The prompt came as a surprise, though not an unwelcome one. For starters, Alex hadn’t even known it was possible to unlock a class with skills. He considered how the information would affect the ones he aimed for in the future, but knew the answer was likely little. A couple of hours ago he had been fighting not to die to a random quest, Alex didn’t know nearly enough to start planning out potential skill unlocks, let alone classes. Promising himself not to make an immediate choice, but unable to stop his curiosity, Alex read over the first Rare class he’d come across.
***
Class
Name: Planestrider
Rating: Rare
Grade: F
Description: For most, a single step marks the beginning of a journey. For a Planestrider, a single step holds the power to rewrite reality itself. Seamlessly move between the realms of physical and astral, venturing into uncharted territories and uncovering hidden mysteries. Peer beyond the veil of the ordinary, avoiding and evading challenges before they materialize. Manipulate the energies of the cosmos, weaving them to reshape the very fabric of existence. Embrace the vast expanse of the astral as your domain, transcending the boundaries of reality and charting a path of limitless possibilities. Grants four attribute points to Perception, two to Wisdom, and two to Intelligence per level.
Additional: As you do not already have it, the attribute Perception will be unlocked upon class acceptance.
***
Going off the description alone, the class sounded great. The eight stats points per level it offered was double that of what his Assassin class granted. While its more mystical nature left him unable to guess the type of abilities it would offer, he could definitely see potential in being a Planestrider. He’d asked for magic and the class looked like it would deliver. Honestly, as he went over it again, the rating almost seemed too low for what the class detailed. Still, this was the first Rare class he was seeing, the hell if he knew what one should look like. His mind wandered as he imagined all the cool magic he’d cast, but it wasn’t long before a yawn pulled him from his daydreaming.
It was only around four, and he still had plenty to do before he slept, starting with reading over all his stat increases. As he read over the information Alex couldn’t help but smile, some of his accumulated fatigue instantly wiped away by the dopamine hit of numerical progress.
***
General
Name: Alexander Hunter
Race: Human, F
Age: 21
Level: 17
Grade: F
Classes: Assassin, (Secondary), (Tertiary), (Quaternary), (Quinary)
Achievements: Adaptable, Deathwish, Bloodthirsty, Warden, Murder I, Untouchable, Glutton.
Health: 2081/2081
Mana: 1467/1467
Stamina: 2106/2106
Attributes
Strength: 28
Dexterity: 40
Endurance: 28
Wisdom: 23
Intelligence: 28
Willpower: 19
Luck: 15
Charisma: 14
Fortitude: 9
Free Points: 5
***
He had expected solid increases, especially after gaining six levels from the rabbits alone, but with the novelty of the system, he still found himself having underestimated what that would look like. Alex’s new health total was nearly thirty times what he’d started the tutorial with, and his other two energy pools weren’t lagging far behind. The experience rate did seem a bit harsh considering he’d been soloing beasts double his level, if not higher, but going from seven to seventeen with only an hour's work was hard to be upset about.
The more Alex considered what he’d done the more he began to believe escaping the tutorial might actually be possible. A phantom pain in his arm soon dulled that excitement, his resolve faltering some. He’d nearly died multiple times for these levels. As much as the tutorial's description claimed he was alone, the only reason he’d survived this long was because of other people’s assistance. They might not be from Earth, or even exist outside this place, but they’d proved real enough to help keep him alive.
Mentally chastising himself for how much of an idiot he’d been these last two days, Alex realized he wasn’t taking this place seriously. His odds were already low, but they went straight to zero if he just kept going with the flow and hoping everything worked itself out. The latter, likely the only reason he was still alive. He would need to make a real plan if he wanted to live. If his conversation with Janet went well, he could bring it up some aspects of it with her; if it didn’t, he’d probably have bigger problems to worry about.
Opening his inventory with a mental command, Alex pulled his phone out. He hadn’t used the device since storing it shortly after arriving, but when the screen came alive, he figured it would do for the moment. Not having turned it off before tossing it in days prior, the phone had technically been on the entire time. Fortunately, that proved not to be an issue. The time magic that kept the food fresh doing the same for his battery life, the value not having dropped a single percentage since he’d last used it.
