Verity yawned as he walked through the forest, following closely behind Evangelina.

‘Maybe I really should have gotten some sleep…’

He hadn’t dared to ask until now, but he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. “Do you have anything like toothpaste in this world?” His stomach grumbled. “I’m also kind of hungry.”

It had been more than a day since he’d eaten anything, after all.

“Toothpaste?” Evangelina asked.

“Yeah, to clean my mouth, and I’d also need soap to clean my body.” Verity continued.

Upon hearing those words, Evangelina stopped abruptly, and turned around to face Verity. “Your world must have been quite different, huh.”

She reached into her cloak, and threw Verity a pill. “Eat this.” Then she threw him a few pieces of dried meat rolled into what seemed to be cabbage leaves. “And this.”

Verity caught both, and closely inspected the pill. “What does it do?” He asked.

“It’s a hygiene pill. Only nobles use those, so count yourself lucky.”

“Ohhh.” Verity flicked the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it without chewing. “How does it work?” He asked, waiting for it to take effect.

His master shrugged. “Hell if I know. Ask the alchemists who made it. I just know it works.”

‘So there are alchemists here..?’

“Is ‘Alchemist’ also a class?” Verity asked, even more curious.

He’d been wondering if everything and anything could be a class, or if they were limited to combat, or combat-adjacent jobs. Could someone have the ‘Farmer’ class, or even the ‘Merchant’ class? Where did it begin, and where did it end?

Evangelina sighed. “You really don’t know anything.” She pointed to the grass beneath her feet. “If I wanted to, I could rip grass from the earth for a decade or so, and perhaps I’d gain the ‘Grass Picker’ class, or perhaps not.”

“I see…” Verity said, stroking his chin.

Evangelina had meant for that to be the end of the conversation, but she could tell that Verity didn’t quite understand what she meant by that.

“Walk with me, I’ll explain while we’re on the way.”

She marched forward, and continued, but not before letting out another long sigh. “To put it simply, Terra’s touch can make anything into a class, so long as you make it recognize your efforts. Different classes have different conditions, and some might only be obtained through sheer luck, or fate itself.”

She paused, trying to put it into perspective. “You see, I’m a Spearman because I’ve wielded a spear my entire life, but fairies, on the other hand, often end up as druids because they spend most of their lives in the forest, communicating with spirits.”

“...Then, is it possible to have more than one class?” Verity wondered.

“No.” The response was blunt, and immediate.

“To have the benefits of two classes, the only way is to have such a class to begin with, or to evolve your current class in that direction, but the latter is extremely rare." She seemed pensive for a moment. " In my lifetime... I’ve only known one evolved Magic Swordsman, maybe two.” Evangelina explained.

Verity couldn't help wanting to know more despite the apparent annoyance of his master. “How come it’s so rare?” He asked.

Evangelina clicked her tongue. “So many questions...” She placed both of her hands in front of her. “Take a Spearman wanting to become a Magic Spearman, for example.” She raised one hand. “Their proficiency with the spear is, inevitably, disproportionately higher than that with magic.”

“Right.” Verity nodded.

“Well, for the system to recognize their efforts, and grant them the class, they would have to practice and improve their magic without the basic Mage skill [Mana brain].” She looked over her shoulder, to make sure Verity was following.

Verity narrowed his eyes. “...So they’d learn slower than mages, but why would that stop them from achieving the Magic Spearman class?”

Evangelina snapped her fingers, reminding Verity of last night. “Kid, it took me ten years to learn the most basic of spells, and for a non-mage, my talent is nearly average." She snapped her fingers again, snuffing the mote of light. "The absolute worst of Mages learn [Light] in no more than a week or two.”

“So… you’re saying it’s a waste of time, then?”

“Of course! Perhaps I’d have learned it in less time if I put my mind to it, but in the time I invest taking a step forward in magic, I can take a hundred steps with the Spear!”

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Verity’s mood soured slightly as he mulled over Evangelina’s words. Of course, he knew it’d be difficult to learn the spear without the class, but from the way she phrased it, it seemed almost impossible.

He clenched his fist, thinking of the future, but eventually sighed. ‘I’ll deal with it when I get there. How can I worry without even having started my training?’ He almost felt like slapping himself for being discouraged so easily.

Evangelina, who had noticed her discipl- no, her student’s expression, cleared her throat. “Ahem, but of course, swinging a weapon around, and harnessing the power of mana are completely different things.” She flicked her hair backward. “There are half-decent combatants who don’t have the right class, and with a good enough teacher, anything is possible.”

Verity chuckled. “Then I should not worry with you as my Master, isn't that right?”

“Teacher!”

Verity looked away, not answering, but audibly giggling to himself.

‘This damn kid!’ Evangelina thought, before halting her march abruptly, causing Verity to bump into her.

“We’re here.” she said.

Verity rubbed his nose, soothing it after the sudden impact. He hadn’t seen her without the cloak, but his master appeared quite slender, toned, at most. Yet, running into her felt like running into a brick wall. He could imagine someone breaking their hand just by trying to punch her.

‘Her stats have got to be crazy high.’

He looked up, trying to see what ‘here’ was, but he couldn’t see anything. “Are we…? He asked.

