Raph woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed considering all of the work he did yesterday at the workshop. He decided that he should check his stats and see what gains he made yesterday.

Status

Health

140/140

Stamina

180/180

Mana

80/80

Str.

55

End.

55

Vit.

23

Dex.

13

Int.

10

Wis.

9

Unassigned

0

‘I'm looking kind of top heavy.’ Raph thought as he analyzed his new status. ‘I guess that's something I’ll figure out later. Raph got ready and then headed out towards the city, his first call was to Isaac’s Forge to see if he could get another hammer to utilize his Dual Wield skill.

“Good morning Isaac,” Raph said as he entered the shop to see Isaac standing in the store.

“I told you not to come back for two days.” Isaac said quizzically.

“Sorry, but I was wondering if I could get a pair of hammers for a new skill? The one I have is too light for me now.” Raph asked.

“Hmm, let me see what I have.” As Isaac said this he turned around and headed into his workshop. He came back a few minutes later with an Identical pair of hammers, they looked similar to the training hammer he had used yesterday; a dark metal head with a wooden handle and a plain design.

Raph picked up one of the hammers, they were about the same weight as the training hammer he used and felt familiar to touch.

“These are great Isaac, how much for the pair?” Raph asked.

“Just take them, I imagine you will need them.” Isaac said.

“I can’t just take them, “Raph protested, “That's too much.”

“Let’s call it a gift, to my new apprentice.” Isaac said with a smile.

Raph broke out into a huge smile, he knew Isaac was pretty special and to be his apprentice was an honor. “Thank you Isaac, I really appreciate this.”

Raph left his old hammer at Isaac’s shop and he made his way to the Adventurers Guild. He wanted to get some more information on the class system and how it worked. When he arrived he saw Tilly was on the counter again so he walked up to her to ask about jobs.

“Good morning Tilly.” Raph said.

“Good morning Raph, what can I help you with today?” Tilly said with her usual smile.

“Tilly, do you mind if I ask a few questions about Adventurers?”

“Of course Raph, that’s what I'm here for.”

“Do you know how you unlock a second class?”

“Your second class unlocks when your first one reaches Lv.25 Raph.”

“Oh, ok. How does the system determine what class choices to give you?”

“Well Raph, there’s a few theories about this and the one most widely regarded is that your first class is given to you when you turn twenty or when you kill a monster. The class choices you get are based on any experience you have had before then, such as; If you often work in the fields you might be a Farmer, or if you have enlisted you could be given the choice of Soldier, or even something like working for others might get you Assistant.” Tilly continued.

“I don’t mean to offend, do you mind me asking what class you are Tilly?” Raph asked sheepishly.

“Don’t you worry about it Raph, my main class is Grand Scholar.”

“Grand Scholar? That sounds very impressive,” said Raph quietly, as he wondered why she was working at an information booth in the Adventurers Guild. In response to Raph's reply Tilly just smiled.

“So how did you get that class?” Raph asked, he couldn’t think of a way someone would be able to do that.

“Well Raph, I didn’t start with it. As you gain levels your classes will upgrade, they become stronger and more useful. Let's say for example you start with the Soldier class, you work hard and get to Lv.50, then you get your first upgrade. Maybe you are offered Captain, or Knight, both of those classes could be obtained afterwards.”

“So it’s the same for the upgrades? Does it depend on how you use the class to determine what the options will be?” Raph said.

“Yes, exactly like that Raph. There are many documented paths that you can take from starting classes up to 200 or so, anything after that is usually kept pretty hush hush.”

“So, if the first upgrade is at 50, is the next at 100?”

“Yes, the order is; 50, 100, 200 and every 100 levels up to 400 I think.”

“What about after that?”

“I don't know. Personally I have never seen anyone higher than that, but I think they do exist.”

“Hmm, that’s interesting, thanks Tilly.” Raph said as Tilly handed him something.

Raph reached over and found another card, like the Adventurers card he had gotten a few days earlier.

“What’s this?” He said,as he inspected it.

“That Raph is a library card,” said Tilly.

“A library card?” Raph asked, as he pondered the strange coincidence that this world used a system like back on Earth.

“Yes if you want to know more you should go and visit the library in the Noble district, you can use this to gain access to some of the more sensitive information.”

“Oh. Thank you Tilly, this is great.” Raph was excited at the prospect of a library.

