Chapter 13
Behold, wielder! The essence of the warrior.
This is an ancient class, sworn to walk a proficient path.
Swear yourself now to take up arms, to strengthen your blade, and master your art.
Will you pledge your spirit to the code of the warrior?
“I pledge myself,” I said.
Then I will grant you the power of the sword.
Weilder, valiant warrior, choose your alignment.
“Black.”
Your level will be returned to 1,
and skills from your current class will be forgotten.
Are you sure?
“Yes, I’m ready,” I said.
Name: Zelik
Black Warrior - level 1
Hp: 365/365
MP: 30/30
--Skills--
Critical strike
Sweep strike
--Attributes--
Strength: +6 = 11
Vitality: +7 = 12
Dexterity: +10 = 15
Agility: +2 = 7
Magic: +2 = 2
Unused skill points: 15
You have unused skill points.
Would you like to allot them now?
“Yes.”
I was a damage class, so strength would definitely be important. Taking the class seemed to boost my dexterity the most, so I assume that must be a key stat for my class as well. But, what good is strength and dexterity if you’re too slow, and the agility seemed pretty low. I also could not forego vitality or I’d be turning myself into a glass cannon, as they say… wait, who says that? I’m not sure where I got the phrase from.
Anyway, the only stat that did not seem important was magic, so it was probably safe to ignore that one, and dexterity was already so high I figured I should focus on something else. I went ahead and made my choices, opting to disperse everything evenly.
Attributes
Strength: +4 = 15
Vitality: +3 = 15
Dexterity: 15
Agility: +8 = 15
Magic: 2
Unused skill points: 0
Well, hopefully that was a smart way to do it. Apparently skill points were non-refundable, which was a huge oversight in this whole system if you ask me. Their use was already kind of vague, but on top of that the decision was permanent, so you were basically guessing over something that was probably pretty important.
Oh well. I stepped away from the statue and met the rest of my party at the bottom of the stairs.
John went with white knight; he would be our tank and our healer, which was a pretty straightforward role.
Hope was a pure engineer, which could serve multiple purposes but one of the most useful for farming would be she can create gadgets to distract enemies and pull them away from camps, or set up traps and use other damage-dealing gadgets she creates. It definitely seemed one of the most unique classes, the main drawback is the supplies to make her gadgets cost money and some of them, particularly exploding traps, would be one-time use. According to Victoria, Engineers can make up for this by selling gadgets as well, as the simple exploding ones can be used by any class. The real selling point for Hope, I believe, is that engineers can also get more jobs within the city, so if she ever wanted to give up the adventuring life she had a backup option. I couldn't blame her. Based on the number of times Victoria had to save our asses, I had a feeling we were pretty bad at this.
Now, Leah, of course, had the most unique class of all. Apparently she was the only beast tamer in Goliath right now, and in the entire world there were probably only a dozen. She lucked out on her blessing, and in my opinion, John did too, as I personally would be happy to have extra HP in a world where 0 meant death. I wonder what my blessing is. With my luck, I probably have a useless one, but Hope did not discover hers either yet, so luckily I wasn’t the only one.
“So, everyone classed up?” Hope asked, tapping her crystal and checking us out.
“Yeah,” I said. “Should make things easier, though we’ll have to go back to grinding slimes until we get our levels a little higher again.”
“What about getting weapons and armor?” Leah asked. “My class apparently its best to use a bow or a gun… um… guns seem expensive, though. And they are not as stealthy as a bow and arrow.”
“Well, after selling our loot we have about 20 silver pieces,” I said.
“We still need to eat and pay for a room tonight,” John added. “That will bring us back to about 15 silver. I don’t think we will be able to get fully equipped from that.”
“Knight and Warrior can both use the short swords we started with,” I said, “So at least the two of us won’t have to worry about weapons for now.”
“Yes, and me and Hope will attack from a range,” said Leah. “So armor is probably less important for us. We can stick with the peasant garb a little longer.”
“Darn...” Hope said, pulling back her collar. “I was hoping to finally get out of these rags.”
Someone else spoke up from the threshold. “Look on the bright side.” We turned to see it was Victoria. “You now have a stable party. You can heal without relying on berries, and you’ll only keep getting stronger from here.”
“That's true,” I said. “So, guess we’ll go back to farming slimes tomorrow.”
“I don't want to harm any beast-type monsters,” Leah cut in, reminding us of her commitment. “I know that’s a hindrance, but...”
“It’s fine,” John said, “We can work around it.”
Victoria took a puff from her pipe. “After wolves, it is normal to move on to goblins. In your case, you’ll go from slimes to goblins. It’s doable, but it means in order to be safe, you’ll have to spend a few more days grinding slimes before you’re ready. I suggest making it to level 8 before goblin hunting.”
“Fine with me,” Hope shrugged. “Though it is a bit boring.”
