“Can we move this to my room?” he asked. “I could use a snack, drink, and a place to sit.” Even though he was not tired, it had been a very long night. Joe wanted to relax for a few hours before the celebrations began. Earcellwen agreed, and Mahq just followed. Joe looked in his ice box and grabbed a small wheel of cheese. A few minutes later, he had grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone. There was even an extra if Kenda was hungry.
Which she was. Arriving shortly after they finished eating, she fixed Earcellwen with an exaggerated scowl.
“I was having the most marvelous dream, where Septimus Silver was promoting me to head trainer, when suddenly I’m jolted awake by some blasted bird trying to hammer its way through my window,” she growled. “You are so lucky its first words were ‘Joe has a class meld. Come quick.’” The young woman tried to hold her stern expression for a few more seconds but lost it, laughing instead. “Give me the damn sandwich. I’m starving. Skipped the Meal Hall running over here.”
Joe was sitting on his short couch, with Mahq perched stiffly beside him. Kenda took a big bite of the still-warm and gooey snack while flopping into a chair next to RC’s. Talking around the toast and cheese, she demanded they fill her in, in detail, on what had just occurred. Her bright brown eyes glittered in her growing excitement as she listened. This was her passion.
“I can see why there is a use-cap on [Anyone]. That would be an insanely powerful ability if you could copy traits endlessly,” she mused, leaning so far forward in her chair that she was barely on the seat at all. “What a way to get a class meld! I love class melds. They are one of the most unique combination structures in Illuminaria. You also are getting one pretty early, too, even for a human, which sort of is what you are in this instance. Granted, with an Epic class, melding in a Basic is an easier mix. Still, this is really exciting.”
“Slow down, Kenda,” Joe hushed, pushing the air with his hands. “Remember, I don’t know this stuff like you do. Can you break down class melds for me, please?”
“Sorry. You're right. Okay, class melds usually occur when you gain several new attribute points. The most common point is the level 25 hurdle. When you hit 25, you earn three unassigned attribute points. That is where like 90% of first melds occur.”
“Why is that a hurdle?” Joe asked, sitting across from her.
“The hurdle part has to do with getting to 26. After 25, the amount of experience needed for the following levels are proportionally much higher. Don’t worry about that now. Let’s stick with melds,” Kendell suggested. “When you get a bunch of points, like we just did from the Cauldrakon event, you may have the chance to meld a lower rarity class into a higher rarity one. I’m betting there will be a lot of 25’ers melding classes today.”
“So because I have Fell Bane Hunter, which is an epic class, I could add any lower rarity. Would I be better off waiting for a rare or an uncommon class?”
The trainer grimaced, wobbling her head. “Eh. You could, but you only got the offer after gaining [Talent Diversification]. I’m guessing that unless you got really lucky and stumbled across a near-perfect synergy, you wouldn’t match anything above Basic today. As I said, you are getting a meld option like ten levels earlier than most folks do. My best guess is it's only because you have an epic class and the trait … plus the event that you have the meld option at all.
“Also, multiple melds are possible, especially with higher rarity classes,” she continued, “so I wouldn’t sweat the basic meld. Oh, and it’s a long way to 25. I’d take the meld unless you really don’t like ranger or druid. We could run you around and see what other basic class matches you could get.”
“Actually, they are two of my favorite classes … at least from my world. I’m assuming they are pretty close to the same here.”
“Well, ranger will lean more into the martial side of your build. Druid, the caster side. Let’s examine them. Can you open and share that scroll with me?”
Joe did, and more information appeared as Kendell accessed the window.
Fell Bane Ranger will provide you with the following traits and skills.
[Spry]: +2 to Dexterity. You will gain 2 common dexterity-based skills.
[Point Blank Shot]: Increase damage against targets in close range by 10% plus 1% for each skill rank you have with this skill. Cost: Minor Stamina.
[Coordinated Hunt] If you and a bonded companion are fighting the same creature, your attacks have a 10% increase to Dexterity plus 0.5% for each skill rank you have with this skill. Cost: Minor Stamina.
