Debuff

James began to walk through the alleyways, admiring his surroundings, which had a typical medieval world appearance. However, occasionally there were elements that made him realize he hadn't simply traveled to the past. Some shops had humanoid puppets performing routine tasks of loading and unloading, resembling robots, but with symbols of different colors all over their bodies and a more crude construction than Earth's robots.

Some other shops seemed to have a mysterious source of energy. James assumed it was "magic." If there were gigantic grumpy lions, a little magic wouldn't hurt anyone.

Another obvious difference was the presence of beings of all kinds. While humans were predominant, there were other humanoid creatures with different forms. The ones that stood out to James were those with reptilian forms, as they appeared quite intimidating. There were also others who resembled humans but were generally taller and more slender, simply called elves.

A considerable number of individuals traveled with all types of weapons and armor. Some seemed like true tanks, armed with heavy armor and enormous weapons. Others wore lighter armor and wielded bows, while there were those in normal clothes with elegant staffs adorned with gems. James even saw a half-naked human walking alongside a bear and a wolf.

"Right, I need to find weapons and armor as well. The dark entity recommended me to explore Elysium to discover my purpose, but that would be simply suicidal without enough power," James thought to himself, trying to instill determination. Whichever path he chose for his development, there would be dangers.

Soon, James remembered a crucial point. There was supposed to be a system of classes and levels in this world, but he still didn't know how it all worked. The lion was supposed to explain it to him, but he had simply left from there.

He had no idea what he should do. However, there was something that had never disappointed him so far. James focused on the ring and concentrated on the concept of "Status."

Faithful to its owner, the ring didn't disappoint. It projected basic information into his mind in the form of a panel, resembling a character sheet in a role-playing game, but much more interactive, similar to some video games he had seen. Clearly, the world tried to adapt the information in the easiest way for James to understand.

After the initial surprise wore off, he finally began to explore the different windows. What struck him the most were his classes. He wasn't supposed to have any since, according to the explanation of the Great Guardian, one acquired classes as they fulfilled certain requirements. Given this explanation, James thought it was highly likely that a stereotypical warrior could be classified based on their main weapon or the number of weapons they used. That way, he could acquire a class like swordsman, spearman, archer, or any other weapon of his choice and then specialize in that aspect.

This was what he had expected. However, his class tree was completely locked, and instead, there were three classes that seemed to be pre-selected for him. First, his weapon class was Supreme, and his civilian class was World Builder. There was a third class that appeared illegible to him, appearing gray, as if deactivated.

Now he had a big problem. The names of his classes sounded impressive, but it left the possibility that in a world of heroes, everyone simply had bombastic names.

On closer inspection, he managed to open an additional description. To James' dismay, he wouldn't find anything truly useful. The description of his Supreme class was as simple as "Supreme." James almost fell on his backside. It was a crappy piece of information, and he couldn't help but complain to the gods represented in his mind by an obese and oversized cat. There was also a certain apprehension to check his other class. If it responded in the same way, he would probably spit blood.

After glancing at the description of his class, hoping for a decent explanation that never came, he decided to look at the description of his civilian class. This time, he wouldn't be brutally beaten. The definition of World Builder said, "One who knows the bricks that compose reality and can alter its fundamental aspects."

It didn't provide much about what he should or could do to improve in this path, but at least he had a concept that he had managed to decipher: the bricks that compose reality, something similar to understanding the physical laws of this world. "In other words, magic," James thought.

Finally, he explored the last part he had yet to see, the skills window. Here, he encountered another surprise, as much of the information was illegible. What he could see was a section representing weapons, and the majority of them were legible to him. Just as he had thought before, he could distinguish weapons such as swords, spears, bows, axes, maces, and staffs, but there was also a small section that he couldn't read.

On the other hand, there was a section for civilian skills, presumably belonging to his World Builder class. It included abilities such as blacksmithing, craftsmanship, and masonry, but there were also many skills he couldn't read.

Finally, there was a third part that James presumed to be magical skills. The majority of them were illegible, and he could only see one, which was elemental.

He concluded that since the interface adapted to things he knew, there probably wasn't any information in his mind that was similar enough, hence why they appeared gray.

In this way, he set a personal goal for himself: to familiarize himself as quickly as possible with everything related to the system and its concepts, so that he could start exploring and understand what all of this was about.

Leaving the alley behind, he ventured into a cobbled street in the fantasy medieval city. As he walked, he passed by several notable landmarks that caught his attention.

The first stop was a bustling square where the merchant district was located. There, James saw a variety of stalls selling colorful fabrics, exquisite jewelry, exotic spices, and magical artifacts. The merchants tried to attract his attention by showcasing their products and promoting the wonders they sold. Although James didn't have money to buy anything at the moment, he admired the diversity and vibrant atmosphere of the square.

Continuing his journey, he reached a street where artisans' workshops were located. The sound of hammers striking metal and the scent of fresh wood filled the air. James observed skilled craftsmen working on creating shiny armors, sharp weapons, and intricate decorative items. He was impressed by the skill and dedication of these experts in their trades, and he wondered if one day he could acquire the necessary skills to become one of them.

Finally, James arrived at the imposing building of the city administration. The structure was adorned with shields and banners representing authority and power. As he passed by, he noticed busy officials and citizens submitting documents and discussing bureaucratic matters. Although he had no official business to attend to, he realized that the city administration seemed quite autocratic, which made sense considering that in medieval realms not all people were equal, and those with titles held great authority, as evidenced by the deference shown to those with coats of arms on their chests.

