image [https://i.imgur.com/WsFRPl5.png]
You have chosen [Psi] as your Affinity!
Please select your [Archetype] from the following:
[Archetype: Warrior]
Warriors achieve their goals with a mix of brute strength and technique, and excel in all forms of combat, both close and at range.
[Archetype: Rogue]
Rogues are fast and stealthy combatants, and specialise in asymmetrical combat, ambush tactics, and the use of traps and other tools.
[Archetype: Knight]
Knights are refined and elegant combatants that prioritize technique over pure force. Knights live by a code, and must adhere to that code unwaveringly.
[Archetype: Mage]
Mages harness the power of their multiple Affinities to destructive effect against both single and grouped enemies, but are weak in close quarters.
[Archetype: Summoner]
Summoners make Contracts with entities both within reality and beyond it, and may summon or command bound entities to fight at their side.
[Archetype: Enchanter]
Enchanters use a mix of spellcraft and pre-prepared spellscrolls and powerful items to engage in battle, help their allies, and hinder their enemies.
[Archetype: Mender]
Menders vary wildly depending on their chosen Affinity, and serve the critical roles of sustaining, boosting, and empowering their allies.
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While Leonidas read the options along the extent of the new screen, his eyes narrowed in concentration. The new options were simultaneously more complex and far easier to sift through. He immediately knew he’d be worthless as a spellcaster, given his penchant and honed preference for close quarters combat. He also knew that while his body might not have been what it was when he was Elatra’s hero, he definitely still had some amount of muscle memory.
He had felt it when he’d walked and ran. He’d learned to do so efficiently and with maximum efficacy while on Elatra. Those movements, while no longer buoyed by a demi-god level physique, had remained consistent even when he’d first returned to Miami.
“Definitely not Rogue,” he murmured to himself with a quiet chuckle.
Lyara might have been offended by his words, had she been present, but it was a true assessment of personal capability: Rogue suited him terribly. He was neither subtle enough, nor patient enough, to embrace the hunter-and-prey lifestyle.
Besides which, he’d always subconsciously seen Rogue-types—specifically the stabby kind—as cowards both in video games, and while on Elatra. Leonidas understood that it was an unfair blanket assertion, especially given the nature of real world operatives—he paused.
“I guess the term ‘real world’ stopped having meaning in that way, huh?”
He shook his head, divesting himself of the thought process. Rogues were fine, and he wasn’t opposed to keeping them as allies or subordinates, but he had no desire to be one.
That left only Warrior and Knight.
Of the two, the choice took no time at all.
If he were more naturally prone to brutalism, he’d have chosen Warrior in a heartbeat. The versatility he suspected that they had, combined with an implication of global combat efficacy, was incredibly attractive. He could just imagine his father gushing over the idea to him, but he also knew it would suit him terribly in the long term. Leonidas was fundamentally a technique-based combatant. It had been what defined him on Elatra, and he’d found comfort and power in the knowledge of his own skill, as opposed to any measure of brute force—though admittedly, he’d had that in spades as well.
Besides, and more interestingly, the idea of a code intrigued him. Especially since the way it was worded implied more than flavor text.
“I choose Knight as my Archetype, and there’s no need for confirmation, again.”
The System seemed to have expected his answer this time, because in place of a confirmation screen, another brand new screen appeared instead.
image [https://i.imgur.com/qWJ0Iqv.png]
You have chosen [Knight] as your [Archetype]!
Please select your [Ambition] from the following:
[Ambition: General]
Victory or Death
The General pursues victory at all costs, and marshals armies to ensure its acquisition. There is no acceptance of defeat. One may lose battles, but never the war.
[Ambition: Paladin]
Tolerate no Evil
The Paladin seeks and destroys evil in all its forms, sparing no thought for motive or justification. Evil, as defined by each Paladin’s Code, is intolerable and must be destroyed upon discovery.
[Ambition: Warlord]
Might makes Right
The Warlord cares little for moral or ethical philosophy, and adheres to the simple precept of power from power itself. All must submit to their authority, or be crushed under its heel.
[Ambition: Chevalier]
Shelter the Weak
The Chevalier believes in the protection of the most vulnerable, and dedicates their lives to sheltering and guarding the incapable. They walk a path of heroism, and selfless sacrifice.
[Ambition: Sovereign]
Unity and Prosperity
The Sovereign understands that only through united purpose can a species beings hope to survive. Theirs is a calling of authority and dominion, with no hesitation to do what is needed to ensure prosperity.
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“Well now,” Leonidas said with a low whistle, “this is different.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
No LitRPG novel he’d read had ever presented an iron-clad ambition for someone to pursue that he could recall, though he was guessing it couldn’t be wholly unique. The presented options, however, intrigued him—and more than that, they also opened up countless other possibilities that he would need to consider.
For example, what would happen if he failed to adhere to his ambition?
Or better yet, what was the reward for succeeding in an ambition, or was success even a parameter in a final sense? He decided to use Paladin as a theoretical example, and considered its description. The text seemed to imply a more nihilistic or pessimistic view on Paladins, where they were seen as uncompromising and zealous justicars intent on the condemnation of evil.
With that understood, he then had to consider the implications of the description as a whole: Paladins tolerated no evil, and destroyed it without consideration for justification or motivation. That meant, in the simplest terms, that actions were viewed from the lens of absolute morality as opposed to nuance.
