Sitting on his bed, legs crossed, and a leatherbound book on his lap. Bethel has been staring at its blank page for the past hour, he had so many things he wanted to note down yet once he had gotten down to it, his mind was blank.
When he went to sleep last night, he had mentally told himself that he would be reviewing the principles that the system wanted to find. Bethel had it planned; wake up, brush his teeth, wash his face, change his clothes and start writing down everything he could think of that could uncover the so-called principles.
Bethel stared at the blank page, dark circles under his eyes,he looked like hasn't slept for days. He pinched his brows as he contemplated the drea- nightmare, he couldn't remember what he dreamt of, but he knew. Just like he knew the moon was round and the sun was bright, he knew that he hadn't dreamt of anything good.
There was no way it could be a good dream!
Bolts of lightning, Darkness that seemed to devour all life, and then overlooking it all was a bright big red something. Bethel couldn't seem to comprehend what the red object was, no matter how he tried.
But he could remember the feeling it gave him. Desire, hate, guilt, love, acceptance, determination. These were the emotions the red object had incited within his dream self.
"Argh!" pulling his hair, Bethel's yell filled the room. Taking a deep breath, he combed his hair with his hand.
"Whatever it is that I had dreamt of should be put aside. My current priority should be to complete the newest quest the system gave." Bethel stated as grabbed the pen that had fallen on the bed.
It has been two years since he had come to the underworld, two years since had gotten the system. Yet he still hadn't completed a single quest! How could he dare call himself a gamer when he had not even completed his beginner quest!
Sure, the quest had a time requirement, but even so. Bethel lamented his circumstances, which is exactly why he wanted to complete the quest.
With his tongue sticking out, Bethel started writing. First he wrote the principle which he… learned? Enlightened? Found? Is there a correct term for it?
Principles for Apprentice:
–One shouldn't flaunt one's superiority and be arrogant, and has to understand the insignificance of their own strength.
–
–
Pen tapping his book, he contemplated what the others would be.
"What does it mean to be an Apprentice?"
What is an apprentice? The literal meaning of apprentice is a person who studies under someone else in order to learn a skill, or trade. Example: Himself who works under the old hag Gilio so he could learn tailoring.
But that is clearly not enough. The system, or his power, needs something poetic or maybe it requires his personal understanding of the term apprentice.
"What have I learned in the past two years?" specifically it was one year and 11 months, give or take a few days.
Thinking about his actions of the past, Bethel analyzed them. Hopefully he could find a principle.
Staring blankly at the page which contained only a single sentence, his mind drifted to the earlier days of his apprenticeship, his mind analyzing the memories one by one.
He spent a long time of brain searching before he recalled a specific memory while he stared at the dark grey jacket that was placed at the top of his sewed clothes.
…
In the earlier days of his apprenticeship, where everything was new and fun, Bethel worked with enthusiasm. He went to work for Miss Gilio assisting her. Rather than an apprentice he felt like an assistant. He would clean her work room, pieces of fabric and threads that fell on the floor needed to be properly placed. He would also bring her food as well.
In return, she would occasionally teach him about techniques and how to handle different fabrics. Compared to the tailoring that he knew, the demonic kind was very different.
Though he wasn't knowledgeable about normal human tailoring, he was sure it had a vast difference between the devil kind.
The difference mostly lies in the material used. Devil clothes are made of sturdier stuff, since devils had a significantly longer lifespan the clothes needed to be more durable. Due to how different each territory, which is ruled by a pillar house is, there were all sorts of different fabrics needed to make different clothes.
Focalorian Cotton, a lightweight fabric that is used in many clothes. Its primary trait is how light it is, sometimes you cannot even feel yourself wearing it. Its durability, while not anything to write home about, is not fragile either. It is specifically used to make pajamas, and some certain risque clothing.
Onyx Wool obtained from Onyx horned sheep, a creature that lives only in darkness. Its wool can absorb a small amount of light, it cannot absorb holy light sadly, the wool is used in cloaks, coats and, for some strange reason, lingerie.
Gremorian Linen, a fabric imported from Gremory territory.. It can absorb dyes easily, and has decent durability. Though it has no unique properties, due to its low price it is very well-known.
Snow Silk, a fragile yet luxurious material which is imported from Decarabia territory. It is a material that is cold to the touch, in its natural state temperature above a 100 degrees can melt it. A skilled tailor can use complimentary threads, and special liquids to treat the material so it can handle higher temperatures.
