Most surprisingly, however, was that as Melvin walked along the main road, his eyes would reflexively peek at the intersections whenever he passed them. That was precisely the reason why he started noticing a very peculiar sight.
'What are they doing?' Melvin analyzed as he looked at various families carrying grills, meats, skewers, tables, and chairs in front of their houses.
As he continued to walk street after street, he started observing plumes of smoke rising from several places in the city, and a meaty scent filled the whole place.
The previously heavily crowded main road soon became deserted as people retreated to their houses, leaving Melvin and a few others.
Melvin felt his hunger increasing even more because of the delicious smell filling the air, and the fact that there was no place to eat, frustrated him even more.
'Guess It's time to use my newly learned skill,' Melvin sarcastically thought. As for what the skill was exactly, begging.
He had already stopped on the sidewalk of the main road with his gaze fixed to the right, observing a family with a long table in front of their houses filled with meat and other delicacies.
Because there were more than ten people, he felt slightly pressured. And so, with a long breath, he steadied himself and started approaching the unsuspecting family.
The atmosphere was lively and rang out with laughter, and though most of them were busy eating away everything in front of them, a slightly older woman and a young man around his age were close to the grill where they'd take the meat that had finished to the table and put new one to get roasted.
The grill was both rectangular and long but very short in height, reaching just around a person's knee, and so the woman sat next to it in a small wooden chair as she controlled a small bellow to increase the fire after the young man just took a batch of cooked skewers.
Sensing Melvin's approach, the woman's eyes immediately followed after him, awaiting whatever he was about to say. Melvin bent down his legs to get to her eye level, and when he reached close enough that the smoke was already hitting him in the face, he mustered up his most pitiful voice and asked, "Aunt, can you give me some food? I don't have a home."
The woman stood up and looked at him with a wide-smile, saying, "Of course, come here, come here."
She beckoned him to follow as she closed in to the table, and at the very head of it was an unoccupied chair. She gently pulled it back a bit and gestured, "Here, sit and eat whatever you like."
Melvin was shocked when he heard that, as that went against his expectations. He only wanted some meat to eat on the way, and now he found himself uncomfortably sitting at the head of the table as he awkwardly stared at the dozen eyes looking at him curiously.
"Ehh, Hello, my name is Melvin." He said, friendly nodding toward the group of people with a weak smile.
Fortunately, they all seemed to be in jovial moods, and so most of them greeted him warmly. However, he noticed that some faces weren't exactly friendly, and he reasoned this must be a family dynamic, and his presence puts a damper on it.
Thinking it was a good excuse to keep silent, he just ate and he listened to what they were talking about. Occasionally, one of them would ask him something, and he would answer.
After eating his fill that didn't take long, around a quarter of an hour, he immediately stood up and thanked all of them for the gracious meal before leaving. He noticed how the older woman had already finished tending to the grill, and so he didn't want to impose even more because he was sitting on her chair.
'I really like free things!' Melvin thought amused by how much he enjoyed asking for things.
He also understood that the festival seemed to inspire a spirit of generosity among the people as if it were a tradition for them to become particularly charitable during that time.
'Hmm.. Though, I do wonder who that woman I met at the plaza was.' He thought with a complicated expression, and he planned to ask George when he went home.
He understood that he had to go back, the roads would be closed for seven days, and a lot of people were looking for him to remain in the streets, would be dangerous.
If the roads weren't closed, he would have taken the first carriage to the next city and completely abandoned everything, including the quest and all the people who knew Jacob.
Apart from his lack of emotional attachment to them, they might as well have been considered a burden. He knew they would always approach him with their already established dynamic with someone already dead, and he wanted none of that. If he disappeared from their lives, it would also give them the chance to grieve Jacob.
When Melvin arrived in the same street where he had bought the potion close to the southern gate, he found that most shops were still closed.
Initially, he planned on just waiting in front, as he had nothing better to do. But, he remebered that he was still a wanted man and the a guard's station was quite close to him.
