The moment he entered, his jaw nearly hit the floor. The place was filled to the brim with people, all chatting, eating, drinking, and laughing at every table. Wooden pillars supported the ceiling, and a set of stairs on the left led to the upper floors. In the back, Seth saw a desk bathed in the yellow hue of a light-lamp with a man sitting behind it.
The aether radiating from the armor and weapons of the adventurers inside was so potent Seth felt a tangible weight pressing down on his shoulders. If he had to guess, most of them were at least as strong as the members of the Champions of Chaos.
No one seemed to care about him at first—but then a cold sensation prickled in his chest.
A murmur then rippled on the left, followed by more coldness and whispers that spread through the room like wildfire.
, Seth realized, though he didn't let that stop him from striding toward the counter in the back.
The man there—with his trimmed beard, slicked-back brown hair, and three scars running from his left eyebrow to his cheek, likely from the claws of a beast—looked up and frowned at Seth.
A second later, his eyes widened. "By the Gods' name, a Beastmaster!"
A few steps away, a youngster turned to the old folk beside him. "Beastmaster as a Low-Iron. Do you think he's a Legacy-Bearer?"
"No," the man answered. "He has no guards with him and seems completely oblivious. He probably got that subclass by some shocking luck."
Ignoring the two customers, Seth looked back at the man behind the counter. "Sorry to bother you, sir. Is this place affiliated with the Adventurers Guild?"
"Yeah, it is," he answered. "It's a Primalist subsection. A place for us to exchange information related to our class. I'm Hector, the chief here and one of the five co-administrators of the Asethka outpost."
"Seth," he replied. "Pleasure to meet you, sir. Is it okay if I ask another question?"
"Don't call me 'sir'," Hector answered with a dismissive wave, "and yes, go ahead."
"What's a Legacy-Bearer?" Seth asked, trying to feign as much confusion as he could—it was his follow-up question that was important. "And why do people think I'm one because of my subclass?"
"You really are clueless," Hector answered with a short laugh. "Where are you from?"
"Kastal."
The co-administrator frowned. "Aren't all the portals connecting Asethka to your country guarded? And aren't you at war with the Bridan Empire right now?"
"Um, yes, but I came with a friend through another nation's portal," Seth lied, rubbing the back of his neck. "And yeah, the war is about to begin in a month or so."
"Hmm," Hector replied, a hint of sheepishness in his face as he rubbed his neck. "I was just being polite. We all know you're going to war. Nearly everyone here has a bet on the outcome of each squad battle."
The man nodded toward the left, causing Seth to glance in that direction at a large board covered with pieces of parchment. As he stepped closer, he saw rows of entries detailing upcoming battles by size, number, and date. Yellow tokens, which seemed to be engraved with names, were placed next to either 'Kastal Kingdom' or 'Bridan Empire'—with nearly all of them next to the latter for every single fight.
"Sorry, kid," Hector said beside Seth. "People aren't very optimistic about your country. Your king isn't ruling in a way that allows you to… ah, let's say, grow in terms of strength. Controlling your assets to protect the nobles' and their assets won't win you a war. He's basically forcing your nation to the bottom of the barrel."
Seth rubbed his face while taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I know."
"Are you in a squad? I'll root for you."
"Yeah, I'm in Squad 48 from Trogan Academy."
"Oh, you're in one of the first five battles," Hector said before grabbing a yellow token on the third row from the top. He then moved it from the Bridan Empire's section and placed it next to Kastal's, right beside the only other token there.
Seth smiled at the man. "There's no need to do that."
'' Nightmare said through their bond.
''
"No, I insist. As Primalists, we've got to cheer for each other," Hector answered with a broad grin. "Now, about your initial question: a Legacy-Bearer is someone who holds what's called a Legacy. Those are incredibly powerful spells that usually grant a percentage bonus to one or more attributes and guide you along the Path of its original owner. It amplifies something within you, like your anger, your courage, anything that can push you to walk that Path. Those usually come from someone famous who lived long ago. Most people who inherit one eventually end up with a unique subclass, but early on Identify just shows the closest match in its records, even if it's not entirely accurate."
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Hector paused, rubbing his beard before going on, "The Oracle Guild doesn't let Identify make up subclass names the way it does with unique spells. Legacy-Bearers died too often for that to be useful. That's why anyone early in the Iron Tier who has a subclass is suspected of holding a Legacy… especially those with rare ones like Beastmaster."
"Why do they die so often?" Seth asked. "Aren't they supposed to be more powerful with their bonus attributes?"
Hector chuckled, then shook his head. "It's like with Seeds. There's a way—one that is forbidden and could get you blacklisted in several Rift-cities and many countries—to extract a Legacy from the body of a dead Legacy-Bearer."
In that moment, everything instantly clicked into place in Seth's mind. The secrecy his father had ordered in the letter, the warning of a target on his back, the way the man at the table dismissed him as a Legacy Bearer because he didn't have guards—it all made sense. And the realization settled in his gut like a cold stone.
