As soon as Kiresula no longer heard the [cleric]s and their [holy guard] Kedsel, she ran off, found Ikandijenja, cast [Enhance Attribute] with all of her regained magic, every single Centiseren of it and focusing every little bit of it into extending its duration, not into a higher enhancement of Ikandijenja's Fortitude. Ikandijenja, no, Siki, as Kiresula reminded herself, immediately handed over the book and they left quietly. Kiresula kept quiet about Kedsel and made a hushing movement when Siki tried to speak, as she was not sure if any interference from the church was imminent. Glitchling voices tend to carry. She made a gesture as if greeting a member of the clergy towards Siki who nodded. As soon as they reached the main path, Kiresula pointed into the forest. Moving through the bushes was slow, but their zigzagging lath hopefully obscured them from sight. After a while, they found a small stream coming from the vague direction of the dungeon and instead of braving the bushes, followed it for a while. It took Kiresula a bit to realise where she was, but as she saw the city walls in the distance, illuminated by the setting sun, she knew it. Children call the stream Lousy Mousy Stream while the official name from imperial times was Faredere. She whispered to Siki: "The Lousy Mousy Stream isn't that far away from the Rainbow House, so we should be there soon."

Siki raised an eyebrow: "This is the Lousy Mousy Stream? I remember it much bigger."

Kiresula asked: "How long have you been a glitchling?"

"I don't know. More than 10 winters. I kinda stopped counting afterwards." Siki shrugged.

Kiresula cussed in a barely classroom-appropriate manner. "That's one hay of a long time!"

Then Kiresula stopped for a moment, her facial expression making it seem as if she was smelling something. She pointed in a direction towards the city and asked Siki to come. "I sense Synthic magic. We're almost there!"

Siki smiled. "Thank the stars in the sky! I don't think your spell lasts much longer, so it's high time!"

Kiresula looked worried: "Do you need me to carry you?"

Siki didn't answer immediately as she climbed the riverbank and then suddenly sat down, breathed heavily and looked as if she had just ran a long race. "Yes, please!"

Kiresula's Might was not very high, but Siki was famished and thin. Kiresula walked with short, fast steps, while princess-carrying Siki into the synthic magic. As soon as she entered the area, she tried to start Serenity while walking, but it was difficult. She felt something well up in her and barely managed to sit down with Siki.

She noticed the message logo and called it up.

Class Achievement: Wanderer.

Walked more than one Kauri through wild terrain. You gain class achievement in your Seferian Mage class.

Class Achievement: Reached Rank emergent, Level 3.

60 stat points assigned, 5 free stat points.

You gain the class trait: Enhanced Synthic Restoration

Siki looked worried: “Are you alright?”

Kiresula felt more in tune with the synthic magic around her. Serenity didn't slowly restore her magic, instead, the process had about the speed of a soldier (or, admittedly, a teacher) when free beer was offered somewhere. She looked at Siki and smiled: "Now I am. Sorry about that." Then, she got up again.

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Siki looked confused: "What in the green hills happened‽"

Kiresula smiled: "I gained a class level and a new trait to regain synthic magic faster." She walked through a small clearing and only then saw the Rainbow House in the distance. She walked with Siki to the door and set the gaunt glitchling down there. "Here's the Rainbow House." She knocked.

Shla opened the door after a few moments: "Kysan? Who did you pick up?"

"This is Siki. She's been a glitchling for a while, but kept away from just about everyone. She has spent most of her time reading. I am sure that we can help her gain a class."

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The glitchlings talked a lot. Kju had found out a lot of how to gain a class and taught Siki everything he knew. Siki gained a class just a while later. Before she could even say anything about which one it was, Kju gasped in shock: "What in the green hills of fair Anadolu‽"

Siki looked at Kju in shock: "Did I… fail?"

Kju shook his head and took a moment to steady himself: "Apparently, leading people to their classes despite being unclassed is how you become a [Synthic Cleric]. Guess how I found out!"

The newly classed [Plantshaper] stared at Kju in shock. "I didn't know that there is synthic heresy. That…" she paused.

The [Synthic Cleric] shook his head: "That is not the goal. The goal is to lead people into the best classes for them and through their… change of form? Evolution? Adjustment of their body."

"You mean that we will change?" Kshi asked.

The cleric nodded: "Indeed. In 63 levels, except for Kysan. I am not sure why it's earlier for her."

Kiresula responded: "I am Level 3, so I guess that affects it."

He looked confused for a second but then steadied himself. "I guess that makes sense then. It seemed so far away originally, but it seems that levels can come more easily. You were level 1 this morning, right?"

She nodded: "I was, yeah, though, maybe it helped that the dungeon took me out of the old system though."

That both confused and intrigued him: "Can you show me?"

She showed her fully green stat sheet to the group to gasps and confused noises.

Kju was seemingly paralysed for a few breaths worth of time until he shook himself free. "That… is…, I get a strong feeling that this is how things are supposed to look but at the same time… I see its disadvantages."

She raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

He explained: "I am not sure about this and am just vaguely referring to what I can recall… I heard that [cleric]s have ways to access stats of people. Not [Synthic Cleric]s, blue ones. Now, my father, among many of his faults, was friends with a [cleric], maybe more, who knows. But that lass told us about holes in the stats of glitchlings. So, they had all the stats of the Seacat but one. Like Endurance. It was completely lacking."

Kshi asked: "Green stats?"

Kju responded: "I imagine so, but that lass had no idea. It seemed scary to her."

Sidik responded in a harsh voice: "It relates to personhood for many people. So when green stats became almost common in Ilkshehir,… some people got three stats into the green, well, you know what happened. Someone completely outside of the system… and its stats… I wouldn't even know..."

Kiresula gulped.

Kshi looked serious: "We can hide away, try not to get any holes in the blue stats, or we can level up, get stronger and make the blue [cleric]s reach for their brown pants. If you catch my drift. And from what I feel, doing the former will just delay the wrath of the blues."