“After leeching of the naive and trusting trio. Our hero began stretching in ways that caused the eve clan members to shiver. Expanding their minds.”

‘How is he doing that? Deve? Keve?’

‘He must be some kind of an elemental sprite.’

‘I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like he has bones. Is he bending his bones?’

“Even if the three newcomers are unexperienced, they realized that what our hero was doing was extreme.

The obvious awe, fear, disgust and confusion overwhelmed them. It wasn’t until a few moments passed that they concluded that our hero, was indeed not a sprite.”

‘Looks like he descended from an animal. From the looks of it, he has had to train hard to achieve this flexibility.’

“Quietly nodding, the three fell into silence. The eve are a rather large clan, split further into minor clans.

Their bodies could be considered stiff in nature. They depended on their natural strength. Their center of gravity, innately talented melee fighters.”

“…”

‘…’

“Our hero’s stretching routine garnered quite a few glances from people rushing out of camp Sharpstone.

Many disregarded without a second thought while others took a second look. Some even going so far as to spit on the ground before moving in a random direction.”

“The hell. Spitting? Alright. Who can explain to me where you and all these people came from?”

‘What do you mean, Ji? Didn’t you arrive just before us?’

“No. No I’ve been here a while. I set this campsite up. I only recently finished a quest to do so.”

‘Nowa-eeee!’

“The high pitch screech. An unfortunate trait of the eve race. It is not recommended to excite an eve.”

‘Calm down, Keve. No need to scare people! You know they can’t stand that sound.’

‘Sorry, Deve. Sorry, Leve.’

‘It’s okay. Keve is overreacting.’

“Eh? My ears. Why are my ears bleeding? Hello? Not again! I just got my hearing back!”

“While still in a state of healing, his ears maimed once again. Luckily they within the realm of salvation.”

‘Leve, please.’

‘I got it! Hold still Ji. I’m going to help’

“Huh? What is she doing?”

“The disturbed ambient mana quickly calms its flow. Within a small sphere the air slows to a crawl. But even these changes are lost on all present.

What proceeds is a common transfer of beneficial energy. Energy so generic it can pass from one person to another.

The added benefit of which is to balance the body. That balance allows a smoother path towards both regenerating one’s body and sating the strained mind.”

‘That’s all I can do.’

“As the young eve took a step back, she obviously looked confused. The usually easy to use magic had to be forced.

Easily explained by the fact that our hero’s body both attracts and repels external sources of magic. A strong equilibrium that comes with his unique physique.”

“Thank you. That felt nice.

I’ve been meaning to ask, what are your quests here?”

‘Most of our quests are similar. They are almost all about exploring the area. Or to gather resources.’

‘Deve and me have almost an identical quest. We have to go explore north-north west of sharpstone.

We’re supposed to find some kind of animals and bring back notes about them. And their habitats.’

‘Mhm. Leve’s quest is surprisingly in the same direction but she has to collected up to five different plants that grow in the area. We think it’s because she has a background in herbalism.’

“The world rarely deals in true random acts. Its predictions close to a deities’. No pun intended.”

“Pun? How was that a pun?

Ah. Never mind. But those quests sound cool. But why is everyone in such a hurry, then?”

‘That’s because they believe they’ll get extra rewards for quick action. We don’t think it’s true. And it’s going to take us a few days to clear the quests anyway. We eve’s, are patient people.’

“Simple. Honest to a fault. That is how most see the eve. Of course, no being is without staggering flaws.”

“Hooh. I see. Well that’s good. I thought it was a race or something. If that’s the case, I’ll take my time.

I guess it’s time to see what my quest will be. Feel free to contact me in the future! You seem like good people.

Although I’ve been burned in the past.”

‘What?’

“Nothing. Forget it. When will you guys be heading out?”

‘We are going now. We only visited you because we were curious.’

“Finally, our hero waves goodbye to his newly acquainted friends. Being so late to get an assigned quest means the difficulty will rise, as easier alternatives have been snagged.”

“What!? Why didn’t you say anything? Oh god. Ah! There are still more people coming through, shi-. I got to hurry!”

“With the immense improvements to mental capabilities, his movement spell have improved. After further polishing his skills, they will see a leap in much needed eloquence.

Both his cast time and energy efficacy may see a tremendous rise.”

“Are you saying that my breakthrough wasn’t enough? No. I can definitely feel.

Hm. Well it’s not really that noticeable. I guess I have to train my spells. Maybe try improving them.”

“The previously desolate camp Sharpstone now appears lively. Some people leisurely walk about exploring.

Many seem to have come for other purposes than adventure. They can be seen setting up small areas, and fiddling with their prescribed crafting profession.”

“Why come here to craft things?”

“While personal strength is greatly sought after, the reason is often to facilitate their growth. To gain further insight into their chosen profession.