When the device opened to Haley’s contact information Alex paused for a moment, before navigating to his home screen. There was no service, obviously, and while logically unsurprising, he still found himself a little disappointed. All the apps that didn’t require internet still worked, so Alex opened his notes and began to make a list in order of importance. Lacking a cable, or likely any way to charge the phone even if he had one, Alex knew he wouldn’t be able to stretch the battery for another sixty days. But he wanted to write out his thoughts, and he lacked any paper, so the phone would do for the moment.
Considering his plans from the day, and how poorly they went, weapons and armor were at the top of his list. If the tutorial could spawn random quests, the most important thing was for him to be prepared to face them. Below the gear was a city ID, though he quickly reordered it, so the ID came first. The clothing store clerk’s mention of the card had sparked an idea, and he figured it was best to start with that since, if it worked, money was unlikely to be an issue for the rest of the tutorial.
As his third bullet point, he put the arena. More gambling was definitely out of the question, but he still had to talk to Ralph, more potential fights, and figured it would be nice to see Grave again. Of course if he could recruit the likely powerful golem to his side, that would work too. At the end he added a little asterisk since it was only third if Janet was going with. If she refused, it would have to drop below the next goal, reaching the E-Grade. A higher level would shoot his survivability up by a mile and be a good step towards defeating the beast king, whatever level they were.
Over the course of the day acquiring knowledge had plummeted from the top of his list to dead last. He still thought it was worth adding, as he would try to learn what he could when he could, but suffice it to say Alex would be staying far away from libraries. He still had no idea what spawned the mandatory quest to begin with, through the potential significance of it being titled Curiosity killed the Cat wasn’t lost on him.
That was pretty much all he had for the short term, but it felt nice to order his thoughts into something more than: not die, get stronger, a bunch of question marks in the middle, success. He took another few minutes to flesh out his reasoning for each option, as well as add specific questions he wanted to ask Janet if he got the chance. The list could be revised if he met one of his goals, or when something else urgent inevitably popped up, but for the moment it was a good start. Tossing his phone back into a portal as to not waste all the battery Alex rose from his seat. It was time for that conversation he’d been putting off.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The house was much more active than when he’d entered; the kids having returned from whatever they’d been up to an hour prior. Inwardly anxiety warned him of their dislike, though in reality most paid him little mind as he walked to Janet’s training room. It was a floor up on what could be considered the other side of the house, but Alex had no trouble finding his way, even having only been there once.
This section of the building was still rather empty, and, as it was on the same floor as Anise’s office, Alex guessed the kids didn’t spend much time up here. Approaching the door he knocked, the action resulting in a similar outcome as it had back at the bedroom, silence. After a few more tries he was ready to give up and comeback later, when he noticed someone behind him. A short gasp escaped as he jolted from the surprise. Janet, because of course it was her, started laughing.
“This can’t be the same kid who was dodging panther strikes like one of the pack. You have got to be more aware of your surroundings.”
That was actually true, though Alex didn’t find it nearly as funny. He had deactivated Sixth Sense when he arrived at the house since his new levels made it difficult to process information at any reasonable rate. His mind could somewhat sort the data but so much of it was coming in, even at only a couple points of mana, that he decided to wait until he got some time to benchmark the skill before reactivating it. Her laughter had died down as Alex considered then reconsidered the choice words he had for her. Some of the tension draining from him. If she was willing to joke around like this maybe he was worried about nothing.
“I wanted to talk to-”
He was interrupted as, with speed he could barely follow, she moved past him to open the door. “She’s inside,” was all Janet said, before disappearing in to the floor without warning.
The tension came back.
Steeling himself with a quick reminder that putting if off would be pointless, Alex headed in. Janet sat on a couch towards the center of the room a book in hand and feet kicked up on a table. Somewhat expecting more he looked around the room. Janet was also sitting off to a corner lifting weights… and Janet was also up against a different wall doing handstand push-ups. Alex didn’t know if this was another joke or just intimidation tactics, but he was confident it was powerful stuff.
