Legend of the Spellthief

The night passed by quickly, Logan's exhausting first day in Avanar led his body to need the most rest he ever had. His mind also needed to sort through all the information thrown his way in the previous day and recuperate from using all of his spells. Waking up to the chirping of loud birds outside combined with the chatter of early risers, Logan sat up from his straw bed as pieces of straw fell from his back.

Through his ruminations of the previous nights' investigations into the skill menu, Logan kept coming back to a choice of the Backstab class skill or the Identification SKoL. One offered some non-spell damage most likely, while the other allowed him to further gauge what he could take on. Plunging his hand into his trouser pocket, which sat next to him, he pulled out the silver piece. “Heads, Backstab, tails, Identification”, he ruled.

Flipping the coin into the air, it fell back into his palm and he slapped it onto the back of his other hand. Revealing the coin showed it to land on heads, meaning that the Spellthief would be acquiring a new attacking skill. “Skills, acquire Backstab”, ordering his System, Logan looked on as a window appeared, loaded up the Backstab skill, and spent his skill point into it. A confirmation window popped up, with Logan thinking the response “yes”.

“I was not expecting it to work with spells, this is great! The damage percent increase isn't huge right now but it does the maximum my knife can do on its own. Shame about the cooldown, I'll have to try and take down single targets with it then rest for a bit between skirmishes”, Logan was pleased by his choice, though mixed feelings did prevail over his excitement as he began to formulate plans with his new skill.

Moving his sight back to the class skills window Logan noticed that a line had appeared from the Backstab skill, linking to another darkened hexagon. Pressing the new skill, it appeared in a smaller window. “Multi-Backstab: You hold more charges of Backstab at a time, allowing for multiple separate uses with individual cooldowns”, the window inspired Logan on, lowering his anxiety with the cooldown of his new skill. “That'd be great to have, but I will need another skill point. I hope I get another one when I hit level 2”, he wished.

“System, ready 2 Flame and 1 Lightning spell”, Logan commanded, the System quickly responding with a window “Confirmed prepared spells”. “I want to test out Flame today, see the speed difference of it and Lightning”, Logan planned.

Alongside his new skill, while Logan was checking over the multitude of screens and status windows, the Spellthief had found that he had learnt the “Grasp” alteration after watching Marta use it with her Heal spell. Checking the alterations menu and asking his System, Logan was able to find that he could learn alterations if he was able to see the entire casting of a spell that used them.

The calm sounds of the town streets were interrupted as Logan heard creaking and footsteps downstairs. “Jrizan must be awake, I should get up myself”, Logan concluded, moving to get dressed for the long day ahead. Checking his main quest quickly before heading downstairs, he saw that the timer had gone down to “6 days, 1 hours, 27 minutes” with no other changes aside from the 2nd objective of gaining 5 gold now displaying “0.01/5”.

“I have 6 days to complete these additional objectives, the more the better, I can't trust this world to go easy on me, at least not yet. If I could kill 1 wolf a day, that's just under 2,000 XP, bringing me above level 2 but not by much. I need a different way to level up, an enemy I can fight safely with my knife. The quests seem an impossibility if I can't find a group that will take me, and the learning of spells sounds like it'll be expensive if I need to buy magic tomes like the System mentioned earlier”, Logan considered his options, walking down the stairs.

“Ho, Logan. Good rest I hope?” Jrizan welcomed the rested Spellthief, a wide smile on his face as a nearby sleeping Spike let out a small whine in his slumber.

“Morning, Jrizan, yeah it was great, shame it won't last”, Logan replied cheekily.

“Well, the Dogslop Inn down the road will house you for 5 copper a night with breakfast, I don't like the idea of you sleeping out on the streets but it's out of my hands at this point.”

“I got my assessment today, so I will head off on a quest to pay for lodgings afterwards, don't you worry”, Logan assured his friend. Sitting at the table they both enjoyed a porridge-like meal with crushed berries mixed in. “This food seems like it keeps the people who live in this world regular”, he pondered.

Breakfast concluded as Jrizan and Logan finished their conversations, both of the men feeling they had learnt quite a bit about one another in such a short time. The farmer set up his horse to his cart once more, readying to ride off in the direction he had come from.

“Safe travels, Jrizan, I can't thank you enough for all you did for me. Next time we meet I'll have to do something for you.”

“I expect nothing my friend, good luck with your adventuring and be wary of any more wolves”, Jrizan returned with a laugh. With a crack of the reins, his horse neighed and started to trot off, Logan moved behind the cart and waved goodbye to the first face he had seen in this world. Turning his heels, Logan made his way to the adventurers' hall.

