The First Archmage

(Gavin)

"Strip," the tailor tells me.

"Why?"

"So I can measure you, of course," he says. "Now strip off your clothes. Once I've measured you, I'll start fitting a new outfit to you. And Kade – you tell Natalie that I do two sets of clothes for immediate use, not one. She always says just one, because she thinks I'll always be able to get the rest done the same day."

"Well, you do," Kade shrugs as I strip. "So what's the harm in only one that's just fitted, instead of two? Gives more that'll fit better, as they're tailored specifically for the wearer."

"What if I miss one day?" The tailor pulls out a measuring cloth and begins measuring the various parts of my body. "What if my workshop burns down? Then the young apprentice will only have one set of clothes to wear! Young man – what colors do you like?"

"Darker ones," I answer. "Purples, blues, greens, and reds. Some browns and greys."

"Nice choices," he says. "Lighter colors are too bright, in my opinion. Kade, he has good tastes, yes he does!"

He finishes measuring me, then walks off, returning with pants and a tunic. Black pants, and a dark blue tunic with violet trim. He has me put them on, then makes adjustments so they fit on my body better. I've never had clothes fitted to me directly before.

Once he finishes fitting the outfit, he looks at Kade.

"Did she only give you five silver for the clothes again?" He asks.

"Yup!" Kade pulls the coins out of his pouch and skips over to us, handing them to the tailor.

"Dammit, Natalie!" He groans. "You tell her that she needs to stop pretending she gets a discount, and that next time, I'm charging her the full silver for tunic, and full for pants. And she's not including the cost for a proper belt, either!"

"What's wrong with me belt?" I indicate the strip of cloth with a buckle we use back in the village. "I know ya all have leather and stuff, but that works fine, don' it?"

"Oh, children from villages," the tailor mutters. "I'll throw in three belts," he speaks up, looking at me. "A proper magician shouldn't be wearing something so cheap. Magicians are highly valued because of their similarity in power to Adventurers, as well as with their versatility with magic, when they manage to learn spells. They're quite prominent in the Adventurer Guild, and those who aren't magicians often use magical equipment."

"Adventurer Guild?"

"I'll show him," Kade says. "So he's getting three belts? You only gave me one."

"He grew up in a village," the man states. "You grew up in a town. There's quite the difference between the two environments. See his boots? A child, in a village, will rarely even have those. His are a decent quality, and I'm sure that they're quite durable. Soft leather boots, yes?"

"Ya."

"Good for moving around quietly in," the tailor nods. "You're slender, but your muscles are defined. That, combined with your boots – which are undoubtedly made of sliphound leather – suggest you grew up in a forested region. Considering where the Adventurers you came in with yesterday came from, I'd say you grew up in Kar?"

"Indeed."

"Nice place," he nods. "It's been a few years since I was last there, though I don't say I remember you. Of course, seeing as you have boots like that, you're probably one of the ruffians of the village, and I do remember that every time I'm there, their local ruffians were out in the woods."

"Yer the tailor what come in every few years and make a couple o' tunics for Chief?"

"Indeed," he nods. "So what brings you to the city to learn magic?"

"I's an Adventurer," I tell him. "Gots the Wizard Class, so the king says to go train with the magicians. Makes sense, right?"

"The Wizard Class?" He laughs. "That's a good one!"

"No, seriously," Kade says. "Miss Natalie even said so, and you know I'd never lie about her."

"Really?" The tailor looks at me. "To think that the first ever Wizard Adventurer is in my shop. I'll throw in a fourth belt for you."

He disappears into a back room, handing me a belt, and I pull it on, then my pack, slipping my free knife into the new belt.

"A wizard with a knife," he snorts. "It'll be awhile before the village leaves you, boy."

"Pro'bly," I say. "Or pro'bly it never does, right?"

The tailor laughs, then tells me that he'll have the rest of the clothes sent to the tower when he finishes them, and to be off. Kade and I leave, and he asks if I want food first, or to see the Guild first.

"Guild first," I answer. "I'll be hungrier after, won't I?"