[Aware] +1 to Perception. You will gain 1 common perception-based skill.
[Situational Awareness] Your ability to passively notice important occurrences around you increases by 10% plus 1% for each skill rank you have with this skill. This skill gives an inherent boost to tracking abilities and decreases the likelihood of being surprised.
“How did you do that?” Joe exclaimed. “That was not there a second ago.”
“That is what my secondary class is good for,” she replied proudly. “I can really delve into the character builds. See things that you alone would have to work out.”
Joe turned to Mahq. “You are a savant, too. Can you do that, too?”
“No,” was all the boy replied. Kendell elaborated further.
“Savants are a weird secondary class. Almost no two are the same. Each Savant is really good at something. Mine is classes, attributes, traits, all the things that shape what we can do. And Mahq …” she looked to the young man, letting her voice trail off.
“Spirits,” the young druid uttered. “Everything has a spirit. Most people don’t see them right.”
“Interesting,” Kenda noted. “Alright. Let’s see what druid gives you.”
Fell Bane Druid will provide you with the following traits and skills.
[Awakened] +2 to Spirit. You will gain 2 common spirit-based skills.
[Wild Voice]: Beasts can understand your speech. Additionally, you will understand the meanings behind the sounds, motions, and other sensory cues they make. Communication with many beasts is possible only if you keep your conversation to basic concepts they can understand. Your ability to communicate more complex ideas increases as you gain ranks with this skill.
[Spirit of the Pack] You can summon an aura in close range around yourself. While in this aura, allies gain an increase to their movement and awareness. Additionally, the spiritual bond provides them with resistance against fear effects and psychic damage. These bonuses will increase as you gain ranks with this skill. Cost: Moderate Mana.
[Hardy] +1 to Vigor. You will gain 1 common vigor-based skill.
[Beast Shape] You can transform yourself into animal form, gaining the natural abilities of that creature while retaining your consciousness and Spirit. The size of the creature you can assume is up to 10 lbs., increasing to the current weight limit plus 1 lb. for each skill rank you have with this skill. The speed of this transformation is Slow, additionally conditioned on the deviation in size and shape from your own. The amount of time the transformation takes decreases with each skill rank you have with this skill. Cost: Moderate Stamina.
“Two of those are exactly what I’d expect from a druid class,” Joe thought out loud.
“I agree,” Kenda replied. “The spirit aura … is that from you, Mahq?”
“I have a lot of totem auras,” he answered slowly.
“See, this is what makes melds so cool. Not only do they take into consideration the class they are melding into and the person receiving the meld, but also the character of the person offering the skill.” Kendell gesticulated her way through these lines with the last bite of the grilled cheese still in her fingers, seemingly forgotten in her excitement. “You never know what you are going to get. So Joe, going forward, Mahq’s gift with auras and the spiritual world could be available to you if you took his class. Whereas with RC, her bond to Naenaeon will likely help you gain companion skills for working with Finn. Both are good for you.”
She stopped, took a breath, and seemed to recall her dangling meal. “Do you have a preference,” she asked before popping that last bite into her mouth.
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“I think a few days ago, I would have been solidly in the mindset to increase my martial skills to be able to fight solo if needed, but yesterday was a real eye-opener. Against the crab swarms, I was so much more effective as a support and control caster. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret the self-sufficiency I gained from Fell Bane Hunter in the slightest. But in light of working on a team in the coming quest, maybe I should consider supporting my Spirit-based skills more.”
Joe stopped and looked at both options again. Fell Bane Ranger’s skills were all good combat abilities, and DEX was his attribute that most needed a little love. Wild Voice likely would not significantly impact the fight against the undead, especially since Earcellwen had a similar ability. Also, the Beast Shape would not be much help in battle for quite a while. He’d have to get it to rank 12 or 13 before he could transform into, say, a 100-pound wolf. He’d need rank 20 before getting 200 pounds. It grew pretty well after that. Joe calculated he’d reach 1,000 pounds in the mid-forties. Still, it was not going to help him with Glen Cumha.
