The way back

-9th of April, 09.04.1052-

Not much was happening on the way back. Travis had to admit, that without a companion, his travel became much faster. Though, on the other hand, it also became a bit... mundane, per se. Nobody to talk to, learn anything from, or even just look at, made the time pass slower than usual.

The 9th of April passed by, and nearly the entirety of it was spent solely on moving forward. 5 stat points from today's Daily Quest were spent on Endurance. Feeling his body regain just a little bit of stamina, he allowed himself to run a bit longer than the day before. Nevertheless, his vigor had its limits, and the Apostle was **** to take a few breaks on the way.

During the times when he was catching his breath, Travis did his best to scout around for any food. Foraging for berries growing between the trees wasn't the top of his aspirations for a meal, but he felt like hunting for the small game could take longer. In the first place, he couldn't hunt using <Mana Bolt>.

'It's a shame, really.' he thought. 'But releasing mana into rabbits causes severe ruptures. Normally, you'd just fry the meat and be done with it, but with everything getting spilled together... I've already had bone fragments in my meals, a repeat isn't necessary.' he shivered slightly at the memory. Without a way to clean the meat, it was better to hunt it down the regular way, without the use of magic.

This day also didn't give him much in terms of advice from Rulebreaker.

9. Magic evolves, and so do classes.

[Things change over time. Naturally, they do. You can’t expect the universe to stand in one spot just because you want it to. Not even all the gods combined can stop the flow of time.

As a person grows, their level increases. The mana they emanate gets stronger, their bodies become more adept at handling their skills, and of course, their set of abilities increases. But you already know that’s not all there is to it. Today, I’ll tell you about class evolution.

It’s common knowledge that classes grow stronger with you, no? Every now and again, you get a new skill, your skills grow, and overall, your ability increases. The longer you spend refining your techniques, the more powerful they become. Following so far? Good.

However, once you reach a certain level, your class becomes a bit… lackluster, doesn’t it? Every 100 levels, most classes undergo 'advancement', letting them grow stronger and more specialized than their base forms.

But why would you need this knowledge? Think about your class. It can’t evolve, so its role will always be the same. Now, is it really oriented around fighting by yourself? Or is it more about taking a supportive role? Take a minute to think about it.]

'I shouldn't even be surprised.' he thought with a bit of dismay. It was already becoming a trend for that mysterious person to tell him what were day-to-day facts. In fact, in this very entry, they did say that class evolution is common knowledge. 'And the language they use... it's like they're doing this on purpose.' he scoffed at the thought.

But it wasn't like it mattered. In the end, he simply accepted the snippet of paper and hid it in his backpack.

'At least the Daily Quest gave me something moderately useful.' he brought out a runestone from his pocket. It had a rough surface of a faintly silvery gray color, and its symbol seemed to only be a triangle. Its description dispersed any questions.

[Runestone of fire

Rating: Normal

Durability: 15/15

Cost per use: 350 MP

After supplying it with mana, it will cause all your mana-fueled spells to transform into <Fireball> instead of their normal form. The effect lasts for 10 seconds.

*<Fireball>'s level is equal to the level of the spell transformed. Transformed <Fireball>'s stats are equal to a real <Fireball> of the same level.

*Cannot be repaired.

*1 point of durability is consumed every time you cast a spell. Durability is not consumed upon the use of the runestone.

*Non-physical spells cannot be transformed.

Weight: 50 g]

'This is a very good item. Arguably, it's better than Runestone of Smoke since it may just improve my offensive ability. However, its durability is... questionable. I don't know exactly how much mana a <Fireball> consumes... oh well.' he shrugged to himself a little, pocketing the runestone.

-10th of April, 10.04.1052-

'...this is just mockery.' Travis thought, weighing a jar in his hands. It was roughly the same size as Rulebreaker's Piece, of a cylindrically round shape, and with blue and gray stripes on its black surface. It even came with a ceramic lid of the same design. It was, without a shred of doubt, a very carefully crafted item. What was the problem was its description and the message that came with it.

10. You made it to double digits, have a cookie

[Mana cookie jar

Rating: Normal

Durability: 15/15

Eat a cookie. Get mana. What’s not to love?

*Every cookie restores 50 MP

Cookies remaining: 20

Weight: 733 g]

'...they could've just given me a mana potion. A goddamn mana potion. but instead, it's just... this.' he sighed. 'Maybe the pottery will fetch me a gold coin. It looks to be decently made.'

-11th of April, 11.04.1052-

11. Having a team is (almost) always better than going alone.

[If you want to win in the Apostle’s Competition, you will need a team. Most Apostles will do fine on their own, and probably so will you, but why take chances? Having a team is not a requirement, but it definitely will make things easier for you. Who knows, maybe you can actually team up with another Apostle to take down others?

