Amun.
***
“Now, bear the fruits of your labor!”
With a final, ceremonious wave, Zorrenor led our teachers and the class instructors through an unassuming door, leaving the fifty-five of us reclined in our bramble thrones, staring at the writhing mass of arcane vines above.
Like the writing tentacles of my Eldritch Abomination, the vines coiled and reached out, down towards the brow of every page in the room to nearly blind us with an arcane radiance. Like a liquid crystal ball, the excretion clung to the tip of the stalactite long enough for me to wonder how the eldritch creation was faring before the drop fell.
Like a fat raindrop falling onto a pond, the sap, or whatever it was, splatted between my brows, sending a burning pulse through both bodies, material and spiritual. The energy, or whatever it was, intensified further with each drip. Each splat between my drow set the temperature of a heat I had no immunity to, to a higher and higher setting. And when it grew to an almost unbearable intensity, it suddenly waned.
In an orgasmic second, the heat receded to the pinpoint of its origin and congealed into a drop of black and gold before rising to the stalactite. The dissipating heat soon brought on a shudder that rattled the throne below me. Simultaneously, the ceiling above writhed. The stalactites shriveled into stumps made of vines and then regressed further into cobalt-blue pits that spurred the fruit-bearing vines we were so desperate to see. And more.
Crawling among those deep red-brown vines, teetering atop the thick blue veins that gave the wood its arcane vibrancy, were creatures that stole the air from my lungs. They glowed with the same radiance as the veins, appearing as insects with transparent carapaces formed into a rough diamond shape. And through that clear chitin, I saw what could only be described as circuitry; the arcane variety. It was in their very flesh, spread throughout their comparatively tiny bodies from head to toe.
They, the Divine Aphids, made me curious, to say the least. But my curiosity soon turned into anxiousness once they burrowed into the object that occupied a large portion of my mind for the last fifteen years.
The fruit of my labors was an oversized, hideless durian, though it still had the spikes that made the fruit instantly noticeable. And those spines emitted a golden radiance that was only seen from the quills lining the edge. Those on the face remained as black as the void, giving the surface a mangled, brainy texture in my night vision that was as unsettling as the aphid crawling around inside.
As disgusting as it may have seemed, I felt almost compelled to taste it. I felt famished. I felt as if my efforts over the past year racked up a bill of exhaustion that was to be paid off with interest, time now. I felt as if I hadn’t eaten in my entire life and had just now seen food for the first time. So, desperately, and yet calmly, I pulled the fruit towards my maw to sink my teeth into its flesh.
It was… tasteless, yet contained every taste and texture familiar to the tongue all the same. Salty and sweet and bitter and sour and savory. Chalky and chewy and creamy and crunchy. And it was filling. Like the ambrosia of legends, a single bite stated my endless hunger and enriched every aspect of my being. But only for an instant.
I took another bite. And another. And soon I found myself taking another in my never-ending loop of satiation and hunger. Yet, I remained distracted by the ambient mana coalescing into tendrils of radiant-coated darkness before my eyes.
[Blessing Awakened: Telin’s Grace - As Telin’s Champion, you are blessed as the most beloved by mana in this universe, making mana bend to your will more so than any other.]
[Blessing Awakened: Telin’s Sight - Your connection with Telin, the creator of all, enables you to peer down the many Evolutionary Paths available to those who meet your gaze. Or, your own.]
[Blessing Awakened: Telin’s Hand - By your standing under the Creator’s wing, you passively grant a higher tier of affinity cores to those who stand under yours.]
“Holy shit!” I recoiled in unbridled surprise after the words began to fade. Along with the rest of the room. Though, I had to remind myself that the best was yet to come. And thankfully I did, as a sharp tingling began spreading throughout my entire body while new words began to form before me.
[Prestige Class: Void Sorcerer of the Nox - The Path of Zefroth.]
[Step 1: Hear Evil, See Evil, Speak Evil - [As one of the Darkest Devils of the Nox, you are able to walk the path that leads through to the end of the Abyss. Through Darkness, Death, and Void you will venture. From the other side, you will emerge before the legions of your devilkin to take the throne as their God. To take the first step, you must summon your first Devilchild to learn from them the language of your kin. Then, make your first deal in the tongue of your eldritch people.]