"Shit" Melvin mumbled under his breath at the realization, then he briskly walked toward the same narrow street where he talked with the other boys previously, and he noticed that there were a lot of stray cats moving about.
That wasn't the first time he had observed the abundance of stray cats that roamed the city streets. They seemed to populate every corner he glanced at.
Most cats seemed very friendly and unafraid of his approach, a testament to them getting treated well in the city he reasoned. However, there were several of them that seemed very skittish and apprehensive.
He sat down, back against the wall, and played with the cats for a short while. When he was bored, he checked the stores once again, but they were still closed.
Suddenly, he thought of something quite worrying, "Wouldn't the guards have implemented some contingency plan to inspect all carriages leaving the city to arrest criminals who want to run?"
"Shit." He cursed under his breath once again, realizing that the issue was more complicated than he first assumed. But, he quickly dismissed those thoughts as he recalled something he needed to do.
He still hadn't checked his other Title, and so with a flashing thought, the interface blinked into existence before him.
***
Name: Melvin Miller(Jacob)
Age: 25(19)
Class: Rune Mythomancer(Legendary)
Class: None.
Tier: Initate
Rank: 1(0%)
Titles: [The Herectic] | [The Storyteller's Charm]
Health Points, HP: 60/60
Mana Points, MP: 30/30
Stamina Points, SP: 36/36
Mental Energy, ME: 25/25
Vitality: 6
Strength: 7
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 4
Available Stats Points: 0
Skills: [Storyweaver, Lv1]
Ongoing Quest: [Jacob The Snake's Death]
Resistances: None.
***
With a goal in mind, Melvin briefly studied the interface, his heart filled with endless satisfaction as he did so, before he focused his eyes on the other title.
[Title: The Heretic]
Description: The Heretic places the bearer on a perilous path, inviting divine fury for daring to challenge the gods' authority. Yet amidst the looming threat of celestial wrath, an enigmatic force watches, its influence both ominous and compelling.
Skill: [The Gluttonous Atheist]
+20% Regeneration Rate for Health, Mana, Stamina, and Mental Energy.
Legendary Class Hidden Through Appraisal
(Upgradable)]
Melvin unconsciously rested his chin on his hand as he went through his title, but he still couldn't figure out some of the details, 'I think appraisal is a skill some people have that allows them to see the interface of others?' He thought with slight fear, but then he sighed in relief, 'Thank god then, if people were to know I have a legendary class how impossibly dangerous things would be for me?'
The +20 Regeneration Rate was instantly understood, and so with that, he focused his eyes on the skill given by the title to see its effects.
'That skill name...interesting.' Melvin mused with a smile, he could more or less imagine its origins.
[The Gluttonous Atheist: With a slim 5% chance of success, this rare ability allows the user to absorb one skill from a person of faith. However, once utilized, the skill enters a cooldown phase, rendering it inaccessible until the following month.]
'Fuck!' Melvin immediately stood up, scaring the nearby stray cats. His gaze trailed over the explanation for a second time, 'I can get a skill from those who follow the gods' faith?'
Needless to say, the skill sounded too good to be true, but there was a complication, 'How faithful is the question? Most people I've met believe in the gods, so are all of them eligible? Or does it require someone who is ultra-religious?' He thought with a deep pondering look on his face.
'Why is there no level is the question?' Naturally, he wouldn't miss such a stark difference between this skill and the other. When he saw the title had the word upgradable, he reasoned that the skill's progression should be following the title.
'Overall, it's very good... but I need to understand it more, the explanation is rather vague.' He thought. After throwing a brief look at the interface, he was certain that he understood most of it.
Even the Tiers were explained to him by the older gentleman he found in the ceremony. He told him about the three Initate, Novice, and Adept.
Each Tier gave three skills. One at the initial class inception, the second at Rank 5, and the last one at Rank 10. When one breaks through to the next Tier, the same pattern repeats itself.
