Healing Herbs

"How do some players become Second/Third Step without reaching a level requirement?"

A post started to gain a bit of traction. A handful of Unofficial Guidehand titled players responded with their own opinions.

"This is only applicable to Third Step. You need to be the level requirement for Second Step.", one would answer.

Someone else would comment, "No I'm pretty sure there existed Second Step players before they reached the required level. Also this doesn't answer the question."

"This is basically asking how to become Third Step, that method isn't known yet.", a regular of the forums commented.

"Yet they mention Second Step, as if the two things are connected right?", another would follow up.

Eventually the simple post become a bit of a discussion board. Several people offering their theories. Moderators of the forums felt unsure how to handle the post. There wasn't a guaranteed or surefire answer. Anyone who was already Third Step did not reveal their method.

Until a specific individual answered.

Their username was "Your Guiding Hand", an additional tag to their username titled "Shepherd". A person known by many, and praised by many more. The Leader and Founder of the Guidehands!

"This is an interestingly worded question. I've read through most of the discussion on this post and diligently discussed this with your fellow Ushers. Indeed reaching the level requirement is the most well known requirement of ascending to higher Steps. Additionally you need Prominence through Titles, and Mana Control. If you're lacking in one of these categories then you will fail your ascension.

"Of course, there exists proof of those who ascended higher without reaching the level requirement. After a deep discussion the Ushers and I have come to a conclusion. The level requirements are a 'pity' system. A sort of guarantee if you can't ascend through other conditions. Strangely enough very few made the connection between early Second/Third Step ascensions to be somewhat connected. Although it may not be OP's original intention to connect this, it helped with discussion and thus I award them the title of 'Thought Provoker'.

"Now back to the question. In short nobody's fully aware. If you feel confident, you can attempt to ascend and the 'World' will gauge your worth. If you fall short you're denied ascension for some time. This requires a little bit of everything previously mentioned. Your strength compared to your level, your Titles, your Mana Control, and even the strength of your Skills. If these are high enough you can ascend early. However the specific requirements, or the goalpost of all of this isn't known enough to make a Guide. This is all the information we have currently.

"Very intriguing discussion. Sincerely, Your Guiding Hand."

Once the leader of the Guidehands responded the post gained even more attention. This was believed to be a huge insight to how to become a Third Step. Leaving many to immediately turn their focus to preparing for it. 

Additionally more praise was directed towards the leader of the Guidehands. To be able to share any information regarding the highly coveted Third Step without a price was very charitable. 

Akiol read through the discussion on the post. It was pretty close to the actual answer as well. The difference being the missing key of 'paths'. Honestly Akiol believed there to be at least someone who held a bit of knowledge regarding this, but as he thought about it the only key to 'paths' right now was The Gated Arena. Akiol only knew about it due to the memory Stars shared.

What a path was, and how to obtain it, was not easy to explain. It was something faintly grasped. There was a chance some individuals of the west had grasped a path but simply lacked the ability to put such a sensation into words. Thus were deemed 'talents'. 

With this in mind, the answer was essentially correct! To think the leader of the Guidehands stepped in personally. 

Taking note of the time Akiol decided to not post another high level question immediately. Especially not after he was recently given a special title in the forums. Although he could make another throwaway account several high level questions appearing back to back would be suspicious.

He decided to wait another two or three days before asking another. Akiol really didn't expect his first question to be met with this much attention. Was it the way he worded it? 

Closing the forums Akiol decisively logged in. The bright village of Green Bay quickly came to sight. Some time had passed in the real world, allowing day to shine once again in-game.

Immediately he contacted Givale and Mira.

'If you ever come across a Semi-Immortal it's best you ignore them. If at any point they try to pick a fight let me know as soon as possible.' -Akiol

'Is something wrong with them?' -Givale

'I'm still looking into it. For now avoid them.' -Akiol

'Okay! We're still at the peninsula right now.' -Givale

'No Semi-Immortals have come here.' -Mira

'Did you guys find something?' -Akiol

'We did. . .' -Givale

'Do I need to come by?' -Akiol

'No! You shouldn't. . .' -Mira

Akiol paused and frowned. It seemed like they were avoiding this topic. There must be a reason, so he didn't pry much further.

'Alright, if there's any trouble you contact me.' -Akiol

'Okay!' -Givale, Mira

Silence filled the link and Akiol sighed. With the knowledge he now gained Akiol felt the chances of coming across any NPC masters was very slim. This removed the option of learning from them, so he pivoted his goals slightly to match with the circumstance. He planned on joining random groups to dungeon with them! 

This way not only could he gain an understanding of the average player's capability, but he could also see a wide variety of enemy and player Skills. Hopefully by viewing them he could gain a fundamental understanding of their rules and thus deepen his knowledge regarding A World's Legacy as a result.

