New Visitor

Chapter 35: New Visitor

/It has puzzled many people before how the system handles these "stats", hasn't it? What decides your stats at birth? How are they influenced by your parents? How do they grow as one becomes older? How are they influenced by our actions and training, and how does this influence the stat bonuses we receive upon levelling up? What even is experience granted for?

Well, today I will try my best to clear most of these questions up. Not the last one about experience however, as that is another topic for another time. In the respective chapters for each stat I will go into much more detail on what they influence, but for now, only growth will be discussed.

So, the stats one has at birth are determined by a myriad of factors, although many of them come back to one's parents. If one's parents had high stats, one tends to inherit higher stats. Also, there is a stat minimum for every evolutionary stage, colloquially named tiers. Humans, for example, are tier 3. The third evolutionary stage. Similarly, other tier 3 species would be bears, wolves, etc.

These tiers also go into the negative for things such as bugs, but no matter. Human stats are essentially partially dependant on one's parents. Any living thing is born as the average tier of their parents. If a human has a child with a tier 5 species, the child will be tier 4. If the human has extraordinary stats from being at the very top of their tier however, the child can be borne with higher stats than one would normally assume them to have.

However, the stats one has at their birth will still be extremely low compared to what one may reach in the future. For such a thing, there are growth stages, describing maturity. There are more of these the higher in tier one rises. Again, taking humans as examples, some stages are baby, toddler, kid, juvenile, adolescent, and so on.

Some species have very few growth stages, such as insects. The higher ones tier, the more growth stages one has on average. If one evolves, they can even fall back to immaturity, as their lifespan may increase and they might no longer be considered adults.

Then again, as one grows past the adult stage, stats can begin to decline as one becomes old. Essentially, while these growth stages are marked out, they are usually rough estimates, and stats can simply change over time.

These stat changes are dependant heavily on species. Humans gain a lot of Intelligence in their toddler stage, and much more dexterity in their kid stage, for example. These increases in stats can be heavily augmented by physical or mental exercises, where supporting the stat growth distribution of one's stage can lead to much larger increases than usual.

However, this growth of individual stats is also highly based on the individual, and the effort they put in. In general, some people simply have different talents, which can influence which stats their growth stages are most likely to increase. However, as the system is truly fair, everyone's talent is usually perfectly equal, unless somehow children come to be with the rare <Talent> Skill, though that is a topic for another time.

Lastly, we gain stat bonuses through levelling up and evolving by itself. These are, of course, influenced by what stats we use. If one is especially lucky before a level up, one can increase their Luck. If one does a lot of heavy lifting, Strength will naturally receive more bonuses. The general amount of points granted on every level can also vary, albeit only slightly, depending on tier, species, method of experience acquisition, and many other factors.

In general, the system will support people's choices, by providing bonuses to the stats they use the most./

The introduction to "Statistics of life", by Ximena Statica, a pioneer in statistical analysis of the system.

- - - - - -

Iris was by Lucia's side as usual, watching as her lady was currently sipping on some tea. Today, the Merchants' Guild had sent one of their much more pleasant members, a middle aged woman by the name of Nira. She had greying hair, tied together in a bun behind her head, and wore an ash coloured fur coat over the typical gilded uniform.

Her eyes were steely, albeit with a hint of blue in them, and her thin lips curved into a soft smile, though she had few laugh lines on her face. Nira was a rather serious woman, with little tolerance for the usual tip-toeing many people enjoyed so much in higher circles, and thus, she simply bided her time as she sipped the chilled tea Lucia had shared with her.

It was well made. Green tea, with a hint of peach and just enough sugar to make one crave another sip. She nodded in approval to Iris, who gave a small bow back.

"Well, dear high priestess, I cannot much complain about your hospitality up until now, although things have been a little quiet between us. I trust no one of my guild has given you too much trouble?" Nira asked, her voice gravelly yet crisp.

"Well, some of them liked to be entertained a little more specifically than you have, but none of them overstepped their boundaries. Then again, they were oftentimes getting quite close enough to them, close enough to irritate me at times. Of course, that is their doing and not yours, so you can trust I do not hold it against you."

"Hm, yes, I can imagine," Nira said, shaking her head wearily. "Some of them can be... demanding. Especially when they believe themselves in a superior position. If memory serves, you were also visited by guild master Foss and his lapdog, Gourd, is that correct?"

"Indeed. Gourd himself was rather quiet, but I believe you are aware of Foss'... nature."

Nira let out a long sigh at this, taking another sip of tea before nodding. "Yes, I am. He is rude on the best of days. Hosting him must have been difficult."

"It was a challenge, but we prevailed," Lucia said, giving the old lady a smile. "He didn't dare step out of line too much, since our voice does still hold sway in Stormbraver."

"Indeed it does. Do you believe this investigation of ours will cause some trouble for you? Of course, I imagine you will be able to retain a foothold in the city, but will your influence be reduced?"

Lucia grimaced a little at this question, shaking her head at the woman in front of her. She was trustworthy, to some degree, since she also disliked Foss' politics and held some power in the merchants' guild.

