Chapter 38:

I read through the list for a third time and made a couple more notes as I weighed my options.

Jester of Valhalla, Loki's Mouth Piece, Swordsman, Spearman, Trickster's Muse, Fool of the Wilds, Arcane Fool, Fool of the Runes, Loki's Fool.

I was making this decision very, very carefully. I knew that this choice would have long-running consequences. Most people didn't get a class until level 100. They probably had more time to know exactly what sort of class they wanted, but I didn't have any idea of what was good or not. I had to go based on entirely vague impressions and how well they fit me. I didn't even know if changing a class was an option.

I had so many questions I needed to ask, but I decided I wouldn't hold off making a choice until I got them all answered. I'd never run out of questions, and I already owed Loki far too much for me to be comfortable. I seemed to have a solid mix of good and bad classes. Almost everything was somewhat related to Loki, which was unsurprising. The only surprising fact was that I had two somewhat normal classes.

If it weighed the important things I had done since I'd gotten to Valhalla... Well, then, meeting the god of deception, lies, and trickery and striking up what appeared to be a casual friendship and a business partnership had to have weighed in heavily. This had to have been solidly sitting at number one by a long distance. The fact that Loki had even put a couple of annotations on my classes surprised me. Perhaps they were on for everyone who chose those classes, but it seemed like he was using the tailored voice he'd made just for interacting with me.

Because of that, I struck these off the list pretty quickly. Loki's Mouthpiece sounded decent. The description only had one line about spreading Loki's word, but the little warning and the name... I didn't want the puppet. The same thing applied to Loki's Fool. The description was innocent enough. It just sounded like a worse version of Loki's Mouthpiece, but again with that warning. Neither of them sounded like they were good for me.

Jester of Valhalla did seem interesting, but so did Arcane Fool and Fool of the Runes. My least favorite option was Fool of the Wilds. It sounded like a pretty awesome class, but I was in a city and mostly fought in duels in arenas. Perhaps some of the challenges might be useful. Still, from the description, it seemed like I would take a major power and versatility hit anytime I wasn't in the wild. Trickster's Muse seemed to be a crafting class, and I didn't know anything about crafting.

Perhaps there was just a certain amount of breadth that class offerings were always given. The same thing might be true with the Jester of Valhalla. It did seem to have a lot of versatility but mostly focused on social interactions and Bard-like tropes. So, regretfully, I crossed that off as well. But the last two seemed very interesting. Arcane Fool promised a fundamental understanding of magic. That, along with the nice chaos to go for unorthodox options that had made my bread and butter in my fighting style, did seem to fit me quite well.

In fact, the only part that didn't quite fit me was maybe the scholar, though I did like the idea of delving more into the runes. The runic magic that came from that worked with the stat sheets somehow reminded me and gave me the vague impression it was related to what Loki had talked about when it came to creating skills, not just spells. On the other hand, Fool of the Runes had a lot of potential. It sounded very similar but heavily focused on the runes.

But it also seemed to be heavily reliant on equipment, which I wasn't against. Considering I was poor as shit right now, I didn't think that was in my immediate best interests, but maybe long-term. The unconventional thinking and creativity line already had me thinking of ideas with tattoos. It might have given me greater insight into runes, but I felt like I could learn that on my own, maybe to a lesser extent. However, when it came to traditional spell casting blended with chaotic Loki influence, it sounded more difficult to learn.

So I made my choice and dropped a bit of blood on Arcane Fool before ending the ritual and immediately starting another one.

Runes spilled across the floor and shifted into text I could read.

Arcane Fool:

Level rewards: +3 Focus, +1 Speed, +2 Free points

+100% efficiency in learning arcane magic

+80% efficiency in learning illusion magic

+50% chance of spells evolving when learned or created through natural means

+Skill Mana Perception

Skill Mana Perception merges with Spell Mana Sensor

+Skill Mana Perception Enhanced -Mana Sensor -Mana Perception

Perceive the working of magic around you. Even if it should be hidden from you.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

+Skill Identify

See levels of friends and foes.

Skill Identify merges with Trait Question Everything.

+Trait Incisive Gaze -Identity -Question Everything

See past most magical and mundane deceptions. Information is readily available to you should you choose to reach for it.

Subclass:N/A

This was by far the most detailed information I had ever gotten out of the ritual. And I liked the sound of getting a subclass in the future. Even if it was only half as good it would still be a huge boon. I memorized every line and then wiped the floor clean.

