Healer Book 4 -- Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Sitting up in the bed, Thaden did his best to move past the bombshell that Sadia had dropped on him concerning the Adversary and the potential for more monsters out there somewhere, as there was nothing he could do about anything at the moment.  He needed to get stronger in order to fight back, and while he’d completed his first objective on that journey by fulfilling his Evolution Assignment, there were a few things he wanted to look at before he went down to the Support Class Representative to see what he had unlocked for his potential evolved Classes.

First, he wanted to go over all of his gains over the last few days, which he’d largely ignored up to this point, as he had been saving everything until he obtained his new Class.  The first thing he looked at was his liquid currency situation, and he was somewhat surprised to see that his current wealth had somehow jumped all the way up to 1.3 million gold coins and some change.  A lot of that came from the Guild selling the items he’d picked up automatically during all the different runs he’d done, but the actual gold and silver he received during those same runs wasn’t anything to scoff at, either; his bonuses really did make a difference in how much he earned, which was why the Guild was ecstatic over his participation – because they had made money hand-over-fist, as well.

He had some random loot from the dungeon that had just been “completed”, but none of it was for a Support nor was it very good; even if he hadn’t been chased out, there was no “Boss” monster to extract loot from, nor was there anything at all in the treasure room.  There were a few interesting Rare pieces of Support Class equipment he’d picked up during the previous dungeons with his subsidiary Guild, but he ended up selling them all because they were either already on par with what he had or weren’t quite right for him.  Even if they had a higher Level Restriction than what he was wearing, none of them could compare to his current Epic and Legendary Rarity equipment – and each of them would break up his set, which he wasn’t prepared to do quite yet.

He’d gained plenty of PICK during the runs from both the monsters and the Achievements for completing them, but, of course, he wasn’t able to hold onto any of it.  What was more important at the moment was the increase in his Competencies, so he looked at the most recent gains.

Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 3,545!

>>>>>>> 

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Defensive Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 3,982!

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 3,457!

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>>>>>>> 

Support Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 3,866!

Spiritual Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 124!

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Spiritual Spellcasting Competency has increased to Level 137!

Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 104!

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Natural Regeneration Competency has increased to Level 118!

Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 196!

>>>>>>> 

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Emboldened Leadership Competency has increased to Level 215!

Psychic Resiliency Competency has increased to Level 112!

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Psychic Resiliency Competency has increased to Level 243!

You may now select an Advancement for your Psychic Resiliency Competency!

Psychic Resiliency Competency has increased to Level 244!

>>>>>>> 

>>>>>>> 

Psychic Resiliency Competency has increased to Level 658!

The biggest jump out of all of his Competencies, especially since it had been relatively low, was his Psychic Resiliency – which made sense based on the last dungeon.  He even hit the threshold at Level 243 to gain an Advancement, joining the Advancement he’d also earned earlier for Spiritual Spellcasting at Level 81, and the pair of Advancements for Emboldened Leadership at Level 27 and Level 81.  He had glanced at all of the possible Advancements but didn’t choose anything quite yet, as he still wanted to wait for his new Class; once that was done, he would have a lot of decisions to make.

Because in addition to those 4 Advancements for his Competencies, he also had 150 Free Stat Points to distribute to his stats, not to mention a total of 25 spells to select from.  He also had to make a decision on whether he wanted to Level-up immediately upon gaining his new Class or wait, as he had 1,620,000 PICK in reserve right now.  In the past, he would’ve saved it until he’d completely exhausted the dungeons he could delve through to maximize his gains while solo, but if he was going to be working with others over the next few weeks to fulfill his obligations to the Guild, then it might be smart to increase his Level so that he could conquer harder Intermediate dungeons and therefore gain more PICK and rewards that way.  He again put that decision off until his new Class had been selected.

“Are you finally done?” Sadia asked impatiently.

Chuckling, he got up from the bed and headed for the door.  “Yeah, I’m done.  I don’t know exactly why, but I’m feeling a little hesitant to evolve my Class.”

“Probably because you’ve been waiting to do it for months, and the thought and anticipation has been a part of you for that long that you almost don’t want it to end,” she surmised.

Thaden shrugged as he opened the door.  He wasn’t sure if that was the whole case, or if his completed Evolution Assignment felt slightly tainted due to how it came about, but regardless of the reason, he pushed his hesitation away.  It was time to get his new Class.

