LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 14: Chapter 14 - The Basics
Ash nodded slightly, deciding she'd go see the tree in question at some point and then spent several long moments frowning as she thought about what to do next. She was present in the world of Fantastoria to enjoy herself, which meant that she wasn't bound to the same sort of path most players would follow. Still, even if she didn't have to immediately go out to fight monsters and the like she knew it would be best to have the knowledge as sometimes one would find themselves in trouble regardless.
"I would like to learn combat arts next, if it's no trouble to you."
He nodded slightly, "First, might I ask what your main goal is? As a Starfall Paladin, my goal is to protect the temple and many of my skills lean towards that purpose."
"I am not opposed to harming others to ensure my safety and that of those I love," she explained quietly, directing her pale pink eyes towards the stargazing pond and almost wishing it were night so she could see its true beauty, "Despite that, my preference is to mend wounds rather than necessarily create them. I find myself intimidated by the idea of directly being a shield for others, however, so I do not do so."
It was a good explanation of her preferences on what she desired to learn, though Yarrow noted that she actually left out the answer to his question. Most of the Godsborn had little purpose in mind for their journey, something that he at least somewhat understood. They had been given the gift of being able to journey to another world that they only somewhat existed in, meaning they were effectively immortal even if they suffered penalties for death. He would find it hard to have a clear purpose as well if he had no reason to worry about his own safety or that of his loved ones.
He pondered the idea of calling her out on the avoidance of answering but assumed that it was tied once more to why she was in his world to begin with, "We should begin with simple self-protection with a weapon of your choosing then," he said as he turned towards the temple, "There's a training ground in the temple we use for those that wish to learn how to fight. I can teach you the basics, but you'll need someone skilled with whatever weapon you choose to instruct you further."
Ash chose simple daggers as her weapon, proving swiftly to already be quite proficient in their use. Despite how small the weapons were and the magic wound around them to keep wielders from major injury, she managed a neat cut at his wrist that had earned his approval of her skill level.
He healed the small wound himself before frowning. There were a great many people within the temple that could teach her how to heal and harm. Choosing the right teacher was the complicated part. His bit of watching her done earlier in the day along with the sparring session had given him a slight grasp on the personality he dealt with. She'd give a normal healer no end of trouble with her ability to improvise and move magic to her will. She needed someone a lot stronger to take on her training and that meant the Starlight or Starward Priestesses would be the best choice.
He'd noted her phrasing when she'd spoken of defending others and it was a common misconception among those that had never raised a shield in defense of loved ones. She assumed that the shield had to be held, forgetting that magic was a powerful tool at her disposal. Deciding that broadening her horizons somewhat before she chose a set path might be useful, he made his decision.
"I'm going to call two of the higher ranked priestesses here to help in your training. I believe they each will have useful things to teach you."
He left, at which point Ash decided to look over her list of skills. Most of them were what she expected and had already used. There was one unfamiliar skill, though, that she spent a moment frowning at.
She activated it reluctantly, eyes moving around the training room to see what had changed. The room itself seemed perfectly normal, everything exactly as it had been before. With a slight scowl she looked to the training weapons and found something different immediately. Several of the weapons glowed with a very slight light to them.
She drew closer, looking at the row of daggers that she'd picked from not so long ago. Of the two she had been using, one glowed green while the other glowed a soft blue. Most of them in the lineup, however, only had a faint shine around them that seemed to have little color to it at all.
She was still examining the daggers when four sets of footsteps approached. Ash was careful to deactivate the skill before looking towards the sound. To her, it felt intrusive to use skills on others without need or permission.
Yarrow nodded slightly in greeting, three people following closely behind him instead of the two he'd promised to bring. He waited until they were closer to speak, "You seem quite interested in the daggers you were sparring with earlier. Might I ask why?"
"This may sound strange," she grumbled slightly, "But the ones I was using earlier are blue and green," it seemed like an appraisal skill but the strange name and the fact that she wasn't entirely certain it was a skill she'd had in her true world were throwing her off.
Yarrow immediately confirmed it with a slight nod, "An appraisal skill will cause items to glow slightly. Common items just get a bit of a shine around them. Uncommon are green, rare are blue, epic glow purple, and legendary glow gold. Your skill should have told you that much, though, so I'm guessing it's more than just that if it doesn't," when she agreed with him, he spent a moment frowning over it, "I will not pry into your skills as it's quite rude to do so. Just know that skills usually detail exactly what they do. When they do not, it means there are other uses for them that are for you to discover on your own or find an appropriate person to teach you."