Kal stood impatiently outside Dalen’s tavern with Melisia while listening to the commotion inside. Dalen had decided to come along to “make sure Kal didn’t do anything stupid”. So now he was collecting an assortment of crafting and camping supplies. Kal shook his head as his friend stepped out of the building with an enormous pack strapped precariously to his back. The man was already covered in sweat from the weight of it all. “I’m not planning on helping you carry any of that by the way,” Kal smirked, relieved that they were finally about to get underway.

“Be that way then, I’ll make sure the next brew you choked down is all dregs.” Dalen gasped between breaths.

Melisia giggled, her demeanor quite different from last night. “Oh Dalen, You always were one to pack heavy. I will get a horse for you once we reach camp, otherwise you will be carrying it all for at least two weeks.” Finally underway they made their way to the city gate. Kal thought about visiting his father before he left but decided against it. He didn’t want to deal with more pity from his father though he wished he could see his sisters before he left but Lillian would be busy learning her class with the other merchants father employed and Jayne would still be at the academy in the capital. Kal had heard that Jayne had awakened the mage class, he was happy for her despite his situation. Kal dismissed those thoughts from his mind and concentrated on his future.

The walk to the encampment was short, it was only just outside the city a few minutes walk to the north. It was larger than he expected. There had to be at least a thousand soldiers in the camp. Well and truly enough to deal with some cultists Kal thought. Well, he thought so anyway but he really had no idea what these cultists were about besides the fact they were taking children from nearby cities. Surely this many soldiers were enough to deal with even a sizable force of cultists, but he doubted there were that many to the north. “Why are there so many ?” Kal asked Melisia as they walked.

“Well like you probably suspected, the cultists themselves are not the main issue, it is what they hope to achieve,” Melisia explained, her tone serious. “The Empire and followers of Dhinir believe the cultists we are hunting down are actively seeking to weaken the firmament that protects our world from incursions from outside forces. It’s not as simple as that, but needless to say it is in the empire's best interests to prevent that from happening,” she said calmly. Kal simply nodded. He figured the cultists were bad news but really didn't pay much attention to the world outside the Farninghold to know much about it. Now that he thought about it he didn't even really know much about the Empire as a whole. He had spent too much time in the mines hoping to force an ascension, that was a mistake. He should have been looking into other avenues of growth, or at least other base classes. Kal decided he would discuss it with Melisia. She would likely have more ideas than he could come up with.

When they arrived at the camp they were allowed in at the sight of Melisia. Apparently, she was quite well known among the soldiers. Kal was attempting to Identify a few of the soldiers but most were above the maximum level his skill would allow you to identify. Only a few of the camp workers were identifiable and even then most were just on the threshold of the skill, sitting at around levels 8 through 10. All of them were serfs used as runners for the officers around the camp. Melisia led them through the camp to a large blue tent that was guarded by two imperial guards that Kal recognized from the day prior. The one Kal recognized as Leo stepped and to Kal’s surprise greeted him. “Good morning Kalum, I am Leo Brightwing, I have been tasked with your protection for the duration of your time within the camp.” The man then bowed. Kal was taken aback for a moment, such a clearly powerful figure bowing to was unexpected.

Melisia smiled, "Oh, don't mind Leo. He takes his job very seriously."

Kal shrugged awkwardly, "Uh thanks. But why would the commander order you to protect me?"

Leo stood smiling, "Lady Tanaruhn believes that I could be of use in her research, and from what the smith reported I tend to agree."

"What do you mean?" Kal said. Confused about where the man was going with this.

"Forgive me for being terse, but from what Smith Harlm reported. Your swordsmanship is crap and you fight with no direction or plan. I plan to do what I can to correct that." Leo said gravely. Kal could see that the man held no disgust toward him, but he could see an energy in the man’s eyes. Kal couldn’t disagree with him, from what he could remember of the fight he was more flailing than doing anything useful besides a few lucky swings.

Kal nodded appreciatively, “No forgiveness needed. I wholeheartedly agree. if I’m able to ascend and get the fighter class I’m going to need the training. Either way, I’m sure the training couldn’t hurt.”

“Good, I will be nearby for the duration of our travels but our training will begin tomorrow morning.”

After a couple more pleasantries, the three of them left Leo at the entrance of the tent and stepped inside. The tent was decorated with clearly expensive embroidery but besides that most of it was filmed with glass objects, and tools. Kal assumed they were for whatever Melisia had planned. Dalen found the nearest rug and collapsed in a heap, his pack sliding off his back.

