Zarin read the quest's description carefully as he tried to find any clues, but there wasn't much to go by that only. He wondered what reputation affected, and the Random Item intrigued him.
He still hadn't used the [Empty Character Die] since he hadn't encountered a suitable target.
Even the Demon Bear that he encountered was still a D-Rank creature, so using it on it would be a waste since he had a chance to use it on a C-Rank or even a B-Rank creature. As for over B-Rank, the chance of success was too low that he didn't want to try them.
Since he had no clue from the quest's notification, he looked further at his surroundings. Maybe he could find a footprint or other clue where they went.
He started by the space around the fallen tankard, and it didn't take him long to find something. Not too far, there was actually a footprint left by dry mud.
The footprint looked larger than Eddie's, meaning that it should be of the kidnapper. However, the footprint angle showed that the person didn't face towards where Eddie was eating but in the opposite direction.
Zarin noticed a window across the room, which was slightly open. He usually wouldn't have noticed if he didn't look extensively for clues.
He kept looking on the floor for more footprints, but he only saw some pieces of mud here and there that looked to be part of a footprint, but not a complete print like the other one.
As Zarin reached the window, he noticed that there were some drops of blood on its stool. Zarin opened the window as he could slide it up. He paid attention to the ground outside the window, and it didn't take him long to find his next clue.
Before exiting the room, he headed to one of the rooms on the left side of the house. It was Eddie's room, and Zarin opened its closet to get some clothes.
Zarin wore dark brown trousers and a dark green shirt. He also got a pair of dark brown leather boots and a gray cloak with a hood.
As Zarin was ready to leave, he noticed something else in the closet other than clothes. There was a wooden box in the corner.
This was his first time taking in the room, and he had only watched Eddie getting clothes from it. Still, Zarin was outside the room, so he never had the chance to look at what there was in the closet.
Zarin was curious, mainly because the box didn't look that simple. There were clear runes carved outside of it, meaning that it wasn't just a simple box.
Of course, Zarin could be mistaken, and the carvings could not be runes but the writing of a language he didn't know. But nonetheless, his curiosity was drawn by the box.
Zarin kept staring at the box and its writing, and it took less than a minute for the desired notification to appear.
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You have studied Special Item enough time to get an Identify Roll.
Die Type: D20
Complete Success Number(s): 16-20
Semi-Success Number(s): 6-15
Failure Numbers: 1,5
Do you want to make the roll now?
YES/NOW
Warning: The roll can't be repeated or manipulated by Skills.
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A wide grin appeared on Zarin's face. After the extensive time he had spent investigating the dice's faces, his understanding of triggering identify rolls was much better.
Still, he couldn't get one for every item; otherwise, he would have done so for the rest of the faces of the dice. So it seemed like he needed a basic amount of knowledge to trigger the identify roll. The knowledge depended on what he was trying to identify, of course.
Since he triggered the roll that fast for the chest, it meant that he had sufficient knowledge already. The chances were much better than with the dice, and fortunately, there was no total failure chance this time.
Without giving it much thought, he picked to make the roll, but he didn't close his eyes this time. Instead, he brought his hand into a praying stance, as he wanted to get a Complete Success.
He had a 75% chance to succeed, and the 25% was a complete success. He still didn't fully understand what Complete Success meant, but if it rewarded him with another Skill like last time, he looked forward to it.
He also wondered what would have happened if he had rolled a complete success at the Journal, but he had no way to find it now. He doubted Ais knew since she was unaware of how his abilities worked as he was.
The notification panel turned into particles, which formed the die, which fell on the ground and started rolling.
The dice came to a stop, and the last result was a 15, meaning it was a Semi-Success. It almost stopped at a 5, but it barely had enough force left to make the last turn at 15. Fortunately, not all big numbers were on one side or all small ones on another, but they were spread.
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KNOWLEDGE LEARNED
You have acquired Knowledge - Rune of Protection
Progress: 5%
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KNOWLEDGE LEARNED
You have acquired Knowledge - Rune of Concealment
Progress: 5%
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PROFESSION SKILL LEARNED
You have learned [Runecrafting] (Unranked)
Lvl: 1/500
Description: You can enchant items. The Rank of the runes you learn can't be over one Rank of the Skill.
Note 1: This skill can change Rank when reaching max level
Note 2: This skill will progress slower without the Rune Master profession
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PROFESSION CHOICE
Requirements to become a Rune Master were met. Do you want to unlock this profession?
YES/NOW
Warning: You can have only one profession active
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Reading those notifications brought a smile to Zarin's face. He was aware of the existence of professions, but he didn't think he would earn one so soon, especially the [Rune Master] one.
Lady Emlyn's Father had a profession, which he had mentioned in the book. He was a [Hunter], which was perfect for him, as it allowed him to capture different beasts easier. But he didn't hunt only monsters as he could also go after bounties of people with that profession.
But Zarin understood that if one compared the two professions, the [Rune Master] was ways more powerful. After all, runes could strengthen items to reach power they never could or have extra abilities. No matter the quantity of the abilities, a [Hunter] had an experienced [Rune Master] could easily overpower them.
Of course, earning the profession wasn't easy. And even if you earned it, you had to study different runes and understand them fully before being able to use them.
But Zarin wasn't afraid of this obstacle as he had the help of his System. He had felt like being a video game character, which was pretty close to the current situation, considering how he could strengthen himself.
He accepted to earn the [Rune Master] profession. As he did so, information of the basic knowledge of [Rune Master] entered his brain.
The sudden entry of knowledge into his brain brought him a headache, but fortunately, it didn't last long.
As the headache was gone, and he took another look at the chest, he noticed that he understood better the runes.
Before, it was like reading an alien language. But, at the same time, now it looked like reading a foreign language that used the same alphabet. Meaning he still didn't fully understand them— at least not yet.
Zarin understood that two of the runes on the box were the two that he earned the knowledge of, but there were two more he couldn't recognize. Because of those two runes, he decided to leave the box as it was.
He headed back to the window, and after checking the surroundings out here, he exited the building through it.
Close to the window, there was a white flower, and on top of one of its petals, there was another drop of blood. Because of the color difference, it was easier to notice it, but only if one paid attention.
Zarin kept looking around, and he had found more drops now and then, leading him in a specific direction. So Zarin kept following those clues while at the same time he paid attention to the surroundings for any of the guards.
He used his [Stealth] when he wanted to level it up, as it was still at level 5. He knew that if it reached level 6, it would get strengthened further from what it was from the previous levels since it would pass the Basic Levels of the Rank.
After almost half an hour of moving like that, Zarin stopped as the clues led him to a specific building.
The building was one of the few stone buildings, and it was also the only one with a second floor. Zarin knew to whom this place belonged, and flames of anger appeared in his eyes.
This was Oriel's house.