37

At first impulse, Tamer seemed like it would fit Vander well. Like Adrian had said, choosing a class was not just a way to hyper-specialize, but also to cover weaknesses and fill in gaps that he wasn’t already good at. He had plenty of magic and stabby-slashy things already and knew how to progress along those paths with or without a ‘class’ to propel him forward.

Though he’d never done anything Tamer-y outside of the class assessment, Stubborn had shown Vander’s compatibility with creatures, shouting it quite loudly to the world for anybody with two eyes to see. He loved the time spent with the ox and hoped to one day maybe own a ranch—though that wouldn’t be for a long time. There were too many things in his way to overcome before then, and he’d committed to seeing them through to the end, one way or another.

He’d stop at nothing to achieve his ambitions, he promised himself and Maddie’s memory, but the first step to achieving anything was his class selection. He was almost certain he wouldn’t be able to leave the white void space if he didn’t select one. Considering how long he’d been in the assessment already and the importance of the choice, he felt conflicted.

The whole list was sorted by recommendation level. The top few were clear and strong, if limited. The next section was based on his skills and actions so far, he assumed. A few dozen alternative options that seemed decent, but most were so hyper-focused that they became limiting. Then the list trailed off into obscure or outright mundane stuff he had no interest in, so he stopped scrolling after it became obvious the list would just keep getting worse and returned to Tamer.

Adrian’s path seemed powerful, reliable even, but it was still Adrian’s path. And if Vander learned anything throughout his second life, another’s path was their own. He could follow in his father’s footsteps, maybe even surpass him, but Vander suspected Adrian was a pale comparison to whoever established not just the tamer path but all the paths available. All the classes he looked at, someone had conceived them, balanced them, made them equivalent to the others.

Vander’s eclectic skill list didn’t make sense from the outside. Nothing about it meshed together. Yet. The problem he faced was to determine what his path might be while looking at a list of paths previously established.

“Let’s see if this works,” he muttered as he focused on the search bar. The word “classless” filled the space and instantly kicked back an error.

No such luck. Not feeling too distraught, he continued searching any variation on ‘no class, free class, open class’ that he could think of. After some time, he pursed his lips and sighed.

There were so many things, he wanted to take his time. The others had waited for him long enough—as far as he knew—already, so what would a little longer mean? Making sure he was thorough with his options came above all else.

“So what do we have? What can I lean on to build up a repertoire around?” he muttered to himself as he looked through a list of classes after searching “compatibility: True Lightning Proficiency, Magic Body, Armed and Dangerous”. Lots of magic results, but some of the other more esoteric classes intrigued him. “This is difficult.”

There were still too many options. The ones he had now… well, he seemed to fall into every category of “magic” and “weapon user” that existed, which pretty much made the entire list available and narrowed down only the type of magic he used. Not helpful. Not even slightly.

“Pets” helped narrow things down, but not really. After comparing the various classes with a companion focus and finding them all either too shallow or too limiting, he went searching for alternatives in the skill shop.

If he thought the class list was intimidatingly large, the skill shop dwarfed it by far. As he’d expected, there was a skill named Companionship that pretty much replaced any class needs at a cost for generalization. He could either take a nerfed version with reduced efficiency or pay a marked-up price.

It wasn’t the only option. After comparing several different pet-based skill trees he still hadn’t come to any decision and realized he was getting sidetracked.

“Focus, Vander. One thing at a time. Class first, everything else can come next. Otherwise I’ll be here forever,” he muttered and went back to the first, very-blinky tab. “Classes then. Let’s see. Options, options, options.”

Closing out of the rabbit hole he’d gone down, he returned his focus to the class shop and scrolled through the list of options again. This time he kept going until he reached the bottom, past ‘peasant,’ ‘tree-watcher,’ and all the way to ‘painter’ which he couldn’t help but agree would absolutely not be the path for him.

When he was about to start going up the list, he saw a small—as small as can be, almost as if someone were trying to hide it—plus sign.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“What might this be?” he muttered, clicking the plus.

Hidden parameters unlocked. Advanced class options are now available.

WARNING!

System assistance may be limited or unavailable on these paths. Proceed with caution!

Most of the options there seemed either too obscure or just irrelevant entirely for what he wanted to do with his path, but one stood out to Vander immediately. One he couldn’t look away from.

