Isa sat in front of a crackling fireplace, eating mechanically as her eyes scanned the latest news being released from around the world.
The abrupt exit of Horizian forces shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone, yet it somehow was.
Many argued that the people of Horizon were obligated to assist and protect the Empire, regardless of the government’s underhanded attempt to poach every volunteer with a hint of talent.
The longstanding propaganda against the ‘Wastelands’ had skewed the general population’s perceptions so fully that many people simply could not see the other nation’s citizens as equals.
As far as they were concerned, Horizians were criminals. Having less-desirables protect their betters was only logical. Why risk the lives of honorable, valuable citizens when there were other, less worthy people to throw at the problem?
It was a strange cognitive dissonance, especially when one considered why many had been exiled in the first place. Unfortunately, that type of thinking was all too common throughout the realms.
Not everyone felt that way, of course.
However, the media was largely controlled by the government, so only the ‘proper’ views and opinions were widely shared. But just because nothing was published that criticized the government, that didn’t mean things weren’t happening in the background.
Several former exiles had opted to stay in Gentrius, and Isa was almost sure at least some of those had plans to change things once they gained enough personal power to make a difference.
All in all, the exposé didn’t cause nearly as much fallout as the former goddess expected. But that didn’t matter all that much anymore.
It had been a little over a month since Isa left Lustria, and most of that time had been spent stealthily traveling through the wilderness that separated small pockets of civilization.
She’d only recently reached the ruins of an old city that had once marked the limits of the Empire’s northern border. Beyond the city lay a frozen tundra that covered the top quarter of the planet.
It had been a no-man's zone for all of recorded history. However, Isa suspected that might have changed with the planet’s ascension.
Already, there were signs of growth where only frozen ground had once been. The planet had been moved to a whole other realm, so a few shifts in ecology shouldn’t be much of a surprise as far as Isa was concerned.
Isa had considered going further north, but ultimately decided to make the long-abandoned city her home. For her personal abode, Isa selected one of the few structures that hadn’t completely fallen apart – an old mansion, built to last with high-quality materials.
And now, it was hers.
To avoid leaving a potential trail for some intrepid tracker to find, Isa had avoided clearing any dungeons along her journey. She’d only killed monsters when she couldn’t avoid them or needed additional materials to work with. Otherwise, the former goddess had avoided conflict whenever possible.
Since arriving in the ruined city, Isa’s approach had completely shifted. Instead of avoiding fights, the Spell Crafter actively sought them out, attacking the nearby dungeons with fervor to gain levels and materials while making her new home safer.
Because of her concerted effort, Isa had finally reached the threshold between E and D-Grade. She was no longer able to earn experience until she completed her racial upgrade, which she planned to do as soon as her stomach was full.
While there was nothing to prove that eating before an upgrade made the process easier (or harder), there was some evidence to support having fuel readily available assisted in the process.
It wasn’t much, but Isa had no desire to subject herself to unnecessary pain. After being reminded of how weak she’d grown during the first racial upgrade, the former goddess wanted to mitigate what she could of the discomfort.
When her plate was empty, Isa turned off the tablet and walked to the nearby bed she’d reappropriated from her former hotel. With the improvements she’d made to her spatial storage during her last week in the city, it hadn’t been difficult to abscond with such an item.
Or items, really, since she’d taken far more than a single luxury bed – like the reclining chair she’d been sitting in next to the fireplace.
As a bonus, her former liaison was still probably extremely confused about how the teenager managed to empty an entire luxury suite without so much as a suitcase. Isa smiled at the thought of the woman’s irritation. She only wished she’d been able to witness it in reality.
After settling on top of the plush bedding, Isa gave herself one last moment of procrastination and pulled up her status.
Name: Isamie Stone
Race: Human – E Grade*
Level: 39
Class: Spell Crafter*
Attributes:
Mind: 38
Memory: 39
Cognition: 40
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Perception: 34
Body: 26
Strength: 23
Flexibility: 27
Recovery: 29
Spirit: 42
Control: 44
Sensitivity: 42
Manifestation: 40
Available Points: 0
Class Abilities(expand):
Spells(expand):
Learned Abilities (expand):
Learned Spells(expand):
Since she was no longer working with others, the former goddess had no need to keep up with what spells she’d demonstrated. She’d collapsed that section of her status completely, along with her class abilities and spells the day she’d escaped Lustria.
For the most part, Isa wasn’t actually learning any spells through the system, and having them cluttering up her status was just annoying.
Noting the asterisks beside her race and class, Isa took a deep breath and moved on to the next set of notifications.
Congratulations!
Your attributes have reached the maximum for an E-Grade Human.
Your race is eligible for an upgrade!
