That night we sleep in the cave, as planned. Ronan doesn't know I have missions—it's an unknown concept in this world where the system doesn't talk to them like it does to me. But I did tell him I wanted to help the goblins settle, hence staying overnight. The goblins lend us some bedrolls and furs to cover ourselves. For now, we're all sleeping in the main cavern, which has warmed up from the fire. In the coming days, the goblins will distribute themselves and the bears among the other caves. Once I'm in my bedroll, I turn toward the nearby wall and pretend to sleep. Minutes pass. Endless minutes. Because ever since I saw that specialization notice, I've been dying to know what they've given me or if I can choose between various options. If I haven't snuck away before, it's because we went to bed shortly after dinner and I think I can be undisturbed here. So, I wait until everything is relatively quiet, broken only by breathing and the occasional snore. Good. This is the moment of solitude I've been looking for. I open those notifications I swatted away without looking at them.

I cross my fingers. Let's see what I leveled up during battle.

Congratulations. Your level of channeling with the earth element has increased. Earth element channeling advances from minor to low.

Great! After fire, it's the one I've used the most, so I was eager to improve it.

Congratulations. Your creative use of earth element channeling applied to terrain has generated a new utility option.

Curious, I tap on the window to see what it means:

Earth element channeling costs two mana points and lasts 2 minutes. The area to which it can be applied increases to one of the following options:

* the user's entire body

* two weapons, two armor pieces, or two small objects

* a terrain area equal to what the user can control with her earth control spell. Essential requirement: simultaneously using the earth control spell.

Then I realize. In the heat of battle, I instinctively applied earth channeling to something that wasn't a weapon, shield, or parts of my body. I hadn't tried it before. I didn't even notice it might not work—I just tried to further harden those stone spikes I already had a connection with through my basic control spell.

Magic is simply amazing. And it can be created and improved. Here, lying with my eyes open and trying not to move much, I suddenly feel overwhelmed with gratitude. I love this world. Being able to do magic, even redesign it, is more than I could have ever dreamed. Right now, if someone told me to go back to Earth, I'd say no. It's not that I don't love my parents or my friends, but here I feel alive and useful like I never have before. The wolf pup, the goblins, even Ronan... I don't know what would become of them if I left. And yes, I include the necromancer in that list, because he's a sweetheart but I think without support, because of all the damage done to him, he could change and become a monster.

He has the potential.

And so does the seed.

I focus back on the spell. It's two minutes. Fire channeling went up to three. I guess that's because earth has increased in range.

I continue looking at the notifications.

The survivors of the great bear's family wish to live under your protection and become your vassals. Do you accept?

I roll my eyes. I press yes and continue reading, this time the notification that just opened.

I also hear a couple of roars and a bellow that resound through the cave, deep and victorious. Uh... they're going to wake everyone up. I better stay very still.

Congratulations, future Dark Lord, you have just gained your third vassals.

+20 influence points.

I move my hand the minimum necessary (in case someone has woken up) and check the last unread notification.

Congratulations, future dark lord, you have just gained your second vassals.

+46 influence points.

Stolen novel; please report.

You will have access to the village control interface once it is established.

What?

I tap on interface to see what else it tells me. And no, please, System, I don't want to get into a city builder. Just let me level up and that's it, I'm asking for so little.

The village control interface allows you to select village buildings and spells.

Well okay, I tap on established.

A village is established when it has at least fifty inhabitants, all with beds, as well as a town hall.

Town hall?

Building or room where the physical pedestal of the control interface is placed.

And the system doesn't show me anything else about the pedestal no matter how much I try. I guess I'll have to ask the goblins. Since they're not even thirty right now, I file it away in the mental tab labeled "annoying tasks that multiply like mushrooms to worry about another day."

