Lanek returned to the main level, confident that this place would be secure enough to spend the night. After calling Sanguineus inside, he closed and barred the door before climbing to the barracks. While he considered staying in one of the private chambers, he knew that Maximilian would not be able to fit inside with the rest of the party and he felt that he needed to be close for the evolution. He considered the fireplace for a moment before shrugging and lighting a fire to warm up the room with some of the wood he had collected on the way here.
Normally, he would be concerned about enemies seeing the light or smoke from the fire, but the small windows on this floor were covered in shutters. As for the smoke, he was sure that it was visible, but the keepers of this place had not died violent deaths and the place had been sealed from the inside. As far as he was concerned, it was clear that nothing had been able to force its way inside.
For all he could tell, this structure had been standing, unbroken and safe from interlopers, for centuries. Maybe it was because it was located in the middle of nowhere, but the place definitely felt secure. As he went from room to room, collecting blankets and pillows to create the most comfortable spot that he could in the barracks, he noticed some carvings in the wood beams within the tower. Placing his hand near the carvings allowed him to detect traces of power in them, but he had no way of knowing what their purpose was with his lack of knowledge when it came to enchanting or carving runes. However, if he had to guess, he would say that they probably served the same purpose as Ivan’s carvings in the monastery. A magical boost to the structural integrity of this tower would definitely help to explain why it was still intact and why the keepers had not died violent deaths.
Lanek made a final pass to ensure that there were no other entrances or unsecured windows. It would be embarrassing to say the least if there was a second exit that he hadn’t noticed the first time around and something used it to get in and murder him and his companions during the evolution process. Upon returning to the barracks level, Lanek closed the door to the large room, cutting it off from the rest of the tower. This door was not nearly as sturdy as the main door to the tower nor was there a way to bar the door, but he felt much better with the door closed. He had never been comfortable sleeping with a wide open door back on Earth in his own home, so he sure as hell wasn’t going to feel comfortable with an open door in a world that was much more dangerous.
He asked his companions to hold off from beginning their evolutions until he had finished his subclass evolution, knowing that he would soon be unconscious. With a deep breath, he pulled up his options, somewhat surprised to only see two available choices.
Dragoon [Epic]
As a dragoon you will build on the hand-eye coordination of the shinobi, allowing you to become deadlier with spears, thrown weapons, and ranged weapons by enjoying a large boost to your critical damage odds when utilizing those weapons. Due to the inherent nature of the dragoon’s reliance on a mount, you will lose your [Traversal] skill in exchange for [Beast Rider]. Finally, because a dragoon focuses on getting from position to position as quickly as possible, your mounts will experience a bonus to their movement speed.
Your personal code of honor remains the same, restricting experience gain to only those foes that are of your level or higher. +50% experience for defeating enemies above your level and +100% bonus for defeating enemies ten levels or higher above you.
+6 STR, +6 DEX per level.
Damn. Sucks that the experience gain restriction is still there, but I’ve definitely been reaping the rewards of the experience boosts for punching up. I don’t know if I can give up [Traversal] though. Sure, I’ll still have [Pathfinder] and be able to handle rough terrain just fine, but I won’t be able to parkour anymore. Then again, with my dexterity, can’t I pull a lot of that stuff off without the skill? Maybe I just need to learn to live without whatever boost or guidance that [Traversal] was giving me.
Sentinel [Epic]
Your concern for your companions has earned you the right to join the Sentinels. As a sentinel you will gain increased awareness of your surroundings, which will allow you to oversee the battlefield to a greater degree than ever before. While a sentinel is not built for fighting on the front lines, they can learn a large number of different buffs and debuffs. These abilities can bolster your allies and cripple your foes, making a sentinel ideal for large scale combat.
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+6 PER, +6 RES per level.
Alright, so this one focuses on my companions rather than myself, pretty standard for a tamer or summoner focused class. This one is really tempting, it seems like it would have good synergy with beastmaster.
While Lanek pondered his decision, trying to decide if he was going to focus on his personal strength or those of his companions, a new notification sprang up before him. His eyes widened at the text.
Warning: Subclass rarity is limited to [Epic]. Once a subclass reaches this limit, no further evolutions will be possible.
Well, shit. Once I take one of these choices, that slot will be taken up permanently. I’m assuming I can still combine them. Still, that’s pretty concerning. Let’s take Sentinel, that’s just too good if I’m going to conquer and rebuild Caelis.
Once he locked in the class, he was presented with another surprise. The System seemed to freeze for several moments before acknowledging the selection.
Sentinel [Epic] has been selected.
Free subclass slot detected.
Dragoon [Epic] has been selected.
“FUCK, NO! DON’T!” Lanek yelled in his panic. Unfortunately, he was unable to stop the process and was forced to watch his final subclass slot be filled. His companions crowded around him, sensing his distress, although not completely understanding the reason behind it.
What the hell… Please let there be some synergy or else I’m just stuck with these forever. It’s not that they aren’t powerful, but I wanted to plan out my evolutions as much as possible.
Lanek sat in one of the bunks, head held in his hands, when inspiration struck. He was the Herald of Eldros after all, shouldn’t he be able to contact his patron just like Nerek could reach out to the Hordefather? It wouldn’t make sense for him to be restricted to the groves or other creatures to speak to the Primordial.
Eldros? Can you hear me? I don’t know if this is working or if I need to pray in a specific way instead of just thinking at you, but I could use some help here.
Oho, figured it out, did you? No prayers needed. I don’t need empty words or worship, your actions are what’s important to me.
Oh, thank god. Wait, really?
Yes. Really. You should know by now that Primordials aren’t gods. Gods get stronger due to belief, not Primordials. What matters to us is our connection to the world via our domains. Now, what’s the problem?
Lanek spent a few minutes explaining his increase in levels and the destruction of the Cult of Xancre, ending his story with the System forcefully taking all of his subclass slots. His distress was obvious to the Primordial, who was silent for long enough that Lanek worried that Eldros had gone into another trance.
I think I can help, but I’m not sure what the end result will be. I have vague memories of being able to direct the System to an extent when it came to my followers, but in my current state I don’t know if it will help or hurt you. I have a faint feeling that this process was volatile even when I was at the peak of my power. If you want to proceed, offer me all of your reward stones, that should be enough of an offering for the System to acknowledge the process.
How bad could it be?
I would assume that nothing is safe, even your main class.
What about…
Do not worry about your companions, they will return to my care if you lose your main class. Now, choose.
What do you think I should do?
I can’t make the decision for you, but I can say that it feels right to do this.
Taking a deep breath, Lanek offered up the reward stones. The stones shimmered and floated into the air, before disappearing. Abruptly, Lanek fell backward onto the cot, the room spinning around him sickeningly.
System request received. Class synergy established between Soulbinder, Dragoon, Beastmaster, and Sentinel. Evolution commencing.