His master ignored him, however, and spoke toward the seemingly empty forest in front of her. “Zog grath, drozh-urn.”

Verity did not know what she had said, or who she had said it to, but as soon as the words were spoken, there seemed to be a ripple in the air in front of them.

First, a long, lanky, blue arm passed through the ripple. It was vaguely humanoid shaped, but Verity could immediately tell that it did not belong to one. Its fingers ended in sharp, white claws, and there were many strange black markings all around its arm.

When the rest of the body came out, if Verity was not sure before, it was now clear that the creature before him was far from human. It bore a long mane of black hair, extending from its head to its knees, and the markings which had been on its arm, also covered the entirety of its body. It was tall, perhaps twice Verity’s height, and its long arms reached all the way to its feet.

Upon seeing the creature, Verity felt tense, gripping his spear tighter, and preparing to attack, if need be.

“It has been some time, friend.” The creature said.

Evangelina smirked. “You’ve been practicing human language, Thragnuk?”

A faint smile curled its purple lips. “Yes… And you have been practicing the troll language, Thrundia.” He replied.

He then looked behind Evangelina, where a human nervously gripping a spear was standing. “Gruk daz uk?” He said as he pointed to Verity.

Evangelina had expected the question, and was thus prepared to answer it, but before she could say anything, Verity stepped forward, and cupped his fist in his hand. “My name is Verity, sir, and I am Master Evangelina’s disciple.”

The troll raised an eyebrow. “You understand troll language?”

Verity smiled awkwardly. “No… I guessed, from the context. ‘Who is he?’, or something, right?”

Thragnuk blinked a few times, and then burst into laughter. There were few humans who could look at a troll without contempt, or disgust. This one had seemed afraid at the beginning, but in no more than a second, he had conquered that fear, and even taken the initiative to speak to him.

“I like him!” Thragnuk exclaimed. “If he is your disciple, then he is a sworn friend of the trolls!” Thragnuk moved his long arms, placing the tip of his nail on Verity’s head without even moving from where he was. “From now on, the trolls will know you as Gorrak the Bold!”

‘Just like that? For real?’

Verity bowed. “T-thank you, Sir Thragnuk the…”

“The Wise!”

“Thank you, Sir Thragnuk the Wise.” Verity repeated.

The troll then patted Verity’s head with its long arms, another loud laughter escaping its purple lips.

This had all happened so fast that Evangelina hadn’t found the chance to intervene. Hearing it all unfold, she couldn’t help but rub her palm over her face and sigh. The kid was more brazen than she’d initially thought, and Thragnuk seemed to have taken a liking to him. Plus, he introduced himself as her disciple, and Evangelina couldn’t very well correct him at this point, especially now that he’d received a troll name.

‘He got me…’ She thought as she glanced at Verity.

She shook her head. “Whatever.” She mumbled. “Now that you two have met, I need your help for something, Thragnuk.”

Thargnuk’s attention drifted back to Evangelina, his grin growing wider with every moment. “Zug-zug! Anything you need! By the Authority of the Thragnuk the Wise, it shall be done!” He boomed with such force that the trees themselves seemed to sway in response.

With a final resonating laugh, he stepped back into the forest, disappearing beyond the invisible ripple, and a voice echoed from the other side. “Let us discuss this over a meal. You might be fine, but your disciple is hungry! Thruk Grash!”

Evangelina groaned softly. She’d hoped for this to be a quick stop, but if Thragnuk offered a meal, she could not refuse. The last time she’d done so, he pestered her until she gave in. So, she walked through the ripple, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

Verity quickly followed behind both, his spear still in his hand. ‘Is this also magic…?’ He wondered as his feet disappeared through the ripples in space.

With another step, his entire body had phased through, and what he saw on the other side left him speechless. What first hit him was the cacophony of sounds all around him, the clinking of metal, the distant voices chattering in a language he could not understand, and the wing rustling among the trees. He’d expected some sort of troll camp, with huts made of hay, perhaps, but this was a long way from that.

Thragnuk, him, and Evangelina, had emerged on an elevated wooden platform after passing through the ripple in space. As he looked around, he noticed that most buildings were made of wood, or stone. Though they seemed primitive in style, they exuded an air of rich culture and sophistication.

Rather than a camp, it was more accurate to call this a village, or a town even. It thrummed with life, trolls of all colors marched down the dirt paths, carrying goods, chatting and some even singing. The town itself was illuminated with lanterns hanging from… nothing. They floated in the air, moving with the winds, and providing light wherever they passed.

All of it truly was a sight to behold.

“Woah…” Verity mumbled.

Evangelina scoffed, a knowing smile on her lips. “I reacted the same when I first saw it.”

Thragnuk, already descending the broad, wooden staircase that led to the town, let out a satisfied grumble. “Come, come! There is much more to see!” He said over his shoulder.

As they went down, Verity was still absorbing the surreal beauty of this place, and a sudden spark of curiosity gnawed at him. He couldn’t help but ask his master another question. “So your name, Master, is Thrundia… The what?”

She snorted. “First of all, it's teacher!!" She then wore a smug smile on her lips. "And it's Thrundia... The invincible.”