By now, Nick was familiar enough with the System to expect some intense sensations accompanying the impending alterations. He leaned back in his chair and braced himself for whatever was about to happen. For a breathless moment, he felt nothing at all.
But then his skin began to tingle, like he had brushed up against an electrical field. Within the span of a breath, the buzzing intensified. He felt hot, then cold, then burning up again, all in the blink of an eye.
He was intensely nauseous, then completely drained of energy. Pain and arousal, apathy and ecstasy, suffused him, the sensations in his body giving way to one another like someone flipping through stations on the radio.
All the while, he could feel his insides squirming, as his organs, bones, and blood reconfigured themselves on a cellular level. Then the changes went deeper still, penetrating into the heart of his being.
Somehow, Nick knew that his very DNA was being altered. After a final, blindingly intense surge of sensation, the System’s presence receded, leaving him panting in his chair.
Bloodline alteration successful. Trait: Survivor [enhanced] has become a permanent part of your bloodline.
Now that the bonus objective reward has been allocated, you will be given a chance to change your class.
Warning: this opportunity must be accepted now, or class change will be unavailable until level 25. Would you like to change your class and pick from a range of uncommon options?
“Fuck yes,” he replied, as an avalanche of excitement drove his disorientation away. “What’s on the menu?”
Based on your behavior, attributes, abilities, and traits, you have been offered a choice between six uncommon classes. Please read through the list and make your selection. You have one hour to decide.
Trembling with anticipation, Nick entered a state of fierce concentration. He was ready to start reading through the list, then use the hour to ponder his choices long and hard before deciding on his new class. But instead of one long menu, this time the floating box broke into six separate pieces, hanging in the air in two rows of three.
Meanwhile, the font subtly shifted, changing to a format better suited to absorbing large sets of data. Nick was pleasantly surprised as he examined the first block of text. The arrangement made it easy to compare his offerings, now that he could consider them side-by-side.
Option 1
Class: Trapper (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Dexterity, mind, creativity.
Attributes per level: +1 dexterity, +1 free point.
While most combat classes specialize in direct confrontation, the trapper focuses on predicting the behavior of their prey and laying the groundwork for victory before the battle begins. They are capable of building and disarming a wide range of mechanical devices, from those that disable or restrain to those that kill outright.
Fighting in melee is an option of last resort for most trappers, reserved for finishing off critically wounded quarries. Some trappers specialize in hunting dangerous beasts, while others focus on creating defensive mechanisms. Their primary combat method is throwing weapons. Examples include: poison darts, explosives, spears, and javelins.
Skills: Construct trap. Disarm device. Throwing weapons. Tracking. Stealth.
Note: the skill cap for uncommon classes is 25.
Ability: Concoct poison (spell, active).
A trapper can consume mana to create a hemotoxic poison sufficient to coat a single weapon or trap. Potency and uses per day scale with energetic attributes.
Trait: Sense Trap.
Trappers are so in tune with various mechanical devices that they can anticipate their presence based on a variety of subtle forces. This trait doubles the scaling of all attributes when detecting, disarming, and bypassing traps set by entities no more than one tier higher than the Trapper.
Nick wasn’t sure what primary attributes were, but he assumed that they would either be easier to raise or would synergize optimally with a given class’s skills and abilities. Regardless of the details, their inclusion offered him some clues as to the expectations the System had for how each class would fight and solve problems in general.
Dexterity was a solid contender, as anything that helped him avoid taking damage or escape from a fight gone wrong was top tier. Additionally, he already knew that he wanted to boost his mind again soon, regardless of the class he chose.
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He didn’t know what self-aspects creativity governed, as Nick hadn’t spent his knowledge points to unlock the primer on that attribute. However, it was clear that the Trapper was geared toward coming up with complex plans and then setting them into motion, a methodology he was naturally inclined toward.
The ability seemed useful, if somewhat sinister. He could think of dozens of ways that poison could have helped him during the tutorial. Best of all, the range of skills the Trapper offered was fantastic. Nick wasn’t that into handheld throwing weapons, but he had learned on the isle that any ranged option was better than none. Both tracking and stealth were insanely useful, and each would have helped him immensely while living on the island.
Most aspects of the class were a strong fit for him, as he preferred to strategize and plan as much as possible. Discerning where his enemies were prowling without revealing himself in the process had allowed Nick to survive his encounters with the lurk and the bonecruncher pack, powerful beasts who would have slaughtered him in a head-to-head brawl. The part that he wasn’t so sure about was the traps themselves.
