by J. J. Thorn
More questions came and I listened intently for any other valuable pieces of information. Another guest speaker finished, which meant one really important thing.
The second semester had officially started!
Chapter 22 - Useful
“Hurry up, guys, I want to get some food in me before Dungeoneering. At this rate, we’re going to have a hard time finding a seat.” Britta tapped her toes as she waited impatiently for the rest of us to pack our bags and leave class.
“We’re further up than usual, there’s no way we get through the herd of people in our way,” Cassie responded.
“Not with that attitude! I’m with Britta, let’s try and find a good spot! You boys meet us there!” Jen smirked as she saw the challenge getting out of the auditorium would present.
Before Zane or I could even respond, Britta and Jen grabbed Cassie and Trish as they started to push and squeeze through the crowd of people.
I could only laugh as I saw Britta pick up a smaller kid and physically move him aside. I looked towards Zane, expecting him to be laughing as well, but noticed that he wasn’t sporting his customary smile.
“What’s wrong? And don’t give me the same crap you’ve been giving me since last semester. I don’t need you to tell me what’s happening with that, but something’s obviously wrong.” I sat back down and looked up at him.
I knew we had class, but Zane had become very good at avoiding the conversation. This was as good a time to talk about it as any, since we needed to wait for the crowd to disperse. I didn’t want to corner him, but he didn’t usually look so dour in class.
“It’s nothing, really…” Zane said, but noticed that I wasn’t budging as I continued to simply watch him and wait. “Well, it’s sort of related. You actually already helped me deal with the thing that was bothering me last semester.”
“How? You haven’t even talked about it with me.”
“That’s not exactly true. I told you I had been looking up books on people who had my Affinity.”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with you being sad or unhappy?”
“Well, last semester I was really pissed about how little I could do with my Affinity. Don’t take this the wrong way, Ren, but it wasn’t easy to have your best friend progress so quickly when I was stagnating so much. That’s actually why I stopped talking about my percentage with you. You’d mention a percentage increase almost every day and mine rarely increased.”
“But that’s not uncommon, you’re the one who always tells me that. I’m just…”
“A freak?” He finally smiled slightly.
“I was going to say abnormal, but sure. Is that why though? You could have told me that?”
“No, it wasn’t that. Your progress didn’t actually bother me that much because I knew mine was also above average. My main issue was what my IDENTIFY Affinity Skills actually meant. I kept looking through those books and all of them gave me ideas on what I might be able to do in the future. Identifying people’s names could turn into identifying their Rank, the amount of Energy they had, their Affinity. Some IDENTIFY Affinities allowed you to see through illusions or to detect magic and traps.
“I kept combing through all of these things and I felt…dissatisfied. I know I’ve told you that I’m happy to no longer be under my father’s grasp, but honestly, a part of me still wants to show him up. I want to be able to look him in the eye one day and tell him that I’m not useless…”
“You’re not useless, Zane!”
“Oh, calm down, there’s no need to be melodramatic. I know I can bring value to a team, and I know I have a lot of knowledge, overall. Hell, I’m probably more useful than you, right now. My issue is that I want to actually be useful to the Kingdom as a whole. I want to have a Skill that counteracts some of the hurt my father caused. And from everything I read, there’s never been anything like that from an IDENTIFY Affinity user. Sure, it’s useful to be able to identify people’s Skills or Affinities, but I wanted something more. And honestly, you helped me see that there might be more to my Skill.”
“When did I say that?”
“It was one of the suggestions you made in the wagon ride up to Borson. You mentioned how you had been trying to find a way to use your Skill on individual parts of a person. Like to see what their arm weighed versus their leg, for instance.
“At first, I didn’t think much of it. Why would it matter if I can see the name of someone’s arm versus the name of their head? That seems useless. But it’s like you said, sometimes the useless things don’t make sense right now.
“So, when I used my Skill on the monsters, it made me think. What if I could start identifying the different parts of a monster? Better yet, what if I could start getting more information about those parts? I don’t know what that means as yet, but I think that could be useful.
“Like, what if my knowledge could somehow be transferred to my future Skills in a way that marries the two? Like with the Skink, but for monsters that we hadn’t seen yet? What if I could figure out what parts of a monster might be more valuable or sought after?”
“That’s a bit of a stretch, Zane. I feel like there’s a lot missing in that concept.”
“You’re right, but the fact that I could even think like that is exciting. And it’s all thanks to you, buddy. So, thank you…for making me think outside the box a little more.”
“We’re best friends, that’s what I do!” I made a cheesy face and winked at him.
Zane rolled his eyes. “Right.”
“But then why were you looking like a bunch of people just stepped on your toe? If you felt like you had a direction, why did the lecture bring you down?”
“It wasn’t the lecture. It was seeing Emmett, the prince. We didn’t hang out when I was younger, but I saw him around. Some nobles just socialized a bit more and my dad was chummy with the king. So, I’d see him at functions every now and then.