'Wait!' Melvin's movement stiffened as he thought of another interesting possibility. He swiftly made the interface appear once again, and this time, he focused his eyes on his Stats. Although they seemed intuitive, a thorough understanding would be even better.
His assumption proved to be correct as a new table he had never seen before appeared before him.
| Name | Explanation |
| Vitality | Enhances health points, defense, lifespan, and overall physical resilience. |
| Strength | Indicates the physical power of an individual, enhancing attack damage and providing increased stamina. |
| Agility | Reflects nimbleness and quickness, boosting speed, reflex, agility, and increased stamina. |
| Intelligence | Boosts Mana, Magical prowess, and Mana Regeneration. |
| Wisdom | Increases Mental Energy, fortifying against mental attacks, enhancing offense in mental skills, and ME Regeneration|
| Charisma | Measures charm, persuasion, and leadership abilities, influencing social interactions. |
After going through all of it, he understood why his health, mana, stamina, and mental energy points were in those ranges because that had indeed puzzled him before.
His thoughts weaved a simple calculation, 'It looks like for every point in both Agility and Strength I get two points in Stamina.' He concluded, 'Then every point in Intelligence and Wisdom I get five in Mana and Mental Energy. Then one point in vitality equals ten points in health...'
'The first three are rather straightforward, but the others are new for me I would need to experiment with them.' Melvin contemplated as he looked at the table of information in front of him, 'Intelligence affects magical powers that are rooted in mana, this one makes sense. Wisdom on the other hand affects mental energy, it seems to be like mana but more in the realm of the mind. Hmm...'
Charisma seemed pretty intuitive to him as well, it affected people's perception of you. It would make you seem more capable and your word will pull people, 'I wonder how much Charisma that Prince Consort has', Melvin thought with some intrigue after he recalled how absolutely domineering and capable that person made him feel from such a distance, even his voice stirred a subtle feeling of both respect and fear when he talked.
Feeling very satisfied with his new understanding of both himself and the world around him, Melvin went in to check if the shops had opened, and to his absolutely joy, they had indeed.
Most surprisingly, however, was that as Melvin walked along the main road, his eyes would reflexively peek at the intersections whenever he passed them. That was precisely the reason why he started noticing a very peculiar sight.
'What are they doing?' Melvin analyzed as he looked at various families carrying grills, meats, skewers, tables, and chairs in front of their houses.
As he continued to walk street after street, he started observing plumes of smoke rising from several places in the city, and a meaty scent filled the whole place.
The previously heavily crowded main road soon became deserted as people retreated to their houses, leaving Melvin and a few others.
Melvin felt his hunger increasing even more because of the delicious smell filling the air, and the fact that there was no place to eat, frustrated him even more.
'Guess It's time to use my newly learned skill,' Melvin sarcastically thought. As for what the skill was exactly, begging.
He had already stopped on the sidewalk of the main road with his gaze fixed to the right, observing a family with a long table in front of their houses filled with meat and other delicacies.
Because there were more than ten people, he felt slightly pressured. And so, with a long breath, he steadied himself and started approaching the unsuspecting family.
The atmosphere was lively and rang out with laughter, and though most of them were busy eating away everything in front of them, a slightly older woman and a young man around his age were close to the grill where they'd take the meat that had finished to the table and put new one to get roasted.
The grill was both rectangular and long but very short in height, reaching just around a person's knee, and so the woman sat next to it in a small wooden chair as she controlled a small bellow to increase the fire after the young man just took a batch of cooked skewers.
Sensing Melvin's approach, the woman's eyes immediately followed after him, awaiting whatever he was about to say. Melvin bent down his legs to get to her eye level, and when he reached close enough that the smoke was already hitting him in the face, he mustered up his most pitiful voice and asked, "Aunt, can you give me some food? I don't have a home."
The woman stood up and looked at him with a wide-smile, saying, "Of course, come here, come here."
She beckoned him to follow as she closed in to the table, and at the very head of it was an unoccupied chair. She gently pulled it back a bit and gestured, "Here, sit and eat whatever you like."
