The remaining days until the summer solstice felt like an extra year to Luna. She told her parents during dinner that she would most likely pick the Scout class as her second one unless anything unexpected happened. They were not surprised that she would be picking a combat class to supplement the Hunter and were happy that Jonas was able to help her. While her mother was not exactly happy about her daughter's class choices, there wasn't anything she could do about it.
"Now Miraley, please don't start arguing," Bertram said to his wife during evening dinner. "We had this discussion before and we knew that Luna liked being outside way too much to pick classes that would confine her to staying inside all day. I am not happy that our little girl might be in danger, but someone has to hunt and guard the village and there is no reason it cannot be her."
Luna was amazed by her parent's transformation. Normally they both argued with her about everything and were very strict. She did not understand what had changed. "Mother, father. What is going on? I have been talking about becoming a Hunter for years and you never would accept it, trying to steer me towards Crafting classes. Now you not only stopped trying to steer me away from it, you even asked Jonas to take me along with him. What changed?" Luna asked.
It was her mother who replied. "You know that we have raised you, but you also know that we are not your real parents. Sometime over 11 years ago the village hunters found you, a 4-year-old child, alone in the wilderness. You did not know how you got there, only that your parents were dead and that you had been surviving on berries and water for a few days."
"We took you in and as our daughter and gave you our name. What we could not give you was our temperament and love for Crafting classes. You were a very lively child. We tried reigning you in and interesting you in our work, but it was very hard to make you sit still long enough for needlework. I am still amazed you even got the [Sewing] skill at all. Once you were older we also really appreciated you helping us, especially your father in the mill. Being a Miller is a two-person job, especially with the harvest being so good in the past years. Nevertheless, we could have always found an apprentice, and we most likely will after you have picked your classes. We always knew you would most likely pick Hunter. Once you were older and the Rite was close enough that we could be certain, we talked to the Headman and asked Jonas to take you along to learn."
"Thank you mother, thank you, father. I will make you proud." Luna replied with tears in her eyes. Giving her parents both a hug, she started clearing off the dishes and washing up. Only one more night until it was time, she could hardly wait.
The next day, it was once again the sun greeting Luna. She had gone to bed early, hoping that sleeping would make time pass faster. The plan did not exactly work out and she had lain awake for most of the night and was still tired. Resigned to her fate, she rolled over and climbed out of bed. The summer solstice was a day of celebration and her parents were at home, waiting for her with breakfast. With only her nightgown on, she shuffled into the living room. Halfway to the table, she realized that it was not only her parents waiting, but also Jonas who started howling in laughter when her face transformed from groggy sleepiness into absolute embarrassment in under a second.
Luna turned around and fled back to her room, yelling profanities about inconsiderate people over her shoulder. After getting her best clothes from her commode she went back to the living room.
"Good morning Luna!" Her father greeted her. "As you might have realized by now, we have Jonas as a guest today and he was just telling how you have been doing, tagging along with him on the last few Sundays. We were quite impressed. Hurry up and eat breakfast, you do not have much time left until we have to go."
Sending a mock venomous glare at all the people at the table, she mumbled good morning and set down and started peeling a cooked egg. Generously slathering a slice of bread with butter and covering it with egg slices, she dug in. Her parents and Jonas resumed their conversation, but Luna was too deep in thought to pay any attention. Today was the day she would finally get to pick her classes and start doing something that mattered. No more mandatory apprentice class, but real classes with real class skills, experience, level, and a duty to protect the village. Lost in her musing she finished her breakfast and it was time to go.
She hastily put on her boots and waited for her parents and Jonas to leave the house. Together they walked up to the center of the village and their small temple, where a big part of the village had already gathered. It was not long before their village priest and only healer, Timothy, opened the temple doors and strode out with the Class Stone in his hands. The Headman following close behind, carrying a pedestal.
After placing the Class Stone on the pedestal, Timothy nodded thanks to the headman and raised his voice to address the gathered village. "Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. It marks, once again, the day the "Rite of Ascendancy" takes place and new apprentices will gain their class and join the village as full members. Those of you who do not have a class yet and have reached the age of 16, please step forward."