He had studied some of the Guides from the Guidehands before sleeping. So he knew the general area of various dungeons, it was just a matter of finding them. There was a slight problem. The Guides mentioned how to find them from various Towns and Cities, but Akiol did not know where these Towns and Cities were. 

Additionally he did not have any money to purchase a teleport token to cut the distance short. From the Guidehands' Guides, teleport tokens were decently more expensive than the scrolls of the central continent. The reason for this was not something Akiol understood. He planned to eventually keep one and give it to Kan'na for study. Perhaps the tokens were more expensive and harder to manufacture than the scrolls, thus leading to them being more expensive.

So currently he was broke and lost, a poor combination. He very well might have to become a Mercenary to make the necessary funds to obtain one teleport token. That or hunt dangerous monsters and sell the dropped materials.

Just as Akiol was about to decide on a path, he felt a tug on his cloak. Looking towards the source he spotted the kid he saved last night. Feeling some concern Akiol kneeled down and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"No.", the kid shook his head, "My parents said to bring you to them."

"Ah. Lead the way.", Akiol smiled and returned to his feet.

Gently pulling Akiol along the two eventually made it to a small farmer's hut towards the outskirt of the village. The kid opened the door and hollered, "Mom! I brought him!"

"Be right with you! Samuel bring our guest some water!", a woman's voice called out.

The boy, Samuel, beamed, "Okay!"

Gently tugging Akiol's cloak the boy pointed to a worn wooden table. Taking a seat Akiol sat at the table and looked about. Excluding the worn walls and furniture, the place was very clean. Some rudimentary repairs could be found at the walls and ceilings, likely to fix leaks. Although the home showed signs of financial struggle, it also felt warm of a loving family.

Samuel happily brought a worn mug of warm water to Akiol. Placing it on the table the kid lowered his head and stumbled on his words, "Th-Thank you kindly mister!"

"I should be thanking you for this water.", Akiol nodded.

Samuel's mother appeared from a neighboring room carrying a large basket, "I'm sorry to be greeting you like this. We sent him out early in the morning to find you, but I didn't think that you'd arrive this soon. Usually Resurrectors are in and out of our little village."

"I'm the one intruding, there's no need for an apology.", Akiol raised his hand, "Is there something you needed?"

"N-No. Not at all.", the mother smiled nervously, "I simply wished to personally thank you for saving our son. We were worried sick when he didn't return during sunset. We searched about in the village, imagine our shock when we returned home and he was there with a tear stained face!"

Placing the basket near a stovetop the mother continued, "He barely could get a proper sentence out with how excited he was. Said the Swordmaster from his book came to save him. Brought him back to the village."

"I was lucky to cross paths with him.", Akiol reassured.

"I truly thank you for that. We don't have any money to-"

Holding up a hand Akiol stopped the mother from continuing, "I did not help for a reward. Your thanks is more than enough."

"I meant no disrespect. The Resurrectors aren't usually as. . . kind as you are."

"None taken.", Akiol smiled.

Taking a sip of the warm water Akiol looked through a window. The window lacked glass, and allowed fresh air to move into the home. Its wooden covering was propped open with a stick. Through the window Akiol could see a man tending to the strange herbs. Wading through water while harvesting some.

"Pardon us, my husband can't afford to spend too much time away from the fields.", the mother followed Akiol's gaze and smiled apologetically.

"What is this herb you grow?"

"It's a healing herb, used mostly for those healing potions Resurrectors buy so much of. There's usually a lot of demand for these herbs. . ."

"Has it been a blessing for your family?"

"Not quite, if we don't fulfill orders in time the Resurrectors usually are quick to do so themselves. If we can make the order in time we can use the money to pay for food and necessities. However if we fail there's not much we can do with the herb except sell it for far cheaper. These herbs don't have a long shelf life you see."

Akiol's eyes narrowed, "That is unfortunate to hear."

"My husband has been wearing himself thin to make this latest order. We failed to finish the order in time during the last season. So we had to ration and are short on food as a result. Which is why I can only provide you with some water. . .", the mother made an apologetic expression.

"It's refreshing nonetheless. Is progress smooth enough to make it this season?"

"I'm. . . unsure. If not for the dangers of harvesting at night I fear my husband wouldn't sleep."

"Would you mind if I provided a helping hand?", Akiol stood up.

"We can't impose on our guest! Please remain seated, he'll come in for a break here soon to offer his thanks."

"It's not imposing at all, I need an excuse to stretch. Plus I'm a little interested in these herbs. I won't ask for anything in return. I just simply ask for the chance to experience what it's like."

"You. . . You would have to ask my husband.", the mother replied.

"That is fine."

Akiol could see the skin hugging tightly onto this family's bones. He felt it would belittle their efforts to simply provide them with money to help, additionally it wouldn't help the overarching issue. Players were creating a very competitive market for sourcing materials. 

Still Akiol wished to help, and helping them meet the order requirement seemed like a good place to start.