"Indeed!" He nods, then starts walking along the streets, a bounce in his step. "One of the things you have to know about the Adventurer Guild is that anyone can join – and I do mean anyone. All Adventurers are a part of it, as are a lot of regular people who want some extra money, or want to make a living as an adventurer. It gets confusing, but you'll get used to it.

"Anyway," he continues. "We adventurers can take on jobs and stuff, and are the king's primary force in keeping monsters clear of areas and raiding Dungeons. We actually use some Dungeons as training grounds.

"The Adventurers," he continues. "The ones what have Access to the System, that is, they're the ones who take on the bigger threats, who lead the battles with other nations, and so on. You're more likely to gain access to the System if you're a registered adventurer, hence the Adventurers being called that, instead of something different. That's… really the only way people know how to increase the odds, but it's not by much."

Then isn't it possible that it's really not increasing the odds, it just seems like it because more people who qualify become adventurers?

+1 INT!

+1 Human Experience!

"The hell?" I exclaim.

"What?" Kade looks at me.

"I jus' thought something," I say. "And gained an INT and some Experience fo' being Human. The System be either sentient and jus' screwing with me, or jus' has some crazy as fuck standards!"

"What'd you think?" He asks.

"Jus' somethin' that be logical," I say. "And it only gave me 1 Human Experience, the cheeky bastard."

+1 INT!

"Now it's being extra cheeky!" I exclaim. "If I's able to slap it, I would!"

"You're funny," Kade giggles. "What did it do this time?"

"Give me another INT when I called it cheeky!"

Kade laughs, shakes his head, and keeps walking. Eventually, we arrive at a massive building toward the center of town.

"This," he says. "Is the Adventurer's Guild. Miss Natalie probably expects me to take you here, since all Adventurers are adventurers, too. That means that if you do a duty for the king, and end up completing a quest at the same time, you'll get paid from the Guild as well. Hell, the Guild pays for most of the Adventurers' stuff, because they can afford it better than the kingdom can."

"Ain't Adventurers in all kingdoms?" I ask. "How would the Adventurer's Guild affect their name across all o' 'em?"

"Because the Guild is across all of them," he answers. "The Guild is unaffiliated to any individual nation, and holds a neutral stance across them. No nation will ask it to work for them, for it means they'll lose a source of income. Jobs are posted, and while the Guild takes a cut of all rewards, it spreads the wealth across nations, increases the need for smiths, and any nation without the Guild has a far weaker system in place, even if they have their own form of the Guild."

Um… okay?

"So the Guild doesn't participate in any wars between the nations," Kade continues. "But all nations allow the Guild to function, there. Without the resources of the guild, their magicians and warriors would be much weaker."

I can see how having the Guild in multiple nations would be beneficial to them, but it'd be even more beneficial if more people had Access to the System.

"Plus," he says. "So many people die from quests that they completed that the Guild doesn't have to pay out, so that also boosts the Guild's finances. Let's go in and get you registered."

I follow Kade in, chuckling to myself at his absent-mindedness about telling me about the Guild.

The entrance room is massive and filled with people walking around and talking, many of them looking at magical screens. Kade leads me up to one of the dozen lines at the counter along the back wall, and we wait for our turn.

As we wait, I look around the room, taking note of tables, the different people, people who are probably Adventurers, and the spiral staircases leading up to the second level of the Guild. There are four total, one in each corner of the room, and the two front ones seem to be for people going down, and the two in the back for people going up.

"Oh, those?" Kade asks when I ask him about them. "The second level's where more advanced quests can be taken on. You can take on basic quests down here, and you have to go to this counter to register or collect rewards. Tier 3 and above quests and rewards are upstairs, though the stairs don't actually have assigned directions, hence them being a little bit wider – that's just how people are using them right now. It's seen as a courtesy thing."

In other words: walk in the opposite direction of everyone else for maximum impact. Got it.

After twenty minutes of waiting, we approach the counter, where a tall, muscular man stands. He's kind of intimidating, especially with the battleaxe strapped to his back.

"Heya, Vincent!" Kade greets him. "We're here to register Gavin!"

"You're not taking on a quest?" Vincent looks disappointed.