While Nick was favorably inclined toward traps in principle, as anything that let him defeat his enemies without risk to himself was preferable to a melee, they had several limitations that were much less palatable. He would have to know what his quarry was ahead of time, understand its behavior, then set his traps and lure his enemy into them. It would be great if he was in the same place for a long time, like during the tutorial, but he had no guarantee that his next challenge would be similar.
Moving on, if he was forced into an unexpected fight, he would have nothing new to bring to the table beyond poisoning his weapons and throwing them at a relatively short range. On the other hand, Nick would have a means of protecting himself while he slept, something he had learned to value immensely.
He didn’t want to be the kind of fighter that relied on the perfect alignment of so many variables, factors that would not always be under his control. Additionally, nothing about this class synergized with Nick’s mana dart, force-flinging wand, or mysterious magic sword. He was worried that choosing Trapper would leave him with critical vulnerabilities as he encountered progressively tougher opponents.
Finally, while the Sense Trap trait was useful in theory, and could definitely save his life under certain circumstances, it would be useless in most situations. Although, to be fair, it would be perfect for dungeon exploration or scouting behind enemy lines.
In the end, Nick wanted a trait that he could rely on across a wide range of threats. So, while Trapper was certainly better than his Survivor class, he turned his head to consider the next floating box.
Option 2
Class: Woodsman (uncommon).
Primary attributes: Dexterity, toughness, strength.
Attributes per level: +1 dexterity, +1 toughness, +1 strength.
Although many classes focus on operating outdoors, the Woodsman is a consummate specialist, supremely effective when standing within his chosen domain. The Woodsman prefers to deal with problems directly, relying on his robust physical attributes to persevere in the face of adversity. Woodsmen utilize a straightforward fighting style, laying their enemies low with powerful swings of their trusty axe.
Woodsmen are highly aware of the denizens of the forest, plants and animals alike, and are experts at reaping the forest’s bounty. Many become proficient in the use of healing herbs as well as crafting and building using wood.
Skills: Tracking. Sense life. Herbalism. Woodworking. Axe.
Ability: Woodland stalker (passive).
Your presence in the forest is diminished, significantly enhancing your chances of concealment. This ability helps you blend into the background, as well as obfuscating your sounds, scent, and heat signature. Additionally, you will leave no tracks while walking in wooded areas.
Trait: Forester.
This trait provides the Woodsman with a significant boost to all attributes and skills while standing upon wooded terrain. He receives a minor penalty to all attributes and skills while indoors or traversing any other environment.
Well now, that’s definitely different, Nick rubbed his fingertips against the stubble on his chin. After a moment of consideration, Nick thought he understood why the System had offered him this class. After all, he had spent most of his time on the Searing Isle living in the woods, learning how to survive the elements and the company of hostile beasts.
He wasn’t sure that he wanted something so specialized, but the high points were strong enough to make the class worth considering. For starters, the Woodsman provided three attribute points per level compared to the trapper’s two. He would effectively gain three times the power every time he leveled, compared to his basic Survivor.
On the other hand, all three attributes were purely physical in nature. Strength, dexterity, and toughness were certainly useful, but Nick wasn’t interested in becoming a fighter that relied on brute force over all other options. Additionally, he had come to love the flexibility that came with spending free attribute points, which he could assign as needed based on the dynamics of his current situation. Choosing Woodsman would remove that option from the table.
While the Woodsman offered the same number of skills as the Trapper, Nick liked this selection better. The class had both tracking and a weapon skill, and sense life and herbalism both sounded useful. Even woodworking could be a godsend in the right circumstances. However, this class was even more restrictive than the last. It would be amazing as long as he stayed in the woods. He could have breezed through his tutorial with this offering, able to brave the forest’s dangers without the constant risk to his life.
If Nick knew that Taltos’s next challenge, which would decide the fate of Earth, was taking place somewhere similar, he would have taken Woodsman without a second thought, despite the considerable downsides.
But that was the problem. Nick had no idea where he would find himself in the future. He might wind up underground, in the desert, or on the moon for all he knew. Not only would the Forester trait not help him outside the woods, it would actively harm him in all other circumstances. Combine that with a lack of synergy with his current weapon and ability, and he was ready to give the Woodsman a pass. Although he did entertain a brief fantasy of becoming an axe-focused warrior, dominating the battlefield with various cleaves and chops that would rend reality itself.
Hoping that his next option would be useful across a wider range of circumstances, Nick moved on to the third screen floating in front of his eyes, breaking into a broad grin when he saw what was on the screen.