Novice Village Part 4

"System I choose the Magus of Shadow and War."

<Beep! The user has attained the Class quest "Magus of Shadow and War."< p>

Quest completion requires the following:

Consume 100 Iron XP Orbs. 0/100 (note User will not receive experience from consuming these XP Orbs.)

Acquire a Shadow Crystal. 0/1

Drain the Shadows from ten Iron creatures into the Shadow Crystal while they are still living. 0/10

Draven walked to a chair and nearly fell into it as he sighed in despair. "What the hell is a Shadow Crystal and where am I going to find one?" He muttered under his breath.

<Beep! Shadow Crystals can be looted from creatures who are either shadows in nature or specialized Magic. Such typically found caves, mines, other dark narrow spaces.< p>

Draven found himself in a slightly better mood as he at least knew where to look for the crystal. Draven walked back to the terminal and clicked on the vendor. He looked at all the pearls he wasn't going to need anymore and sold them all except for the ones he could use in enchanting. Given that each White Pearl was worth 1 Gold and 5 silver and each Black Pearl was worth 3 gold. Draven made 495 gold selling useless pearls alone. He then sold the goblin's daggers, and War Clubs he accumulated over the past month which totaled another 290 gold and 3 silver Draven now had a total of 785 Gold 3 Silver, and 21 Copper. He felt pretty Rich at this point. After buying a new Novice leather chest piece for 5 silver Draven left the terminal. "Ok, Dad we're done here can you take me to the profession Terminals?" James nodded and brought him across the street from the Adventurers guild, there were many stalls of various professions all lined up. Each Profession cost 1 gold and Draven grabbed them all as to his surprise he was not limited to 2 professions like the game. After 20 minutes of buying the professions and needed equipment Draven learned the following professions.

- Blacksmithing

- Tailoring

- Enchanting

- Leatherworking

- Alchemy

- Jewel crafting

- Carving

- Cooking

- Woodworking

- Engineering

Draven noticed again many similarities to the game but there were still differences as well. For example, blacksmithing included the ability to mine whereas in the game that was a separate profession the same with herbalism which was included with alchemy. Woodworking was also new and some other professions were missing from the game. Draven also bought many of the crafting equipment besides the tools such as an anvil and forge he didn't have to worry about the weight as once it was in his inventory it didn't matter. As soon as he paid the fees all the information regarding the professions was injected into his mind and after learning all of them he needed to sit down for a few minutes to recover from his massive headache.

After gaining all that knowledge Draven got upset with himself as he realized many of the plants he had walked past during his time in the forest were used in alchemy had he picked them up he could start leveling up right now. Thankfully unlike the game you learned all patterns, blueprints, and recipes leading up to the next rank of the profession so Draven did not have to constantly come back to the terminal while leveling up those skills. For a moment Draven was beginning to regret deciding to power level all the villagers as he wanted to start working on his class quest and professions but after thinking back on all the kids he put those thoughts away. If he didn't at least try to help he knew it would cause him to have trouble sleeping at night.

Draven looked over to his father, "I'm all good to go anything you need to get done before we head over to the training grounds?" Draven asked. "Nope I already took care of all my business when I decided to leave this place this morning," James replied. Draven asked him to lead the way and after a few minutes navigating through the streets, they were at the southern exit of the village leading towards the forest. The distance between the first and second barrier was much larger here the length was at least that of a football field and as wide as 4 football fields before the gap started to get closer again. To Draven's surprise, there was already a large group of people ready to go. It seemed every child in the village was here as well as many men and women. Even some Orb Hunters were present.

"OK Dad, your time to shine you decide who is allowed to participate I'm not power-leveling people that aren't worth it so it's best to decide now who is getting rejected. James nodded in understanding, they had already discussed that anyone known to have a bad character was not going to be trusted. James scanned the crowd to see who was all present. He wasn't on speaking terms with everyone but many of the Orb Hunters had a reputation. James laid eyes on one person wearing a hooded robe that covered his face and started with him. "Could you please remove your hood? I'd like to know who the people are I'm dealing with." James requested the hooded man. The man took a few moments until he reluctantly obliged and revealed himself to be none other than Kyle Raymond the alchemist merchant.

"You have got to be kidding me!" James said not knowing if he should laugh at the situation or be mad that Kyle had the balls to show up there. "Before you say no I just want to apologize about…" James cut him off mid-sentence with a clear No. "Grab your shit and leave you're not getting a free ride," James stated as a matter of fact and went on to look at the other people. "Who died and made you the boss?" Kyle said yelling at James" I want to get out of here too do you know how hard it is to live in this town if you're not an Orb Hunter? I have to degrade myself every day just to make a deal with someone to level up my alchemy and earn money that way.

