The streets of Tinte were busy, the midday rush filling the streets with peddlers or workers taking their lunch breaks. Shouts were heard from all directions, offering discounts, bulk orders and the like, though Logan would ignore it at least for now. It wasn't just Logan making a return however, he could notice other adventurers making their own paths into town with signs of battle across their persons.

Since he didn't know any of them, nor were any of them the 2 adventurers he had been assessed alongside, the battle-hardened Spellthief decided against introducing himself. “Without any spells left, I think any conversation may die off. I do wonder how XP will work if I am in a team though, would I get a share even if I stay out of the fight?” Logan pondered, his walk back to the adventurers' hall coming to an end.

Entering into the hall, it was almost devoid of other members, only two teams were visible aside from the staff still at work. Approaching the counter, he greeted Rubené as usual.

“You're back early, Logan. Did you need something?” she asked, bemused to see the 2-hour old adventurer.

“No, I completed that quest, here're the notes and maps. I found a few extra so feel free to hand them to the client”, Logan replied, a smile on his face as he beamed with pride. Ru's jaw dropped, her eyes full of surprise.

“Re-really? Already? Well, there's slotters for you. Didn't you note you only had 3 slots though? How'd you get over 5 kills today?” shocked, Ru assaulted Logan with questions. “Oh yeah, I need an explanation”, Logan realised.

“Oh, I was able to line up the enemies and take them down in single casts.”

“YOU KNOW COLUMN ALTERATIONS?” Ru screamed at the top of her lungs, absolutely floored by Logan's response.

“Again with the stupid advanced alterations”, Logan cursed, realising he was digging a deeper pit. Looking behind him, Logan saw that the two teams were paying a deep interest in the conversation.

“Keep it down would you, Ru?”.

“But, Logan. That's a high-grade alteration, Grasp was one thing, but this puts you at the knowledge of rank 8 and higher magi”, Ru continued, her voice lowered but still overly loud.

“Like I said, I am a travelling late bloomer, I had plenty of teachers.”

“Ok, ok. Sure. Well, um. I need to update your information scroll with this, and your quest completion. Oh! Your signet please”, a flustered Ru said, fumbling around for documentation and quills. Logan handed over his signet to Ru, who quickly applied a resin to the 0 in front of his quest tally and replaced it with a 1. Handing it up to him, Ru also pulled out 2 silver pieces, along with a small letter, and placed them on the counter.

“Th-thank you for your hard work”, Ru thanked with a bow to Logan. Taking his silver and recipe, a fuzzy feeling came over Logan, almost like goosebumps, as he knew people were starting to talk about him. Following the strange feeling, a window appeared.

“You have gained the ‘Solo Hunter’ title.”

“Solo Hunter: For completing a quest entirely on your own, people will now sometimes refer to you as a Solo Hunter. With the ability to overcome difficulties on one's own, others will turn to you for advice and possibly to aid in their own quests. You have gained 1 skill point to distribute”, the window announced, applying a new portion to Logan's status.

Logan stood stunned for a while, trying to understand the information presented to him. “So much for not drawing attention. It seems this world has a sort of reputation system, at least that answers the question about skill points”, Logan thought, getting his own form of shock at the counter.

“A Solo Hunter with the Column alteration? He could be useful, whatya think?” a voice could be heard from a nearby table.

“Been a while since a Solo Hunter has been 'round these parts, ta magi might be a welcome team member”, another said in the other team.

“Well, this is what I wanted, opportunities to be in a team. But I shouldn't be too eager, they could still use me, but then, I would be using them too right?” Logan fought with the questions and choices in his head. Moving towards the quest board, the soon-to-be-famous Spellthief glanced over it for anything he could possibly do without the aid of his spells. The closest quest to his ability right now would be wolf hunting, but he decided against it.

Leaving the now loud-with-discussion adventurers' hall, Logan went to the component shop next door. Osc'n was free at this time, the adventurers' either out on hunts or getting lunch, Logan stepped up to the counter.

“Noon' Log, brought me goodies?” The inspector greeted Logan, giving him a short nick-name that sounded like “Lowg”.

“Yeah, haul of ears like you said”, the complimented Spellthief replied, pulling out the foul-smelling ears. Osc'n eyes lit up in delight and surprise.

“9? You got busy, sir! So the screams from the hall were on tha nose, yer be an advanced caster”, Osc'n resumed, starting to inspect the ears.

