As they turned to face the last corridor, it was basically the same as the rest of the floor, but Blake could see spots where the floor or wall had gaps or spaces, making him a bit nervous, however, Claira just pulled out the book and flipped a few pages, then glanced up at the passage before looking back down.
“Ok, follow close to me, single file.” She said then started walking ahead.
“Block.” Blake said and the big man followed, then Jessica after Blake gave her a nod, and then he followed behind her.
Their passage was slow, but not dangerous as Claira was calling out everything they needed to know including where to duck or shimmy, but they got to the other side without triggering any traps, before they got to the door. [a bit anti-climactic] Blake thought to himself as he got ready to head in.
“Right we are safe here to form up, the boss here is one called Yanem the Cruel, according to this he is a rat-man that can cast magic but he can only cast three spells, and he can’t hit moving targets, all his spells will affect an area just big enough for five people,” Claira rehashed out the book, “It says we can stand still until he starts casting then we move to attack while also move about ten feet in any direction to avoid his spells, it says that he can only use about ten spells before he runs low on magic power, then he will start casting only one a minute, however, he is fast and unless we use hold spells it’s impossible to pin him down. So Jessica we will need your power to catch him, then we can kill him, with our power it shouldn’t take too long.” she said while turning to Jessica and smiling.
“Right, you can count on me.” Jessica said back with resolve.
“Jessica, if you lose concentration don’t worry,” Blake said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “I can cast the same spell too, so I'll use it if we need it.” he smiled at her with reassurance, but got smacked on the back of the head by Block.
“Idiot, we just talked about the kind way you interact with women,” He said then sighed, “I have my work cut out for me.”
“No, Block it is fine…” Jessica said then turned to Blake with a happy smile. “I’ll be counting on you, so please fight your hardest.” She blushed a bit then turned around quickly and raised her staff up, “Right Let’s go” she added as she opened the room.
As they all walked in they scanned the room to get a good layout of the space, It was about fiftyish feet across in a wide circle, with an alter in the center and a door on the far side, By the alter facing them was a tall rat man about seven feet tall, draped in a tattered cloak and holding a staff in one hand, its eyes snapped open with a red glow in them and lock on them.
“Holy Guardian, Power Boost, Magic Boost.” Jessica said calmly from behind Blake.
“Holy Shield, Holy Ward, Holy Blessing.” Blake said at around the same time as her.
“Ok, let's go” Claira yelled, and Blake ran forward, followed by Block based on the heavy footfalls, as a shower of icicles flew between them.
The rat-man raised his staff and started to cast, but Blake kept closing the gap, not slowing down, and he watched as the fireball the monster launched landed behind him, risking a glance back he saw Jessica and Claira both had moved out of the way then Jessica rose to her feet while holding her hand forward, “Hallowed Bindings” Her voice carried forward.
Blake looked back to the boss and saw a group of chains grab at his arms and legs, pinning the monster down, just in time for Blake to swing hard at the abdomen, [Rend] he thought as the blade bites into the creature's side, causing a burst of blood that ruptured out
Block swung his ax down on the leg on the other side of the creature, “Power Strike” He roared and the axe sliced through, before they both had to hop a few paces back to avoid a swing of the staff the creature had, before it raised it and cast a new spell.
Blake had to leap out of the way of the orb of green energy, having to come back around to the rear of the creature as it turned to strike at Block but it was stopped when Claira fired a shower of icicles, Blake thrust into the back of the boss while Block cut into the left arm. [Devastating Blow] Blake thought as Block roared, “Cleave!”, their attacks destroying more of the monster.
The boss collapsed, to the floor, “GUYS FALL BACK” Claira called out from behind them and they followed, “Ice Forms” She yelled a second later and created five sharpened pillars above the monster and slammed them into the boss. Making the two men block the burst of icy dust following the pillar attack.
Blake held still but as the dust cleared the boss was unmoving and looked over to Block giving him a nod before they turned to look at their teammates, seeing the two hug each other and hop in place in celebration [fucking adorable…] Blake thought at the sight, but the two saw his gaze then blush and separated.
