Chapter 02 - Dungeons and Classes

Three years passed and I finally had some room to relax… the reason for that was the fact that I finally mastered the language of that world. At least when it comes to hearing, speaking, and reading.I still could only make some small progress with writing. It couldn't be helped given my small hands, it isn't because I am lazy or anything... I kid you not.'Well, I reached my first goal, but I am still severely lacking in knowledge and experience. Life experience on Earth can help, but it doesn't translate completely to a world of magic.'I closed a book and then put it on the table on the side of my bed. My room didn't change at all in the last few years, but at least it was kept clean. It was the size of a one-bedroom apartment, but it was enough for me who was a three years old boy.Although I was complaining about my knowledge, I at least learned a lot more about the world. Learning how to read by myself was a massive pain in the ass, but it had been worth the hassle. Thanks to that, I confirmed that Dhampirs were insanely rare in this world…'There is even a whole country only for half-humans in this world… but they mainly have half elves and half dwarves.'People in that world saw half-humans as lesser beings, all countries looked down on them, but they were still under the protection of the law… at least during daylight. In any case, for some odd reason, humans could copulate with most races and have offspring. The downside was that the other races had certain traits that put them way above humans like sharp senses, magic, and physical strength. Humans were just basic. Vanilla.In any case, I waited for nightfall to look for another book to read and checked through the window of my room that it was mid-afternoon. So, I had a few hours to wait. When I focused my eyes on my reflection, I actually could see my image in the mirror. That thing about vampires having no reflection didn't exist in this world. Regardless, I was three years old, but all my hair was white… since I was born, all my hair had been white and I had my Father's green eyes, so I really did stand out and not in a good way.'This combination is just too weird…'I opened the window of my room and the light of the afternoon made me dizzy for a moment. I had been trying to get used to it, but it was still tough. My parameters increased as I got older, but the debuff thanks to Minor Weakness to Sunlight was as bothersome as ever.'I guess it is impossible for me to get used to this, but I don't have any other choice. Even if I become nocturnal, I will only draw unwanted attention by walking around at night.'I could do that at home just fine because I didn't do anything suspicious and because I wanted to avoid the rest of the family, but I couldn't live there forever. The reasons for that were many… One of them was that food was only served during the day.While thinking about that, I saw the city around… it was a simple city, but it was pretty retro. The most advanced vehicles there were carriages….at least on the streets.'Oh, another one…'Carriages were the most advanced vehicles that I had seen on the ground, but now and then, an airship would appear in the sky. Thanks to that, my curiosity about the world has increased a lot. I had read a few things about the world, but my knowledge was lacking since I focused on simple books until now, but at least they taught me a bit of geography.'Bastion Empire, huh… Yeah, I can't live a normal life here.'Bastion Empire was the land on the central part of the continent where the humans were the leaders. Some travelers from other species came and went, but they only did so for work and for a very short time. Just like in the other countries, those who weren't born there were looked down on by the inhabitants.Speaking of which, I finally learned the name of my father… I only saw him a couple of times in the last few years, so it made sense. His name was… Rayner Dawnshield and he was also a Marquis, when it comes to influence, he was one of the top 10 in the country and he was also pretty valued by the imperial family.When it comes to military might, he was even more impressive… I heard that he was in the top five. Or so the books said anyway… thanks to his skills and knowledge, his family went up from being just a family of a baron to a family of a Marquis in two decades.'A war hero that made the Bastion empire annex a lot of lands… it will be tough to live under the shadow of someone like that.'Eventually, night came and I finally had the chance to leave my room… it was dinner time and the family was eating together. Only Rayner and I weren't there, my dinner would be brought to my room later, so I headed to the library with light steps.After I put the book in its right place, I looked around the library… for a muscle-head, my father had a lot of books, but most of them were insanely old. Our ancestors liked to store knowledge, they were smart enough to realize the importance of doing so. I was grateful to them since it made me learn a lot by myself, even how to read.'I guess I need to research something more concrete about the rules of this world… anything related to the system will do.'Just asking would be faster, but since everyone treated me like air, I decided not to entertain them. I found some books that could mention the system, their titles were: class combinations and Tricks to Evolve Them, Labyrinths and Classes, and basic skills of each Class… they all seemed pretty interesting, but they were at the top of the shelves. There were no chairs around that I could use to reach them.'I believe that I have grown a bit more than three years olds usually do, but I am still short… at the same time, I don't want to let people know that