"No. I haven't even gotten all of the skills for the variant class I'm aiming for yet." Unsurprisingly, after reading the notification of having to advance to level up further, Valyr declined the prompt, saving the ascension for the time he had gathered all of the skills he wanted. "In the meantime, I should really return to the village as soon as possible."
Ding!
[You have completed the quest's requirements for 'An Experienced Blacksmith's Suggestion (1).' Head to Tristan to receive your rewards.]
Receiving a notification that his quest with Tristan had finally been completed, Valyr stood up and took in a deep breath, slightly lamenting the fact that he wouldn't be able to carry some of the corpses he killed if he wanted to return as swiftly as possible. However, he placed the matter at the back of his head, dashing forward in the direction of Astarto Village not long after.
Whoosh!
With the slight increase to his AGI thanks to reaching the level limit, the speed at which Valyr ran through the plains was significantly faster than before. At some point, he was curious as to what his current stats now looked like, only to recall that he still had 10 unassigned stat points he could allocate.
"Since the variant class needs me to both have a high DEX and INT, then it's no surprise as to how I'm allocating," Valyr muttered as he allocated five points each to both stats. Soon, he opened up his status screen in his peripheral vision, whistling in admiration as he subconsciously hastened his pace from excitement.
"Now that's a status screen!"
Ding!
————
[Valyr Zeihardt]
Class: Civilian (Rank 0)
Species: Human
Level: 10 (ascend to increase level limit)
Power Level: 225 (C++)
Unused XP: 20,171
————
HP: 250/250
MP: 300/300
Stats: 25 VIT, 25 STR, 25 AGI, 30 DEX, 30 INT, 25 WIS, 25 PER, 15 LUK (0 unassigned points)
Remarks: You're definitely an anomaly.
————
Slightly surprised that he still had over 20,000 XP left over from leveling up, Valyr could not help but let out a peal of light laughter. "What a perfect coincidence. After I hand in the quest to Tristan and receive the [Analysis] skill, I'll use the XP I have to level it up, finally allowing me to gauge my enemies beforehand."
"Of course, it'll also finally allow me to check the details of other things, which is definitely handy since it's a given that I'm going to handle a ton of items as a blacksmith," he continued, allowing his mind to wander for a bit as he daydreamed about being able to handle precious materials in the future. "Then again, although it's become normal in the later versions, having a power level of C+ while still being Rank 0 is definitely a weird feeling."
In Greater Beyond, the general method for NPCs to figure out other people's strengths aside from using [Analysis] is by obtaining their power level from a reputable organization. With that in mind, the lowest grade one could obtain was C, which was given to people who hadn't begun leveling up, or those that were on their way to leveling up. After that was C+, a power level normally given to those that had just broken through to Rank 1 or were in the process of progressing through their Rank 1 class.
After that was C++, which was normally given to those who had broken through to their Rank 2 class, with a power level of B being given to those that were more or less halfway to reaching the peak of Rank 2. After that was A, S, SS, SSS, and X, each having their own separate stages similar to the previously mentioned grades. Although more grades existed after X++, where beings were already considered existences that could traverse the darkness of space on their own, those were all still far away from the current Valyr.
"Well, I wouldn't have probably reached Level 10 this quick if not for the level disparity system. Then again, there was also the fact that monsters from Level 11 onwards have a different system for XP gain," he continued, his body trembling with excitement from recalling how he had amassed close to 40,000 XP in just one day.
As the first 10 levels were considered the tutorial phase in Greater Beyond, the amount of XP gained from killing monsters at these levels reflected this nature, with each increase in level garnering an arbitrary increase to the amount of XP one would get.
However, once one went past this point and entered the true world of Greater Beyond, the amount of XP they would gain was significantly higher. After all, unlike the arbitrary increase one would notice from Level 1 to 10 monsters, the XP one would obtain from killing a certain monster was equivalent to a portion of the XP needed for a being to level up to the monster's level, specifically a hundredth of the XP necessary to level up.
With that and the level disparity system working together, it was no surprise that Valyr was able to amass a great amount of XP in such a small amount of time, though he was certain that his needs for XP would only get worse with time.
…
By the time Valyr had returned to Astarto Village, the moon was already halfway to reaching its peak. Gasping for air in exhaustion, he then took in a few deep breaths before passing through the village gates as he made his way back to the barracks.
Unexpectedly, while on his way there, he came across one of the guards that were on night patrol, the latter being slightly surprised to see a person still walking along the streets at this time. However, once the guard figured out who the person passing by was, a light smile could not help but adorn his face as he came closer. "Valyr!"
"Oh? If it isn't Jonas," said Valyr with a chuckle before giving Jonas a quick embrace. "How have you been?"
"I'm doing fine," Jonas replied with a light smile. "Leon and Louie didn't join me for night patrol today, so it's just me and a few other guards doing the patrolling."
"In any case, I shouldn't be the one asking that question," he continued. "How have you been? To be honest, we were surprised Damian allowed you to leave the village to head somewhere, even though the monster tide is coming up in a week."
"I've been doing fine as well," Valyr said with a nod. "As for the reason why he allowed me to leave…"
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, an overbearing pressure emanated from Valyr, prompting Jonas to take a few steps back as he looked at the man before him with widened eyes. "What the hell…"
"You've only been away for a couple days, but you've gotten this strong?" Jonas could not help but exclaim. "What the hell have you been doing outside the village for the past couple days, Valyr?"
"Let's just say I've been staking my life out there, battling foes I shouldn't be battling at my current level." Leaving those words for Jonas to think about, Valyr went ahead and continued walking towards the barracks, making his way to Damian's office.
…
Seeing that the light behind the door was still open, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh of relief. 'Thankfully, I don't have to wait till morning, unlike with Tristan's quest. I'm pretty sure that guy's already deep asleep.'
With that in mind, Valyr went ahead and brought up the notification he had received just as he had entered the village.
Ding!
[You have completed the quest: Return to Astarto Village. Head to Damian to receive your rewards.]
'I guess the other reason why Damian gave me this quest is to find out the results of my journey, huh.' Thinking about this, a slightly mischievous grin appeared on his face as he knocked on the door before him. 'Well, he's going to be in for a big surprise.'
"Come in."