The black needle pierced the fabric with expert precision, the sea blue thread being carried by it created the embroidery of blue birds flying across from one end of the green scarf to the other.
As he finished his work, he heard the familiar yet dread inducing "Click-Clack" of his "master's" wooden sandal that looks similar to japanese geta, except it didn't have the teeth like protrusion in its soles.
'Great, what does she want now? A bowl of soup from the other end of town? Delivering a parcel to her client who lives in the next town?' Bethel has fingers crossed as he hoped her task won't be too troublesome.
The old woman walked over. Her expression was the usual stern no-nonsense expression as she faced him, "You've been here for some time now, make a jacket out of these." She waved her hand towards a pile placed on a table on the side.
Bethel stood, and observed what they were, it took him a second to realize what it was.
"Cloud wool flannel?" he couldn't keep his surprise out of his tone, yet he was also uncertain. Did she actually tell him to make a jacket out of these? Surely, either she is joking or he is wrong and this is not cloud wool.
"Yes." Her answer shocked him. This was cloud wool flannel! Costing 500 lilums per meter. And by eyeballing it, Bethel measured it being at least 3 metres!
His hand shook as he touched it. This was way too expensive, this roll cost his entire monthly tuition.
Cloud wool, extracted from Cloud Sheep. A rare breed of sheep that seemed to only be able to be bred on the human world, or Overworld as most devils seem to call it.
It is a material that was said to be super soft, practically dissolving if you were to touch it with heat exceeding a certain temperature. Though the old hag had given him books about different materials which included information on cloud wool, this was the first time he had actually seen it.
Bethel recalled what he had read while he grabbed the necessary items. The needle and the thread needed is specific. Using different needles and threads can produce different reactions.
A chemist would have had a field day here, Bethel felt faint amusement at the thought.
Needle made from a Frostelope horn. Threads from an ice silkworm. He grabbed them both.
To make sure the clothes won't fall apart, you need to use needles and threads aligned with the cold element. Thus the needle needs to be made of something with cold properties, even the thread used needs to be cold.
Sitting down, and carefully lowering the roll of fabric, he grabbed a scissor, its blade shone light blue emitting mist.
Technically speaking, Bethel can replace the scissor, needle, and thread with a more neutral material rather than a cold one. Which would make the price cheaper than if he used all these materials.
But, according to the old hag, while neutral materials are good they lower the value of the overall product. He may be slightly greedy, but Bethel won't do something like drinking his own blood to satisfy thirst.
'Even if I am not getting a single penny out of them.' Bethel grumbled.
Using a special chalk, Bethel marked the fabric before he actually started cutting. If he were to eyeball it, it would be a waste.
Grabbing the scissor, whose chill invaded his palm even when touching the handles–It was a light chill, as if it was reminding him that it was cold, he started cutting along the marked places.
After cutting and separating the pieces, Bethel threaded the needle and tied a knot so it wouldn't pull straight through, Bethel did them easily.
Stitching the different parts together, Bethel did it slowly, and carefully, not wanting to tear the fabric which costs his entire month of tuition.
After he finished stitching the parts together, he walked towards the table filled with vials. Grabbing a vial and a brush, he walked back and applied it to his finished jacket.
The liquid in the vial was brushed all over, it seeping into the jacket and causing a reaction. Making it slightly darker.
Whew! Bethel wiped the sweat on his brow, careful not to spill it on the jacket.
Turning around, he looked at the old woman who was seated at the couch reading a newspaper, her face and upper body covered by it.
'Should I cough? Or just call her and tell her I'm done?' Bethel debated.
"Done?" Miss Gilio's words broke him out of his thinking. When he raised his head, he saw her still reading the newspaper.
"Yes."
"You failed." Her words were like a guillotine, cutting him off, it was filled with the same certainty as a child would answer the question of one plus one with two. There was not a doubt in her that he had failed, even when there was no possible way for her to even see with the newspaper covering her.
Bethel was about to grab the jacket and shove it in her face to ask her exactly where he failed, but then remembered its fragility so he lightened his touch, as gingerly picked it up.
"You told me to make a Jacket out of Cloud wool flannel, and I did! Sure it may not be perfect, but I made it. It is wearable, and can last a long time as long as you don't stress test it aggressively."
