"I can't believe you dropped a tree on her!" Xenia laughs uproariously as she almost spills her drink, while a blushing Beatrice attempts to defend herself from across the table. At least the woman doesn't have an audience, as the floor bosses agreed to give their master a bit of alone time to catch up with her friend.
"She's supposed to be superhuman now! Never met a powerful monster who couldn't handle a small tree or two!"
Xenia almost chokes, somehow, before recovering. "Alright, correction, correction, I absolutely can believe you dropped a tree on her. Classic Trish! You're damned lucky you pulled that shit on someone who dies for a living, though!"
"Hey, I tried to offer her a healing potion! But...yeah. I guess I'm still adjusting somewhat to just what everyone's strength levels are around here, what with so many people having magic of one sort or another. So many types I've never heard of before, too."
The dungeon master nods, calming down a little. "Yeah, I've picked up a real assload of tricks from my absorbed skills, though I've barely been using them compared to most dungeons I think. Sounds like most cores use them to build customized bosses, but I get mine custom-trained to start with, so. But you've been hanging out with adventurers, right? Taly told me you had yourself a team now?"
Beatrice nods back, though this time she looks awkward for another reason. "A small team yeah, though I did want to bring that up to you. Real diverse bunch - there's Gemtooth, a dwarf with fake teeth made out of gems? Entirely for the aesthetic, they're not magic or anything. He's a Rogue but has special spells for cracking open tough defenses. Then there's Janey, an, uh...Embracing Acolyte? She serves the Goddess of Love, and heals people with, uh...intimate touches. Which somehow doesn't seem as weird after spending time working with a holy Masochist, I guess."
Xenia waggles her eyebrows. "Intimate touches, you say? I knew that goddess had to have some interesting types! So I suppose I can assume you're in perfect health, then?"
"Xen! It doesn't - it can just be hugs and, um, cheek kisses, you know. And I'm still not into women...and the fact that she's a foot or two taller than even I am is a little intimidating, if I gotta admit. Minotaur, you know. It's the, uh...the last member of the party I wanted to mention to you specifically, though."
Her friend leans forward. "Oh? Interesting class I should know about? More than 'Embracing Acolyte'?"
"It's not the class, it's..." Beatrice sighs. "So...you remember that other minotaur woman you told me about once? The one you said tried to break your core open twice?"
Xenia's eyes narrow, and she speaks in a warning tone. "...Trish..."
"I totally didn't make the connection when we first met up! Took me like a month or two, to be honest. But we've been, you know...working well together."
Xenia leans back into her seat and harrumphs while crossing her arms. "Well, I suppose I see now why you came back alone. I've still got an open promise to kill the shit out of her if she comes back here, you know."
"Yeah, and I'll admit, I get the impression she is planning on it one day. Not anytime soon, and I don't think she still wants to kill you. She doesn't talk about it much, but I get the feeling the experience kind of shook her more than a bit. I'll...try and make sure things are good before we even consider it though, if that's even an option."
"She know you and I are friends?"
Beatrice hurriedly shakes her head. "Hells no! I mean, I haven't even told anyone where I'm from, yet, I just claim I'm from some far off merchant island kingdom or something. Hard to say why I do it, really, I guess I'm just trying to attract less attention than I already am."
"How so? The armor and the accent catching eyes and ears?"
The monster slayer's expression turns glum. "A little, but...let me put it like this. I'm a level thirty Vanguard Charger."
"You might know more about Challenger classes than I do at this point, Trish. What does that mean?"
The woman grunts a little in frustration before continuing. "Vanguard Charger is an Expert-level class. Twenty through twenty-nine. Being level thirty in an Expert class is supposed to be a temporary state, what you've got while doing your training up to Master. You can't take an Expert class any further than that."
Xenia shrugs her shoulders, still feeling unclear on the problem. "Alright? Uh, congrats, I mean! Made it to Master, yeah? So what's the new class going to be?"
