Let’s meet the new people

“I’ll go first.” Kiara says.

“My name is Kiara. I became an adventurer shortly after my 18th birthday. I am now 24 years old and have been a mentoring new adventurers for 2 years. I am a B rank mage. I have a rare skill which allows me to manipulate shadows and when I cast spells, I mostly prefer to employ Dark magic.”

Shadows and dark magic. Maybe that is why she likes to dress in black. She is like a dark sorceress.

The next person to introduce herself is Leona.

“My name is Leona. My mother is a beast-kind, but my father is human, so I am a half breed. Yet, humans seem to insist on treating me like a fullblooded beast-kind. I grew up in Tristanis and also had my training there, along with two other hopeful adventurers. Except my mentor gave them metal swords while I had to train with a wooden sword. When it was time for me to leave to Riledo, my mentor even demanded I prove myself by defeating the other two trainees at the same time, which I did. Then he said I wasn’t ready for my awakening anyways and tried to keep me from coming. I was able to sneak onto the caravan that took me here, though. Shortly after, the caravan was attacked by bandits and the accompanying adventurers successfully defended it. That is where I looted my sword and shield.”

“Looks like you had a rough time, Leona.” Kiara replies. “I would love to say you won’t find such discrimination here, but unfortunately the truth is many people here are equally small minded. Fortunately, there are guilds here that look down on discrimination against the beast-kind and there is even a guild in Riledo that accepts only beast-kind adventurers. I’m sure you’ll find something that is to your liking.”

After hearing Kiara’s words, Leona nods respectfully to our mentor.

“What about your adventurer card? Can you tell us more about that?” Kiara then asks.

Leona takes her card and starts reading it aloud.

“It says that I am an A rank spellsword.” Leona tells us. “My skills are [Blind Thrust], [Iron Will], [Battle Cry], [Endure], [Sentinel] and [Divine Blessing]. Then it also says I am able to use Light magic.”

“I see. Spellswords are rare. [Sentinel] and [Divine Blessing] are both rare skills to have as well. You have got quite a fortunate awakening there. You should expect a lot of guilds trying to recruit you.”

Looks like Leona got quite the reward for having overcome so much discrimination. If Kiara has me spar with her I’m going to have take care not to underestimate her.

After that Ryul stands up to introduce himself.

“Good afternoon, everyone. I am Ryul. I live in a village a few days south of Riledo. I came to have my awakening in the hope of maybe getting some magic unlocked for me, or perhaps the strength boost C rank adventurers get. It had always been my intention to then go back home and be of better help to my community. Like, using my new fire magic to help out in the smithy, or in case I got earth magic, to help out the farmers with keeping their soil fertile.”

Then Ryul takes out his adventurer card and sighs.

“Instead, I get to be an A rank monk. I guess the A rank strength boost is pretty nice and all, but I have no combat experience whatsoever. I am literally at a loss for how I am supposed to be a good monk.”

“It is for people like you that this month of mentoring exists, Ryul.” Kiara says. “You will be given some basic training here. You will also be advised on how to properly use your skills. Can you share them with us?”

“Ah, right.” Ryul says and looks back at his adventurer card.

"So, my first skills are [Mantra] and [Deadly Rush]. Then there are [Rising Sun Kick] and [Stinning Strike]. I take it those are fighting skills. The next one is [Berserk] and honestly, it kinda scares me a bit. The last one is a bit confusing. It first says [Two-Points Stance] and then it says [Heaven's Stance] and [Earth's Stance]. Any idea what that means?"

"Stances are an ability unique to the monk class. Other classes don't have those." Kiara explains. "In your case, [Two-Points Stance] implies that you have 2 stances to choose from. The first one is [Heaven's Stance], the other is [Earth's Stance]. Depending on which stance you employ, you will gain access to different fighting styles."

"Oh, well. That sounds kinda neat." Ryul says.

After Ryul sits down, the Asian girl with the pink hair stands up.

“Hello all. My name is Shalia. I am from a mountain village named Shigata, far to the north west of here. So, I’ve traveled from very far to have my awakening and I am very happy that I got to be an A rank. I already discovered I had access to Earth magic in my home town so I have some training in that already. But because of my awakening I have now discovered I also have access to Water magic and Light magic. So yeah, having access to so many magical elements makes me a mage. Other than that, I also have 3 skills. [Sunlight Shield], [Sunlight Charge] and [Nature’s Oath].”

“That is an interesting combination of magical elements. I don’t see that often.” Kiara tells Shalia. “[Nature’s Oath] is also one of the rarer skills. You will probably have a lot of people asking you to join their guild as well.”

Shalia seems like an interesting person. But another thing I noticed is how Ryul barely blinked while he was staring at Shalia.

After Shalia, it is Wendy who now introduces herself. During the introductions she has been eating one of the two large snacks she took along with her. With one of them finished she stands up, places the remaining snack on her chair and then addresses everybody.

“Hello everybody. My name’s Wendy. I was born and raised here in Riledo, in the poor section of the city. Uhm, I just did the awakening to see if I could improve my life. You know, stop being poor and all that. I wouldn’t have minded E rank and would have been very happy with D. But when I first looked at my card I …”

Though Wendy seemed happy when she started talking about herself, she now starts to trail off and her happiness starts to fade. Then I see her press her lips together and close her eyes while taking a deep breath and next she starts rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

“I’m sorry, it’s just too much. I never expected to get a B. I don’t know what I possibly could have done to deserve this. I am a nobody. A poor girl from a poor family. I only ever slapped a few guys when they got too handsy. Other than that, I’ve never hurt anyone. How am I supposed to be a fighter?”