Blake smiles at them then dismissively waves his hand turning to Block, “Let’s cut the head off, buddy.” he says and walks over to the dead boss, [waird that the boss doesn’t turn to ash.] he thinks as he grabs it by the teeth and pulls the head out straight while Block gets ready to cut the head off. And feels his rear hit the ground as the cut is clean, then he looks up, “Hey, question why are the boss’s bodies not turning to ash, like the rest of the monsters?”
Block looks at him as he shoulders his axe, then rubs his chin, “Well, according to lore, the boss monster used to be used to make armor and weapons, but that was like back when the dark lord came into being like, gods know how long ago.” Block said then shrugged, “But now no blacksmith wants to use them anymore, as you can just buy the things off the market for cheaper.”
Blake stood back up and picked up the head, "I guess that makes some sense, no real need to make stuff if you can get it all off the market." Blake turned to walk back over to the ladies " I mean it's like you said not needed so no point. After all, you can find all the potions and shit you want in the market so no need for materials." Blake said before holding the head towards Claira, only to see a confused expression on her face, along with Jessica's, before risking a glance at Block, who was nervously smiling. "What the fuck did I say this time?"
The three looked at each other, a clear battle of wills raging before Block lost and sighed "No one has seen a potion in like a thousand years, the alchemist class is believed to have died off." Block said as he got closer. "According to current records, the best way to get temporary boosts to power is to buy enchanted equipment. And with no way to make new potions they are considered a rare among the rare, there is a repeatable mission to give one to the guild for like fifty gold."
[What, why? Potions are like a staple of fantasy worlds, how has a class died out, don’t you get your class when you are born or something…] Blake spaced out for a second then snapped back to Block. "How the hell did a class like that die out? Don't you get your class at birth or something?" He asked quickly making his last thought audible.
Block’s eyes widened, then spoke "What no, you get your class at six, during your crowning." But got a more confused face from Blake, getting him to inhale deep and then lock his eyes on Blake's, "OK, let me start with a question for you, how much of the class system do you understand?"
"Let's say nothing." Blake said back, with a hard horizontal chop of his hand.
Block looked past him to Jessica and Claira, a request they explained this subject on his face, but they shook their heads and gathered their things. "Ok, so when a child is born they are basically a blank sheet, then during their early childhood that sheet gets pulled and folded and crumpled a bit, and when they become six, they get their class based on how their sheets look, or at least that is what the house of Mortimer believes because of the research of my ancestor." Block started, then glanced at Jessica and Claira noticing their confusion from his explanation, and waved them back in. “Now, the rest of the world believes that it is based on the classes of the parents, that if a warrior and a mage had a child, the child would either be a magic swordsman or a blade mage, both are a combination of the parents' classes, however, if you take that child at birth and give him to a blacksmith family then he will become a crafter at six, and at twelve he will advance to blacksmith if he keeps working in the forge. My ancestor Larch, the magic hero, did a deep dive on the subject, he found that the way a child is raised has as much importance if not more as who the parents are, which he managed to confirm when his first offspring became a magic swordsman while his second became a heavy knight and his third became a beast master. As for how the class of alchemist was lost that is easy, you can blame the last five monarchs for that" his tone was very much like a teacher, which did help Blake focus, but not so much for Claira and Jessica, "about that time the royal family had to prepare for the dark lord, they wanted to improve the combat capacity of the nation before they summoned heros, so they instituted a law that rewarded giving birth to powerful advanced classes, and those rewards where only given to classes that can contribute in a fight, alchemists all over the nation and later the world suddenly lost any chances to find partners, that law is still in effect today, after a while the class was gone and with it all potion crafting capabilities of the world."
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"Wait, advanced classes?" Blake asked after an understanding nod.
Block sighed and shook his head, "That is a whole other can of worms, but I guess you can best understand it if you think about classes like trees, or webs, webs are better." Block said as they turned to go next door. "So let's take my class as the example, The core is a warrior class, but then you take it a step towards a strong focused combatant and you get barbarians, and then go a step further and you get three choices, a berserker like me, a totem warrior, or Warden. Each is dependent on whether or not you focus on getting stronger, wiser, or healthy. Moreover, if one or both of your parents are from an advanced class you have a greater chance to become an advanced class.”
