Austin and I made it back to camp before opening our notifications. We didn't know what the class evolution would do and we figured being in the safety of the camp was the best bet. For all we knew it would force us to choose as soon as we opened the screen before knocking us out.

It most likely wouldn't be that extreme but we couldn't help but think of worst-case scenarios and all the ways it could go wrong. We both thought it was a better idea to wait until we got back.

We nearly skipped like two school kids all the way back because of how excited we were. I had just gotten my profession and now I was evolving my class not 12 hours later. I was in for a huge power boost and I was vibrating with excitement.

We made it back to camp quickly and separated into our own lodges to go through the process. I pulled up the notifications to see how to do this thing.

*Skills Available*

I guess I needed to pick my final skill before I got to evolve my class. Since this was my last skill, I thought about all the ones I had taken thus far and wondered what kind of evolution they would lead to.

The guide in the beginning said that skill choice would affect class evolution and this was my last chance to nudge it in the right direction. I started with the attack skill Power Strike, then followed with the defensive skill Fortified Body.

I then probably screwed up with my next choice of Throwing Mastery, it didn't match any of the others very well and it went in a different direction than the rest. Identify was next and wasn't that bad of a choice. I think that everyone would probably have it somewhere in their beginning skills, the only difference being when.

Being able to see the level of what you were facing was essential and anyone that forewent getting it was either dead or quickly remedied that choice.

Penetrating Strike was another attacking skill and made that discipline the majority. Strictly counting class skills gave 3 attacking, 1 defensive, and 1 utility.

I had to think about whether I wanted to go all-in on the attacking side and get a fourth, guaranteeing a class that was related, or evening it out with a second defensive skill.

If I really wanted to mess with it, I could get a magic attacking skill to mess up the mix. As funny as that would be, I didn't think that it would lead to the most ideal of evolutions.

I also didn't know if the skills I purchased would be factored into the equation. If those were counted there was another attacking skill and a defensive magic one to think about.

They probably were considered and now I started thinking about how bad of choices I had made. There were so many options to choose from and now, every choice I made seemed wrong.

I got a magic skill because I wanted it, not because I was thinking about future evolutions. I could only hope that it wasn't that bad and it didn't affect things that much.

My skill upgrade had to be taken into account, right? Gah, I really wish I knew what I was doing. The not knowing was killing me. I didn't want to go down the same road as Austin with all his attacking skills. I wanted to even it out a little bit. It helped that I felt confident enough in my attacking skills to focus more on defense.

Now that I was a blacksmith I could make myself some armor rather than have Sam do it. Heavy Armor Proficiency or Plate Armor Proficiency would be good. Shield Brace or Shield Wall are both good but I didn't know if I was going to keep using the shield.

I quite liked Mark's two-handed axe and I could now make one for myself. Skills that required a shield wouldn't work then. Stone Skin was a decent one to have but I didn't know how well that would work with armor.

Would it mess up the fit of the armor? Would it grow over the armor and ruin it? Once again, insufficient knowledge.

Fortified Body worked well and I felt confident enough in it to ignore the active defensive skills to focus more on the passive ones. My eyes kept coming back to Heavy Armor Proficiency.

Now that I was a blacksmith I could create some cool armor. I could make it however I wanted and wouldn't have to worry about it breaking. I could just make it again.

It was a decent enough skill and I think it would mesh well with my other ones to evolve into a decent class. I chose it over Plate Armor Proficiency because I felt the latter was more restricting in what kind of armor I could wear. What if I got armor made out of dragon scales or something and it wasn't considered plate armor? Or other animal parts being made into armor?

It was restricting enough that I thought the more generic heavy armor skill would prove more useful in the long run. With the skill selected a new screen popped up.

*Class evolution available.*

I didn't hesitate and immediately opened it up. I was met with five class choices to choose from, similar to the first time I had done this. I wonder if it was always five to choose from. I began eagerly reading through all of my options.

The first was kind of disappointing.

Axe Warrior(Common)

Axe Warriors are an evolution to the common class Warrior. They rely on strength and weapon skills to fight. As the name implies they utilize the axe as their main weapon and can be found using a variety of different ones. They make for formidable frontline fighters, capable of mitigating significant damage.

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+2 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Fortitude, +2 Endurance, +1 Vitality +1 Free points.

It looked like a straight-up upgrade of my current class with the addition of using an axe for my main weapon. It gave 8 stat points per level instead of the 6 I currently received. A small increase but still an increase. The second option wasn't much better.

Shield Warrior(Common)

Shield Warriors are an evolution to the common class Warrior. They rely on defensive skill and their shield to fight. As the name implies they utilize their shield as their main weapon and are used to mitigate a substantial amount of damage.

+2 Strength, +2 Fortitude, +2 Endurance, +1 Vitality +1 Free points.

I dismissed that one instantly. I did not want to be a shield warrior. Axe Warrior was still on the table depending on the rest, but it was all around better than this option.

Berserker(Common)

Forgoing the usual armor of warriors, berserkers get more powerful the more they are injured. Similar to barbarians they utilize fury and ferocity in combat but that doesn't mean they lack in skill.

+2 Strength, +1 Agility, +2 Endurance, +2 Vitality, +1 Free Point.

I didn't quite understand how I was offered this one. Yes, my armor was mostly cosmetic by the end there and I was essentially going without, but I had just chosen an armor skill with my last skill option. It must not affect things as much as I thought.

