[Royal Capital Alavia, Most Divine Kingdom of Alterya]
(14th, Silver Dew Moon (II), 634 ASY)
Three people sit at a small booth in a medium-sized restaurant illuminated by magical light. Around them, everyone seems to be avoiding them. When going near them, both customers and employees speak in hushed voices and sneak glances over their shoulders to stare at them. Of course, they would be doing so. These three, while they managed to accomplish something that even the esteemed Royal Army couldn't do for 3 entire months in a single day, were still cursed. The first, Tyson Bueomont, wearing hardened leather armor with armored plates attached to cover vulnerable body parts, has a head of short, platinum-white hair and sky-blue eyes, the symbols of a person who has immense talent but lacking the ability to control it effectively. The second, Ashe Voltmare, wearing a set of flame-red magician's robes, has crimson-red eyes with cat-like pupils and dark-brown hair, the symbol of one who is indecisive and will lead to disaster. The third and last, Daniel Zao, wearing a simple blue button-down shirt and jeans, has a head of abyssal-black hair and pupil-less eyes, the face of a person that is more like a devil, willing to manipulate people and generally causing chaos. Of course, Daniel sticks out due to the oddness of his clothes, but the people of Alavia have seen weirder clothes, and choose his appearance to be more of a danger. They are a highly theocratic community and equally superstitious after all. While at first, these suspicions are just that, superstitions, but in truth, these three people are not normal. All three of them are reincarnated, people who have lived their lives with so few regrets that the world simply forgets them and lets them pass on to different worlds. However, as they passed on, they entered into the realm of the being known as "Regret," who is the physical representation of this world's regrets. Regret passed on a blessing and a curse to all three of them and told them to complete a mission. The blessing is that for each person in a specific field, they will learn to use that field to the point of being demigods in power. For Tyson, it is the field of martial prowess. For Ashe, it is the Arcane, and for Daniel, the Alchemical. In exchange for these powers, Regret had to give them a curse. For all three, it is the same curse. They cannot, with the exception of languages and writing systems, obtain any new skills that do not pertain to their chosen field. They will be stuck with what they knew before arriving in the new world. When they had arrived, Daniel had warned them against making contact with civilization and to instead get a feel for what their new bodies were like before continuing on. One thing led to another, and they ended up exterminating a nest of primal orges that had been giving even the Royal Army troubles. They were welcomed into Alavia as heroes and attracted a large amount of unwanted attention. They were forced to join the Adventures Guild and completed odd jobs around town to make a living, and are now in this restaurant talking about their situation and what to make of it.
"So? What have we learned?" Daniel asks with a slight oriental accent.
"Alavia is massive…" Tyson sighs. "It's going to take much longer than a week to find out anything meaningful about this society. I also feel that it would be dangerous for us to just assume that this world is similar enough to ours that we can use our paradigms to describe it,"
"That wasn't the purpose of this week Tyson…" Ashe sighs. "We were supposed to figure out how our 'Gifts' work. For my part, I managed to get some books about the Arcane from the Guild. My progress has been astonishing… What the books said would take months of continuous practice to master took me three to four tries to accomplish with the same degree of control that people who have mastered the spell have. What about you, Daniel?
"It's been...weird. I don't know if it's because I already know chemistry, but I've been able to produce different results from the tests that I got from the Guild. For example," Daniel says as he shrugs and places a small glass vial with a dark blue powder inside. "This is raw pigment of my favorite color, Prussian Blue, that I made with raw iron ore and plant debris. Usually, Alchemy is normal chemistry but using arane energy to speed up reactions. However, like with making this Prussian Blue, I was able to use any atom in the object to form compounds. This means that I'm able to make anything so long as I have the necessary materials."
"That's really useful, isn't it? Seeing as the amount of seemingly useless information you've gathered for the past 10 years, you must know a lot of items that we are now able to produce. Unless, you've forgotten," Tyson responds.
"That's where the weirdness starts. I don't think I can forget anything I've learned before coming to this world, whether I remembered learning about it at all," Daniel shakes his head.
"Oh, I'm guessing when 'Regret' said 'you shall only have the skills you have learned in your previous life,' they also retroactivly meant every single skill that we had learned," Ashe ponders.
"Huh. That explains why I suddenly know so much about the Second Ottoman Siege of Vienna,"
"Come on, I didn't talk about it that much, did I?" Daniels sighs while shaking his head.
