[Superior Healing Potion] healed 252 HP! [Superior Mana Potion] restored 188 mana! P-System Log

Wow, that was a powerful item. The people here at the Adventuring Guild told Jerome that there aren't any healer types here, since the majority of those with those discipline get sent to the frontlines. Maplecrest is apparently way too far out of the way for much firepower to be allocated to it. Not a single person here that I've seen so far has a class with a rarity above [Uncommon]. Even these potions were apparently imported at some cost from a different Edge City's [Alchemist] laboratories.

Aster K'lon seems to be pretty well-respected in this town. Jerome mentioned that he was with her and he got what appears to be the Adventuring Guild's best healing gear. Either that, or this place is just filled with abnormally altruistic people. Imports that heal that much HP and MP can't have come cheap. Sadly, there wasn't anything that replenishes W Inertia. Given that nobody else seems to even perceive that stat, I'm pretty sure there isn't anything that replenishes W Inertia anywhere.

He's chatting with the person who handles the potions right now.

Jerome: Do I owe you anything?

Potion-Handler: You do not. Refreshing one of Master K'lon's friends is our pleasure.

[Assess] activating! Integrated identified: Human [Apprentice Swordsman lv. 8] Carl M'arks P-System Log

Impressively enough, Jerome managed to not laugh at that name. If I had a windpipe, I doubt I'd be able to control myself.

C'mon, that's got to be Origin or some other higher power playing a prank on us, right? There's just no way.

Carl: Hey, it's rude to use [Assess]-type skills on allies, you know? You are a reincarnator, so I can excuse this behavior, but I would like you to know for future reference.

Jerome: Oh, my bad. Aster--uh, Master K'lon, I mean, she and her disciple used the spell on me when she first met me, so I thought it was normal.

Carl: Using [Assess]-type skills is considered good practice against enemies and unknowns, of which you were the latter. Consider that not every reincarnator that passes through Maplecrest is one that wants to fulfill their purpose.

Jerome: The purpose being, what, kill the Eternal King?

Carl: Oh, no, nothing so extreme as that. That's the ultimate goal, yes, especially on the rarest of occasions when a reincarnator has a class with [Epic] rarity or higher, but for the most part reincarnators are not sent into the heart of the Eternal King's domain. That would be tantamount to suicide for most.

Huh. Isn't Jerome getting sent there?

Jerome: So you're telling me that Master K'lon wants me dead?

Carl: Pardon?

Jerome: She told me my purpose was to seek out and destroy the Eternal King.

Carl: Really. May I inquire as to your class?

Jerome: I have a [Legendary] class and apparently a slightly modified System.

Wow, Jerome, look at you go. Just handing out critical information to everyone you meet. I bet you always filled out those "WIN A FREE PHONE" ads, huh?

Carl: Oh, gods above. Some of you reincarnators are incredibly powerful. That is of the level that would be directed towards such a mission.

Jerome: I... think I see. I guess I'll level up on the way?

Carl: Most likely. The standard path for most adventurers is to go with a party and travel towards the Edge Cities closest to the domain. Along the way, the party may gain or lose members, but one constant is continually leveling up. Even though many of the Edge Cities are largely safe from R Beasts--excluding sudden, unlikely threats like the ones we saw today--they still offer many monsters that can be slain for experience.

Jerome: Interesting. Were you planning on doing that too?

Carl: Potentially. Many of us here in Maplecrest take years or even decades before we depart, and some simply never choose to go. It takes a long time and much practice for most of us, and it is the combined efforts of hundreds of dungeon runs and field explorations to increase our class rarity.

Jerome: You can do that?

Carl: Most classes can increase in rarity if they meet certain conditions or level requirements, yes. In Maplecrest, most everyone leaves once they hit [Rare], though that takes an incredible amount of time and effort. More frequently, moderately high-leveled [Uncommon]-rarity classes warrant departure. Master K'lon is a once in a generation prodigy that managed to hit an [Uncommon] class before the age of 30.

Jerome: So it takes a long time to increase class rarity, then.

Carl: Indeed it does, though traveling away from Maplecrest will likely speed it up. It's much harder here because [Common] classes aren't strong enough to survive past the safety of an Edge City.

Aster has reentered my perception. She's on her way here now, and it looks like she's brought her things. She has what looks like a modern backpacking backpack. It's a little disconcerting when considering how fantasy-oriented most of the rest of the world is.

Jerome: Oh, hi Aster. Are you ready?

Aster: Almost. It took me some time to ensure the Dungeon Core would be safe and undisturbed within this bag. I assume you have no possessions of your own?

Jerome: I don't.

Aster: There are supplies in this backpack enough for the both of us. There is quite a distance of untamed land in between individual Edge Cities, but I carry enough to tide us through that.

Jerome: No skills or anything to help with the wilderness?

And of course he isn't asking her about the backpack. Where did it come from? Did another reincarnator come here with that and drop it off? Have enough people like Jerome come from Earth and spread its influence far enough for Earth-style items to be produced?

Aster: There are classes that would be suited more to wilderness survival, but not mine.

Jerome: Sure. So are we good to go now?

Aster: There is one more task to be accomplished. Have you heard of an adventuring party?

P-System Log

Oh, this could be rather important.

Jerome: Yeah, of course I have. Are we establishing one?

Aster: We are. I am aware that some reincarnators tend to have a slightly different image of what an adventuring party entails.

Jerome: Isn't it just something you agree to have? Maybe with some paperwork at worst?

Aster: No. On the Continent, a party can be informal like your impression of it, but the vast majority are party-linked.

Jerome: Party-linked?

Aster: It is not listed under your skills, so it may not be immediately noticeable to you, but every System has the capacity to enter a party with other willing participants. Up to six may be in a standard party, though certain circumstances allow for more.

Jerome: Huh. How do I do that?

Aster: I will begin the process. You simply need to expend a small amount of mana to accept the invitation.

Shit, that means me, right? I really hope my easy mode skill can help me with that.

Jerome: Alright. Just here? No special ceremonial place or anything?

Aster: It is an important gesture, but one that is revocable. It carries less weight than you may believe.

Hero's Personal Log 042 System, do you know more about this? Aster seems like a neat person, but I don't want to blindly put my trust in anyone. P-System Message Party linking is reversible. P-System Log

So that was a lie. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't actually know, but this turn of events seems interesting.

...also, he decided to just dump his class and details about me to someone he'd never met and somehow is supposed to have low trust? Jerome's ability to put faith in people is all over the place.

Aster doesn't seem malicious. So far.

Hero's Personal Log 043

Okay, that's good to know. Accept the party invite then, I guess.

If she abuses the connection, I'll just kill her.

P-System Log

oh what the fuck where did that come from

Great, the guy I'm attached to thinks like a murderhobo sometimes. There's definitely nothing that can go wrong with that, right?

Well, Aster is doing something now. Mana is flowing out of her hands.

Okay, I don't actually know what I'm supposed to do with this. I feel like there's some reaction I can make, but I'm not quite sure...

Ah, fuck it. I'll just mirror the mana and then add some W Inertia into it. That should trigger something, right? It seems to have been the solution so far.

Party invitation received from Human [Mage lv. 26] Aster K'lon Accept? [Y/N] Hero's Personal Log 044

Yes.

Here we go.