A few minutes later, he was walking up to the Support Class Representative desk, glad that he didn’t have to wait in line.  No one was consulting with the Representatives at this time, which made sense because at least 99% of the Contenders in the world had already reached their second evolution at Level 63, and no one but Thaden was near the next evolution at Level 189.

Walking up to the Support Class Representative behind the counter, he looked the Assimilator in its large black eyes.

“Welcome, Contender.  What is it that this one can do for you?”

He heard the voice in his head, just like he did when Sadia spoke, but for the first time he realized that it felt different.  This felt like an invasive external source projecting itself in his mind, while the giant squirrel’s voice was like it was a part of him.  It was an interesting difference, and it made him appreciate his new friend even more than before because it didn’t make him feel slightly uncomfortable like this did.

I just recently completed my Evolution Assignment and would like to evolve my Class.

Thaden became slightly worried as there was a lengthy pause before the Representative answered.  “Odd.  This one sees that your Evolution Assignment was completed and recorded with the Assimilation System, but there is no record of where or how it was completed.  Please hold for a moment while this issue is researched further.”

The Solitary Shaman’s worry heightened as he was forcefully caught in the gaze of the Assimilator even as its focus seemed to be elsewhere.  After a few seconds, he sensed that he could break free if he wanted to, thanks to his Psychic Resiliency, but he chose not to give the Representative any reason to deny his Class evolution. 

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, he could literally feel in his mind the Assimilator’s focus turn toward him again.

“Thank you for waiting, Contender.  A temporary interruption in the data transfer was noted and fixed, and this one can now confirm that your Evolution Assignment was completed by finishing the Descent into Darkness Intermediate dungeon on Minimal difficulty with 100 Contenders and no casualties.  Congratulations; you are the first within this developmental world to reach Level 189 with a complete Evolution Assignment.”  The mental voice of the Assimilator sounded genuinely excited for him, which was a unique experience.

There was a slight pause before the Representative’s tone turned monotone and a familiar spiel was recited to him.  “With the recent completion of your Evolution Assignment, it seems you are ready for a Class evolution; congratulations are in order.  It also appears as though you have earned an additional choice from the list of available Class evolutions, and this one is compiling your information now… done!

“Please select your new Class from the available list.  Once you have done so, you will find that you will be able to increase your Level once again until the next threshold, at which point you will have to come see this one or another Support Class Representative throughout Tarth to choose your next Class evolution.”

A window popped up in front of him with a list of Classes, but before he even looked at them, he quickly pulled up his Evolution Assignments.  The last time he had chosen a Class, it had turned out to be a poor choice to complete his Assignment with, and while it eventually worked out, he’d rather know what he was getting into ahead of time.  

Support Class Evolution Assignments:

Level 21: Cast enough spells to restore 50,000 total Health and prevent 10,000 damage

Level 63: Complete at least 1 dungeon on Minimal difficulty, at least 1 dungeon on Medial difficulty, and at least 1 dungeon on Maximal difficulty while in a complete, 5-member Contender party

Level 189: Participate in a Raid party with a minimum of 100 Contenders and complete the Minimal difficulty of an Intermediate dungeon (Level 160+) without a single casualty

Level 567: ??? (Locked)

Unfortunately, while the Assignment he’d just completed was crossed out, indicating he’d completed it, the next one for Level 567 was still designated as “Locked”.  Frustrated, he sent a mental inquiry toward the Representative, who quickly responded.

“Evolution Assignments are locked until the next Class evolution is selected.”

Simple and to the point.  It appeared as though he wasn’t going to be getting any advanced information until he chose his new Class.

Closing his Assignment window, he then turned his entire attention toward the list of evolved Classes he’d been given.

Please select your new Support Class from the list of following evolutions:

Experienced Healer (Uncommon)

Protection Specialist (Uncommon)

Boosting Protector (Uncommon) – New

Deathbane (Rare)

Elemental Transformer (Rare)

Spiritual Leader (Rare) – New

Healthweaver (Epic)

Supportive Master (Epic) – New

Wizened Solitary Shaman (Legendary) – New

??? (Unique) – New

Evolutions not selected may or may not be available during your next Class evolution

A quick look at the list was enough to see that the previous evolved Classes that he had access to were still there, which included Experienced Healer, Protection Specialist, Deathbane, Elemental Transformer, and Healthweaver.  The first three were out, just like they had been the first two times he had the opportunity to choose them, because they just weren’t what he was looking for.  Elemental Transformer was also out, as it dealt with converting hostile magical spells and effects into healing and protection, and while Healthweaver seemed like a powerful healing Class that could take advantage of some of his healing bonuses, it would also get rid of the chance of the Lifewarden’s trait of reflecting protected damage.  That was too powerful of an effect to give up unless there wasn’t any other choice.