The inference was that a thief who stole bread to feed his starving children would be judged the same as one that snatched a purse purely out of a desire for fast money. The more Leonidas considered that, the more he found himself feeling mildly horrified at the absolutism of the path. It would probably appeal to several people who failed to see how chilling the consequences of the choice could be.
Not even your own loved ones, he realized, would be exempt from judgment.
The path did specify that ‘evil’ was defined by each Paladin’s Code, with code written as if it were a named element rather than an enigmatic belief system. That inferred another System Mechanic, which implied that either a Code was specific to Paladins—which he doubted—or that it was simply more critical to Paladins, which would make sense.
Leonidas sighed.
“Okay, so avoid Paladins until you learn more about their Code. Simple.”
He shook his head and mentally shelved the ambition.
“Alright, what’s next? General? No. I have no desire to roam around looking for battles forever.”
He’d been a passable Commander on Elatra, but that had only been thanks to the aid and advice of men and women with centuries of both combined and personal—in the case of the Elves and Dwarves—military knowledge. He wasn’t going to pretend like his campaign against Azrageth had been his genius on display. Leonidas had been a fine overall leader, but that was because he’d delegated without letting ego interfere.
A General would need far more personal strategic capability than he had.
“We can eliminate Warlord as well. I’m not about to go full Ghengis Khan.”
While it certainly appealed to the darkest male fantasies of harems, concubines, and absolute power, the realities of being a Warlord, especially given his knowledge of history and what Warlords did in places like Africa and the Middle East, soured the option well before he could even begin to contemplate it. He’d rather spend his time finding ways to kill those kinds of people.
The thought gave him pause.
If there was one change from his time on Earth, he supposed, that would be it: his lack of hesitation for killing. He’d struggled with it on Elatra, the first time he’d been forced to do it. He could still remember the bandit’s blood on his tabard, the feeling of shock going up his arm upon severing bone, and the upwelling surge of nausea when the man’s intestines spilled out—hot, wet, and slimy—all over his hands and torso.
He could still remember the bandit’s dying, panicked screams while the man thrashed atop him like a fish out of water.
It was a grim memory, but not one that inspired the same sickness it once had. The war against Azrageth had inured Leonidas to death, both witnessing it and delivering it, and while that desensitization would probably serve him well, he couldn’t forget the warnings his mentor, Miranda of Yelleran, had given him: ‘When killing becomes fun instead of a necessity, Leonidas, it’s time to hang up your sword.’
The words had seemed insane to him at the time, but he’d learned their value later. The amount of power he had as the Hero had been staggering when compared to even the strongest Elatra Knight, and it became clear why she’d instilled that lesson in him. It would have been all too easy to unleash blind destruction on anything and everything that stood in his way.
The movie quote ‘You either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’ had resonated in his mind endlessly during the five years he’d spent facing Azrageth’s demonic legions.
The fact that he hadn't eradicated the Tainted upon each encounter served as evidence to him that he hadn't turned into the monster he battled. It hadn’t always been easy to hold back, but he had. Barely, sometimes, but he had. That meant something.
It also meant that he only had two real options left: Chevalier, or Sovereign.
For obvious reasons, Chevalier spoke to him.
His time as the Hero had been spent protecting the weak, defending the innocent, and fighting against injustice and cruelty. He’d given his whole being to that goal, and had found genuine satisfaction pursuing it. In many ways, the Chevalier was just the natural extension of his time as the Hero, and offered him a pathway toward continuing the good work he’d done on Elatra—but in the context of his original world, instead. He could protect people with a powerful unique class, and do so in a way that guaranteed their safety.
And yet…
“And yet, it feels like a half-measure here,” he muttered. “This isn’t Elatra. It’s Earth, and it’s a System, I dunno, Incursion. It’s an invasion.”
Would just protecting individuals be enough? Could he really make the difference he knew he’d want to make by saving one or two people, or even small groups? What was it that the world really needed? More importantly, what was it Leonidas needed in order to feel as though he was contributing to the safety of those he loved, more than just being the once-a-day knight in shining armor?
A memory came to him at that moment.
> “Why is any of this Statecraft even important? I’m the Hero, not a King.”
>
> “That’s exactly why, Leo.” Lyara had said seriously. “It’s because you’re the Hero. You can save a few people, and protect them in the moment, sure. But what about when you leave? What about when you move on, and all that power and might moves with you?”
>
> Leonidas had opened his mouth to respond, and then snapped it shut in silence.
>
> “Exactly.” Lyara had said with a small smile. “I can see you get it. These people are living in despair and fear, Leonidas. Their lives are devoid of hope and justice. You can’t just walk through carrying a torch, and give them a little taste of Light, just to cast them back into the dark when you leave.”
>
> Leonidas had listened to her with rapt attention. She’d looked like a true Princess at that moment, and he’d been mesmerized by her.
>
> “You need to do more than that,” Lyara had continued emphatically. “You need to build them something lasting, Leo. You need to build them a whole Lighthouse, and guide them all home.”
Leonidas reached up to wipe a stray tear from his eye at the memory, and took a steadying breath. Even lost to time and memory, Lyara was still teaching him lessons. His lips quirked wryly in amusement at the thought, and knew that the calling of the Chevalier was one he couldn’t accept. Even if it spoke to him, he knew it was a fundamentally cowardly decision—because it represented fear of what he really needed to do.
“There’s only one choice,” he said with an accepting sigh. “I choose the path of the Sovereign as my Ambition. There’s no need to confirm. I know what I have to do.”
The System closed with his selection, and as quickly as it did, a new screen appeared.
When he read it through, his eyes lit up with interest.