Freya brought up her status screen every five minutes and looked at it all giddy and excited like a schoolgirl. She had gotten a class, and apparently a special one. This one hadn’t been on her list of available or suggested classes, she was sure of it.
Apparently it had been a big deal. King Sluikumar had lost it, and sent [Scouts] to the other communities of Faelves to inform them of the class she had obtained.
I’m going to level up hard and show Logan up. Oh, I can’t wait to tell him. He’ll be proud.
The class was good, there was no doubt. The King and his court had babbled on about it, but it had been an excited incoherent cacophony. Freya caught some of it, but mostly smiled politely and let them talk over each other. Apparently she was some kind of a priest of the Spirit Goddess of Numa.
She had even gained two skills in the process; [Bloom] and [Bless].
She went up to the seed she had planted but two hours earlier. It was placed in the middle of the grove, next to Logan’s seed.
“[Bloom].”
[Skill Level Up!]
[Bloom level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Harmony: 2]
[Potency: 2]
A sprout with a dark olive stalk and a few tiny leaves of silver pushed up from the ground. Freya was alone, which was a blessing unto itself. Surely the excitable Faelves would have lost their marbles over that. Freya felt her heart racing for all her natural calmness. How could she not. With her class, she could give life.
For the umpteenth time, Freya brought up her class interface.
Freya Beckstein - [Spirit Wife level 1]
Attributes:
Potency: 2
Spirit: 1
Harmony: 2
Numa: 1
Vitality: 1
Subclasses:
[Cultivation]: 1
[Priestess of Numa]: 1
Class Skills:
[Bloom]: 2
[Bless]: 1
General Skills:
N/A
That minty fresh feeling was absolutely delightful. She wanted more of it. Reaching for the Numa inside of her, she brought a hand over Logan’s mound of dirt.
“[Bloom].”
[Sub-class Level Up!]
[Cultivation level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Numa: 2]
Damn, that feels good. I want more.
Freya still had a solid 90% left of her internal Numa charge. And in any case the Faelves had told her that she could eat some Numa fruit to level up her class if she wanted to. This was the best she had felt in years! Freya suddenly understood the change that Logan had gone through.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Well, that’s not fair. He’s become a much better man for way many other reasons than just having a class.
In a fit of guilt, Freya shuffled closer to the mound with Logan’s seed and placed both of her hands on the cool dirt.
“[Bless]!”
But nothing happened.
“Huh,” Freya muttered to herself. “I suppose I should first decide the manner of blessing?”
That felt right. It wasn’t exactly an external feeling, like a whisper from the Goddess which she had received when she got her class. But it felt intuitively like a good idea, in a very strong way. Like the sight of a spider made her intuitively want to kill it and run at the same time. Okay, maybe not that strong.
Goddess? I’m sorry, I don’t know how this works, so I’m probably bad at it. But here goes. You listening? Oh god, this is stupid, isn't it? Stop saying that. Okay, focus. [Bless] this sapling with strength, vitality and luck. Give it the same love I give to Logan.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Bless level 2]
[Sub-class Level Up!]
[Priestess of Numa level 2]
[Attribute Level Up!]
[Spirit: 2]
[Potency: 3]
The ground under her hands glowed a soft, faint blue for a moment before it vanished. Freya checked her internal Numa charge. It was at 72%
Damn, that baby sucked me dry. Thanks Goddess. Oh no, was that disrespectful? Thank you? I don’t know the rules!
Regardless of that, it seemed like she had the Goddess’s grace on her side for now, so it was time to get cracking. Freya extended her hands, interlaced them and cracked them as well as her neck. Logan hated when she did that, but he wasn’t here.
Freya was in the middle of thinking what else she could do and what would be next, when a shy tinkling voice called.
“Hello?”
Freya turned. It was a male Faelf with a glossy creamy porcelain skin. He smiled at her uncertainly.
“Hi,” Freya said and smiled. “What’s your name?”
“‘Tis Snoff, O beautiful one,” he said. “I am the one who found your mate and brought him here.”
