Raising Wonders

Chapter 4: Adventure (Part 2)

Chloe rode in the back of a cart pulled along by a short and sturdy horse. Mask walked alongside them. They were outside of the city walls and walking through fields covered in frost. The city had already been cold but now being outside the temperature had dropped another notch. Chloe's excitement however burned through the chill as she looked about the vast expansion of sights to behold around her. To the west was the ocean, to the east was a flat plain of frosted glass, to the south was the city and north was a forest that continued on and crossed over mountains. It was the first time in her life ever being outside a city and the strange feeling of freedom that it birthed was one she didn't want to forget.

"It's refreshing isn't it?" Mask said suddenly.

Chloe took a deep breath, "It's amazing."

"Well now that we're outside, allow me to ask you, what did you think of Lana's Titles?"

"Ah," Chloe paused as she had almost forgotten but quickly took out the directory to bolster her memory. She listed Lana's Titles. "Out of them, Practitioner of Magic means that she has reached intermediate level magic which is actually quite rare for adventurers. Her Title 'One who has Beheld Power' means she has witnessed a great power but that doesn't mean that power is here. I think her Titles "Seeker of Talent" and "One who does not Wane" suggest that she's a good person who wants the best for the city. She could really help."

"Not bad," Mask commented. "From our conversations so far I would agree."

"Yes, but there's a lot of language in the directory that I don't understand," Chloe admitted.

"Like?"

"What is intermediate level magic? And things like Expert, or Advanced. I don't know what they really mean."

Mask smirked, "Just what did they teach you as a noble?"

"A lot of etiquette and history," Chloe said bitterly. "It was very strict what I could read. I could recite to you're the history of the great noble families of the Empire if you would like."

"No I'm okay." Mask looked at the girl who was staring off into the distance and couldn't help feel pity for her. He knew how some noble families were but had little to do with them. "As for your question, they are key stages of advancement that the One has placed on the world. Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Master, Lord and finally God. Skills can be sorted in these stages, with a single person taking the title of God for each. You would see from my Titles I have 'Flare Expert' and 'Magical Expert'. It's titles like those you should look out for because they tell you the general strength of a person."

"And what do they mean?" Chloe asked innocently.

"You could read and find out."

"Oh-," Chloe flinched and opened the directory. "I'll do that."

It was clear that she had taken Mask's quip much more seriously than he intended causing him to again smirk, "I'll tell you so pay attention. Flare is a form of Martial Arts, of which I'm an expert. Out of all practitioners only 1% can reach the level of an expert. For Magical Expert, it means I can use up to tier 6 difficulty magic which only 0.1% of magic users ever reach. Though truth be told I barely meet the grade."

"So that means you're really powerful!" Chloe looked at him in wonder.

Mask scratched his head, "Well to a normal person yes. There are however many many more people stronger than I am. The difference between a Master and an Expert is what's called the breaking point. With enough effort and time anyone can become an Expert, but to become a Master you need something more. I don't quite have that it seems."