"What I offer isn't the same as the others. What I ask isn't the same either. The full details of both might take forever to lay out." ~Shallies Mythernal, the Mentor of Heroes

"Alright, everyone," Shallies began, urging the young adventurer's to stand and make some room. She beckoned Grace over. "First come, first served."

The half-orc tried to leave her phoenix chick with Tayin. The moment she moved, however, the tiny creature immediately jumped back to its mom, complaining with loud chirps.

"Bring it over," Shallies said. "He or she?"

"He," Grace replied, placing the chick on her arm. "Chippy."

"Cute name." Shallies reached out to admire the phoenix chick.

Chippy had substantially grown overnight. A characteristic of all creatures originating from a cradle egg. He was still a chick, but he had practically doubled in size.

"I've been meaning to ask," Grace started.

"Hmm?" Shallies hummed while she ran her fingers around Chippy. The phoenix chick played with her, using his tiny beak to poke at her fingertips. They were engaged in an epic fight that no one else but the Godkiller and the Tiny Phoenix cared about.

"Umm… What are you doing?" Grace asked, noticing the commotion on her arm.

"Helping him exercise." Shallies erected a small barrier with mana-control, which caught the burst of embers coming from Chippy. She flicked it back at him, which caused no harm to him or his mom. "Is that the question you wanted to ask?"

"No. I wanted to know, if you had intended for me to carry a hatching cradle egg in the first place."

"The cradle egg chooses when to hatch," Shallies explained. Chippy was quick to tire, and was left with no choice but to catch his breath while the Godkiller showered it with pats. "It'll also only consider hatching if it's next to someone. That's why I didn't allow any of you to store it in your Class Inventories. I, personally, had no influence over its decisions.

"You could say I played a part by choosing at random and just coincidentally handling you Chippy, who wanted you to take care of him. But I would argue back that it's part of your luck in the first place."

"So it was all down to luck?" Grace asked. She wasn't satisfied with that.

"Never discount your luck, Grace," Shallies said before addressing the other two, who were listening in. "That goes for you two. Unlucky or lucky, that's all part of life. You can't plan for it, but you shouldn't take it for granted either. Move on from the things that don't go your way, be thankful for those that did."

Shallies lifted Grace's arm so that Chippy, chirping happily, was next to the half-orc's face. "Him becoming a part of your life, is also part of your luck."

Grace looked at her pet. Chippy perked up and chirped, dancing in front of his mom. That made the half-orc smile. "Yes. I'm thankful for that."

"Good. Now that we're all set, it's time to integrate you to the Mentor System." Shallies opened her System Console, sending Grace a party invite. The half-orc accepted it.

"Stachie, initiate a mentorship invite for Grace." The verbal command not only caught the half-orc by surprise, but also the other two, who had no knowledge of the System Assistant.

"Who's Stachie?" they both asked.

Shallies didn't answer right away, gesturing for Grace to take the time before she either accepted or denied the mentorship invite. The half-orc stared at her own System Console.

"Just so you know," Shallies started. "You're not allowed to have two or more mentors integrated into the System. This means after we make the connection, if you leave, regardless of any reason, you won't be able to gain the benefits of another mentor."

"What are the benefits?" Grace asked. "You said we would talk about it."

Shallies nodded.

"I suppose we should talk about it. It's just that, knowing how I am, the benefits you'll receive from me are much more than you would expect from any other mentor. I'm speaking from experience when I say that most people will think that any hardship would be worth the benefits. I'm telling all of you now that this isn't the case. Becoming my apprentice is akin to dedicating your entire life to my cause."

The Godkiller didn't skip a beat. "Regardless, the benefits I'm able to offer are essentially the same. When you become my apprentice, I'll be able to impart to you two of my Passive Skills. These include my Skill Proficiencies, which are at Epitome proficiency, but I will only let you use it as though they are at Expert proficiency."

"Epitome?" While Ren was the first to ask, the other two were confused as well. "I've never heard of that as a Skill Proficiency."

"What are the proficiencies that you know?"

"Beginner, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, and Master," all three of them replied at the same time.

Shallies nodded and crossed her arms. "When do you get them?"

"Beginner at the start," Grace answered.

"Apprentice for Advanced Classes," Tayin answered next.

"Adept and Expert for Hero Classes," Ren answered last. When the three ladies kept looking at him, he continued. "Err… Master for Favored Classes."

"There are three more levels above Master," Shallies started. "Elevated, Grandmaster, and Epitome. The first two are Skill Proficiencies that you can reach once you've become Favored Class holders. Most Favored Class holders, who aren't my students, will figure that out once they've reached Master proficiency. You three have the privilege of knowing about them now, so you won't get caught off-guard in the future."

"When's Epitome?" Grace asked. Shallies simply opened her arms and shrugged. It was enough for all three students to see what she meant.