***

I rolled out of bed late. Another night spent studying had led to my breakthrough, but it had worn me out. The extra couple of hours deciding on which class to pick left me with too little sleep. I dashed out of my room, grabbing the simple short sword on my way and checking my pouch. I was close to picking up an upgrade for the primary weapon. Now, though, I might not. I thought I might want to try and learn some spells if I could afford anything arcane or illusionary. If spells had a chance to evolve with my class, that might be even better than just a superior weapon.

If I could get a skill or spell that helped me create a weapon, maybe I could work on improving that skill with a spellbook. I skipped breakfast and jogged through the streets, weaving through the relatively sparse traffic toward the training room we had booked every morning from ten to noon. I was going to be a few minutes late, but it wouldn't be that big of a deal. We usually spent some time warming up before we got into any real training. Then, in the afternoons, we'd run the challenge.

When I strode into the facility that held the training rooms, I could hear shouting all the way down the hall. I groaned but kept my pace steady as I walked towards the room. The noise made me want to turn around and leave.

Though we had been getting better, our performance in the challenge wasn't mirrored with the group cohesiveness that I would have liked. A shrill scream of frustration echoed as I opened the door. I saw Astrid all up in Bjorn's face, on her tiptoes, finger pressed into his chest. Her face was red as she yelled at his stony expression and his low grumble of a warning growl before he responded in an equally angry tone.

"No, I'm not brainless. I just don't want to fucking waste time thinking about everything when action would have fixed this problem days ago," Bjorn's words echoed. Astrid wasn't paying attention anymore, having turned to see me walk in. Jonas and Helga were watching awkwardly off to the side as the two argued. This wasn't the first time I had to break up one of their heated discussions, and it wasn't always the same participants. Astrid liked to argue with Bjorn and Helga. Bjorn was more than willing to argue with anyone; it really depended on how hungover he was.

Astrid had a quick temper but was quick to forgive and was touchy over pretty much anything. Helga was the most relaxed of all of us and was the most satisfied with the arrangement. She was getting significantly better with her sword, and her martial prowess was improving more than anyone's, quickly becoming a standout star of the team. Bjorn and Jonas had helped her train her physical stats to an acceptable level. I clapped my hands, and even though I already had everyone's attention, I scanned over them with an inquisitive eye, my new skill activated.

Astrid, level 12. Helga, level 11. Bjorn, level 7. Jonas, level 6.

That was not what I would have expected. I guess level didn't say everything about someone's combat prowess, but I wasn't going to reveal my cards yet or explain to them what a class was or anything like that. I just nodded.

"Has everyone warmed up?" I asked.

Jonas and Helga nodded, but Astrid and Bjorn shook their heads. I frowned.

"You two need to settle your differences. Go out drinking or something tonight and talk. Just fucking..." I said, cutting off my words before I said anything too harsh. "Figure it out."

They both nodded and shot a hard, angry look at each other. I doubted anything would come of it, but perhaps they could focus on something else. I looked around and, examining their expressions, made a snap decision.

"Come on, let's just do the challenge early. I think we all need some real danger to help us focus."

While that was true, I had ulterior motives. I wanted to get a look at what my new skills would tell me. Then I wanted to get some money and go shopping if we had time afterward. Our runs were starting to take almost the entire day. Usually, we weren't out until well past midnight.

Perhaps if I could get some sort of healing spell, we could vastly improve our run time, as most of it was spent waiting for Astrid's mana to recharge. But I'd have to see, and I definitely needed more than the 200 or so coins I managed to save up. If I could get another 50 to 100 here, I'd be pretty happy.

The four of them followed me out of the room we had booked for the next couple of hours. It was a bit of a waste of a coin, but hopefully, the change of location would do us some good.

We walked in silence. I did not like the tense atmosphere at my back. The team was fragile. The bonds of cohesion that it seemed like we started to form in the first couple of days and successes had failed to hold. Our initial few bursts of growth had stalled, and we moved to a slow, grinding approach that may or may not be enough. At our current rate of improvement, we were in real danger of missing the minimum, and that tension was wearing on everyone.

We still had two weeks left, and it wasn't time to panic yet. But Astrid and Helga knew Lagertha. If that was considered one of the light punishments... well, we'd better get our asses moving.