“Nobody truly knows how the goddess ranks people.” Kiara explains kindly. “Many have ideas and guesses, but nobody knows for certain. Also, being a fighter is not necessarily all about hurting people. Sometimes it can be about protecting them as well. So, how about you share your skills with us. Maybe I can help you better understand what [Imris] expects from you.

Wendy then takes her adventurer card and starts reading her skills.

“So, first there’s [Fast Blade], I’m guessing that means I’ll be using a sword. There is also [Shield Bash], so sword and shield. The next one is [True Aim]. That one I don’t quite understand. After that is [Piercing Strike], that one probably involves some stabbing. The last one is [Null Field]. Can you tell me what that one is all about, Kiara?”

“Null Field?” Kiara says surprised as I see her pull back. “That one is very rare. I only know of 1 person other than you who has that skill and he does not even live in Riledo anymore.”

“But what does it do?” Wendy asks.

I see Kiara’s mouth, the only visible part of her face, turn into a smile and then she says, “I think you will understand it best if I show you.”

Kiara then raises one hand and causes Ryul’s shadow to raise from the ground while also taking the shape of a giant hand. Then Kiara moves her hand as if she swats something right in front of her. In response, the large shadowy hand swats at Wendy. The redhead raises her arms to protect herself and squeals, but just as the shadowy hand is about to hit her it disintegrates, leaving only a black tentacle which originates form Ryul’s shadow.

Kiara then extends that tentacle and tries to swat at Wendy’s feet. This time Wendy doesn’t squeal and watches how the tentacle disintegrates as well. Finally, Kiara extends her shadowy tentacle again and has it circle around Wendy over and over until it appears like Wendy is trapped inside a shadowy cocoon. Then Kiara tightens the tentacle until it too starts disintegrating.

“Your [Null Field] skill permanently exudes a zone around you in which all magical value is brought to zero. This means that no matter how powerful the spell, no magic can ever touch you.”

Wendy starts to look worried and asks, “So, magic does not want me?”

“On the contrary,” Kiara replies. “Magic would love to give you a big hug. It is you who keeps fighting it off.”

Wendy’s face then lights up. “Oh yeah, cause I’m a fighter.”

I am quite surprised by Wendy’s skill and Kiara’s explanation. I never even thought of the possibility of someone being completely immune to the effects of magic. Though I also never thought about someone getting an adventurer card full of question marks like me.

After Wendy gets back to her seat and starts eating the last snack she brought with her, the black girl stands up.

“So, my name is Miranda. I am from the Duchy of Jendayi, in the south east. I grew up at a coastal village and we often have difficulty getting any adventurers to help us out. There is one, but he is a senior and is no longer up to the task. He does still serve as a teacher and advised me and a couple friends on how to train. My friends and I then came here with the idea to become adventurers and then go back home. Only, the trip here was quite expensive. So, I guess we’ll have to join a guild for a while and earn some money before we can go back. I am also the only one of my friends who got a B rank. So, if it is possible, I would like to contact them and let them know that I am safe in the castle.”

“No need to fear, Miranda.” Kiara says. “Visitors are allowed, as long as they remain in the courtyard. You will be able to contact your friends. What are the class and skills you received?”

“Apparently, I am going to be a beast tamer.” Miranda answers. “My skills are [Eyes In The Sky], [endurance], [tracking], [cleave] and [mount].”

“I see, very interesting. Thank you for sharing.”

That was everyone except for me. I guess it’s time to introduce myself.

I stand up and say, "Hey everyone. My name is Darx. I live in a village about a week south from Riledo. I have been training to become an adventurer for quite a while now. Partially because my mother is a formed adventurer. She's a B rank from the Dark Dragon guild."

Kiara cocks her head and say, "A former Dark Dragon. Interesting. The Dark Dragon guild is one of the most renowned here. You must be quite proud of your mother."

"I am. Though I don't think I will be joining the Dark Dragons myself. See, 6 months ago I was training with a couple other people, one of them being my girlfriend. But since I was born a few months too late, I had to wait an extra 6 months for my awakening. She has already been an adventurer for half a year now and is with the Gryphon Knights guild. So once this month is over, I am planning to join that one." I reply.

Then I take my adventurer card and say, "Now I would love to tell you all about what I got for my awakening, but i'm affraid that's going to be a little bit difficult."

"What do you mean?" Leona asks annoyed.

I thought about telling her about all the question marks, but I have a feeling she's not going to believe me.

"You know, Leona. I think it'll be best if I just show you."

I then hand my card over to Leona. When she sees what's on it she cocks her head to the right and flaps one of her cat ears. "Huh?"

After that Kiara takes my card from her and looks at it herself.

"This is indeed odd. I have both never seen and never heard of something like this."

The others start asking Kiara what's so special about my card and she shows it to them.

"Do you have any idea what this means?" I ask my mentor.

"Hmmmm." Kiara ponders. "One possibility is that [Imris] has chosen to allow you to choose your own skills and magic. Another possibility is that your future is so uncertain that even the goddess doesn't quite know what to do with you. Either way, you are a mystery and I for one would love to help you with your discoveries."

That said, I have my adventurer card returned to me and I sit back down.

"So, now that introductions are over, it is time to start the real lessons." Kiara says. "Is there anything in particular any of you would like to learn about?"