"That's just it. There's not going to be a new class. I'm already stretching the limits of what the Challenger's Association will allow without magical proficiency, and I've still got none. Can't light the slightest spark. Which is normal back home, but apparently practically considered a disability over here! Now...obviously, that doesn't mean I need to quit trying dungeons. I still got my equipment and my fighting skills. But it's going to be more and more a pain in the ass, trying to convince teams that I really can pull my weight as we go deeper. I mean, my current team's great, but it's still way too early to say that we're going to have a whole career together."
"That's bullshit if a stupid paperwork requirement might hold you back. But tell me, how can you get yourself some magic?"
Beatrice's brow furrows. "Uh...I don't. That's the problem."
"Well, I ain't accepting that as an answer until I've heard from the geek squad. Hey, Guy!" At the call of their name the hovering screen appears for Xenia, although they remain invisible to Beatrice despite her enchanted helmet. "Guy, call down Sincere and Lollyp here, we've got a magic problem."
"As you command, ma'am!" The screen flickers out again, and the two pass a few minutes in more idle conversation before the summoned bosses appear - Lollyp looking somewhat agitated.
"Hey, something up? There's a party up on Floor One, so I might need to go back upstairs and explode somebody in like ten minutes or so."
"No worries, you can leave if you gotta. Could be a quick question, but you two are my magic experts - tell me, how can Beatrice get a magic booster around here? She can't cast spells and that's apparently a big problem for the Association."
"Uh...just give out magic ability to someone born without it? Sorry, Xen, but...I don't think that's a thing." Despite the slime's denial, Sincere sitting next to her seems rather lost in thought, and Xenia notices.
"Feels like Lollyp just gave us the typical answer and you're about to give us the 'well, actually' answer, Sin-man. Am I right?"
Sincere's lips quirk. "Well, actually, you would be right. And it's good to see you again Beatrice, by the way."
Beatrice's helmet is closed at the moment, which hides her slight blush at his smile. "Likewise, Sincere. I'm looking forward to...catching up later."
"Then so am I. But to address the issue at hand - the simple answer is as Lollyp said - you cannot give someone magic potential. Train the growth of it, yes, but not give it to someone who has none. The intermediate answer meanwhile is that there are many ways to boost magic potential, just not ways the Association accepts as class qualifications. I speak here of potions, blessings, external spells, and magically enchanted gear."
Lollyp makes a show of rolling her slime eyes. "Well that hardly counts as an exception. The Association isn't going to credit someone with a class if their abilities go away when their potions wear off or they strip down for a shower!"
The demon continues his explanation. "Indeed. That is why the complicated answer to the question is that there exists at least one method of externally granting someone magical abilities, but in a way that would not be considered temporary."
Beatrice leans forward, suddenly very interested. "Alright, sounds like a difficult quest up ahead, which is just my sort of thing. Do I gotta kill a monster? Prove myself to the gods?"
Sincere pauses, then revises his statement. "Correction - there are two ways I know of gaining magical abilities. The second being that becoming a Champion or Paragon of a god would indeed grant you some sort of powers. However, I don't mention that first, as you'd likely never prove yourself to the gods without already having some power first. The first method would be inkbinding rituals."
Lollyp tilts her head. "Eh? Never heard of that?"
"Well, that's what would make this a 'difficult quest', I suppose. No one practices it on this continent. It is actually a ritual invented by arcane demons, but as I was summoned here as a child, I never had the chance to learn it myself."
Beatrice sucks in a breath. "Another continent, huh? Well, tell me how it works?"
Sincere nods and continues. "It starts as a method of tattooing ritual spells on a person's skin. However, the second step is then binding the spells onto the person's soul itself, allowing them to be used even if you were to, say, lose the limb with the original tattoo. For the most part it's done using complete spells, such as Fireball, but you could have more fundamental rituals granted to you which could then allow the Association to then successfully train you in more of their Warrior classes. The ability to manipulate mana into strengthening your body or weapons, for example."
Xenia narrows her eyes. "Permanently modifying the soul sounds like kind of a big deal, Sin-man."