In an era of crafting, personal strength is secondary to one’s equipment. “

“…”

“And while the world lowers or increases experience gained on a whim, it still adheres to a set of rules it set for itself. It already has barriers in place.

And if people reach the apex of their current level, the world won’t punish them with experience penalties.”

“Barriers. Like level caps. Hmm. I guess that makes sense. I get more experience for achieving harder things.

But I can also wear items that boost my strength to achieve the same objective. Because the world doesn’t care what I wear?

That seems lazy. If it’s all powerful and stuff. Why wouldn’t it just calculate the rewarded experience by factoring in every knowable variable?”

“Of courses the materials to craft higher tiers of items, enchants and consumables. Become far more rare. Far more valuable.

While the quantity of items required to progress ones professions doesn’t increase. It quickly becomes unobtainable. Lest you have the power to gather them yourself.”

“I feel like I’m naked. I need to get more items. Although it seems that the clothes Tio gave me where of pretty high quality.”

“If one’s personal strength, be it mental dexterity or physical prowess. If it does not properly scale in tandem with one’s crafting potential. One will find oneself at an impasse.”

“Does one? At an impasse, you say? How unfortunate for one self.

What? Got nothing to say? No?

You sure?”

“It of course expected that the feeble minds of humans to become unstable. With excessive power, within an irrational mind, outbursts such as these are unsurprising.”

“Whatever, Narry. I’m going to que for that quest. We can take a look around all the stalls, see if we find anything useful to buy.”

“Surrounding the quest information stall are multiple different people. Most look similar, most common features are oval and hairy heads.

While they are a majority, it is not a large one. Our hero successfully blends into the crowd nonetheless.”

“…”

“The names of the various races gathered here can be hard to recount and for the most part, useless. A great many stand under the banner of their clans or tribes.

Similar scenes can be seen with the humans, they identify as their clan, rather than their race.

The largest reason for this action, is that clans and their affiliates often develop unique abilities or skills. They then identify with their abilities.”

“…”

“It can be easier to identify a person’s origin from their skills rather than their appearance. The oh clan, while not especially well known.

Are known for their dexterous combat abilities in combination with adept water manipulation. And those factors can be easier to recognize than the clan’s name.”

“This is taking forever, what is going on? Why are they just standing there talking to the npc’s?”

‘They are trying to get extra information out of the quest giver.’

“A voice pierces its way through the mindless murmur of the crowd. Reaching our hero. We can see our hero trying to spot the origin of the voice to no avail.”

“Isn’t all the information going to be given with the quest?”

‘Probably. But we don’t know. There hasn’t been such a large quest event in decades now.’

“Slowly our hero closes in. The crowd has only grown, and no end in sight. Hundreds of people.”

“They’re lips are moving, but I can’t hear what the attendees are saying.

Looks like the sound is being blocked out somehow.”

“Finally. Our hero reaches the end of his wait. He has now begun talking to the world’s servants.”

‘Take this. It will be able to contain all items related to the quest.”

“What is it?”

|Quest pack|

“Carry our burdens.”

Capable of containing a small amount of quest related items.

“How small is small? You’re not going to ask me to go back and forth to gather supplies, right?”

‘Of coursenot, Ji Aleksy. The |Quest pack| will be sufficient to hold all items related to the quests |Camp Sharpstone needs| and |Dying deliverance, stones to Sharpstone|.’

“Okay. But still. You are asking for an incredible number of things. This might take me weeks or more.”

“Of course our hero misunderstands how materials will be collected. He will slay giant stone creatures.

Assault boisterous beasts. And strike down plant-life filled with abundant materials required for the quest at hand.”

“Oh? Ah. Wait! Giant stone creatures!? Where does it say that in the quest!?”

“For an inconceivable reason, our hero looks to the sky, waves his hands in the air as he shouts. Innocent bystanders stand and stare in shock. Perhaps our hero should return to his icy rest.”

“…”

“Quickly making his way through the crown, our hero takes in the sights.”

“There are even more people here now. This looks like a bazaar. Are they all selling stuff?”

“Tens of unique stalls, with items on display. Some advertise their wares while others calmly practice their craft.”

“Let’s see if they have anything I need. Do I need anything? Hmm, no. I got food and camping stones from the quest.

Some kind of weapon would be cool. I was planning on using my wand. But it can’t hurt to look, right?

Oh, cool! Look. That guy is carving something. Let’s check it out.”

“The newcomers have created a messy yet organized pathway. Many hold their chins high as they ignore the common rabble.

But our hero, shamelessly bounces about. His eyes shooting in every direction. One can’t help but blush in his place.”

“Looks like a shin guard. Or at least some kind of armor.”

‘Looking for upgrades?’

“Once the carver speaks out, his tool vanishes. A conjured tool. Not as efficient has a professionally forged piece. Yet sufficient and a sign of talent. At the very least.”