"I'm showing Gavin around before we return to the tower so he can learn magic," Kade shakes his head. "Gavin just became an Adventurer a couple of days ago, and-"

"And he's learning at the Tower?" Vincent looks confused.

"He's got the Wizard Class!" Kade squeals. "Can you believe it? I get to show around the first-ever Wizard Adventurer! Once we're done getting him registered, we're gonna go get lunch, then return to the tower so he can start learning the basics to magic!"

Kade's excitement brought his volume up, but I doubt that would have mattered. His comment about me has drawn a few stares, and I notice a couple of the possible-Adventurers looking my way, not looking amused in the slightest.

+1 PER!

Okay, now the System's just being smart with me. There's no way it's normal for someone to gain this many stat points this fast.

+1 INT!

And now it's confirming that…

Jerk.

"Excuse me," one of the Adventurers approaches us. "Did I hear right in that you claim to be an Adventurer with the Wizard Class? If that's true, you need to show me your stats, and now."

"No."

"I am the Chief Adventurer," he draws his sword, and the adventurers back off, the two Adventurers with him looking ready for a fight. "I stand above all Adventurers who serve the king, and if you don't obey me-"

"I don't serve the king, though," I say.

"So you want to be trained by royal wizards," he growls. "But don't want to serve the king? I am taking you into custody."

"The king already knows," I say. "He's cool with it. In fact, he's the one who assigned me to the tower to learn magic."

"I did receive a royal summons!" Kade puts his hands up. "I thought that meant he'd sworn to the king!"

"Do you really expect me to believe," the Adventurer says. "That the king would let someone go who doesn't swear fealty to him?"

"Ask him," I say. "I did it right in front o' the kingdom, too, and he agreed wit' my logic."

"Heated Steel," he says, and his sword takes on a fiery hue.

"Heated Steel," I draw my knife, and it takes on a fiery hue.

Skill Gained!

Heated Steel 1/10: Heats up the blade of your weapon.

"This be a pathetic Skill," I say after several seconds of silence. "Why are ya trying ta intimidate me with it? Even a new Adventurer like me can learn it easy, and please – it's only 10 Mana. How many of it can ya cast? Oh, it faded. Guess it's got a time limit. Naturally. Heated Steel. Anyway, as I was saying. Ya should, when attempting to intimidate someone, do something a bit more showy – or simply show little care – or even none at all. That is why the king accepted that I will swear fealty not ta him, but ta the kingdom. Of course, my explanation was much, much lengthier than I's bother bestowing upon a simple soldier, so feel free ta ask the king about my affiliation. I serve the kingdom, still, just not the king, directly. As ya report directly ta the king, I'm sure it won't be hard for ya ta ask him – especially since it appears any Royal Adventurer can simply walk up to him and request a discussion with him."

Let's just hope my CHA is enough to work, here, because the spell fades in the silence, and I really don't want to bother using it again.

He slices his sword through the air, and the glow fades, then he returns it to its scabbard.

"I ask that you come with me peacefully, then," he says. "If you still serve the kingdom, that won't be an issue."

"Thomas," Bryant says from the stairs he'd just descended. "Did I hear correctly in that you threatened a Royal Adventurer? Gavin – what in the fuck are you doing here?"

"Yo."

"Bryant," Thomas looks at him. "This boy is claiming to be an Adventurer, yet has refused to swear fealty to His Majesty."

"And so you pretend to be the Chief Adventurer of the King?" Bryant asks. "You're only second, Thomas, and I am here. Gavin is, indeed, an Adventurer – and his Classes are Wizard and Scout, as apparently, having Wizard as an option grants two slots instead of one. He's only had access a few days, but he's impressed the king, and I've no doubt you're realizing he's unusual, as his words alone were enough to cause you to put your sword away. His CHA started off with two digits to it.

"And yes," Bryant continues. "Gavin did not swear fealty to the king, and the king approved it. That is all you need to know. Either finish your business here or leave, but you will allow Gavin to register in peace."

Thomas stares at Bryant, then leaves, and Bryant looks at me.

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"

"He went after me," I shrug, flipping my knife, then returning it to my belt. "Anyway, let's get me registered, so I can go eat."