“I see, that does raise a question about a rumor I heard. Shield maidens can’t have kids that are shield maidens unless it is with a warlord or something, any truth in that?” Blake asked as he glanced around the mostly empty treasure room.
Jessica leaned over, after watching Claira for a second, “No, just a rumor, right Block?” she said then cocked a brow at Block.
“Yes, it is just a rumor as the shield maiden class is a locked class, or at least that is what the world knows.” Block said then glanced at Blake who was still watching him. “A locked class is a class that is believed to not have any advanced forms, basically a shield maiden will always be a shield maiden, no matter how hard she trains or what adventures she goes on. However, like all classes the way she raises her children counts about as much as the child’s parents.”
“So, if that is the case how do you get classless people?” Blake asked.
“Oh, I know the answer to this one,” Jessica perked up after he asked, “The current belief in the church is that classless people are those whom the gods are not sure how to bless for some reason, sometimes they are really powerful before they get to the age of six, and other times they are too weak to really do anything. However, because of the laws of the nation, the classless are basically considered vermin that need to be eliminated by the nobility so that they don’t affect the population, especially if you have low scores, if you have high scores then you will be tolerated as a slave in a noble house.”
Block nodded along then spoke up after her, “Yeah, my ancestor Larch wrote in one of his books that the classless are likely people meant to interact in some way with heroes, as the three he met became his allies in his fight after he helped them with something, each one got a class that was… rare, one became a Dragon knight, the second became a Seraphim, and the last became an Arcanesmith. He theorized that a classless person was basically able to take on any class they wanted, and their imagination is the limit, but they need a hero to start the process. However, no one has proven the theory.”
Blake looked down at his hand and thought over the information, [So if I can find a classless then I can test it, I would love to have a few strong allies over just these three…, and an alchemist would be great, but I can’t stomach buying someone.] Blake looked up to Claira as she came back over while closing her bag.
“So, not a lot of coins and no loot but I think we are good to go to the next floor.” She said with a smile, “Did you guys get him filled in on the class system?” she asked and got nods from Block and Jessica but a shake from Blake. “What is it then?”
Blake leaned back a bit and stared at the ceiling, “I was just thinking that these laws had the opposite effect of what the royals wanted, from my understanding of magic worlds and fantasy, Alchemist is not a combatant but his support of the heroes is invaluable, but they are gone and all you have left is enchanters and smiths, the powerful boost to your powers is cut from the equation.” Blake straightened out and looked at them, “So, I was thinking maybe if we find a classless, I can get them to be an alchemist if I guide them, and if we are smart about it, we can gather up money way faster.” He scratched the back of his head, “But I don’t want to buy a slave or nothing.”
The three shared a look, and Jessica’s eyes widened, “Oh, Winry, she is classless, isn’t she?” she said with her hand cupping her fist.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t want to leave her group, and her group doesn’t let her out of their sights.” Block said after.
“Even with the way they treat her, she is practically a slave for them, but she does all that willingly.” Claira said in a somber tone.
“Right then we clear this dungeon, and we go talk with her, regardless of her party’s presence or not.” Blake said and turned to walk back. “Besides, I think if I tell her what we want from her, she is likely to join us. I'll happily shoulder the consequences if we gain a strong and trustworthy ally.” he added as he looked over his shoulder. “I am sure we don’t really care about classes that much.”
They all nodded and followed after him, taking a short break to drink before going down the stairs.
As they descended, he could hear a short exchange of whispers from the ladies before the sounds of hand clapping a bit sounded, and they whispered again, and Blake thought over the sounds [so, they want to know something else and they played rock paper scissors over who would ask… which means Jessica will speak in three, two, one.]
“Umm Blake, I have a question,” Jessica spoke up but stopped for a few seconds before a light grunt from Claira got her talking again, “I wanted to know if you had a family in your world that you left behind or something.”
