5 The Worthy, Part 2

Dwalinn reached into his robes and pulled out a metal slab that was roughly the size and shape of the latest smartphone models on Earth.

"This is a status bar." He drummed his forefinger against its shiny metal surface. "Are you seriously telling me you don't have one?"

I shook my head. "I didn't have time for smartphones and apps... I was too busy training."

"Smartphones—of all the ignorant..." Dwalinn rolled his eyes at me. "…How did you track your training progress then?"

"Divah would let me know whenever I gained a new skill or level."

"Divah let you know..." he repeated in a disbelieving voice.

A vein bulged across Dwalinn's forehead while he whispered a slew of silent curses into the ether.

"That selfish, addle-brained reprobate shouldn't be allowed to train kids without oversight," he huffed.

As harsh descriptions go, they were appropriate for Divah. She wasn't the warm, coddling type, although I honestly didn't mind. After all, it was her life-and-death style of training that got me admitted into the Academy.

Dwalinn downed his chalice, filled it up with more fire wine, and then downed it again. It was a process he repeated twice more.

"You sure you want to drink that much?" My eyes drifted over to the lone window, the one spilling late afternoon light into this otherwise gloomy office. "I don't think it's happy hour yet."

"It's happy hour somewhere in the realmsverse." He chuckled. "Besides, you try leading an institution full of scoundrels sober and then see if that doesn't drive you to drink yourself under the table now and then."

"O~~okay."

As my eyes took in the dwarf—his tanned face reddening slightly from the alcohol he'd imbibed, his bulbous nose wrinkling from the stench of his breath, his emerald eyes alight with the madness common in arcane savants of his level—I couldn't help but smile. They had different vices but this dwarf reminded me of Divah, and that was a heartening thought.

After he was finished drinking his fifth chalice of fire wine, Dwalinn slid the metal slab over to me.

"This status bar's an older model... basic stuff, status system, map storage, and inventory management. None of that item recognition software or resource locator those newer bars have installed, but it's yours now," he grinned. "Happy birthday... I assume you haven't celebrated one or received any gifts since Divah took you on."

"Actually"—my hand drifted to my belt when I remembered that there was nothing strapped to it—"she does give me a new weapon to master on every birthday..."

"How," Dwalinn contemplated his next word for a long moment before he finished with, "dull... Are all your stories so damn depressing, boy?"

"Don't pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one," I repeated a line from my favorite martial arts expert.

"Sheesh," Dwalinn sighed, "you even sound like that workaholic master of yours."

I picked up the status bar which was cool to the touch and extremely light in my hand. "How do I use this?"

"First-time users are required to offer the status bar a blood sacrifice to activate it," Dwalinn explained.

Drawing blood from my thumb was easy enough. And, no sooner had I smeared blood across its metal surface when the status bar lit up with a pleasant blue glow. Then a few glowing words appeared on the surface of what was basically a fantasy version of a smartphone's screen.

[Welcome, William Wisdom.]

These words were quickly replaced by a second message.

[Please wait while the system quantifies your current status...]

Several moments later, the message was replaced by a new window with the words [STATUS] scrawled at the top.

The first lines accurately detailed my personal information.

[NAME: William 'Will' Wisdom (15)] [RACE: Human]

[LEVEL: 10] [JOB: Undetermined]

[RANK: N/A] [AFFILIATION: The Academy (Novice)]

[TITLE: [The Teenager without Fear of Death: unknown boon], [Divah's Successor: 2% increased experience gain when hunting monsters, heightened understanding that'll quicken the learning of new techniques or spells, passive ability: True Insight]]

It was weird seeing a title I coined myself displayed in my status. Even weirder was this unknown boon. I didn't have a clue what that was about.

"What level are you?" Dwalinn asked.

I tore my gaze away from the screen. "You can't see it?"

"Gods, no... That would violate your privacy. Only you can check your status unless you decide to share it with someone else."

"But didn't you want me to show it to you earlier?"

"Which is why you're going to tell me, the grandmaster, about it," he replied coolly. "So... level?"

"Ten…"

"Not bad for a new novice... No wonder you survived my Master-of-Arms," he mused out loud. "Most people who take the Crucible come unprepared and leave the proving grounds in body bags... idiots."

