Iron Ma’am looked up at a system prompt, then smiled:
You have successfully completed the quest:
“Swamp Village in Peril”
Objective: Protect the Village of Marshend from a nearby Shraal Nest.
Bonus rewards are granted for going above and beyond any expectations by defending the village single-handedly for weeks against two much higher-level opponents.
Rewards:
Extreme XP. You are now eligible to level up from current level 2 up to level 6.
Gold: 200 coins
Improved reputation among the people of the northern swamp area. The villagers speak your name with gratitude. You will always be welcome here.
Option to evolve class: Arcane Knight to Arcane Paladin
She concentrated on the new class option and got a summary of the changes and abilities.
Arcane Paladin
Improved Arcane Armor with increased damage and magic resistance.
Upgrades Manapool from half caster to full caster.
Provides access to aura feats.
Learn a new skill: Polearm (Apprentice I)
Approve class evolution Y/N?
She nodded at once. She’d have taken the class for the new name alone, but this was just an improvement in every aspect of her class she liked.
Her armor started to glow from within in a golden light. Runes appeared on former empty places, the armor plates grew thicker, and the crystal on her chest increased in size.
Class: Arcane Paladin
The Arcane Paladin is a unique fusion of arcane magic and combat might. The Arcane Paladin's power is concentrated in a mystical relic known as Arcane Armor—an enchanted plate armor that stores and amplifies all of their magical abilities.
Acquisition of Armor: You can start as an Arcane Squire without magical armor and work your way up by working for an Arcane Knight Order. After succeeding in the relevant tests and quests, your class will evolve to Arcane Knight, and you will be provided with an Arcane Armor. Alternatively, you can choose to get the armor as an advantage at character creation.
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The option to evolve your class to Arcane Paladin is granted after committing a sufficiently heroic deed.
Class Overview:
Role: Frontline Tank, Mobile Warrior
Main Weapons: One-handed sword, mace, or warhammer (with shield) or two-handed polearm. Often using a polearm, lance or spear for charge attacks.
Specialization: High mobility, arcane-imbued combat, magical shielding and mana-empowered strikes.
Arcane Armor:
The Arcane Armor is more than just protective gear—it's a conduit for all of the Arcane Paladin’s abilities. Crafted from arcane-forged metals and etched with ancient runes, it holds the paladin magic and combat prowess. Without it, the Arcane Paladin's powers are severely diminished, but with it, they become a force of unstoppable might.
Key Features of Arcane Armor:
Arcane Reservoir: The focus stone on the chest contains a reservoir of magical energy that fuels both offensive spells and defensive abilities. The innate mana reserves of the wearer are transferred into this reservoir.
Enchanted Warding: The armor provides advanced magical protection, reducing damage from spells and elemental forces. It also grants immunity to minor magical effects and resistance to certain schools of magic (e.g., fire, lightning, etc.). Each resisted attack uses up mana from the Arcane Reservoir.
Empowered Strikes: Weapons and unarmed attacks made while wearing the Arcane Armor can be infused with mana to deal additional damage.
Arcane Mobility: Reduced mana cost compared to regular Arcane Armor for all mobility uses.
Arcane Flight: Available after the wearer reaches the Master tier level (Level 11+). Very mana intensive. Feats can enable flight earlier and/ or reduce mana consumption.
Iron Ma’am skimmed through the description. Then she approved the level-up. Regaining her lost levels brought no decisions, but at level six, she got the option to allocate another attribute point and choose a feat. She put the point into strength, raising it to fifteen.
The feat list was as vast as ever, but like at character creation, she quickly reduced the selection to feats only her class could choose. At level six, she gained access to Journeyman tier feats and, of course, reduced the selection again to only show those.
Quite a few sounded interesting and required reading the description.
Arcane Shockwave could throw enemies and objects away. Occasionally useful, but not worth one of the limited feat slots.
Arcane Missiles fired target-seeking fireballs, but the damage output seemed quite low.
Arcane Aura created an ongoing area effect to support allies. The feat also offered a whole tree of feats to enhance and upgrade those effects.
Arcane Aegis created a protective dome of magic, but it also had a high mana cost, so she’d rarely be able to use it.
She read several other descriptions in depth, then chose Arcane Aura since the feat offered exactly what she’d been missing while commanding the villagers in the defense of their village.
Arcane Aura (Basic)
The Arcane Paladin radiates an aura that enhances nearby allies. This takes the form of slow healing over time, increased spell resistance and slightly bolstered physical defenses. The effectiveness of the aura depends on the amount of mana invested in its use.
Additional feats can grant your aura additional effects or reduce the mana cost.
She nodded, satisfied. The next time she had to defend a village, it would make it much easier. She resolved to learn how to organize militias better as quickly as possible. She was sure that similar problems would arise again. Nemesis was merciless when it came to quests, that much had become clear to her. If the AI presented a problem, it expected someone to resolve it. If left festering, it would increase and spread. She considered joining the nice young team she met, but they consisted of NPCs and a perm. She’d never be able to keep up with them. Even as she was long retired from work, she had other responsibilities like helping to look after her grandchildren, so her daughter could continue to work. She’d be able to enter VR mostly on the weekend. The long stay she’d allowed herself as a kind of holiday would not often be repeated. She sighed. There was so much to do here, but she’d just have to do the most in the time she could afford. But at least with her new abilities, she wouldn’t have problems finding a group to join. Who wouldn't want to go adventuring with a freaking Paladin!