To Jack, it felt like the pain should have lasted longer. Like he should be ashamed he wasn’t yet still hurting. Ava was, even though the Satyr didn’t show it these days. So why wasn’t he? Maybe it was because time has a tendency to smooth all ills. The body cannot handle sorrow for too long and must let sadness wash away, else it bites into one’s soul too deep.

A month had passed since the burial. An entire month filled with nothing… Well. Not nothing. But events certainly lost their color to Jack. |Jack|. How stupid. Yet that was fate sometimes. Still, he carried on. On that day, he walked out of their house in the clearing and stared at the sky.

Enough pain. My friend… I will never forget you. But enough pain.

From that day on, Jack had to release himself of the emotional burden he had carried. He noticed how it affected him. He couldn’t not notice. So, for himself, for his friends, for Helmrest, he had to carry on.

That being said, the past month had been filled with activities. The old wall had been rebuilt into a proper wall, one that actually encircled the village. Only Helmrest wasn’t a village anymore, but a town, one recognized by the local powers. Namely The Barony, but it was enough. And standing guard outside that wall were the animated trees left behind as a gift.

Jack winced as he remembered Rosa’s ‘kindness’, but moved past it. No use dwelling in the past. Not now, anyway.

Yet those trees were useful. Not the brightest and not able to communicate, but they could carry heavy loads, follow basic instructions and help around. Elia had been using them as basic laborers, having them work the fields and help with construction, both of the wall and of the village. Jack thought Rosa would have deeply disapproved of her creations being used as everyday workers, so he was satisfied with Elia’s decision. Oh, they also looked intimidating and would probably be good in a fight, but nobody dared attack them or even be uppity to the new town in the area.

Of course, that might also have had something to do with the giant spectral knight that Elia still had called into being every week for a day or so. It was a show of strength, true, but it also delighted the townspeople, especially the children. Jack and his friends knew that the knight was more dangerous when it was of a smaller size, but refrained from commenting. Why ruin a good thing? Of course, Elia had tried to make the knight do labor too, but that was somewhat impossible for two reasons. One, the construct burned through magic like crazy. They could afford it now, but it was still a heavy cost. That could have been worked through, but the second reason was final. The spectral knight was absolutely rubbish at anything other than fighting. It failed at even pulling a cart. Well, at least it looked good standing there, looming. The town building could be left to the walking trees and actual laborers.

And they had a lot of town building to do in one month.

Until now, Helmrest had a main street and a few secondary ones. Nobody really cared more than that, houses sprouting up where their owner thought best. Now, Ela made sure roads clearly delimitated the rows of houses being built. Gone too were the large backyards and sprawling gardens some villagers liked to keep right next to their house. The fields were for growing plants, inside the town walls, buildings had priority. Helmrest now had clear roads, better looking buildings, a town center which was taken over so fast by shops and industries that new buildings constantly appeared or second stories added. That was a new thing too. Second floors. What a sight in a place like Helmrest. They had been building so much, that people actually started to get Classes like |Mason| or |Builder|. Elia even had to hire a city planner, when she noticed her own Skills and acumen weren’t enough.

Shops. Squares. A park. You may ask what brought about such a sudden and major change?

Well… there’s a few reasons. One was security. Helmrest had already been prosperous for a village, too much so. Which made it a prime target for monsters and bandits, as history showed. Now it had a wall encircling it. Stone base, but the wooden wall was constantly being replaced with a clay brick version. To that one may add a few towers, simple, but good for archers. And a Town Watch composed of volunteers that had seen actual battle and who actually had a few Classes between them. Oh, and a group of huge walking trees, complete with an equally huge spectral knight. Of course, one shouldn’t forget the team of adventurers camped right outside the town.

When you add it all up, what bandit would be fool enough to attack them? They didn’t even have thieves and a town their size normally should.