Had Draven not read the note his dad left on the board in the adventures guild he would probably be willing to give the guy a break but he pissed my dad off so sucks to be him. "If i can hit level 5 I will have access to a lot of herbs I can be useful with potions the man pleaded. "Without looking at the man James simply replied, "I said no, If you want orbs go get them yourself no one will stop you." James continued to look through the rest of the people present. Kyle's face was turning red he walked a few steps away pulled out a glass vial and threw it towards James. Draven saw all of this clearly and activated the lightning seals in his legs and in an instant, he stood behind his father and caught the vial. According to his mystic eyes, this was a vial of Poison Acid It wouldn't have caused too much damage but his dad would need an antidote and Draven wasn't sure his dad's skin would heal from the burns "That is some nasty stuff Kyle is throwing around." Draven thought.

Everyone in the clearing was staring at Draven wide-eyed as to them it seemed Draven had teleported to his father their eyes couldn't keep up with his speed. "Keep checking out the rest I'll take care of him," Draven told his father as he walked over to Kyle. "Stay where you are! If you hurt me you will get teleported away we are still inside the village! Kyle shouted pointing a finger at Draven. Draven laughed yea I read the rules on not hurting anyone but it didn't say you couldn't drag someone away it just simply says you can't severely injure other people in the village." Draven said with a wide grin. I can't believe none of you thought of this." Draven continued now laughing as he got closer and closer to Kyle.

Kyle realized what Draven was planning to do and panic started to set in. Kyle lunged towards the children and grabbed a small boy, and held a knife to his throat. "You care about these brats right?" Kyle said with a grin "Don't try anything funny this dagger is coated in the strongest poison I can make if I simply scratch him he is going to die within minutes." Draven stopped his advance. "What happened to the no attacking rule?" Draven said with a grin thinking he was bluffing. "You can get away with a lot of minor things if simply scratching someone caused you to get teleported half of the village would be gone." He said with a smirk. "Afterward it's the poison that is killing him and not me." Draven's grin disappeared immediately "You would kill an innocent child to save your own skin? I was initially planning on just scaring you a bit but if you don't let that kid go I will feed you to a goblin! This is your last chance if you let the kid go you can walk away." Draven said as calmly as he possibly could even though his blood was starting to boil.

"Give me enough orbs to level up to 5 so I can leave the village. Sure thing Draven said as he tossed him a novice veteran orb. That one alone should be enough as it is from a creature above level 5. Kyle immediately gulped it down. I can feel it I'm stronger he said while laughing crazily. Kyle then began to drag the boy with him towards the gate and Draven followed suit. Kyle made sure to keep the dagger pressed against the child's neck as they continued to walk. I'll let the boy go once I pass the Village barrier proving I'm level 5 he said. Draven simply kept walking looking for an opportunity to free the kid but he didn't want to risk it. After finally reaching the Gate where Draven had met his father Kyle stretched his hand out and it passed through.

Your level 5 as promised now let him go and you can leave and we are done I won't follow you. "As if I'll believe that!" He shouted. If you care so much about this useless brat then waste your time taking him to a medical pod." Kyle yelled as he pricked the boy's shoulder and began to run. "Dammit!" Draven cursed as he rushed over to the boy. He didn't know any spell that could cure poisons yet but he did think of a way to pull poison out of the wound. Draven created an orb of water placed it on the boy's shoulder and forced the water to pressurize around his shoulder as soon as Draven saw blood flowing from the shoulder into the water orb he stopped. That should be good enough but Draven didn't want to risk it.

Seeing the boy already unconscious Draven quickly charged the lightning runes in his legs and launched towards the training grounds. He was there within seconds. "Dad he is poisoned i can get him to a med pod in time but I don't know where it is! Draven shouted. "It's behind the adventurer's guild small white hut with a sign that says healing on it." James yelled back. Draven filled the Runes in his legs with mana again as he got ready to go at full speed.

Draven released the lightning magic in his legs and with great force launched himself forward towards the guild house. Within 30 seconds he was already there dashing through the streets he quickly maneuvered to the back of the guild house doing his best to not lose his footing and tumble to the ground. Going at that speed was still difficult to control but he was getting the hang of it. He quickly found the hut and ran to the terminal he placed the kid into the pod and pressed start scan on the terminal.

<Beep! Poison has been detected an antidote will be administered. Please stand by.< p>

Antidote has been given, Patient's vitals are stable.

Draven breathed out in relief. "I'll come back for you kid but first I need to deal with that jackass. Draven rushed back to the gate and started running around the immediate area but there was no sign of Kyle it was as if he vanished. Not wanting to waste his time continuing the search he decided to go back chances are Kyle would die by himself out there anyway. Draven made his back to the training grounds and spoke with James who was settling an argument with another Orb Hunter. As he approached the conversation ended. "The kid is safe but Kyle got away. If we see him again he is to be killed on sight. Draven said loud enough for everyone to hear." Draven was pissed and he knows how to hold a grudge.

Many who heard this gasped and people started gossiping among themselves in whispers. With Dravens amazing hearing he was able to make out most of it. He just did what he had to do they weren't going to give him any orbs." One man whispered to a friend. "All he did was threaten that beggar brat." A woman muttered. Does anyone think that killing him might be too harsh? Draven asked the crowd. He could see many nod their heads.