"Failed." Miss Gilio still hadn't put down her newspaper, he couldn't even see her expression. But he imagined her having a malicious smirk as she denied his hours-long effort with a single word.
Bethel sputtered at how casual the remark sounded. It was like she had long decided he failed the moment he started.
"What? Why?" he asked, his brows furrowed. Bethel was baffled on why she was denying his effort. He looked at the jacket, it looked good. There were no patterns or embroidery in it, just a plain old jacket.
The dark grey jacket looked good. It had a minimalist style that would be favoured by the relevant clientele.
The woman sighed as he put down her newspaper. Her grey eyes staring blankly at him, like an owner looking at their dog and wondering why they are so stupid.
"Why do we wear clothes?"
'Old hag since when did you become a charlatan?' Bethel clamped down on his instinctive retort.
Rather than directly answering, she seemed to go in a roundabout manner, it was as if she did not know the answer yet tried to make him think of a plausible answer to answer his own questions.
Ignoring it, he thought of her question. The old hag may be many things, but unskilled was not one of them. She was very good at what she did.
Why do we wear clothes? He ruminated on it, and many answers came to him. Each answer covers a different field.
"Shame?"
The woman chuckled, a wry smile on her lips, "heh, what are you a human? Since when did devils care about showing a bit of skin." the woman chuckled for a few more seconds before she finally stopped with a sigh.
"Again."
Bethel's first answer was wrong, afterall It wasn't just humans who wore clothes and races such as devils either had no shame or had a very different shame than humans. He had even heard that angels would give their undergarments if humans asked, it was undoubtedly because they had different morals.
"Protection." Bethel finally said after some thinking.
"A somewhat decent answer. Yes, living beings wear clothes for protection. Now tell me brat, that jacket that you made, what would it protect the wearer from? That would be torn to shreds if there was strong breeze!"
He was answerless, finally he offered an answer, "The Cold?"
"Heh, if someone wore it for that, they would become an icicle before long. Cloud wool is an excellent material to transmit cold."
Grey eyes gleamed as she stared at him. Bethel could almost taste the seriousness in the room. It was like a sign that said her next words were important.
"A Tailor's job is not merely to sew clothes using the rarest materials one can find, a tailor's job is to design and craft the most appropriate clothes for their customers." she explained as she stood and paced around him.
"Carve it into your head, the most important thing is appropriateness."
She continued, "The moment you started sewing without asking for more details meant you failed. You would have passed if you asked, 'what environment is this jacket going to be in.' or 'Can I use other fabrics to supplement it' but you didn't," Miss Gilio paused as she grabbed a book from the table.
She flipped the pages, "just because you saw it in a book does not mean it was right. The people who write books are mortal and thus highly susceptible to ignorance and arrogance. Though this book is not wrong, it is not entirely correct either."
Having no retort to her statements, Bethel should have simply closed his mouth and listened… "You told me to sew using the cloud wool flannel, you never even said that I could use other fabrics."
"Yes, but I never told you to not use things other than the cloud wool flannel," she then looked at him seriously, "Remember, customers are never right, most of them are idiots. It is up to the tailor to tell them how stupid some of their 'wants' are. If a customer asks you to make something out of cloud wool, you need to tell them that it is stupid."
"I see."
"The best choice should have been to either use this as padding for the interior of the jacket, or trap it between two different fabrics since cloud wool has excellent shock absorption properties."
Standing under the bright light of the workshop, Bethel stood there thinking. He had looked down on this profession a bit too much, and the result was him acting like a drone and doing anything Miss Gilio said.
Afterall, tailoring was not his first choice, rather he would have loved to work for the apothecary and learn how to brew potions. Sure, he might have wanted to go see the blue sky, but he also wanted to experience a life of magic.
Compared to brewing potions, sewing clothes seemed… mundane. And because of that, he had never spent any real effort.
When he raised his head, Bethel felt gratitude for Miss Gilio for helping him better his mindset. Just as he was about to thank her…
"If you are finished using that walnut sized brain of yours, go get me a Meat platter from Roast Fork."
–The Roast Fork, it was a bbq restaurant that was located on the other side of town. Coupled with the lines that there would be at this time in the afternoon, it would take an hour at minimum for him to go and come back.
Bethel felt all his gratitude evaporate when she sent him away without giving money for the food and with the passing words, "Remember to compensate me for the materials you used."