Helmrest was still a good target for raiders, though, it was just too well protected. And its riches had grown more and more. One such ‘treasure’ were people. Developing so fast, offering protection… that made a lot of people move in. Enough that Elia received angry complaints from local Village Heads, accusing her of stealing their people. That was one of the reasons all those houses had to go up. The other reason was that Helmrest now saw its fair share of merchants. Having not one, but two trading routes, one with The Barony and the other with a Dwarfhold of all things meant business was booming.

This also meant that Helmrest’s own townspeople started to receive Classes. Which made it even more attractive to others. The last factor that had contributed to this incredible growth spurt was the local forest. For one, a few local powers witnessed the green and red mushroom’s actual worth, which meant now everybody knew it. The high demand for them, coupled with them not growing as fast as before, as well as Helmrest’s policy on not allowing the sale of raw mushrooms, only processed by their growing number of |Potioners| and |Herbalists|, meant that it had become a very lucrative trade. And that Jack hadn’t had a mushroom stew in three weeks. It got so absurd, that Lola had to actually refuse a |Fungus Herbalist| Class Specialization, since she didn’t want it. Still, it was good coins and as the owner of the forest, Jack’s own ‘war coffer’ received a cut of the profits.

And the very last reason for the sudden blessing?

Jack looked at them he exited his hut.

“You’re late!” Ava called out. “We’ve already been at this for hours. I’m ready for my first break.”

“Ava is lying.” Brom said. “We’ve merely been sparing for perhaps half an hour. Though I will accept a break as well.”

Jack laughed as he threw a couple of water pouches at them.

“Where’s Mrk?”

“Scaring the souls out of the mushroom gatherers.” Ava said, before gulping down.

“He is practicing his stealth Skills.” Brom clarified. “As his Class puts less focus on fighting and as the two of us were already training, he decided to also improve his repertoire.”

“By scaring the souls of the mushroom gatherers.” She grinned, before growing serious for just a second. “You all right?”

“Yeah. I’m better now.” He said.

He had to admit, his sullenness had been noticeable. But no more. He still hurt on the inside… but no more.

“Did the dwarfhold send anything our way?”

“No.” Brom shook his head. “Elia contacted them again, but they have found no other information pertaining to the |Jack| Class than they previously offered. The Barony reported no other information either.”

“Right.” He said, not letting disappointment take over.

His transition into a |Jack| had been a most disturbing change. Suddenly, all his Skills were gone. All his Classes too. True, he was a Level 31 |Jack|, but that meant nothing. It simply accentuated the greatness of his folly.

True to their promise, both The Barony and Brom’s dwarfhold sent what information they possessed their way as well as a promise to keep looking, but it wasn’t looking great. What they knew now was that there had been no reported |Jack| to lose the Class. No reported gain of a secondary Class, once the |Jack| Class was assigned. No increase in Level, no Skills gained, nothing. Magic was a tricky subject. Apparently, some |Jack| could learn magic, there were examples of that, but most didn’t. Whether it was because of depression the change caused or because they didn’t have the benefit of society helping them improve their magic, the sources didn’t say.

And Jack felt the way others treated him right away. Not the people of Helmrest. No, they who saw him fight for them, become a |Jack|, because of the war, they loved him. Most now saw fearing |Jack|’s as just a superstition, with the rare few that thought Jack himself was the sole exception to the rule. No, Jack saw the change from the new townspeople, those that had been drawn in by Helmrest’s new fortune. Them and the merchants passing through on business.

Jack and his friends were famous now, so everybody recognized him. Though, while the merchants were still cordial with him, probably because The Baron told them to be, the new townspeople weren’t as much. They saw how the others treated him, so they didn’t outright spit on him, but by now Jack could tell whether someone was new to the village by the way they looked at him.

That being said, their quest for information was still ongoing. If the |Jack| Class couldn’t be removed by itself, could others do it for him? Either by magic or Skill? Apparently, maybe. There were Classes that could tamper with the Classes and Skills of others, even assign them, to everyone’s surprise, but the information was still being compiled.

So, what did Jack do, while the month passed away and he waited for more information?