"Well, I believe it depends on what happens during the investigation. If guild master Beckham is to be trusted, then I am sure we will not run into many problems, but I haven't heard a lot about him yet. Could you give me some insight?"

"Ah, master Beckham. Yes, I heard he was taking the duty of an Overseer. He is most certainly reliable, I have to say. Although he is cocky at times, he always keeps his word. If he says the investigation will be fair, then he will do everything in his power to make it so."

Nira had to smile at the thought of Avery as an overseer. She had known him since he was much more little, after all, and imagining that rambunctious kid now leading a guild of mercenary goldseekers, pun intended, was rather amusing. But he held their respect, and he always stuck to his words. Nira nodded to herself again.

"Avery will make sure the trial goes fair. He has a good head on his shoulders."

The older lady leaned back in her chair a bit and took another long sip of tea, keeping her eyes glued to Lucia. The head priestess on the other hand was silent at this, taking a moment to think it over.

"I shall take your word for it, madam Nira. Thank you for the reassurance."

"My pleasure. If there is anything else you would like to ask, please, do tell me," the middle aged merchant said with a smile, thinking both of simply being kind and earning a favour form Lucia for the future.

- - - - - -

"We've found bags of charrs on all of them, guild master. Most of them were hidden on pockets inside their shirts and pants, that were also accessible from the outside through tiny holes. We have confiscated all of them, coming to a total of 200," Leynn reported.

He had done his job well and goddamn it, he was proud of it too. He had thoroughly checked the three clients that were sent to him, making sure that he noticed anything the guild master would have liked to see. He idolized Beckham, and although he also had a personal grudge, he most certainly didn't want to disappoint this man either.

"Fenks," Avery said, taking a large bite from his raisin bread. He chewed and swallowed before he spoke again. "Sorry, bad habit. Please, make sure to keep half of these. Can you come testify in the investigation trial tomorrow as well? I'd appreciate the help."

"Of course, sir!" Leynn snapped out a salute at Avery, receiving a grin in reply.

"Alright, see you in court," the guild master said, before heading off again. These merchants were done investigating for the day. They had tried to cheat him, and pretty heavily too. He wouldn't accept that, especially not since it was with a method that almost succeeded. Luckily, he had brought along his feline companion.

On his way back, Avery stopped by the bakery again, restocking enough bread to satisfy his dark urges, while bringing along a treat for Mercury. It was a small cookie in the shape of a mopaaw's face. Cute, and apparently quite tasty.

Some time later, Avery was back at the scene of the crime, his total excursion having taken a little over an hour. As he stepped into the storeroom, he smelled the distinct hue of vilegrass powder for only a moment, before the sensation vanished. Looks like he had guessed correctly at least.

Avery had only noticed since he was specifically focusing on his sense of smell, otherwise he probably wouldn't have even caught a hint of it. What an excellent way to hide their trick.

"Yo, Mercury, I'm back," he said, going around the room again.

Silence.

"Uh, Mercury? You here?" Avery called out a little louder the second time he spoke, but again, there was no answer. Curious. The mopaaw didn't seem the type to abandon a job before it was done. Just then, alarm bells screeched out in Avery's head, as he threw himself to the floor, watching as something sharp passed over him and smashed into the wall.

"Okay, I see. Alright." the guild master quickly shoved the remainder of the bread he was holding into his mouth. This might be a fight, but he sure as hell wasn't giving up his snacks until he died. His <Intuition> rang out once more, along with <Combat Sense>, leading him to quickly turn, watching as another... arrow, he thought, flew by him.

"Well, let's get going I suppose..."

And with that, Avery cracked his knuckles and jumped on the spot for just a moment, before he simply vanished. He wasn't quite warmed up, but oh well, he had to make do. He saw that the arrows had come from different direction, so he simply ducked behind cover without hesitation, quickly activating a night vision type Skill.

There was a bit of dust around. Nothing much, nothing scary, but enough to obscure whoever was shooting at him. Avery wanted to sigh to himself, but he couldn't give his position away. In the silence, he poked his head out again, ducking back as another arrow passed his smiling face.

"Got'cha."

Immediately, Avery dug his heels into the ground, the leather of his boots creaking. His entire body coiled up like a spring before he launched forth, stopping himself just as he caught a glimpse of something. He immediately dug his heels into the floor again, trying to follow whatever it was with his eyes as it retreated away.

He wasn't "Lightfoot" for nothing, though.

Without even a moment's pause, Avery became taught like a bowstring, accelerated beyond what should have been humanly possible, and launched forward in a cloud of dust with a feral grin on his face. As he saw the dark silhouette appear through the dust, he stretched out his foot to where its chest should have been.

He didn't want to risk missing a shot at its face, so he went for the safe options, squarely making contact with his heels as he softly landed on the floor in a crouch, steam seeming to come off from his body. Avery jumped on the spot and rolled his shoulders, getting himself more warmed up just in case things were escalating.

Of course, he kept close watch of the assailant, ducking under the knife it threw at him while getting up, and immediately launching after it when it tried to escape. He was known for being fast, yet whatever this was tried to run from him. Yet, it was decently proficient in combat and had much better aim than some common soldier.

