We made our way to a peculiar looking house in the outskirts of the city, after hesitating for a bit I decided to walk towards the house and knock at the door nervously.
"Tock...tock..tock..."
There was no answer
"Tock...Tock…. " I knocked louder "Excuse me" I said
"Who?" A voice come from inside the house
"My name is Ryo, I am here to appraise my skill" I said
"Appraise your skill you say," Moments later the door opened, behind it was an elderly man with long beards and brown unkempt hair "come in, come in" He said to us. He then lead us to a table and let sit ourself down. His house was quite messy, he has a large collection of books on the wall and strange looking effigies decorate every corner of the room.
"Who is your name again?" He said as he browse through the room looking for something
"Ryo, Ryo Fujisaki"
"I see, hmm... ah there it is" He brings forward white crystal ball and puts it on top of the table.
"My name Gomon, people know me as Gomon the Mage. So... you want me to appraise you and this lady over here" He said
"Ah no, it's only me"
"Hmm… alright, but that will cost you 3 gold coins"
I was taken aback by the price, Rose had warned me before that it might be expensive but even then I was still surprised. Luckily I had brought enough coins with me so I yielded.
"Okay, um... this should be enough" I said as I reached inside my pockets and placed three coins on the table.
he nodded, "Go place one of your hands on top of the ball" He said.
"Like this?" I said as I put my hands over the crystal ball, it was cold and as I did I felt like my palm was getting sucked into it.
"Yes, just like that," He said.
He then also put his left hands on top of the ball and started to chant words that I don't understand. Shortly after that, the ball started to glow bright blue and then dimmed for a bit and then changed to another bright beautiful color rapidly as he continued his chanting. As he did, with a quill on his right he proceeded to write something on a piece of paper.
"Hmm… yes… hmm..." He nods occasionally, seemingly immersed in the act.
I then turned my head towards Viola, curious about her reaction to what was happening. Her eyes sparked and her expression showed awe and amazement, it looks like the bright radiant ball piqued her interest greatly.
"Hmm… interesting, here you go" the old man grunts as he passes the paper, he lifts his hand from the ball and as he does, the light fades slowly.
I took the paper and proceeded to read it. It's said the following,
Name: Ryo Kujisaki
Race: Human
Age: 25
Traits:
Vision [S]
Smell [S]
Hearing [A]
Agility [A]
Stamina [B]
Physical Strength [C]
Magic Affinity [D]
Innate Mana [D]
How did he know my age? I asked myself but I guess he was able to tell from the magic he just performed. But something that puzzles me more is the thing that he wrote underneath it,
"Uhmm… sorry but what does this stats mean?" I said
"Oh, this is the first time you've done this? Alright, let me explain. I have used an appraisal skill to evaluate your being and I have written the most essential and dominant traits that appraisal skill has detected. It seems that you have incredible senses, like your vision, hearing and your sense of smell. A grade of [S] means excellent and incredibly rare, an [A] means great and you could say that you are very talented in those traits, [B] means your traits are slightly above the average person. [C] mean average so you are on the level that of the majority of people, [D] and below means that the traits you possess are below average"
"I see, so I have more than average senses?" I noticed that since I came to this world my senses feel more sensitive than usual, but I didn't think much of it until now "But how about my magic affinity? also what does innate mana mean?"
"It seems like your magic affinity is quite lower than average, which means your ability to chant spells and cast magic successfully would be difficult. It's not impossible though but you will have harder times learning and performing spells, and then your innate mana is also lower than average. Mana is the energy that resides in every living being, you can unleash that energy inside of you to chant spells and cast out magic like what I just did to you just now. The amount of mana you have inside correlates to how many spells you can cast in a period of time"
"Hmm… does that mean I won't be able to use magic then? Sigh… I was actually planning on applying to the adventurer guild"
"Oh not at all, it might be true that you might have difficulties using magic but there are still other things that you can do. The adventurer guild does not only look for magic affinity but other traits as well, the guild likes to classify people based on their traits and specialty skill. This classifies people to different types of class, for example those who have strong physical traits can become a warrior, a knight, a juggernaut or many other type class"
"I see, so what kind of class would suit me?"