“Anyway, let me show you what I learned.” He grinned, willing away the bad feelings.

Raising a hand and aiming it, he shouted.

“|Tripping Vine|”

Stolen novel; please report.

A vine shot out of the ground, much faster than the ones usually summoned by his |Ensnaring Vines| Spell, grabbed Ava’s ankle and yanked it out from under her, before quickly withering away.

“What was that?” she yelled, from the ground. “Couldn’t you have tested it on Brom? He’s short so he doesn’t fall as hard.”

“A new variant.” The dwarf said, ignoring her. “Faster, but less durable. Aimed at interruption, not capture. And the mana cost?”

“Lower.” Jack answered. “I could easily cast this a few times before I got tired.”

That was what Jack had done. He still had his magic. So he started to refine it. Elia made far distance communication with Aure possible and the old mage had a few bits of advice for Jack. Apparently, even though two people could cast the same Spell, it was entirely possible for one to cast the Spell with less mana drainage, improved casting time, improved Spell effectiveness and so forth. Which led Jack to play around with his Spells.

And that was what made him learn a few new ones, the first entirely by accident. He had first tried to expand his |Barrier| Spell, so that it could encompass others. It only got wide enough to cover fourteen to fifteen inches on any side of him. Which was nice, but not good enough. So, he started to shrink it instead, aiming at reducing the mana cost. He pressed it, smaller and smaller, straining against his own magic, until finally he heard a voice telling him he was the brand-new owner of the |Shield| Spell.

Naturally, after he was done yelling and celebrating, he tested it. The |Shield| Spell couldn’t be cast at range, could probably be cast on another person, but he didn’t get how yet and only called into being a small round shield, which covered about half of him. That being said, it was far more mobile, more damage resistant and less mana draining. Plus, he could use it to bash people. Always fun.

And from there on, Jack had kept on experimenting.

Trying to make his |Bolt| Spell faster and sharper resulted in him obtaining the |Dart| Spell. It was somewhat more dangerous, actually managing to put holes in wood and scratches on metal. Faster too, though the magic cost was high. Trying to make it stronger, to pack more of a punch, brought him the |Blast| Spell. It only really worked on short distances, since casting at someone far away only made the magic dissipate until it got there. But when used correctly, it could knock out even a soldier wearing a helmet. Or blast someone back.

|Dispel Compulsion| didn’t really work or at least Jack hadn’t figure out how to improve it. The most he could do was stop someone from engaging in a repetitive, harmful behavior. That… helped Ava, somewhat. He was grateful for it, for he didn’t further pursue the act of getting a new Spell out of this one.

And |Ensnaring Vines|… well. Ava could attest to what new Spell came from that one.

“This brings your magical repertoire to eight Spells.” Brom concluded and smiled. “Not bad.”

“Yeah, you’re a real mage now, Jack. Just let me know when you get any fire-based ones, yeah? Us folks with fur tend to distrust fire wielding types.”

“Will do.” He laughed.

“Mrk also happy for Jack.”

“MRK! Dam-“ he said, before breathing hard. “Right, I fell for that. Is that a new Skill or just |Faint Presence|?”

His friend had appeared from nowhere, as he typically did these days. It was his new obsession and it helped him, sure, but Jack also thought he got a secret amusement from scaring people.

As those poor mushrooms foragers could attest.

“Just old Skill.” He shrugged. “But I does it better now. Better and better. I met with mushroom pickers in forest.”

“Did you scare them too?” Ava asked.

“Yes.” He simply said. “Not mean to, but yes.”

“Uh-huh.” Ava said, rolling her eyes.

“And after they calm, they say to Mrk Elia wants talk with us. Whenever can.”

“Ooooh! Think she has a mission for us? I’ve been waiting for some adventuring!”

“Unlikely.” Brom opined. “Most likely she wished for us to help in some manner.”

“Spoilsport.” Jack laughed, though he was interested himself.