A bit of activity was happening within the hall today it seemed, a few more adventurers than normal found their roosts at the tables. Getting a quick headcount, Logan calculated there to be about two dozen able bodies around him. “Not a large selection, but it's a start”, he scrutinised.

The day was early, Logan had an hour to spend before his assessment would start but he already had an idea of what to do. Moving over to the counter he saw the lady from yesterday, Rubené.

“Morning, Ru. Have the assessments started today?” Logan asked the rested receptionist.

“Morning, Logan was it? Yes, the first assessment is underway in the fields at the back”, Ru answered, pointing behind her shoulder.

“Are others allowed to watch at all?”

“Of course, just don't interfere, and sit at the benches on the sides.”

“Thanks, I'll do so while I wait for mine”, the young Spellthief stated, moving to the doors leading to the back areas. Pushing open a wooden door, Logan followed a short corridor to a small open-air stadium of sorts. It was probably a good 100-foot square, within the middle stood several training dummies made of straw and cloth, surrounding the stadium's edges were raised benches for onlookers.

Checking their gear in the middle of the stadium was another man, barely 18 years of age. His brown leather tunic, grey trousers, brown shoes, as well as metallic plating for his knees and elbows painted him to be a sort of Fighter, a new one to boot. Quickly shifting to the sides to grab a seat, Logan looked on, seeing a few other adventurers in the stands, a group of two and another with three members.

After situating himself, Logan saw 2 members of staff exit from a nearby door to the one he had entered through. Their brown overalls were padded with metallic plates, their faces covered in a strong wooden mask with a black-glass visor. The shorter one, possibly male, held a staff and wand in his hands, the taller one, most definitely a woman, held a large book and quill in hers.

Jumping to attention, the newbie in the stadium greeted the staff with a salute to his forehead. “Strange, that's what our army did”, Logan puzzled, wondering about how many similarities he was able to find in this fantasy world. The two staff members, who seemed to be the assessors, approached the applicant.

“Joshua Warn, Fighter. Your assessment will now begin”, the taller lady announced, loud enough for those in the benches to hear. The shorter man moved to the side and chanted some words in earshot of Logan.

“With the powers of arcane sight, empower my eyes to see the details of my quarry, Score!” his words carried a weight to them as they vibrated in the air, a slight whoosh of wind emanating from his staff and feet. Logan couldn't see from this angle, but the man's eyes were lit up a bright topaz yellow, numerous letters and numbers of an artificial green flying over his pupils.

The assessment went on for 20 minutes, the Fighter was tested on his strength by having him carry different sized objects or punching a slab of wood. He was forced to run laps around the stadium, asked to leap over hay bales, and then finally instructed to attack the dummies with his longsword. Several tests were undertaken, all the while the assessors were talking to one another, the lady writing down information at the same time.

“Power Strike!” yelled the Fighter Joshua, his sword wreathed in a red mist. Slashing into the dummy he cut deep into it, a few claps from the two-man team responded to his attack. Writing down the results, the assessors seemed finished with the young man. Rolling up a scroll, the lady handed the results to Joshua, as he gave a deep bow to the woman. Raising a hand, the lady spoke aloud.

“Joshua Warn has been assessed as a rank 1 Fighter, average capabilities with a great Constitution”, she announced to the stadium. Logan noticed the three-man party were pleased with this assessment. “So, they can gauge attributes, is 10 average?” Logan wondered.

Leaving the stadium with pride in his step, Joshua was replaced with another new adventurer, a short woman who carried with her two jagged daggers hidden underneath a brown cloak. Wearing an assortment of dark-green and black clothing, the woman was most noticeable a Rogue, which the assessors confirmed.

“Lyra Cerr, Rogue. Your assessment will now begin”, the woman said once more.

Just like the previous assessment, it took 20 minutes and ended with a final evaluation of the Rogue. Her final skill usage was Dash, having her jump around the dummy at around twice her normal speed.

“Lyra Cerr has been assessed as a rank 1 Rogue, low capabilities but a savant in Agility and Wisdom”, the tall woman acknowledged. The two teams letting out loud applause, Logan accompanied them, not wanting to look out of place.

“Wisdom? For a Rogue? Did she misplace her stats, or were they randomly given to her with her class at birth?” Logan theorised, confused at the attributes of the now-leaving Rogue.

The stadium quickly went quiet as the last one to be assessed, or rather reassessed, entered. While Logan hadn't noticed him the day prior, the magi inspecting him entered the stadium still dressed in his dark grey robes with scattered stars and moons. With a raised hood from a cowl, Logan couldn't make much out from the man. “Another spellcaster? Good, I can emulate him during the test”, Logan plotted.

“Darius Monlod, Wizard. Your reassessment will now begin”, the woman bellowed.