This option seemed like it was a wet dream for masochists. I wasn't fond of pain but I had gotten used to it over the countless fights where it was inevitable. My armor wasn't the best and I managed to get injured a lot during the fights but that didn't mean I enjoyed it.

I put a pin in that one and decided to look at the rest of my options.

Arctic Barbarian(Uncommon)

Barbarians are a common evolution of warrior which uses brute strength and raw fury to excel in combat, instead of the honed skills of a Knight or measured strength of a Monk. The Arctic Barbarian is a rare variant of Barbarian that is commonly found in arctic regions and has an increased propensity to throw themselves into battle.

Requirements: Some form of Ice or Arctic affinity, at least 1 Ice based skill, and 1 uncommon weapon skill.

+3 Strength, +2 Fortitude, +2 Endurance, +1 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

I smiled at the rarity. The first three were common classes and at least I now had an uncommon option to choose from. It gave 10 stat points per level instead of the 8 that the commons all gave which was double the increase from my current class.

Reading through it closer I saw that there were requirements for the class. It seemed like common knowledge that rarer classes would have requirements to unlock them, but I didn't think that it would be that blatant and come out and say it.

It said that an affinity was required. Was that what I thought it was? How were we supposed to know what affinity we had? There was no way to tell and we weren't told when we began the tutorial. Were we supposed to instinctively know what our affinity was?

I guess I had an affinity for Ice or an Arctic affinity, whatever that meant. I wonder if that was why Austin and I glowed different colors when we were using the same skill. I was a light blue, like ice, while Austin was a bright yellow. What affinity could that be? I'd seen Earth depicted by the color yellow in games and shows but it seemed too vibrant to be Earth.

Looking at the rest of the requirements, I was glad that I had chosen Ice Wall or I wouldn't have been offered this class. The same went for the skill that I managed to upgrade.

I was excited to look at my last option, it had to be either uncommon or greater based on the last one.

Iron Guardian(Uncommon)

Iron Guardians are an uncommon evolution to the common class Warrior. They rely on defensive skills and their shield to protect others. They excel at keeping their opponent's attention and making sure nothing can get by them.

Requirements: Gain most of your experience by protecting others, 1 defensive skill, and 1 armor skill.

+2 Strength, +2 Fortitude, +2 Endurance, +2 Vitality +2 Free points.

My face involuntarily scrunched up at that one. I didn't want to be a tank and this class was exactly that, it would be perfect if that was what I wanted. I guess it counted me fighting the waves as protecting my family and that's where I got most of my experience.

It didn't seem that hard of a class to unlock and having a defensive skill and armor skill were easy requirements to meet. I wonder if another class required a taunting skill or something similar.

With all of my options read, it seemed easy to pick the one I wanted. Higher rarity was better and there was only one that fit what I was going for. Iron Guardian was good and all, but it wasn't for me.

Arctic Barbarian seemed like an insult to my intelligence but I think that was the DnD connotations talking. There was no evidence to say that all barbarians were muscle heads. I better keep it secret from Austin or he'll never let it go.

There was no way I was going to give him ammunition he could use to make fun of me and this was one of those things. I could envision it now, all the jokes about low intelligence in my future if I said anything.

Choosing the class was similar to the first time that I did it and I felt the energy moving throughout my body improving it. I didn't receive a level like the last time I chose a class so I had no idea why there was the feeling of energy improving my body. As soon as it was finished I pulled up my status screen to find out what was different.

Name: Christopher Zalenski

Race: (G) Human

Class: (G) Arctic Barbarian(Uncommon) – Level 10

Profession: (G) Novice Blacksmith(Common) – Level 1

Affinity: Ice

Faction: Zalenski Family (Temporary)

Strength - 39

Agility - 19

Perception - 13

Fortitude - 24

Endurance - 28

Vitality - 25

Intelligence - 11

Wisdom - 15

Acumen - 11

Free Points: 1

Laws: None

Class Skills: Heavy Blow(Uncommon), Fortified Body(Common), Throwing Weapon Proficiency(Beginner), Identify(Common), Penetrating Strike(Common), Sweeping Slash(Common), Ice Wall(Common), Heavy Armor Proficiency(Beginner), Heavy Weapon Proficiency(Beginner)

Profession Skills: Sense Metal(Common)

Coins: 0

Points: 354

My race upgraded from H to G. My profession had started at G and I wondered why it was different than classes that started at H. Now I was G rank in all three and there was a clear improvement because of it.

It felt like every part of me was upgraded and it was stronger than any level up so far. It touched every part of my being and felt euphoric. Comparing my stats revealed that every stat went up by 2.

I guess upgrading your race gave a huge boost that I didn't know about. It was the equivalent of three levels in stats. My new class also came with a new skill that I didn't get to choose. Heavy Weapon Proficiency wasn't one I would have picked myself but it fit the barbarian theme.

It was kind of annoying that I didn't get to pick like before but it wasn't that bad, I had been thinking about using a heavy weapon anyway. Now that my affinity had been revealed, it was added to my status sheet. It felt counterintuitive to only add it to the sheet after I knew that I had one, but there was nothing I could do to change it. At least it told me which one I had.

After looking over the changes, I was bursting with energy and I felt better than I ever had with the improvements done to my body. I was ready for a day of forging to gain even more levels.