They changed, washed and headed towards Helmrest. Thanks to whatever magic took place, the road to it was now clear and easily traversed. It was still a hike and Jack missed his |Rough Walker| Skill, but their travel time had definitely been improved.

As they walked, they talked and Jack found some moment where he could simply listen and think. Why did Elia call them? That is, why call them without specifying the reason? It was done though another person, so the reason why mustn’t have been mentioned because it was sensitive. Yet, because it was done though one of the gatherers and she mentioned that they should come whenever they can must mean that the issue wasn’t urgent.

Elia had called them a few times in the past, to either help her impress merchants, participate in a town holiday, two this past month or simply have dinner together. Though Jack knew what Elia had been working on. Gathering information. The thing is, what the townspeople didn’t know…

The fighting never stopped.

It just moved into a long-term engagement. This issue with the elves and the nymphs… Jack remembered what Rosa showed him. Tidal waves of magma, Spells that could blast apart mountains. There was a war coming and it didn’t matter who won, because everybody else would surely lose. There was no time and no reason to be idle. Jack had to prepare. His friends had to prepare. Everybody had to prepare, because when that unknown something would come, their survival would depend on how prepared they’ll be to face it.

Sometimes Jack felt silly, worrying about a fate like that. Yet… a new race of superb magical users was coming back into this realm. One ready to manipulate and coerce entire kingdoms into war. In response, an ancient race was gathering its strength for a confrontation. One that wasn’t indisposed to the smaller races, but which didn’t pay to much attention to them either.

No. I’m not wrong. I have to get stronger. We all do.

Still, the far future aside, his friends were cheerful enough to make sure they all reached Helmrest in high spirits. And what a different sight it was. The gate facing the forest was all stone, with two massive wooden doors, covered by metal plates. They were open now and waiting for them near the entrance was a familiar face.

“Pickle!” Jack called out. “Elia sent you to act as our escort?”

“What kind of a city guide would I be if I didn’t escort our local legends?”

“Oh, stop it you! Tell me more.” Ava joked.

In truth, Pickle had quickly risen up in the new Helmrest. The |Peddler| had been taken under her wing by Elia and used for quite a range of purposes. He was her campaign caretaker first, then her information gatherer. He was of so much help before and during the battle, that he even gained an |Assistant| Class out of it, the Class speaking volumes of exactly how much help he had been to Elia.

And after the war, this past month? Well, his Class spoke of that as well. He had been both busy enough and helpful enough to Elia that his Class actually transitioned. He had apparently owned a second Class, even back then. |Swindler|. But given that he had it from his youth and he was no longer morally dark, he chose to hide it as he came into a morally light type of work.

Well… morally grey, maybe.

Still, Jack didn’t know how far he had reached as an |Assistant|, but he had been informed that Pickle’s |Peddler|, |Swindler| and |Assistant| Classes had fused. He was now a Level 9 |Savvy Secretary|. And Elia’s public right-hand man.

“Congratulations on the Class.” Jack said, as they walked. “I heard about it, but didn’t get a chance to congratulate you.”

“Thank you!” the man grinned. “Level 9. Just short of a good Skill.”

“Or several decent ones.” Brom added.

“You deserve it too.” Jack continued. “I mean, just look at all of this.”

They walked through the main street before, but every time it felt more and more like a different place. It was the only street that had been paved until now, but the river stone looked good and mostly flat. There were even sidewalks now, of flattened earth. And now, most of the houses leading to the central square had an additional story.

The central square itself had been cleaned and expanded, the people’s whose houses had to be torn down for that to happen being recompensated nicely. It was round and now every building facing the square had at least one shop, their merchants trying to peddle their wares. Carts, carriages, horses everywhere and people milling about. It had truly turned into a merchant’s dream.

And just after the main square, at the end of short street all of its own, was the Town Hall. A new building, not grand, but strongly built, wide and two stories tall. It acted as Elia’s office, workroom and bedroom on more than one occasion. The woman never did learn when to stop working.

