Chapter 5: Class and Skill

Halus took a moment to consider. What would the fighting style he already used be classified as? Shae had called him a pugilist. That was true enough as he’d always preferred to use his body as his weapon. But he also relied heavily on his soul to guide and protect him. Was that magic? His Path was to guide and defend, was that a warrior?

Did he still want to be a warrior?

When he was a child, before his siblings had outgrown him, being a warrior had been his dream. Losing that dream to the reality of his size had been hard. Yes, he knew that he could have still lived that life. There were countless non-giants who counted themselves warriors. He’d wanted to be like his father, a powerful man who relied on his body and strength to overwhelm his opponents.

The patriarch of the Bundr clan had once eaten from a vein of ether infused Heart iron. As any Stone Giant would, he devoured the whole vein and infused the powerful metal into his skin and bones. He’d built a legacy of power on his fists. Was that what still what Halus wanted?

He knew it wasn’t. Halus had moved on from the idea of being like his father when his mutation came to light. When he chose to become a guide instead. His soul search had made him who he was today. He felt his class, the first one at least, should be something that reinforced that. The Inverse Giant mutation showed him that he was probably naturally what this world would classify as a magic user. Without even considering the Rogue or Ranger Halus moved on to the magic classes. It really only took another second of consideration to throw away the craftsman class. The last decision was harder than it would have been in any other situation.

In his heart he knew which one he wanted to pick. He wasn’t exactly sure what a Mystic was but he thought it might be the closest of the two options to what he imagined from a magic user. A Healer was a healer though. Here they were in a life or death situation and he was the only one who could fight. The decision came down to if he wanted to improve his groups longevity or his ability to get through groups.

“What’s the move, Guide Halus?” Bab asked, bringing his attention back to the group once again. They had gathered beside him as he considered his options and all watched him with expectant eyes.

“Are you almost done reading whatever news the light had to tell you?” Prince Edgar asked before he could answer Bab. “I think we’ve all caught our breath.”

The Prince’s eagerness suddenly reminded Halus that they had come in here looking for something for the Prince to bond to himself before he passed the first gate. Where he would take a path as a healer. It made sense that if the Prince were to be integrated into the system like Halus he’d probably choose the Healer class. Wouldn’t he?

“Yeah. I’m just about ready but I have to make a choice before i’m done.” He explained the situation to the group. The classes turned out to be the easiest part to explain as it didn't seem so different from a path. That was also the most difficult part. Like him, the aspirants couldn’t understand why whatever system the light used would categorize their paths as a mutation. And why had the name been changed to Adherent of The Gates? These were questions he had had as well but he also didn’t think now was the time to dive into it. He instinctively knew that the new name referred to his path and he would deal with that when he had more time.

“What’s important to try and understand right now are the classes and whatever mystery skill comes with being integrated.” The Prince said, once again proving all his royal training was worthwhile. “I don’t know what the difference is between our paths and classes but for now there is only one real way to find out. Guide Halus, please help me integrate with this new power system. If you do, I plan to choose the Healer class.”

Halus nodded in agreement, as he’d been planning to make sure they were all integrated. The assurance that the Prince planned to take the Healer class meant that Halus’ own choice had been made as well. He pulled his class choices back up and quickly chose the Mystic class. Without his input the Status screen reappeared, with a small change.

Status Sheet:

Name: Halus Bundr

Race: Inverted Stone Giant

Age: 28

Stats:

* Strength: 13

* Agility: 8

* Dexterity:7

* Vitality: 13

* Will: 12

* Mind: 12

* Perception: 5

* Spirit: 9(12)

Traits:

* Inverse Giant (33% base increase to spirit attribute)

Classes:

* Mystic (Basic) Lv. 1 :

First Skill: Kindle

* N/A

* N/A

* N/A

* N/A

Skills:

* (Roll for Random skill selection)

Mutations:

* Adherent of the Gates:

* Soul Sight (Will +1, Mind +1)

* Stones Embrace(Strength +2 )

Not only did he now have a class in one of his five slots but his stats had gone up.

He hadn’t needed to see the improvement in numbers to know it. He was suddenly more certain of what he was doing. He hadn’t been truly sure that coming in here with his aspirants had been the best Idea. In the back of his mind he’d been pushing down the doubt he’d felt since finishing off the shamblers. Now, it was easier. It wasn't that he suddenly believed that everything would be fine but he was a bit more content to see things through.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

His mind’s improvement wasn’t immediately noticeable. There wasn’t as much of a sensation of change as there was a speeding up of what was already there. How did you know if you were thinking faster? Could you reliably compare the speed of the before to now? Both felt so natural. Halus could only guess that the difference would become more noticeable as he grew used to it.

Dexterity on the other hand was an immediate shift. Halus had never realized how stiff he actually was. His hands felt more under his control than he could have imagined possible before. People always said that Giants were a lumbering awkward race outside of combat, he’d never seen himself that way until now.