The only Class that he didn’t see that was on the list before was Veteran Lifewarden; he assumed that now that he didn’t have the original Lifewarden Class anymore, it just wasn’t available.  But along with the Classes that he’d seen before, there were 5 new ones to choose from.  The first was an Uncommon Rarity Class, which he almost dismissed immediately based on that alone, but he still looked at the description so that he didn’t make a mistake and get rid of something that could be beneficial.    

Boosting Protector (Uncommon): An uncommon evolution for a Solitary Shaman, a Boosting Protector specializes in casting spells that both protect and boost allies, making them stronger and deadlier while keeping them safe.  While they can still heal those who are injured in a fight, they incur a hefty penalty to their healing as it is not their primary focus.  As a trade for their weakened healing ability, their Defensive spells are much stronger and diverse, while many of their previous Supportive spells are converted to boosting stats and the abilities of allies.  

·         Can learn new Defensive spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, or Greater strength

·         Can learn new Support spells at Weak or Minor strength

·         Can learn new Boosting spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, or Greater strength

·         Automatically upgrades 4 previously learned spells at random to their next strength upon evolution, if possible

·         Has access to a greater variety of Defensive spells

·         Has access to a new Boosting Spellcasting Competency, which focuses on boosting stats and abilities of allies

·         Removes all Spiritual spells

·         All Single Cast Supportive healing spells are converted to Boosting spells

·         No previous Class-specific bonus traits are maintained

·         Obtains (3) additional Access Slots

It didn’t take long for Thaden to rule the Boosting Protector out, as it would cripple his ability to heal while only adding a new category of spells designed to boost the stats and abilities of others.  It was an intriguing idea, but it wasn’t for him.

Next up was something called a Spiritual Leader, and with “Leader” in the name, he paid particular attention to it since it could be beneficial if he was going to be working with a Guild in the future, and if he wanted their help to kill the Adversarial monster holding the Guild leadership hostage – or whatever it was doing.

Spiritual Leader (Rare): A rare evolution for a Solitary Shaman, a Spiritual Leader focuses not only on the Spiritual Spellcasting branch of a Shaman, but expands that focus to include their allies, as well.  Spiritual Leaders enhance the qualities of their allies through temporary boosts to their stats, but more importantly, they can extend a spiritual shield that increases their physical and elemental resistances past normal limits.  Unfortunately, as a result their focus on Spiritual effects, their normal Support and Defensive spells are marginally weaker.

·         Can learn new Support and Defensive spells at Weak, Minor, and Lesser strength

·         Can learn new Spiritual spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, and Greater strength

·         Automatically upgrades 8 previously learned spells at random to their next strength upon evolution, if possible

·         All Support and Defensive spells suffer a 30% reduction in effectiveness

·         All Spiritual spells gain a 90% increase in effectiveness while in a party

·         No previous Class-specific bonus traits are maintained

·         Obtains (4) additional Access Slots

Spiritual Leader wasn’t quite as good as he thought it might be, as while it had a 90% increase in Spiritual spell effectiveness while in a party, everything else was sub-par compared to what he was used to.  The description of a “spiritual shield” that could extend over his allies and boost their resistances was interesting, but it didn’t necessarily make the Class more desirable.

Moving on, there was a new Epic-Rarity Class that sounded fairly generic, but he checked out Supportive Master to see what it would do.

Supportive Master (Epic): An epic evolution for a Solitary Shaman, the Supportive Master has mastered the art of balancing healing and protection, as they excel in both aspects of being a Support Class. 