The dark grey jacket clutched in his hand a memento of the lesson he engraved into his mind.
…
"An apprentice is an apprentice not only because of a lack of skill, but rather a lack of experience. A Master is someone who has honed their skills, and gained considerable experience. Thus, with the experience alone they can solve problems even the most talented apprentice cannot solve."
As Bethel finished recalling the memory, he analysed it using the first principle as a spring board.
The moment he uttered the words, he could feel the same feeling as last time. Like something inside him was being chipped, like he was digesting something that has been wedged inside him.
With this second round, Bethel had gained enough to finalize his thoughts.
"Acting" according to the name of his rank fills an invisible experience bar, and once you have filled it you will advance to the next rank.
"Principles" this power granted by the system, in the end it was something granted and not earned. Through uncovering principles, you turn the granted power into your own power. That is why he felt that something was being chipped, and also felt himself getting stronger.
Because this power was granted, there might have been side effects. Through summarising principles based on the rank name, he can better integrate this power into himself.
Hmm, Bethel realized that this system was sort of like those 'Template Systems' he had read about. The more you act like the character, the more of their power you can unleash.
As he wrote down the principle he summarized, Bethel felt relieved.
"The system is not all powerful."
The fact that it needs his active involvement to integrate–Bethel furrowed his brows, the word was fine but he felt it was somehow lacking. His brows furrowed and a slight frown on his face, he was deep in thought as he searched for other words.
After a while, he found a word that seemed to be perfect.
Digest. Yeah, digestion is the act of consuming foraging matter and turning it into usable resources that were needed to oneself.
Where was he? Oh right, the fact that the system needs his active involvement to digest the power and cannot simply just grant him, made him feel better.
It meant that the system had its own rules, and if it had rules Bethel would be safe as long as he could find what those rules were.
Checking the book on his lap, Bethel smiled. 2 down, one to go.
Principles for Apprentice:
–One shouldn't flaunt one's superiority and be arrogant, and has to understand the insignificance of their own strength.
–An apprentice is an apprentice not only because of a lack of skill, but rather a lack of experience. A Master is someone who has honed their skills, and gained considerable experience. Thus, with the experience alone they can solve problems even the most talented apprentice cannot solve.
There might be some embellishment when it came to the second principle, but the fact that he could feel the digestion meant that Bethel was not wrong.
Pinching his chin, Bethel thought on the third principle. "What could it b-"
Gurgle. Bethel clutched his midsection as it announced its hunger. Turning around, he checked the time on the wall clock.
3:16
"Ohhh…" it was afternoon already. He had spent the entire morning, and noon, recalling his memories since he came to this world.
Getting out of bed, Bethel changed into some more outside appropriate clothes. Standing in front of the small mirror, he checked his appearance.
Black hair with some small amount of white mixed in. dazzling blue eyes that mirrored the blue sky he yearned for. His facial features were sharp,at the risk of sounding narcissistic, aristocratic.
"I look good." Bethel smirked, his reflection copying his action.
He wasn't sure if this was how he looked before he woke up in the underworld, because if this was how he looked, how in hell did he remain a virgin? The only reason would be that his personality was so terrible that… forget it.
Using a [Door Opening] Bethel stepped out of his house. He could feel that using it was easy, almost like instinct. Before, there was always a second or two of time needed before the door opened, now it was almost instantaneous.
Bethel set out towards the Cravood bar, a place you could get a decent meal for a decent price.
He walked past the scantily clad devils, because of course the bar would be in the red light district.
"Maybe I should go?" Bethel thought as a devil wearing a fishnet bodysuit wink at him. He shook it off, recalling the phrase like a mantra.
"The taste of a demoness is terrible."
Calming down, he whistled a silent tune as he walked past them. Normally, he would not have such a thought, after all Bethel wasn't prideless nor was he desperate to lose his virginity to a prostitute.
Call him old fashioned, but he wanted his first time to be special.
He pushed the door of the bar, causing the bell to ring, and entered. He felt dozens of eyes swept past him, after recognizing him they withdrew their gazes and returned back to what they were doing.
He could smell the scent of swear, blood and ale.
The bartender, an old man with a scar carved through his left eye from forehead to chin, saw him and gave Bethel a smile that would make teenagers run for their moms. "Beth boy, what will it be today? The special or the usual?"
"Give me the usual, not really feeling special today."
"Sure thing."