They were a few helpers there, men and woman running around with scrolls, writing letters or consulting ledgers. Though only one had gained the |Assistant| Class, Pickle informed them, before biding them farewell.

They entered Elia’s office and found the orange eyed woman jerk awake in her chair.

“Elia!” Jack said. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Just now?” she laughed. “Oh, don’t give me that look. It’s called a power nap. Come here!”

She hugged them each in turn, before offering them seats and a few cups of fruit juice. For herself she poured a cup of strong tea.

No wonder she sleeps in bursts.

They made some chit chat, but they already talked at dinner a few days prior and everyone knew that they had been called for a reason. Which explained why Ava kept bouncing around in her chair. Therefore, when Elia activated her privacy artifact, all eyes turned on her.

“Right. This information isn’t too sensitive, but better safe than sorry. I’ve been approached by The Barony. It seems one of their usual queries matched with the one they are currently performing for us. An individual has popped up, one apparently capable of assigning new Classes.”

“Whaaaat? That’s a thing?” Ava asked, in shock.

Jack was as speechless as the rest of them.

“I mean, I knew Classes could be assigned, from what happened to Lola and us. But I never really held much hope that a person could do that.”

“Yes, well…” Elia said, frowning. “Apparently, The Barony did know that, but they were holding off on the information. Officially, until they found someone who also fits our criteria, but unofficially I got the sense that this is the type of secret great powers don’t share. They probably also wanted to see if we could have a good trade relationship.”

“That… sounds kind of dishonest.” Jack said.

“It’s business and we are dealing with a power known for its mercantilism. Still, we take the good with the bad for our allies.”

“What did you mean by our criteria?” Brom asked.

“That’s the thing.” Elia said, eyes lighting up. “Apparently, this guy’s abilities also apply to |Jack|’s.”

“What?! Realy?” Jack asked, halfway out of his chair.

“Yes!” Elia grinned.

“Man can give other Class to Jack?” Mrk asked.

“The Barony’s report says that he had already did. Gave a |Jack| a |Woodcutter| Class, so that he could still be useful to his community. His other abilities include giving, removing and changing Classes for regular individuals, which allows the option of also removing a |Jack|’s Class. The fact that he didn’t do it before might simply mean it is difficult instead of not being able to. Or perhaps, given the legends about the Class itself, he simply chose not to.”

“So, what, we send him a message? How do we get him here?” Jack asked, vibrating with energy.

“Here’s the problem. The Barony will allow us to deal with him, to try and fix your Class, Jack. But after that, they want him. These individuals are incredibly rare and every power, local or not, wants them. That’s why we can’t simply make a splash and get him here, since The Barony wants to keep the information secret for now. No, you four will go after him, convince him to help you and then we’ll let The Barony have him.”

“Yeah, sure, works for me.” Jack laughed. “I’m sorry, Elia, I know he’d have been a boon for Helmrest, but I just… uh-“

“He’s just bursting with joy.” Ava joked.

“What she said.”

“Eh, we couldn’t have afforded him anyway. …probably. Still, better to have strong allies. I’ll wrangle something out of The Barony for this.” She grinned, tiredly.

“Who is the man?” Brom asked. “And when do we go after him?”

“We don’t know his name, but our sources say his Class is |Royal Administrator|, from some far-off court. Exiled, but still kept his Class. Such Classes work by appointing and removing titles and it seems that transitioned to his ability to influence Classes themselves. My helpers are still compiling all the details, but I’ll have everything ready by morning.”

“Why morning?” Mrk asked.

“Because that's my answer to Brom’s second question. You’re leaving tomorrow morning. I’ll get you all the details then. Description, location, secondary information, as well as pack your bags and arrange travel accommodations. We need to get to him before someone else notices him and goes after him or he spooks.”

She stood up and raised her cup of tea.

“Now, are you all quite ready to go on another adventure?”

Four raised cups of fruit juice and a chorus of enthusiastic approvals answered her.