System Change: Chapter 38

The next morning, Derek woke up and went back to the courtyard. He thought he had risen early, but Brandi was already at it with her Leatherworking. He walked up behind her and waited for her to reach a stopping point.

“So, found anything else out about your class?” he asked.

She jumped as she had been focusing all her mind on her craft. Turning around, she replied, “I did, actually. I hit level 11 earlier. Instead of getting four points into everything like before, I got three. I don’t know why or if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

“Hmm… Well, if you were to get four points into everything at every level, your rare class would be getting more points than an epic class, even competing with a legendary one. It makes sense that there are restrictions. In two levels you have gotten, what, 42 points? An epic class only gets 20 per level. Rare is 15,” he said, remembering his previous epic class and Rayna’s rare one.

He continued. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if you only got two points per level next time. It makes sense that the class is distributing the points evenly, though. Strength and endurance would be ideal stats for things like Weaponsmithing, wisdom and intelligence would be for Enchanting or making runes, and dexterity is definitely for the more precision crafts. I’m not sure about vitality, but it would suck to not be able to withstand an alchemy explosion, so it’s good to have it too. Just make sure to watch your stats over the next few levels and see if you can find the pattern.”

Brandi nodded her head. Then she looked at Derek with an intense gaze. “You said that it would almost be competing with a legendary class. How do you know what a legendary class is like?” She looked with hopeful eyes.

Derek smiled. “Well, you can’t tell anyone anyway, but I would prefer for you to keep it to yourself.” He leaned in close. Brandi drew near. He whispered, “I used to have an epic class.” Then he backed up and let Brandi piece it together.

“Used to? Then you don’t anymore?” She paused. “Growth class? Is it a growth class? Like mine?” she asked.

Derek just winked at her. “You go back and keep doing what you’re doing. You should level everything you can. I know it will be hard with all your skill, and the fact that you don’t have any equipment for some crafts, but focus on what you have.”

She assented and turned back around to continue her work.

Derek smiled and walked back to the bench to sit. Soon, he slipped into deep thought. What should I do next? He looked around. I think my time in this village is over. The dungeon is completed, and Rayna is strong enough to deal with any leftover beast hordes still in the outer edge of the forest.

I guess I could go and get level 100, but I didn’t see many enemies at level 100 or higher outside of the dungeon. There are supposed to be some powerful creatures even deeper in the forest, but strong to these people is like level 50. I’d rather not spend a lot of time traveling just to go on a wild goose chase. Derek sighed and looked over his stats.

Well, at my current level, my stats, including my free points, are that of someone with a rare class being at like level 240. He closed his eyes and did some more calculations. Hell, someone with an epic class would need to be at least level 180 to even get close to my stats. Though, with my current distribution, and not focusing on any one skill, they could still beat me in their special areas.

Derek thought about it for a minute, then he put 200 points into his strength, endurance, and vitality. He didn’t feel the big boost that he got when making a breakthrough, but going up 200 points at once was still a leap, and he would need to get used to it again. Magic is fun and all, but endurance and vitality got me to where I am and kept me alive. It’s also nice to have extra strength.

Happy with his distribution, he thought about his plans. I need to go see if that dumb bunny is still anywhere around here. Though I’ve always wanted a mount, so I could go look for something cool instead. He shook his head. No, I’ll stick with the bunny if I can find it easily. If not, I’ll take the other route.

He continued looking over his status sheet, then stopped when he got to the achievements. So that is what they were all talking about. He had dismissed his new achievement for being part of the first team to complete a new dungeon. The others had brought it up, but he didn’t bother with it before as it was not something that he could currently use.

I mean, it’s not a bad achievement, especially for me. I’ll be able to complete level 100+ dungeons solo and fast, but the problem is finding them. Derek looked around again. I guess the plan is to find the bunny, then go to the city. I’ll see if I can find a map of other dungeons or get directions to a different city that has them. He frowned as he thought about it. I do want to make sure no one caused trouble to the village because of that noble, though. I’ll stay a bit longer just to see, but after that, I’m out.