The next items on the list showed a quantified reflection of my health and magic power.

[HEALTH POINTS (HP): 230]

[MAGIC POINTS (MP): 400]

[FATIGUE: 25%]

"Huh, I've got more magic inside me than I realized." One of my eyebrows twitched upward. "This thing's pretty useful."

"A status bar's one of an adventurer's most important tools, Mr. Wisdom... Your master should have given you one when she took you in," Dwalinn grumbled.

Underneath HP and MP were the quantified values for my attributes.

[STRENGTH: 23] [DEXTERITY: 30] [CONSTITUTION: 23]

[INTELLIGENCE: 40] [WISDOM: 12] [WILLPOWER: 15]

"How do these stat values translate to my actual growth?" I asked.

"I don't mollycoddle the students, but just to give you an idea..." Dwalinn took another swig of his chalice. "Someone with a strength stat of five would get knocked over by a strong breeze while a being with a strength of a hundred points could punch a hole in a stone wall and not break his arm."

"But how'd I get them up to these numbers?" I pressed.

I did have a rough idea of what each attribute was for—like how dexterity was connected to my speed while intelligence was related to my magic—but learning how these stat values rose was important too. Understanding how this mechanic worked would drive my future training and shift my focus to whichever attribute needed increasing.

"You're a very gifted mage, Mr. Wisdom, which means your intelligence stat is pretty high for a novice, yes?"

"I guess..."

"And seeing as you were trained by Divah, I assume most of your physical attributes aren't slackers either?"

"My master believes that the best kind of adventurer is a well-balanced adventurer."

"Then you already know the answer to your question, don't you?" He took another sip of his chalice. He let out a loud burp before continuing. "Do not fear the elf who has practiced ten thousand spells once. Fear the elf who has practiced one spell ten thousand times."

I grinned. "You know Bruce Law?"

He grinned back. "Who doesn't?"

I mulled over Dwalinn's words and considered the implications for my growth. "So... my attributes develop based on the kind of training I pursue?"

"And training you to become the best adventurer you could be is why the Academy exists," Dwalinn stated in an uncommonly proud tone. "Assuming you survive the novice's apprentice, journeyman, expert, and master courses."

The final lines of [STATUS] were skills and spells list, and I was admittedly surprised to see all the abilities I'd learned during my time training under Divah listed here.

[ACTIVE SKILLS]

[Extra Life Lv. MAX] [Sharpshooter Lv. 1] [True Insight Lv. 2] [Mana Manipulation Lv. 1] [Draconic Blade Art Lv.1]

[PASSIVE SKILLS]

[Athlete Lv. 2] [Duelist Lv. 2] [Spellcasting Lv.2] [Arcane Adept Lv. 2] [Keen Mind Lv. 1] [Mana Recovery Lv. 2] [Weapon Mastery Lv. 2]

I tapped on the [+] symbol next to [Arcane Adept] and a pop-up appeared over the list, one that explained how this particular skill allowed me to learn spells from more than one school of magic. Most mages would consider this a rare feat as one was usually stuck with an affinity for just a single arcane art.

[SPELLS]

[Tier 1 Spells: [Power Rune (Īsaz + Kenaz)] [Firebolt] [Minor Illusion] [Magic Armor] [Elemental Weapon]]

[Tier 2 Spells: [Reversion] [Haste]]

[Tier 3 Spells: None]

[Tier 4 Spells: [Fist of Havoc]]

"Now that you've seen what you're currently capable of"—Dwalinn got off his chair and moved over to my side of the desk—"I believe it's time we get you started on finally discovering your potential."

Our surroundings tilted once again, and after a brief battle with vertigo where my fingers gripped tightly onto the armrest, I discovered that Dwalinn and I were no longer alone. A girl stood half-veiled in the shadows clinging to the far corner of the grandmaster's office.

"Hello, Ms. Lockwood." Dwalinn gestured for her to come closer. "Sorry I plucked you out of the training hall like that, but I needed a tour guide for Mr. Wisdom here."

As she stepped out of the shadows, her form revealed by the darkening orange glow filtering in from the lone window behind Dwalinn's desk, I saw the face of a beautiful elf maiden—and I couldn't help but reach for the weapon on my belt that wasn't even there.