Dexterity was his second lowest stat, Agility his third. Neither was above ten like the rest of his stats. What would his body feel like if he’d brought those two stats into alignment with his other stats. He wanted to see what he could make his body do now, he had the feeling that he could apply his strength better than he could before but wasn’t certain.

Halus might have tried to get the group moving right then and there were he more impulsive, but he had a new skill that he didn’t understand and a second skill still waiting to be generated from a random roll. Instead he thought about his skill, kindle. It was a fire skill, kind of, more of a fire starter skill. kindle allowed him to start a fire where he touched, the intensity of which depended on his will stat and the skills base damage.

Kindle

Start a fire anywhere. Fire longevity depends on fuel source. Base Damage 3 x Will, Damage over time 1 per tick by half of will. Mana Cost 6

Like the classes the skill didn’t offer much information but Halus felt he got what mattered, sort of. The part about Mana cost had him confused on how much mana he had and in the same vein if it tracked damage did it also track health.

Once again thinking about it provided his answer.

Health: 150/156

Mana: 144/144

He couldn’t complain about how responsive this new power system was. As he thought about what he needed to know, the light provided the info like the perfect assistant.

He just had to hope that it was a good enough assistant to know not to pop up while he was fighting something trying to kill him. He touched a finger to his small neck wound and it came back with specks of already drying blood. It seemed a wound of that size was enough to take away five of his health points.

Impulsively, perhaps too eager to try out his new skill, Halus cast kindle on the blood covering his hand. The flame was smaller than he’d feared it would be, but what it sacrificed in size it made up for in intensity. The blast of pain was so immediate that Halus cried out and without thinking he started to pat the flames out on his tunic. Luckily for him his clothes were flame resistant.

The aspirents jumped away from him with cursing surprise.

“Why did you do that?” Shae asked in a way that Halus took as an accusation.

Despite himself he chuckled at the response. She’d taken that same tone his brother always had when one of them was messing up. She really was his daughter.

“It’s not funny, Uncle.” She hissed in a stress whisper.

“You’re right.” Halus assured her. This wasn’t a situation where he should be taking things lightly. “ I hadn’t expected that my new skill would burn me. It caught me off guard, a bit.”

“Was that the random skill you got?” Bab asked.

“No. Apparently the class comes with an ability as well. Its marked as separate from a skill so I think it might be more like an add on to the class.” Halus squatted and used the skill again, this time on the gravel ground they stood on.

When the flame sparked he pulled his hand away fast enough that he managed to not burn himself this time. Gravel didn’t do a great job at being fuel. The flames he created with the skill vanished almost the moment they were born. The only mark that the flames had ever existed were the blackened rocks where he’d used the skill.

“I felt it was important to have tried the skill at least once before I used it in a fight.” Halus was already creating a new flame and working on growing used to the ability as he spoke to the group.

“Well, maybe you should get the random skill now so you can practice that one as well.” The Prince suggested in a tone that Halus knew was a royal trying to suggest but still expecting to be agreed with.

“I planned on it, you’re highness.” Halus nodded lightly with a smile. “I wanted to make sure I understood the limits of this ability before I grabbed another, but it seems all it does is start hot fires.” Halus laughed, knowing he was underselling the skill. He hadn’t chosen the path of the warrior but he could see how a touch that started intense fires could be used by a pugilist.

Starting a fire that caused damage with every hit was useful enough but imagine if he hit something that counted as fuel on his enemy. Right now that was an additional 6 damage per tick that the flames lasted.

It wasn’t perfect for him but punches that left flames behind were better than regular punches, ask anyone.

Satisfied with the skill Halus decided it was time to use his Random selection so that they could get moving before the guardian made an appearance in the maze.

He was getting used to the way the light pulled up what he wanted to see.

Random Skill Roll:

The random skill selection chooses skills related to what you have demonstrated compatibility with in your experience with the system. Possible skill ratings range between F rank and SS rank.

Generate a Skill?

Yes/No?

Halus selected yes with no hesitation. He wouldn't have opened the notification if he didn’t plan to gain something else.

The feeling of his brain splitting, made him wonder if that had been a mistake.

New skill!

Skill: Split Mind (D rank)

Multi-tasking is hard. Might be easier if there were two of you. That isn’t what this skill does, though. Split mind fully splits the users mind in two to carry multiple thought processes out at the same time.

____

At the mouth of the dungeon a clicking figure is debating if he should enter or go report to his masters. He knows what he should do but he also knows what he wants to do. The masters would want this dungeon but there was no guarantee it would still be here when he returned. The clicking of his metal arm in his bones socket reminded him what had happened the last time he had been wrong.

If he went in then he could gain strength and make himself more useful, but it was a risk. The Goblin knew risk but ultimately he decided to grab the dungeon handle and his fate by his own will.

Welcome to the Dungeon of Flowers, Bones and Sinew

Slots: 7/7

Reach the manor and face the guardian before he comes looking for you.

Be Warned: He’s in the Maze.

As this is a waning dungeon all challenges have been increased by a percentage of (260%) in relation to how long the dungeon has persisted (10% per year waning). It will not do so much longer. As a result all rewards will take the challenge into account.