“One more question, you said you’ve seen someone near 400. How do people get so many levels?” Raph asked.

“Well, that is the question Raph. It requires considerable hard work, the combat classes either join the army and go to the front or they hunt dungeons.”

“Dungeons?” Raph hadn’t heard that before now, even in his old memories. He knew the concept of a dungeon from the games he had played on Earth.

“Dungeons are places where monsters congregate, the spawn rates are increased, and they offer considerable challenges to those who enter. You can find them all over the world, they vary massively in type and level. Adventurers use dungeons to gain the most levels, some party up, some go solo but in terms of gaining levels they are the best.”

“Alright thank you Tilly, this has been really helpful.” Raph said as he bid Tilly goodbye. He left the guild and walked further into the heart of the city than he had been before, he was going to the library. The city of Langreth was split into two halves; the first, with lower/middle class housing and the markets, then the second with the noble and higher end houses, the academys, library, and the castle. The city was split east to west by the Ustral river; two bridges connected the two sides of the city. Raph made his way to the other side of the city over the main bridge, it was like the road, made from a grey stone, 5 meters wide and spanned the 20 meter gorge that divided the city. The walls that lined the gorge were lower than the defensive walls on the perimeter of the city, only a little taller than Raph was. The other side of the city was very different, the space was much more open with trees lining the streets.

‘Well shit, I guess the grass is greener.’ Raph thought as he crossed over the bridge. It didn't take him long to find the library, situated about 10 minutes away from the bridge right next to Langreth Academy. It was a magnificent building; white stone all around, columns on the front, a statue of a man in robes with a book in hand on the pinnacle of the roof.

‘I wonder if that’s modelled after someone’ Raph looked up at the statue just before he walked inside. Just after he entered he looked around and stopped in place, there were thousands of books, stacked high in shelves stretching as far as Raph could see. Just before Raph moved again a large but refined looking man put his hand in front of him.

“Can I see your card?” The large man said.

Raph looked up at him as he remembered the card Tilly gave him earlier, he took it out and showed it to him. The large man took the card and paused, just for a moment, but long enough for Raph to notice.

“Oh, well. I'm sorry sir I didn't realize, please go ahead.” The man said as he removed his arm and took a step back.

‘Strange’ Raph thought. ‘Is there something special about this card that Tilly gave me?’

He walked over to an older lady with glasses who was currently sitting at a small reception desk.

“Good morning ma’am.” Raph said.

“Good morning sir, how can I help you?” she replied.

“Could you tell me where I can find some information about the geography of the surrounding countries and information about local dungeons.”

“Well, the maps are located behind me to the left in the maps section. Specific information of dungeons in the kingdom is restricted, so unless you can show me a full access card you aren’t allowed to read that.”

“Umm well..” Raph took the card out of his pocket and showed it to the lady. He was met with surprise.

“Oh. Well then the restricted section is upstairs, just show your card to the guard at the door and he will let you in.” she said.

“Thank you.” Raph said as he made his way over to the map section. There was an array of maps ranging from small maps of the city to large maps outlining the continent and surrounding islands. The kingdom he was currently in was called Ustral, ruled over by the royal family; it was situated in the south east of the continent. To the west, the Breawen Empire, north of Breawen was the Meophate kingdom. Then the largest area was north of Ustral, the free lands of Vorenth. North of Vorenth was where the Harsea Archipelago was situated. From what Raph had read on the maps the continent that he now lived in was massive, easily the size of the mainland USA and Canada put together. Raph continued to examine the maps, memorizing the main cities and areas etc.

‘Maybe I’ll be able to visit the other kingdoms someday.’ Raph thought as he decided to check out the restricted section upstairs. He showed his library card to the guard on the entrance to the second floor, then looked for some books on dungeons in Ustral. He found them, along with maps of the locations of said dungeons. The books gave a run down of the terrain of each dungeon, including what monsters were likely to spawn in them. These ranged from dank caves inhabited by goblins, to desert-like ruins guarded by stone golems. To Raph, it sounded great. There was nothing like testing your mettle against a gauntlet filled with interesting and powerful creatures. After considering his options he focused on one in particular that was to the south west of Langreth in a forest, around an hour from the city. The dungeon in particular that Raph picked out was called the Emerald Grotto, it was the second closest to the city, so he thought he would have a chance of attempting it alone.