“The walls aren't thick here, are they?” Logan said, slightly embarrassed. Osc'n took a minute to inspect each ear, before deciding on a final price.

“Well, they're all shoddy, so 18 copper, minus tha 4 you owe me, so 14”, Osc'n offered. Logan nodded in agreement.

“Almost the same reward as the quest, though it was more ears than I needed”, he calculated. Coins hit the counter as the inspector took the ears into a small box, picking them and placing them in his money pouch, the Spellthief grew in wealth.

“Thanks, Osc'n, maybe I'll see you tomorrow for more goodies.”

“Can't be soon enough, good luck out there Log”, returned Osc'n, a smile peeking through his wiry beard.

With his quest and ears handed in, Logan felt it was time to hit the stalls and pawn off his clubs. Heading back west, he found himself in the markets of the town, shoddy stalls with carpets and canopies of cloth. Everyone was hawking loudly with offers, though Logan went ahead to what seemed to be a weapon salesman with some finer wares.

“Scuze me, sir, do you buy clubs at all?” Logan asked.

“Huh? Yeah, can do, lemme see em”, the merchant cracked. Logan pulled out the 8 clubs, laying them at the feet of the merchant, though the man didn't inspect them too thoroughly. His attire was plain, pretty much a white robe dirtied with brown mud and a dark-blue vest over the top. His skin was a dark brown, old green eyes glowing from beady lids.

“For the lot? 14 coppers”, the merchant presented.

“Make it 16”, Logan bargained, a hand outstretched.

“Hrm. Hmm. Fine”, a musing merchant accepted. Opening up a pouch at his stomach, the man picked out 16 copper pieces and placed them into Logan's hand, a deal secured. With that, he now had 2 silver and 47 copper, which equated to 6 silver and 7 copper.

“That Identification skill would come in use here, I could see what weapons suited me best, maybe even any additional effects I can't normally see with my gear details”, Logan deliberated.

Moving between the stalls, he ended up at one that specialized in short blades. “Many good deals here, stranger”, the merchant advertised.

“Skills, acquire Identification”, Logan commanded, gaining the other skill he had in his mind this morning.

The window gave Logan a mixed response, it allowed him to inspect wares before purchase but didn't offer intricate detail. A thought then came to him, and a devilish smile “Time for a grind”, he plotted. Staring at the items on offer, he thought, over and over: “Identify. Identify. Identify”. Each time he used his skill, he learnt about a new weapon, armour, or object. With the countless items on offer, he knew he could game the mechanics of this world.

Several minutes passed, as Logan looked like an intense window shopper, teasing the merchants with a possible sale. It wasn't long before another “ding” sounded in his head, as his skill had increased.

Returning with a beaming smile full of pride, and maybe a little dirty guilt, Logan looked at the merchant hawking the short blades. “Identify”, he scanned the merchant.

“Merchant Tusa: Classless 0, 3/3 HP, 0 MP. This is a normal civilian merchant trying to sell weaponry”, the window dissected the information of the merchant, what little there was. “Not a whole lot, but useful, I can correctly gauge adventurers with this and even my enemies. I wonder what level the goblins and wolves are”, Logan studied.

“Uh, sir, is there something on my face?”’, the merchant asked. There was something on his face, crumbs of darkbread that added colour to his otherwise pale white complexion. His short black hair gave him some youth, though his bent-over stance led Logan to guess his age at around 60. The man's clothes were a mix of leather and cloth, sporting several shades of brown.

“No, just trying to get your attention. What weapon do you suggest here for someone starting out?” Logan replied with a half-truth. The man waved his hands over several weapons, though the prices he was asking for were over what the identify skill marked them as. Logan was able to surmise that items he sold were at the listed value but to buy them he had to pay double. After some discussion, Logan landed on his chosen weapon. “Identify”.

Along with the info displayed from the window, Logan was able to find that it had a value of 8 copper, which meant it would cost him 1 silver and 6 copper. The merchant was asking for 2 silver on the nose, but Logan, now equipped with the power of knowledge, knew better.

“We both know that dagger is only worth 1 silver and 6 copper, I'll take the standard price and no more”, Logan offered, his hand at the ready. The merchant grumbled a bit, but reluctantly accepted the correct price for his wares. “Well, that's the weapon sorted. Over double the damage of my previous weapon, though it is a level higher and a tier higher. The bonus to attack rating is nice too, maybe because it is named”, Logan concluded.