The boss waggles a hand. "I do not believe it's the kind of modification that would survive a rebirth process. Unless they were a reincarnator, I suppose. I have heard the process can be...excruciating, though."
"Well, I'm a tough girl. So, arcane demons, you said?"
Sincere turns back towards Beatrice. "I'm not entirely certain if any of them yet live. There was a demon enclave, you see, in the Untamed Reaches. Which is to say, beastkin territory. I know they passed on their knowledge to at least one or two local tribes, but I haven't had any correspondence with the region in at least...oh, fifty years or so."
Xenia grunts. "Well, that sounds like a trip and a half. Actually, I got that geography in my head, let me show you." With a wave of her hand Xenia summons a map onto the table, and charts out the distance between the New Continent and the Untamed Reaches. "Gotta be weeks at sea, then...the Goblin States? That's kind of a blank spot for me. Then the Reaches themselves are a mash of like, thirty different tribal areas. Even if you left right now, it could be another six months before we'd see you again."
Beatrice studies the map for a while, digesting her thoughts. "...Well, I'm definitely not leaving right now, certainly. I do want to spend some time here, and then I need to meet up with my team again in another month or so. Which might be a goodbye if I'm leaving for all this. But a trip like that...hells, I'd probably need at least that much time just to prepare. Maybe find a guide, or at least study up more on the geography first."
Sincere reaches out, patting her hand with his own. "Well, it may have been quite some time since I last visited the area myself, but I'd love to spend some time telling you what I know. Perhaps tonight in my room?"
"I'd appreciate that, thank you." Although her smile doesn't show, the warmth in Beatrice's voice carries through her helmet.
Across the table, Xenia smirks. "And if you two wanna bunk up, it'd save me the trouble of putting together another apartment - I think Floor Two's at about its limit, ya know. If you've got energy to burn off before then though, I've got more bosses you can beat up."
Beatrice shoots Xenia a look. "Eh?"
"Let me introduce you to our new Wandering Boss. If you liked fighting Taly, I think you're gonna love sparring with this guy..."
"I can't believe you dropped a tree on her!" Xenia laughs uproariously as she almost spills her drink, while a blushing Beatrice attempts to defend herself from across the table. At least the woman doesn't have an audience, as the floor bosses agreed to give their master a bit of alone time to catch up with her friend.
"She's supposed to be superhuman now! Never met a powerful monster who couldn't handle a small tree or two!"
Xenia almost chokes, somehow, before recovering. "Alright, correction, correction, I absolutely can believe you dropped a tree on her. Classic Trish! You're damned lucky you pulled that shit on someone who dies for a living, though!"
"Hey, I tried to offer her a healing potion! But...yeah. I guess I'm still adjusting somewhat to just what everyone's strength levels are around here, what with so many people having magic of one sort or another. So many types I've never heard of before, too."
The dungeon master nods, calming down a little. "Yeah, I've picked up a real assload of tricks from my absorbed skills, though I've barely been using them compared to most dungeons I think. Sounds like most cores use them to build customized bosses, but I get mine custom-trained to start with, so. But you've been hanging out with adventurers, right? Taly told me you had yourself a team now?"
Beatrice nods back, though this time she looks awkward for another reason. "A small team yeah, though I did want to bring that up to you. Real diverse bunch - there's Gemtooth, a dwarf with fake teeth made out of gems? Entirely for the aesthetic, they're not magic or anything. He's a Rogue but has special spells for cracking open tough defenses. Then there's Janey, an, uh...Embracing Acolyte? She serves the Goddess of Love, and heals people with, uh...intimate touches. Which somehow doesn't seem as weird after spending time working with a holy Masochist, I guess."
Xenia waggles her eyebrows. "Intimate touches, you say? I knew that goddess had to have some interesting types! So I suppose I can assume you're in perfect health, then?"
"Xen! It doesn't - it can just be hugs and, um, cheek kisses, you know. And I'm still not into women...and the fact that she's a foot or two taller than even I am is a little intimidating, if I gotta admit. Minotaur, you know. It's the, uh...the last member of the party I wanted to mention to you specifically, though."
