Morning sunlight touched the rooftops as Caelen walked into the forge, a small sack slung over his shoulder. Inside, Dorgrim was already hamring away, sweat glistening on his brow. Sparks danced around his boots.
"You're early," Dorgrim grunted, not looking up.
"I've got sothing for you," Caelen said, setting the sack on the table. He untied it and let the contents spill out—silver rings. Hundreds of them.
Dorgrim blinked. "You been up all night again?"
"Yeah. These are all copies of the Ring of Reflection," Caelen said. "I made over a thousand."
Dorgrim raised an eyebrow. "That's... excessive."
"No," Caelen said, sitting down with a sigh. "It's necessary. We're going to have a lot of people coming in the next few months. I want every single one of them to have a ring."
Dorgrim studied the pile of rings and scratched his beard. "So how are we handing them out?"
Caelen smiled. "That's where you co in."
Later that day, a new building opened next to the blacksmith. It wasn't flashy—just a sturdy wooden shop with a sign that read "Status Rings – 30 Coins". Inside, Dorgrim stood proudly behind a counter. On the wall behind him was a massive board filled with nas and numbers—handwritten in neat rows.
An elf girl with short silver hair stood beside him, holding a feather pen and a thick book.
Caelen entered, glancing around. "You got everything ready?"
"Aye," Dorgrim said, crossing his arms. "They pay 30 coins, write their na down, and they get a ring. This is Lyelra, my assistant."
Lyelra gave a shy nod. "I'll be keeping the records. Every person who buys one is registered."
"And if they try to lie?" Caelen asked.
Dorgrim smirked. "The ring'll tell us."
Sure enough, as soon as soone wore it and tapped it, their full na, stats, and alignnt appeared. Everyone knew the ring didn't lie.
Caelen stepped outside to find a line already forming. Curious villagers, travelers, and even a few goblins were waiting their turn.
Zira joined him, arms folded.
"You're turning it into a system," she said.
"It already is," Caelen replied. "Now it's just organized."
The first custor was a goblin farr nad Rukk. He handed over 30 coins, got his ring, and watched in awe as Lyelra wrote his na in the registry.
"T-tap it?" Rukk asked nervously.
"Go ahead," Dorgrim nodded.
Rukk tapped the ring, and a glowing screen popped up.
[Na: Rukk]
[Skills: Farming Lv. 3, Cooking Lv. 1]
[Status: Good – Alignnt Blue]
Rukk's eyes widened. "I got skills..."
"Everyone does," Dorgrim said with a smirk. "And now they can see it."
Word spread quickly. Villagers began training with swords, bows, hamrs—just to see what would happen. And it worked. After a few tries, the ring would update.
[New Skill Unlocked: Swordsmanship Lv. 1]
[Skill Rank Up: Swordsmanship Lv. 2]
A young elf who practiced archery for an hour stared in shock when her ring blinked.
[New Skill Unlocked: Archery Lv. 1]
Even simple work triggered it—cooking, cleaning, drawing, building.
"If you do it enough," Caelen explained later, "your body and mind rember. The ring just records it. It's learning by doing."
People rushed to test the limits. It beca a ga, a goal, and a motivation. The town was alive with movent and noise.
Back at the town hall, Caelen sat with Garin, Zira, and Elira.
"This is spreading fast," Elira said. "People feel seen."
"It's working," Garin added. "I even saw one kid crying 'cause he thought he had no skill—then he saw his reading level and just lit up."
Caelen leaned back. "It's not just about skills. It's about identity. The ring shows them who they are—good or bad. Strong or weak. And more importantly... who they can beco."
Zira nodded slowly. "It's like you're giving them direction."
"No," Caelen said quietly. "I'm just giving them a mirror."
That night, Dorgrim and Lyelra closed the shop. They looked over the day's record.
"We gave out 214 rings today," Lyelra said, flipping through the pages.
Dorgrim let out a low whistle. "People sure want to know who they are."
Lyelra looked up. "Do you think knowing changes anything?"
Dorgrim scratched his beard. "Nah. But learning... that's what does it. You pick up a sword long enough, and one day, you're a swordsman."
Caelen stood by the window of his house, watching the stars above. He glanced at his own ring, glowing faint blue in the moonlight.
[Na: Caelen]
[Skills: Creation Lv. 7, Earth Magic Lv. 6, Swordsmanship Lv. 4...]
[Status: Neutral – Blue-Green]
"1000 population in three months," he whispered.
A soft voice echoed in his mind.
"You're getting closer, Caelen. Step by step."
He smiled faintly.
Just a ring.
Just a light.
But it was a start.
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