Having been present during the Rite on many previous occasions, all the children who would take it themselves on this day stepped forward. With only barely 200 people living in Creeks Spring, that meant only one other joined Luna in front of the pedestal, Mattis the Leatherworker's son. When ordered, Mattis stepped forward and placed his hands on the Class Stone, which flashed with light for an instant, after which Mattis stepped back and bowed to both the Class Stone and Timothy.
"Your village welcomes you, Mattis, as an adult and a new Leatherworker and Tanner." Said the Headman, who was informed of the new class choices beforehand, announcing them to the whole village.
The audience clapped for Mattis and he received some hearty claps on the back when he moved back towards his family.
At a nod from Timothy Luna stepped forward eagerly, placing both her hands on each side of the Class Stone. She expected the experience to only last an instant, but instead, she felt like diving inside her mind.
Bright letters appeared in her vision:
Welcome, Emiluna Millersdaughter.
You have reached the age of 16 and have therefore fulfilled the requirements for the Rite of Ascendancy and becoming an adult of Creek Springs.
After this message, Luna was prompted to decide on crafting or combat as her first class and was then prompted to select one from the available options. Seeing both Hunter and Scout being available, Luna quickly proceeded to pick Hunter first and then Scout. Instead of that marking the end of the experience, as it was explained to everyone in school, she suddenly felt a terrible headache split her skull and more bright letters appeared in her vision.
[Memories] - Unlocked. Renamed to [Ancestral Memories].
[Night Eyes] - Unlocked. Renamed to [Dryad's Eyes].
She had never told anyone about the two weird personal skills she had. [Memories] and [Night Eyes] were things she had never heard of before and she instinctively knew to not reveal them to anyone before learning what they did.
With those two messages shining in her vision, the Class Stone finally released Luna and she stumbled backward, only barely remembering to bow, before turning around and walking back towards her parents, who were casting worried glances towards her.
Her mind reeling, Luna did not hear anything of what was said, only barely realizing when the ceremony was over. The crowd started shuffling around and people started carrying out benches and tables for the festivities. A big fire was started, on which a big tripod grill would be placed later, to prepare meat and other roasted delicacies. The first keg of ale was opened and the people started lining up to get their first pitcher filled.
Nothing of that was of interest to Luna, as she was still suffering from her headache, increased sensitivity to light, and after images of the last two messages from the Class Stone. Everything was too bright, her eyes were hurting and her head felt like it was going to split apart.
"Mother, can you please help me get back home? I do not feel well." She whispered to her mother, not wanting to draw any attention.
Luckily her mother did not ask any question and simply got her husband and Jonas to follow along to walk Luna back home. Walking was pure torture for Luna. She kept her eyes on the ground to avoid looking into the light and simply followed in her mother's footsteps. Once they reached the house, Luna simply laid down on the floor in the living room, closed her eyes, and covered them with her hands for good measure.
Her parents and Jonas gathered around the newly minted adult, not knowing what to do. Finally, Bertram asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "What is wrong Luna?"
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Not knowing how to explain things right now, Luna instead asked a question herself. "How do I activate or deactivate an active Skill?"
"Until you get used to using it, you have to think of the name of the Skill and think about it turning it on or off. Later you can do it by instinct. But you can't have any active Skill. You only get to pick an active Skill at level two of Hunter or Scout!" Jonas replied, his voice getting a bit louder towards the end.
Luna winced, the loud noise making her head hurt even more. Mentally focusing on the Skill she tried to turn off the weird eyes skill and felt a tickle in her mind. Opening her eyes she could finally see again, without everything being so bright it hurt her eyes. It was really easy to do and she should have known how to do it, every child was taught about passive and active skills. But with the headache, she simply could not focus.
Now she had to address the other big issue, the reasons for her headache. It felt like something was putting knowledge in her head, memories of forests she could not remember, but also memories of faces she was certain she had never seen before.