‘And there it is.’ I grinned in satisfaction. Then grinned harder and wider after reading further down the line. Not only did my blessing allow me to see what needed to be done to move forward at the higher levels, but I was also able to see the rewards as well. And oh, were they exciting.
However…
[Prestige Class: Cleric of Telin - The Eternal Path]
[Step 1: Divine Profile - As Telin’s Eternal Champion, you have inherited the Divine Domain of Mana from this universe's creator, as well as the universe itself. But as an Unproven Eternal Seed, you were born a Divine Soul, stunted in divine maturation until the time of your evolution. Now that your divinity has awakened, you can take your first step down the Eternal Path to Godhood. This first step is to finalize your Divine Profile.]
I could hardly think about the Class or look down on the rewards, as an intense pressure soon grew out of the sharp tingling I felt earlier. Though it was small and thus manageable, I couldn’t help but look around to see if anyone else felt it before I was distracted by more words appearing before me.
[Master Class: Artificer - Grandmaster Artificer]
The feeling disappeared almost entirely as I smiled wider and leaned forward a bit to absorb the details of my most-awaited class.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
[The path of the Grandmaster Artificer is open only to those who have an understanding of and experience in manipulating both the natural and arcane worlds to their ends. Those individuals, with the potential to master all forms of craft, must do just that if they are to call themselves a Grandmaster Artificer.]
[Step 6: Grandmaster Industrialist.]
'Goddamn!' I gasped again, then almost gasped in pain as ripples and waves churned within my spiritual body.
The pain, mild though it was, was concentrated mostly around my brain and eyes, but also within my hands and seemed to burn intensely as yet more words formed before my eyes.
[Step 1: Craft Master - Task Complete.]
[Mutation: [Artificer’s Cookbook.] - Your mastery of the basic aspects of crafting has granted you perfect recall of all the things you have learned to create, giving you precise knowledge of the materials and techniques needed for an item’s creation.]
[Active Skill: [Identify] - Your Mastery of Crafting has given you a keen eye in ascertaining the name and nature of any item you come across with but a bit of concentration.]
[Step 2: Grandmaster Crafter - Task Complete.]
[Passive Skill: [Audit] - Your grand mastery of crafting has granted you the means to quickly identify the quantity, quality, and material worth of all products or raw materials in your possession.]
[Active Skill: [Prospect] - Your proficiency with utilizing a wide range of materials has given you the means to locate raw non-magical materials in your immediate surroundings with but a bit of concentration.]
[Step 3: Master Artisan - Task Complete.]
[Active Skill: [Appraisal] - Your mastery of the artisanal crafts has given you a keen eye in ascertaining the nature, monetary value, and quality of any non-living object with but a bit of concentration.]
[Active Skill: [Material Extraction] - Your proficiency with utilizing a wide range of materials has given you the means to expedite the extraction of known, non-magical materials using a combination of mana molding and concentration.]
[Step 4: Grandmaster Artisan - Task Complete.]
[Active Skill: [Locate Possession] - The result of your grand mastery of the Artisinal Crafts is the permanent mark of your magical signature being bonded onto any object of your creation. By concentrating on this mark or the item in question, its whereabouts can be located across any distance, and on any non-divine plane of existence, so long as you have not sold the item to another already.]
[Active Skill: [Raw Material Purification] Your grand mastery of the Artisinal Crafts and your proficiency with a wide range of materials have given you the means to use a combination of mana molding and intense focus to increase the quality of any non-magical raw material by one tier.]
[Step 5: Grandmaster Manufacturer - Task Complete.]
[Active Skill: [Material Handling] - Your grand mastery of Manufacturing has given you an innate understanding of the inner workings of raw materials. With one minute of focus on one hundred cubic centimeters of material, you can ascertain the properties and uses of any non-magical material you encounter.]
[Active Skill: [Refined Material Purification] - By becoming a Grandmaster of Manufacturing, you have learned to make the most out of whatever material you find along your way, sparing nothing to bring your creations to reality. Because of this, you have gained the ability to combine concentration with mana molding to increase the quality of any non-magical refined material by one tier.]
[Step 6: Grandmaster Industrialist - Task Complete.]
