Chương 22: Questions and Answers

Darkness enveloped the earth. Inside the Hearth & Horn's inn, it was after dinner, and most guests were in their rooms, resting. Kyle, who had taken a shower, bandaged his wounds, and rested, walked down the stairs, the lamps' light reflecting his shadow on the walls. Stopping in front of the counter, he looked straight at Marielle's beautiful face.

"Good evening, Kyle. Rested well?" She said with a familiar smile on her face. Looking at the serious expression on Kyle's face, she chuckled.

"Follow me." She said with a faint smile before walking into a room behind the counter. Kyle paused before following. She pointed at a chair and signaled for him to sit before pouring tea for both of them and sitting on the other side.

"So, what do you want to ask?" Marielle took a sip of the tea and asked. Kyle looked at the calm expression on Marielle's face and pondered. He has myriad questions to ask, but for now…

"You were my father's teammate, right? Can you tell me a bit about him?" Kyle calmly asked. Despite recovering his past life's memories, his memories as Kyle Vaelthorn are still heavily affecting him. It can be said that he's the fusion of the 29-year-old Dale and the 16-year-old Kyle, with the Kyle part having the upper hand. So he was still very concerned about his father.

"Darius, huh?" Marielle pondered for a moment, "He was a very adventurous guy, the type that couldn't sit still." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"He was also a rank 1 swordsman, though compared to you, he was at the very peak of that rank. It's a pity, though; if it weren't for that incident, he would have reached rank 2 elite and would have lived a very different life." Kyle furrowed his brow.

"That incident?"

"Hmm, I can't tell you about the specifics, but it resulted in him getting heavily injured and thus having to retire. And before you ask, he wasn't willing to use advanced healing potions or healing magic." Looking at Kyle's frown, Marielle sighed.

"I'm sorry, but he was the one who told me not to tell you the specifics."

"Speaking of it, that period was really nostalgic. We had waded through the great swamp, crossed much of the Silverbark forest, and explored many dungeons." Marielle sighed with a look of nostalgia on her face. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Kyle took a deep breath and reigned in his anxiety.

'I'll have to investigate this 'incident' later on.' He decided. He pondered for a moment before asking his second question.

"Can you tell me, with my current power, where I currently stand within Mirevale town?" It was important to clarify his current standing before deciding on his next course of action.

"Hmm, your current standing, huh. Well, before answering, I'll ask you something. You're a professional swordsman, right?" Marielle looked him in the eye and asked. Kyle nodded. She had seen him giving his all, so she already had the answer.

"A 16-year-old professional swordsman. That's quite outstanding in this small town. Very few people of your age have such an achievement in Mirevale town, let alone surpassing it, including the children of the Baron." Marielle said with a smile on her face.

"However, if you go to Tarnfell City under the Marquis, such an achievement becomes common," Marielle said with a mischievous smile on her face. Seeing that Kyle wanted to interrupt, she raised her hands to stop him and continued.

"Don't interrupt for now. Well, where was I? Well, compared to your father and me, you're certainly a genius. I became a professional at 21, and your father became one at 25. That certainly indicates your potential, but that's not the complete picture, because compared to us, your starting point is much higher."

"Let's talk about Darius, for example. He was born a farmer's son. However, he left his village at 15 and became an adventurer. He struggled for years at the bottom, doing odd jobs and the dirty work for various parties just to learn one move. He didn't sense mana, thus becoming an apprentice until he was 18. He struggled for years before he cobbled up a set of decent sword techniques, which he proceeded to refine over decades before passing them to you." Marielle paused and looked deeply at Kyle's eyes.

"Compared to him, you had someone to guide you since childhood. He taught you hunting skills, how to navigate the forest, common sense for adventuring, combat skills, how to sense mana, and how to become a professional, all of which he struggled for years to learn, giving you a starting point that isn't much inferior to that of wealthy merchants and minor nobles. So don't think that you're an exceptional genius, or you'll be dealt the harsh blows of reality once you go to Tarnfell City, or any big city."

Marielle paused and took a sip of tea to moisten her throat. Kyle watched silently, a variety of thoughts churning within his mind.

"You asked where you currently stand in Mirevale town, right? Well, considering just people within your age group, you're probably in the top 3. However, you are probably not even in the top 200 if we take all age groups into account. The adventurer guild alone has over 50 professionals, and if we count the ones under the Baron's command and the army, there are around 200 to 250 professionals in Mirevale town. Outstanding for a town with a population of 80, 000.

However, due to its proximity to the Silverbark forest, it's not unusual."

"Of these 200+ professionals, there are probably less than 10 rank 2 elites. The commander of knights, the president and vice president of the adventurer guild, and other people of similar standing. Among the rank 1 professionals, you probably rank at the bottom." Kyle narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. He didn't expect that there would be so many professionals in Mirevale. Apart from the occasional copper-class adventurers walking up and down from the second floor, he hadn't seen any other professional.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle slowly asked,"How big is the gap between a weak and a strong rank 1 professional?" Marielle pondered for a moment before pulling out a beautifully decorated metal piece, 10 by 10 centimeters.

"This is a magic item created by the Violet Magic Academy, the largest magic academy in the Eldrathia Kingdom, called the Status Card. It can be used to roughly measure the mana level of the user and categorize them using different levels. I spent a lot of money to buy it." Kyle's eyes widened as he looked at the extremely familiar format.

"Holy shit! A Status Card!"