A pair of children stood up in the back of their family’s wagon to look at the strange group of people passing by them on the road. Their excitement drew a hushed admonishment from their mother about the impoliteness of pointing at people. To be fair to the children, the four people walking along the road had seen better days.

Penry’s helmet was gone as was one of his boots. The lizardman had lost his boot and part of his pants while in the dungeon. While he had other pairs of pants, he didn’t want to ruin them so he ended up just wearing the torn pair. Penry’s shield had survived the battle, arguably. It had been crushed by the flower monster’s jaws. It was intact but would likely need to be replaced. A slightly mangled shield was better than no shield so he still carried it.

Meia had lost the upper right part of her armor. The terrantapillar had gotten a hold of her during the fight and ripped the sleeve off. She’d gotten her arm out in time but the armor was so damaged that she had considered just throwing it away. As with Penry’s shield, partial armor was better than no armor.

Brivaria’s helmet was gone. It had been badly damaged during the tumble following her sword attack on the flower monster. The sizable dent was a reminder of why having a helmet was a vital part of her gear. Sadly it was now stored in her inventory. She’d talk to Balthazar about getting it replaced the next time he contacted her. Brivaria also had the chalice and a handful of mana coins in her inventory. It turns out Trixie had emptied the contents of the chalice on the floor when she’d grabbed it so the group had to go through the chalice room to pick up all the coins she’d left behind.

Rake should have looked the best out of all of them, having mostly gone uninjured during the fight. He’d tragically made the mistake of saying what a great dungeon run it was while they were near the stream. Meia and Penry joined forced to toss him into said stream. It hadn’t been a particularly deep part so the human ended up wet and muddy rather than floating down the rapids.

The only one of the group to be whole, intact, and happy was the dog. Trixie’s tail was reaching dangerous levels of WPM (wags per minute) as she padded alongside the four disheveled adventurers. The dog was delighted to be back outside and under the blue sky. It was a fact that shown on her face anytime someone looked her way.

“The road will take a little longer to get us to Keaton but there shouldn’t be any surprises on it,” Rake had said when they made plans earlier. No one was in any shape to venture further into the dungeon after the fierce melee. They’d looted the chalice room, the flower room, and promptly exited the dungeon as fast as their feet, paws, or claws could carry them. Rather than venture back into the forest, they’d then crossed the river and made a beeline for the road connecting Keaton to Midwen. It would add an extra day to their journey back but they’d already made the outing worth their while.

Everyone leveled up following the climactic battle. Brivaria believed herself to be a fair bit lower in level than the rest of the group so she’d gained several levels while they’d each gained only one or two. Getting even two was, apparently, a lot. That was a fact the angel chose not to comment on.

Regardless, the angel had her level ten class advancement to go over and she was waiting for some downtime to do that. The System offered a class advancement every ten levels. One could stay in their current class and choose a skill as normal or they could take a class advancement and automatically be granted a skill in that class. Per Brivaria’s instructors, it was always best to change classes. Unless one’s current class had a full set of skills that were useful and all the options offered were lateral, one was always meant to look at a new class as an improvement over the previous one. This was true even if the skills available would be different. Brivaria took all of these lessons to heart and would dutifully follow them, probably.

The rest of the day passed as the sun made its way toward the horizon in the distance. Rake gave Brivaria details on campsites to look for and the angel took to the air. She wanted to spend more time flying. Most creatures didn’t level up through hard-fought battle and near death experiences. In fact, most leveled up through simple skill use without any sort of struggle or violence. Even if all Brivaria did was rest and fly then she could still progress. It would be slower and she would almost certainly only see class advancement offerings tailored to flying and recuperation but it was feasible. That wasn’t the path Brivaria desired but she would actively use all of her skills as much as possible to speed up her growth.

The people grew smaller and smaller as Brivaria flew higher. She loved flying on Zlithia so much. Once she was higher level and had better skills, she would spend an entire day just soaring around the forests, plains, mountains, and other beautiful scenery the planet offered. For now she limited herself because she needed to spot campsites. According to Rake, roads between towns had a handful of campsites along the side that marked how may days one was away from a given location. Bigger campgrounds indicated the points at which caravans or travelers with horses stopped. Smaller camps were indicative of people traveling by foot like they were. If they managed to get to a campsite then they’d have a better idea of how long until they reached Keaton.

Thankfully they were able to do just that. Brivaria spotted both a campsite and a handful of people traveling by foot a few miles ahead of the party. She rejoined the adventurers and they arrived when the other travelers were setting up camp.

