An Unbound Soul

I stood outside the village in a patch of scrubland, where the bushes would hide me from prying eyes, and swung my dagger around wildly. I knew I looked like a complete idiot; I had no idea how to use a dagger properly. The dagger itself, which barely met the definition to start with, had its handle wrapped in some wide plant leaves so I could grip it without it cutting into my hands. I was basically just flailing around at random. Nevertheless, this was something I'd never done before, and therefore hopefully stats and levels would rain from the sky.

ding

Skill [Minor Speed] advanced to level 5

See, just like that. I continued my efforts all morning, hoping for a boost to my physical stats. Not that I could argue that they were low; the guideline was for all tens by adulthood, which was still over nine and a half years away, and I was practically there already. I mean, what sort of four-year-old should be able to swing a smith's hammer? I was obviously outstripping what my progress should be, despite not being physically specialised in the slightest.

ding

Apparently the System disagreed and thought I should be even further ahead. So what did I boost this time? I got strength yesterday, so it must be dexterity or endurance.

New title acquired: [Jack of All Trades]

I stared at the system notification. I'd swear it was staring back. A title? What did I do this time? I was just standing here waving a misshapen lump of metal around... There were negative titles, weren't there? This better not be something weird. The name didn't sound too bad...

[Jack of All Trades] - You have unlocked a vast number of rank 1 skills spanning all available categories before reaching rank 2. Skill purchase costs reduced by 1. (Rank 2)

I continued to stare. That sounded... overpowered. So much for me not having any cheats. Okay, it wouldn't make much difference at high ranks, but right now it had halved the price of every skill. Coupled with [Researcher], I'd probably end up able to afford rank one everything. And as for my spells... Would it give them all to me for free?

Skills available for purchase:

0 points: [Minor Dexterity] [Minor Endurance] [Minor Intelligence] [Minor Wisdom] [Minor Charisma] [Far Reach] [Minor Slow]

1 point: [Basic Cooking] [Basic Tailoring] [Foraging] [Basic Farming] [Enlarged Stamina Pool] [Basic Carpentry] [Basic Smithing] [Weapon Proficiency: Dagger]

Well, I wasn't going to say no...

ding

New skill acquired: [Minor Dexterity]

...

New skill acquired: [Minor Slow]

The only objection I could possibly make is that it wasn't retroactive, and even that wasn't something I wanted to actually complain about. At least, not out loud. Those spells should have cost me the entirety of my remaining [Apprentice Mage] levels. What even were skill categories? I would guess things like magic, combat, crafting and so on, in which case combat was the last one I needed to unlock? But since the world was peaceful, no-one would normally bother unlocking combat skills. How many was a 'vast number'? Would half the village have got this title if only they'd waved a malformed dagger around for a bit? Probably not; [Mana Sense] would be the only magic skill they could get, and I doubt many bothered. And it also said 'before reaching rank two'. I'd cheated a little there by taking a second rank one class; if it had needed to be prior to any class change, I wouldn't have got it myself either. If all titles followed rules like these, I'd bet they would be far more common among delvers than the general population.

It occurred to me that anyone using [Analysis] on me now would definitely spot my broken affinities. Perhaps I'd been a little hasty there. Damn overpowered title, making me so excited. Hmm, also, hadn't Kari said something about combat skills being half price, like spells? That dagger skill was the usual price. No, it was combat artes, wasn't it. That sounded like they were to combat what spells were to magic. I'd probably have to take a combat class to get any. Perhaps picking up an apprentice combat class after [Body Mage] would be a good idea. If I was delving at that point, I could probably max out a rank one class pretty quickly.

I dawdled back to the village, still pondering. This title was rank two. Both traits and skills tended to have higher rank versions that were almost equivalent but had greater effects, like my [Curious] and [Researcher]. Would the same apply to titles? Should I be trying to unlock as many rank two skills as possible before taking a rank three class? Unlike unlocking rank one skills, that would require taking lots of rank two classes to make sure I'd gathered one of every category. For a start, I'd have to find out what the exact categories even were. Was title chasing worth it at all? Was there any sort of organisation here that was made up of number-chasers and had advice available for this sort of thing? Everyone seemed to just take things as they came, and while people did plan ahead for what classes they wanted, they didn't try to relentlessly optimise their progress. I guess this sort of thinking was what had earned me [Early Bloomer].

"Peter!"