Thinking back to his status and window investigations before, Logan knew that “attack rating” referred to his ability to successfully hit his targets, be it from disallowing them a chance to dodge or to break through their defence rating. “System, how exactly does my Agility affect my attack rating and damage bonus?” Logan inquired, though quickly disappointed in the window reply, “This information is not available to your System”.

“The deeper I get into the numbers of things, the more my System is limited. That Intelligence attribute is sounding better by the day”, Logan reflected. Thinking it would be best to keep his old dagger as a backup, or maybe just a climbing tool, Logan strapped his trusted knife to his left side and Tara’s Dagger to his right, favouring a reverse grip on his daggers.

Next, Logan went on to purchase miscellaneous items that would aid in his skills. A long shopping list of potential tools or objects displayed in his head, ticking them off one by one as he was able to acquire them.

1 silver, 41 copper.

“Sneak Shoes: A pair of black ankle-high shoes that aid in dampening one's footsteps. While worn you count your Agility as 3 higher when utilizing the Stealth skill”, costing 1 silver.

1 silver, 31 copper.

“Grip Gloves: Two tight-fitting gloves with an abrasive palm that make it easy to cling onto surfaces or foes. While worn you count your Strength and Agility as 2 higher when utilizing the Climb skill”, costing 1 silver and 1 copper.

1 silver, 20 copper.

“Tree Support Rope: A length of rope, buckles, and locks that allow the user to strap themselves to a tree or its branches. Allows you to sleep in trees without the worry of falling”, costing 6 copper.

1 silver, 14 copper.

Plenty of items on his list were not for sale within the Tinte market, or nearby shops, though the main parts of his kit were attended to. Reaching his final destination, Logan found a small stall hawking gear for travellers. One item stood out to the gearing-up Spellthief, a map of the local area on sale for 8 copper. Haggling the price down to 7, Logan took the rolled scroll from the vendor.

Moving to a nearby wall, Logan leant against it as he inspected the map more thoroughly. Sadly the artwork wasn't too detailed or art gallery-worthy, but it got the point across. A window popped up as Logan scanned over the parchment “Map scanned, adding to System map”, it read, the System map opening in its own window.

A wave of light blue scrolled across the window, filling in the map's details. Logan's previous paths were clear and coloured, though the geographical data of the map he bought was filled in with a dark-grey colour to it, noting it as unexplored but known. With the new sections filled in Logan could see where Noma was to the south, the village that Jrizan hailed from, and the capital city Gauntlet to the north. Other smaller settlements dotted the map, hugged by plains and forests.

“There's that icy hold to the north-east those adventurers talked about yesterday, let's make a note”, Logan realised, thinking to his program to mark that area and put a text note. “Last thing would be some armour, though all the sets I could find weren't any better than what I currently have, or were above my level and the System warns me I cannot use them efficiently”, Logan contemplated.

Gathering up his gear, Logan headed back to the adventurers' hall, hoping to see some more work or teams to converse with.

Back at the hall, Logan saw it was flush with faces once again, getting an early headcount of thirteen. “If I complete too many quests solo I will draw too much attention, it may be better off to just level up for now and ignore money. But, if I were to join a group, I have an excuse for the items I bring back”, he planned.

Unlike his first entrance into the hall, more gazes locked onto the Spellthief, his new title spreading a name around town. Conversations circled about how to best use the mage in their presence, others not believing he could use Column alterations, which he couldn't. Trying to uphold the etiquette taught to him, Logan would let others approach him, taking a seat at a nearby table.

Feeling like a sitting duck, Logan decided to imitate an inspection of his gear when in actuality he was reading his windows. There was plenty to investigate, from the plethora of skills on offer to the intricacies of his status. “Build it, and they shall come”, he thought, his title supposedly being used to gain an invitation.

An hour passed, as Logan looked over his windows and drank from a tankard of water that was supplied by Rubené. Starting to wonder how long it might take, a crew of three adventurers approached the waiting Spellthief.

The first was a tall sandy-skinned man, at 6', long flowing raven hair with a portion tied in a ponytail over even more hair flowing down his back. He sported a set of metal breastplate and dark hard-leather greaves. At his hip was a longsword, and his back a large diamond-shaped shield. Dim blue eyes inspected Logan.