“Hey, it’s the bird person!” shouted an excited young boy. He started to run toward them with the enthusiasm and curiosity that only a child had. A large muscular man caught him by the shoulder and held him back. The man had dark hair just like the boy and the build of someone who spent all day outdoors.

“Ah, you saw our companion Brivaria here from the sky,” Rake called out pleasantly. He stopped walking half a dozen meters away from the travelers. Brivaria could now see there was a woman, two men, and the boy. They were all Arslans… which she mentally corrected to human. Rake gestured for the group to stop with him and Brivaria did so. “My name is Rake Ivers. This is Penry and Meia. We are the Second Sword, a copper-rank adventuring team. We’re returning to Keaton after a fairly rough outing. We would like to share the camp with you but we can camp down the road if you prefer.”

Brivaria tilted her head at the strange greeting. Meia noticed Brivaria’s expression and mouthed “tell you later” to the angel. The winged girl wasn’t certain why they wouldn’t share the camp. It made sense to her. The boy was still looking at her so she gave him a friendly wave.

“Well met, Rake Ivers of the Second Sword. My name Kent Reston. This is my son, Walter. My family and I are headed to Keaton as well. We’d be happy to have you join us and make the rest of the trip back together.” Kent spoke politely but there was a bit of tension in his voice as well.

“Oh thank the gods, my feet are killing me,” Penry said and immediately draw all eyes to his missing boot. The boy laughed and the strange tension vanished. The next hour was spent sharing a meal, setting up camp, and eventually letting the child touch Brivaria’s feathered wings.

“So soft,” he said with wonder. Trixie, who had been introduced alongside Kent’s wife Amaya and brother Yodan, barked in agreement. “I wish I could fly.”

“Maybe with the right skill you could,” the angel said. The boy’s face lit up with excitement and he ran off to tell his mother that he wanted a skill that gave him wings. Brivaria was laughing when she saw a strange expression cross Kent’s face. Her awareness skill was abysmal so she only saw it briefly. She wanted to ask but Meia dragged the angel away before she could ask. Trixie followed along, tail wagging, as she padded after the two girls.

“Is something wrong?” Brivaria asked when Meia came to a stop just out of earshot of the camp.

“No, it’s just…” Meia trailed off and paused, considering how to talk to the angel. “You’ve never traveled much have you?” Brivaria wanted to say that traveling across dimensions and teleporting to various corners of Zlithia meant she’d traveled quite a lot but it wasn’t quite the same as what Meia was getting at.

“I suppose not in the sense that you’re thinking of,” Brivaria admitted. Meia nodded in understanding.

“The roads are dangerous places. Some are patrolled by local lords or kingdoms to ensure travelers aren’t waylaid by monsters or bandits. Others are entirely protected by local adventurers and guild requests. This one is the latter. Keaton isn’t exactly a destination for adventurers so not all requests get filled, in a timely fashion or otherwise.” Meia frowned while looking from Brivaria to the campsite.

“So the roads could be dangerous,” Brivaria began and Meia continued.

“And we could be the danger for all they know. A heavily armed group in armor, especially looking as dinged up as we do, could easily be bandits or thieves.” Brivaria would never understand how easily people on Zlithia would attack and harm one another. She couldn’t imagine even pointing her blade at another angel. The fact that it was not only possible but a common occurrence here was tragic. The sorrow showed on her face as she replied.

“So that was why Rake made such a big deal out of announcing the group and standing far away,” Brivaria concluded and Meia nodded.

“Exactly. Rake is a bit of a fop in some ways but he’s been on the road long enough to diffuse a situation like that. If you’re in a similar situation, follow the example you just saw but be vigilant for people trying to quietly draw weapons or movement to the side as that might mean someone is trying to get behind you. They could just as easily be a danger to us as we could be to them.” Brivaria’s awareness was terribly low so she’d have to make up for it by being vigilant. She’d do her best, she supposed.

“Is this really so common around here?” Brivaria asked.

“Common?” Meia made a so-so gesture with a hand. “I wouldn’t say it’s common but I wouldn’t say it’s uncommon either. Things might change once word gets out that there’s a dungeon only a few days away from Keaton. That will draw adventurers from all over the region. I expect lots of copper rank and bronze rank adventurers to start coming in once word gets out. The local guild will also have a high rank team come in to certify the dungeon’s threat level. A small or medium-sized dungeon can be a huge boon to a town or region. A nature dungeon could have all kinds of flowers, herbs, or other magical flora deeper inside.”

“I’ve never thought of that before. My people have always worked toward the total annihilation of dungeon ecologies wherever we find them. They’re considered to be an endemic threat to any planet they’re found on,” the angel explained.

