While I am no expert on pre-System technology, it would be remiss of me to omit some comparison of the ancillary capabilities provided to every person by the System with the options available to ordinary citizens before its arrival. Of course, considering Levels, Classes, and Spells makes no sense in this context, as these were nothing but fiction before the System’s arrival.

  Instead, let us examine areas in which there was a technological alternative. The device most associated with these ancillary capabilities was known as a ‘smartphone’. It is unclear at this time as to what the ‘smartphone’ was once ‘smarter’ than.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 37 Verbose Historian,

  "You look great in purple! And Jayce too, of course!”

  I desperately hoped my blush wasn’t showing, but it felt like my face was on fire in response to Tara's excited comments.

  The thought drained the blood from my face and I forced myself to give Tara a bit of a smile, hoping it looked more natural than it felt. I quickly sold my removed Level 2 mod to Samuel for half an eagle, then escaped out into the bright sunlight of the square.

  I soon discovered why Raylan hadn’t been using his Basic Camo mod very much. I thought I could just push in five mana all at once and then wait until it changed color. Instead I had to slowly trickle the mana in over the course of thirty seconds, which seemed like an eternity. Finally, it stopped, and I watched in delight as my armor shimmered slightly and then faded into a dusty grey-brown color that perfectly matched the shade of dirt-covered stone I was standing on.

  It affected all of my armor components, from my boots to my helm, down to my new leather gloves that had come with the armor. wrong

  Within a few minutes, we were all gathered outside. Zaire’s new armor matched Jayce’s, providing better coverage than his old set. The orcs looked the same, of course, and so did Raylan, since he needed another Level to wear his new armor. Arlo and Tara hadn't even bought anything. I frowned. something

  When I asked, they both shook their heads and explained that they had a few more mods of higher Levels already in their Inventory, ready to go. Apparently all the trainees did, at least as far as they knew. They didn’t have higher-Level armor components sitting around, since those took up too much space, but mods were small.

  Our unusual group drew quite a few stares as we wandered around the square, finding a small inn, a couple of restaurants, a saloon, and a good-sized general goods store. The general store reminded me of the one in Sunland, though it had only a paltry few sets of what looked like cheap armor and the only weapons were daggers and utility knives. With the A–Z nearby they obviously didn’t get much business for that kind of stuff. Tara had the bright idea to ask the storekeeper if there were any other shops we should visit, and they directed us to a side street behind one of the restaurants.

  There we found a small store with heavily-barred windows and a sign reading “Esther’s Enchanted Items and Magical Goods.” Esther herself proved to be a surprisingly young, very attractive redhead who was a Tier 2 Enchanter. She gasped in surprise when H’ruk ducked through the doorway to enter the shop, but recovered quickly and introduced herself with a smile.

  She quickly latched onto Arlo, hovering quite close to him as she showed him – and us, but mostly him – around her small shop, starting with several bookcases on runes and magical theory. The Pistoleer seemed indifferent to the attention, despite her alluring figure. Without missing a beat, she shifted her attention to Raylan, where she found a more enthusiastic audience.

  “Over here, darling, we have my personal creations – Tier 0 magical focuses, perfect for the new Delver!” She was pointing at a case displaying a dozen lengths of wood, about eighteen inches long and an inch or so thick. They each had a leather-wrapped grip at the bottom.

  Item: Esther’s Elegant Energizer

  Modifier: Bolt

  Magical Capacity: Tier 0

  Level: 3

  This hand-crafted focus enables even a Tier 0 to defend themselves with almost any primary rune! Turn that cute little orb of Fire into a deadly firebolt, then put out the flames with a waterbolt! The possibilities are endless! Guaranteed to last at least 200 casts and compatible with self-repair mods for unlimited lifespan!

  “Lovely,” Raylan enthusiastically replied, lifting one from the case to examine it. “Very fine craftsmanship, er, craftswomanship, that is!”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  She giggled freely at his comment. I was starting to dislike her when H’ruk broke in.

  “These… small things are suitable for combat?” he asked, plucking the focus from Raylan’s hands.

  In his massive grip, it looked like a child’s toy. To her credit, Esther responded seriously.

  “Indeed Delver H’ruk, that is their purpose. They perform just as well magically as any Mage’s Class Weapon, though of course the modifier rune can’t be changed. The only thing you need worry about is that physically they are not as durable as a staff or scepter. Since most purchase them for emergency use, they prefer the compact size of a wand.”

  I asked H’ruk over the Comms when he was going to learn Bolt so he could switch the modifier in his staff and cast firebolts. His answer surprised me.

  

  He was quite firm on that point. While part of me was upset at him for refusing to do something that could benefit the team, I also understood that it was important – vital – to him to pursue his dream of becoming Chieftain. After a few minutes of persuasion, I convinced him to get a wand. It was easier to convince Tara, Arlo, and Raylan to get one each.