After his tour of the city, James found the training area of the mercenaries' guild. It was an extensive terrain where warriors and fighters prepared themselves for challenges and dangerous missions. He observed swordsmen sharpening their blades, archers perfecting their aim, and warriors practicing combat techniques. The energy and determination in the place were palpable, and James felt excited about the possibility of training and improving his skills in that environment.

He headed inside the guild and was pleased to find a reception area. On his way, he noticed a large bulletin board covered in an immense number of papers. A quick glance told him they were missions, mostly focused on extermination of something. They were graded in iron, silver, gold, and there were probably higher ranks, but they wouldn't be posted on this board. James noticed that there seemed to be a reserved area on the second floor.

After quickly glancing at the missions, he headed to the counter. "Good afternoon, miss. I would like to know the requirements for joining the mercenaries' guild."

The woman at the counter, named Jenny according to her name tag, smiled kindly. From her perspective, occasionally a bold peasant would come to enroll after seeing the skills of a mercenary in their village. "The requirements to enter the mercenaries' guild are simple. You must have at least a basic battle class and a set of equipment in good condition. Additionally, you must complete one of the repeatable extermination missions from the bulletin board."

"Thank you very much for the information," James said apologetically and started to leave. However, the mocking began shortly after.

"Hey, look at the peasant. Thinks he can just join because he wants to."

"Tsk, he doesn't even have a basic level and wants to join. Who does he think we are, the guild of the useless?"

There were several taunts directed at him, mostly humiliating him for being a "peasant." Although he wanted to put them in their place, he knew he would lose any battle he initiated. After all, they were ahead of him in every aspect. So he quickly left the guild, amidst the jeers of the mercenaries in the hall.

Nevertheless, the objective was already set. He needed a set of weapons and armor and had to start training. Easier said than done. Besides, he was getting very hungry and tired. It felt like all the excitement had given him a great burst of energy, but now it was taking a toll on him. The worst would be going to sleep without having eaten anything, so he wandered through the merchant district, trying to learn a bit about the local customs. It wasn't very difficult for him to find a job. There was a merchant with a heavy load who needed laborers. James simply signed up, and with his pitiful physical condition, he spent the rest of the day moving boxes to earn a few miserable copper coins.

James' first lesson was devastating. He had worked extremely hard and barely managed to afford a meal. In the end, he had to sleep on the streets. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be winter season at the moment, so he had that going for him.

He spent the following days doing various odd jobs and earning a few monotonous copper coins until something happened that left him demotivated. During one of the multiple jobs, he had the opportunity to try out some swords, but to his misfortune, he realized that his stats decreased.

When he checked his stat page, he noticed a debuff called "Unworthy of a Supreme" that reduced all his statistics by 50%.

"What the hell is this?" James couldn't help but exclaim. He had worked hard to gather enough to try to buy equipment to start his mercenary career, but if he had such a debuff, then being a mercenary was nothing more than a cruel joke. On one hand, he hadn't spent his money yet, but on the other hand, a fleeting thought gave him a stomachache. In the warehouse, there was also a set of armor in poor condition, and unfortunately, each piece of armor applied a debuff. When fully equipped, the debuff changed to a beautiful minus 90% to his statistics.

"This is becoming absurdly complicated. It makes no sense. What kind of weapons would be worthy of this damn class?" The more he thought about it, the more complicated it became. Finally, he remembered his other classes. Presumably, he had a magic class, although it was currently deactivated, so his only remaining option was his artisan class.

During one of his jobs, he decided to use a powerful trick his grandfather had taught him: simply asking.

"Mr. Riverdale, do you know any way to learn a trade, preferably something magical that pays well?" James asked with an earnest expression.

The old man looked at him perplexed for a moment, then chuckled briefly before responding, "Boy, there are no shortcuts to wealth, especially when it comes to learning a trade related to magic or its derivatives. It is extremely difficult, not only because you need to have innate talent to operate in that area, but also because you need to find a master willing to teach you."

"But isn't there any simpler knowledge, something that can be found in a library?" James asked, growing a bit anxious.

"In a library, you will only find the history of magic. The specific knowledge is guarded closely by the members of their guilds. There really is no shortcut. Moreover, in addition to the difficulties, you have to consider the large amount of money it costs to start training in those areas," the old man observed James' face, which, although discouraged, still didn't seem ready to give up.

"Well, young man, I'm willing to make a small investment in you. I know an old runic blacksmith. The old man charges a hefty price for his lessons, but it's an open secret that he's willing to teach for free if you have great talent that surpasses his achievements. The old man has been stuck at the intermediate level and gave up on making progress. I can give you a letter of recommendation, and the old man can assess your potential. And if you qualify, don't forget about old Riverdale."

James was truly amazed by the goodwill he had received from the old merchant. He knew this old fox was cunning, and even though the possibility of James being accepted was almost nonexistent, the fact that he still decided to invest in him warmed his heart.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Riverdale. Rest assured that I will remember this favor, and one day I will repay your kindness, whether I'm accepted or not," James sincerely replied.

"Well, boy, don't give me that puppy face. Let's finish today's work so I can take you to the grumpy old man. To be honest, it's been a while since we last met, and it could be a good opportunity. Now, let's get to work," Mr. Riverdale said, clapping his hands to prompt James to start working.

At the end of the workday, when everything was ready, Riverdale kept his promise and took James to the old runic blacksmith. The neighboring houses were all grand and magnificent, with spacious workshops adjacent to them. However, to James' dismay, the house they stopped in front of was quite different. Although it also had a large workshop next to it, even bigger than the others, the house itself was rather small and in a dilapidated state. But the worst was yet to come when he actually met his future master.