"With traits like yours, you can easily become a spy or assassins"
"Um… is there any other class that is… how should I put this, less dangerous?"
"Ahaha" He laughed "Well, I think you can also be a scout or a hunter"
"A hunter huh… That one seems interesting, can you tell me more about it"
"A hunter is a class that specializes in hunting. Hunters always learn how to track down animals, how to move silently and stay out of sight, and finally strike their prey down quickly. A hunter class is quite rare nowadays because most people tend to aim for cooler looking classes like what I just mentioned, but you can get a decent living as a hunter. Especially if you managed to catch rare or dangerous beast"
"I see, I think I will apply as a hunter"
"If that's the case you'll need to get the proper equipment, I have this friend of mine who is a weapon craftsman. Just show him that paper and I'm sure he can find the right gear for you. His workshop is near the Waterfall Plaza,"
"Okay, I'll head there immediately, thank you very much Mister Gomon"
"You welcome, I wish you luck on your venture"
After leaving, we quickly made our way to Waterfall Plaza as Gomon instructed, after asking around for a bit we finally found ourselves in the front of the workshop. A muscular man greeted us when we came in, his tall and upstanding posture was quite intimidating as Viola went to hide behind my back.
"Good evening mister, is there anything I can help you with?"
"I am looking for equipment, I want to become a hunter. Also someone also said that I should hand you this" I said to him as I handed the paper that Mage Gomon gave me. The man inspected it for a while before turning his eyes on me and stares at me from top to bottom.
"I think I have some equipment that would interest you, please follow me" He said as he guided me to a wall where a variety of weapons were displayed.
"I have a good collection of bows here in my workshop, I would recommend this one. It's very sturdy and powerful, made from the finest iron and you can use it as a blunt weapon if the need ever arises. Here, you may have a look" He said as he took a bow from the wall and handed it to me.
"Whoa… it's quite heavy" I said as I weighed it on my hand.
It feels very solid and just by wielding it gives me a little bit of confidence. I look at it more closely and inspect it from end to end. As much as I like it I don't think I can carry this bow for a long period of time.
"Hmm, this is a good bow but I have never done archery before. Do you have any bow that is easier to use?"
"Oh, so you have never done archery before? In that case I have something perfect for you, here" The guy proceeded to walk to a cabinet and took something from inside it. "Here, this is a standard model crossbow made out of iron and buloke wood. It's easy to use and relatively easy to hit a target even if you've never done archery before. But it took a while to reload and it loses quite a bit of power in the rain so you need to keep that in mind when using it"
"I see," I then proceeded to inspect the crossbow carefully, it was sturdy and well made. From holding and handling it it seems quite easy to aim with for a beginner like me.
"How much is this one?" I asked
"400 silver"
"That's quite expensive"
"Indeed mister, but this is a good crossbow. It is crafted with attention and I can assure you that it won't lose it's accuracy even if you use it for a long time"
Hmm, it sure seems like it and I don't think it's a bad investment to make. I need this to become a hunter and make money after all so I think it's better to buy good equipment early on.
"Okay, I'll take this one. Are there any other things that I need?"
"Yes, we also have this leather arrow pouch that you can wear for 20 silver coins. Comes with free 30 arrows for you since you also bought the crossbow"
"Sounds reasonable"
"Excellent, I shall wax the crossbow before you take it. Please wait a moment"
I took a look around the workshop as the shopkeeper prepared the crossbow for me. There were diverse array of weapons displayed here. From long swords, mace, spear and others that I have never seen or recognized before. But a twin daggers displayed caught my attention.
"Excuse me, how much for these daggers?" I asked.
"Oh ,those? those come in pairs for 100 silvers, It's made out of iron and the scabbard also included"
"Hmm, then I will also take these please"
"Of course sir, thank you for your patronage"
I left the workshop with a crossbow and two daggers on hand, it kinda reminded me of how I usually buy a gadget back in my previous world. Just like in my previous world, I cannot wait to try these, but there's also the other side of me that feels nervous whether I can actually succeed as a hunter or not in this world. But well, that's not something to worry about today. I took a glance towards Viola who was walking beside me, she seemed pleased with our little adventure today. It was a good day,I hope the day ahead of me will also be as good as this day, I thought to myself as I walked under the evening sun.