The Devil WithInn 19 Edseria 3

"Shadows? What are the Shadows?"

George sighed and took a stick and began drawing a chart on the huge area of dirt in front of them. "Okay, since you've got this 'ah-mee-sha' thing, I'll explain from the start."

"So, in this world, there are two major abilities that can be mastered. One is by innate talent, which is Magic. And one is by training, which is Combat."

"Those who do Combat or Martial Arts are generally called Fighters. These Fighters have 3 cla.s.sifications: Swordsman, Ranger, and Shadow."

"Swordsmen are those who carry swords and blades. They have explosive strength and great defense in close combat."

"Rangers are those who carry any long-ranged weapons like bow and arrows, needles, slingshots, and blow darts. They have improved eyesight and hearing making them able to widen their range. But they can also work in short range combat as well. Their reflexes are far quicker especially with their hands."

"Shadows are those who are good at concealment. They usually use hidden weapons and their stealth and speed are far more superior to the others."

"The Fighter ability can be learned by any person with a healthy body. Also, Fighters do not have an accurate way to measure their strength since they each have different techniques which can overturn the power rankings but these ranks are used as an estimation instead."

"In the power rankings of a Fighter, it starts with the Starter rank. Each rank is divided into 3 stages: early stage, middle stage, and peak stage. Then it follows to the Low rank, Intermediate rank, and then High rank. Once a Fighter reaches a breakthrough in High rank peak stage, they are advised to specialize in their chosen fields. This will make strengthening easier and faster rather than trying to learn all fields which will take more time and the progress in each field will be slower."

"For a swordsman, they can choose to be a Knight, which uses a s.h.i.+eld in one hand, or a Warrior which can use two swords or one broad sword. Knights have high defense ability while a Warrior focuses on destructive attacks."

"For a Ranger, they can choose to be an Archer, which uses bow and arrows from long distances but usually shoots single arrows. Or they can choose to be a Shooter. Shooter usually uses needles, blow darts, and projectile blades for short distances and can shoot multiple weapons in one go."

"For a Shadow, they can choose to be a Thief which is known for their speed used for quick escape. Or they can choose to be an a.s.sa.s.sin which is known for their stealth used for a.s.sa.s.sinations."

"After specializing, they will proceed towards the ranks of a Senior, then Expert and then Master. Master rank is the highest rank known in the world and so far, in the written history of the world, only 3 were able to reach these ranks before they died in old age. The Master Warrior is an ancestor of Edseria while the Master Archer is an ancestor of Anemoly. The Master a.s.sa.s.sin has always been living like a hermit so no one knows where he is, or how he died."

"Now, for the innate talent of Magic, it is quite rare. Only a handful of people possess magic but it is not valued much because magic-users cannot use direct attacks. But Fighters usually partner up with magic users because of their support. They can do three types of magic."

"Magic users can enhance things. Those who practice this type of magic are called Mages. They can enhance equipment, gems, or their bodies itself. It's great support because they can cast a spell at their feet that can make them faster than another at escaping. Or they can embed enhanced gems into their armor to give it a certain spell that can increase its durability. These enhancements can be temporary or permanent depending on the power used and difference in levels. But aside from enhancements, they can use the opposite of enhancements which are curses."

"Curses cannot instantly kill but they act like poison, negatively affecting a person slowly. These curses can be placed in equipment, gems, or bodies. Those who practice this type are called Witches or Warlocks. Once a curse is used on an enhanced item, the prevailing spell will depend on how much magic power was used and what level that magic power is. Same with enhancements, they can be temporary or permanent depending on magic and levels. For these curses, there is a type of magic that can cure it as well."

"Exorcism is a different art where it nullifies both curses and enhancements. Curse users usually try to learn this in order to cure the curses they use. It can also be used for purification and healing which is very handy. Its power and success in removing curses and enhancements depends on levels as well. And those who practice this type of magic is called Priestess or Priest, like yours truly."

George winked.