With his plans set, Derek waited in the village for some time. During that time, Brandi got to level 14 and found out that she got four, three, then two stat points into every stat before it rolled back over to four. All in all, it turned out to be 18 points per level, which was in between a rare and epic class’s distribution.

He also told Thomas that he would be leaving sometime soon and made sure the boy still wanted to go with him. Of course, he did. He made sure to drill it into the kid that any more blatantly dumb mistakes would get him a one-way ticket back to the village. Thomas seemed to be very embarrassed about his past mistakes and promised that he would be smart.

A few days later, at around noon, Derek was chatting with Bart at the bar. Bart was right about one thing, there really was not anything fine about his ale. Derek slammed the mug down and sighed. “I guess there’s no point in even trying to get a buzz.” At least on Earth, he could purchase alcohol from the system that was strong enough for him. I guess I’ll have to wait for Brandi to make some good shit.

Bart sighed apologetically. “It’s strong enough for the villagers, but I guess it ain’t nothing special for ya.”

“It’s not your fault. It was good to drink something different, anyway. Even if it tastes like piss from a boot,” Derek replied.

About that time, the front door swung open and Thomas ran in. “Derek. There’s someone here. He has a GIANT sword strapped to his back and a Gold Adventurer’s Badge.”

“Oh, I wonder if he is here for the Adventurer’s Guild or for the nobles.” Derek dropped a few coins from his storage ring onto the bar, then stood up. Fortunately, the storage rings from the dungeon were basic black bands and looked exactly like the one the noble he killed was wearing. It was easier for Derek to explain than his bracelet as he had asked around, and everyone had only ever heard of people using rings. Of course, he only kept some basic things like money and hides in it. There were a couple weapons too, but nothing anyone would question if he ever had to show anyone the contents.

Derek exited the inn and leaned up against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed, waiting to get a good look at the new stranger. If he was heading to Rayna’s residence, he would have to pass in front of him.

Sure enough, a man with light brown hair tied in a ponytail soon made his appearance. He was wearing a shiny silver set of armor, and his greatsword was giant indeed. To Derek’s surprise, he was not acting like everything was beneath him. He was looking around, taking the sight of the village in like any normal traveler would. Hmm… Maybe he’s a representative from the Adventurer’s Guild.

Soon, the man’s vision landed on Derek, who was wearing his usual blue jeans, black shirt, and combat boots. The man furrowed his brows, then his eyes shot wide open in surprise. Derek smirked. The man paused for a second but soon continued forward, past the inn and toward Rayna’s residence.

Rayna was sitting at her meeting table waiting for the man. Richard had informed her of his arrival at the same time that Thomas informed Derek. Needless to say, she was a bundle of nerves, but she was doing a good job hiding it.

The last few days had been great for her. She finally looked at her class upgrade, and though there was no epic class to choose from, she was able to change her class from the rare Tempest Sword to a rare growth-type class called Zephyr’s Gale. She was especially happy that she could keep all her old skills. She had spent most of her time in the dungeon casting Wind Blades, and it seemed that the Great System must have taken note as her new class was more of a wind swordsman that focused on range. It suited her perfectly.

Soon, there was a knock on her door. Richard jumped up and went to answer. She had been waiting for this day. Derek told her that if all else failed, to shift all the blame onto him, but she would hate herself if she had to do that, even if he could handle it.

Richard came back. Behind him was the warrior. Rayna stood and spoke. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting company. How can I help you, mister…” She waited for the man to cut in.

“Bronson,” the man said.

“Mr. Bronson. Please have a seat.” She motioned to an empty chair and took a seat herself.

The man touched his greatsword. “I think I’ll stand.”

This ravishing blonde village chief surprised Bronson. When he used Identify, it came back as a level 50 warrior. Sure, seeing level 50s and better was normal in Torith, but in a village such as this one, he hadn’t expected it. In fact, he was still reeling from the oddly dressed, cocky man with haunting purple eyes that smiled at him earlier.

His level 12 Identify had failed when he tried it on the man. There were only three possibilities. Either the man had Identify and it was at a higher level than his, his combined Identify and level was higher than his, or he had an extremely high level. All that he knew was that the man was strong.