There are limitations to what every class can do. Not even gods are universal in what they do. Eventually, your limits will catch up to you. Wouldn’t it be better to get someone who can cover for your hindrances?

Don’t get me wrong, having other people with you is a risk, a huge one at it. You have to keep them in mind at all times, think about how your actions will affect them, and most importantly, you need to be on your toes. Even the best of friends can backstab you if you’re not careful.

Though, comparing the pros and cons, having a few extra heads is better than being on your own, no? It really depends on how many people you’re able to comfortably watch over. Maybe just a few essential partners will be enough, or maybe you’ll want a few dozen underlings?

I’ll leave this for you to decide.]

'...this seems to only tell me that I should've done everything in my power to get Leaf on my team...' he grimaced slightly. 'Though, for once, I do feel thankful for a piece of advice like this. Getting a team is a good idea, but Rulebreaker is right. Being careful about it is very important. As much as I wanted Leaf to join me immediately, back then I had no actual guarantee she wouldn't backstab me. That was an oversight on my part. I had used <Hypnosis> on her twice, and that resulted in me putting too much faith in it. If she just acted to be friendly, I'd have died then and there.'

He took a look around himself, pocketing the box and tying the rope holding his pack together. It seemed to be quite a tight fit now, but Travis could put up with it. For now, at least.

He got up from his position. '5 hours more. If all goes well, I'll reach Icla in 2 days. I'll rest some distance away from it, and then go immediately to Silvana.' he decided, resuming his run. 'I'll be honest, I kind of miss Leaf's cooking. I know it was just some herbs spread on meat, but it's still better than a roasted rabbit with nothing else.'

-12th of April, 12.04.1052-

-Early afternoon-

Travis was kneeling by a small stream, filling up his waterskin. As he finished, he took a swiping look around, searching for anything to fight; today's Daily Quest requested he dodged more than 30 attacks, and he was only about halfway done.

All stats other than Sense had at least 60 points, within which Agility, Endurance, and Intelligence took the first three places with 80, 75, and 70 points respectively. 'I think that's enough for getting to Silvana. Next, I'll increase my Sense and Wisdom further. I think 60 and 75 respectively will be fine.'

As he made his decision, he quickly reached into his backpack and made use of today's opening of Rulebreaker's Piece. In a flash of light, he received another snippet of paper.

12. Equipment is important!

[Depending on what class you ask, their views on armor and weapons vary. Some will say that armor is essential, others that it only gets in the way. Neither of them is wrong; it all depends on the person using the armor. The same applies to weapons.

Luckily for you, your class doesn’t really care about either of those. You can go for light armor and double daggers, or heavy mail and a greatsword. The choice is entirely up to you. Mix and match as you wish.

Bear in mind, however, that equipment will often affect your stats. Heavier armor will decrease your Agility at the cost of protection. A heavy club will require substantial Strength to be used effectively.

Weigh all the pros and cons of all your available weapons. Your choice will eventually be the thin line separating your life from ****.]

'...I suppose it's useful to know that my class can use any weapons and still be effective. Nevertheless, I feel like half of this entry could've been abolished.' he thought, hunting down some monsters. 'It almost feels like they had some minimum requirement for words per advice.'

Slash after slash, one kick after another, and eventually, just straight-up punches. 'But I guess it could be beneficial to look into some other options for weapons in the future. As a Soldier, I did practice mostly with swords and bows, and most of my experience is in using them. I don't see myself as a ranger-type, but maybe I should consider switching back to larger blades at some point...'

Eventually, he stopped his onslaught. Looking to his side, he noticed that the condition for Daily Quest was finished.

'Another day with 6 stat points... everything into Wisdom.' he thought, relaxing his back for a moment. Then, he started making his way between the trees, going toward the road. 'It's the 12th of April today. It's possible that if I rush forward a bit longer, I'll see Icla's gates by tomorrow.'

The cobble of the road was rough but dry, and almost the same could be said for the sky above his head, naught a cloud covering the blue expanse. The forest that he was walking through was teeming with life, from rabbits and deer to snakes and rats. Once or twice, Travis caught a glimpse of a wolf, even.

The journey was going smoothly.

-13th of April, 13.04.1052-

-Late evening-

'There it is.' he thought, almost immediately going off to the side, away from the road. As he made it roughly 40 meters in, he dropped his backpack and sat down, letting out heavy huffs whilst leaning on a tree. 'Damn, I definitely can run for longer than before, but it's still limited.' Travis sighed at the thought. His breathing was heavy and his face was covered in sweat as he looked to the sky. 'At least I reached Icla.' he thought, pulling out a box of magic matches from the pack.

