Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Seth stood alone in front of the Adventure Guild’s outpost's door, its wooden sign swaying gently in the breeze. He and Renwal had parted ways, planning to meet up later that night. Unable to wait, the blacksmith had decided to buy his awakening stone for the year today.

As Seth limped into the large building, a strong, musty smell and the soft tinkle of the doorbell greeted him. He adjusted his stance, easing the weight off his injured leg, and glanced around. Lines of odd, spherical lamps hung from the arching wooden pillars, casting a steady, even light across the open floor. They didn’t flicker, as if their light didn’t come from flames.

Artifacts? he wondered.

Behind the desk at the back of the room, a man jolted awake in his chair, clearly shocked to see another human being.

"If you're looking for a room, we don't rent to travelers here," he said while straightening up, crumbs of food falling from his long, snarled beard. "Try the inn across the street."

The man’s short, open-fronted leather vest exposed a laced shirt stained with beer. An insignia similar to Professor Reat's was clipped to his chest pocket; two dark gray wings and five stars under the white A.

"I’m not looking for a room, sir," Seth answered. "I'm here to join the Adventure Guild."

"Oh, sorry!" the man exclaimed before cracking an awkward smile. "Most people who come in are looking for rooms."

"It's fine," Seth replied.

The bearded man stuck his hand out. "I'm Warsis, the administrator of this outpost."

Seth hesitated, shifting awkwardly to avoid straining his injured shoulder before finally extending his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir," he said, gripping firmly despite the dull ache. "I'm Seth."

Warsis chuckled. "You can stop with the sir. I'm no noble, kid."

"Sorry," Seth said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm… uh, not from around here."

The man crouched down and retrieved a strange object from under his desk: a silver goblet-like bowl fixed to a dark trapezoidal base covered in glittering yellow runes. Before Seth could ask what it was, the man pulled out a palm-size violet crystal ball and started speaking.

"To register you and create your vita, I'll need to Identify you. You can keep any concealment artifacts on as long as I can see your name, class, and Rank."

"That's fine, I don't wear one," Seth answered, watching the man set the crystal ball in the odd bowl.

Warsis glanced up at him briefly after Identify’s tingling. "Oh, a Primalist. It's been a while since I registered one."

A faint smile appeared on Seth’s lips—it was nice to know he wasn’t the only one out there. "How long has it been? Are they still around?"

"Um, about one or two years," Warsis answered, scratching his beard. "And no, the poor kid got killed by a beast on his… well, on his first contract."

A cold shiver ran Seth's spine, and goosebumps prickled his skin.

"Primalist’s actually a decent fit for the adventurer’s life," he said after a moment, still serious. “You lot grow by surviving, after all. Just… be careful.” He paused, choosing his words. "It's easy to get intoxicated by the sudden surge of attributes you get in dangerous situations. Don't let that rush fool you into biting off more than you can chew, or you'll end up dead in a ditch."

"Are there any older or more-experienced ones around? So I can ask for advice?"

"No, sorry." Warsis shook his head and pressed his lips together. "But last time I went to Trogan's outpost, I met a few. One of them was even at the peak of Iron. There’s a chance he might’ve broken through Silver by now. If you ever pass by there, I'm sure you could ask him for some tips."

Silver?

Seth could feel his hopes soar. If that man could reach that Tier, then with Nightmare and Link, he could certainly do it too.

As Warsis placed his large hand on the base of the strange-looking device, the runes shifted from their faint yellow glow to a dazzling white radiance. Seth squinted, trying to keep his eyes open to watch, but the light was too bright.

He barely managed to hold out a few seconds—enough to see the runes moving up toward the crystal ball—before shutting them tight. Through closed lids, he could still discern a change of color, the beaming light turning violet and streaming in circles.

The brightness faded and vanished in an instant. Once he was sure it was over, Seth opened his eyes and blinked several times to remove the blurring veil covering his vision.

"There you go," Warsis said, handing Seth the violet crystal and an insignia similar to the man’s, except this one had two dark gray wings and one star under the white A in the center. "This is your vita and your adventurer badge. Take care of them. If you lose them, you’ll need to pay to get new ones."

Seth inspected the hand-sized crystal in his palm before looking up at Warsis, who was still waiting behind his desk. "What’s a vita?"

"Oh, sorry," the bearded man said, chuckling. "It's an artifact that sums up your progress as an adventurer and provides basic info about you to potential customers." He then pointed at the orb. "Try infusing aether inside, you'll see."

Seth drew aether from his Well, pushing it through his arm despite the sharp twinge of pain that flared inside his injured shoulder. He clenched his jaw, ignoring it, and focused on channeling the energy into the violet sphere. To his surprise, the aether flowed effortlessly into the orb, causing white words to shimmer to life inside.