Just like the previous two, the reassessment had almost entirely the same regime. Even though he was a spellcaster, Darius seemed to best both the Rogue and Fighter before him in all fields. “Is he a high level? How can he be stronger and faster than classes suited for those fields?” thought a shocked Logan.

Moving on to the skill assessment, the mage was instead asked to show off one spell of each level he knew, starting with a first level spell.

“From the chaos of Cani, I immolate all before me! Flame Shot!” Darius chanted, surprising Logan further. A slightly larger and more forceful blast of fire erupted from Darius' hand, engulfing the dummy in flames, dwarfing what Logan had shot the day before with his lightning.

“He had to chant for a bit, I better do the same. I can probably skip it because of the System. I wonder what that ‘can-eye’ was”, surmised Logan. As the first level spell was recorded down to the page, he moved onto his second level spell.

“Father earth, breach forward and crush my foes! Root Shot!” Darius enspelled. A rumble was heard below as the dirt floor of the stadium shook, a large root breaching upwards, cracking and crushing the ground as it wrapped around the dummy, tightening, it crushed the straw target.

Looking pleased, Darius stood up straight turning his gaze to the assessors. A short conversation was had between the two members of staff until a final verdict was reached.

“Darius Monlod has been reassessed. He has progressed from a rank 7 Wizard to a rank 9. It is noted he has learned how to cast second-level spells in his training retreat”, the woman announced. Logan was very impressed with the display, inadvertently applauding the budding mage, however, his hands stopped as he noticed the other two teams. They were unimpressed, some even looking away from the display. “What is with them? That was amazing!” Logan raged in his head.

Darius moved away from the stadium, scroll in hand, his head turning slightly to eye up Logan as the new mage strode to the stadium grounds. Making sure his gear was in proper order, Logan tightened his belt and pulled on the edges of his tunic. The male assessor approached Logan, his eyes still glowing and now showing to Logan who had a better angle.

“Logan Hall? You are a Wizard so says the contract. We require a single level 1 spell from you, the best one you can muster. What alteration would you like to use?” the mage assessor asked.

“Since I learnt the Grasp alteration, it might be best to test in the safety of this assessment. I will probably draw a bit more in the way of group invitations if my alterations were more varied. From what I gathered from Ru I will have a hard enough time as it is trying to get into larger parties for quests”, Logan concluded.

“Flame, just like the Wizard before me. And I would like to try using Grasp if that's alright?” Logan answered though it seemed like it was a weird choice. The right eyebrow of the mage raised, his enchanted eyes sparkling a bit.

“Grasp? As a rank 1? Where did you study such an advanced technique?!”

“Oh, I read on the road and learnt from other travelling mages”, Logan gave a wry reply. “Damn, I didn't think it would be so surprising”, he thought.

“Is that so? If so, you must be a savant indeed!” the assessor continued, incredibly intrigued by the late-bloomer mage. Logan moved into the centre of the stadium to start his assessment.

“Logan Hall, Wizard. Your assessment will now begin”, the lady stated once more. Though it drew some attention from the stands.

“Bit old isn't he? Easily a quarter-man”, spoke one of the adventurers.

“Such a weird phrase for someone in their mid-20s”, Logan snapped. No matter the hecklers, Logan went on. He was tested just the same as the previous adventurers, all of his attributes were on full display.

20 minutes passed, as usual, the assessment ending with a display of skills, in the case of Logan who was a spellcaster, his spells. Gauging the interest of the crowd, he noticed some of the adventurers were paying closer attention to his work. Squaring up with the dummy, Logan prepared to cast his spell. Sliding his right leg back, Logan made a fighting stance, and he heard some people stand from their pews.

“What is with that stance? Isn't he a newcomer?” an audible voice was heard.

“From the fires within, burst forward and burn it down! Flame!” he chanted, feeling a bit weird for roleplaying in such a way. As he chanted he charged forward to the dummy, fires erupting in the palm of his right hand. Its heat was intense but failed to hurt its holder, Logan had complete control over the element of fire in this instant. A few steps before the dummy Logan thrust his arm forward, ending the spell. “Grasp!” he yelled.

Grabbing the front of the dummy, it was engulfed in a roaring fire, flooding out from the hand of Logan. Just like the window had informed Logan last night, Grasp increased the damage of his spell by 50% at the cost of speed and having to be close to your target to touch them.

Surprise washed over the faces of all in the stadium, the assessors included. Logan stood up straight from his attack, taking two steps away from the inflamed straw dummy. Turning to face the assessors he saw how extreme his display was. “Maybe that was too much?” Logan worried.

Walking back to the assessors, they talked for a time before finishing their assessment. Logan could see a sly thumbs up from the mage assessor as a sort of “Good job” to a budding caster.