Even with the uncertainty a twinge of greed shot through him, he wanted power like this; but Alex didn’t let himself focus on it. He did, however, make a mental reminder to pick up the recording of her and Dora’s fight. Focusing back on present Alex took a guess and picked the one with the book since they seemed the least occupied.
“What’s up?”
When he didn’t immediately answer, she looked up from her book as if he was the weird one.
“Is it really you, or another… clone?” He asked unable to suppress all the curiosity. Janet didn’t seem to mind, the book closing with an audible snap as she smiled.
“They are all me, but to answer your question, yes. I am the original.”
“OK, umm, well I wanted to talk to you about a few things. Can I sit?”
Janet looked at him as to ask if that was a serious question, and Alex had to lean on his acting ability when he realized how nervous he sounded. He couldn’t help it, anyone that could summon randomly disappearing and reappearing versions of themselves deserved a level of fear. It was only common sense.
“So what’d you want to talk about?”
“Well a couple of things, but first I wanted to say thanks. I know this whole contract thing is with Anise, and you’re helping her by helping me, but still, thanks.”
She nodded, “It is nice to be appreciated, but I hope all that awkwardness wasn’t only for that.”
“No I,” Alex paused as her words registered, “I’m not awkward, well, not that much. There are two of you just chilling in the room while we talk, not to mention that whole business earlier.” Both clones turned to look at him when he finished and Alex felt a chill go down his spine as Janet, the one on the couch, chuckled. After a moment the other two vanished, the weights one of the pair had been holding seeming to fall into the floor rather than collide with it. Alex wondered if they were illusions rather than clones, though that didn’t explain how one opened the door.
“Sorry, sorry, just having a bit of fun.” she said wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. Not wanting to deal with any more of her ‘fun’ Alex got straight to the point.
“Ok so I, well first, I wanted to pay you back.
“For?”
Alex considered the potion, two potions, she’d provided him, but not knowing their cost wouldn’t promising money for them. “Well the arena to start,” He went into his inventory and pulled out the fifteen gold, “Then maybe the potions. I don’t know how much those cost.”
She took the coin, the money quickly disappearing into a storage of her own. She handed him a piece of paper that Alex read quickly before storing it. The interaction reminded him of her ring, but Janet was speaking before he could get another word in.
“What happened? Big spender over here can’t afford a few measly potions.” Alex got ready to defend himself, but Janet only continued, hands up. “Sorry, sorry, I promised you your secrets, and I meant that. What happened today wasn’t what I planned so I won’t pry about anything. Like you said, this whole thing is Anise’s responsibility, but she’s going through some stuff. Since I appreciate that you didn’t try to take advantage of that, and have come to like you some, I’m gonna be honest with you. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what going on.”
A wayward thought that she could just find out for herself flitted though his mind, but he didn’t speak it. This was an olive branch if Alex had ever heard one.
“I’d be willing to pay for the potions if it’s reasonable, but I think I have a way to legitimize the rest of the money so that shouldn’t be an issue if anyone comes looking.”
“Don’t worry about the potions. Anything I want to know?”
Alex shook his head in the negative. Since it involved the fact that he wasn’t really from this tutorial world he couldn’t yet trust her with that information, but he promised to tell her if it worked tomorrow.
“Ok what else?”
“Well this is where I really need your help with.”
They spent the next thirty minutes speaking about gear. Alex was noticing his stats effects as he spoke, the questions he’d written appearing in his mind as if he was reading them. Alex offered her ring back, but Janet told him to keep it, at least until he purchased his own, the less suspicious he seemed, the better.
From there the conversation naturally branched into skills as Janet mentioned weapon and armor abilities. Alex admitted to having a solid set of skills to start with and figured that was the best time to mention his new class.
“So then I was reading over my notifications, and I got offered the class.” He didn’t mention the wheel, or what skills had formed from the card, but felt she had enough information to know if it would be beneficial or not.