·         Can learn new Support spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, or Greater, or Superior strength

·         Can learn new Defensive spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, or Greater, or Superior strength

·         Automatically upgrades 16 previously learned spells at random to their next strength upon evolution, if possible

·         All Support and Defensive spells now cost 30% less Mana to cast, have their cooldowns reduced by 30%, and have a 30% increase in effectiveness

·         All members of a party, within a 300-foot range, share 30% of the effects of any Single Cast Support or Defensive spells

·         Removes all Spiritual spells

·         No previous Class-specific bonus traits are maintained

·         Obtains (5) additional Access Slots

Contrary to his expectations, Supportive Master wasn’t too bad.  The biggest benefits of it were the 30% decrease in Mana Cost and Cooldowns, though he could easily accomplish that with his equipment.  The 30% increase in effectiveness for all Support and Defensive spells was even better, as that was always useful, but the 30% of any Single Cast spells shared among all the members of a party was incredible.  A single healing spell would heal everyone in a Raid for 30% of the original spell, for example, and his protection spells would also provide 30% of any damage mitigation to everyone.  How it worked when he cast something like Damage Shield on someone and then cast it on someone else was unknown, as he wasn’t sure if the previous shared damage mitigation would stack or if it would simply be overwritten; if it stacked, it was absolutely incredible, but if it was overridden by a new shared spell, then it had slightly limited usefulness.

But even if they stacked, the unfortunate side-effect of the Class was a complete elimination of Spiritual spells altogether.  While the Spiritual category of spells hadn’t been as vital as his Support and Defensive spells, it also wasn’t something he would want to give up unless it was absolutely necessary.  In addition, this Class – as well as the other ones he’d looked at – would also eliminate any previous Class-specific bonus traits.  He supposed that was probably a good thing since it would eliminate the detrimental traits of Solitary Shaman, such as the 90% PICK reduction in a party and reduced effectiveness of his spells on allies, but it would also get rid of his beneficial Lifewarden traits such as double-casting spells and reflecting damage.

Still, it was a possibility that he didn’t want to dismiss out of hand immediately – especially since he hadn’t checked out the last couple of new Classes.

The next new Class was an upgraded version of his Solitary Shaman Class, and it was a nice improvement – even if it didn’t fix any of the problems he’d been suffering from lately.

If anything, it made them worse.

Wizened Solitary Shaman (Legendary): A legendary evolution of a Solitary Shaman, the Wizened Solitary Shaman is a vast improvement over the original.  Preferring to be isolated and alone most of the time, this Support Class has not only learned how to take care of themselves without the help of others, they have taken going solo while encountering the difficult challenges that await them to a whole new level.  With a solid foundation of both the physical healing and protective spells that categorize a supportive role, they have also branched out to the mental and spiritual realms in their pursuit of wanting to fix the world, be it in the form of correcting mental instability or investigating the underlying meaning behind emotional reactions. 

Solitary Shamans are exceptionally rare, even away from developmental worlds, because becoming one takes superior dedication to defying the norms of their Class, as foolhardy as that normally would be.  However, as a result of their penchant for remaining in charge of their own fate without relying on others to protect them, their entire method of spellcasting has undergone an evolution of its own, which can offer superior benefits… and devastating drawbacks.

·         Can learn spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, Greater, Superior, or Exceptional strength

·         Automatically upgrades all previously learned spells to their next strength upon evolution

·         All previously known channeled spells are no longer available, nor will there be any new channeled spells available to a Wizened Solitary Shaman

·         All single-target spells can now target anyone

·         All spells cast upon self have their efficiency increased by 90%

·         All spells cast upon allies have their efficiency reduced by 90%

·         PICK accumulation while solo is increased by 30%, including Quests completed and Achievements earned

·         PICK accumulation while in a party is reduced by 99%, including Quests completed and Achievements earned

·         Has access to additional spells that can target the mind and spiritual energy of a target

·         All previous Class-specific bonus traits from Lifewarden are maintained, though only when applied to the Wizened Solitary Shaman

·         Obtains (6) additional Access Slots

The upgraded Class now had a new strength of spells called Exceptional, a step up from the Superior strength he had right now, which was something he was looking forward to seeing.  In addition, it also increased the effectiveness of all spells by 90%, a jump up from the 50% it was before, but that change was also reflected upon his party by reducing the effectiveness of spells by 90%.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the 90% reduction in PICK while in a party was increased to 99%, severely cutting how much PICK anyone would receive if he was in a party.  This was only slightly offset by the 30% increase in his PICK accumulation while he was solo, boosting the amount he was already receiving.

The problem with this upgrade to his current Class was that, at least for the next few weeks while he fulfilled his System-enforced contract with the Guild, he would be involved with leading Raid Parties; while it didn’t affect the wealth that they could accumulate, PICK accumulation would be severely hurt as a result.  The reason for this, as he’d come to find, was that whenever anyone in his party gained PICK, it would first be affected by his trait, cutting it by 99%; only after that amount was calculated would his Achievement bonuses come into effect, which was the only reason he’d provided a relatively adequate amount of PICK to those he'd participated in Raid Parties with.  For a monster where everyone would only get 1 PICK for killing them, this didn’t affect them all that much; but for an Achievement that originally provided 30,000 PICK, there was a huge difference between having it cut by 90% and 99% to start with.