“You don’t see it as much, but the rest of the nobles continue to make comments behind my back. And even though I don’t want it to bug me, it does. Seeing Emmett just makes me realize it even more. The life I almost had. With one small change, I would’ve been sitting beside the prince. Instead, Louis Fox is. And while I’m not jealous, it brought me back.”
“Okay, I get that. Well, I can’t change the past, and I can’t determine what your Rank 2 Skill is going to be, but I can help you shape your future. You’ve supported me since I got on that wagon, and I plan to do the same. If Emmett is anything like Louis, I wouldn’t want to be his friend either way.”
“Honestly, Emmett isn’t too bad. He was a nice kid growing up. He’s just lazy. He was always given everything he needed, and he never worked hard at anything. I’m not surprised he didn’t show up the first semester. I wouldn’t be surprised if he spent the first semester vacationing somewhere nice with a trail of servants.”
“Not going to lie, you guys are giving me a bad impression of nobles.”
“Meh. We’re just like the rest of you peons.” He finally smiled as he stood back up. “Some are awful and lazy, while others are hard-working and driven. There’s all kinds. It’s no different to regular people. Some are driven and hard-working, while some are going to miss both lunch and the start of Dungeoneering if they don’t get going…”
I stopped focusing on our conversation and looked around the auditorium to see that most people were either gone or on the podium waiting to speak with the headmaster. The lineup was only a few students long, but some had stayed behind.
“Crap! I am so hungry!” I bolted up from my seat and rushed to the exit. Zane laughed, mood improved, and followed after me.
* * * * *
“Did you see him? Almost choked on the bone! Haha!”
“You’d think he hadn’t eaten for days or something!”
“I think I saw him bite down on his finger once by accident!”
“Oh, I definitely saw that. Priceless.”
The girls and Zane all contin
ued to joke as we walked into the room for Dungeoneering. When I eventually got to the Dining hall, the girls had been preparing to leave. I quickly grabbed some food and ate as quickly as I possibly could.
I had skipped this morning’s class in favour of some meditation and didn’t want to go through another class without any food. They had all found this particularly funny. Great…
Walking into class, I focused on who was already here instead of my friends. I had expected a change in the number of people who took the class, but I hadn’t expected to see so many older-looking people. Not that I could tell their ages, but they didn’t look to be sixteen or seventeen like the rest of us.
No, instead, they all looked to be real Dungeoneers. I considered the idea that another class had just finished, but Professor Renault was already waiting at the front of the class and it was only a few minutes away from starting.
We found a seat in the overpacked room as Professor Renault started to speak.
“Excellent. Everyone, take a seat, let’s get started. Welcome back! I’m so so glad to see so many of you have returned from the first year. We always lose a few people because they don’t feel ready for a Dungeon, but if you talk to your friends let them know they can always come back another year. I always love seeing my students come back! It’s so wonderful.
“Anyway, you’ll notice we’ve got a large number of scary-looking Dungeoneers. Don’t mind them, they’re actually here to help us. Isn’t that so nice of them! You see, it would be a bit reckless of me to send all of you into a full-blown Dungeon without someone there to help you. Like I told you last semester, Ottis will be joining you, but his fighting abilities are limited. Instead, Ottis will act as your scout and as your emergency helper. Some of your semester will be spent learning how to interpret his commands so you know what he’s scouted ahead for you in the Dungeon. Some Ottis’s are better than others, but they’ll all be helpful in the Dungeon.
“Past that, they also act as a distraction for monsters you can’t handle or notify me if something terrible happens to you. And to make sure that nothing terrible does happen, I’ve enlisted some of my E-Rank Dungeoneer friends from Krader. They all use my services to bring Ottis with them in the Dungeon already. In return for a slight discount, I also asked them to help out for this semester. Isn’t that good? Who knows, maybe some of you will help me in the future when you reach E-Rank.
“Each group will receive a new E-Rank teammate. When I checked last semester, there were about fifty-seven groups. Based on the number of people in the class, I think we’ll probably have closer to fifty groups now. I have fifty-two E-Rank friends with me today, so we should definitely have enough.
“I’ll split them up later on, but let’s talk about the Dungeon Dive a little bit more! In two months exactly, we will all meet here. Professor Valk’s class will happen in the morning, but she usually lets everyone out early to give you time to eat and prepare.
“Once here, we will all walk to the Dungeon as a group. This is a bit of a tradition at the school. It really is beautiful to see us all marching towards the Dungeon. People come out to cheer. It becomes a bit of a spectacle for the town as they look at the next generation of Dungeoneers on their way to their first Dive.
“You’ll be nervous, but when we leave this room, we’ll be one big team. That day is so special.
“Then we will all enter the Dungeon and we’ll be in there for two weeks. All classes leading up to the Dungeon Dive will be to cement the tactics we’ve been practicing and talk about what you’ll need. I will also try to prepare you as best as I can for your time in the Dungeon.
“When you get in the Dungeon, you will all be assigned a direction. From there, you and your guide will work together for two weeks to accomplish as much as you can. Some of the guides have an Inventory, but most do not. I won’t tell you which ones.
