As for Alan's Class, although the trio discussed it for another few minutes, it soon became apparent that they were beginning to talk in circles. No longer the center of attention, and unable to add anything else of any relevance to the conversation, Reggie dismissed himself, citing the desire to wrap up his engraving project as quickly as possible to be the best use of his time. Which left Alan and Suong to discuss the topic among themselves.
Reggie, as it turned out, knew fuck all about Classes. And basically, all Su'ong knew was recycled information she'd heard from various sources. When pressed, she admitted what little knowledge she had on the subject had come from eavesdropping on her grandparents.
From what little Alan was able to glean, he hadn't exactly gotten scammed, it was more to do with just how strange the [Warden of Blight] Class was. Similar to the Classes created in the early days of the System, Alan's Class was focused on physically mastering his own augmented abilities rather than trading a skill point for an automatic upgrade served up on a silver platter.
It wasn't exactly the greatest comparison, but to Alan's flawed understanding, the way Su'ong's Class Skill Points functioned was similar to the way Uncle Alex reforged old metal tools into weapons of surprising durability. The [Spear Maiden] Class provided the raw materials, which was to say, the Skill and the basic principles behind how the Skill actually worked. Each Class Skill Point she applied would inspire a sudden burst of insight that reforged the Skill's raw materials, automatically unlocking the next Level in the process.
On the other hand, the [Warden of Blight] Class Skills were akin to high quality, unsharpened blades. Alan's usage of his Class Skills acted as a whetstone. Slowly but surely, his proficiency would grow, and with it, the blade would be transformed from a blunt object to a lethal instrument of war.
For typical citizens born in established Races of the Multiverse, Su'ong's newer style of Class was what worked best. There were many paths aside from that of progression through life and death struggle after all. For every holder of a combat Class there were thousands of noncombat Class users. For bakers, seamstresses, scribes, and all the others with Job type Classes, Experience points were hard to come by.
Apparently, there were Guilds that specialized in assisting non-combat Class holders reach level 10. This allowed them to get their Profession Skills up to a basic standard. It wasn't free, but the cost was usually handled by public funding. From there, they would have to rely on what meager Experience the System provided for Job-related quests. There were also other shadier organizations that farmed beasts. They were more than happy to raise one's Level far beyond that of the common citizenry, for an astronomical price of course.
“Now, I am not saying that your Class is old enough to be from the previous era, but it was obviously created to function in a similar manner. And before you ask, no Alan, I have no idea how it actually works. That's something you'll have to discover for yourself." Su'ong stated matter-of-factly.
It wasn't long before the setting sun was replaced with a wondrous scattering of stars surrounding a pale-white false moon. Su'ong produced a wide skillet and pan fried a mountain of Almiraj meat. She had no seasonings stashed away, but when combined with crispy wafer-thin slivers of Golden Plantain and a pale green leafy plant she harvested near the lake, the aromatic smell wafting from the pan was beyond satisfying.
As agreed, while she cooked, Alan pulled up his Class Upgrade tab and attempted to allocate a Class Upgrade Point to purchase [Pathogenic Inoculation].
[Pathogenic Inoculation]- A Warden of Blight must not only be able to harness and spread a diverse array of Pathogens, but they must also be able to protect their allies from the effects. This Skill immunizes allies to the effects of any active Pathogens from [Pathogenic Accumulation]. This can be a crucial advantage in combat, allowing the Warden to focus on spreading the Blight to enemies while protecting their allies from unintentional harm. Passive increase to the effects of the Endurance and Resistance of any effected allies, making them more resistant to the effects of pathogens, allowing for prolonged pathogenic exposure between inoculations. (Cost: 1)
Just as he'd feared, similar to [Pathogenic Accumulation], [Pathogenic Inoculation] wasn't even usable without first possessing either [Bacterial Manifestation] or [Mycelial Manifestation]. The reason for this being that in order to create a working remedy for his personal pathogens, Alan would first need to be able to manifest the pathogen in question.
According to the information provided with the Skill, [Pathogenic Inoculation] somehow collected, and then stored a stockpile of pathogens which were then refined into what were basically living vaccines. By touching an ally and activating the Skill, their body would be infected with, and simultaneously inoculated against, any Blight-related maladies in Alan's arsenal. As far as he could tell, the inoculation process would only take about thirty seconds to alter one's immune system. But for that brief span of time, the affected ally would experience the full suite of pathogenic effects.
It was for this reason that [Pathogenic Inoculation] was far more useful when utilized in advance. Sadly, Alan knew that wouldn't always be possible. Especially in the case of any unexpected bystanders. They would not only be caught in the crossfire, but to be cured they would be temporarily forced to endure the effects of every pathogen in Alan's repertoire while already in a compromised position.
It was a worrying thought, but at least for the time being, it was going to be a waste of mental energy to consider it any further. There wasn't much point in worrying over the effects of an ability that he couldn't currently activate after all.
The stir fried Almiraj was even better than he'd imagined. The flavor was so intense that when the first heaping bite hit his tongue, he gasped and looked at Su'ong in a whole new light. Totally forgetting to chew, he gulped down his mouthful, grabbed another fistful of meat and veggies and crammed it all into his face.
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“Gross,” Su'ong grimaced and turned away from Alan's noisy chewing. The enjoyment he found in her cooking filled Su'ong with an unmistakable pleasure, but the sounds he was making were ruining her own appetite. With all the moist slurping and contented growls, he sounded like a wild beast. She couldn't help but be reminded of the time she'd been left with little choice but to watch from the crown of the tree she hid in as pack of Lobos took down and gleefully devoured an elderly Crimson Stag.