“I… see,” the woman said. “Well, my name is Rayna, and I am the chief of this village. How can I help you today?” she asked.

Bronson cut right to the chase. “A group of adventurers should have made their way here not too long ago. They were on a task from the guild to find and clear a possibly newly found dungeon around here.”

Rayna nodded. “Yes, the group stopped by here. They didn’t stay long before leaving, though,” the woman said.

Bronson frowned. “They left right away?”

“Yes. They came here and stol… borrowed Richard’s map of the village and surrounding dungeons.” She nodded at Richard, who winced ever so slightly.

Bronson noted the slight disgust in the woman’s voice and the emotion from the man when she mentioned the map. Well, that sure sounds like the boy. The map is probably a precious thing out here, and Wallace must have swiped it. He shook his head. He looked directly at Rayna. “One of those adventurers was a noble from House Gracefall. I am both the head butler and guard of the house. I have come here because the boy is… missing.”

He was watching the woman’s expressions as he spoke. She frowned slightly when he mentioned the boy was a noble. Bronson squinted his eyes and continued. “I find it strange that the team wouldn’t stop for a break after traveling all the way here.”

The woman visibly held her breath. She seemed to be thinking of what to say. She let out a long sigh. “They probably would have stayed,” she said. Bronson motioned for her to continue speaking. “They were creating a… ruckus… It disturbed Derek. He… asked them to be on their way.”

When she finished speaking, Bronson immediately thought of the man he passed in the street. “Who is this Derek?”

“We don’t know much about him. He’s been here for a little while now, and he seems to have taken a liking to Richard’s grandson. All I know about him is that he’s strong and sometimes he gets in a mood,” the woman said.

Bronson looked at Richard. “Your grandson?”

The older man nodded and shook his head. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the boy. He keeps talking about becoming the man’s apprentice. He goes off and trains with him sometimes. The boy is already at a higher level than me.”

Bronson got the feeling that the man did not approve of this ‘apprenticeship.’ If this man is as strong as he feels, the boy should thank the Great System that he took an interest in him, unless the man is… unsavory. “This man, deep black hair, weirdly dressed, and purple irises?” he asked.

They both nodded.

I guess I have to go talk to this ‘Derek.’ Bronson turned around. “Thank you for the information. If you think of anything else before I leave, please let me know.”

Derek was still leaning against the wall of the inn when he saw the man coming back from Rayna’s residence. Right on time, he thought.

Soon, the man stopped about 15 feet from him and stared. Identify didn’t work on the man, but he could guess that the man couldn’t use the skill on him either by the way he looked at him in the beginning. His badge showed him as a Gold Ranked Adventurer, so his level should still be under 150. Derek wasn’t worried about having to face someone around that level. Plus, Torith wasn’t a full city, and he doubted there was anyone even close to the platinum adventurer’s badge. Derek would put this man at level 130 at most.

Derek pushed himself off the wall and walked to the middle of the street. We’re going to have ourselves a good ol’ fashioned standoff. He stopped and stared at the man. He pointed at the sword on the man’s back. “Can you use that?” he asked.

“Do you want to find out?” the man asked.

Derek chuckled. “You compensating for something?” he asked, seeing if he could rile the man up. The man just looked at him quizzically. Dammit! He didn’t get the dick joke… “Well, come on then, I don’t have all day. That inn has some of the worst ale you’ll ever drink, and I want another.”

The warrior furrowed his brow and reached for his sword. “Fine, it’s your fault if you die.” The man rushed forward with his greatsword drawn. Once within range, he slashed down with both hands.

This can’t be all he’s got. Derek thought as he casually raised his hand and grabbed onto the moving blade. The sword stopped in its tracks like it had hit an immovable wall. The man stared at Derek, dumbfounded.

Derek let go of the sword and turned back to the inn. He started walking. “Put that butter knife away and come join me for a drink.”

Inside, Derek shook his hand and looked at his palm. The slight cut, not enough to draw blood, was almost healed. Decent strength. Too bad the greatsword doesn’t have much of an edge to it. It would be a good weapon if it was sharper. He walked to the bar and sat on a stool. “Two ales,” he said to Bart.

