“Come with me, I can give you advise in this room over here. That way we can discuss your skills and stats away from any prying eyes.”

With that statement the blonde girl glanced around at the Adventurers sitting near them, hunched over in exasperated whispers, pointing at the boy in front of her. She furrowed her brows at them, urging them to stop their murmuring, especially while their subject was in the same room. Elina pulled Yori into a small room off to the side that was lined with books. A quaint wooden table and two chairs sat in the middle. She seated herself in the chair on the right, and signaled at the other for Yori to have a seat as well.

“Alright, Yori. Now that we have some peace and quiet, what kind of information would you like about leveling? I assume you did not attend a prep school, so I’m guessing you need the basics, correct?”

“Yes, please, Ma’am. I want to learn some combat skills but I don’t know which ones I should learn, or which ones are even available.”

“Well, your god is the God of the Villager, but I doubt you’ll find any combat skills there. He provides mostly skills for farming, fishing, things along those lines. That means that you’ll have to get skills from other gods. You’re in luck in one way though. Those blessed with your Brand can pick from any of the Church’s skills available for you level. The down side, and the reason most Villagers go into non-combat professions typically, is that skills from a Church other than your own do cost twice as many skill points. Typically, Adventurers stick to skills from their own Brand, and will only go to other Churches on occasion since it’s so expensive, but you’ll have to do that every time… Unless, of course, you change your mind and just use those points to become a great farmer. You already have the necessary skills, you see, and it is much less dangerous.”

“Thank you for your concern, Miss Elina, but my mind is made up. I will become an Adventurer. Please explain the other Gods to me. I’m kind of anxious to figure out what I’m going to be doing.”

Elina’s concern began to show through her words, but Yori’s resolve erased her doubt for now. She returned to her explanation of the things that most Adventurers would learn in school. Something Noko would have learned.

“Alright. There are seventeen Gods in the world of Antheone. Each one has a domain that they rule over. At birth, a person is born with a Brand, which is a symbol for which God has chosen them. People with more magic potential will be more likely to receive Blessings from more powerful gods, such as the Fire.”

At the mention of the Blessing of Fire, Yori’s heart twanged. Elina continued.

“The God of Commoners, Sesu, is the God you’ve been Branded by. His Branding is the most common in the world, but it offers the least combat benefits. As I said, his domain is over farming, fishing, etcetera. It is almost unheard of for s person with this Brand to become an Adventurer.

The Goddess that favours humans, and is therefore the most popular branding in this country due to the makeup of our population, is Anwyl. She is the Goddess of Light. Her domain is light, and she mainly offers healing magic. There are a few combat skills based around burning your enemy using the power of the sun, if you’re interested. It may even be useful to have a healing skill or two, in case you or a party member need healing in a pinch. You have experienced the capabilities of these skills first hand, as I’m sure you are aware that Lady Kana is of this Branding.

Next, there’s the God of Protection, Belros. The skills you can learn from his Church are based around creating barriers and protecting your party members. High ranking members of this Branding are the ones that create the barriers that protect the towns. They are the reason we are safe right now.”

Another painful pulse ran through Yori as he thought about how the barrier around Oseford had failed to keep those monsters out. He quietly wondered if these topics would ever stop being painful to think about.

“Yori are you paying attention? We still have a long way to go. I can’t have you spacing out already.”

“Yes, sorry! I was just thinking about the barriers. Anyways, please, continue.”

“Yes, they are quite amazing. Now, the Goddess of the Wind, Tutuna, allows you to use and generate wind to push and pull your opponents, to help you move greater distances faster, and to attack your enemies by making it into blades.

The Goddess of Art, Givnera, is – well, probably not what you’re looking for. She’s an odd one and while her Branding can bring you wealth, it’s unlikely to be much help in battle. There are, however, some skills in here to increase dexterity and a steady hand if that interests you.

The Goddess of Guile, Karena, covers the agility-based combat styles, such as archery and stealth. Her skills are popular even amongst other Brandings since they can be used in many different combat styles. It is also popular among those involved in espionage, but I will not encourage that.”

Yori’s ears perked up at the mention of this Goddess. His hunting method relied heavily on stealth and his agility was certainly better than his strength, so it likely made more sense for him to pick skills that complimented his natural abilities.

“Moving on, the God of Deception, Tasthar, isn’t very popular amongst Adventurers, but again, is mostly used for espionage purposes. His skills can be used to disguise oneself and manipulate others, so you can imagine why this may be useful in the shadier side of town.

Here is one that may prove useful to you. The God of Fire, Dazorr, has some very powerful combat skills. Skills under his domain allow you to hurl fire and burn your enemies to a crisp. Adventurers with his Blessing are often very successful and generally progress to high levels, and even become famous occasionally. That might be a great option for you.”

