A Missing Miss
"Cecelia... Who are you to be asking?" A ginger-haired dwarven man questioned me, a severe expression on his face.
I was standing on the small narrow back alley off one of the many labyrinthine sidestreets of the production district in the City of Regrad. Beneath my feet lay the compacted dirt of the well-worn alley. It was early in the morning, so not much foot traffic was in the area, and in this particular alley stood just myself and Luna.
I was wearing my adventuring outfit, a set of hardened leather armour over top of a set of clothing consisting of a mottled grey sleeveless, hooded shirt and a matching pair of pants. I had each of my gauntlets clipped to either side of my waist, the hardened metallic surface glinting in the early morning sun. Luna was covered in a dark grey travelling cloak. It covered her so that her beastman features were not apparent, though it was not so amorphous that you would be unable to tell she was a woman.
She had a large leather backpack on her back covered in dozens of straps and buckles holding the many pockets closed. Inside the multitude of compartments lay a selection of everyday adventuring goods. However, this bag was just a decoy for my ability to store items in a pocket dimension.
Our appearance seemed to trouble the man standing in front of us, as he was the only person present in the small workshop in front of which we stood. The workshop had a large rolling door that the tenant had opened earlier this morning for the person working inside to have ventilation for their craft. The placard above the door read, "Stoutdraft's Dwarven Smited Goods." I was impressed by the boldness of the statement of their non-human status, considering the human-supremacy movement that was currently in full swing in the human land.
Now, looking at the unbridled hostility of the dwarven man in front of me, I could tell that they had not been unaffected by the current affairs. His hand, which was holding a smithing hammer, reflected his concern around my reason for the visit. His knuckles were white as he seemed to be readying his body to defend himself.
I raised my hands with my palms out to show my unarmed state as I explained my purpose. "I am an adventurer with the Adventurer's Guild, and I come seeking Ms. Stoutdraft for the delivery of a letter of introduction for a quest." At this point, I showed the sealed letter for Cecelia and held out the other unsealed letter that Guildmaster Briggs had given to me. This letter was signed and stamped by the Guild and explained the goals of my quest. In addition, it helped show guards and others that I was working for the Guild.
Apprehensively, he reached out and took the folded paper from my hands. As he unfolded the paper and read through the contents, I took a look at the HUD to see his stats. His name is Roydon Stoutdraft. I guess he must be a family member of hers. Wait, he is just over a hundred years old? Dang, I wouldn't have put him past forty. I checked the entry on Dwarves, where it said they live for two to three hundred years.
As Roydon finished scanning through the letter, I could see him visibly relax. After placing down the hammer on the anvil, he turned towards me, his eyes locking onto my own. "My name is Roydon. Cecelia is my adorable niece. Is it true that you Adventuring types will do what is necessary to complete your quest and that if the Guild assigned the task, they would cover any extra cost associated with a more difficult than expected quest?"
That is a very specific question. But I think I can see where this is going... She must have gotten herself into some type of trouble. If it indebts her to us, that will only help get Luna's slave mark removed. "Yep, that's pretty much how it is. Did something happen?"
"I-I'm not too sure..." He said, guilt clear in his eyes. "She said she was going to check the nearby dungeons in the hills for lost knowledge. I thought she was young and delusional... But after she had been gone for a week, I read her research notes, and she genuinely seems to have found the resting place of a clan of Runesmithing Dwarves. I should have gone with her, but I didn't pay attention."
Looking back up at me, balling his fists together, he spoke in a much firmer tone, "Please, find the girl. She is smart and strong, so she is likely still alive, but she might have gotten stuck below the old dungeons. If you bring her back to me, I will craft something for you on top of whatever the Guild gives you. It will be a masterpiece, I swear.
Patting the man on the shoulders, I promised him we would set out immediately. I took out a map of the city and its surroundings and got him to show me where it was that she had gone. It was a small set of hills just to the west of the city, opposite the direction we had come.
Luna and I headed back to the Guild. We needed to let Io and the Guildmaster know that we would be leaving town since the specifics of our quest had changed. Io provided us with directions and a few documents about the ruins. After thanking her for the help, Luna headed to the parking area to retrieve our wagon while I swung by the hotel to let them know that we would potentially not return this evening due to our quest.
After Luna picked me up in front of the hotel, we made our way to the west side of the inner city. The city's architects had made the trip easy thanks to the roadway that ran around the inside of the wall. The map had shown the path to the ruins was more or less a straight shot out through the west gates. Halfway, about an hour and a half by horse, between the City of Regrad and the westernmost coastline of the Human Empire lay a set of ancient mountains. No longer mountains, they had been weathered down by the forces of nature for millennia, so now they more resembled large rolling hills.
I showed the guards our papers and the back of the wagon to show we had no trade goods for which we would have to pay export tax. However, we had a few bags of sundries and supplies for adventuring in the back to prevent suspicions around all the supplies I had in my Storage. Once we had left the city and were trundling down the road, I told Luna that I would use my Gift to look into something. "Sounds good!" I took her hand as she only needed one for the reins.
With her hand in mine, I closed my eyes, and my HUD appeared before my eyes. For the next hour, I read through and compared the classes I had available to choose from, taking into account my abilities and skills as a Magebreaker and Adventurer. I also needed to figure out how Luna's Class skills would fit with my new abilities.
The most crucial bit of information I divined from the glossary of the System was that while I had finally unlocked the ability to get a new Class and the System said I could choose one, it was not free of charge. For example, taking a Basic class would cost me 200AP, Intermediate would be 400AP or Advanced at a staggering 800AP.
I luckily had over 1000AP, so I would be able to not only get an Advanced Class but I would also be able to get a handful of Level 5 skills right off the bat. After making my final decision and locking in my Class and Skill purchases, A massive surge of raw knowledge and ability suffused my brain. While my mind gained new knowledge, my body surged from the Class-specialization process as the System's energy strengthened my body's muscles to support my new Class skills. I felt it in my body as I gained new muscle memory and new calluses formed on my hands and feet.
When this happened the first time with the Magbreaker Class, I had not noticed the fine details of the changes. Perhaps it was because I did not gain as many skills all at one time, that I was still overwhelmed by the isekai-like scenario or that I was at a much lower level at the time.
Breaking from my reverie, I looked to Luna. She had her eyes on me and rubbed the back of my hand she held with her thumb. She had noticed the changes going on inside my body. "I... I gained a new class." With those few words, she nodded.
"The gods continue to smile upon you."
Bewildered by the ease of her acceptance and the knowing smile on her face, I paused for a second. Then, after recovering, I began explaining my new Class and abilities to her. I also tested out the speed at which I could access and withdraw items from my Storage. It seemed that it would keep up with me and however fast I could think and manipulate it. Thankfully the boost to my abilities by my new Class allowed me to process even faster than before.
As I outlined my strengths and weaknesses, the green hills we had been looking for appeared before us. We would arrive there soon.
As I glanced at the road in front of us, I noticed a fresh set of wheeled tracks headed off the main road towards the ruins. I pointed them out to Luna, and she directed the horses to follow them. We may not be the only ones looking for the dwarf.