[Active Skill: [Refine] - Your grand mastery of Industry has seen you amass, purify, and refine uncountable tons of raw materials, increasing your proficiency to the point where raw, non-magical materials can be refined with a combination of mana molding and intense concentration.
[Passive Skill: [Dowsing] - Your grand mastery of Industry has seen you prospect, locate, and extract vast quantities of raw materials, hereby granting you the means to sense and search for known materials in the realm around you without concentrating.]
“Well, holy shit!” I gasped in satisfaction.
While I didn’t need the cookbook to know what I needed to create things, the other perks were far better than Zoop led on. I didn’t even need a forge at this point. But even then, it would only get better down the line. With the tingling subsiding, however, I realized I couldn’t let my thoughts linger for too much longer so I quickly scanned through the next rank until more words appeared.
[Step 7: Grandmaster Alchemist - To become a Grandmaster of Alchemy, you must brew either 1,000,000 Common potions. 500,000 Greater Potions. 100,000 Superior potions. 10,000 Supreme potions. Or 1,000 Legendary Potions.]
‘A grandmaster through and through, holy shit.’ I chortled in mild despair. And chortled again after seeing the somewhat paltry rewards for the arduous task. Still, though, I had well over a few dozen liters of fresh unicorn blood in my umbral pocket, so my mirth wasn’t stolen entirely. And even less so, considering the basics of enchanting is what followed and even continued until Step 15, Grandmaster Armorer. And then would I arrive at the stage the big gnome himself was stuck at.
Runes.
With such lucrative rewards, I couldn’t wait to go out and give them a test run. But soon, the coveted darkness formed into more radiant words before my eyes, leaning me forward expectantly in my seat for this addictive experience.
[Master Class: Monk - The Way to Death’s Door.]
[Step 0: Uninitiated - As a child of the Nox with the strongest ties to Death and His Underworld, you have grown accustomed to toeing the line with His door in a way unlike any other. By dancing with Death, the sorcerous energies of your spirit have learned to meld with those of the Underworld. By meditating under the Shadow of Death, your mind has familiarized itself with its embrace so as to remain unclouded. Yet, your body remains an unsuitable vessel for this energy. To begin the Way to Death’s Door, your dying flesh must first be familiarized with the Monastic Arts.]
I felt a soundless sigh of relief escape my lungs after reading through the words. Though I didn’t want to admit it, a seed of doubt had germinated in my mind after months upon months of failing to circulate ki within my body. In hindsight, I realized the crafty drow never intended for us to circulate it at all. She only wanted us to grow accustomed to it by trying desperately to achieve what was impossible for the unevolved. Thus preparing us to obtain ki shortly after our arrival to her temple.
Mind, body, spirit, and soul. It all made sense to me now.
What didn’t make sense was the ambient mana condensing before my eyes once again, compressing into wispy lines of glowing darkness that stole every bit of excitement and joy from my slow-beating heart.
[Prestige Class]
“Huh?”
[Rogue Devil.]
‘I beg your pardon.'
[Soul Mastermind.]
“W… what?”
[Level 1: Branded]
“No.” Not like this.
[Your chaotic nature and disregard for any law but your own has led you to eschew the ways of your devilkin. You have gone Rogue. Yet, your talent for dealing with souls is unmatched by all but the most powerful of Archdevils; thus, when matched with your birthright, your standing within the caste remains uncontested. However, your relationship remains tenuous at best. Lest your kin turn their blades on you, you must forever bring glory to the Abyssal Underworld and keep your standing in the hierarchy by showcasing your prowess in dealing with souls evermore. To accomplish this, you must first become fluent in the Thieves Cant and create your Rogue Alias.]
‘Rogue.’
The word repeated in my mind. Echoed like the haunting steps of a leviathan. Among others.
Relationship. Tenuous. Hierarchy. Standing.
‘I’m to evolve into their fucking God, yet they’d turn their blades on me?’ The thought was laughable. But then, I felt a sudden tingling wrap around both wrists.
For the first time in this life, the cold fingers of fear crept up my spine as I looked down to see seafoam green flames reaching across my wrists to form binding chains of eldritch text that seared me down to my bones.
So it was, I was branded as a Rogue Devil.
“What the fuck!?!”