Yet his gut was telling him that druid was the right choice. There was more to do in the world than just fighting, and druid would give Joe a much deeper understanding of both his own magic and the magic of the world itself.
“Unless you think I should grab the combat boosts from ranger, Kenda, I’m leaning heavily toward druid. No offense, RC.”
“None taken at all, Joe. If anything, it says you and I will continue to remain solid teammates without a crazy amount of overlap. As my father always says, ‘Elves are not flocks but seeds finding their own soil to root.’ We'd be much less effective if you and I started building the same skill sets.” The elf stopped speaking, clearly having a thought. “That being said, if we are going to keep teaming up, we really need to improve your woodland stealth.”
“Hey! I have stealth,” Joe exclaimed.
“You are quieter than Kerrig. That’s about it,” she answered bluntly.
“Fine, we’ll work on that,” he sulked slightly. Turning to the other young lady, he added, “Kenda? Thoughts?”
The brown-haired woman huffed a few speculative sounds before replying, tilting herself to the right. “I think both are good for you. For the undead quest, ranger is better. PBS will improve your axe throws and your short-range [Grit Razors]. [Situational Awareness] is a really great ability both in a fight and while questing.” She leaned her body in the chair the other way. “Buuuut, druid amplifies healer, and to be honest, you are a healer at heart, Joe. I can see how Fell Bane has made you stronger, but you are strong enough now that I think leaning into your real strength in Spirit is the smart move.”
“Then it’s settled. Let’s do this.”
You have melded classes to acquire the new class Fell Bane Druid as your Secondary Class. You have gained the following traits.
Joe skipped the skill description, as he had been staring at them for the last five minutes straight. Instead, he focused on another new window that had appeared for him.
Achievement: You have melded classes for the first time. This action has awarded you the following choice of Traits:
[Green Heart] One with the world. Improved affinity with Wood and Beast Magics.
[Hybrid] Who needs a menu? When utilizing [Beast Shape], you can double the transformation time to meld your form into a combination of two different beasts.
As much as Joe liked the idea of stronger spell affinities, [Hybrid] offered so much flexibility he picked it without hesitation.
With all these new changes, Joe had to look over his sheet.
PLAYER PROFILE: Joseph (Joe) Morris
Race: Changeling
Level: 16
Experience: 67,012 / 69,350
SKILLS (Slots / Filled)
STRENGTH SKILLS: (5 /5)
* [Savage Claws] (U) rank 14
* [Steadfast] (C) rank 23
* [Sundering Strike] (U) rank 8
VIGOR SKILLS: (11 / 11)
* [Beast Shape] (C) rank 0
* [Deaden Flesh] (U) rank 17
* [Efferous Endurance] (U) rank 48
* [Healer's Ward] (U) rank 15
* [Morphic Form] (U) rank 17
* [Stun Block] (U) rank 12
DEXTERITY SKILLS: (5 / 5)
* [Hunter’s Pursuit] (U) rank 19
* [Melee Defense] (C) rank 36
* [Stealth] (C) rank 7
* [Versatile Weapon Expertise] (C) rank 27
PERCEPTION SKILLS: (8 / 8)
* [Assess Creatures] (C) rank 36
* [Eyes of the Healer] (C) rank 38
* [Fetching Fist] (U) rank 28
* [Night Eyes] (C) rank 16
* [Spot Weakness] (U) rank 7
* [Tracker] (C) rank 15
SPIRIT SKILLS: (16 / 16)
* [Call Nature’s Ally] (C) rank 1
* [Dispel Rot] (C) rank 7
* [Dual Cast] (C) rank 10
* [Grit Razor] (U) rank 16
* [Healing Touch] (C) rank 51
* [Healing Wave] (C) rank 7
* [Heart Fire] (C) rank 21
* [Pack Master] (U) rank 8
* [Purge] (U) rank 14
* [Spirit of the Pack] (C) rank 0
* [Warding Heal] (C) rank 8
* [Wild Voice] (C) rank 0
RESOURCES * Max w/o Overload Penalty (15%)