“If you return after two weeks, I will deem your time in the Dungeon a success. Beyond that, you’ll be allowed to keep and sell anything you’ve recovered. Even if you do not venture very far, this can be profitable if you find the right monsters or get lucky.
“This Dungeon has several plants that are valuable in Krader, and students have also found hidden treasures in the past. There will be one additional class afterward to discuss how your time went in the Dungeon, and then you’ll be finished. This allows you to catch up on the two weeks of other classes that you missed.
“Now, despite all that we do to make this safe, some of you may not return. Even though Krader’s Dungeon is only F-Ranked, this will be dangerous. E-Rank monsters exist in that Dungeon, and the Dungeon Boss is D-Rank.
“I’ll give this same warning a few times leading up to the Dungeon Dive, but I’ll give it for the first time now. You are all excellent. So very excellent. I don’t want anything to happen to my wonderful students. If you do not want to participate, there is no shame in that. You should tell your team now. But do take the week to think about it.
“If you decide in a week that you aren’t up for it, we will take you out of the team and shuffle some teams around. I promise, you will not be the only one. You will still participate in classes, but you will not have to come into the Dungeon.
“For the rest of you, take a week to think of some questions you want to ask about Krader’s Dungeon and the trip. We’ll discuss it next week.
“For today’s class, I’m going to split up your guides and you can spend the rest of the time getting to know them and your Ottis pups. They know all of his commands, so they’ll start going through it with you.
For now, get into your groups and I’ll start walking around. This is going to be a successful semester. I can feel it!”
* * * * *
Professor Renault triumphantly dismissed the class as everyone started to mill about looking for their teammates. Except for Todd, who I had almost completely forgotten about, we were all already seated together.
We sent out Jen to go find Todd in the madness as we all started to look at the large group of E-Rank. We didn’t know how Guides would be chosen, so we set out to find the ones with the best-looking gear as a starting point.
“That one looks rich,” Cassie said, pointing to a slender man with nicer than average clothes.
“I doubt you’d find any nobles in this group,” Zan said. “I also don’t think they’d need a discount from Professor Renault if they were rich Cass.”
“What about that guy?” Britta pointed out a man with a curved blade. “His sword looks so cool. I wonder if Jen can make a sword like that.”
We spent the time judging each guide based on their looks alone. These were all people who had reached E-Rank, so they had to have some level of skill or aptitude. I still didn’t know what it meant to be E-Rank, necessarily, but it was higher than G and F, so it had to be worth something.
Eventually, Jen and Todd joined us. We all greeted our friend who we hadn’t seen in a long time. I could only assume that he had been training during the break because he looked slightly larger than he did in the first semester.
Stinky and Pinky joined us as well as Professor Renault summoned his ‘kennel’ and started to walk around the room to each group.
The process was slow-going, but he would stop at each group, speak to them briefly, and then a Guide would walk over once called by name.
I heard some of their names but didn’t spend much time thinking about it. I didn’t need to know their names and I had Zane if I ever really needed to know.
He went from group to group until he finally came to ours.
“Ooh, one of my weekend gangs, so good! Let’s hope you pick a good guide!” he said excitedly.
“Can’t you just pick a good one for us, Luke?” Britta said. “I mean, Professor Renault? Since we’re your favourites and all. Maybe someone with an Inventory Satchel?” She smiled, trying to butter him up. She had known the Professor for several years and was hoping she could use that to persuade him.
He returned the smile with
a wag of his finger. “I have no favourites, my dear Britta. That would also be unfair to everyone else. Instead, I can give you a few suggestions. You’ve all probably been looking at the guides, trying to decide who’s the strongest, or looks like they have the best gear. If you’re doing this, you’re looking in the wrong direction.
“Think about your team and figure out what you need more than anything. Do you need more Front-Liners? Look for someone with a sword or a shield. Do you want a pure magic-user? Look for someone with neither. Do you need Ranged? Look for a bow. These are generalizations, of course, but it can help fill the gaps in your team. Beyond that, if you know someone from the group, it’s always better to work with someone you’ve already met.”
We quickly huddled as we now realized what Professor Renault was trying to get us to do.
“We’re lacking Ranged,” Jen started.
“True, but we’re lacking any magic now as well. Some crowd control would be nice. Like Tara and her nature Affinity,” Zane said.
“Do we know anyone from the group? I think that’s a good thing to look for as well,” I chimed in.
Each of the girls responded, ‘No’. They’d seen some of them around but hadn’t introduced themselves.
“You know someone though, Ren, we both do. Don’t you see that guy with the spikey black hair and the bow?”
I looked at who he was talking about but couldn’t remember them. I was surprised Zane said I knew him because I couldn’t place his face at all. As I took a minute to stare, it was his spikey black hair that finally jogged my memory.
“Oh yeah, the guy who helped guard our wagon on the ride from Huag to Prep! Right before Prep started! What was his name again?”
“He does have a bow,” Jen said, “so we could use the range. Seems like a good choice since we know him, and he’s already proven himself to some of us before.”
“He also looks pretty confident,” Cassie said. “If he defended you guys on the trip, I think that would work for me.”