"Well, we're here at the crossroads now. What say we educate the kid, Tommy?" Darren said as they looked around and saw nothing of interest.
"Sure bud, whatcha thinking first? Classes?" Tommy said as he was looking for a nice rock to sit on.
"Yeah, seeing as he's got that scrawny little thing following him, I've got a few ideas off the bat, but I don't think he's been educated in the basics even, I mean, that is what the Captain asked us to do." Tommy continued the thought
"Oh, right, not basic classes, the basics of classes. So stuff like class archetypes and skills mostly associated with those?" Finding a rock worthy of his rump, Tommy lifted it easily and brought it up to the side of the road, having had to venture off road to find a seat fit for his majesty.
"Well, no and yes, the first thing I was thinking was if he even knew how to access that, how much he knows and then getting on from there, but probably pretty quickly into that stuff, yeah." Darren said, eyeing Tommy's rock with jealousy.
"Oh, for sure. Sometimes you're smarter than people give you credit for, Darren. It's nice to see ya using that lil noggin of yours." Tommy said as he set down his seat and did as higher powers intended, sat on it.
"It's like you two are talking about me as if I'm not here. You could just ask. No I don't know how to access that stuff at will, it only happened when I leveled up and I haven't had much time to even think about it." Cooper spoke up before Darren could respond to Tommy's jab.
"Oh, he speaks. I was wondering when he was going to grow tired of listening to your voice, Tommy. Was hoping it'd happen quicker, though. So, tell me what you know so far, Coop." Tommy threw a small pebble at Darren, unamused.
"Well, like I said, I haven't had much time to think about it and that's because I haven't spent a lot of time here. Found myself here only yesterday. I fought this little scrawny thing with a stick," Cooper pointed at the Grey Stalker "that I haven't even named yet, and it surrendered, I got some EXP and that got me a level. It said something about class choices that I postponed until I knew more, along with the stat points. I mostly spent the day trying to find my way out of the forest and climbing a mountain otherwise." This time Tommy spoke up.
"A stick, eh? Would've personally used a sword." Darren sighed loudly.
"If he had a sword, I would think he would've used it. I think that rock you're sitting on is smarter than you, can you let it do the talking for you from now on?" Before Tommy could respond, Darren continued.
"As for you, Coop, that Stalker of yours would probably help you with choosing an archetype, there aren't a lot of archetypes that utilize pets, summons, minions or the like. Most people who choose to tame pets for combat tend to go with a Ranger archetype or a Druid, but there's also Warlocks and Summoners who would synergize with a pet. That is, if you're planning on using that thing for combat." Cooper thought about the ethics of using his new friend for combat.
"So you say archetypes, meaning if one were to pick, say, Ranger, other Rangers would not have the same skills and abilities? Also tell me more of Druids and Rangers, I doubt I'd be interested in being a Summoner or a Warlock, or the like, especially with Mr. Lopsided over there." The Grey Stalker almost on cue turned its head to one side.
"You would be correct. Archetypes just sort of give themed bonuses and unlocking 'related' skills is easier. That's not to say you couldn't be a melee Mage for an example, some archetypes are more versatile than others but generally speaking, you pick the theme you resonate with the most and go from there." Darren stabbed his spear into the ground and put his hand out in front of him in a fist with some sort of energy radiating outwards from the cracks. "I chose Warrior as my archetype, but I can still cast spells, like this one." He opened his palm and light radiated outwards from a small orb of light. "It's a utility spell at its core, but I can direct it with my spear, like so." Darren took hold of his spear again and thrust it forwards, the orb following its movement. "Anyways, back to Druids and Rangers." The orb disappeared seemingly without indication from Darren.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Rangers generally use weapons and imbue nature oriented power into their attacks, both melee and ranged. They have excellent bonuses to tracking and other utility regarding the wilds and are very versatile when it comes to weapon usage, though most prefer a bow of some type with a spear or a sword as backup. Druids on the other hand, use natural oriented spells, often focusing on supportive magic but can also choose to go a more devastating route, often focusing on air." Darren explained, seemingly missing Coopers point as he looked to be expecting more.
"What, why are you looking at me like that?" He said as he put on an exaggerated oblivious face.
"Fine, fine, I know what you want. Pets, right? Well, Rangers have permanent pets more often than Druids and as far as I know, more varied bonuses to having multiple pets or the like, whereas Druids focus on one or two, I think. I'm not exactly the expert on the specifics. Druids tend to be more friendly with the nature and can call on wild animals to help, temporarily. Again, not an expert, so I only know from what I've seen."
Tommy spoke up, seemingly forgotten by the other two. "Oi, do I get to talk at all or are you two gonna hog all the Class talk?"
"No, I'd rather you didn't." Darren coldly replied.
"Well, too bad, I know some stuff about Druids." Tommy threw a rock at Darren, who swiped it to the side with his spear. "Ha, distraction. Anyways, I've seen some high level Druids do some big shit. One called an entire forest of creatures to aid her when we fought an undead incursion a couple years ago. Another held several trolls in place for, like, several minutes with roots and yeah. I've also seen one revitalize and heal an entire contingent of guards during a monster invasion. This is all pretty high level stuff, I don't really pay attention to anything that isn't flashy."
"As could be expected from a buffoon like yourself, if it isn't big and noticeable, you're not, well, noticing it. Swinging whatever you happen to find at something that you shouldn't be swinging it at. Though that does paint a clearer picture of what Druids can do, just scale it down in your mind I suppose." Tommy had a proud smile like a child who's being praised by their parents. "Rangers do tend to get closer into the action than Druids, so you'd have to train to get the fighting stances and forms going for whatever weapons you would go with."
"Yeah, I think I know which way I'm going to go. Druid doesn't really call to me and Ranger seems more in line with what I would like to do. So, now all that remains is, how do I operate this thing again?" Cooper admitted with a flush of embarrassment.
"Oh. That. You just, sort of will it into existence? Just focus on wanting to make it appear and it should appear. You control it the same way, it should interpret your will as commands but some people find that physical motions also help." Cooper remembered his first interaction with the blue box, he had used his hand to manipulate it, could it really just be controlled by his thoughts and will? He tried to focus on the box, the System, but it wasn't working, nothing was happening.
"So I assume you're trying to do it, you're not just standing there staring?" Tommy interjected.
"Shut it and let the kid focus." Darren snapped at Tommy, who thought about responding but sat back down on his rock after a death stare from Darren.
Cooper thought back to his first time with the System, where it had just appeared in front of him when he leveled up. He had closed it using what he thought was just his hand the first time, but apparently it was more that he willed it close and his hand was just helping him focus it. He put his hand in front of him and opened his palm and tried to will the System to appear again, this time he felt something, he grabbed onto that feeling and willed it into existence.
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Cooper - Level 2 Human - Unclassed
HP 100/100 MP 25/25
Unallocated Stat points available - 3
Strength - 6
Agility - 8
Endurance - 9
Intelligence - 6
Wisdom - 8
Magic - 5
Class Selection available
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"Oh. There it is." Cooper stared at it briefly.
"Well, find the class selection section and get going already!" Tommy almost shouted from his rock.
"Sometimes I ought to slap you." Darren stared Tommy down but Cooper paid them no mind, a single task on his mind.
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Available Combat Classes
Warrior
Fighter
Rogue
Archer
Ranger
Cleric
Mage
Summoner
Warlock
Druid
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"There you are, well, let's give it a go." Cooper said as he physically and mentally poked the select button.