"Oh…" they said in unison.

"Moving on, you'll also have a hidden, secondary Skill Proficiency on these Skills, starting from Beginner, which you'll gradually increase as you keep using them. Once one of them becomes an Adept proficiency, it'll replace the Expert proficiency. This then becomes an actual Skill that you have, rather than granted by the Mentor System. The same goes for the other one. It's one of the few ways you can earn a Skill without using a Skill Point from your levels."

"That sounds like a lot of information right away," Tayin said.

"Is it?" Shallies asked. "It's pretty simple, really. You get two more Skills with temporary Skill Proficiencies. Once you have actual good proficiency, they'll become permanent."

"Oh…"

"Do we get to choose?" Ren asked next.

"As far as the System is concerned, I'm the one who will choose. I'm the mentor, in the first place. I will choose one. For the other, I can give you a list, and then we can agree on what you want before I finalize the option."

"We can't replace it?" Grace asked last.

"As long as the secondary proficiency isn't Apprentice yet, you can replace it. However, once you have one of those Skills become permanent in your Skillset, I'll be able to grant you another one. This is the heart of the Mentor System. If you three work hard, I can teach you up to 15 different Skills."

"Fifteen!?" exclaimed the entire group.

"Normally it'll be five," Shallies started. "If people ask, this is what you should tell them, in order to avoid suspicion. The more people a mentor teaches, the more Skills she'll be able to bestow. It maxes out at fifteen."

"That's a really tempting benefit," Tayin concluded. "Regardless of what Skills you bestow on us, they'll be a real boon."

"But that's not all," Shallies started, taking everyone's attention. "During training, you'll gain experience and Skill Proficiencies as though you're out on a quest, or defeating a monster, rather than the normal training progress we've had last time."

"Wait, that's…" Grace's expression turned from surprised to confused. She looked like she was doing the math in her head. "That sounds really fast."

"Well, not exactly," Shallies said. "You feel like your levels are coming in fast, because you're still in your Base Class. Not to mention that type of enemies you've fought. If you consider your parents' progress, I bet they became Hero Class holders just before they had you."

"Yeah," Grace nodded. "They became Hero Classes after they got married. A year after that, they stopped adventuring and leveling and settled in instead. After another year, they had me."

"For most adventurer's that's the goal of their careers. Almost no one wants to progress further, so most take their time in leveling their Classes. Though there are still many who want to become stronger, who want to take on harder challenges, they are usually less than half as many as those who retire after becoming Hero Class holders."

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Shallies lifted a finger. "It's why I adopted that angle for my fabricated story. It's just that, most Hero Class holders who retire early would usually get a place somewhere in one of the cities. I honestly didn't expect there to be more of them out here.

"Anyway, as you see, progressing towards Hero Class usually takes a long time. With me as your mentor, however, I'm aiming to cut that in half or more, especially since I'll want all three of you to take a second Class as well, before your first ascends to Hero Class."

Shallies caught herself and frowned. She cleared her throat and corrected herself. "That is, of course, unless you intend to take a Profession Class instead."

Her potential students looked at each other, and all of them were of the same mind. Grace gave it voice.

"I think we're all taking a second Combat Class."

"But why do we need to get a second Class before ascending the first one?" Ren inquired. "Is that how we'll graduate?"

"Nope," Shallies replied. "The short answer is yes. You can only graduate when you have one of two Combat Classes on Favored-tier. However, the condition changes if you take a Profession Class for your second option, in which case you graduate after the first one ascends. With two Combat Classes, the way you level becomes a little different after you acquire your second option. But I'll explain that part after either of you obtain your second one. The real reason why I would want you to have a second Class right away, is for efficiency."

At that, Grace suddenly perked up. "Oh! Is it because Hero Classes don't gain experience from killing monsters or doing quests anymore?"

"Wait, what!?" Ren and Tayin exclaimed at the same time.

Shallies pointed at the half-orc. "Correct. This is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of adventurers stop as soon as they become Hero Class holders.

"The System removes them from the easiest way of gaining experience, which is killing monsters. Though, I should point out, that the new way is technically still killing monsters."

"What's the difference?" Ren asked.

"The monsters you have to kill, and the dungeons and raids and towers you have to conquer, must be worthy of a heroic feat. Which is why, instead of gaining experience, you gain Feats of Heroism instead.

"For an adventurer who takes a second Class after the first becomes Hero-tier, leveling is not exactly a problem. It's a lot faster with Feats. The issue is that they level up too fast because of it. They get overwhelmed by the information caused by the sudden growth. Some manage to take the time to learn, but others get so confused to even actually utilize the point of having two Classes and just stick with their first choice.