* Health: 1,081 / 1,081
* Stamina: 1,956 / 1,956 *(2,301)
* Mana: 5,020 / 5,020 *(5,906)
ATTRIBUTES
* Strength: 5 (7)
* Vigor: 11
* Dexterity: 5
* Perception: 7
* Spirit: 16
Available Attribute Points Unspent: 3
CLASSES
* Primary Class: Healer
* Secondary Class: Fell Bane Druid
* Tertiary Class: None
TRAITS
* [Anyone] (Racial)
* [No one] (Racial)
* [Alpha] (Racial)
* [Talent Diversification] (Racial)
* [Iron Mind] (Hereditary)
* [Altruist] (Achievement)
* [Ambidextrous] (Achievement)
* [Beastmaster] (Achievement)
* [Dancer] (Achievement)
* [Hometown Hero] (Achievement)
* [Hybrid] (Achievement)
* [Mystic] (Achievement)
* [Overachiever] (Achievement)
* [Punching-Bag] (Achievement)
* [Glutton for Punishment] (Achievement)
* [Death's Door] (Achievement)
* [Survivalist] (Achievement)
* [Synergistic] (Achievement)
* [Undaunted] (Achievement)
* [The Seal of Passing] (Prophetic)
DISCIPLINES
· School of the Sparrowhawk: 3
Joe smiled at his mana pool. Even with the -15 % from Overload, his new levels, and the additional 4 points of Spirit, he now had over 5k mana and a new skill to boost his mana recovery when needed. Granted, he also had more tricks requiring mana, but that was a plus, not a negative.
That last line bugged him as he had had no time recently to work on the School of the Sparrowhawk. Maybe when things settled down again, he’d spend some more time with Mahq to try to make further discoveries with the discipline.
When he refocused on the room, he noticed that Mahq was no longer sitting next to him. Also, his front door was left wide open. Joe shook his head. ‘How hard is it to close a door behind you?’
“He left a couple of minutes ago,” Earcellwen explained. She stood up and rolled her shoulders. “And you know what? I think I’m going to follow suit. If no one catches me, I should be able to grab an hour before the First Procession starts.” She turned her tired eyes to Joe and added. “You should do the same. Founder’s Day is too much fun to slump through. As my Father always says, ‘The weary man often misses the player’s best scenes.’”
She turned and waved over her shoulder, exiting the room, also leaving his door wide open. A second later, she poked her head around the door jab and smirked.
“Just kidding.”
The door closed, and Joe and Kendell sat alone together. Suddenly, Joe felt anything but tired.
“She is right,” the pretty woman stated. “You don’t want to be sleeping your way through the festival.” She brushed back her hair and added. “I don’t want you to sleep your way through the festival either. I want to enjoy the day with you. We earned it. I got way more sleep than you did. Go crash for a bit. I’ve got a book. I’ll wake you up with time to spare before the First Procession.”
Joe hesitated, but she fixed him with her mockingly stern look and made shooing gestures with her hand.
“Ok. I … I guess you’re right.”
‘You guess?”
“Fine. I’ll try and catch a bit of sleep. I’ll be just in there,” he answered, pointing his chin at his bedroom door. To be honest, he was beat. The more it was discussed, the more he realized he had been running on adrenaline and [Efferous Endurance] for the last hour.
Still, Kendell was sitting in his armchair, waiting for him, sort of. They had kissed. She had seriously kissed him back. Joe lay down on his back and folded his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Even as he was thinking he should get back up and go talk to her, his eyes drooped closed for a very long few seconds.
He jerked them back open and started to sit up, but the motion turned into a roll onto his side, then to his stomach. One arm flopped over the edge of the bed.
He never felt his furry knuckles hit the floor.