“You're Snoff! I’m so happy to meet you!”
“Likewise, Freya,” Snoff said and shook off some of his timidness, as he clearly found Freya approachable. “I just came back from watching the camp of you Tall Folk. Oh, how painful ‘twas to see. You have allied yourselves with the fools of the deep. I tried finding Logan and asking him of this, but could not. There was a big commotion at the camp, very chaotic.”
“I’m sure Logan’s fine,” Freya said. “He’s out there adventuring, finding Numa and whatnot.”
“You should not seek Numa unless you have the proper classes,” Snoff reminded her.
“How about a [Spirit Wife]?” Freya asked and grinned.
Snoff looked at her for two seconds, as if not sure if she was joking. Then his face burst into a wide grin. “Surely not?! Truly? That is amazing! What a class! So rare! The mother of my mother told me that the King before the King had one such consort with such a class. You are truly blessed like your mate, who planted the A-grade seed.”
Freya gave Snoff a mischievous smile.
“What?” Snoff asked. “What is it? Tell me!”
“I also planted an A-grade seed.”
Snoff actually stumbled backwards. He brought a tiny hand to his naked chest and gasped. “Surely not? You Tall Folk must be truly amazing creatures!”
“Uhh… I guess?” Freya said. “We are pretty awful sometimes, actually.”
“Surely not!” Snoff said. “To be blessed by the Spirit like this… You must be even more attuned to Numa than Logan is!”
“I don’t know,” Freya shrugged. “I’ve been watching Logan’s back all this time.”
“Is this something Tall Folk do with their mates? Is it a position for—”
“No!” Freya said and blushed. “And don’t remind me. We haven’t been able to… you know. ‘Watch each other’s backs’ since we got here.”
“Ohhoh!” Snoff’s eyes went as big as saucers. “I shall make sure you will find a time and place to strengthen your bond as mates! ‘Tis a promise! But what is this ‘watching of back’ then you Tall Folk have?”
“It’s just an expression,” Freya said as she gently fingered the silver leaves of Logan’s sapling. “We all got transported into this world. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful world, if dangerous. But we had lives on Earth, good lives. And suddenly we have nothing but the clothes on our backs.”
“You Tall Folk have a strange fascination with back-metaphors,” Snoff said and nodded sagely. “What does this have to do with Logan?”
“He just picked up the next moment like nothing happened,” Freya said and sighed. “I always saw something in him. He’s always been gentle and good. Yeah, he can be an arrogant jerk, but it’s mostly a show. I always saw something in him. I always brushed it off as chemistry. But now I know what it is, and why I think he’s the most valuable human?”
“Tall Folk rank people in value?!” Snoff asked, clearly offended. “That’s barbaric!”
“That’s…” Freya said and wrapped her arms against her knees. She missed Logan already. “Nevermind. Point is that we don’t really know who’s who before we are tested, right?”
“Now this is an expression I can understand!” Snoff said, clearly pleased with himself.
“We were all tested. Still are. And Logan has not given an inch. He picked up the slack and walked forward, when the rest of us were still trying to find our feet. I’m so glad I found mine, but damn, he’s something else.”
“You love your mate,” Snoff said and smiled softly.
Freya nodded.
“I like him too!” Snoff announced. “He saved my life, and for that I am in debt. But I shall start the rectification, by providing you a secret place to mate!”
“Snoff!” Freya said and punched the Faelf playfully. Snoff got excited at that and next moment he was dancing and skipping around Freya and poking and tickling her.
“Brave! Brave of you to choose battle with me!”
“Ahahaha, stop!” Freya said between laughs and cries. “I yield!”
After they sobered and calmed down, they smiled and fell quiet. For some reason Freya felt she had found a very good friend. “Will you tell me more about my class?”
“Yes!” Snoff answered immediately. “I would love to! But first we shall fetch you fruit! Truly.. A [Spirit Wife]... Yes, many fruits! You must train and [Bless] my tree! I mean… If you want to… You will level! Come!”