"That man had no issues killing a child, and to get what he wanted he would not have an issue killing any of you either. If that were any of you on death's door would you still think me killing him would be too harsh? No, I believe all of you would have been grateful to me for taking revenge on your behalf. Or is it because it happened to some brat as many of you like to call the children in this village? Which makes it seem like it's no big deal. I mean that guy was an alchemist he was more valuable than some kid that can't even help himself right?" Draven paused for a moment before he continued

"Wrong! If any of you were having thoughts like that either leave or get your head out of your ass. That guy was level 1 I could level a 7-year-old's alchemy profession to be higher than his was in a day. Luckily this time I was able to save that boy in fact could you head to the Healing hut and bring him back here I'm sure he's a bit light-headed and I don't want him to miss out" Draven said pointing to a girl with bird wings she nodded and flew away. Draven readdressed the crowd "Make no mistake we are fighting for our survival here but that does not mean we should lose our humanity in the process. As soon as we stop acting like humans we will become the monsters we are struggling to survive against." Draven said as James stood next to him. "I'll take it from here son," he said. Draven was fine with that he needed to calm down, Draven couldn't believe how so many people could lose all sense of morality like this within a month. His Father was better suited for pep talks and Draven was glad to be done talking.

"What my son is trying to say is that we protect our own that child is one of us and we will not tolerate anyone who wishes to do him harm. We are all in this together changes need to be made, most of you have seen that the way things are currently being done does not work. Too many people are suffering and not enough people are contributing. Our plan is to not only survive but to flourish and thrive to not only plan for today but for tomorrow as well. If we come together and follow rules that are fair to everyone not only to those in power we can accomplish such a goal. But first, we need to separate ourselves from the trash that has ignored, abused, and broken you down into thinking you are a tool to be used to vent their anger, satisfy their lust, and complete their errands and choirs. The strength the orb hunters have gained is nothing compared to the strength we will have in the future My son if he so wished could singlehandedly wipe out all of the orb hunters in this village myself included and he is only 5 levels higher than me, how wide will the gap be at level 20 or 30?" If we allow such little power to corrupt us to this degree then humanity will have no chance of surviving. We need to use our newfound strength to build ourselves up and not to push others down." James said proudly as his hair flowed in the wind he looked like a majestic king giving a speech to his subordinates.

Many were shaking their heads and some even looked at the children and then hung their heads low in shame. "I can't promise things are going to be the same as they were before we woke up here and it never will be the same. This world we live in is full of monsters and danger, but I promise that we will create a place where people can live, work, and survive together." Many began to stand up straighter and a newfound resolve could be seen in the eyes of everyone including the children. "Will we really be able to get strong enough to leave?" A young girl around Draven's age asked. She had White fur on her shoulders and legs, red eyes, and even a fluffy tail. Like most of the kids and teens, she was malnourished and you could see the skin on her face sink inwards. But even in this state she was very pretty.

Seeing her Draven nearly sprang to action to take over again "That's where I come in" Draven said a bit flustered. "it's going to take all night but I will be hunting everything here quickly and distribute the XP orbs. After everyone is level 3 I will bring more monsters of a low level to all of you to kill alone so that you all can gain confidence in protecting yourselves with your own power. We will continue this until everyone here is level 5. Anyone who doesn't have a class or their professions picked out go now and get that done just be sure to be back here before nightfall if anyone doesn't have money for a profession talk to my dad we will fund at least 1 profession. But only to those who do not have a single gold on their ID card." James's forehead began to sweat. "Draven I don't have that kind of money…" He whispered into Draven's ear. Draven pulled out his ID Card and transferred 400 gold over.

"That should be enough," Draven said nonchalantly. "Everyone looked at Draven in shock. "You really think you can get all of us to level 5 today?" One of the orb hunters cried out. We have been here for a month diligently killing out here and we are only level 3!" The Beastman had asked. "Not to worry the main problem is the amount of monsters that come into the training grounds. They are mostly all level 1 so I can imagine that it takes quite a lot of them to level up to 5 and once they are gone it will take a while for others to come here again. But I can leave the barrier and bring as many as I want and whatever level I want so long it's not higher than level 5 over here." Draven replied. The man simply nodded. "I will leave it to you then." He said earnestly.

"Well time to get to work, Dad you stay here and watch out for uninvited guests and explain what's going on to any newcomers that wish to join however after everyone is level 3 I won't accept anyone else I don't want to start the process all over again," Draven said while turning to the crowd one last time before leaving. "If any of you have a friend that is on the fence about coming and you wish for them to change their mind now is the time to fetch them I'll be gone for a few hours gathering Orbs. Draven shouted out for everyone to hear as he turned to the few skillful people who showed up. "Orb hunters fall in line with my Dad and help protect them until I come back. James and the other Orb Hunters nodded in agreement. Draven then dashed through both barriers and into the forest.