Soon, the man walked in, his greatsword nowhere to be found. Derek turned his head to look. “So, you wear that dull knife on your back as what, intimidation? Don’t you know it’s better to hide your weapons until you need them?” he said as he turned back and picked up the mug.

The man sat beside him, surprise still in his eyes. “Who… Who are you?”

“Hmm? Me? I’m Derek. Who are you?”

The man opened his mouth to speak but closed it right after. Then, finally, he said, “I’m Bronson.”

“Hello, Bronson, have a drink.” Derek slid the other mug over to the man. Bronson picked it up and took a swig. The face he made was priceless. “Told you it was bad.”

“What is someone of your strength doing in a village like this?” Bronson asked after setting the mug down… far, far away.

“Found a boy running from a wolf. Brought him home. Liked the peacefulness, decided to stay for a bit before heading to Torith.” Derek answered like he had nothing to hide.

Bronson frowned. “Did you see a group of adventurers come through here?”

There it is, Derek thought. “Yup. A bunch of assholes and a spoiled noble. Shouting noble this, noble that. If someone doesn’t teach that kid how to act when his daddy isn’t around to protect him, he’s going to get himself killed,” he said and took another drink.

Bronson looked at Derek, surprised. “So you didn’t kill him?”

“Kill him? He’s dead?” Derek asked, and Bronson nodded. “That’s odd.”

“Why would that be odd?” Bronson asked, confused.

“Well, he had to have completed the dungeon. The disease has lessened greatly these past couple of weeks. I would have done it, but it was only level 100. You know how it is,” Derek replied.

“He completed the dungeon?”

“Yeah, surprised me too. Didn’t think the prissy noble had it in him.”

Bronson didn’t seem to get hung up on how Derek addressed Wallace. “You’ve seen the dungeon?”

“Of course. I thought the disease was interesting, so I followed it. Turned out to be a low-leveled dungeon. Disappointing.”

Bronson scoffed. “Low level…” He shook his head. “I guess I need to go to the dungeon and take a look.”

“Good luck with that. That asshole kid took the only map, and the disease isn’t as easy to follow anymore. I took a look earlier and was surprised by how quickly the plants were recovering.” Derek paused and acted like he was thinking for a moment. “I guess I could take you, but you have to do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yeah, I’m leaving for Torith soon. You can show me around when I get there. Nothing like having a local guide.”

“That’s easy enough… though I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

Shouldn’t take too long, buddy. “That’s fine. Let’s go before it gets late.” Derek looked down at Bronson’s legs. “Can you move fast, or did you pump all your points into your muscles?”

At this point, it seemed that Bronson was already used to Derek’s rude remarks. “I can move fast enough.”

“Good, come on.” Derek walked out of the inn and toward the gate. Bronson followed.

After passing through the front gate, Derek took off to the edge of the forest at about three-quarters of his fastest speed. Once at the tree line, he waited. Finally, Bronson arrived beside him. “So, fast enough means slow, I guess.” Derek shook his head.

The other man glared at Derek with his mouth open, not saying anything.

“Well, let’s go then. We should still be able to make it back by dark. Even at your speed.” Derek took off, this time slower than before. Derek was right. Without a team, and with someone who had high endurance and decent speed, they were at the dungeon within hours.

“Here it is.” Derek stopped. The dungeon orb was about ten meters away, inside the clearing. Derek looked around. “Even this area has already healed quite a bit.” Derek walked to the orb, while Bronson looked around.

Derek put his hand on the orb and pulled up the dungeon description. ‘Enter Dungeon’ was still there, as he was under level 100. “Whoa, would you look at that?” Derek said, catching Bronson’s attention. “It’s definitely been cleared, but the reward is quite good.” He looked at the man and smiled. “It gives storage rings.”

The man rushed over as Derek removed his hand from the orb. Soon, the man put his hand on it. “This is going to be big.” Bronson removed his hand and continued to look around.

It wasn’t long before he saw the tree with a decaying body underneath. He quickly rushed over. Derek slowly walked behind him. Here we go.