I have been here.'I would be satisfied in reading about magic too, but we were a family of muscle-heads, so I didn't find any. Or maybe they couldn't be obtained that easily. In any case, I had to hurry up… dinner wouldn't last for long.After scanning the library once more, I found a weird book in the corner of a shelf… it didn't seem like the other ones since it was old and the cover was damaged from overuse. There was no title on it either… when I grabbed it, I soon realized that it was a diary of some sort. Those are pretty rare to find, warrior types usually would think that this was a girly thing to do. I was of the belief that they can help store some important ideas for the future.'Written by Albert Dawnshield… I didn't hear anyone mentioning this name here. An ancestor, perhaps?'I skimmed through the pages a bit and soon opened my eyes wide… that was a pretty interesting book, so I soon returned to my room. I didn't know when my father would return, so I had to read that as soon as possible since he definitely would notice that the book wasn't in the library.The book was written in the first person like a proper diary and the writer didn't hesitate to share his thoughts, even though it was pretty obvious that someone would find his diary and then learn of his thoughts.'Tomorrow, I become ten years old and I will head to the dungeon with Father. Lately, his sermons about how I must become a warrior have been getting even longer. I can understand that I carry the weight of the family's name as the only male heir, but I feel pressured by it. He became a baron thanks to his accomplishments on the battlefield and he wants me to follow in his footsteps and even surpass him one day and elevate the family's name. I am not sure I can live up to his expectations… I don't like physical training, reading about magic is a lot more interesting. Still, I can imagine him banishing me from the family if I make that choice.'The writer continued bitching for a while longer, but I could tell that he was complaining for a good reason… letting others decide your fate and path was always a bothersome thing. Still, I ignored his feelings and focused on his words. He mentioned heading to a dungeon to become a warrior… could it be that there was some sort of trial in the dungeon and only those who pass them can become warriors? I read a few more pages and soon learned the truth.'I completed the first floor thanks to my Father's help and obtained the warrior class… I feared that he would leave me there alone with the monsters if I chose the mage class, even the archer class wasn't a real option. He told me that the town of Dawnshield is expanding thanks to the fact that we became a family of nobles and that grants some benefits for the population, so we need to keep working to fulfill our duty. I know that I benefitted a lot from this title, but can I at least contribute in a way of my own choosing?'I knew that we were in the Dawnshield city… but before, it was a town that expanded until became a city. We were also in the territory of the Dawnshield house, the third largest in the Bastion empire. So, it seemed that there was a dungeon nearby and those who completed the first floor of the dungeon had the chance to choose a class.This confirms things… the way to obtain classes was by heading into dungeons. While reading the diary, I soon found a few more interesting things.'Thanks to obtaining the class, training has become harsher than usual… I am becoming a bit more sturdy thanks to it, but every day the training gets harsher to strengthen my class. It is never-ending… after every training session, my hands are covered in blood.'"Come on, man… I know that you are a kid, but less bitching, please."Thump, thump!I heard a loud knock on my door and I almost had a heart attack, I got too absorbed in the book, so I didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Fortunately, I didn't talk that loudly.While thinking that I should train myself to mutter silently my own thoughts, I opened the door and then found my dinner in a place in front of the door. At least, the food was still warm and while it was the leftover of the dinner of the rest of the family, they ate well.'Better than let it go to waste… anyway, do they think that I won't recall this treatment?'That question soon vanished from my head since I began to eat while reading the diary. Before long, Albert stopped bitching all that much and became a man of few words. He was still writing in his diary every week, but he didn't write that much. Fortunately, he wrote the important stuff.'Dungeons are structures that can have up to ten floors… dungeons with a single floor are of the fiendish type. They spawn simple monsters like goblins and slimes. Up to ten floors are of the serpentine type and their variety increases a bit. The dungeon in the city is of the chimeric type, it has twenty floors and at that point in time, it is called a labyrinth. While those places are dangerous, they offer classes as rewards for every ten levels. However, people can also obtain non-combat classes like Scribe and Merchant, but the ones who offer combat classes are better, but they are mainly under the control of those in power, in the Bastion Empire, they are under the control of nobles.'That explained why one of my elder brothers one day suddenly returned a lot stronger than before. I saw him training years ago and even using a skill, they also break their wooden swords pretty often and that showed how important classes were in that world. Things were becoming interesting, but troublesome too since all of my elder brothers chose the warrior class. It was obvious that I wouldn't have a choice in the matter... I had to think of a solution to this.