Chapter 48 - Classless

Nate woke slowly to a wooden ceiling and a decently comfortable bed. Looking around he recognised his surroundings. They were familiar to him. He was in Kiri’s room. Glancing over he saw Kiri sitting beside him, resting her chin on her knees. He was so glad she was okay and when she noticed he was awake a moment later she flashed him a sad smile. That was when he saw what was lying in front of her on the bed. An Orb. Her Orb.

“My Classes are gone,” she whispered, looking on the verge of tears.

Nate looked at her, giving her a chance to continue. He knew he was prone to going into ‘fix it’ mode and wanted to give her a chance to vent in case that was what she needed. After a moment of silence she continued while hugging her knees.

“When I bring up my Status sheet, it’s like I am a child again. All my Stats have regressed and the Class slots are blank. My Skills are too, even the ones my Dad got for me that weren’t related to my Classes. It’s all gone,” she sobbed, starting to cry.

Nate reached over to touch her back, letting her know he was there. After a moment she folded into a hug. As she cried into his shoulder Nate glanced at Frick, who was sitting at the end of the bed. He asked the question with his eyes, feeling no need to telepathically communicate with his Familiar. Frick just shook his head slightly and gave a shrug. The Familiar had no idea either.

“Have you talked with your Father about it?” he asked quietly.

He felt her shake her head while it was buried in his shoulder.

“I was in shock and by the time we got back here I…I didn’t know what to say,” she replied, leaning away and wiping her eyes. “Guess I will never be a hero now.”

“You saved my life Kiri. I’d have died if it wasn’t for you. You’re already a hero,” He said, though even to him the words rang hollow. She’d sacrificed her life and her dream for him.

Kiri nodded, putting her head down.

“Would you mind…if I looked at it? To see the damage?” He asked.

Kiri lifted her head, looking at him confusedly.

“I’ve got a new Skill. It lets me see things like the energy flows and Class Cores,” he paused there for a moment before he said the last part softly, face scrunched up, unsure. “I am pretty sure it let me see your soul.”

Kiri just nodded her head after a moment, swivelling toward him. Frick seemed interested too, moving closer. Taking a deep breath he activated Eyes of the Runic Artist. Instantly the room changed. The subtle flow of mana was visible, a pale backdrop to everything that moved like an ocean current. With that backdrop it was easy to see the white flowing lines of Kiri’s soul permeating her body, and nestled within, in the same spot that he had carved out the Orb, was a core.

His eyebrows furrowed and he heard Kiri gasp. Pausing his study he looked up at her.

“Your eyes, it’s like looking at a…a..scrambled up rainbow,” she said, clearly struggling to describe them.

“We’ll get a mirror later so you can show me…but Kiri, you have a core,” he said.

He watched as she looked down at her chest, as though she could see it. He wished she could see it like he did. The tether that the Soul Dissolution spell has been tugging on to destroy her soul was back, connecting the core to her soul and he assumed her body. The core looked different to how he remembered it. Maybe it had been the heat of the moment, but he was sure it looked like it was textured. It had been hard to make it out but it hadn’t looked like a perfect sphere. The one inside Kiri now did though. It was as smooth as an egg. He had a theory about what was going on, and thankfully there was an easy way to test it.

Glancing at the Orb he asked quietly, “Have you tried absorbing it?”

Kiri looked at the core and he could see the change in her eyes and her body language. She was desperately hopeful as she reached out and held the Orb in her hands. He watched as the mana flows in her body changed and moved. They had started out evenly distributed, like a pale blue overlay of her body, as if the biological tissue was the perfect receptacle for mana. Geometry, it always came back to that. Watching, the mana coalesced, becoming denser around her hands and finally her fingers as she picked up the Orb.

For the first time he got to see what happened as the Orb broke down. It was like seeing a crystal sublimate. The solid structure devolved into a gas as it flowed in through Kiri’s hands. There was something different about the mana that came from the Orb. He couldn’t tell what though. It looked denser but it wasn’t that. Then, his eyes focused, he saw the mana from the Orb stream into her core and finally got to see something happen. A small change as it flowed over the surface of the core and then it flowed into a section, a fraction the size of a coin. While the rest of the core remained as smooth as an egg that section looked rough, as though it had been riveted or something. It was barely perceptible but he could see the difference.

Looking up and meeting Kiri’s eyes he could see them go from hopeful to full of wonder.

“It’s a Skill. My Skill! Shadow Aligned Dual Daggers! I can see it on my Status sheet! It even started at level three.” She jumped up for joy, arms spread wide in triumph, before looking back down at him. “What does this mean?”

It was Frick who piped up, “I think, maybe, you got a new Class Core?” the Familiar stopped, looking at Nate for confirmation.