“You know, Brivaria, you probably shouldn’t talk like that,” Meia said with a wince.

“Talk like what?” she asked.

“Like you’re not from Zlithia. You said you’re from this Heaven place and that you come here to help us but people are just going to look at you like you’re crazy when you say that. I believe you but others probably won’t.” Brivaria’s wings drooped slightly at the other woman’s words. “I’m just saying that maybe you only talk about your people after you’ve gotten to know someone for a little bit like me, Rake, and Penry. And maybe if someone says you’re Zephyri then you don’t immediately correct them.” Brivaria frowned and Meia tried to put on a reassuring smile.

“So I should pretend to not be myself?” the angel asked with obvious confusion.

“No, just look at it from the perspective of the folks around you. Your people have some very strange notions. I know you’re just trying to help but talking about traveling to other planets, casually talking about annihilating this or that, and showing off how strong you are might draw the wrong kind of attention. Like the people on the road, they might not be dangerous but you need to figure that out before you get close to them.” The idea of mistrusting people by default felt so wrong to Brivaria. It went against everything she’d been taught. Eventually she just sighed. The sound made Trixie walk over and try to nuzzle one of her hands. The dog had been sniffing the area around them but decided Brivaria was suddenly more interesting. She played with Trixie’s ears for a moment before answering.

“I’ll keep that in mind. My people have never had someone stay planet-side for as long as I have. There’s a lot of things about this whole situation that were never covered in information transfers during my intervention training.” Meia gave Brivaria the best “I have no idea what you’re talking about but am trying to be sympathetic” look she could.

The two parted after a little more conversation. Brivaria sat down and looked up at the night sky. She wasn’t hungry or maybe she was just dreading consuming her daily ration. Either way, she was content to just relax. Trixie put her head on Brivaria’s lap and whined for attention so the angel gently scritched the dog’s cheeks while pulling up her system notifications.

You have reached level 13.

Gained +5 Physique, +3 Endurance, +7 Arcane, +7 Spirit, +3 Awareness, +7 Presence.

Gained one new class advancement.

Gained two new skill selections. (Pending class advancement)

Brivaria noted the high arcane gains. Her arcane skill was higher than her physique. That was unusual but meant she would likely need to prioritize a magic-oriented class during advancement. It was time to see what the System offered her.

Winged Templar

You are a warrior of the sky who fights on behalf of your order. Wing and weapon are the tools of your trade as you confront your foes from the air and in the air. This class offers an array of skills to help you use your natural mobility to your advantage.

It was a good-looking class. It fit Brivaria fairly well, she thought. The dungeon room with the flower monster had plenty of space to fly and she wasn’t sure she would have been able to do what she did otherwise. Tailwind had certainly come in handy. While she would only keep the class as a last resort, she appreciated it. The next four were what she was truly interested in.

Apprentice Shaper of Flesh

You have recognized your own weakness and decided to strive for something more. This is the first step upon the path of greatness. Your form is the most important asset you possess and to improve others while neglecting it will only foster weakness. This class will let you acquire the skills necessary to begin honing your form.

Decaying Lightbrand

Light is your ally, your partner, and your companion. It is also your weapon. You are the light in the darkness and will shine brilliantly as your enemies shrivel and decay beneath your radiance. Selecting this class will improve your ability to control light and wield it as a weapon to weaken your foes.

Emergency Healer

Thrust into unfamiliar circumstances and bizarre situations, you are called upon to heal those around you as best you can. You are not always given the time or convenience to mend the wounds of those around you as you never quite know what will be required or when. This class will give you skills to quickly reach the wounded, assess the situation, and quickly treat their wounds with mundane poultices and magical skills.

Plant Killer

You have selected your foe and it is all around you. You are nature’s bane and your war against flora has only just begun. You require the tools to kill plants, particularly sentient ones, and this class will provide them. You will gain skills that make you more effective in combat against plants and offer answers to their natural, more common defenses.

Well. Hm. Trixie looked up as Brivaria made a face and the angel went back to scritching the dog’s head. Trixie made a contented noise and closed her eyes. The angel continued petting the dog while she regarded her options. These choices were not at all what she expected. She wondered if this was one of those rare cases where she was supposed to keep her current class.

Plant Killer was the easiest option to cross off her mental list. She didn’t consider herself to be at war with nature. It wasn’t the first time Brivaria had seen a class dedicated to fighting a specific faction, foe, or concept. Plants were a heck of a thing to declare war on since they were a large, multi-faceted group of things. That wasn’t even considering all of the sapient and friendly floral beings that were out there. Some of which were on this very planet. Yes, this one was right out.