Even given all those problems, it was still at the top of the list of evolved Classes, if only because when he actually did go solo, it was the superior choice.  The drawbacks were something he had to balance with the great benefits that he was already familiar with, and if there was nothing else, he might have to suck it up and choose it – Party detriment or not.

There was still one more Class, however, and it was a Rarity he’d never seen before: Unique.  On the Class list, it simply had a few question marks in place of a name, which was obviously strange, and he expected for it to say the same thing once he selected it to gain more information on it.  He didn’t have high hopes for it, because although it was “Unique”, that didn’t mean it was any better than the other Classes.

To his annoyance, as soon as he opened the description, it was complete gibberish.  Like a glitch in the System, it displayed the question marks, but everything else was a simply long strings of random letters and numbers.

??? (Unique): asghdjufsg894fdsatg2h4sef21sd3ae8t7gasdfsadfsr8e54sfaewyopqaoiunczhwpngasdfd1687321f3s5a4rtfsdsaasdfjasfkjesijnfgasdknfk32473287sdkjfaielkfa;jdfa;kshf;neoiwh15135451.

·         aldfj89324dnhskfhn

·         aliowehnvcxmer381bbjkreysba

·         8baerghbsmesrplbxwq2456iindfs

………….

He spent some time actively trying to decipher the gobbledygook, but wasn’t having any luck.  Just as he was about to close the description window, the gibberish started to warp and blur, quickly changing until recognizable words started to form.  He continued watching as the finally clarified entirely, and he was both shocked and horrified at the revealed Class description.

Omenic Drifter (Unique): Though it is not your intention, your sheer presence is enough to strike fear in the hearts of the bravest fighters, as you have left death and destruction in your wake.  Wherever you travel, you bring change across the land and influence people through no choice of your own, and the world can only bow to your arrival.

The Omenic Drifter is a complicated individual, unlike any that the Assimilation System has ever seen, as they inherently contain impossible power to inadvertently change pivotal events in their favor.  They survive through a mixture of Support, Defensive, and Spiritual strengths, making them nearly invulnerable to most types of attacks if they have time to prepare, and like a confusing prophetic omen of doom, they also have the ability to hide their true nature even to those closest to them. 

As a Omenic Drifter, you will receive a significant boost to all aspects of your spellcasting, making you an incredibly powerful individual, but woe be upon those who cross your path…

·         Can learn spells at Weak, Minor, Lesser, Major, Greater, Superior, or Exceptional strength

·         Automatically upgrades all previously learned spells to their next strength upon evolution

·         All single-target spells can now target anyone

·         All spells cast upon self have their efficiency increased by 150%

·         All rewards gained while solo are increased by 50%, including Quests completed and Achievements earned

·         All rewards gained while in a party have a Fortuity-based chance to either double the reward, keep it the same, or eliminate it entirely, including Quests completed and Achievements earned; a higher Fortuity stat for the Omenic Drifter increases the likelihood of a positive outcome

·         All forms of damage done to all targets within 300 feet, including to the Omenic Drifter, are increased by 300%

·         Any and all single-target spells and abilities used upon all targets within 300 feet, excluding the Omenic Drifter, have a 1% chance to cause instant death to that target only at the time that they first take effect; death in this manner can be prevented by spells like Death Ward or reversed through the use of Resurrection-type spells; does not affect targets 60 or more Levels higher than the Omenic Drifter’s current Level

·         Automatically alters the visible description of the Class, concealing its true nature

·         No previous Class-specific bonus traits are maintained

·         Obtains (20) additional Access Slots

·         Once revealed, this Class is automatically selected

Thaden read through the description a few times in dawning horror, as it seemed to imply that wherever he went, only death was left behind.  As much as he wanted to deny this, his track record begged to differ, though it wasn’t like he intended any of it to happen.  Once he got to the benefits of the Class, however, he couldn’t deny that it had some appeal – though it was also dangerous, especially with the chance to cause the death of his party members with the cast of any single-target spell upon them. 

Unfortunately, he noticed the last line too late, and by the time he tried to back out of the Class description, it was already too late.