Shaking the thoughts of her out of my head I turned to watch the show…

Kah’zar sat on the table beside me. He was too small to sit in the chair and thus had to sit on top of the table.

I started to speak and ask about what was going to happen, but the man held up his finger to shush me.

He pointed towards the stage, “I’ll explain in a little bit.” He whispered to me.

A young mixed breed cherubim male got out of his seat and hopped onto the stage. He stood in front of the audience and started to introduce himself.

“Ladies and Gentlemen…boys and girls. I welcome you to the weekly festival of the arts. The Entertainer’s Guild as well as Master Kah’zar appreciates your patronage.”

The man had a certain flare for the dramatic. I wanted to know if he had a class similar to mine or if he something else entirely.

“I, the Prancing Pentameter, shall be your host and guide tonight as we see an assortment of a amazing acts.”

I liked his enunciation and acting skills, but his stage name was a little…well it wouldn’t be what I would have chosen.

“The first act we have tonight is Mel’eon the Carnivorous Cartographer. Watch as he takes us on a journey throughout the continent in song.”

I learned that there were only going to be four or five acts tonight, depending on how long each act took.

The first act was an older gentleman. He was a well-travelled adventurer in his youth and he used the knowledge of his travels to craft beautiful songs.

He had a fairly melodic and likeable voice for an older chap, but what really intrigued me was the second act.

“The next act is an elven duo from the forests of Rasha’ye to the south. Kilkuo and Salphira. The famous ballerina and her wordsmith.”

Salphira danced around the stage with a subtle grace. She hummed a beautiful tune as she twirled back and forth.

Kilkuo was a master wordsmith. He rapped in rhymes to the tune of Salphira’s music and moves.

The two of them created some sort of trance. They were in perfect rhythm and harmony.

You have been compelled by the ballerina and her wordsmith. +10% Regeneration. Duration: 20 Minutes.

The blue box popped up in front of my face and I was intrigued. ‘So they are able to apply buffs outside of combat…I guess there are more ways than just singing.’ The two thoughts crossed my mind.

As far as I could tell they weren’t applying any form of magic I knew…unless he was using a variant skill in voice manipulation. The dancer on the other hand…I held no insights on what their skills could do.

The third and fourth acts passed fairly quickly. They weren’t as intriguing as the former two. The third act was a percussionist who tried to mimic the sounds of nature and the fourth act was another singer like the first, but this time she was female. Besides a decent voice and a pretty face…nothing about her drew me in like the second act.

“Tonight we have prepared a special treat for you all. Visiting the Ruins of Nulia we have the Hymnal Bards of Gharune.”

Seven men took the stage. They looked like monks or priests by the way they were dressed, but what came next was something that completely blew my mind.

It was like a cross between Gregorian chants and accapella. They sang in unison and created a beautiful harmony.

For witnessing the Bardic Masters of Gharune. +5 Wis

You have received a refreshment buff from listening to ‘Gharuna and I’. Duration: 1 Hour.

I didn’t know what a refreshment buff was so I whispered to Kah’zar.

He looked back at me with an odd look before replying. “When you go to an inn or home you receive a refreshment buff. It rapidly increases your regeneration rates and the level of health, mana, and stamina you have. To be able to apply this buff outside of these zones…it’s nothing short of a miracle. Only the seven of them together in perfect harmony could have produced something at such a high level.”

From listening to the music itself I knew it must have a been a high level skill, but not something to that extent.

The concert ended and many of the people stood up and filed out of the entertainer’s guild.

The people that were left behind were stragglers that were talking about the show and a few guild members that were cleaning up.

Kah’zar finally turned to me. “So how was it?” He exclaimed with a bright smile on his face.

“It was amazing. I have been experimenting with songs, but I haven’t been able to create something on that level yet.” I stated with awe.

“Ha ha ha. I knew it would be better for you to see the show rather than for me to explain. You have to be at least a 5th Order Entertainer in order to enter into the weekly show. We also have a monthly show for those who are of the 3rd Order and below.”

Kah’zar flapped the small wings on his back and flew up into the air. He moved away from the large room and towards the alcove were the registration desk was.

“Lets go and talk in private back in my office. I have to explain a few brief things before I can let you off on your own.”

I followed after the winged old man as he took the back hallway to the private section of the entertainer’s guild.

He brought me in to his office and it was actually quite luxurious compared to the outside of the guildhall and the rest of the town.

He motioned for me to sit down as he flew around the room in order to gather a few books and tomes.

“I have quite a few things to explain and very little time to do it in. I have to get to bed early tonight in order to get up and prepare for the monthly event. It is much larger than our weekly affairs and I will not have any time to hand hold you and explain things.”

He started to flip through the largest of the texts on the table until he came to a certain page.