Melvin was shocked when he heard that, as that went against his expectations. He only wanted some meat to eat on the way, and now he found himself uncomfortably sitting at the head of the table as he awkwardly stared at the dozen eyes looking at him curiously.
"Ehh, Hello, my name is Melvin." He said, friendly nodding toward the group of people with a weak smile.
Fortunately, they all seemed to be in jovial moods, and so most of them greeted him warmly. However, he noticed that some faces weren't exactly friendly, and he reasoned this must be a family dynamic, and his presence puts a damper on it.
Thinking it was a good excuse to keep silent, he just ate and he listened to what they were talking about. Occasionally, one of them would ask him something, and he would answer.
After eating his fill that didn't take long, around a quarter of an hour, he immediately stood up and thanked all of them for the gracious meal before leaving. He noticed how the older woman had already finished tending to the grill, and so he didn't want to impose even more because he was sitting on her chair.
'I really like free things!' Melvin thought amused by how much he enjoyed asking for things.
He also understood that the festival seemed to inspire a spirit of generosity among the people as if it were a tradition for them to become particularly charitable during that time.
'Hmm.. Though, I do wonder who that woman I met at the plaza was.' He thought with a complicated expression, and he planned to ask George when he went home.
He understood that he had to go back, the roads would be closed for seven days, and a lot of people were looking for him to remain in the streets, would be dangerous.
If the roads weren't closed, he would have taken the first carriage to the next city and completely abandoned everything, including the quest and all the people who knew Jacob.
Apart from his lack of emotional attachment to them, they might as well have been considered a burden. He knew they would always approach him with their already established dynamic with someone already dead, and he wanted none of that. If he disappeared from their lives, it would also give them the chance to grieve Jacob.
When Melvin arrived in the same street where he had bought the potion close to the southern gate, he found that most shops were still closed.
Initially, he planned on just waiting in front, as he had nothing better to do. But, he remebered that he was still a wanted man and the a guard's station was quite close to him.
"Shit" Melvin mumbled under his breath at the realization, then he briskly walked toward the same narrow street where he talked with the other boys previously, and he noticed that there were a lot of stray cats moving about.
That wasn't the first time he had observed the abundance of stray cats that roamed the city streets. They seemed to populate every corner he glanced at.
Most cats seemed very friendly and unafraid of his approach, a testament to them getting treated well in the city he reasoned. However, there were several of them that seemed very skittish and apprehensive.
He sat down, back against the wall, and played with the cats for a short while. When he was bored, he checked the stores once again, but they were still closed.
Suddenly, he thought of something quite worrying, "Wouldn't the guards have implemented some contingency plan to inspect all carriages leaving the city to arrest criminals who want to run?"
"Shit." He cursed under his breath once again, realizing that the issue was more complicated than he first assumed. But, he quickly dismissed those thoughts as he recalled something he needed to do.
He still hadn't checked his other Title, and so with a flashing thought, the interface blinked into existence before him.
***
Name: Melvin Miller(Jacob)
Age: 25(19)
Class: Rune Mythomancer(Legendary)
Class: None.
Tier: Initate
Rank: 1(0%)
Titles: [The Herectic] | [The Storyteller's Charm]
Health Points, HP: 60/60
Mana Points, MP: 30/30
Stamina Points, SP: 36/36
Mental Energy, ME: 25/25
Vitality: 6
Strength: 7
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 4
Available Stats Points: 0
Skills: [Storyweaver, Lv1]
Ongoing Quest: [Jacob The Snake's Death]
Resistances: None.
***
With a goal in mind, Melvin briefly studied the interface, his heart filled with endless satisfaction as he did so, before he focused his eyes on the other title.
[Title: The Heretic]
Description: The Heretic places the bearer on a perilous path, inviting divine fury for daring to challenge the gods' authority. Yet amidst the looming threat of celestial wrath, an enigmatic force watches, its influence both ominous and compelling.