"The real problem is gaining those Feats of Heroism. Since they're not allowed to just enter a Beginner of Intermediate Dungeon and grind out their levels, they're left with no choice but to engage in actually challenging quests. Some take months to finish. Some take years even.

"So the reason why you should have yours early is to prevent getting overwhelmed while efficiently leveling both so they reach Hero-tier at the same time."

The two, who have been hearing about it just now, frowned. Tayin was the first to shake her head out of confusion. Or attempted to, at least.

"Wait… Feats of Heroism…? I've never heard of that before," she said, clutching her head. "I get the reasoning… I think? Essentially the best way is to level both Classes at the same time, right?"

"Correct," Shallies said. "It's not exactly important, but it's the best way to avoid getting discouraged from continuing your adventuring careers."

"But why didn't anyone tell us about it before?" Ren asked. "The Feats of Heroism, I mean."

"Generally, it's knowledge that's kept away from Base Class holders to prevent them from having information overload. Grace simply had no choice but to learn about it after her first quest since we ended up having to defeat a dragon."

"A dragon!?" Tayin flinched and fell on her butt. "A freaking dragon!?"

It was then that Shallies had to spend a few minutes retelling the tale of how she had to save Grace from Arun'dul. She didn't keep any detail hidden from Tayin or Ren. She had already trusted them with one of her more important secrets, so there was no need to play mysterious.

"Just remember," Shallies said, finally. "Ben and Marisa have no recollection that any of this happened. So make sure you don't accidentally slip."

Tayin nodded vigorously.

"A dragon…" Ren said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Is Arun'dul still in danger of turning into one? Isn't he going to have his nomad permission?"

"He's going to become an adventurer to find a way to lift his Curse. He knows the limits and what triggers it. He knows the risk."

"Don't tell me, you'll have him join us?" Tayin questioned. She was still on the ground, her knees shaking a little.

"What did I tell you about being my mentees?"

"You'll let us decide," Grace answered.

"We can decide whether we want Arun'dul in the party," Ren concluded. "As a gesture to show that we're learning from you, Lady Sha—"

"Shallies."

The Shield Knight cleared his throat. "As a gesture to show that we're learning from you, Shallies, we won't outright reject him, like you did for us."

"Sounds fair," Shallies said, nodding. "In any case, with regards to Feats of Heroism, Advanced Class holders, like you two, will usually gain an inkling of it as you work closer towards becoming Hero Class holders.

"You two simply spent most of your time in the province without any Hero Classes who are interested in doing quests. If you had asked, I bet Amabelle would've pointed it out for you, but there's no way you would've known, nor did she have any reason to go out of her way to inform you."

"I suppose so," Ren said. "Plus, there's no reason for us to not believe you."

Shallies gestured towards Grace. "So you see, the benefits I provide are pretty tempting."

"The Skills alone are very tempting," the half-orc admitted. "It would help us a lot on quests."

That reminded Shallies of something else.

"Oh, and one other thing," she began, turning towards the other two. "Since I'm the founder of the Adventurer's Guild, I can give you access to incredibly special quests and protected areas. But I will only provide you this benefit after you graduate. You can probably guess the reason why.

"Stachie will help you modify and hide all System-based information regarding your mentorship and my identity in your profiles, depending on who you're talking to. Only after you graduate will you be able to show everyone that you were trained by the Godkiller herself. I suppose this is a benefit outside of your mentorship, but it is a unique access that I only provide to people I recognize."

"That's incredible!" Tayin exclaimed, jumping back up on her feet. "We can explore Gone Old ruins, the Glinting Skies, and so much more!"

"Yes, you can," Shallies confirmed.

"After you graduate," she reminded them. "Just making sure you have that in your heads."

"Even the kingdoms of dragons?" Ren inquired.

"Technically it's the collective name for a group of dragons," the Godkiller said. "But, yeah. There's actually one real kingdom led by a kingdom of dragons. Zerax'malathum Kingdom."

Ren and Tayin gasped. Grace flinched. In reaction, Shallies raised her eyebrows.

"Aren't you supposed to not mention, that place?" Tayin asked.

"Oh… Yeah. For you guys, that's true." Shallies raised a finger. She allowed a few veils to become visible. They were like translucent coats of mana covering her entirety. "For anyone who can manipulate a veil, it depends. For me, they won't know even if I screamed it with amplified mana. Unless, of course, my voice actually reached them."

"Ah…" Tayin scratched her head. "It's going to take a bit, accepting how you're basically exempted from a lot of rules, Shallies."

"Well, I have to admit, it's a bit amusing watching your reactions. And if you work hard, you'll probably be exempted from some of them yourselves."

The halfling laughed half-heartedly. "I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."

"In any case," Shallies began, quickly going back to their main discussion. "With all of these benefits in mind, I should clarify that if I order each of you under my authority as Godkiller, you must enact upon it accordingly and without question. This is the main caveat with regards to becoming my apprentice."