*Note: You cannot gain additional levels until your race is upgraded.*
Isa’s body tingled in anticipation as she moved on to the next notification.
Congratulations!
You are eligible for a class evolution!
Would you like to select your class now?
Yes/No
*Note: Your race will be upgraded prior to class evolution. You should ensure you are somewhere safe prior to initiating class evolution.*
She was already somewhere secure – at least, as secure as she could get without others watching her back. Without hesitation, the former goddess selected ‘Yes,’ initiating the upgrade process.
Options for Class Evolution:
Combat Artificer
Runic Crafter
Spell Prodigy
The options were… alright, though the first two hardly counted as upgrades from her current class. They both seemed like minor adaptations to the Spell Crafter class, both of which seemed more focused on traditional enchanting instead of spell anchoring.
There were other subtle differences between the classes, but neither really stood out to the former goddess.
There really was only one upgrade option worthy of consideration.
Spell Prodigy: You have a natural understanding of magic and its myriad of uses. Whether cast or embedded, your spells will be moderately stronger and more efficient. You have unlocked access to Arcane spells.
Ability Acquired: Mana Manipulation
Spell Acquired: Arcane Bolt
Isa was pleased with the bonus to spell casting. System access to Arcane magic impressed her less, though it would justify her use of the rare aspect – not that anyone was likely to question her at this point.
As the changes to her body slowly manifested, Isa forced herself to relax. It hurt, but the pain was not nearly as severe as the first upgrade had been.
That was good since Isa really hated pain.
When the upgrade was complete, Isa allowed herself to truly rest for the first time in more than a month. Memories of previous lives danced through her mind as she slept, and the former goddess woke feeling refreshed and surprisingly pain-free several hours later.
The first thing the newly evolved young woman did was examine the changes to her status, focusing primarily on the first section.
Name: Isamie Stone
Race: Human – D Grade
Level: 1
Class: Spell Prodigy
Her level had been reset, but that was no surprise. It happened with every race upgrade. An inattentive person might glance at a target’s level and assume they were stronger, completely disregarding their target’s racial grade. It was a mistake that could easily lead to a painful end.
The former goddess stood and stretched, smiling at the improved strength she could already feel in her body. It wasn’t even close to what she’d managed in many of her previous lives, but it was a good start.
Now, it was time to test herself.
----------------------------------------
“Finally!” the teenager exclaimed as the final boss of the dungeon fell.
The armored youth hurried forward, preventing the dungeon from absorbing any of the useful material. She pulled every piece of the fallen boss into her bag, which had been enchanted to serve as a gateway to a dimensional storage space.
It was tricky work, but certainly not beyond the newly minted Spell Prodigy’s capabilities.
Normally, the former goddess wouldn’t have been so excited about defeating a dungeon boss. And really, it wasn’t the boss that had excited her; it was what the boss had been protecting.
A vein of Andronite.
“I’m actually pretty amazed to see this here,” Isa admitted to the dungeon core as she stared at the thick ore vein decorating the wall opposite the entrance. “I almost didn’t bother clearing this dungeon because it’s a bit far from my camp, but I’m so glad I did!” the former goddess said, monologuing to the dungeon like she normally did when she was alone.
So far, none of the dungeons she’d explored had shown any indication of sapience, nor had they attempted to communicate with her in any way.
That was fine.
She knew that cores contained sapient souls, but that didn’t mean they were inherently capable of understanding the language she was using.
Before getting started on the ore, Isa checked the chest that had appeared after the dungeon boss was defeated. Inside was a small Andronite knife. The design was fairly basic – it could have come from any one of a number of planets she’d interacted with.
However, it was unlike any of the common styles used on Gentrius.
“Thanks, dungeon,” Isa said, placing the knife in storage. “I’m going to collect the Andronite before I go. I’ll probably come back for more soon. I don’t think this is going to be enough for what I want to build.”
Andronite was an odd material that fell somewhere between metal and gemstone. Once the ore was smelted and shaped, it created an extraordinarily strong product that could easily handle extreme conditions. It was one of the few metals that could not be resmelted. It had to be shaped and formed during the initial smelting process.
Once allowed to fully harden, only magical manipulation was possible, and even that was limited. It was perfect for creating a durable golem – provided the Golemsmith knew what they were doing.
It took a while to collect the heavy ore from the boss room, even with her newly upgraded D-Grade physique. When she finally finished collecting every scrap of ore present in the dungeon, Isa expressed her thanks again and quickly headed to the exit.
There was a lot of planning involved in true Golemsmithing, and adding Andronite into the mix only complicated things. It had been entirely too long since the former goddess created a working golem from scratch, and Isa found herself eager for the challenge.