"Not a bad treasure, is it?" Manuele said with a smug look as he looked at the chest in front of them. Not only gold, jewelry and crystals that it was possible to resell to earn some extra money. Indeed, the chest also contained a weapon, more specifically a dagger.
Lucia looked at the rest of the group and, receiving a nod, took said dagger. She turned it over, observing it with enormous curiosity, which was joined by the others, clutching it to her.
It was a dagger with a sharp, shiny blade that seemed to dance in the moonlight. The carved decorations along the blade depicted ancient runic symbols. The handle was wrapped in leather from who knows what magical creature, soft to the touch but incredibly durable.
To each appeared a familiar interface in front of the dagger.
[DESCRIPTION]
OBJECT NAME: EIGHT-SPARKED BLADE
CLASS: RARE
BLADE FASHIONED FROM THE HORN OF AN ALLIGATAURUS AND FORGED FROM THE SACRED FLAMES OF SIGAEHRTUM BY THE GOLDEN ELVES. WHEN USED AGAINST CREATURES OF DARKNESS, THE BLADE EMITS SPARKS THAT INCREASE THE DAMAGE OF BLOWS PERFORMED BY 40%.
"That's cool!" Sofia said, receiving nods of approval from the others. Usually, the System did not provide any information about the weapons. This was because most of them came either from defeated enemies or from Adventurer stores in their world. Only weapons obtained as rewards from the System showed a description. In exceptional cases, the System also showed it for weapons dropped by very high-level bosses. This was the case with the katana of one of the four "God's Elect," obtained during a level 100 quest.
"And how do we split this up?" Lucia asked slowly, still admiring the dagger.
"You are the leader." Samuele began. "Let's say you keep the dagger while we split the rest of the treasure."
"I agree." Manuele nodded.
"Me too." Sofia joined in.
Other concurring responses came from the rest of the group.
"Well, if the group is unanimous then fine." Lucia very happily accepted the dagger and got up from the ground. "Let's get this chest out before the portal closes. Then you can divide the treasures inside as you please." He said, stopping all those who were already rubbing their hands together.
It was mid-afternoon when they came out of the portal. The group parted and everyone went their separate ways, some going directly home and some having something to eat due to the excessive hunger they had accumulated in Veridale. Samuele, on the other hand, had finally reached level 20 and decided to go that same day to the Association to update his profile, despite the fact that his stomach grumbled from time to time as well.
'I hope there's not the same line as last time..." He thought, hoping not to get stuck in there for a full hour, but to finish quickly.
Arriving at the building, Samuele walked around the same corridors as when he first went there and arrived at the waiting room. His eyes lit up at the sight of the room completely empty, or nearly so. Waiting before him was only one other person. This meant that he would not be there for more than ten minutes.
When his turn came, he entered and showed his profile screen.
[WARNING!]
YOUR SCREEN WILL BE VISIBLE TO ALL OTHER AWAKENED PEOPLE IN THE VICINITY.
{PROFILE}
NAME: SAMUELE RUA LEVEL: 20
TITLE: ADVENTURER
CLASS: LIGHT MAGE
PV: 5000
PM: 500
{STATS}
STRENGTH: 23 SENSES: 18
INTELLIGENCE: 25 AGILITY: 23
VITALITY: 16 STAMINA: 17
{ABILITIES}
[PASSIVE SKILLS]
- ELEMENTAL RESISTANCE
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
- TIMELY BLESSING
- ETHEREAL BLADE
[UNIQUE SKILL]
HEIR OF LIGHT
Upon reaching level 20, Samuele had gained a new active skill, which he felt was much more useful for hand-to-hand combat.
[INFORMATION]
INFUSES HIS WEAPON WITH MANA, INCREASING ITS POWER BY 50% FOR THE DURATION OF ITS USE. CONSUMES 50 MANA POINTS PER SECOND.
Looking at the cost for use, Samuele almost choked. He reasoned that it exponentially increased the damage inflicted, though, so it didn't seem like a bad deal. He would think better of it when he found himself using it.
As for the skill itself, the System seemed to have realized that he was more of a fighter than a mage, despite his class saying otherwise, As if the System wanted to make Samuele comfortable, it gave him a skill that would help him do more damage with his sword.
