Chương 42: You're Doing It All Wrong

Three Iron makes a Bronze. Four Bronze makes a Silver. Five Silver makes a Gold. But unlocking the next rank isn't just a matter of leveling. Excerpt from Perk Selection Preparation Textbook For Pre-Class Teenagers, Standard Issue by The Architects of Humanity. Alexandra looked at Louis' books stacked on the table. There weren't many. Four. No, five, the last one was more of a pamphlet. Two of them wore the Warden's eye insignia. It was curious, she thought, that she could read their titles. Summoning shenanigans.

"Alex, are you listening?" Louis asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I got it. I'm shit. Happy?"

"That's not what I said."

"You said I was using my class art all wrong!" Louis sighed.

"Which is perfectly normal and expected for a teenager who just received their class."

"I'm no teenager." She pouted.

"But you did just receive your class. Alex, I'm trying to help you. Think about your streak." She looked at him.

"Go on."

"Remember how you told me you got skills through daily quests? Look at your status. Do you think those skills are good?" Alexandra frowned, and summoned her journal. She flipped it open to the second page. Name: Alexandra Ward Class: Heroine of Quests Rank: Iron Level: 2 (70/100) Strength (STR): 15 Dexterity (DEX): 14 Constitution (CON): 15 Intelligence (INT): 16 Perception (PER): 17 Class Art: [Quest Journal] – A living record bound to its bearer. Generates daily quests tailored to the surrounding environment.

Completing quests yields experience, rewards, and contributes to an ongoing Streak. The longer the Streak, the greater the bounty. Class Perks: [Event Quests] (Iron) General Skills: [Inflict Weakness] (Uncommon) - 6 [Sickle Mastery] (Common) - 7 [Dark Bolt] (Uncommon) - 3 [A Face Among Many] (Common) - 1 [Life Curse] (Uncommon) - 2 Achievements: Defiance II, Diligent Quester She bit her upper lip. Inflict Weakness, Dark Bolt, and Life Curse came from her old Warlock class.

She still hadn't figured out why that was the case. Nevertheless, that left her with Sickle Mastery and A Face Among Many as the skills she'd acquired through her class art. So few… But she'd unlocked many more skill quests. She flipped the page of her journal. Active Skill Quests: Running Diving Summon Lesser Fiend Basic Herbology Drain Life Cleaning Swimming"Fuck, you're right. They're all useless." Well, not quite useless. But aside from Running, she didn't see a practical use for those skills.

Of course, Summon Lesser Fiend and Drain Life had to be powerful, but considering their skill quest required dealing with demons… And they didn't come from her class.

"Am I really wasting my class' potential?" Louis raised his hands.

"From what you're telling me, yes. But it's hardly an issue. You've only been here for what? Two weeks?"

"Twelve days."

"Twelve days. That's nothing. We should start by figuring out how to make you stronger. Then we can worry about your long-term quests." He paused.

"Both the Yshant and Merinus are Gold rank. Fighting a Gold rank as an Iron is suicide." Alexandra smiled.

"But it would yield a pretty good achievement." Louis stared at her.

"A difference of three ranks isn't so easy to cross. There's more to ranks than an evolved perk."

"I wouldn't know." She shrugged.

"Right. You wouldn't. It's quite simple. At level 4, you will get your third Iron rank perk. Then, on top of the experience requirement, you will be asked to complete a rank quest to reach level five. When you succeed, your perk selection will include both new Iron perks and the option to upgrade one of your existing perks to Bronze."

"And the process repeats for Silver?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Yes, but you'll need four Bronze perks. Then five Silver to reach Gold," he said.

"But as I said, it's not just about the perks. Ranking up is an Achievement."

"You mean…" Alexandra scratched her chin, and turned back to the second page of her journal to see her status.

"Iron rank didn't give me one."

"You also didn't have to complete a rank quest to go from Unranked to Iron." Alexandra could see the issue. If rank achievements scaled like Defiance, she could imagine that a Gold's attributes would be way higher than hers, on top of better skills and perks.

"Dark Bolt is strong. I can deal with the downsides."

"Can you?" Louis asked.

"But that's beside the point. This Dark Bolt of yours is only an uncommon skill. It just can't be as powerful as you describe. Most likely, it's highly effective against verdant beasts. I wouldn't be surprised if the effects on non-plant beings were a lot milder. Not to say it's weak, but… you know." Alexandra pulled up the skill description. Dark Bolt - 3: Sacrifice lifeforce to cast a needle of dark magic that corrupts the lifeforce of its target. Each level increases the power behind the needle.

It was hard for her to say. She locked eyes with Louis.

"I can accept some delay to improve our chances. But we're on a timer. Maybe not for Merinus, but someone will deal with the Yshant sooner or later. Also, I'd rather not meet more priests than I have to. They can sense me."

"The Hands?" She shook her head.

"Don't seem to be hostile. But they warned me about the others." Louis tapped his fingers on the table.