Bethel looked around, the bar was pretty big, in the corner there was a wide pit that was now empty, the dog fighting pit, but it was only at night, while searching for someone he was familiar with to chat his attention was caught on the television.
"Is it today's rating game?"
"Yesterday's replay. a battle between Lady Roygun and Lord Bedeze."
Hearing it, Bethel paid attention to it. Rating games, the underworld's favourite sport. There are multiple leagues for it but something that only High-Class Devils can participate in.
Bethel watched the battle, currently the peerage members of the two Devils were fighting.
After some switching between the battles of different members, they then showed the king's fight, Roygun's fists seemed to shatter space around her like glass, Bedeze created portals to redirect every attack.
He was quite conflicted since he had no idea who to root for.
Bedeze used portals, which made Bethel wonder if he would also one day also be able to do so. Afterall, currently as Rank 9 Apprentice, he could open "Doors" in walls and travel through them, so realistically at a higher rank he should be able to create portals between him and his enemy right?
Maybe at Rank 6 or Rank 5? 'I can only dream of what powers I get, while others get them from birth.' Bethel lampooned while watching the fight between two ultimate-class devils.
Bethel wanted to root for Bedeze out of camaraderie of similar powers, but he had seen his interviews on tv, and the Devil was arrogant. Not the charming kind of arrogance either, but more of a 'I want to break your nose and have you swallow your teeth' kind of arrogance.
Roygun on the other hand… well she too was arrogant, which seemed to be a somewhat of a common trait between devils, but her arrogance was more restrained and she had good qualities.
As Roygun jumped to avoid an attack, her chest did some attention grabbing things.
Bethel coughed inwardly thinking to himself: "No, I don't like her because she has boobs. Rather, she had a nice personality." Bethel defended his choices. Though inwardly he noted that he would not mind losing his virginity to such a woman.
"Heh, I truly think of the most ridiculous things."
The bartender brought his meal. "Here, a basket of potato wedges and a soda." The bartender turned to look at the tv, and sighed as if lamenting he couldn't see such a battle with his own eyes, "It's a rerun of the match held yesterday night. I heard that the cheapest tickets cost 5,000 Lilums. My mother's half brother's daughter's boyfriend's aunt even got a photo with Lady Roygun."
Bethel didn't say anything to that, to him attending the match in person was a waste of money. Though he guessed, most people pay not to watch the match, but for the chance to meet the players in person.
The Top 10 Rating game players were the strongest among the devil race, excluding the four satans, and with devils idolisation of strength, it was no wonder that they paid such money for the chance to meet them.
Sitting behind the counter, and eating his meal alongside watching television, Bethel wanted to relax. But he couldn't.
A small part of him always whispered the same thing, as if reminding him. It would always say: anyone here can kill you.
We were all Low-Class Devil, but he could be considered a lower-Class Devil. Watching the Two Rating game players battle it out, it only made him realize his situation.
"Maybe that is why I love stealing. Even temporarily, for a moment as I run and hide away from my victims, I can feel superior to them." Stealing may be a crime in the human world, but in the underworld it was a mere misdemeanour. For humans, being weak was part of the course, it was merely natural.
He wasn't human, not anymore. He was a devil and he was weak, and that was a crime greater than mere theft. If he were caught, Bethel may get beaten up or even have his stuff stolen. But he wouldn't die.
His greatest fear is for two strong devils to suddenly start fighting, and accidentally killing him and everyone in this town.
Bethel was no longer in the mood to enjoy his meal, he scarfed down his food, left the money alongside a small tip, and exited the bar and walked back to his rented shack.
In this moment of contemplation, he had felt his Apprentice power resonate more strongly than ever before.
Stopping in the middle of the street, he saw a rough looking man slam a more frail looking man on to the wall. The frail looking man's face was bruised purple, and he was bleeding heavily.
Bethel watched all this, alongside a few others. Some devils sped past, others just watched while chuckling and gambling on what would happen.
This was hell. The strong respected, the weak mocked.
As he continued walking, his mind seemed to expand as he summarized the principle that he had realized.
"An Apprentice must know their weakness, their insignificance and they must work hard to clear themselves of this weakness. "
With this enlightenment, Bethel felt as if his powers that had been granted by the system had truly become his own. No longer a part of the system, but something that truly belonged to him, like it was just another limb.
Secret Quest: Uncover 3 Principles behind Apprentice! Complete!
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