THEOS

Chapter 5: Taking the Tour

Chapter 5: Taking the Tour

Rushing to his door, high on the excitement of finally making some progress, Luke came face to face with a middle aged man dressed in black robes.

Hey, Im Xander. He reached out to shake Lukes hand.

Luke.

Nice to meet ya. Arya mentioned that youre new around here, so she sent me to give you a tour. He stepped back from the door.

Following him out, Luke locked the door behind him. Yeah, Nefkha didnt really mention much. I read the books inside though.

Nodding along as he walked, Thats good. The books tell you practically everything you need to know about the Luminous Sky. Did you have any questions though?

Luke scratched the back of his head as he thought it over, wondering what was safe for him to ask and what wasnt. None at the moment. The books covered basically everything I can think of. He replied eventually. He wanted to ask him about the Bellerophons Blade, but didnt know how to broach the subject. Nor did he want to give anyone any reason to suspect that he wanted it. Without knowing how closely Nefkha was paying attention to him, it was best not to mention anything that might give the old man further leverage over him.

That's good. Im assuming you also read the scroll on cultivating mana?

I did. Luke replied eagerly.

Perfect. Its as simple as it seems so make sure you dont slack off. Reaching a bottleneck at the middle stage of the mortal-tier is one thing, but if you dont even get that far in three years, the Society will demote you to wearing white robes or ask you to leave if youre not pulling your weight. He warned.

Luke nodded in response, already aware of the rule.

From what the scroll suggested, its possible to reach the middle stage with a year or two of dedicated training. A peak mortal-tier individual is said to have the strength of a hundred men. If I assume that the average person has ten points in the Strength stat, then that means a late stage mortal will have a thousand. Mid-stage is about half that. So five hundred points That seems doable. The ceiling on physical gains in this world is a lot higher when I factor in the nourishing effects of mana seems to have.

The Seed gave me two points this morning, one automatically in the Strength stat, and the other as a Stat Point. The Stat Points Ill have to figure out how they work exactly. It seems likely though, that my increase in Strength is the natural result of exercising, and the free point was from the mana that seeped into my body while I was working out. According to the scroll, early-stage mortals automatically have their bodies transformed by the mana, and the ability to control what the mana improves is supposed to be something that you get when you surpass the mid-stage.

With the Seed though, it's likely I wont experience that boundary. As long as I keep pushing forward, there shouldnt be anything stopping me from powering through.

Alright. That building over there is the Mission Hall. As someone whos just starting out, Id recommend that you avoid any of the monster hunts, at least until you get a little stronger. Even the ones that seem easy. The Alchemy Hall is always looking for specific herbs that grow in the forests around us. The merits arent the same, but unless you have terrible luck it's generally safe and once you get the hang of it, you dont waste a lot of time wandering aimlessly either.

Merits? Updated from

Yep. Theyre not mentioned in the Guide Book are they? Its a new system, we used to use gold when that book was printed, but mortal currencies arent really useful to us. Basically, every task you perform for the Society, you earn merit points. You can trade them in for medicine, services, instruction from those further along the path, weapons or even money. You need to pay back ten of them each month for your housing and food. Its how they make sure no one's free loading.

Is ten merits a lot?

Its hard to say. A thoughtful look adorned his face as he looked at the teenager. Anyone who puts in enough work can eventually reach mid mortal-tier. Watching that fight, hes already on the cusp of it, if he hasn't already. But developing the ability to sense mana it just comes down to luck. Without it, you reach a limit to how far you can push.

What about entering the warrior-tier?

HAHAHA. He laughed out loud and slapped Luke loudly on his back. Becoming a warrior is hard. The Society has thousands of Outer Disciples, hundreds of Inner Disciples, but only nine Warriors. Out of all the Inner Disciples, maybe a few dozen are still young enough to even have a shot. He shook his head ruefully. Were small fish in a small pond. Even though each of us dreams of becoming more, reality is cruel.

What makes it so hard? Luke looked at him thoughtfully. Only to see him shrug his shoulders.

I dont know. If I knew the answer to that, I would have long become a Warrior myself. As it is, Ive been stuck at the middle stage for years now. No matter how hard I train, I dont get stronger. My mana sense never developed, so. He shrugged his shoulders.

Thats. Luke trailed off apologetically. Unwittingly having broached a sensitive subject.

Its fine. He beamed, glancing at Luke. Even though its unlikely that Ill progress further, Ive still gained strength beyond the vast majority of the world's people. Im satisfied with what I have. You should fight! He suddenly suggested.

Luke looked at him blankly. Im not sure thats a good idea. Luke rolled his shoulders, feeling the ache in his muscled from pushing them as far as he had the night before.

All the more reason to. Everyone starts off not knowing. He scanned the crowd. The first ring is all amateurs and newbies. The second ring is basically the same, but with people who have a little more experience. The tenth ring is basically the best fighters in the Society. It's the same concept with the rings where theyre using weapons.

Luke watched the fights carefully, and after some observation he could tell exactly what Ethan was referring to. The battles happening in the first ring lacked technique or grace, the fighters simply rushing eachother and swinging wildly. More often than not, they would end up rolling on the floor before one of them managed to pin the other. The ones in the tenth ring by contrast, were a lot more agile. Dodging blows gracefully, with small movements. Every attack seemed calculated, precise, and fast. To Luke, the fights in the latter rings looked choreographed in their complexity, as if they were dancing instead of fighting. It seemed more like something he would have seen in an action movie as opposed to the real world.

Dont think about it too much. Get in there, getting your butt kicked is good for you. Ethan urged, as Luke eyed the line.

This is gonna suck.

Alright. Luke agreed, making his way to the first arena. With a plan that amounted to trying his best, and tapping out if things got too rough. He was confident that it wouldnt end terribly, if anything, learning what it was like being in combat would only help him in the future. Being a simple office worker in his last life hadnt done much for him when it came to sharpening his instincts for life and death struggles.

Paying close attention to the fights as he occupied the second and then the first place in the line, it became clear who he would be fighting. Like most of the others lined up to fight in the first ring, he was young. Lukes guess being that he was of a similar age to his new body, either fifteen or sixteen. Tan skin, and brown hair cut close to his scalp, and a thin wiry frame.

In spite of which he had made short work of his last two fights. Luke watched carefully as he started his third. This time against a girl. She wasted no time in engaging him, and with fists raised above her chest she circled around him slowly, before striking out with a quick jab that he dodged by stepping to the side. Before the girl could even pull her arm back, he had closed the distance between them and punched her in the gut with everything he had.

Luke winced along with the rest of the line as she folded instantly, and fell knee first onto the ground, and started gasping for breath. The Society, at least when it came to combat, made no distinction between men and women. While men had a natural physical advantage in the earliest stages of the mortal-tier, it would dwindle rapidly as they progressed. The mana in the air, augmenting all people equally as they worked their bodies.

As the girl stumbled out of the ring, the referee waved him in right after. His opponent had waived the allotted minute of rest granted between battles.

Here we go.