Melisia giggled, “You can’t get comfortable, Dalen. We are to attend to hear the priest of Dhinir’s speech before we begin traveling north.” She turned to Kal. “Since tonight we will begin our research into your condition, I feel the need to tell you it will be quite invasive and I will be divining a lot about your statistics and skills.” She gestured around the room to the glass implements. “I’ll be using several of these while doing so. But I understand that revealing your status and some of the more intricate parts of your core may be uncomfortable.” Kal wasn’t really phased by any of this. If it helped him ascend, he didn’t really care what she did but she continued anyway. “To ease your mind on the issue I will show you my status and my core. It may even assist us in our research when it comes to visualizing your own core later. Now if you would step over here and I will give you a demonstration of the tools I will be using” Melisia walked over to a small ring of mirrors and what looked like small telescopes. “Revealing my status is easy enough.” She waved her hand and a detailed status screen appeared in front of her. Visible to both Kal and Dalen, who had gotten to his feet now that he was free from his pack.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Melisia Tanaruhn

Class: Weaver of the Astral Falls [Rare]

Level: 67

Status:

Health: 970/970

Stamina: 510/510

Mana: 1810/1810

Attributes:

Strength: 15

Agility: 41

Endurance: 51

Vitality: 97

Intellect: 355

Perception: 287

Will: 131

Wisdom: 124

Titles:

[Seeker of the Astral Falls], [Slayer], [Adept Magician], [Soul Seeker], [Rare Talent], [Rare Craft]...

Skills:

Astral Blast [Uncommon], Lesser Heal [Uncommon], Greater Heal [Uncommon], Discerning Eye [Rare], Comprehend the Astral Threads [Epic], Conjure Calligraphy Tools[Common]

Kal gasped. He knew she had to be strong but this was ridiculous. Level sixty-seven was the highest he had ever seen, his father was high for a miner but it being a common class meant he had a larger attribute disparity. Not that it would matter with Melisia being twenty levels higher and being a bloody rare class. Kal concentrated on the class and to his surprise it expanded showing him the whole description.

Weaver of the Astral Falls

Your diligence in the discovery of the unknown has started your journey into the realms of the spirits and souls. This class grants you +5 Intellect, +5 Perception, +2 Wisdom, and 3 free points. May you one day see the majesty of the Astral Falls.

No wonder her Intellect is so high. An increase of five to both Intellect and Perception seemed insane to Kal. With the bonus to wisdom and the free points she got meant she gained a total of fifteen attribute points per level. Kal doubted that those Redblade thugs could even touch her before they were dead, despite the lack of clearly combat-related skills. But Kal noticed her attributes were higher than what her class said she would gain.

Melisia smiled, "You look like you have a question." Well of course she noticed her perception was higher than all his attributes combined. "Yeah, why are your stats so high?"

"Of course, I had thought you might have received some education despite your condition. I will correct that tonight, but as for the answer to your question. I have several titles that grant me small percentile bonuses to some of my attributes. Having a few like the Slayer, and Rare Craft titles are not uncommon. They are gained through slaying beasts and crafting an item of rare quality." She explained. Kal knew of titles but he didn't realize they had statistical significance.

He still swore he remembered getting a title before he lost consciousness. Maybe his condition prevented him from seeing them? Either way, he was interested in what she meant about a core. It wasn’t something he had heard about, even from Dalen.

Melisia gestured to one of the telescope-like devices. “Now for the more invasive part of our research. Core Divining. If you could please look through this device so we can begin.” Kal did so, not really sure what he would see. “Your perception will likely make the sight quite rudimentary, but it will at least help you understand what we will be working towards with you.” What Kal saw through the scope was simply. Captivating. A sphere of revolving energy hung in a void, occasionally a spark of varied colors separated from the sphere and flashed along the surface before it again fully merged back together with the sphere. Kal got the impression that the sparks symbolized something, and as he kept watching for longer that feeling only grew. A golden spark appeared and darted along the surface like all the others, but this time in its trail he could see something. A pale line stayed in place even after the golden spark vanished beneath the surface. For some reason, it reminded Kal of the Lesser Heal spell Melisia had cast on him two days prior.

“Does the golden spark and its trail represent your Lesser Heal skill?” Kal asked. The moment he aired the question he felt a buzz move through his chest.

Melisia’s eyes widened in response and suddenly conjured her journal into her hand and began scribbling. ”You could see that much in such a short time, impressive. Did you use your Identify skill?”

“Uh no, I didn’t think it would work. Should I try ?”

She shook her head without looking up from her journal. “No, your intuition was correct. Very few variants of the Identify skill can discern anything from another’s core.” She kept scribbling before continuing. “It is very intriguing that you were able to see a thread. Check your notifications.”

Kal did so and unsurprisingly he didn’t receive anything. “Nothing. But I did feel something when I realized what the uh, thread meant.”

She smiled, “We have not even divined your core, and already we are making progress.” She slapped her journal closed and again threw it over her shoulder. “But for now we must put this on hold. We have an obligation to see the priest’s speech.”

Melisia stepped out of the circle and made her way toward the exit of the tent. “I must warn you though. The priests of Dhinir are quite passionate about hunting the cultists. Do not put too much stock in their words.”

Then she turned and exited the tent. Dalen shrugged and followed after, patting Kal’s shoulder on the way past.