"What if we don't?" Grace asked.

"Depending on the impact of your negligence, it'll be as soft as a reprimand, or as severe as removing your integration from the System completely." Shallies crossed her arms, keeping her poise straight and firm.

"Removing?" Ren repeated. "As in, we lose our Class?"

"Yes. You'll become a normal person completely."

"Wait," Grace started. "When you said you had to kill your own students."

"They managed to find a way to circumvent that rule," Shallies said, turning to Ren and Tayin, who were shocked by Grace's question. "Great power, mixed with unreasonable ambition, will never turn out great. Even I can make mistakes. Keep in mind that if you directly oppose what I stand for, covet my name and authority, or seek to put Ysvil into harm, your connection to me will be severed. Don't think of it as a threat, but as a simple fact."

"It doesn't matter. I'll still accept," Grace said, finally making up her mind. "I've… died twice already. I want… I want to be strong!"

The half-orc was determined. If not for the cute phoenix chick that jumped on her shoulder, one might have said it looked like she was rearing for a fight.

"You'll face far more dangerous enemies than that six-horned noldzwjak," Shallies pointed out. "You'll be stronger, but that only means you'll take on far riskier tasks. It'll only get more dangerous."

"I'll never be able to live with my past mistakes. If I fail a third time, then I deserve to die." Grace said it with a straight face. Her emerald eyes slightly glowed.

Shallies sighed and scratched her head. "You know, I have to keep reminding myself that you have orcish blood in your veins. That's not something most humans would say, you know?" For emphasis, she gestured towards Ren.

"I would think most humans would give up after essentially dying twice," Ren said, nodding. He lifted two hands and imitated quotation marks with his fingers. "They'll 'cherish' the third chance they got and make sure 'it doesn't go to waste'. But my interpretation of that is them actually wasting their life by becoming cowards and recluses. That's just me, though."

"I want to bring honor to the chances I've been given," Grace said. "I want to prove, not just to myself, but to you, Shallies, that I can become a successful adventurer!"

"You still want to be a solo adventurer?"

"I've placed that dream aside," Grace admitted. "It's too lofty. I don't deserve to aim for that goal if I can't even finish a quest without putting myself near death's door."

"Good." Shallies nodded. "Then I have no more reservations in accepting you as my student. Go ahead."

Grace took a deep breath and pressed the accept button on her System Console. Immediately, a thread of mana manifested from Shallies and wrapped around the half-orc. It spun around her wrists, her ankles, and her waist. It tightened, but not too much that it caused discomfort. After a while, the thread snapped, leaving their mark on the newly initiated student.

[Shallies. Grace is now integrated in the Mentor System. Congratulations to you two.]

Despite the cheerful message, Grace fell on the ground, burdened by a sudden surge of mana.

"Meditate it and you'll be okay," Shallies instructed. The half-orc struggled to follow the instructions, but she started trying.

Next, the Godkiller turned to the other two. She sent them both a party invite, intending to integrate them at the same time. After they accepted, however, she stopped before sending the mentor-invite, to ask them one last time.

"We'll have no regrets," Tayin said, not even hesitating. "It's not as grand as Grace's ambitions, but I've always wanted to research the Gone Old. I had some inkling that the Godkiller can give me access to that, but hearing you mention it straight away, Shallies, that just makes everything worth it for me."

"I'm the same, but with the dragons," Ren admitted.

"Well, I've clarified what's in it for you two and what I expect from you. As long as you're sure, I don't have any complaints." Shallies sent the mentor-invite. As soon as they accepted it, the same threads of mana wrapped around their bodies and forced them into a trance.

Shallies stood there, waiting for the three of them to normalize. Based on her observations, Tayin was having an easier time than the other two. It would still take them the entire morning, however.

"Miss Shallies, good morning." A voice came from nearby. Gar. He pointed towards the three sitting on the ground. "What's happened to them?"

"Integrating with the Mentor System," Shallies explained. "They'll be okay. I'm here to make sure nothing goes wrong. What's up?"

"Oh, I'm here to let you know that I'm leaving tomorrow. You said you wanted to prepare things for me to bring in honor of Pat."

"Leave in two days instead," Shallies suggested, nodding her head towards Tayin and Ren, who didn't seem to hear anything. "You should spend at least an entire day with those two. You're all friends, right?"

"Oh, they already know I'm leaving. But I suppose you're right. I would love to see how you're training them, if that's okay?"

"Sure. That's perfect, then. I'll need your help." Shallies didn't wait for Gar to accept her request. Instead, she pulled out a human-sized mannequin from her Class Inventory. She placed it in front of Gar. "Think of it as your personal contribution to help them in their training."

"What do I do with it?"

"Beat the non-living life out of it."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.