Her friend leans forward. "Oh? Interesting class I should know about? More than 'Embracing Acolyte'?"
"It's not the class, it's..." Beatrice sighs. "So...you remember that other minotaur woman you told me about once? The one you said tried to break your core open twice?"
Xenia's eyes narrow, and she speaks in a warning tone. "...Trish..."
"I totally didn't make the connection when we first met up! Took me like a month or two, to be honest. But we've been, you know...working well together."
Xenia leans back into her seat and harrumphs while crossing her arms. "Well, I suppose I see now why you came back alone. I've still got an open promise to kill the shit out of her if she comes back here, you know."
"Yeah, and I'll admit, I get the impression she is planning on it one day. Not anytime soon, and I don't think she still wants to kill you. She doesn't talk about it much, but I get the feeling the experience kind of shook her more than a bit. I'll...try and make sure things are good before we even consider it though, if that's even an option."
"She know you and I are friends?"
Beatrice hurriedly shakes her head. "Hells no! I mean, I haven't even told anyone where I'm from, yet, I just claim I'm from some far off merchant island kingdom or something. Hard to say why I do it, really, I guess I'm just trying to attract less attention than I already am."
"How so? The armor and the accent catching eyes and ears?"
The monster slayer's expression turns glum. "A little, but...let me put it like this. I'm a level thirty Vanguard Charger."
"You might know more about Challenger classes than I do at this point, Trish. What does that mean?"
The woman grunts a little in frustration before continuing. "Vanguard Charger is an Expert-level class. Twenty through twenty-nine. Being level thirty in an Expert class is supposed to be a temporary state, what you've got while doing your training up to Master. You can't take an Expert class any further than that."
Xenia shrugs her shoulders, still feeling unclear on the problem. "Alright? Uh, congrats, I mean! Made it to Master, yeah? So what's the new class going to be?"
"That's just it. There's not going to be a new class. I'm already stretching the limits of what the Challenger's Association will allow without magical proficiency, and I've still got none. Can't light the slightest spark. Which is normal back home, but apparently practically considered a disability over here! Now...obviously, that doesn't mean I need to quit trying dungeons. I still got my equipment and my fighting skills. But it's going to be more and more a pain in the ass, trying to convince teams that I really can pull my weight as we go deeper. I mean, my current team's great, but it's still way too early to say that we're going to have a whole career together."
"That's bullshit if a stupid paperwork requirement might hold you back. But tell me, how can you get yourself some magic?"
Beatrice's brow furrows. "Uh...I don't. That's the problem."
"Well, I ain't accepting that as an answer until I've heard from the geek squad. Hey, Guy!" At the call of their name the hovering screen appears for Xenia, although they remain invisible to Beatrice despite her enchanted helmet. "Guy, call down Sincere and Lollyp here, we've got a magic problem."
"As you command, ma'am!" The screen flickers out again, and the two pass a few minutes in more idle conversation before the summoned bosses appear - Lollyp looking somewhat agitated.
"Hey, something up? There's a party up on Floor One, so I might need to go back upstairs and explode somebody in like ten minutes or so."
"No worries, you can leave if you gotta. Could be a quick question, but you two are my magic experts - tell me, how can Beatrice get a magic booster around here? She can't cast spells and that's apparently a big problem for the Association."
"Uh...just give out magic ability to someone born without it? Sorry, Xen, but...I don't think that's a thing." Despite the slime's denial, Sincere sitting next to her seems rather lost in thought, and Xenia notices.
"Feels like Lollyp just gave us the typical answer and you're about to give us the 'well, actually' answer, Sin-man. Am I right?"
Sincere's lips quirk. "Well, actually, you would be right. And it's good to see you again Beatrice, by the way."
Beatrice's helmet is closed at the moment, which hides her slight blush at his smile. "Likewise, Sincere. I'm looking forward to...catching up later."