Initiator: your path is one unknown to this world, one you will build as you walk it.

The class listed no alignment, no stats, no abilities. Where every other class option had given a long list of benefits and restrictions, this one had only a blank.

Nothing but pure potential, which he could develop in any way he chose.

“That’s the one.”

Class: Initiator (Tier X) selected.

Warning: This decision is final.

Begin conversion?

Let’s do it.

Congratulations, you have advanced Basic (Tier 0) to Initiator (Tier X)!

The simplified interface faded to the background as a new set of sub-menus appeared. Or, well, he assumed they were sub-menus. Most of them were… incomprehensible, to put it nicely. None included anything so mundane as text, but abstract collections of symbols, three-dimensional shapes, mana constructs, and sensation that all combined to create… confusion.

Intuition guided him, though at first he could only stare, overwhelmed by the sheer chaos of… whatever this was. But the longer he observed them, the more they began to make sense to him on an instinctive level.

In a way he couldn’t have articulated even to himself, he felt like each menu was made of himself, somehow. It felt both strange and completely natural to simultaneously observe the menus as himself and be the menus themselves.

Most, he felt no desire to tamper with. They felt completely correct as they were, stable and waiting for something to change before they’d need attention. Some hummed with uncertainty, options waiting to be directed.

One section felt different. Demanding. Aggressive. It clawed at his mind every time he contemplated it, as though trying to drag itself free of the restraints of its category.

“Magic?” But, no, that wasn’t quite right. Magic was those ones over there, cumulatively, or that one and that one specifically, or–

No. This one was… more like a ghost of the magic, or a remnant of essence. Like a scrap drawer for… something indescribable.

And his magic-essence scrap-drawer had something out of balance. Something that part of him instinctively tried to bring to his attention.

He put a hand on the menu, and it stilled, spreading out before him in a kaleidoscope of silver light. Pieces that didn’t quite fit together but could.

Like a cloud that had been sliced into uneven wedges, they were irregular and intangible, yet he knew each edge could align to any other edge. He could reshape them to any combination he wanted. But he could also feel the pull between them. The faint magnetism, some drawn to each other, others repelling.

He could force them together anyway if he wanted to, but his instincts told him that to go against their nature without knowing exactly what he was doing would waste their potential. They knew where they wanted to go; he knew which ones belonged together.

One particular piece called out to him strongest, its cloud shifting and flickering almost too fast to catch hold of.

The moment his mind brushed it, he knew its name.

Zara.

Without pausing to consider what he was doing, he began to piece the silver substance together around that one. Some sections wouldn’t be needed; those, he shoved aside to wait for another time.

With each piece joined to it, the whole of the substance became stronger and clearer. Then in an instant it coalesced.

Soul reformed:

Zara, the Swift, Level 33 Ghost Tiger (Elite)

Immediately, the menu shoved him out, snapping closed with a feeling of settled rightness.

He and the silver tiger stood staring at one another for a single heartbeat. Then she hissed and sprang away, claws tearing at the interior of whatever this place was and Vander’s essence with it.

No you don’t. You’re mine. Not the other way around.

He knew intuitively that he had no protections in this place. Nothing would hurt him if he stayed within the bounds of the established systems, but he’d stepped outside those and into the unknown.

The risk deterred him… not at all. He reached out and pulled her back, his will tightening around her insubstantial substance. She snarled and twisted free, and he grabbed and tugged her back again.

How long they struggled for supremacy, Vander couldn’t have said, completely consumed in the fight to hold on to the slippery soul trying to flee his control.

Zara wasn’t going to come easily, and he had no Tamer class or special abilities to tip the balance.

Yet in the end, her struggles would be in vain. Here, Vander’s strength did not wane.

As they fought on, will against soul, Vander began to understand the shape of the un-substance that made up Zara. He began to shift his mental grip, getting a better hold, shutting down resistance before it could manifest. As his understanding grew, he felt the mental battle begin to shift, then something clicked into place.

Skill created: Bind

Zara stalked around him in a circle, head held high, then slowly dipped her nose down to meet Vander’s hand in acknowledgment.

Soul bound:

Zara, the Swift, Level 33 Ghost Tiger (Elite)

Something flickered between them, then Zara raised her head and flicked her tail before stalking away into nothingness, as if to say ‘you’ll do, I suppose, but don’t expect me to ever do this submission thing again.’