  I actually wanted one for myself too, but I figured I’d just borrow from someone so that I could finally see what it would be like to cast firebolt or forcebolt. While I was arguing, Jayce, Zaire, and G’hala were browsing through the rest of the small store. There were enchanted canteens, fire starters – ‘more powerful than Ignite’, according to Esther, portable mana stoves, and other various items. I looked over when G’hala made a surprised sound and found her examining a book on the counter that I had assumed was just the price book.

  “You sell Spell crystals?” she asked, and I was suddenly paying close attention.

  “Ah, I have only a few of them, but yes. I keep them locked up safely, of course, but they are all listed there in the book.”

  There wasn’t room for us all to look at once so G’hala read out the short list.

  “Fire, Ice, Poison, Shape – that's Tier 1, Seek, and Lightning.”

  “The basic runes are a hundred eagles each, Seek is two hundred, and Shape is my most expensive item at a thousand eagles,” Esther added, and I gasped.

  Seeing the look of shock on our faces, she clarified.

  “Shape Earth is an incredibly useful Spell for a Farmer! You can use it to level a field, instead of plowing, or even to dig out a basement – in dirt, at least. Admittedly it won’t work on solid rock. But still, it’s extremely useful! the average person would need hundreds of hours of practice to master the Spell. A Mage or someone else with natural talent, practice learning other Spells, and good Acuity could do it significantly faster, of course, but that’s rare among Farmers and most other Classes.

  “Think about it this way – you’re paying for the privilege of saving all that time. Assume an average person is going to need over a hundred hours to learn a Tier 1 Spell to the point where you can cast it successfully every time. Even if you practice an hour a day – which is a lot – that would take you almost half a year!”

  She finished with a smile and a wink for Raylan, who grinned roguishly back.

  “Do you have focuses with any other modifiers besides Bolt?” I asked curiously. “I know Force, and I would love to be able to cast Force Wall.”

  “Oh, I don’t normally make Wall focuses, but I certainly can – it would be a nice change, actually. I could have it ready for you in a week, but I’m afraid you’d have to pay in advance. I’m not sure how popular it would be if I tried to sell it.”

  We ended up with five Bolt wands – G’hala wanted one as well – and an order for one Wall focus for me to pick up the following Sunday. We also grabbed Seek for Jayce. I suspected Tara was bribing her new roommate, which I was totally fine with. They wouldn’t be able to cast seeking bolts until Tier 1, but they were going to be brutal in a fight the moment they crossed that threshold. Tara also picked up Ice for herself – apparently she didn’t want to do a lot of Spell practice. I watched in awe as she casually paid the nearly four-hundred-eagle bill like it was nothing.

  As we were getting ready to leave, Arlo decided to buy himself the Poison Spell. Esther convinced him to go with Lightning instead, since he was going to use it with the Bolt wand. According to the Enchanter, poison bolts were easily dispersed and often more dangerous to your allies than to the enemy. Higher-Tier modifiers, like Cloud, were needed to make it more effective.

  I paused, uncomfortable asking, but I wanted to learn more Spells. I was getting pretty good with Fire. Though it would never be as natural as a System-learned Spell like Force, I didn’t feel like I needed a gem for it. Poison, on the other hand, could be quite useful with my shots, since they manifested the Spell the enemy, as long as they penetrated. I swallowed my pride and asked Tara if I could get the Spell.

  She agreed, though she wanted to know why. I told her I’d explain it to her later, glancing at the Enchanter who was waiting with a smile on her face at all the money we were spending. Another hundred eagles later – it still shocked me how much that was – and I was holding a new Spell gem in my hands.

  Once the purchases were finalized, everyone absorbed their Spell gems and secured their new wands to their belts with the simple leather holsters that Esther had included. In a celebratory mood, we headed off to the saloon where we had a simple, hearty lunch and a round of beer.

  Then it was back to A–Z to try and find enough Self-Repair mods for all the wands, so we wouldn’t have to worry about breaking them when we practiced. Since we didn’t really care about how fast the wands were repaired, we started with Samuel’s large stash of Tier 0 weapon mods. It took a while, and a half-dozen eagles of fees, but we located several. G’hala’s luck was poor though, and she ended up going through nearly forty of the mods before finally finding one.

  Az's new cutlass

  by K.J. Licht

  Book One and Book Two complete, Book Three 40% finished! 460,000 words of The Sixth Campaign to be rapid released.

  *** There are a lot of things 18-year-old inn worker Grant Leeman never expected from life.

  *** What to Expect from The Sixth Campaign:

  Focus on characters, worldbuilding, and prose

  Slow burn into high action

  1,000,000+ words on completion

  What Not to Expect from The Sixth Campaign:

  isekai

  Harem

  *** Release Schedule:

  February 14 - 21: 2 chapters per day (3:07 PST & 8:07 PST)

  February 22 - April 22: 1 chapter per day (7:07 PST)

  April 22 onwards: 3 chapters per week (tentative; may go up to 5-7x/week).