“Normally as a recently promoted 2nd Order Bard you would learn a variety of bardic skills and masteries in preparation for the advancement that takes place when you ascend to the 3rd Order, but you seem to have skipped that step and ascended straight from the 1st to the 3rd Order…which is…well odd. Eunuch and the other guardians are usually very picky about whom they promote and when they do it. To receive a double ascension says a lot about your character.”

“Upon becoming a 2nd Order Bard there are several paths that you can look in to taking in the future. The most common advancements are Bardic Poets, Hymnal Bards, Songscryers, String Bards, Rhythm Bards, and Hearth Bards.”

Kah’zar handed me the book were each of the classifications were listed.

“To understand this better…it might be easier to look at a simpler class like the warrior. One chooses to become a warrior when they belong to the 1st Order. They experiment with styles during the 2nd Order and upon reaching the 3rd Order they might advance to become a Huntsman, Guardian, Knight, Marauder, or numerous other things. It depends on their character and the type of weapons they wield usually. It is almost the same with Bards and most of the other basic classes.”

I nodded my head as he gave me a basic overview. I read the first few pages of the book. So the first class you received was the base and upon reaching the 3rd Order you stared be picking a skill tree or a specialty in a way.

After the 3rd Order this happened again at the 5th, 7th, and 9th Orders. It made it so characters would have uniquely specialized classes even if they started from the same base class.

The rest of the stuff was fairly boring so I decided to skip over it and just read the information that talked about specialties.

Bardic Poet – Poets are a unique type of bard that specialize in the creation and utilization of poems. Instead of songs and instruments they use rhymes to help their allies and slay their enemies. Most of their skills stem from the main skill – Poetry Mastery.

Hymnal Bards – Hymnists or Hymnal Bards are a unique type of bard that specialize in the creation and utilization of hymns. They usually, but not always, belong to a religious sect or cult. The true power of Hymnists comes out when they sing or hum in unison. Most of their skills stem from the main skill – Hymn Mastery.

Songscryers – Songscryers or using the female term Songstress are bards that specialize in the creation and utilization of songs. Songscryers make up the majority of all bards that belong to the 3rd Order, because songs have the highest solo buffing ability. Most of their skills stem from the main skill – Song Mastery.

String Bards – Strings bards are one of the few types of voiceless bards. They specialize in the use of stringed instruments in order to provide buffs and spells. They have the highest ability to buff large parties. Most of their skills stem from the main skill – (String) Instrument Mastery.

Rhythm Bards – Rhythm bards are one of the few types of voiceless bards. They specialize in the use of percussion instruments in order to provide buffs and spells. They have the highest ability to provide negative status effects to enemies. Most of their skills stem from the main skill – (Percussion) Instrument Mastery.

Hearth Bards – Hearth Bards are typical all-rounders. They do not specialize in anything, but they do not forget anything either. They are a jack of all trades and masters of none promotion. They are called Hearth Bards because they are usually found singing or playing by the hearth in taverns. Most of their skills stem from the main skills – Bardic Mastery.

I was surprised by the amount of detail that went into each and every specialization. This game deserved a thumbs up for its uniqueness.

As soon as I finished reading Master Kah’zar placed six tomes in front of me.

“Whichever mastery you pick…there is no way to go back unless you reset your class entirely. So choose wisely.”

I stared at the six tomes for a while and finally reached out to grab…

Chapter 12: Status

Status WindowName:KaiAlignment:NeutralLevel:14Class:BardRace:CherubGender:MaleTitlesNoneFame:120Infamy:950-Health:400 / 400Health Regen:3.5 / SecMana:450 / 450Mana Regen:4.0 / SecStamina:550 / 550Stamina Regen:6.0 / Sec-Strength:39 (+44)Agility:43Vitality:43Intelligence:49Wisdom:59Endurance:63Luck:32 (+44)-Attack:10-15Defense:25 (+65)Physical ResistancesSlashing:15 (+39)Piercing:15 (+39)Crushing:20 (+39)Elemental ResistancesFire:10%Water:10%Wind:10%Earth:10%Light:10%Darkness:10%

Skills/Abilities:

Spoiler : Iron Skin: Intermediate Lvl 3 (14%)

Willpower III: Intermediate Lvl 2 (31%)

Seven Pathways Meditation: Novice Lvl 8 (18%)

Mana Manipulation: Novice Lvl 9 (43%)

Voice Manipulation: Novice Lvl 6 (5%)

Song Manipulation: Novice Lvl 9 (37%)

-Song of Renewal: Intermediate Lvl 1 (24%)

-Song of the Slumbering: Novice Lvl 5 (33%)

-Song of Sorrow: Novice Lvl 3 (2%)

Sword Mastery: Novice Lvl 5 (35%)

-Rapier Mastery: Intermediate Lvl 1 (11%)

+Rapid Thrust: Novice Lvl 4 (13%)