Explorer of Edregon

Without his divine boon to rely on, Vin couldn't work on anything too strenuous when it came to magic. He was tempted to try learning another spell from one of his artifacts, like Protection from Fire from his amulet, or possibly Barkskin from his ring, but even with how confident he was becoming when it came to grabbing runic formations off of artifacts, it wasn't worth the risk of something going wrong. Rather than actually make anything or run any more experiments, he decided to instead take some time to simply study his different artifacts.

The next few hours were spent holding his artifacts close to him, pulling their active runic formations into his mana void with Introspection and trying to see how the spells themselves had been imbued into the different objects. Eventually, he wanted to get to the point where he was creating his own artifacts, so he felt as though this was a good place to start. He wasn't able to get much more than a vague feeling of how the act of imbuing runic formations worked, but that was where his multitude of artifacts truly came into play. Each one gave him a slightly different sensation, yet they also had a bit of overlap. Vin didn't know if it was simply his high focus, his levels in Introspection and Runecraft, or his Artifact Extraordinaire passive, but as the hours passed and he hopped from one artifact to another, these sensations that his artifacts shared slowly began to become more and more apparent to him. By the time light finally began filtering out of the valley, he was feeling far more confident in attempting to create his own artifact someday in the near future.

Backtracking to where they'd all separated from one another, Vin was surprised to find a young man waiting for him instead of Okeran. He wore the same simple, undyed fibrous clothing as the others they'd seen, but he had a far different expression on his face. Rather than looking confident and assured in himself, he looked troubled, and continued to throw glances over his shoulder as he waited.

"Hi there," Vin called out, causing him to jump as he finally laid eyes on him. "Did Okeran send you to help guide us to the passage out of the valley?"

"Yes!" the man said a bit too hastily, offering him a quick clap of hands above his head. "I'm Normun, and I'll be leading you all out of here once the others return. Okeran also asked me to give you all this, as thanks for staying away from the others."

Normun picked up a small wicker basket that had been sitting beside him and handed it to Vin, all but flinching back as he went to take it from him. Giving him a reassuring smile, Vin peered into the basket and saw it was filled with a few small loaves of bread and what looked like a container of jam.

"You guys turn the berries into jam?" he asked, excited to try the sweet, sugary berries in another form.

"Yes, it is one of the many ways we eat them," Normun quickly nodded. "We also bake them into things, and use them in some of our drinks."

Vin didn't really think this was some underhanded attempt on his life, and seeing as he knew Neutralize Poison, he didn't hesitate before ripping off a chunk of bread and dipping it in the jam. Popping the delicious morsel into his mouth, he watched as Normun stared at his golem arm, the man's eyes wide beside his obvious attempt at looking unimpressed.

"So how's life down here?" Vin asked, curious as to exactly what these people did all day. "Have any hobbies?"

"I enjoy helping cultivate the berries… Keeps me busy and helps keep my mind from wandering to things that should be left alone."

"What kinds of things?" Vin couldn't help but ask, blaming his nature as an Explorer. It didn't hurt he was getting distinct vibes that the entire reason Normun was here was because the man wanted to be asked about them.

"The mental words," he blurted out, as if he'd been waiting his whole life for this conversation. "Are they truly as bad as everyone makes them out to be? The others refuse to entertain the thought of listening to them, even as a hypothetical. You're the first Sky-dweller I've actually met, so I've never had anyone to ask about them before now. Are they as evil and dangerous as I've been told?"

To give himself some time to think, Vin took another big bite of dangerously sweet, jam-covered bread, slowly chewing as he tried to decide how to handle this. On the one hand, Okeran had been incredibly clear that they were to stay away from the impressionable youths of the valley, of which he was pretty certain Normun was one. From how he kept glancing over his shoulder and with how fast he talked, Vin was starting to suspect he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place and was risking a chewing out just to ask Vin and his friends about the System. Just because the people of the valley didn't pose any actual threat to them with their lack of classes and abilities, didn't mean they should actively go against their wishes and culture.

However…

As someone who'd been an active explorer long before being labeled as such by the System, Vin could appreciate better than anyone the determination Normun had shown in risking his own hide to come search for the answers to questions that had been haunting him all these years. None of his own valley-goers would give him the information he wanted, so he'd taken it upon himself to find it, no matter what it took.

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Vin had to respect that, and there was only one thing he could give the man as a reward.

"The System… the, 'mental words,' you guys talk about, isn't inherently good or bad," he finally said, swallowing his bread and gently placing the basket on the ground. "It's the same as any other tool. You guys farm, right? You can use a hoe to till the ground and prepare massive fields of crops to feed your people, or you could use that same hoe as a weapon and smash someone's brains out with it. The System is kinda like that."