“I mean, that sounds like what I am seeing. I have only seen two Class Cores with this new Skill but your old one, it looked…I don’t want to say rough, but like it had a textured surface. Like it wasn’t smooth. But this one, it looks almost completely smooth, except for a little rough spot which I think is the Skill you just absorbed. I think Frick is right. It’s like you got a new Class Core. A blank one,” he explained, mouth twisting a bit. He wasn’t certain and that bothered him but he thought they were probably right.

Kiri sat back down, crossing her legs as she looked deep in thought. Silence pervaded the room for a moment before her eyes lit up for the second time.

“The System message. It sent me all my Achievements. I mean ALL,” she gushed, waving her arms frantically. “I could get a new Class. All those Achievements would have to count for something right? Maybe even Legendary, like you!”

She reached out and started shaking him as he smiled. He hoped she was right. Halfway through shaking him, she stopped, looking at him with wide eyes.

“Wait, you told me that you got an Achievement for entering a Dungeon before being level one in any Class,” she said, locking eyes with him. “That sounds like a powerful and rare achievement. Do you think we could replicate that?”

Nate thought about it, giving the idea serious consideration before he started voicing his thoughts.

“So, if we were to do that, we’d need to solve a couple of problems. The first is, how are we going to find a Dungeon? I am not saying it’s not possible but I would need longer to try and think how to do it. If it was easy, everyone would do it. That said, I have seen Class options that seemed to hint at the ability to be able to find Dungeons. So I will investigate that,” Nate said, pausing for a second before he continued. “But the more pressing concern is, won’t you gain a level and therefore Class just from ambient mana, given enough time?” he posed the last as a question. He was pretty sure that was how it worked, but at the same time, he’d never had the experience for the initial level up to see if that is the case.

“Oh crap! You’re right. Can we stop that?” she asked, a grin on her face. She knew him so well. He had pointed out the challenges of finding a Dungeon but he hadn’t mentioned any issues with preventing her levelling. She knew he had an idea, and she was right.

“I could create a Mana Exclusion rune for you that should do the trick. I don’t know if there are downsides to long term mana denial though. But as long as we solve the other problem in a few weeks it should be fine. What do you think?” he asked.

“Do it,” was Kiri’s instant response.

Climbing out of bed he found he was still a bit weak but that was the worst of it. That was until he moved his hand and had to bite down to prevent himself from screaming. Looking down he saw that it had been bandaged but the hole in it from the earthen spike courtesy of Frick was still very much there. It was hard to be angry about it, since it had saved his life, but fuck did it hurt.

Nate looked at Kiri, “It might have to wait a few days,” he said, showing her his bandaged hand.

Frick piped up from the bed, “Boss man, I think you’ve been under utilising me. I hope I showed you how helpful I could be in that fight. Let me help now? After all,” the Familiar paused, showing a sharp toothy grin, “How am I supposed to feed on all that sweet mana if you die!”

Nate rolled his eyes and gestured with his other hand as Frick floated down to the floor, becoming corporeal. With no charged mana gems remaining, he took out all his gems and Mana Gathering Runes, setting them up in a corner along with some of his empty gems that were lying there. Apparently all their things had been collected, which included his now uncharged Acidic Projectile Wand. Tucking all his things back into his spatial storage with his good hand. After that was all handled he got to work with Frick.

Thirty minutes later he had a finished product. With only his own Mana Reserve to rely on, he’d tapped out at a Rare quality piece of leather, having had to bridge the gap between Common and Rare. With his Imbue Intent he’d been able to make it create a sphere of mana exclusion. Watching it work with his eyes ,he figured he’d need to recharge the rune once a day. The mana density here just wasn’t high enough to erode it any faster than that.

Kiri smiled as he handed it to her and after tucking it into a pocket, he could see the sphere of exclusion it created with his Eyes of the Runic Artist.

“So, Boss Man, now that you’ve done what you needed to, can we do what we WANT to do? Like looking over all your Notifications?” Frick asked excitedly.

He’d been so focused on his best friend after waking up, that he’d forgotten about all the Notifications he’d gotten during his battle and afterwards. It was time to reap the rest of his rewards. With a grin he opened his Notifications, opting to display them to everyone present.

“Let’s do this!” He exclaimed happily.

Congratulations! You have gained enough mana to receive a Secondary Class.

Options curated based on achievements. Choose carefully.

Walk your Path. Reach your Goal. Become One with Mana.