The attendant pinned all the data on the computer and, when finished, turned to Samuele and spoke.
"Now that you have reached level 20, Mr. Rua, you can join a Guild. Do you already have one in mind or would you prefer to receive contracts before you decide?"
Joining a Guild was practically mandatory after passing level 20, which was the minimum required level. For this, the Association would send Adventurer data to all Guilds interested in recruiting new members. If an Adventurer had previously contracted with a Guild, the Guild would let the Association know of the officialdom. Or again, if an Adventurer wanted to join a specific Guild, through the Association he would be able to send the Guild a recruitment application. This was the specific case for Samuele.
"Yes, I would like to join the Lupi di Castiglione Guild." Affirmed Samuele, quietly. The attendant was not even surprised. And Samuele could imagine why. As one of the two most famous Italian Guilds, it was among the most coveted by Adventurers. Many may have given the same answer as Samuele, perhaps with a confident tone and smile. When the reality was, however, quite different.
"It won't be easy, Mr. Rua. Especially with the fact that you don't want it to be known around that you are a Gift. Still, I wish you success." Said the man with a small smile.
"I thank you. By the way, what will you send to the Guild for the recruitment application?" Samuele asked curiously. Usually, the recruitment application was accompanied by the file with all the Adventurer's data, statistics and skills. This served as a resume for his possible recruitment. Samuele's problem was that the unique skill, the so-called Gift, appeared in the data.
"As requested by the President, and therefore also by you, no one will come to know that you are a Gift unless you yourself decide that you are. Guilds or anyone else who requests it will be given a copy of the data that does not have that information. Only the original file, which is in our archives, contains such presence." The attendant reassured him. The man still remembered how he had refused to send Alberto Ricci, the deputy head of the Lupi di Castiglione Guild, a copy of Samuele Rua's file.
When he communicated this fact to the president, the latter sighed, not imagining that anyone would show interest in the boy so quickly. It had never happened that a Gift who wanted to remain anonymous would be eyeing someone as important as Michelangelo Rizzo. Therefore, the president made the initial mistake of not giving the file on Samuele Rua to anyone a priori. After that fact, he decided that a copy be created to be given to anyone who requested it in which the unique ability was omitted.
"I see. Well, I thank you."
"That said, I will send your application to the Guild of Lupi di Castiglione by the end of today. I wish you a good continuation of the day, Mr. Rua."
"Great, wish me luck." Samuele rose from his chair.
"There will be no need for that. Goodbye, Mr. Rua." The Guild's attention to this boy was clear. 'Once they receive the application,' the man thought, watching him leave the room, 'they will not hesitate to accept him immediately.'
Outside the office, Samuele received a call. Nor was he surprised when he saw who the sender was and answered.
"Sofia, what a surprise! I never expected you to call me!" He exclaimed in a sarcastic tone.
"Ha! Ha! You're really funny, Samuele." Sofia replied in the same tone with a mock laugh. "Are you busy tomorrow?" He asked.
"Tomorrow? No, I don't think so. Why?"
"I'm going to the Adventurers' store tomorrow afternoon. Will you come with me?"
"To the Adventurers' store? What do you have to buy?" He asked, curious.
"Well, genius, a sword maybe? The swords and shields that the Association gives out are only for the Adventurers who work there. After we become part of the Wolves Guild, the Association won't give us anything anymore. Didn't you know that?"
"No." He confirmed with extreme sincerity.
"Of course. So, are you there tomorrow?" Sofia heard noises on the other end of the phone. "But where are you? I thought you were going home."
"No, I'm going back there now. I've been at the Association to update my file."
"What?! You could have told me, so I would go with you! Now I have to go alone tomorrow."
"What did I know? I thought you wanted to go home. In any case, to make it up to you tomorrow I'm there."
Sofia huffed. "To make it up to you, you're treating me to lunch tomorrow." Before Samuele could even open his mouth to object, Sofia ended the call, which made the boy's eyes contract in annoyance.
'That's the second time this girl has hung up on me...'
END OF CHAPTER.
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As is customary to do, some calm after an Adventure. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, short as it was. If so (but even if not), please leave a comment, a review and a power stone.
See you tomorrow, same time. Bye!