In hindsight, I probably should've expected the ability to improve your class in some way. Given this is literally a world that runs off video game logic and all.
Mia, diminutive wolf.
Level 10.
Strength 46
Dexterity 41
Constitution 29
Wisdom 10
Capacity 4
Intelligence 11
Charisma 4
Manipulation 2
Abilities, Riftwalker.
Mia, lesser diminutive wolf.
Level 10
Class skills, Apprentice tracking III.
Skills,
Stat gain, +4 strength, +3 Dexterity, +2 constitution.
After Mia had gotten where she deemed to be, far enough away from whatever that unfortunate occurrence was. The first thing she did was to check her status and class page. After all the last thing she heard from whatever the system was "level cap reached, class advancement possible!" Or something similar.
Besides the tracking skill apparently being maxed, which was nice. The pages were both the same except for one little thing. The big boldER words at the bottom of her class page.
Class advancement available.
Right... So how do I open this?... Evolve? Advance? Mmm open sesame? Mia stared at the words in her brain for a long moment, before they surprisingly turned into more.
Huh. This systems weird...
You have reached the level cap of, lesser dimuntive wolf. And have opened a path to new power. Be aware that upon advancing your class the requirements to level up will become stricter. Please select one of the following class advancements.
Harder to level up, I can deal with that. Given I've reached an advancement in less then a day! Though that might be normal, I don't know... Now. Show me the goods!
Diminutive Wolf
A natural advancement of the lesser Diminutive Wolf class.
Instant stats, +8 strength, +2 Dexterity, +8 constitution, +2 wisdom.
Stat gain, +5 strength, +3 Dexterity, +3 constitution, +1 wisdom, +1 intelligence.
Skill points received, 2.
Free points, 1.
Ok, sounds bland but doesn't look too bad either. Not sure what Skill points or Free points are but they're probably good. This class would probably just be what I have right now but better. Noted, next?
Lesser wolf
(RACE CHANGE)
A change of form from diminutive wolf. Grow larger in size with this class advancement. This advancement has been made available through your resilience.
Instant stats, +14 strength, +2 dexterity, +10 constitution.
Stat gain, +7 strength, +2 Dexterity, +6 constitution.
Skill points recieved, 1.
Free points, 2.
Wait you can change your race through class changes? Huh. Also, HOLY MOLY THOSE PHYSICAL STATS! Seems much more like a bruiser compared to diminutive wolf. But also much less versatile... And I'm pretty sure the only reason I survived earlier was BECAUSE I was small. Maybe the stats would outweigh the loss of my stature but... I'm eh on this one. Anything else?
Graceful diminutive wolf.
(EGO I ADVANCEMENT)
A advancement born of your impressive dodging skills and your desire to avoid harm. Graceful diminutive wolf emphasizes evasive movement above all else. Whittling your opponents down overtime.
Instant stats, +8 strength, +16 dexterity, +8 constitution, +6 wisdom, +2 intelligence, +3 charisma.
Stat gain, +6 strength, +8 Dexterity, +6 constitution, +3 wisdom, +3 intelligence, +2 charisma.
Skills recieved, Low graceful steps I, Apprentice intuition I.
Skill points recieved, 1.
Free points, 1.
Ok, well now my choice is completely obvious. First off, it's got a cool sounding bit to it. "EGO ONE ADVANCEMENT". Like, what? Diminutive wolf gave 20 initial stats total. Lesser wolf gave 26, this gives 43... That is a MASSIVE leap, holy shit.
It also has free skills? Which now that i think about it that's probably what the skill points are for, buying new skills and all. So I've got three skills total and a hell of a lot more stats. I'm also much more well rounded and I stay at a smaller size. This is clearly the best choice. I'm p-wait, nope, one more.
Lesser Diminutive Shadow Wolf
(RACE CHANGE)
(EGO I ADVANCEMENT)
A advancement born of your desire to avoid conflict. Lesser Diminutive Shadow Wolf emphasizes avoiding conflict and swiftly ending it when it comes. Ensuring that you're always one step ahead.
Instant stats, +10 strength, +10 dexterity, +9 constitution, +4 wisdom, +4 capacity, +4 intelligence, +2 charisma, +2 manipulation.
Stat gain, +5 strength, +5 dexterity, +6 constitution, +3 wisdom, +3 capacity, +3 intelligence, +1 charisma, +2 manipulation.
Skills recieved, Apprentice magic proficiency I, Low stealth I.
Skill points recieved, 2.
Free points, 3.
Ah, I see. Another one, really good as well. So my choice is between shadow wolf and graceful wolf? To be blunt, shadow wolf is based on stealth whereas graceful wolf is based on evasion...
If im being honest with myself, graceful wolf sounds cooler. But I think avoiding fights to begin with appeals to me more then dodging around attacks for a day straight. Even if that's a bit of an exaggeration.
Plus, where shadow wolf and graceful wolf both seem to be generalist classes. Shadow wolf seems to have even more avenues open to it, even if it has less overall physical stats. I mean for heavens sake it literally gets a magic skill! It also has more skill points and free points. Which I think is a good thing, so that's my final choice. Lock it in for me system!