Either this was someone foreign and simply didn't know about his speed, or it was attempting to lure him into a trap.

It wasn't worth the risk of simply running after the being, so instead, Avery decided to not give it a chance to do either. He crouched down into the position of a sprinter, firmly placing his foot on some large crates.

"Really sorry 'bout the merchandise," he ground out as he clenched his teeth, launching off the crate as it shattered into splinters. Immediately, he curled up and spun around in mid air, planting his foot on the wall next to the door, as his other swept out, trying to take whatever was attacking him off its feet.

Avery missed. The hooded figure quickly jumped over his low kick, and disappeared out the exit, throwing down a smoke bomb behind it. Damn it! Avery immediately began chasing after whoever it was, quickly looking around and seeing it dash into a side street. He burst into a sprint as he followed, just close enough to see it take another turn, heading towards the north of the city.

Of course, Avery gave chase, slowly growing faster as his legs found their rhythm, partially running on walls to avoid losing any momentum. It was becoming harder tracking his target through the growing masses of people, as they began running on more popular streets, but Avery was still able to keep watch of it, and as the people parted in front of him, he began gaining on the attacker.

"You're not getting away from me!" the guild master yelled, as more steam began rising off his body, his muscles becoming more and more warmed up as he asked them to perform to their fullest. He was speeding up, his figure turning into a blur as he began gaining faster and faster.

His assailant soon saw and began pushing people towards Avery, as well as knocking over stands and whatever else it saw around. Yet, it was futile.

Guild master Avery Beckham had reached his full speed.

His muscles rippled under his skin, white vapour oozing off him as he stopped dead in his tracks. He kneeled down low, watching the carnage and obstacles in front of him, as he kept his eyes on target through a thin gap in between all of it.

And then, he curled together more, his muscles pulling taught and compressing to their maximum. He breathed out deeply, releasing a small cloud of smoke. Every so slowly, he pulled off his sunglasses, keeping his eyes on the target. They shone with a yellow light as he locked on, his pupils a thin, vertical slit.

And then, everything was still.

Avery took a deep, deep breath as time seemed to slow down. Everything became grey, as he could only see his target. A long moment later, his muscles released.

The human sized bullet, guild master Avery Beckham of the godseekers, launched forward as the air rippled in front of him. Within mere moments he was above his target, having sailed over all obstacles in his way, and a moment later, he was falling towards it. But then, it threw something towards him, and his eyes couldn't focus on his prey anymore.

There was a cat, one with white fur that gleamed silvery, and pink, vine-like patterns on it, flying towards him.

And behind it, there was an arrow.

Without even a second of hesitation, Avery reached out and grabbed Mercury, pulling his friend towards him as he spun in the air, the arrow digging itself deep into his shoulder as he crashed into the ground. He grunted out in pain, but released Mercury, not wanting to expose his friend to his fully warmed up body.

Before anyone could watch him, Avery put his sunglasses back on, and poured a healing potion into his friend's mouth.

He was a guild master, after all. He had to take responsibility for anyone in his guild.

Unfortunately, that was his only healing potion, so after seeing Mercury's eyelids flutter open, Avery nodded to himself. He grabbed the arrow in his should, and ripped it out without hesitation.

"Kagh!" He still never enjoyed the pain. There was probably some poison on the arrow, knowing that he had been hit by an assassin, and he could already feel his shoulder turn numb. He quickly chewed up some dandylion, spit it into his hand and added icegrain, turning the whole mix a slight cyan.

He quickly rubbed it onto the wound. It was a rudimentary antidote, but it would probably stop the poison. It wasn't too strong, and he was somewhat resistant to it, so this was decent enough.

He added a bandage afterwards, and tied it tightly around the wound and its surroundings, hopefully tightly enough to keep most of the poison from spreading. Then, he turned towards Mercury again.

"Hey, you awake?"

"Avery? Is that you?" Immediately, Avery noticed that Mercury was confused, and there was some blood in the fur at the back of his head. Somewhat had knocked him unconscious. They probably wanted to eliminate any and all witnesses, but had taken him as a hostage for the exact situation they found themselves in.

Well, it was still better than having one of his guild members dead, although whoever it was could strike again, and Avery would wager that not many in the city would be able to escape from or stop them. Once more, he took a deep breath.

"Alright, Mercury. It's all good now. Someone tried to nap you, but I came back just in time to figure it out. You feeling okay?"

Mercury wasn't too good in situations like this, but he had done enough mental exercise recently to somewhat force his mind to turn. He wanted to be efficient with this. He wanted to impress, for once.

"Yeah, I'm okay. A little dizzy is all. Someone knocked me unconscious in the storeroom, after I found a drawer with a second bottom."

"Alright, I'm glad to hear it. I'll have to cut you off here for a moment. I gave you a healing potion, so you should be as good as new sometime soon, but for now, let's head to the gloryhall. We have some beds for injured, and I'm sure that after some food and drink you'll be in better shape. You can tell me what happened then, fine?"

"Got it, guild master. Thank you."

"Anytime. Now, let's go get you some rest, hm?"