"You don't have to involve yourself with me," she said.

"I know that's a lot." He kept tapping.

"No, I already told you it was fine. I'm thinking about your class art. Your sickle skill is the best hint we have. If you can replicate that with more weapons, it would be a good start. There're also a few simple spells that you could learn to cast, but those are not an option until we get rid of your sickness."

"More weapons?" She grabbed her sickle and raised it to her eyes. The blade shone against the dim light of the oil lamp.

"I already have this one."

"It's a sickle."

"Yes. It's good for cutting plants." Louis sighed.

"It's good for cutting grass. Not verdant beasts with roots as thick as a tree trunk."

"Ah." She looked down.

"How about trying an axe?"

"Where do we get one?" Alexandra asked. Louis looked at her sickle, still raised in her hand, and then at her face. He pulled his chair back and stood.

"You have money, don't you?"

"I have—" She thought about it.

"I'd rather keep it for the cure." He smiled.

"I thought so." Silence.

"Don't you…" she started.

"Have a way around that?"

"Who do you take me for? A thief?"

"Yes?" Louis' smile widened.

"I'll have you know, I always buy my stuff." Alexandra raised her eyebrows, and pointed at the books with the Warden eye on their cover.

"It cost me a lot to acquire those." He shrugged, and walked toward the trapdoor.

"There's a smith who sells secondhand weapons. He's Warden-adjacent. I've bought from him before."" Bought?"" Bought." He picked up his coat.

"Come on. It's dark outside. Prime time to buy some stuff." This part of the city was loud during the day, but quiet at night. Few streets had public lighting, and those concentrated around the main artery and the harbor. Here, it was dark and only the moonlight and the sound of their steps hitting the pavement betrayed their presence. The shop was a few streets away from Louis' hideout, tucked between two warehouses, and out of the way enough for the street to be empty. It was closed.

Alexandra tried the door anyway.

"Don't," Louis said.

"It was worth checking."

"It wasn't." He stood back and studied the front of the building. Three stories. The upper two were residential. A thin strip of light bled through the shutters on the second floor. He looked at the alley to the left, then at the roofline, then back at the door. Louis walked to the entrance, crouched, and pressed two fingers to the lock. Alexandra had to hold her gaze on him deliberately or Louis slipped to the edges of her attention. She recognized the effect of a skill.

Not too dissimilar to A Face Among Many, though his version played with shadows instead of crowds. His other hand came up with a thin piece of bent metal. He worked it into the lock slowly, with no wasted movement. His fingers didn't tremble. His breathing didn't change. The lock gave with a soft click. Louis stood, pushed the door open two inches, waited, then pushed it the rest of the way. He turned back, and put a finger on his lips before gesturing her over.

They stepped into the shop, their steps slow and deliberate. Above, they could hear the sounds of footsteps. Inside was dark except for the moonlight filtering through the shuttered front windows. It smelled of iron, oil, sawdust, and leather. Her eyes adjusted. Racks of blades along the left wall, pole weapons leaning in a stand near the back, shields stacked flat on low shelving. Everything tagged with small paper labels. Louis was already moving between the racks, not touching anything yet, reading labels.

She scanned the wall of blades. Swords. Daggers. A short naval cutlass. A row of hatchets near the back, small enough for one hand. Louis appeared at her shoulder.

"Hatchet's too light," he said, barely above a whisper.

"You need something with stopping power." She nodded. He pointed past her. Against the far wall, separate from the rack, three full axes were mounted on pegs. Single-headed. Long hafts. He walked to them and lifted the middle one free, turned it over and read the label. He held it out horizontally, testing the balance, then passed it to her without a word. She took it in both hands. Heavier than she expected. The head was broad and the steel had a dull, unpolished finish.

The haft was plain ash, wrapped in cord at the grip.

"That one." She scanned the room, and whispered.

"Might be worth buying a few more weapons. I could unlock more skills."

"Good idea." He turned to her.

"We should —" The stairs creaked. They both went still. A door at the back of the shop opened. Warm light spilled down a steep staircase, and then a figure came down it, heavy footsteps, unhurried, a hand trailing the wall. A man. Older, broad through the shoulders, wearing a loose shirt and trousers. His hair was grey and cut short. The Warden insignia was tattooed on the inside of his left forearm, visible where his sleeve was pushed up. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked directly at them.

He didn't reach for a weapon. He didn't shout. He put one hand on the newel post and studied them with the flat expression. His eyes moved to the empty peg on the wall. To the axe in Alexandra's hand.

"That one's twelve silver," he said. His voice was even. Louis didn't move. The Warden looked at Alexandra.

"You," he said, "are not from here." Alexandra met his eyes.

"No." He was quiet for a moment. The lamplight from the stairs threw half his face into shadow.

"You should be more mindful of your frequentations." He pointed at Louis.

"That man is wanted by the Wardens." She didn't answer. The man sighed.

"I suppose it is too late for that." He stepped forward. Louis grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door.

"Run!"