“Logan Hall has been assessed as a rank 1 Wizard. Above-average in capabilities and a savant in Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence. Special note to his spells of Flame and Lightning as well as alterations of Shot and Grasp”, the lady detailed, a bit of surprise in her words.

“10 is above average? NPCs must be worse off in the attribute department”, Logan speculated.

Handed his scroll, Logan peered over to the parties now stood over their benches. He could see them deep in conversation, but at this distance, he couldn't make any of it out. Logan handed his silver piece to the assessors, exchanging thanks. Leaving the stadium, a sweat came over the new adventurer. “That was intense, maybe Grasp wasn't a good idea in the end. But maybe it will help me get into a party”, Logan hoped.

Returning to the entrance hall, Logan saw that a few of the adventurers had left, even the two newcomers. “Damn, I wanted to talk to them”, Logan cursed. To his side, Logan noticed a wave from the reception counter from Rubené. Approaching the counter, she held out her hand for the scroll, which Logan handed over. Scanning over the document, Rubené had a smile paint her face with delight.

“Congratulations, it looks like being a late-bloomer helped in your capabilities, 3 savants, and the rest above-average. You're practically hero grade”, Ru reacted.

“Yeah, surprised me too. By the way, do you know what the other gradings are, Ru?” Logan asked, hoping to gain further information.

“Oh, right, I can pull up my guide”, she responded, pulling up a small booklet from under the counter. “It starts at dismal then goes average, above-average, great, savant, and then hero. However, all heroes have a hero grade in all their capabilities”, she continued, reading off from a list. Placing the book down she finished saying, “Though, these are assessments of rank 1 adventurers, as you progress in rank your capabilities have varied increases. It is generally easy to spot a hero at any rank due to their higher progression.”

“So, sounds like it goes from 8 to 13, lucky I didn't make any attribute higher than a 12 then”, Logan thanked his earlier choices.

“Are heroes common?”

“Hah, you're kidding, right? We've only ever had 1 here since this hall's been around”, Ru gave a laughing reply.

“That would have been a bit too much attention for me”, Logan reflected. Placing the scroll under the counter, Ru brought up a small wooden tablet around 2 inches tall and 1 inch wide, painted a glaring magenta. Etching onto the tablet, she hooped it through a piece of string and handed it to Logan.

“Here's your signet, Wizard Logan”, Ru chirped, showing much more energy than yesterday. Taking it from her hands, Logan looked over the signet, it noted his name and class, as well as his rank being 1 and another portion noting his completed quests as 0. Flipping it over his hair, he draped it over his chest to demonstrate his status as an adventurer.

“Thanks, Ru. It look good on me?” Logan inquired, modelling with his new necklace.

“Better than some other Wizards, your attire looks nicer but I wonder why you would risk miscasting in leather”, Ru replied, an inquisitive look to her.

“The System didn't note anything like that to me, System what is miscasting?” Logan mused. A window popped in reply.

“Miscasting is where a spellcaster loses their spell due to either their equipment being heavier than cloth or getting attacked during an incantation. As a Spellthief, you can cast spells while in cloth or light armour”, the window informed Logan.

“Oh, well, I trained a lot and I am just lucky when it comes down to it.”

“Well, I hope your luck continues. You can pick up quests at your leisure, by the way, the board has them all listed. When you accept a quest please take the parchment off the board, we'll note it down and inform the quest givers”, Ru responded, a bit of worry in her voice.

“I'll do so, though actually, do you have any advice for who I should ask about for joining a party?”

“Well, when it comes to spellcasters, it's normal etiquette to wait for someone else to invite you. With your signet on show you should get an offer at some point”, Ru explained. Thanking Ru, Logan moved away from the counter and towards the quest board.

“It's hard to make a start as a caster, though I can guess that from our earlier conversations”, Logan ruminated.

Arriving at the quest board Logan gave it a long scan, two other adventurers also looking over it and a staff member sitting at a short podium overlooking the board. From small jobs like housework, including moving buckets of water and the like, to large quests involving the eradication of monster camps. “Seems we do a wide range of tasks, though these cleaning jobs are terrible pay, and it won't help my level much”, Logan concluded.

“It would be good if I could get a good gauge of difficulty, they do list the enemies and rewards which aids my guess but it isn't too concrete. Maybe a skill could help, though I wouldn't know which”, Logan studied the board. Finally, he landed on his first quest, he recognised the monster in the picture as a low-grade mob in his RPG games.

Grabbing a hold of the parchment he tore it from the board, stuffing it into his pocket. A nearby staff member wrote into a large ledger book, noting Logan as the adventurer assigned to the quest. Leaving the board, he gave a hearty wave to Ru, who returned it in kind. As Logan exited the hall, his thoughts were on his first quest as an adventurer. “Let's hunt us some goblins!” he celebrated.

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