Class Skill Gain

As you progress in your mastery of your class, you can choose one additional class skill from the three skills below:

Pathfinder (C): (magical power) Allows you to analyze paths or determine a path to your destination (use consumes 1 point of energy every 60 seconds).

Falsification (D): (supernatural power) Allows you to falsify the information that other users of the System can obtain about you.

Analysis (F): (supernatural power) Allows you to obtain very detailed information on a nearby target. [Reference ability of the Analyst class, this power allows you to deeply understand the nature of the targets analyzed]

Xicackna growled in displeasure. Why have to choose just one skill? She wanted them all! Falsification was the power she literally dreamed of: thanks to it, she could prevent the Human Hunters from knowing her abilities and her name. If the regressor ever learned that she was still alive, he could track her down to get his hands on a second “Stone of Regrets”.

Unfortunately, she was going to have to choose “Pathfinder”. Among those proposed, only this one could allow her to find her way back to the Dungeon.

“But is it really the best choice?”

Xicackna jumped: it wasn’t her who had thought that! Was there anyone nearby who could project its thoughts the way she could read them?

“Yes, exactly… Well, I can do both.”

Turning from side to side, she saw no one. She had entered a dark alley sheltered from human lighting systems and obviously used to store anything and everything. This allowed her to save her invisibility by making an encounter with a monster less likely... and now this mysterious, undetectable creature was approaching her.

"Who…who are you? Show yourself! You... you don't... don't scare me!"

“Really? Boo!”

Suddenly a small dark shape appeared on top of a container, a few steps from her face. The thing literally came out of nowhere, in a sort of cloud of black smoke, odorless.

Frightened, the princess suddenly threw herself backwards and collided with a precarious pile of objects, knocking it off balance. It buried her brutally and she was sure she saw one of her hit points flashes before her eyes. With a killer look, but increased suspicion, she freed herself from the pile to observe the mysterious creature.

Small in size, this thing was a little longer than her forearm if we didn't count its tail. Completely covered in some kind of black smoke, or fur that seemed ethereal in a dark way, it was a four-legged creature with a very expressive face and red eyes. The creature burst out laughing, both audibly and in its head:

“Ah! Ah! Ah! I'll never grow tired! No, stop, don't attack. Come on, good Zcarbb!”

Yes, all caution aside, Xicackna really wanted to rush towards this beast and beat it at her feet for its reckless mockery. Did she really think she wouldn't dare... But what was her level?

Chaos' Beast, « Fast one » breed, Level 13

Well, the creature didn't seem that strong, although higher level than her...

“Oh, if I were you, Xicackna, I wouldn't trust the level: we Chaotiuns are a little... outside the System.”

“Who… What… How do you know my name?”

“Well… Let's say that I can read minds a little, so there you go.”

“What do you want from me? You don't seem very... Human. Do you serve them?”

The creature burst out laughing again, rolling into a ball on the ground in its mirth. A very vulnerable pose which could hide dangerous assurances, or else proof of total imbecility... Xicackna preferred not to try it. When the Chaotiun finally calmed down, he stared his pitiless red eyes into those of the princess.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Let me be perfectly clear: I deeply hate your kind. Not that you did anything to me: no, it's more something visceral. You are constantly trying to organize, to order the world... In a way you are even closer to Humans than to us, whatever they say. My people travel easily, without the constraints of distances. I have heard stories passed down for many generations of worlds where our kind form the bulwark against the expansion of your loathsome race... Our species, protecting worlds? It's pretty ridiculous... But maybe it's true. In any case… What was I talking about again?”

It took a moment for her to understand that the creature was not joking: it had truly forgotten what it was talking about. Xicackna refreshes its memory:

“You said that you viscerally hated the Zcarbbs and that you were part of an Evil species opposed to Good.”

“Um... I'm not sure I phrased it that way... The thoughts of your people are so disturbing that they are complicated to read...”

“So, what do you want from me if not to confront me?”

“Eh? No, no, I don't want to fight you... And even if I don't like your people... Let's say that I like those who play with you even less... Well, for the moment, eh, because deep down, you’re the worst species.”

“Those who play with us? Do you want to talk about the creators of the System?”

