Chapter 128: First Preparations In Lightburgh

POV Eliza

That was the end of my time in the nature dungeon and as soon as I had transformed back into Stevt, my desire to fight was blown away. In Tyros, I quickly realized that the heroes were no longer in the city. At least I had some peace and quiet from them for the time being. This meant I could plan my next steps without rushing.

I had a few items that I had collected in the dungeon that I could turn into money. Especially my remaining mana cores, but they would fetch a better price in the capital. I couldn't do much with so much money at the moment, but it served me well for Master Freyna and the others. I kept the Mana Cores for the time being. I hoped to be able to negotiate with Master Freyna. I needed more information on how to improve my class.

I rested for a whole day to get the fatigue I had built up over the past few days out of my body. Then I set off towards Lightburgh, this time as a traveler in a carriage. For a change, I took it easy for a few days, even though it took four days instead of three with the carriage. In the evening, there were the three other travelers sitting next to me by the fire, who also wanted to go to the capital. Two of them were only traveling in the immediate vicinity and had not gone any further than there, but from the third I learned a little more about the nearest towns and villages in the surrounding area. And about the neighboring countries.

Towards the north, on this side of the great river, there were large expansive hills on which livestock farming was mainly practiced. In addition to cattle, sheep (the variant of this world) were mainly kept the further north you went. The climate also became cooler, so that there were no longer any large settlements that could be called towns. The last large town was Nordhorn, which until 50 years ago formed a bulwark against the warlike Nordic tribes with whom the empire fought frequent battles. Most of the country's mines were located in the mountains of the north, which is why Nordhorn was also known as the forge of the country.

There were large forests in the west. Close to the capital, there were mixed forests, but the further west you went, the more conifers there were. This is where most of the empire's forestry took place. There were also many charcoal burners. Beyond the forests, it became increasingly swampy and hardly any people lived here. Instead, there were many dangerous animals in the area, but they lived too far away from the villages to be classified as dangerous.

The agricultural areas of the empire began in the south. The area consisted of large grasslands with fertile soil on which many different crops were grown. Many rivers served as irrigation and fed many lakes, on which many towns were located. There was also a lot of fishing. There were hardly any forests, however. The territory of the empire ended here and only the northern cities were still part of it. The southern cities were largely independent, but allied with the empire.

Further south towards the southwest, the area became drier and hoter until it became a large desert. It was surrounded by many high mountains and was also home to many monsters. Towards the southeast came a large prairie where horse breeding prevailed. Here lived a nomadic people who roamed with their herds. Further south, the sea began. There were many large trading towns on the coast and this was the territory of the trading federation.

He didn't have much information about the east. He only knew that many weeks to the east lay a dry wasteland where no people wanted to or could live. Behind it lay the highest known human mountains. There were supposed to be large forests in the area where the elves lived, while other non-humans such as dwarves or beastfolk lived in the mountains. What lay beyond was the subject of myths and legends. Rumor had it that it was the territory of demons. Nobody went there voluntarily except military expeditions.

The carriage arrived in Lichtburg without incident. We drove into the city and then split up. First, I registered at the palace with my letter of recommendation and gave the inn I knew as my contact details. I then registered there as Eliza and found out about the prices of Mana Cores. When I did some research, I quickly realized that Mana Cores were in absolutely short supply here. The only available sources were the two dungeons and expeditions. There was another dungeon in the north, but it was remote in the mountains and very rarely visited. The Darkness Dungeon was in the hands of the church and used by them. The expeditions were carried out by the military on the orders of the emperor. The Mana Cores were therefore in their hands. All that remained was the Nature Dungeon, which was the only freely accessible source for everyone else. My Mana Cores would fetch a very good price here.

I sold some crystals to top up my cash and then gave the innkeeper a message to announce myself as Eliza to Master Freyna. It was still in the afternoon when I received the reply. The message said briefly that I was always welcome and could come by tonight.

Late that evening, after dusk, I went through the channels as Eliza. I was welcomed and shown directly to Master Freyna.