Offered Class: Wandering Realmwalker (Legendary)
The Wandering Realmwalker is one with an affinity for Space Magic that has set foot in multiple universes. Their search is endless as they seek to tread upon worlds never seen. A Path of exploration lies before them, their magic the key.
Stats/Level: +4 Magic Control, +2 Channelling Speed, +2 Mana Reserve, +1 Magic Power,
+1 Mana Absorption, +5 Free Stats

Offered Class: Wandering Runic Battlecaster (Legendary)
The Wandering Runic Battlecaster searches the multiverse for new battles. Runes are their weapons and with enough of them, the diversity of their power makes them frightening to behold. A one person army.
Stats/Level: +1 Endurance, +1 Constitution, +2 Intellect, +1 Creativity, +2 Magic Power,  
+1 Channelling Speed, +2 Mana Reserve, +5 Free Stats

Offered Class: Wandering Runic Dungeoneer (Legendary)
Dungeons are both a gift and a task set forth by The System. The Wandering Runic Dungeoneer is able to conquer them without assistance, for what could henchmen and allies accomplish that the correct application of runes could not. Find Dungeons, take their wealth, align the mana flows!
Stats/Level: +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +1 Constitution, +1 Intellect, +1 Creativity, +1 Willpower, +1 Perception, +1 Magic Control, +2 Mana Reserve, +5 Free Stats

Offered Class: Wandering Runic Healer (Legendary)
The Wandering Runic Healer takes an unconventional approach to mending the wounded, healing the sick and restoring the broken. Treating living organisms like the biological machines they truly are, they use runes to rehabilitate their subjects. Beloved for their results they wander the multiverse applying knowledge and power to preventing needless death.
Stats/Level: +1 Endurance, +1 Constitution, +1 Intellect, +1 Creativity, +1 Willpower, +2 Magic Control, +1 Channelling Speed, +2 Mana Reserve, +5 Free Stats

Continue Class: Wandering Runecrafter (Legendary)
The Wandering Runecrafter searches the multiverse for new runes and runic configurations. Never still, they have set foot in multiple universes and search for ever more esoteric ways to utilise runes.
Stats/Level: +2 Intellect, +2 Creativity, +2 Mana Reserve, +2 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, + 1 Perception, +5 Free Stats

Which Class would you like to select as your Secondary Class?

Nate looked over the options with a smile and turned to his Familiar and friend to discuss the options as he saw Kiri’s eyes alight with amazement, matching Frick’s that were alight with greed. The little bastard should’ve been green instead of blue.

With a shake of his head he voiced his thoughts, “So, I think Wandering Runic Dungeoneer would solve the issues of finding a Dungeon. Even though the Stat spread isn’t as focused in the same Stats as my Primary Class, it still does raise them slightly.”

“I don’t want you to take a Class just to solve my problem. Wandering Runic Dungeoneer is nice, but I think Wandering Runic Battlecaster is better. More Stats that you use and it even bumps up the Stats you lack for combat. That’s gotta be the choice right?” Kiri said, looking between the two of them.

“I think you’re both wrong,” replied the Familiar. “You both have good points, but I think you should go with Wandering Realmwalker.”

Nate glanced at Kiri and saw the confusion written on her face, mirrored on his own.

“Why do you suggest that one, Frick? I mean, Spatial Magic is pretty cool and the Magic Stats would probably be useful for my Runes a bit. But it is light on Magic Power which is probably the Stat I need from the Magic Stats the most and it doesn’t give any Stats to Intellect, Creativity or Perception. Which seem like my key Stats. I just don’t see the synergy,” Nate said, his face scrunched up as he tried to see where his Familiar was coming from.

Frick held out his hands, or claws, Nate supposed, in what was likely meant to be a placating gesture but instead looked comical with the Familiar’s floppy blue ears.

“You’re looking at this all wrong. You’re still a low level, Nate. Your Secondary Class will evolve along with your Primary Class when you hit level sixty. That means this Class is not TOO far from evolution. Right now it doesn’t synergise perfectly with your Primary Class…but after forty levels of working with Spatial Magic and Runes, what do you think it will evolve into? What do you suspect one of your options might be if we make the right runes, get the right achievements?” Frick cocked his head sideways, a sharp toothy grin as he waited.

Kiri filled in the silence for them, “Wandering Runic Realmwalker. Or maybe Wandering Runic Spatialist? I dunno, I am just making up words now, I think. But he’s got a point Nate! I’m now on team Wandering Realmwalker. Think of all the places we could go!”

Frick smirked, or a simulacrum of one on his goblin face. “There is something else. I think, maybe, you could use it to find Dungeons, Boss Man.”

Nate only had to think about it for a second. “Spatially expanded spaces.”

Kiri looked back and forth between the pair in confusion.

“The Dungeon I went into, the entry was tiny. Like the size of a doorway. Maybe not even that big. But inside it stretched for….roughly the distance of your house from Helmfirth. On the outside the space was small, but inside, the space was large,” Nate explained.

Kiri nodded along, “And you think that maybe, with some Spatial Skills, you could find that. Sense it or detect it somehow. Well, I am sold.” She looked at Nate waiting patiently as Frick smirked at the pair.

“Fine. I am sold too,” Nate agreed. Besides, if he wanted to ever visit Earth again, this had to be the right choice? Right? Who knows, maybe Michael and Jung would like to come here. He was certainly warming up to this world. With that in mind he made his Class Selection with a small smile on his face.