“Classes forming from skills isn’t really a rare thing, I’m honestly surprised you’ve never heard of it.” When he didn’t offer any additional information, she just continued. “Well it works as like a skill combination, if you’ve heard of those. Skills with a similar affinity can make one skill of a higher rarity or improve in some way. Skills that differ enough but fall under the same tree can make a class. If you have enough similar skills, you can be offered multiple classes from different combinations. For you specifically, you said it offered mostly mental stats, so I’m guessing it's a scholar class or something similar. You already have a combat class, right? I know we said we wouldn’t talk about-”
“It’s fine actually, what were you saying,” Alex had heard something in the way she’d said “a combat class” and wanted her to refocus on that thought.
“Right profession classes, if a person is combat oriented, are often used to augment their combat class. The opposite could be true if they focus on their profession, but let’s focus on the first for now. If their highest stat is Strength, they might look for a blacksmith class or the like that increases that stat even further. Depending on how the rest of their attributes increase that might be for the best, but it could also be a mistake. If that same person eventually reaches 1,000 Strength, but only has 200 Dexterity for some reason, they can pick up the massive hammer, but due to the attribute chasm their maneuverability with it will be shit. That’s an extremely unlikely case, but you get the point.”
She paused, and Alex nodded to show he was paying attention before continuing.
“So an alternative option is to do what this class would do for you, balance stats that otherwise would receive little attention. The real deciding factor here is the Perception unlock. Taking that class to unlock one of the ancillary skills in F grade alone is extremely useful if it will be one of your main ones in the future. If it's a class you like or one you can build around great, but don’t take it for the numbers, then stall out in the E-Grade.”
She went on to mention class evolutions and synergies, but Alex was still focused on the first part. Earlier in the conversation he had relaxed, but now he felt himself leaning heavily on his acting skill as to not give away his emotions. Confusion and excitement filled him as he thought on her words. A combat class and a profession class. If he was remembering correctly his first set of notifications had said he’d gained three class slots. That hadn’t warranted much thought then, or since really, but now it represented a power boost others didn’t have.
“So yea,” Janet continued and Alex tuned back in, “If you think it’ll be a fit take it for sure.”
“What about rarity, I don’t know much about class ratings. Should I be looking for the highest one I could get?”
She did a so-so motion with her hand.
“Rarity is less important than it seems, at least in the beginning. Like grades, a classes' rarity can change as you level. However, the attributes you get per level increase greatly as you move up the tiers. A person that starts with a Rare and evolves it in to an Epic, will have many more points than a person who starts with a Common class and does so in the same time frame. Trouble seems to radiate to you so those additional attributes now, might be better than potential attributes in the future.”
It gave Alex more to think on, though made his choice for Planestrider rather easy. For most, it would be a matter between picking complementary classes or supplementary, he could choose both. Sensing a natural lull in the conversion he let himself move on to the next topic. Janet had given her piece, and he didn’t want to raise suspicions by asking unnecessary questions. Though he did promise himself to ask if he truly needed the help.
The topic of the arena was easy. The gold had already been exchanged and Janet thought his hesitation to meet with the man alone was warranted. She had wanted to wait a week, but after not so subtly pointing out he was rushing things, agreed to the day after next. Alex figured he’d only need enough time to pick up a few items first since the sooner he learned of Ralph’s quest the more time he’d have to complete it.
Unsure if he should, but deciding to take anyway, Alex asked one more question. When no new quest spawned at just their mention he focused on Janet’s reply.
“Those beast waves are they common?”
Janet looked at him for a moment, trying to guess what he was getting at. “Yea pretty much, the one earlier seemed a bit odd but relatively normal, once a month or so.”
“Ok, thanks. I was just wondering” Alex said standing and making to leave. It was similar to what he’d heard from Jamie, but that consistency alone was great. Maybe libraries weren’t cursed, he’d just entered one at a bad time. Still, he decided to still put off testing that that theory in case they were and just threw a harder challenge at him for not learning his lesson.
As he walked back to the first floor Alex felt ten pounds lighter. He didn’t know how Anise would react when he saw her, and still somewhat wanted his own place but for the moment at least it seemed everything was coming up Hunter.