Victoria pointed her pipe at Hope. “Engineer is an interesting class, but starting off, they are quite weak. Just be ready for a difficult time until you get your level higher.”
“What about Leah’s beast tamer class?” I asked. “When can we help her tame her first monster?”
“You’re going to be on your own with figuring that out,” Victoria said. “Learn what you can from that book Mathew gave you, but as such a rare class I’m limited in the advice I can give. I would suggest reading the histories of other beast tamers and use them for inspiration of how to proceed.”
“Oh, I see...” Leah said.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Don’t worry,” Victoria added. “It’s a good problem to have. Once you get the hang of things, you will be quite powerful. Anyway, I also wanted to let you all know, I’m letting you off on your own tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s alright,” I said, though I was surprised to hear it as it felt a little sudden. “But can I ask why?”
“I just think you can handle grinding slimes now… When you’re ready to move on to goblins I’ll come out with you for another day. Or, if Leah plans to tame a wolf, I’d like to tag along, so let me know.”
“Well, thank you for your help so far,” John said. “It’s been invaluable.”
“Actually, can we buy you a drink?” I asked. “To thank you for all you’ve done.”
She smiled. “No, I think you need to hold onto your coins for now. I’ll take you up on that offer another time, though.”
“Hey! It’s the B-team!” Another familiar voice called, and we turned to see it was Leon, coming through the threshold. Rin entered right behind him, fully geared up with a face shield covering her from nose to neck and a revealing black leather outfit I had to drift my eyes away from. Well, maybe just a peek ― I just had to make sure Leah didn’t notice. “What’s with those peasant clothes? You guys haven’t geared up yet?”
“Yeah, we were just discussing that,” I answered.
Leon began tapping his crystal. “What? Level 1? You just finished classing? The hell you been doing?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ve been giving them a much calmer introduction to the world. What exactly have you put your team through?”
“Does it matter?” he put his arm over Rin’s shoulder and winked. “Check out my star pupil! Wait, no… my protégé!”
Rin blushed and said, “I’ll do what I can to live up to that expectation.”
I tapped my crystal to analyze her stats.
Name: Rin
Black Assassin - level 10
HP: 970/970
MP: 240/240
“Level 10?” I said. “How?”
“She’s just that good,” Leon said, taking his arm off of her and leaning against the wall. “Alright Rin, go ahead and spend your points, oh yeah, and get the bleed skill! It’s great for higher health opponents!”
“So, where are the other three?” Victoria asked.
“Huh?”
“The rest of her party. They’re not dead, are they?”
Leon’s eyebrows lowered. “If they are, then it happened after they ditched their teammate here. We hung back in a cave for a minute after a fight, and when we came out they were long gone.”
“Is that true?” I asked Rin as she walked past us.
“It’s fine,” she said. “Tsarina was far too controlling. Maybe the other two were okay with that, but I had enough.”
“Oh!” Leon called after her. “And put at least 5 points into agility! The rest into dexterity and vitality!”
“Alright,” Rin said, bowing her head, then turned and continued over to the assassin statue.
Between Tsarina and Leon, I had to wonder just who the controlling one really was.
“Hold up!” Leon suddenly jumped off the wall, and my fist tightened when I realized he was looking at Leah. “Beast Tamer!? Is that right?”
“Yeah,” Leah said, as she scratched the back of her head and chuckled. “Everyone who knows what that means seems to have had that reaction so far.”
“Damn, you got no idea what you have, do you? Listen,” he started walking over to her. “You can tame just about every beast-type monster, which includes mythic beasts. Just not great beasts, or at least no tamers have pulled it off in the past.”
“Oh, is that right?” she said, and I noticed her step to the side just slightly, coming closer to me.
“Yeah, so if you want, I know where a few different mythics are. There’s one right here in the woods outside Goliath. Then there’s another over in the deadlands.”
He stopped when Victoria’s staff appeared in front of him, barring his way. He turned an annoyed gaze to her as she spoke calmly, “The deadlands let alone the mythic beast you are talking about are far above her current power. I’m putting my foot down on that one. You’ll be dragging her to her death.”
“Hey, hey, I didn’t mean tomorrow. You know, maybe a couple weeks, when she gets her level up. Well, under your guidance, it’ll be more like a year or two.”
“Thanks for the offer,” Leah said, “But I’m fine with our current pace.”
“Come on! You don’t know what you're missing! Look at Rin. Come with me, and you’ll be leveled up in no time!”
“She said no,” Hope said, a bit more assertively, stepping between him and Leah.
Leon rolled his eyes, fixing his gaze back on Leah. “Your choice, but I’m telling you, I can put together a solid training strategy for you.” He then flashed me a grin that would be all the inspiration I need to raise my level just so I could kick his ass.
“Leon? Um, so I’m done,” Rin said as she appeared at the top of the steps.
“That’s my girl. Come on, let's go celebrate your accomplishments today!”
