Daniel finished his refining eventually, and Mash was surprised to see him pull out a handful of those pills from earlier. Or at least something like them. Did that mean that Mash ate the melted corpses of animals? It shouldn’t have felt as gross as it did, but the smell in the air didn’t help him stomach the idea. He didn’t comment on that though and instead asked Daniel about the pills.
“What are those for?”
They had spent the past hour talking about their respective worlds, and Mash felt comfortable just asking the man. After learning more about his “virtuous path,” Mash learned that Daniel actually became stronger through doing good deeds. It was similar to how his sister could level from being faithful and healing people. His “path” let him get stronger based on how closely he held to it.
“It's another way for me to gain power. The way I gain strength isn’t through tests like these. Instead, I slowly fill my body with power through monster essence or by regular training. Eventually, I get enough to move to the next stage.”
Mash nodded understanding, what Daniel was stating. His class advancements worked in a similar manner. He gained power from monsters until he hit a threshold, then he would only need to take a test for the major advancements. Daniel stepped into his portal, and Mash followed beside him. Even if he failed the dungeon and wanted to return, he still had the key Luna had given him. He bet that it would work regardless of where he was, so he wasn’t all that worried about exploring another world.
The only thing he needed to keep in mind was that his brother would have a wedding in a year. While Mash had already sent the gift to him, he still wanted to be around for the actual event. Although, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he missed it. Plus, he didn’t really know how much time had passed. It could have already been a year for all he knew. His only gage was his own body's age and that was hard to measure. He could probably tell if he aged five years or something, but a single year would be impossible to notice. Well, that was a concern for later as something far more important happened.
Once he stepped into Daniel’s world, Mash felt like he could advance again. It felt like the block that heh ad was removed. That fact drowned out everything else, and he didn’t even bother to gather his surroundings. A quick glance was all he gave his surroundings. They were in a forest clearing, and he didn’t see anyone else nearby.
“Give me a few minutes, I think that entering the portal was the answer.”
Daniel started saying something, but Mash didn’t listen and plopped down on the ground in a seated position. Nothing interested him more than advancing at the moment.
[Priscilla, just keeps watch of my surroundings.]
Mash sent her the message though he didn’t know if he could stop his advancement if it came down to it. Daniel was there though, and Mash trusted that he wouldn’t betray him like the others. At the very least, Mash didn’t think he had done anything to incentivize it. Just in case, Mash formed a shell of wood around himself before beginning.
His consciousness was whisked away, and for the first time, he was caught unaware of what he saw. Instead of the usual three classes, there were five pillars before him. The colors ranged from a pure unsullied white to a black that rivaled the shadows of night. The one in the middle was a perfect balance of the too, a dull grey that seemed to embolden nothingness. The two beside the grey were slightly different. They were half white and half black, but rather than mixing into a grey they stayed separated. The hole set almost looked like they were mirrored around the grey pillar, and the colors were flipped as well.
Mash’s brother hadn’t mentioned the classes he chose not to take. Almost nobody ever talked about those, though Mash wished his brother had told him that there would be more options. It seemed like something that should’ve been considered relevant. Well, in the grand scheme of things it would change the process at all. He moved toward the nearest pillar, reaching towards it warily. The light it gave off was blinding. He started with the white end, having bad memories of pure black pillars. Especially, after the last one had forced a class on him.
Seraphim Envoy: Holding a gift from the gods themselves, you travel to other lands to liberate and save their people. To bring them within the protection of your light. Your life is to travel, your goal is too free. You work to unbind the chains of greater beings.
The class surprised Mash. Mainly because he had no idea what a Seraphim even was. It was probably a monster based on what he was, but it sounded like a divine creature. Mash had been worshipped for being related to a dragon, and he didn’t like that experience very much. Liberating other worlds sounded nobler than he actually felt. What he really wanted was to free himself and those close to him. He didn’t plan on saving everyone. No, he just did what he could for those that he was nearby. Ultimately, it was the lack of knowledge about the class and the fact that he didn't want to be treated like something divine that dissuaded him from the choice. His sister's life was not one that he envied. It might be powerful, but, for all he knew, a seraphim could be just about anything.
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He moved on to the next class. The next pillar felt odd. It felt like his mind was splitting just looking at it. The pillar seemed to be splitting him, and he understood why when the information filled his mind.