Next to him stood a burly rose-beige-skinned woman, at 5' 11", muscles piercing through her chainmail though with loose brown trousers. Strapped to her belt were two shortswords. Shoulder-length brown hair showed signs of cuts from her attackers, displaying a rough personality. Her light-brown eyes gave off an unimpressed look at Logan.

Finally, slightly further back, was a shorter amber-skinned man, at 5' 8". His short blonde hair and green eyes painted a colourful face under his dragged up hood from a brown cloak. Underneath was an assortment of dark-green and brown leather clothes with several daggers and arrows strapped with belts. Hugging his chest and back was a large bow, a quiver peeking over his shoulder.

“Identify”, Logan activated his skill against the three who approached him, in the order they walked.

“Marsh Qway: Knight 4, 66/66 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.”

“Vaela: Fighter 3, 42/42 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.”

“Pon To: Fighter 2, 30/30 HP, 0 MP. An adventurer working for the hall at Tinte.”

“Glad I levelled this skill up, I would have only been able to scan the bowman if I hadn't”, Logan praised. The leader of the group, the knight with raven hair, spoke.

“Greetings, you must be the Logan that has had his name spread around these parts. I will make this short, we're hunting a large goblin tribe that's been operating out of a cave nearby, we're needing a mage to help deal with their leader, a hobgoblin who wears meaty armour. Your spells should be able to penetrate it better than our weapons. We offer you the normal party split”, the man presented.

“How many goblins we talking? And when do you plan on heading there?” Logan questioned. This time the woman replied.

“The quest states to expect about 20 to 30 goblins at the cave, maybe more in the local area. Your job is just the big bad boss”, she responded with a direct tone.

“Tomorrow, early morning”, the smaller archer added.

“That's a lot of goblins, I can test out the XP split thoroughly with that. A good haul too if I am getting an equal split. Since I am a ‘Wizard’ I better not show off too much dagger work. These people are going to boost me”, Logan chuckled in his head, keeping his thoughts to himself.

“That can work, I will prepare my spells ready for it and be here bright and early. Would you prefer more Flame or Lightning?”

“Flame, goblins hate fire and they catch on it quick”, the leader said. “I'm Marsh, this is Vaela, and that's Pon”, he continued, pointing to his allies.

“Right, I'll have that ready. Anything else?”

“No, we have some other hunts today, so we'll form up in the morning here. See you then, Logan”, Marsh directed, motioning his compatriots that it was time to leave. Logan gave a quick wave as the trio left the hall.

Out of his gaze, high on the railings of the first floor, was the Wizard Darius, whose eyes were glowing azure once more as he stared at Logan.

Darius moved his hand from under a cloak that flowed over his robe, a circular golden object clasped in his palm. Clenching onto the object, the middle portion of the object flung open, resembling almost a pocket watch, though the inside was instead a black gem. Looking down to the gem, Darius' eyes had their glow sapped into it. As if it were a magic 8-ball, words rotated in the gem and revealed the number “2”.

Looking back at the Spellthief, Darius' face had another grin paint it ugly. Placing the object into his robe pocket, Darius left to a nearby room on the upper floor, leaving an unknowing Logan to his devices.

“That's tomorrow sorted, without any spells to fall back on I feel like I should rest for the remainder of today, but that new dagger might allow for an easier time fighting. I didn't gain a whole lot of power with my level, only a +1 to Agility. With the 2-5 damage range of my new dagger, I probably deal something like 3 for an absolute minimum and 9 max per hit depending on the calculations. If it wasn't for the damn ambushes and groups, I could stealth kill as many goblins as I wanted. My spells are still a mystery as I don’t know their calculations, but it is hopefully higher than my dagger. Even more, if I use grasp with them”, Logan ruminated, sitting at his table.

Thinking it best he look over his options, he pulled up the quest window to see his progress.

“The level goal is achievable, especially if this goblin cave grants a good chunk of XP. I can probably forget the gold objective, both from a time aspect and not drawing unwanted attention to myself. The spells require money, though I could look around for a library or something to see how much I will need. As for quests, again, the hall knows I only get 3 spells a day, unless I did a lot of the menial jobs listed… wait, that could work. I still get paid, and it may unlock other SKoLs”, Logan formulated his agenda for the rest of the day, hitting the afternoon.

“Alright, first things first, spells will help me deal with more varied situations and also work to completing an additional objective. I'll check the prices and then work on some mundane quests”, Logan decided, standing from his table. Exiting the hall, he began to gather information about a local library, to begin his spell learning experience.

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