“Alright, sounds good,” she said as she came down the stairs and back to his side. They turned to walk away, but Leon looked over his shoulder to say one more thing to Leah. “Just think about it. It’s an open offer, so if you change your mind let me know.” With that, he and Rin left together.
“Uhg… I really don’t like him...” Leah said under her breath.
“So… that guy is a friend of yours?” John asked Victoria.
She blew out a thick puff of smoke. “I believe I’m more like a disappointed sibling.”
“Sibling?” I asked.
“He and I woke up on the same boat… That was about 10 years ago.”
“So you started your life in this world with him,” John said. “Were you party-mates?”
“Yes...” she sighed. “He isn’t always this bad. He has a grandiose side to him that likes to stick around from time to time. I just hope that girl is wise enough to realize what she’s getting into with him. Anyway, I’ve decided to take you up on that drink after all. Let's celebrate you all selecting your classes.”
“Alright!” Hope cheered, putting an arm over Victoria’s shoulder, which surprised the white mage at first, but then her stoic demeanor was broken through with a rare smile.
“That’s the spirit!” John said.
Our cheers were cut short when yet another familiar face came through the threshold, however.
Simon. The ninth member of our so-called Leviathan Crew. The mysterious man who spent the voyage fighting rather than looking for safety, and somehow had the foresight to loot the Leviathan Spawn corpses at a time when none of us understood a single thing about this world.
He was wearing a monk’s poncho, complete with knuckles which were golden, and a headband with gems imbued in it. His gear looked rather high-class. I couldn’t help myself from tapping my crystal, curiosity getting the better of me.
Simon
Red Monk - Level 22
HP: 4990/4990
MP: 590/590
LEVEL 22!? How was that even possible? I haven't even seen him with a party. Has he been solo leveling to accomplish that?
“Hey there,” I said, raising a hand. He stopped, looking us over but not bothering to check our stats.
His eyes were sharp and narrow, not exactly a hostile expression, but certainly not an inviting one. His hair was black, with thick strands stuck together and pointing over a creased forehead.
“Oh, you were all on my boat,” he said.
“Yes, that’s right,” John said. “Looks like you are doing well so far.”
“Indeed.” Seeming to be a man of short words, he started to walk past us.
“Wait,” I said, as his foot landed on the first of the stairs. “Can I ask you something?”
He froze with one foot forward, his back facing me. “What is it?”
“Do you remember anything from before the boat?”
He turned his head just slightly, but not enough to see me. Just enough for me to see the shadow of his brow. “Why would you think that?”
“On the boat, you knew to loot the Leviathan Spawn horns.”
“It was just a hunch, that is all,” he answered, and began up the steps once again, but my next words once again stopped him.
“That’s not true,” I said. “You were mad at Tsarina, remember? You were upset that she gathered the horns without knowing why, just that she was mimicking your actions. If it was only a hunch you wouldn’t have said, ‘you gathered them without knowing their value.’ That implies you did know their value.”
“So?” he asked.
“So… how did you know? Please, if there is anything you can tell us...”
He chuckled softly. “There’s no reason for me to explain myself to you.”
“Please,” I said. “If you do know anything about how we ended up here, and why we can’t remember our lives before the boat. Can you just tell us?”
“Is not remembering such a bad thing?” he asked, finally turning around to face us. “Is this world not enough for you?”
“I mean… wouldn’t anyone want to know?”
“Yes, most do, but that doesn’t mean they get answers, now does it?”
“Do you know anything or not?” I asked.
He gave a sad smile. “Let’s say what the man on the boat said was true. If you are here, it is because you desired it to be so. Would that not imply where you came from was worse than this place?”
“I...” I didn’t know how to answer, maybe because I didn’t want to admit that he had a point.
“Therefore,” he continued. “I think if there is a way to gain those answers, it would be best to leave it alone. Just enjoy your adventures. That is what this world is best for after all, isn’t it?” With those cryptic words, he turned around once again, and walked over to the monk statue.
I put a foot up on the stairs, preparing to walk after him, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned to see it was Leah.
“He does have a point,” she said.
Victoria blew out a puff of smoke. “Come on, boy. Are we going for those drinks or not?”
I looked to John and Hope, both of them with expressions that showed they did not want to leave it at that either. John moreso. I knew he wanted answers just as desperately as me.
“I don’t know why we are here,” Leah said. “The only thing I do know is that I’m excited about tomorrow. I can’t wait to get to see more of this world, to learn more about what my class can do and… well, to get to know all of you better! So...”
I smiled at her, those soft words subduing the tension I felt in my chest. I looked back to Simon, who was still kneeling in front of the monk statue.
“As a veteran of this world,” Victoria answered. “I can say I’ve seen a lot of newbies come through. They are always asking the same questions you are, but, eventually, they get used to not knowing.” She took another long slow drag from her pipe, her eyes deep and heavy. “What if the answer isn’t one that you can accept? Knowing the truth may turn out to be a burden. Come on, let's go drink.”