Something else that intrigues me is the influence points. For Ronan they gave me 10. Tapping on the system interface, I can see where the 45 goblin points come from: 3 are for the totem. 1 for each child or non-combatant goblin. 2 for each warrior. So it counts 14 goblins as warriors and the rest up to 28, not counting the totem, as non-combatants. I think it counts Gump, who's injured, as a combatant, and some women who have fought are included as non-combatants because it's not their primary role. Interesting.

I don't think they prevent their females from taking up a spear and fighting if that's what they want, it's just that based on how the tribe is organized, they focus more on skinning and other tasks. I think a female, who can be more agile, would make a good scout or archer. Hm... I'll probably bring this up with the totem and them later.

And now, finally, to the best part: my level up. To start with, I see that I barely made it, I'm practically missing the almost eleven hundred I need for level 8. I was getting 15% of the shadow wolf's experience. This is very strange. A divine beast should get experience from killing bears, right? I start investigating and end up finding that the wolf is at maximum level—which I already knew—but that it's weakened and recovers its power as the pup levels up. Also, I got a ridiculous amount of experience because that 15% is based on a double standard: humans barely get any experience from non-dungeon creatures. That's why I gained almost no experience from the fight between the wolf and the mountain king. Later I'll ask the pup to show me his character sheet and the shadow wolf's. Now, first things first: I look to see what specializations they're offering me. From the otome, I already know that a specialization is equivalent to a profession.

Mage. Specializes in the use and control of magic, channeling magical energy to cast spells that can be destructive, defensive, healing, or supportive. Main stats: Intelligence and wisdom. Bonus: +1 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Con.

Fighter. Specializes in physical combat, using strength, endurance, and martial skill to face enemies on the battle front or at range. Main stats: Strength, agility, and constitution. Bonus: +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con.

Aetherblade. Specializes in the union of body and soul. Capable of imbuing the spirit element into their body, equipment, and spells. Main stats: Strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, and wisdom. Bonus: +1 Str, +1 Agi, +1 Con, +1 Int, +1 Wis.

Oh my god!

Aetherblade? There was nothing like this in the game. I mean, what they're offering here at level 7 is just the basics. A mage is the basic magic class, which later transforms into healer, elementalist, sorcerer, necromancer and other possibilities. Similarly, the fighter can evolve into archer, warrior, tank, assassin... But this is the first time I've read about the aetherblade, and I suspect, since there are no records in this world of someone with the spirit element, that I might be the first. Because I'm going to choose it, I'm not stupid. I don't care that it relies on all 5 stats and that it'll be more complicated to level up. Besides, aren't I already fighting with my sword imbued with fire? I stretch out my fingers and select the option. I don't even want to look at what spells and abilities I'd get if I chose one of the other two classes.

Congratulations. You are an Aetherblade, a specialization that should have been common but disappeared at the dawn of history, when the creator god split. Within you lies the power to recover what was lost, to return unity to creation. These are your available abilities and spells.

Before tapping to see what they're offering, I try everything possible to get more information by tapping on creator god. In the otome they didn't talk about the gods, it was taboo. In this world, even more so. All that's said is that after the defeat of the last demon king there were countries that didn't accept the peace imposed by the gods and their armies were destroyed by divine fury. Temples as places of worship were forbidden, most being destroyed. Some monasteries remained, converted into sanctuaries for educating children with light magic.

That's why having the system show me something about a creator god is most intriguing. However, there's no more information no matter how much I search.

Recover what was lost, return unity to creation... it seems related to what my specialization is: a union of body and spirit; that is, of body and soul.

I continue reading:

Available abilities (choose one):

Minor Meditation: Through the perfect union of body and spirit, accelerates the recovery of health and mana. Recovers 1HP and 1MP for every 20 minutes of meditation.

Minor Magic Resistance. Passive. +1 point of magic resistance.

Balance: Maintaining the spirit is cultivating the balance of elements. Accelerates the learning of elemental magics that you have less developed, acceleration that slows as you approach the level of your most developed elemental magic. To accelerate learning, obviously, you must use that magic.

Oh, what do I choose now?