"Going back on topic, did you manage learn anything new pertaining to weapon, Tyson?" Ashe asks
"Yeah? I didn't even know how to hold a sword 10 days ago, much less be able to kill an ogre with it. However, I can't seem to understand what matial texts tha tthey do have. I've made the most progess on the training field by just trying to use the moves,"
"Is it because martial arts are less of a science than Arcana and Alchemistry?" Daniel mutters to himself.
"What?"
"What?"
Ashe and Tyson ask in unison.
"Oh, I was wondering if the fact that Tyson can't learn martial skills from books is because martial arts aren't an exact science,"
"Oho? Why would that be?" Ashe asks, narrowing her eyes.
"Think about it. No matter who uses the magical spell or alchemical formula, they will arrive at the same end result. But martial arts is also about experience in using the skills and prioritizes the state of the body much more than the Arcane and Alchemical. An obese person would be hopeless if they try to do anything beyond what their body can handle, and whatever they can do will be harshly impacted by their physique. In Alchemy, for example, no matter how hopelessly incompetent you are at controlling energy, if you manage to use the correct amount of energy, you will end up with the exact result as a world-famous alchemist. There are no modifiers, if you will, on the equation itself. Thus, if you simply repeat what they say in the books, you will get the same result as they say," Daniel explains.
"Oho? That's a great explanation. But what if Tyson was just dumb?" Ashe says while staring at Tyson.
"Come on, I doubt that that's the case. I mean, what about the fact that I can use sny weapons at all?" Tyson shoots back.
"I know how to use nunchucks," Daniel states in a nonchalant tone.
"Great joke Daniel," Ashe snorts.
"I wasn't joking. I do know how to use nunchucks. They're just a really unwieldy weapon and generally really bad against any kind of armored opponent," Daniel sighs.
"Uh, ok? Getting back on topic, what weapons have you been using?" Ashe asks.
"Let's see… Pikes, swords, axes, and a crossbow. I've been practicing those weapons. I don't know why crossbows were apart of the weapons that I can use, but it seems like I can use them with a similar proficiency to melee weapons," Tyson says as he counts on his fingers.
"Can you fight?" Ashe asks.
"Please elaborate on that question…" Tyson sighs and stares at Ashe.
"Are you able to fight and defeat other people?" Ashe elaborates with a tired expression on her face.
"Again, how am I supposed to answer that question? We don't know how powerful other people are!" Tyson yells, his voice cracking on the word 'question.'
"I think she's asking whether or not you can fight the average adventurer without dying a horrible death," Daniel explains as he puts the small glass vial back into his pocket.
"Yes, that I can do. Was that your question?" Tyson sighs.
"Eh. That's close to the question I was going for. Anyhow, what do we do now? I doubt we can just make do with doing odd jobs around town. Just getting the necessary arcane equipment needed to practice magic is cutting massively into my budget. I have no doubts that you both have been having money problems," Ashe states.
"Yeah, who knew weapons are expensive?"
"Not really? I just make what I need, so only food is a problem. If I want something to drink, I'll just distill some lake water or just dehumidify the room. If I need some extra money, I'd just make and sell some glassware,"
The two men reply at once, Tyson's voice having a slight edge of concern and urgency, while Daniel's voice is filled with an almost condescending calmness.
"Right… Can you help us out then, Daniel, if you have so much money on hand?" Ashe asks.
"I can promise that you won't die of thirst. I need the money though. Chlorine is becoming something I cannot find, seeing as salt is probably the best material to get it from. As you probably noticed, salt is expensive," Daniel sighs. "It's not my fault you guys can't find a stable income. Just do some more guild requests."
"Ah yeah, about that…" Ashe sighs.
"We, uh, might not be able to use the guild anymore…" Tyson chuckles nervously.
"Hmmm? Please do elaborate?" Daniel responds, lifting one eyebrow.
"Ah… We ran into some trouble at the guild and uh…" Ashe responds hesitantly, lowering her head.
"We got into a pretty big arguement over commission rights with the Tamachs. They are a pretty big group in the guild, and they've been harrasing us in and near the Guild buildings. We haven't been even able to get close enough to see the building," Tyson explains. "In fact, I'm suprised that we even got into this resturaunt-"
"Don't say any more! You're going to jinx us!" Ashe yells.
"So, are we going to talk about the tenish armed men standing at the front of the restaurant right now?" Daniel asks.
"What ten men?" Tyson says quietly.
"Oh shit-" Ashe manages to get those two words out of her mouth before the entrance of the restaurant busts open as ten heavily armed men rush inside, beelining towards the booth where the three of them are sitting.