Without thinking much, he leaned forward and quickly prepared a small spot where a fire could burn without threatening to spread far and wide. After ensuring that everything was in place, Travis slowly got up and began gathering some brushwood from around. Barely 5 minutes later he was sitting back at his previous spot, looking at the fiery orange sparks dancing in the air, the heat beaming from the campfire. After uncorking his waterskin, he quickly dumped the contents into his mouth, after which he hid the item.

Taking a short while to clear his mind, Travis started bringing up memories one after another. This has already started to become a little bit of a mental exercise he was practicing every now and again: trying to clear up the clutter of memories, one at a time. With every next try, it was becoming a little easier. For every next memory he moved to a correct place, he felt it became more... manageable. Like filling up a bucket with a spoon, except every time he succeeded in giving it a full dose, the tool grew just a little bigger.

In a way, it was like meditation. On the other hand, it was completely opposite to it. Instead of clearing his mind, he intentionally made it a mess, only to clean it up. And every next time, he was faster at it.

Eventually, a piece of Advice from Rulebreaker's Piece came to the surface as well. It was from just today.

13. Equipment’s rating is a necessity

[As you might’ve noticed, almost all items have this little thing right under their names, ‘Rating’. Must’ve thought about what it means, no? Well, I’ll give you a brief explanation.

Rating dictates the item’s performance. There’s not much more to be said about it. The higher the rating, the better the performance. The better the handling and initial rating of the material, the greater the result.

Some people, especially blacksmiths, are aware of this system’s existence. Their understanding might be a bit vague even if it’s dwarves, but they realize what an item’s rating is at first glance nonetheless.

Item’s rating is set the moment it is created, and it can’t be changed normally (unless it’s a special case, but we’ll talk about that later).]

For once, it was something that Travis had absolutely no idea about. He had seen 'Rating' in several items before, but never did it really strike him that it might have as much importance as this entry made it seem.

'Getting a good item is one thing, but... with a good rating as well, it can become much stronger.' that was his initial thought after studying the subject with the help of RALS. Another thing to look out for on his journey - good-rated items.

'Perhaps I was a little too harsh in judging Rulebreaker. Maybe they just want to teach me everything from the very base. I can respect that.'

Travis yawned, his eyes lazily looking at the fire that started to slowly die out. Within half an hour, the man was asleep, the tiniest of embers casting red-orange light onto his feet.

-14th of April, 14.04.1052-

-Early afternoon-

14. Not satisfied with roasted meat? Here, fry it instead

[Scorched pan

Rating: Legendary

Attack power: 20

Durability: 99/99

*Processing speed can be increased by consuming mana. However, there is a high chance for the food's rating to be fixed to Normal.

*There is a moderate probability of increasing the food's rating to Rare.

*There is a low probability of increasing the food's rating to Epic.

*There is a very low probability of increasing the food's rating to Unique.

*Under certain conditions and with the correct ingredients, there is a minimal probability of increasing the food rating to Legendary.

*When used, skill 'Beginner Cooking lvl. 5' will be created.

*The amount of experience gained for cooking-related skills will substantially increase.

It is a tool that others cannot compare to. The mundane materials have been properly strengthened and handled by a master blacksmith. Even a fool can make a decent meal with this.

Weight: 666g]

Travis's mind went blank at the exposition. It felt as though he had to read through all the options attached to Godly Pebble.

However, taking a second, he noticed that all of them related to one thing.

'It's a production-specialized item... as one would expect of a frying pan.' he put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. He sighed shortly. 'The damage is consistent, and it is better than both my dagger and Pacifist... if only it were not a tool, I would consider using it. I'll look ridiculous if I show up with it in a fight.' he blew a bit of air. For some reason, a low chuckle entered his mouth at the very thought.

'What a way to joke. That's a point for you, Rulebreaker.' he spun the pan in his hand a little. It had a completely black inside, undeniably made with metal, silvery outside, and a handle made with an unknown material that seemed to be akin to wood. Striking the thing against a tree, Travis could hear a defined sound of metal ringing.

'On the other hand, it's pretty light for its size.' he swung the pan in the air before hiding it in the pack. It couldn't fit whole, and its handle was sticking out between the ties.

Then, he looked to the sky.

'6 stat points today mean that Sense officially has 60 points. The rest goes into Intelligence for now. I think I'll elevate it until it gets to 100. 300 MP will definitely be useful for training <Mana Bolt>.' he thought for a moment before looking at his status. 'I'll reach Silvana today evening.' He resumed his run on the cobbled road. Passing by a few carriages, Travis kept on thinking. 'I don't want to disturb Teacher at a late hour. I'll just go home for the night.' he smiled a little, thinking about finally sleeping in his own bed.

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