It was a gruesome sight, but as a Warden in training it wasn't anything she hadn't witnessed before. No, what truly bothered her was when the Lobos noticed one of their own had suffered a broken foreleg in the fight. As if a switch was flipped, they abandoned all traces of civility and fell upon their injured companion in a frenzy of tooth and claw. It was torn to pieces with ruthless efficiency.
Grunting, Alan shoved another heap of greasy meat into his mouth, watching as Su'ong carried her dirty skillet towards the lake. After polishing off his own pile of Almiraj, he eyed the remains of Su'ong's portion, struggling to restrain the urge to help himself.
A canteen materialized in his hand, looking like a child's toy when clutched in his oversized fist. After gulping down enough to fill a bucket, Alan rinsed his hands and decided to get in a bit of practice.
Ever since his Fire Tributaries and Deltas had been opened, Alan had an instinctual feeling that there was no longer anything holding him back from figuring out how to regain his beloved Fire Spells. He knew it was going to be a challenge. All of his foundational knowledge about the Fire Element had come from the [Fireball] Spell. Because of that, his understanding was wholly focused on converting his own Unattuned Mana into Fire Attuned Mana, and then crafting that Attuned Mana into a form that created the desired effect.
So while he certainly possessed intricate knowledge about the intensity of fire, and the rate at which it spread, that didn't actually help to ease his troubles. Neither did the different temperatures that combustible fuels ignite, and how their flames developed. The boiling point of water, the temperature at which it became vapor, and the effects of vapor pressure were all well and good but were equally unhelpful.
Alan shook out his arms, biting back a frustrated sigh. Sadly, technical information about the Elements wasn't going to turn Celestial Energy into Mana. That left Alan facing an uphill struggle to recreate the recipes for his Spells completely from scratch. “Alright, first things first,” Alan mumbled, turning his sight inward to gauge his current Celestial Energy reserves.
At just under three-quarters of the way full and holding steady, full would've been preferable, but what he had was better than expected. Because of the rift in Alan's Core that was feeding the development of his Realm Seed, the amount of Celestial Energy he could contain in his Core had been significantly reduced. It was going to make it difficult to sustain himself in a drawn out battle, but was more than enough for his current needs.
I wonder if there's a way to tap into the energy stored away in my Realm Seed…
Although Alan was eager to start, he felt it prudent to settle his overactive mind to avoid any unnecessary mistakes. Maintaining concentration could be the deciding factor between success and failure, so he allotted five minutes to [Meditation] and allowed the Skill to purge his unease.
At the last second, Alan decided it best to inform Su'ong of his plan just in case something went wrong. The backlash from the Scumbag forcing him to take a foolish risk had been almost non-existent in comparison to what he'd expected, but he could only imagine what would happen should he suffer another accident so soon without at least providing a forewarning.
She wasn't very thrilled with the idea, but after hearing Alan out, Su'ong begrudgingly acquiesced. She had seen firsthand what his flames were capable of, and they needed every advantage. Mainly, Su'ong was trying to ensure he wasn't acting impulsively. Her first instinct was to tell him to think about the consequences.
However, once she realized that Alan had put more thought into it than she would've guessed possible for someone so careless, she felt it would be better to watch over him from a safe distance. In her honest opinion, the odds were leaning towards Alan setting himself on fire.
The results were pretty much exactly what she'd expected. Not knowing how much Celestial Energy to use, nor how to regulate the flow, Alan erected a mental barrier between himself and his fears, choosing instead to follow his instincts.
A surge of golden energy poured from the apertures surrounding Alan's Core and immediately sought to flood his pathways. With a swift application of mental pressure, Alan restrained the unhoused Celestial Energy by compressing it into six dense spheres gathered just outside of his Core. For a moment, Alan found himself at a loss.
The entrances to his Tributaries had undergone an unmistakable evolution. There were now two separate pathways he could guide the energy through. One was the usual golden color, and led to the initial Unattuned Tributaries he'd broken open with assistance from the Golden Plantains. These new Tributaries were a deep red, which made them hard to mistake. Yet there were several problems. Was he supposed to use the orbs or energy individually or all at once? What about the location of the apertures and the mouths of his Tributaries?
There had to be a significance to their placement, but that significance was eluding him. In the end, it didn't really matter. As Alan soon discovered, he lacked the delicate control to release the orbs individually. When he tried to release the Celestial Energy gathered outside the aperture on the left side of his Core, Alan's focus slipped, and all six orbs were sucked into the mouths of his Fire Tributaries one after another.
Almost immediately, Alan could feel the energy in his Fire Tributaries quickly losing density until all that remained was the purest Essence of Fire. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but were he to offer up his best guess, he'd have to say the Fire Tributaries acted like Elemental filters. As the Celestial Energy flowed through, all aspects that weren't fire were entirely stripped away.
Alan felt his control slipping, but refused to miss out on a single detail. A flood of warmth poured through his arms and legs, as well as up and down his spine. As the energy reached his joints, he felt it pass automatically through the fire aspected openings in his Deltas. This brought about another burst of understanding.
When using a single Element, his Deltas didn't really serve a purpose other than connecting one Tributary to another. But if he were to use Fire and Water simultaneously, not only could his Deltas channel the energy to the next Tributary, but they contained branching pathways that would allow him to fuse the separate Elements into something new.
All at once, Alan's thoughts were brought to a standstill when a torrent of uncontrollable flames burst from his ears, nose and eyes, as well as every inch of his exposed scales. A churning pillar of fire poured out of the neckline of his Class Armor like the eruption his own personal volcano. It took everything he had to remain calm, but as he was experiencing no pain, Alan resolved himself to keep still until the flames ran out of fuel.
After about thirty seconds of wondering how the flames weren't searing his flesh or even affecting his ability to breathe, they finally sputtered and died.