exited the store. “If its okay, can you tell us more about the major powers when you read through it? Or when you're done is it okay if we borrow it? The same with the others, not the rune one though, that all yours.”

“Not a problem, I will let you know of anything interesting and give it to you guys when I’m done.”

“The next time we are alone I have questions, so many questions!” Gabe said, his curiosity leaking into his voice.

Some things he would be happy to answer, others he would need to keep to himself, not because he didn’t trust them, but he didn’t want to put them in a situation where they would need to keep more of his secrets.

They went into the rest of the stores after that, he didn’t buy anything more as he didn’t have an immediate use for anything but he did find things he wanted. There were items in the gem store that he was wanting, ranging from attuned crystals to application gems. They were all expensive, he could only afford one or two at this point and even then not the most expensive ones in the store. The shop that contained metals was also interesting, there was materials he had never heard of, most at the basic level but there was some that went straight up to epic and when he asked the assistant in the store they explained to him some of the different uses of each of the metals and stones they had.

The weapons and armour store was less interesting for him, there were a few swords that caught his eye as worthy to spend time on and upgrade but they cost more than all of the remaining coins he had. He decided that buying the metal and forming the sword would be much cheaper, and if he did do that it would give him more money for buying a gem to put into the sword. It would still end up costing less than the swords in the store that were made with the same materials. Eric found some armour that he wanted, but again it was out of his price range, and although there was some stuff that he could afford, it wasn’t worth it. His shield was already better than most of what he could afford and although he could use another chest plate, which was still only basic ranked, it would do for now. As they had already eaten, there was only one thing left to do, that was head to the dungeons.