Blake slowed down then froze, [Why, why that question?] he glanced back, and saw they were curious, [Can’t let this get me…] he thought and exhaled slowly, “Yeah, mother and friends, my wife passed before me, and I also count the children I work with as a part of my family, I guess.” Blake said quickly then started moving.
“Your wife died before you did?” Claira asked as she moved a bit fast to get next to him.
“Yeah, and I would like not to talk about it. Sorry,” Blake said after a second, as he summoned up his memories of Dominic and his time with her, his posture got weighted and he slowed down, coming to a ruminative but somber smile while a few teardrops slipped away. “She was my everything, I am who I am because of her. I miss her.”
The three had turned as they passed him, each carried a caring smile and wished to soothe him in their expressions, and Block patted his shoulder, “So, she taught you how to cook?” he asked with as much endearment as he could force.
“Ha,” Blake laughed before suppressing it, “No, I was always the cook, but she demanded I expand my skills beyond stakes and eggs.” he said then started moving, “She would complain anytime she thought I was skipping things or steps and even when I would try to cook something new she would give me a full critique of it, down to how I burned it too much. I think the ten years I had with her is not enough but she changed me so much in that time, I remember that one time she actually threw the plate away because I quote, ruined her childhood, I had to run away from her to my friends place for the night but she came and explained she wasn’t mad, just upset that a white boy took her mother’s dish and made it better.”
“Ten years…” Jessica said as she thought it over, “You got married around fifteen?”
[what no!] Blake thought as he turned to face her, [I met her when I was…, oh moron] then slapped his head with a sigh, and finally spoke. “Umm no, when I was summoned, my age was pushed back to this, but when I died, I was thirty-seven. I met her when I was twenty-two.” Then smiled at her, “I am an older soul in a young man’s body.”
“Wait you died at the age of thirty-seven?” Claira asked then shifted a bit “How long do people live in your world?”
Blake scratched at his chin, “I think the average is like seventy or something, but most of the men in my family had lived well into their nineties.” Blake said and looked back at them, noticing their expressions of shock. “What, is that longer than here?”
Jessica shuffled a bit, “Humans generally don’t live past fifty, and that is not the nobles or those who live on the frontier or the poor or slaves.” She said then seemed to think over something, “By the time you died, you would have been expected to have a child or two about eleven or younger. But you didn’t so I guess it was because you were waiting or something…” she started to think aloud.
[what… one or two… I know that they aren’t girls… yeah, yeah, they were all over twenty, yes…] Blake spaced out while looking in Jessica’s direction, getting her to blush [I am sure I heard them say that… but granite, she was a bit petite… no she was just built differently…] Claira shifted into his line of vision, then slapped him out of it.
“Hey dumbass, stop staring, she is shy enough as it is.” Claira scolded him, before hugging Jessica.
“Sorry Jessica, I was thinking about something, about your thoughts, she and I were trying but…,” Blake started as he got up into a seat rubbing his cheek a bit. “She… well let's just say my world’s god or gods were not kind to her when it came to plans of a family…” His last line left a lot more tension in the air, a heaviness that felt wrong to disturb, Blake looked upwards, hoping that she was smiling down at him even here, “She did make me promise that even after she was gone that I would find someone new and start a family. so, she would be a guardian angel over them.”
Jessica stepped closer and kneeled down, before hugging him tight. “I am sure the gods made sure she would be waiting for you, and I am sure Geie would definitely reunite her with you when you are done on this world.” She said as her arms pulled hard on him.
“Yeah my guy, she sounds strong enough to bully the gods of your world to send her to our gods for…” Block started then looked down with a smile. “Safekeeping.” Getting a snort from Blake.
[Yeah, she was a passionate person for sure. And the range of her emotion over something was terrifying at times] Blake thought, before looking over to Claira, who was blushing a bit and looked sheepish.
Then she saw his eyes on her and she stiffened up before looking away, “I am sure she would be happy for you and your wives, you pervert.” she said before starting to stomp down the stairs.
[You are a tsundere, but thank you, Clairaentine,] Blake thought then hugged Jessica back before standing, making her yelp in surprise as he lifted her up. “Thanks guys, let’s get moving.” He said before letting Jessica go and walking down the last steps.