Getting up Luna shuffled towards the table and sat down on a chair, resting her head in her hands. "Alright, something weird happened when I touched the Class Stone. I got two extra messages after I picked my classes and now I have a really bad headache and can't think straight. I need to check the Class Tablet once I feel better and then I can explain it, maybe. But right now I need peace, quiet, and darkness until my head stops hurting. Thank you for bringing me home, but please give me some time."
Her parents weren't exactly thrilled with that explanation, but after a little prodding, Luna still insisted that nothing was wrong, except her head hurting. Since there was nothing they could do right now, they left Luna alone in the house and returned to the festivities. It would be a shame after all to miss the food and ale, the solstice festival happened only twice a year after all.
While her parents and Jonas were feasting and drinking, Luna had crawled into her bed to wait out the headache. After lying down and closing her eyes, she kept seeing unfamiliar scenes and she realized what the message had meant. [Memories] was unlocked and now those memories were returning. Only she had no idea how to control it, if she did not know of a possible memory, how was she supposed to remember it? That thought alone made her feel like another headache was coming.
At some point, Luna must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew was waking up, tucked in under her blanket and it was dark outside. The headache was gone and she did not feel tired at all. Getting to a decision, Luna slipped from her bed, quietly feeling around for her clothes. Remembering that she had a skill, she felt around in her head to activate it.
Suddenly the world was brighter, the colors were muted, but she could see as if the moon was shining in her room. Of course, whoever had tucked her in a hat also neatly folded her clothes and put them on her commode. Being able to see made putting them on a trivial task, sneaking to the front door Luna slipped into her boots and quietly left the house. Outside was even brighter than inside, the stars and moon lighting up the world in a way she had never seen before.
Only very few people were now left at the village center. The remainder sitting huddled around the embers of the fire, only a few last wooden logs burning. They were the fire watch and the lucky few who could slack off for a day. Even if there were only embers left, someone had to keep watch. Just in case wind picked up and they had to prevent sparks setting the village aflame.
Nobody was taking note of Luna. Keeping away from the bright shine of the fire, she slunk around to the temple and put her hand on the Class Tablet.
Name: Emiluna Millersdaughter / Emilia Lunare Silvenlake
Level: 1
Race: Human/Dryad
Age: 16
Class 1: Hunter - Level 1
Experience: 0/100
Class 2: Scout - Level 0
Experience: 0/10
Class 3: N/A (Requires a total level of 45)
Health: 153/156 [(Vitality x 10 + Strength x 2.5 + Dexterity x 2.5) x Skill Modifier]
Stamina: 154/165 [((Vitality + Strength + Dexterity) x 5) x Skill Modifier]
Mana: 117/129 [(Wisdom x10 + Intelligence x 2.5 + Charisma x 2.5) x Skill Modifier]
Regeneration - Per Minute
1.57% Stamina [1% base x Body/Mind x Skill Modifier)]
0.77% Mana [1% base x Mind/Body x Skill Modifier)]
1.2% Life [Base 1% x (Skill Modifiers)]
Stats - Body
Strength: 10
Vitality: 9
Dexterity: 11
Stats - Mind
Wisdom: 8
Intelligence: 8
Charisma: 7
Available Points
Stats: 0
Skills: 0
Skills - Personal
[Athleticism] - Level 3
[Languages] - Level 4
Skills - Race
[Dryad's Body]
[Dryad's Eyes]
[Ancestral Memories] - Integrating - 3 hours
Skills - Crafting
[Cooking] - Level 3
[Sewing] - Level 2
Skills - Combat
[Bows] - Level 1
[Small Weapons] - Level 1
[Small Shields] - Level 1
Skills - Utility
[Tracking] - Level 2
[Stealth] - Level 3
[Survival] - Level 2
[Field Craft] - Level 1
Skills - Class
[Hunter's Regeneration]
[Hunter's Stride]
Luna expected a lot of things, but not for the surprises to start in line one. She now had a second name and it sounded a lot like her normal one. Like someone had taken both her first names and mashed them together into one, like a scared and confused four years old might do after having her memories scrambled.