Acquiring Lesser Diminutive Shadow Wolf. Changing races will reconstitute the body, would you like to remain conscious?
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Wait what now? Reconstitute the body...? Sounds like that's gonna hurt. I'd rather not, but I'm kind of out in the open here let me get to coverrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHH!
An immense pain coursed it's way through Mia's body. Shattering the bones in it's wake and contorting her flesh every which way. AGHHHH HOLY SHIT! NO I DON'T WANT TO REMAIN CONSCIOUS!
And with that, she was out like a light.
...
Mia's thoughts picked back up slowly through the haze. Her apparent system induced slumber wearing off as she stood to her full, small, height.
What... The hell... Was that? Luckily, still alive, go me. But you couldn't have warned me at ALL? Stupid dumb system..
Mia took a tentative few paces around and almost outright tripped over herself with her newfound speed.
Jeeze! That can't all be from the dexterity and strength from this evolution, class up? Can it be? Maybe i just didn't notice it before? It was hectic, and I did level alot... Whatever! Now, let me take a look at this...
Hovering in front of Mia's eyes was a persistent little notification.
"Spend, 2 skill points, spend, 3 free points"
And pray tell might how I SPEND THE DAMN POINTS?! God you'd think the system would give you a tutorial or something but NOOOO! It's gotta be a wonky piece of f-
After yet another extended testing period, which by the way, ended with "Ability points" WHO MADE THIS THING?! Mia finally managed to open the menu.
In said menu, was an array similar to her status page. But next to her stats were big plus symbols, with a big three at the top of the page.
Ooooh free points, is this permanent gain or instant gain? Either way I think I want a bit more physical stats... So-oh dear god please don't make me figure this out again.
Mia focused on the plus symbol next go constitution, and mercifully it worked. The stat itself didn't go up, so Mia figured it was a Stat gain increase instead of an instant one. Very, very nice. She proceeded to put the other two into strength and dexterity respectively. And the page closed out, which was then was instantly replaced by another one.
Skill shop
Upgradable skills
Apprentice tracking III, 1 skill point.
Apprentice magic proficiency I, 3 skill points.
Low stealth I, 5 skill points.
Purchaseable skills
Sustainability, 1 skill point.
Bloodletting, 1 skill point.
Tough hide, 1 skill point.
Sprint, 1 skill point.
Piercing fangs, 1 skill point.
Crushing fangs, 1 skill point.
Tearing fangs, 1 skill point.
Endurance h-
Holy crap too many! There's gotta be at least fourty of these things in the one skill point section alone... Can I at least check what they do?
After a bit more fiddling Mia managed to figure it out as she did for all the rest of the system. Luckily this one was also just focusing on the skill.
Sustainability, reduces the amount of food and water consumption neccescary for survival.
Mia hadn't been thinking about it, but she was pretty hungry. She'd definitely need to eat something soon...
Mia checked some other skills, and a noteworthy few stood out.
Bloodletting, wounds that you inflict will not heal easily. The wounds you create will continually bleed at a steady pace.
Tough hide, wounds sustained by you do not pierce into your hide as much as they would normally. External wounds inflicted on you will heal faster then normal.
Sprint, accelerate and deaccelerate faster, conserve stamina while running.
Willpower, do not lose concentration in dire circumstances. Stay at the peak of your mental abilities even during times of crisis.
Brutality, inflict extra harm with your claws and jaws. Attacks landed with these body parts will deal extra damage and create worse wounds.
The rest were probably good in their own way... But something about these spoke to her. Bloodletting especially sounded good for her supposed class archetype. But enough of the 1 point skills! Onto the most she could afford, the 2 pointers!
She scrolled through a lot of them, some good, some bad, some seemingly useless... A lot of the two pointers were similar to the one pointers, just slightly better. But there were exceptions. Some seemed to be mixes of multiple, or others were strange concepts that she had no use for. But one specifically very much tempted her.
Natural born hunter, enemies that you have attacked will find it harder to notice your presence. Attacks that you inflict will cause your enemies to bleed for longer. Attacks against an enemy mark their presence in your mind. For twenty minutes you will be able to mentally view those you have struck. The effect renews upon further attacks.
A good mix of basic abilities paired with a tool that could be extremely useful in any extended conflict? She was just about sold. After a quick look through the rest of the skills, and finding nothing better. She picked that one.
Acquiring skill, natural born hunter.
Success!
What, can it fail? Ah whatever, status!
Mia, Diminutive Shadow Wolf.
Level 10
Strength 56
Dexterity 51
Constitution 38
Wisdom 14
Capacity 8
Intelligence 15
Charisma 6
Manipulation 4
Abilities, Riftwalker.
Nice, nice, class?
Mia, Lesser Diminutive Shadow Wolf.
Level 1
LEVEL ONE? Bullshit!
Class skills, Apprentice Tracking III, Apprentice magic proficency I, Low stealth I.
Skills, natural born hunter.
Stat gain +6 strength, +6 dexterity, +7 constitution, +3, wisdom, +3 capacity, +3 intelligence +1 charisma, +2 manipulation.
So it DID increase my Stat gain, nice. Now then, how should I put all of this to the test?