Monstrous Hive Lord: Your imitations are embodiments of life. Through decimating armies, you have shown yourself as a lord. Now, it has come time to build that army yourself. The world has disgusted you, and you must conquer it in order to change it as you want. Nobody’s mind can rival your own. Claim your position as the dominant mind and shape your world to your desires.
Nope. That was the first thing that he thought. This felt like an evil class and one that would send him on a path he really didn’t want to walk. Plus, it had the lord title which was not something he wanted. Not to mention, the class sounded like it would shift his path to one focused on his creations rather than his own body. While that could be useful, he enjoyed fighting too much to walk that path. Dismissing the class from his mind, he held his hand toward the dull grey one. Before even getting close, he felt everything around him just seem to vanish. It was still there, and the other pillars could still be seen but he felt nothing. That nothingness consumed him as he received the information.
Chimeric Vagabond: A traveler to other lands, you crave exploration before all else. Nothing can deter you. As a vagabond, you heed no warnings and bow to none. A single world can have no hold on you, so you seek power beyond it. Engage with beings outside of it. You take the strength from forbidden creatures, giving up that which made you human. You are not human, a monster, or anything else. You belong to nothing and are bound by nothing.
Now, that sounded far too in line with his mentality. In fact, it was so close to some of his thoughts that it frightened him a little. Also, a chimera was a monster, right? Why did the class say he would belong to nothing? Wouldn’t he be a monster? The class descriptions had meaning, everyone knew that. There must be something special about chimeras that he didn’t know yet. They were legendary beings, just like hydras and dragons. They were still considered a monster though. The vagabond aspect and the description made it sound like it would help him travel to other worlds too. Although, the biggest reason he wanted to pick the class was the freedom it intoned. Just like the seraphim class, this seemed to treat freedom as a central aspect. However, this seemed much more personalized.
He didn’t make the choice immediately though and moved on to the next class. This class didn’t give him a feeling of separation like the Hive lord one. Both pillars were a perfect split of black and white, but this one felt much more like unity rather than separation.
Unifying Magic Elemental: Your body is no longer physical. Become an embodiment of magic. Go beyond changing into mere monsters and become an aspect of nature itself. Through stealing and combining magic, you have usurped the position of an elemental. You can become that which shapes the very nature of mana. Bend it to your will as none have an equal right to ownership. Strive to become the next lord of power.
Well, that took a different direction. It was the first time he had ever seen such a magic-focused class offered to him. While he had spent a lot of time working on and gaining affinities, he wasn’t expecting to be offered something so fundamentally different from his current class. There was a temptation to take it, to expand his powers through diversifying his class, but he knew that would be short-sighted and stupid. After all the time and stats, he spent on his current classpath, changing it now seemed crazy. Although, he could already guess what kind of skill evolutions he might get. His hunt skill would probably change to just give him infinite energy, or at least something close to it.
No, it was not the class for him. he hesitated in even reaching for the last pillar. The pure black color reminded him too much of the incident with the snake. However, he felt confident that it wouldn’t be the same situation. He had several ways to resist mental influence and hoped that they would work within himself. Plus, the curiosity would eat away at him if he didn’t check. The darkness was overwhelming, and it truly seemed to weigh on him like a heavy jacket.
Embodiment of Gluttony: Your hunger demands you eat. People, Monsters, and even gods are simple foods to add to your plate. Consume everything. Nothing can stand against your hunger. You are driven by your unending hunger. Every world is simply another meal, and none will ever be enough to fill you. Your body is free, designed to eat whatever you wish.
Mash shivered and flinched away from the class recoiling in slight horror. He had thought that the monstrous hive lord class had been evil, but now he understood what a truly evil class felt like. He couldn’t imagine anything more sickening than the feeling he got from that class. Just reaching towards it, had given him a taste of the bottomless hunger. The desire to take the class and feast upon the world itself. An all-consuming desire to feast had filled his mind, and he struggled to resist the pull of the class. He had noticed when his earrings had triggered and pushed him away from the thoughts. The images of Priscilla and the others he had met. He had been thinking of them as food, like sources of power. Mash would’ve vomited if he could and felt himself gagging. Rather than immediately picking a class, he just tried desperately to forget. To attempt and push away what the class had been forcing on him. After a few minutes, he turned fully away from the class and looked back toward the others.