"Hello, Eliza. It's good to see you back." <Freyna>

"Best wishes, Master Freyna. I need your help." <Eliza>

“How can I help you?” <Freyna>

"I hopefully have all the requirements to improve my class and need advice to make an ideal choice. I can offer you an equivalent value to pay for it." <Eliza>

"Oho, that sounds very exciting. Let's see." <Freyna>

I took out the bag of Mana Cores and placed them on the table. Master Freyna looked inside and a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

"That's quite a lot, Eliza. You've been very diligent in the dungeon, so it's no wonder you've been able to raise your level sufficiently. And you want to give us all those crystals?" <Freyna>

"Yes. Firstly, I still owe you a lot and secondly, you will get better prices than me. You can sell more specifically than I can. I only need enough money to pay the appropriate teachers and to cover my living expenses for a few weeks. Would the remaining pouch be enough to cover my debt?" <Eliza>

"That's more than enough, Eliza. Don't worry. You'll even have something left over." <Freyna>

"Then I would like your help afterwards. What do I have to do?" <Eliza>

“Have you collected enough development points?” <Freyna>

“I have over 20 according to my status.” <Eliza>

“That many?” <Freyna>

"Yes, I have defeated many bosses both solo and in a group. And I have ACCESS to both dungeons." <Eliza>

"I forgot that you're also a solo adventurer, but how did you manage that? I don't think you've done more than 4 or 5 bosses, and even for that you need a very strong and experienced group. Solo will be even more difficult as you have no help. BUT being able to fight in two dungeons helps enormously, of course." <Freyna>

"I've gotten a lot of use out of shadow magic. Shadowbind is very helpful in keeping the strongest monsters at bay for a while. So you've played a big part in my success, Master. I'm very grateful to you for that. Can I ask you something, Master?" <Eliza>

“Of course, if I can answer it.” <Freyna>

"When I level up, I have to choose eight skills on which my improved class is based. I have already learned that there are several possibilities and that the skills are not 100% fixed. Can I try out several combinations of skills internally and then see which class that leads to?" <Eliza>

"That is possible to a certain extent. However, it seems that there are important and unimportant skills. Stealth, for example, was one of the skills that was important to me. I couldn't have become a spy without it. Then I would have become something else. As far as I know, there are two skills that are important for class improvement." <Freyna>

“Is there a class improvement for every combination?” <Eliza>

"There's no combination I know of that doesn't lead to advancement, even if they're pointless at first. If a wizard chooses no magic form, he will get a class where magic doesn't play a big role like librarian or fighter. If a scout does not choose a magic form, he will specialize in mundane skills instead of magic. Even if both choose the same skills, they have different stats. The former scout has more HP and the former wizard has more MP." <Freyna>

"Out of curiosity, could a pure fighter choose a class and learn magic through it?" <Eliza>

"I suppose so, but I don't know how. I'm sure the church can." <Freyna>

"Interesting. If I find out anything, I'll let you know. Is it important which skills I choose apart from these two?" <Eliza>

"Yes, a very important one actually. You can upgrade the skills you choose to expert rank, but not the others. Exceptions are skills that can either only be increased with EXP or never at all. Appraisal belongs to the first group and all resistances and sense skills belong to the second. They are mostly dependent on the race, as far as I know, and to my knowledge cannot be improved later. You can't increase the limit yourself with a development point, but it works with the improved class. However, some class improvements are based on one of these skills, so you'll have to test it out." <Freyna>

“I will take your words to heart and hopefully decide wisely.” <Eliza>

"Depending on what you choose, there's not much more I can teach you. In dark magic and shadow magic, I've taught you almost everything I can myself. Since I only learned them myself after I became an acolyte, I can only do them at advanced tier 10. I would have liked to know what options would have been open to me if I had been able to choose one of them. The class upgrade for the acolyte would probably be full ordination as a priestess, but I have no idea how to do that. It's a dream I have, but it will probably remain unfulfilled. Without the wandering priestess, it won't happen and I don't think I'll ever see her again. You have to know, she doesn't go into any town, especially not here in the Empire, and generally stays away from people. Sigh." <Freyna>

I could well understand how Master Freyna was feeling right now. She had a dream and didn't know how to fulfill it. She realized that she couldn't do it without help, and I couldn't help. I didn't know how to do it myself, but at least I knew whom to ask.

"Don't be sad, Master Freyna. As you said, the ways of the gods are inscrutable and who knows what other path in life the goddess has in store for us." <Eliza>

"Your words reassure me, Eliza. I'm not sure if it's the knowledge that you're an acolyte too, or if there's more to it, but I feel very comfortable around you. I realize how strange that must sound coming from someone 20 years older than you, but still, I had to get that off my chest. You also have a strong influence on Tamina and the children like you too. You're very popular here, Eliza." <Freyna>

Master Freyna smiled at me and I felt more than just appreciation. It seemed to me that there was also a bit of envy and even jealousy, but I must be wrong. Before I left, I made one more request.

"I have one more wish. I would like to go down to the shrine to meditate. Is that possible?" <Eliza>

"Of course. Now that you know it exists and how to get there, I can't stop you anyway. At the latest when I'm not there, you can get there unseen with your shadow magic. But make sure you don't leave the passage open again." <Freyna>

"I promise, Master, and thank you very much. I'll get ready then." <Eliza>