Oh, was I almost home already? Quick, how much mana did I have? More than twenty. Awesome. I spun around and launched my new [Minor Slow] at Cluma while aiming [Minor Speed] at myself, which gave me just enough leeway to dodge without [Far Step]. This time, I immediately hugged her from behind before she had a chance to start bawling.

"Don't dodge!"

"Well, you just need to get faster then, don't you?" I grinned down at her, surprised that my mana hadn't dipped as far as expected. Apparently [Minor Slow] only cost five, not ten. It made sense it would be cheaper, I suppose; slowing one foe was strictly inferior to speeding myself up, which was effectively the same as slowing all foes. Although if I was in a party fighting a single powerful monster, it would be the other way around... Weird.

"Faster!"

Cluma escaped from my grip and started running loops around the street. I wonder if they had athletics here? Maybe not quite yet, but give her a few years and she would absolutely murder any sprint or marathon she entered in Earth's olympics.

Clana was smiling from her spot outside their house and called over at me. "I saw that, you cheater."

"That wasn't cheating. It was making use of available resources."

"Peter, cheat?"

"He used magic on you to make you slower, dear."

Cluma glared at me. Hard. Making her slower was a crime on the same level as denying her hugs or asking her to stay still.

"Sorry, sorry. Don't worry, it only lasted for a few seconds."

The glares didn't stop, so I turned back to Clana, who seemed to have something on her mind.

"I hear you bumped into Camus yesterday. I'm sorry if he came across as a bit blunt."

"Not at all. I've got the message that you don't want anyone digging up his past. I understand."

"It's not that, it's just... Are you thinking of becoming a delver?"

How honestly should I answer that one? It wasn't like I wanted to keep it a secret, but I didn't want to alienate our neighbours. No, I wasn't going to hide just because she might have a negative opinion of the occupation. "Yes, I am."

"Delvers die, or suffer crippling injuries. Not just because someone wasn't careful, or had extraordinarily bad luck, but all the time. Dungeons are not safe places. If you're going to step into one, don't only ask yourself if you're prepared to die, but spare a thought for the feelings of those you'd leave behind, too. Too many people don't."

I nodded. Had my parents said no when asked, that would have been that. I wanted to ask the goddess some serious questions, but I wouldn't turn my back on my family to do so.

"Peter no die!"

Me and Clana reached for Cluma's head simultaneously, granting double headpats.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to."

Clana just shook her head. "No-one ever does."

Lacking the stamina to keep Cluma company after my wild dagger waving, I waved and headed back home. I glanced at the door.

Wooden door (rank 2)

Yup, it had a rank now, but it was still a door. It could at least tell me what kind of wood it was made from or something.

Mum was home and greeted me as normal. "Welcome home, little one. What outrageous achievement have you made today?"

Making a bit of an assumption there, weren't you? I mean, she was correct, but still. Most other days she wouldn't have been. "I got a title."

I think that one actually managed to shock her slightly, given that her hands stopped moving across her day's project. "Now that is pretty outrageous. How did you manage that?"

"It's called [Jack of All Trades]. I got it for unlocking lots of rank one skills, including one of each category, before reaching rank two, and the effect is to reduce the cost of buying new skills by one point. I don't know how many 'lots' is because I got it when I picked up my first combat skill, but I had twenty-five in total. Oh, that reminds me. I also unlocked a combat skill, although it's not one I intend to buy, even at half price."

Mum was staring. "I give up. You know, every time you walk in here and dump your latest surprise on me, I can't help but think just a little that you will be the one to do it, to conquer the great dungeon. So, how many new spells did you get?"

"New spells?"

"Don't play dumb. One point off means that you get them for free, and you don't have anywhere near enough self-control to not just immediately buy the lot."

I'd swear this mother of mine had some sort of mind reading skill. This wasn't just seeing through me, this was reading me like a book. One with a large font and lots of pictures. An analogy that would work better if Mum could read... "Without confirming or denying your statement, I'll admit I have seven more spells than this morning."

"Hah. Best you get practising, then."

I laughed; that was my unflappable mum for you. I had no more bright ideas for new things to try, so practice did seem to be the best option for now. Perhaps I could get Dad to whittle me a staff to swing around, given how easily I'd unlocked a proficiency skill for a dagger, but that was just a variation on a theme. I still wanted to see if the delvers' guild had trainers or classes given that there were still so many rules of how the System worked that I didn't know, but right now I had nothing better to do than boost my skills and stats.