“Creators? Yes… That’s quick to say. More like tinkerers, if you ask me... Ah, it's painful to have this conversation every time... Well, it doesn't change much in the end if I make variations..."

“What do you mean ‘every time’? And tell me who are these… tinkerers of the System?”

“Everything in its own time... Let's say I play too but... if I do too much, they will capture me, put me in a cage and sell me to a laboratory... at the very least. All you need to know is that I'm offering you an interesting opportunity: you choose the skill you want, then I'll personally take you to another portal to your Dungeon. So, what do you say?”

The creature seemed to smile with its monstrous mouth vaguely resembling human mouths, with sharper fangs. While it was obviously an Evil creature, while it was possible that it was simply playing a trick on Xicackna, it was also possible that it had common, temporary interests, with the young Zcarbb.

“What would you gain?” she asked suspiciously. “Who's to tell me it's not a trap?”

“Nothing. But you will accept. Of course, you will tell me that you will not select your skill right away. It's logical, you fear that once this choice is made, I will abandon you without the possibility of finding your way back... And yes, I have already thought about it. That’s what you thought, huh?”

“You… you’re also a “regressor”, aren’t you? Like humans!”

“No. But indeed, I am aware of these… regressions, as you say. But I'm not reset like that. I don't have all the time: do you accept or do you pretend not to accept in order to accept later after racking your brain?”

The Zcarbb frowned. Cornered as she was, lost in enemy territory, she didn't have much choice. If this creature was capable of taking her home, perhaps she should accept? Obviously, the beast knew much more than she did about the System, its origins and its purpose, but it would not reveal it. It seemed that the matter was more complex than a simple human construction: perhaps Humans had also been victims of the System for many years, since the time when they lived in a galaxy far, far away?

In any case, it seemed confirmed that the System had the ability to return its victims to a previous state, causing an apparent return in time. It was also confirmed that out-of-System creatures escaped... Unless this Chaotiun had invented everything based on the worries and theories that perpetually swirled in the back of the princess's mind?

She was going to accept the offer, as the creature was already convinced. After all, if it could transport her to a faraway place, it could do it even without her consent. However, was this the right solution? Perhaps the beast was linked to the System more than it claimed and needed approval to use its powers on Xicackna? The creature's thoughts were too muddled and shallow, easily distracted even by the insects buzzing around them, thoughts impossible to read for useful information.

With a sigh, the princess accepted the offer. The creature smiled and, standing on its hind legs, held out a hand-like paw. She took it and darkness briefly invaded her vision.

She was still in a human world. There were some minor differences in the architecture and appearance of the monsters that inhabited this new city. In a single moment, she found herself there, stationed on a small hill in a natural area in the heart of the human hive.

The creature beside her pointed to a point in the distance.

“Over there is a portal that leads to your Dungeon. It is currently green in color, which means that Humans, and any other creatures associated with their adventure group by the System, can only enter in limited numbers. This is one of the consequences of your defeat with the red door: temporary protection. A few days ago, the door had recently reappeared, in blue. You were lucky that the Humans were so clumsy: if they had waited to kill your boss and done the side quests around the gate, they could have reversed it to make it a raid gate to the entire Dungeon... But this is rather rare because the secondary objectives are not necessarily easy to find.”

The creature flinched, noticing the intense gaze of its interlocutor.

“Oh, I see, you feed off every little bit of information I let slip? Sorry to disappoint you, but even with you have an optional sub-boss level, you could find them by digging far enough into the System help. Well, I'm going to leave before attracting the attention of an administrator... They know that I'm there, but if I do too much, they won't hesitate to smack me, under the pretext that I'm "not approved”, or that I “do not pay for the activation of an interaction option” … As if we did not have the right to cheat!”

And with these words, the Chaotiun disappeared as it had appeared. Still perplexed, Xicackna moved as stealthily as possible towards the door. The Human guards were few in number, probably less frightened by a green door than a red door. None of them pierced her invisibility and she approached the portal without problem.

As always, this unreal matter or light, suspended in the air, seemed strange. She took a moment to observe one last time the no less strange human termite mounds that rose up everywhere and the monsters that went about their mysterious occupations outside the area secured by their warriors, without worrying too much about the proximity of the door.

Then she crossed.