A growl from Nightmare broke his spiraling thoughts,
Colossus immediately replied without an ounce of hesitation.
Seth fought the urge to shake his head at the scorpion's eagerness. Seth said through Link, turning his attention back to the scarred man behind the counter. "Isn't killing someone for a Legacy a bit… intense?"
Hector's mouth twisted into an awkward smile. "People kill for far less out there, kid."
Nightmare prodded, causing Seth to almost roll his eyes. The reason was obvious: the direwolf didn't have one and wanted to correct that.
"Oh, and also, what's a Seed?" Seth asked.
"Ah, well, think of it as something between a Legacy and a spell-shard," Hector answered, leaning on the counter. "You know what that is, right?"
Seth nodded. "Yes."
"Good. So yeah, Seeds are resources found in Rifts, usually near the Domain Flower, hence the name. People can absorb them, and they add an attribute bonus. The common ones might give you a flat five points to Strength, but the Epic and Legendary ones... those can grant percentage bonuses." Hector then paused, a flicker of something like pity in his eyes. "They're highly regulated back in Kastal, from what I heard. Even if you got the coin and reputation to buy one here, you'd probably be arrested by the men of your king the moment you arrive back home."
"That's fine," Seth answered, a grimace on his face. he thought."Do they have keepers that guard them like Essences?" he then asked, remembering the giant golem the Champions of Chaos had to kill in the mountains.
"Some do, some don't," Hector replied. "But trust me, if you stumble upon one, you'll know. And if that happens, keep it to yourself. Like I said earlier, they can be extracted from someone's dead body, and there are people out there who are ready to kill for those. Especially the Rare and Epic ones."
Seth nodded, realizing how little he knew about so many aspects of the world. "I appreciate the information. I have to head back to Kastal soon, and I was wondering if there were any books about being a Primalist I could buy. Academies don't really support people with that class there."
"Yeah, I've heard that," Hector said, rubbing his scarred cheek. "That king of yours is really hamstringing himself with those stupid laws. He's thrown so many obstacles in front of Primalists… I'd bet someone told him one of us might crawl out of the slums and overthrow his ass."
The man caught himself losing temper and paused to take a few steadying breaths. "Anyway, we don't have any official books, but there's plenty of information posted on the boards upstairs. You might find some useful tips there."
"Thank you, Hector," Seth said, feeling rather uneasy that simply mentioning Kastal and Primalists had stirred so much anger in the man. Without waiting any longer, he turned toward the stairs.
"Hey, kid," Hector called after him, making him stop. "If you ever decide to… well, leave your country for good, the Primalist’s Den will welcome you. Your king can threaten you all he wants—Kastal’s bounties don’t mean a thing here."
"Thanks," Seth replied, genuine warmth spreading through his chest. "I'll keep that in mind."
But Seth knew that leaving Kastal now would mean never walking out of this Rift ever again. Missing his trial against the Faertis will make him wanted in the whole country. And the Scribe's inscription etched into his arm wouldn't let him leave through another country. He would be stuck.
Upstairs, the den was quieter, the boisterous energy from below replaced by a low chatting. A few Primalists were scattered at tables, but most were gathered around several massive corkboards that covered the back wall. Seth approached them, and his jaw almost dropped at the sheer volume of information contained on the boards.
These weren't just a few hunting tips; they were sprawling collections of handwritten notes, detailed beast anatomies, and complete reports. One section laid out how to awaken as a Primalist and, to Seth's astonishment, also claimed it was the easiest class to Rank up due to bonuses from hunting arcane beasts. One of the charts listed target Ranks according to the time he had since awakening: reaching the Iron Tier within a year was considered merely average.
, Seth thought, realizing his growth wasn't special here compared to back in Kastal.
Another board held a full bestiary, crisscrossed with a complex web of notes detailing which beasts made the best contracts for each common party role: tanks, healers, brawlers, and casters.
Nightmare growled inside the necklace.
Seth answered, trying to cheer the direwolf up.
His eyes were then drawn to another section about subclasses. It was an impressive list: Shaman, Tamer, Survivalist, Druid, Wolfman, Claw of the Wild, and many more. Each was graded from Common to Epic, though three stood apart from the rest because of their Legendary label: Stormcaller, Nature Fortifier, and Beastmaster.
At the bottom of the section, a small note read: '
Seth's gaze moved back to Beastmaster. There were two requirements listed below it, the first being to form a contract with a beast whose potential was two Tiers higher than the Primalist's. The second simply read: Unknown.
Half a dozen theories were scrawled next to it, one of them suggesting the need for a profound bond with the first contracted beast.
Seth thought.
Nightmare interjected, his voice sharp.
Seth frowned.
Not wasting much time on that, he pushed that question aside for now. There was too much to learn about other topics, and Marcus would be meeting Seth outside shortly. He needed as much information as he could get. With the war coming, he didn't know when he would get another chance to come back here.
(UPDATED):
------
Thank you so much for reading!
------
21 24!! advanced chapters on !