Apprentice Shaper of Flesh was just wrong yet it was still somewhat appealing to the angel. She was now trapped in her material body or at very least temporarily exiled from Heaven. Making her body stronger felt like the smart, even correct, thing to do. Lesser Shapeshifting had already made her stronger and more resilient. This was simply following the path she’d already begun. Brivaria took a step back, admitted that she wanted to pick this class, and then mentally stuffed those feelings into a box. She wasn’t taking this class.

Emergency Healer was a reasonable choice. Maybe. It certainly described some of the situations she’d found herself in. Her main concern were the words “mundane poultices.” She could already envision the class skill list mixing magical healing with herbology. Curatives could be vastly superior to magical healing and they were often manaless albeit with restrictions on consumption. The amount of time spent gathering materials and crafting them felt exorbitant to Brivaria. It just wasn’t the way of her people.

That left Decaying Lightbrand. Wielding light as a weapon was innate to her people. If she ignored the word “decaying” then it sounded ideal. It would surely upgrade Produce Light and would give her arcane attribute some combat relevance. That was close to being her highest attribute so she needed to put it to work. If the upgrade was less than desirable then she could simply look for another upgrade as her overall level increased and she gained access to new class options.

Brivaria’s stomach twisted. The options were distressing her greatly or maybe that was the fact that she hadn’t eaten yet. She really wanted to pick the shaper class but ultimately she selected Decaying Lightbrand. It was the right choice even if Brivaria wasn’t wholly sold on it.

You have gained the class Decaying Lightbrand.

Your Produce Light skill has been upgraded to Bleak Radiance.

Bleak Radiance (Active)

Emit light from the user’s body or create a small globe of light which can be focused in a direction of the user’s choice. Enemies of the user will suffer a reduction to all attributes. Cost and intensity scale with arcane, modified by presence.

Well that wasn’t so bad. In fact, that wasn’t bad at all. It was comparatively less violent than melting a hole through a person with a solid ray of light. Being able to reduce the attributes of foes would create a more even playing field between the angel and her opponents. Weakening her enemies also made her allies more effective. That was fantastic.

The forced cheer was helping, somewhat. Her decision still made her somewhat uneasy but it was done. Also the note on presence was interesting. Presence usually affected aura skills. Skills that passively affected the world around the user were considered aura skills. That meant there would likely be benefits to letting her whole body or weapon glow as opposed to focusing the light into a beam or similar.

With her class picked, she perused the new skills it offered. There were a lot of things she could do with light powers. There was an assortment of ray and bolt skills with more pronounced effects. There were various modification skills that would pair well with Bleak Radiance increasing the effect or adding complementary effects like draining stamina or sickening the target. There was even a general purpose Magic (Light of Decay) skill.

Magic was a unique type of skill that gave the user the ability to cast multiple spells from the domain specified. The advantage of taking a magic skill was that it was akin to gaining three, four, or even five skills for the price of one. The disadvantage was that those spells had some sort of invocation attached to their use alongside a higher mana cost and sometimes a weaker effect. A Firebolt skill could be cheap and powerful. A Firebolt spell might be neither of those. It was sometimes advantageous to take both as the skill would fuse with the spell. The result was a fusion of the two that was stronger than either.

Looking through Magic (Light of Decay), Brivaria noticed Infusion (Light) in the spell list and quickly found it in the skill list too. She’d had both Infusion (Light) and Infusion (Holy) before the incident. Just being able to channel magic into her sword had been fantastic. Adding a magical component to her sword strikes made them more effective. If she could weaken monsters further with each strike of her blade then it would be a significant force multiplier. With only a few mixed feelings on the matter, Brivaria selected the skill.

Infusion (Light) (Active)

You may infuse equipment and objects in your possession with light skills or spells. Strength and duration of the infusion scale with arcane, modified by presence.

That was all she needed. Brivaria finally pulled up her status screen to look at her new and improved abilities. She had gained ten levels in less than half that time in days. Maybe reclaiming her lost levels wouldn’t be that hard after all.

Name: Brivaria

Race: Angel

Class: Decaying Lightbrand

Level: 13

Stats: Health 40/40, Mana 64/64, Stamina 48/48

Attributes: Physique 28, Endurance 20, Arcane 31, Spirit 32, Awareness 20, Presence 33

Active Skills: Bleak Radiance, Healing Touch, Holy Bulwark, Infusion (Light), Tailwind

Passive Skills: Inventory, Lesser Flight, Lesser Shapeshifting, Rest, Traits (Angel)