Then there was the change to her race. Which told her exactly nothing. It was not like the Class Tablet had information about races handy, after all, everyone knows their race and she had never heard of anyone discovering it at age 16. Parents could see their child's status after birth and Luna wondered what kind of havoc it caused when children were born and only one parent could see the child's status, loudly proclaiming it to not be the supposed father's child.
But none of that mattered to Luna right now. She focused on her classes and the class information for each was displayed.
Hunter - Tier 1
The Hunter is the basic class specialized in stalking and bringing down prey. They primarily use ranged combat but are also handy with small weapons that also serve a purpose out of combat, like a knife or hatchet. They gain access to both active and passive Skills related to ranged combat and Hunting, but only passive Skills for melee combat.
Stats per level: +1 to a Body stat (Fixed order: Strength/Vitality/Dexterity)
Skills: +1 Active Skill at level 2, level5, level 10, and every 10 levels afterward.
Passive Skills: Grants [Hunter's Regeneration] and [Hunter's Stride] at level 1.
Scout - Tier 1
The Scout is the forward force of any military Unit. Their primary function is to observe, spot, track, and remain unseen while doing so. They gain increased experience with any skills related to spotting, tracking, and remaining hidden. If forced to fight, the Scout tries to ambush with a bow, but if forced to fight melee they use small arms and a buckler.
Stats per level: +1 Body stat (Fixed order: Dexterity/Strength/Vitality)
Skills: +1 Active Skill at level 2, level5, level 10, and every 10 levels afterward.
Passive Skills: Grants [Scout's Resolve] and [Scout's Precision] at level 1.
Her Hunter class sat at level 1 and Scout class at level 0. Which was exactly as it should be. She had already been granted the two basic Hunter skills, and she checked their effects.
[Hunter's Regeneration]
Being a Hunter means going where others do not. You cannot count on help being nearby and injuries are known to happen. Life Regeneration is improved by 20% (Skill modifier +0.2).
[Hunter's Stride]
Going where there is no road or easy path drains Stamina and decreases how far you can range. Stamina Regeneration is improved by 20% (Skill modifier +0.2) and you move slightly faster without putting in the extra effort.
She would get her Scout class Passive Skills once she reached level 1, which was only a formality with it only requiring a few points of experience. But it was better for skills to be gained slowly, as the body has to adapt to the changes. Luna wished she had a warning before the Memories skill had been unlocked because the experience had been a very unpleasant one. While the headache was gone, she could still feel the Skill working, still adding knowledge about things she could not yet clearly see.
Now that the classes were done with, it was time to look at the curiosity that was the new category of Skills - Race. She had never heard of such and if anyone in Creek Springs had some special Skill related to being human, it wasn't public knowledge.
[Dryad's Body]
While you appear to be human, you inherited some traits from a Dryad.
+10% to Health, Stamina, and Mana (+0.1 Skill modifier)
[Dryad's Eyes]
The Dryad is a creature of nature, at home during both day and night.
Let's you see in the dark, while slowly draining your mana.
[Ancestral Memories]
As part Dryad, you retain some of your ancestral memory.
Integrating - 3 hours: This skill is currently adapting your body and will be finished in 3 hours.
At least now she understood what had happened. During the Rite, [Memories] was unlocked and renamed to [Ancestral Memories] and the integration process was scrambling her brain and causing her headache. She intuitively knew that once the Skill was done integrating, she would be able to access it at will, but was unclear what that meant exactly.
Apparently, the [Night Eyes] skill had been renamed and moved as well, into the new Skill - Race section. Which made a little sense to her, since previously she did not have the Dryad race on her status. Why had the skill been hidden under a different name until she turned 16? She had no idea, it was not like there was some grand explanation. Only some puzzle pieces which she would hopefully put together later.
The other basic Skills granted by the classes were self-explanatory. They were the basic passive skills that weren't exclusive to her classes. No need to check the details right now, it was the middle of the night after all. Luna left the Class Tablet and snuck through the night, easily avoiding the few people still awake, thanks to her improved sight. Nobody at home had noticed her leaving and she returned to her bed nobody the wiser. Still mentally exhausted, Luna quickly drifted off to sleep.