"Then so am I. But to address the issue at hand - the simple answer is as Lollyp said - you cannot give someone magic potential. Train the growth of it, yes, but not give it to someone who has none. The intermediate answer meanwhile is that there are many ways to boost magic potential, just not ways the Association accepts as class qualifications. I speak here of potions, blessings, external spells, and magically enchanted gear."
Lollyp makes a show of rolling her slime eyes. "Well that hardly counts as an exception. The Association isn't going to credit someone with a class if their abilities go away when their potions wear off or they strip down for a shower!"
The demon continues his explanation. "Indeed. That is why the complicated answer to the question is that there exists at least one method of externally granting someone magical abilities, but in a way that would not be considered temporary."
Beatrice leans forward, suddenly very interested. "Alright, sounds like a difficult quest up ahead, which is just my sort of thing. Do I gotta kill a monster? Prove myself to the gods?"
Sincere pauses, then revises his statement. "Correction - there are two ways I know of gaining magical abilities. The second being that becoming a Champion or Paragon of a god would indeed grant you some sort of powers. However, I don't mention that first, as you'd likely never prove yourself to the gods without already having some power first. The first method would be inkbinding rituals."
Lollyp tilts her head. "Eh? Never heard of that?"
"Well, that's what would make this a 'difficult quest', I suppose. No one practices it on this continent. It is actually a ritual invented by arcane demons, but as I was summoned here as a child, I never had the chance to learn it myself."
Beatrice sucks in a breath. "Another continent, huh? Well, tell me how it works?"
Sincere nods and continues. "It starts as a method of tattooing ritual spells on a person's skin. However, the second step is then binding the spells onto the person's soul itself, allowing them to be used even if you were to, say, lose the limb with the original tattoo. For the most part it's done using complete spells, such as Fireball, but you could have more fundamental rituals granted to you which could then allow the Association to then successfully train you in more of their Warrior classes. The ability to manipulate mana into strengthening your body or weapons, for example."
Xenia narrows her eyes. "Permanently modifying the soul sounds like kind of a big deal, Sin-man."
The boss waggles a hand. "I do not believe it's the kind of modification that would survive a rebirth process. Unless they were a reincarnator, I suppose. I have heard the process can be...excruciating, though."
"Well, I'm a tough girl. So, arcane demons, you said?"
Sincere turns back towards Beatrice. "I'm not entirely certain if any of them yet live. There was a demon enclave, you see, in the Untamed Reaches. Which is to say, beastkin territory. I know they passed on their knowledge to at least one or two local tribes, but I haven't had any correspondence with the region in at least...oh, fifty years or so."
Xenia grunts. "Well, that sounds like a trip and a half. Actually, I got that geography in my head, let me show you." With a wave of her hand Xenia summons a map onto the table, and charts out the distance between the New Continent and the Untamed Reaches. "Gotta be weeks at sea, then...the Goblin States? That's kind of a blank spot for me. Then the Reaches themselves are a mash of like, thirty different tribal areas. Even if you left right now, it could be another six months before we'd see you again."
Beatrice studies the map for a while, digesting her thoughts. "...Well, I'm definitely not leaving right now, certainly. I do want to spend some time here, and then I need to meet up with my team again in another month or so. Which might be a goodbye if I'm leaving for all this. But a trip like that...hells, I'd probably need at least that much time just to prepare. Maybe find a guide, or at least study up more on the geography first."
Sincere reaches out, patting her hand with his own. "Well, it may have been quite some time since I last visited the area myself, but I'd love to spend some time telling you what I know. Perhaps tonight in my room?"
"I'd appreciate that, thank you." Although her smile doesn't show, the warmth in Beatrice's voice carries through her helmet.
Across the table, Xenia smirks. "And if you two wanna bunk up, it'd save me the trouble of putting together another apartment - I think Floor Two's at about its limit, ya know. If you've got energy to burn off before then though, I've got more bosses you can beat up."
Beatrice shoots Xenia a look. "Eh?"
"Let me introduce you to our new Wandering Boss. If you liked fighting Taly, I think you're gonna love sparring with this guy..."