Skill: [The Gluttonous Atheist]
+20% Regeneration Rate for Health, Mana, Stamina, and Mental Energy.
Legendary Class Hidden Through Appraisal
(Upgradable)]
Melvin unconsciously rested his chin on his hand as he went through his title, but he still couldn't figure out some of the details, 'I think appraisal is a skill some people have that allows them to see the interface of others?' He thought with slight fear, but then he sighed in relief, 'Thank god then, if people were to know I have a legendary class how impossibly dangerous things would be for me?'
The +20 Regeneration Rate was instantly understood, and so with that, he focused his eyes on the skill given by the title to see its effects.
'That skill name...interesting.' Melvin mused with a smile, he could more or less imagine its origins.
[The Gluttonous Atheist: With a slim 5% chance of success, this rare ability allows the user to absorb one skill from a person of faith. However, once utilized, the skill enters a cooldown phase, rendering it inaccessible until the following month.]
'Fuck!' Melvin immediately stood up, scaring the nearby stray cats. His gaze trailed over the explanation for a second time, 'I can get a skill from those who follow the gods' faith?'
Needless to say, the skill sounded too good to be true, but there was a complication, 'How faithful is the question? Most people I've met believe in the gods, so are all of them eligible? Or does it require someone who is ultra-religious?' He thought with a deep pondering look on his face.
'Why is there no level is the question?' Naturally, he wouldn't miss such a stark difference between this skill and the other. When he saw the title had the word upgradable, he reasoned that the skill's progression should be following the title.
'Overall, it's very good... but I need to understand it more, the explanation is rather vague.' He thought. After throwing a brief look at the interface, he was certain that he understood most of it.
Even the Tiers were explained to him by the older gentleman he found in the ceremony. He told him about the three Initate, Novice, and Adept.
Each Tier gave three skills. One at the initial class inception, the second at Rank 5, and the last one at Rank 10. When one breaks through to the next Tier, the same pattern repeats itself.
'Wait!' Melvin's movement stiffened as he thought of another interesting possibility. He swiftly made the interface appear once again, and this time, he focused his eyes on his Stats. Although they seemed intuitive, a thorough understanding would be even better.
His assumption proved to be correct as a new table he had never seen before appeared before him.
| Name | Explanation |
| Vitality | Enhances health points, defense, lifespan, and overall physical resilience. |
| Strength | Indicates the physical power of an individual, enhancing attack damage and providing increased stamina. |
| Agility | Reflects nimbleness and quickness, boosting speed, reflex, agility, and increased stamina. |
| Intelligence | Boosts Mana, Magical prowess, and Mana Regeneration. |
| Wisdom | Increases Mental Energy, fortifying against mental attacks, enhancing offense in mental skills, and ME Regeneration|
| Charisma | Measures charm, persuasion, and leadership abilities, influencing social interactions. |
After going through all of it, he understood why his health, mana, stamina, and mental energy points were in those ranges because that had indeed puzzled him before.
His thoughts weaved a simple calculation, 'It looks like for every point in both Agility and Strength I get two points in Stamina.' He concluded, 'Then every point in Intelligence and Wisdom I get five in Mana and Mental Energy. Then one point in vitality equals ten points in health...'
'The first three are rather straightforward, but the others are new for me I would need to experiment with them.' Melvin contemplated as he looked at the table of information in front of him, 'Intelligence affects magical powers that are rooted in mana, this one makes sense. Wisdom on the other hand affects mental energy, it seems to be like mana but more in the realm of the mind. Hmm...'
Charisma seemed pretty intuitive to him as well, it affected people's perception of you. It would make you seem more capable and your word will pull people, 'I wonder how much Charisma that Prince Consort has', Melvin thought with some intrigue after he recalled how absolutely domineering and capable that person made him feel from such a distance, even his voice stirred a subtle feeling of both respect and fear when he talked.
Feeling very satisfied with his new understanding of both himself and the world around him, Melvin went in to check if the shops had opened, and to his absolutely joy, they had indeed.
