Chapter 3: Book Time

Setting off towards the town below the manse, Frank was of the mind to head off in search of a library to try and glean any knowledge he could about his class. His stomach had other ideas for him though. It roared in protest as he walked past stalls selling foodstuffs. He approached one that had kabobs and smiled at the vendor.

The vendor offered a warm smile in return, "What can I do for you lad? Interested in some of my kabobs?" Frank nodded, "Yes, please. How much?" The man held up two fingers and Frank tried to hide his internal panic.

He crouched down and pretended to tie his shoes while he grabbed two of the silver coins. He stood up and offered one first to see his reaction. Thankfully, the man smiled. "You're lucky, I have just enough change."

Taking the kabob he was handed, Frank waited for his change of eight or possibly 80 copper coins and took a bite of the meat. He was glad it tasted like chicken, it was a little tangy with the perfect amount of salt. Before the man could even gather the change, Frank had already devoured the meat and a few veggies that accompanied the meat.

With a quick thanks, Frank took his coppers and added them to his pouch. It was a small enough amount he could afford to lose. Getting the eight copper allowed Frank to make an educated guess on how much money he really had on his person. As he reasoned that the 21 silver he initially got was worth two gold and a silver, a notification sounded and captured Frank's attention.

[[Deduction lvl. 1] acquired]

Instantly Frank's mind began to churn with thoughts, "I just earned a skill. That means I can probably get skills and maybe even stats from my actions?" As if to prove his point Frank was greeted with another notification.

[Wisdom is increased by +1]

Frank stopped in his tracks and fought back a tear, he smiled ear to ear and moved with renewed vigor, practically forgetting the insults he was the subject of, almost. With a quick few questions asked to random passersby and a five copper entrance fee, Frank found himself in a library.

It took him about an hour, but eventually he managed to find two books of interest. They were in the class section and oddly enough the books were written by the same person. The first was titled 'Guide to Mana Crafters' and the other 'Don't be an Artificer.'

Truthfully he wanted to disregard what the second book said but he was interested in what people in this world thought of Artificers if only to explain the treatment he was receiving. The first book, 'Guide to Mana Crafters' detailed almost exactly what Frank thought was an [Artificer]. [Mana Crafters] used magic to make technology the likes the world had never seen. They were the reason for the street lights, something Frank had not even noticed. Not only that, they had also invented most if not all magic items from swords that caught fire to bags of holding.

Frank was starting to get a little scared that his class was as useless as everyone made it out to be, but he held out hope as he read the next book. Instantly he realized why people hated it. The book detailed how the author had tried out the class initially but could not figure out how to use the skills to create items. Not only that, but it seemed as if the class required an understanding of concepts that were widely disregarded.

The few mentions of atoms, the science behind chemical reactions instantly gave Frank ideas on the mindset of [Mana Crafters]. From what he had read mana crafters used magic as a wonder solution for everything. They wanted a sword that caught fire? Apply some sort of spell to the blade and it ignites.

It seemed like an inferior version of [Artificer] to Frank, and perhaps it was because he was from a world where the words used in this book were taught at school but Frank was filled with pride. He would take this 'useless' class to new heights.

Armed with his basic highschool and college knowledge on science, Frank would apply logic and the scientific method to all of his works and skills. Though, with the similarities in the classes Frank guessed he could learn from a [Mana Crafter] and benefit much the same as a real [Mana Crafter] would.

To test his theory, Frank left the library and headed towards a building he hoped existed. It thankfully was easier to find than he would have expected. The second largest building in the town was exactly like he had hoped. A big sign outfront read 'Adventurer's Guild' and it brought a smile to Frank's lips.

With a bit of trepidation, he entered through the front door and was greeted with the sight of people dressed in all sorts of different garbs. There were people in full armor, leather, robes and even some people barely dressed at all with giant axes and swords on their back.

"Finally! The Fantasy I wanted." Frank inwardly cheered at the sight and made his way to the front desk. Not only was he going to register, he was also going to see if he could request a teacher, some adventurer guilds had them, so he held out a bit of hope.

With renewed purpose, Frank moved to the back of the shortest line and waited his turn. Luckily it didn't take long for him to move to the counter where behind he was welcomed by a rather lanky pale individual. He had pointed ears and leaf green hair. "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild! You look like a new face, how may I help you today? Interested in registering or submitting a quest?"

All of the friendly people in town felt like a breath of fresh air, and it brought a smile to Frank's face. "Ah, technically both? Well, I'm not sure the second one is a quest but could we start with getting me registered first?"

The elf(?) smiled and nodded. He reached under the counter and pulled out a clipboard with a form. Frank took a quick glance at it and noticed he could not understand a single word, as soon as he blinked though the words changed to look like English. "Weird." Frank thought it was interesting but pushed the matter aside to listen to the man.

"Well then, on behalf of the guild I would like to give you a warm welcome. I will be your designated manager. My name is Aslef and you are?" He offered a warm smile, a genuine one if his eyes were any indication. "Frank, nice to meet you, Aslef." Quickly responding and taking the clipboard, Frank began to quickly fill out details as Aslef explained each section.

"The first part is more personal information. All we need to know is your type of class, combat or crafting. The rest of this section is optional. The second section is for references, also optional. Technically all you need is your name and to pay the fee of three silver. It covers the cost of your identification honestly so it's well worth the price since you can use it in place of your regular identification."

Frank nodded and filled out just his name, he glanced at the rest and realized that since he wasn't from here anything he put would be a lie or something that would give his status away. "Uh here you go, just my name and here." Frank fished out three silver from his socks and placed them on the counter.

Like a true customer service representative, Aslef handled everything with a smile on his face. He took the silver and quickly moved to the back with the clipboard and form. A few minutes later he returned with a copper dog tag.

"This is it." He bowed slightly and offered it. Frank took it and glanced at it. It looked like copper, but felt a degree sturdier than copper usually was for this thickness, it also had what looked like small circuits on the back and with a bit of squinting he realized they were runes.

Frank hung the tag around his neck and proceeded with his second objective. "So Aslef, about that second matter." Aslef nodded for him to continue, his attention solely on Frank. "I was looking for a trainer of sorts, a [Mana Crafter] to be exact. Do you guys offer trainers?"

Aslef took a moment to think and held up a finger, "One moment please." He turned and once again entered the back. Much quicker than before, he returned with a book. He placed it on the counter and explained, "So he don't currently have any instructors for [Mana Crafter] but we do have a book for [Artificers] it's not really the same but the basics are good enough for any [Mana Crafter] if you disregard all of the nonsense and it is much cheaper than a [Mana Crafter] book or instructor. This one is only 10 silver."

Frank perked up at that. It was almost exactly what he needed, fortunately it seemed God had spared him some plot armor. Frank quickly gathered the required coinage and placed it on the counter. He tried not to look eager but his actions betrayed him, Aslef merely giggled in response.

"Thank you so much man, you're the best! I'll be back later hopefully! Take care dude, seriously, you're a lifesaver." Frank left the line with the book wanting to read it, as he left he continued to sing praises for Aslef and once he was out the door he rushed to the nearest inn.

Things were finally turning up Frank.