"The elders all say the mental words lead to chaos and bloodshed," Normun argued, sounding more confused than anything. "How could such deadly powers be used for good as you claim?"

"Like anything else, it's just how you use the gifts given to you," Vin shrugged. "I know a Trapper back home that uses her skills to protect thousands of people from monsters and collect food for a good number of them. However, if she was so inclined, she could probably become one of the deadliest mass-murderers I've ever seen. The System gives good people the tools to be better, and bad people the tools to be worse. Your society down here removes both, which seems a bit much in my opinion."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because unlike everyone else, I actually came from a world without a System. Like you, I didn't have to worry about people capable of punching through solid stone, or throwing out devastating spells. My people didn't even have your mental-words teasing them in the back of their minds their entire lives, it was simply not an option. I think what you guys are doing is a tad extreme just because in my own experiences, the System allows for far more good in this world than bad."

"So you've never come across anyone using the mental words to do terrible things?"

"No, I definitely have," Vin sighed, his mind flicking through a quick compilation of faces. Patty, with her magical voice. Kyle, with his impressive strength. The divine warrior, and his impossible speed. "I'm an Explorer, so I've been all over the place and seen my fair share of evils. That said, all the amazing people I've seen who use the System for good far outweigh those who use it for more nefarious purposes. Just to give you a quick example…"

Spotting a small bruise on Normun's arm, Vin stretched a hand and silently threw together the runic formation for Renewal. The man jerked back at the sensation of magic hitting his arm, but when he glanced down at the bruise just in time to see it fade before his very eyes, his jaw fell open.

"The System gives us the power to do things like that," Vin said, unable to stop himself from laughing at Normun's astonished expression. "That was one of the first spells I ever learned, and I've saved countless lives with it over just the last couple of weeks."

"That's incredible…" he whispered, poking at his unblemished arm as if he still couldn't believe it. Finally looking at him once more, he hesitated, before asking what Vin was pretty sure was the real question he wanted an answer to all this time.

"Do you… Do you think I should give in to the mental words?" he asked, swallowing hard as his eyes pleaded for an honest answer. Vin had no idea how long the question had been plaguing the poor man, but if he had to guess, he'd assume the answer was most likely his entire life.

"Again, I don't want to go against all you guys stand for down here and what not," Vin said carefully, peering around the valley and ensuring once again Okeran was nowhere to be seen. "…but if it were me, I'd accept them and see just what the world had to offer. Of course, I'm not the one with family and friends down here that I'd have to say goodbye to, so that's an easy choice for me to make. Nobody can tell you what to do or make your decision for you. And I'm sure I don't have to remind you of this, but if you do decide to give in to the mental words, you better make damn sure it's what you really want. Edregon, this world, has a lot of beauty and wonders to offer its people. But it has a lot of danger and hardship as well. I can't even begin to tell you how many deaths I've stumbled across from people who weren't prepared. The exploding drifters floating around in the mist up above your head are only one such threat, and they wouldn't even rank in the top ten most deadly things I've encountered."

"How am I even supposed to escape the mist if I choose to leave then?" Normun asked, shivering as he looked up at the slow, rolling mists far above them. "Will the mental words give me the power to do so?"

"Eventually, but not for a good while. You'll only be level one at first, which isn't a whole lot better than just a regular person," Vin admitted. "You'll either have to be incredibly lucky, or find someone to help you."

Even as the words left his mouth, Vin realized what he'd just unintentionally offered. Sure enough, Normun didn't waste any time jumping at the chance he'd been given.

"Can I go with you? Tonight, when you leave the valley?"

"Uh…" Vin hesitated, realizing this had quickly turned from trying his best to give advice to a fellow adventurous spirit to potentially becoming responsible for him instead. "…Let me ask my friends before I make any promises. I shouldn't just agree to do something like that without running it past them first."

"That's fair," Normun said, standing up a bit straighter and suddenly looking a lot more sure of himself. "Just in case, I'm going to go around and take care of a few last-minute things I need to do so that I can be ready. I'll meet you all at the entrance to the valley when it's time for you to go!"

"Are you sure-"

Normun didn't wait around to hear the rest of Vin's question, turning and rushing off back toward the distant village to prepare for his potential departure from simple valley life. Watching him run off, Vin could only sigh and grab the basket once more, shoving another piece of jam-covered bread into his mouth.

Whelp… Guess we're gonna have a plus one.