“No… not that one….”

A tear started rolling down Yori’s cheek and images of Noko filled his head again. If she would not have stuck around for his birthday, she would have lived an amazing life as an Adventurer, or a Scholar. She could have lived a life of luxury and happiness. He was unsure if Elina noticed his crying, but either way she was kind enough not to press the matter, and continued her explanation.

“Alright, that is no problem. Was just a suggestion. I advise you to avoid the Church of Death. The God of Death, Itos, is not a popular one anywhere you go. Children with this Branding are considered cursed as they are destined to be Necromancers. They are abominations that steal the bodies and souls of the dead to do their bidding. I cannot stress enough; you don’t ever want to become involved with a Necromancer.

However, there is a Church that is even less popular in this city, but for a different reason; the Church of Darkness. Do you remember me saying that you could choose from any skill set because you are a Villager? Well, those that are not Commoners are limited in the sense that they cannot get skills from an opposite Church. In the Ring of Gods, the Goddess of Darkness, Rutrix, is directly opposite the Goddess of Light. That means that someone like Lady Kana is not capable of getting Darkness skills. As I mentioned, Anwyl, the Goddess of Light, is the main God of humans, which means Darkness skills are very uncommon around here simply because most people do not have access to them.”

Elina pointed at a chart on the wall depicting the Ring of Gods that she had mentioned. The names that Elina had been mentioning were arranged on this ring, with one same in the center, Sesu.

“I see my God, Sesu, is in the middle of the ring. Is this because no Gods oppose him?”

“Yes. You’re in a very unique position as a Commoner.”

Yori nodded in understanding and continued to listen. There were many names on the chart that he had not heard yet, so Elina was far from finished.

“Carrying on then, the Goddess of Pestilence, Qritraura, resides over poison and disease. It can be very effective in hunting, but the resources are not going to be edible afterwards, and some of the spells take a long time to kill an enemy. For Adventurers, it’s better used to inflict negative status effects on your opponents to assist your teammates.

The God of Earth, Nomes, is able to allow you to form and move the ground beneath your feat. You can create walls and boulders out of stone and use them to defend yourself or launch them at your enemies. High level mages can even open up the ground to create impressive chasms.

If you are thinking about making your own weapons or armour, or any other kind of tools or clothing, you may want to look at the skills offered by the God of Crafting, Heruer. He allows people all sorts of benefits to making armour, weapons, clothes, etc, but most of the skills will not count as combat skills.

This next one may be exactly what you are looking for. The God of Combat, Dihdohrr, is extremely popular amongst all Adventurers as he allows you to better wield weapons and is entirely combat based, as his name suggests. You definitely cannot go wrong there.

The God of Transmutation, Rhadite, allows you to alter yourself or the things around you. You can give yourself claws and wings, or anything else you fancy. It can look a bit odd on some species that are not born with these items naturally.

Mava, the Goddess of Water, allows you to hit your enemies with water and ice and is remarkable if you ever want to explore the ocean. She also offers a few very minor healing spells.

Lastly, there is the Goddess of Spirits, Yzmera. With her Blessing you can use spirits to possess items or manifest to fight for you. Have you ever had a conversation with an armoire?

“Well, no…”

“With Yzmera’s skills, you could. Those are all of the choices you have. It can be a bit overwhelming learning about all of them at once like this. Usually students would learn this over the course of months, even years if the are going into detail about each God’s history. Do any of these strike your fancy?”

Yori felt lightheaded as he contemplated his options. It felt like a thousand different possibilities and he had to decide sooner rather than later. One did stand out in his mind. The Church of Guile. It would complement his fighting style and seemed the most practical at this point.

“Actually, there is. Could you please direct me to the Church of Guile? I believe that matches up best with my hunting style.”

“Of course, I’ll lead you there right away. I think that is a good choice for you.”

“No, you don’t have to do that - you’re working.”

“It’s not far, don’t worry. Come, follow me.”

Brushing off Yori’s concern, Elina stood and lead Yori through the door of the Guild, and onto the stone street. The Church was only a block away. The gray, wooden door was unadorned, and was nestled in a plain stone wall. The only indication that it was a Church was a worn wooden sign sitting in a window to the right of the quaint door that held the Brand of Guile and the name of their Goddess, Karena. Although plain in its decoration, it was quite large. Even though Yori had passed it several times he had somehow never noticed it. Elina lead the way, turning the dull brass handle and ushering Yori follow. The hinges on the door were silent. The only noise was their own footsteps. The room was simple and seemed to be empty. A similar stone as the one in the Church of Light sat on a pedestal on the far end of the large room.

“Hmm, looks like no one’s here. Don’t worry, I can come back later. Thank you for sho-.”