Before the era of electronics, people resorted to simpler ways of entertaining themselves. Many great games were invented that people play even to this day. Chess, mahjong, and a broad variety of card games.
Cards. One of humanity's greatest inventions. Any civilization that finds a reliable way to produce paper will eventually arrive at this conclusion.
Since computers, and thus video games were created, the differing ways of using cards for entertainment have only grown. With genres like rogue-likes and rogue-lites on the rise, we have yet to see a lack of new and original ideas.
Tanuki had seen his fair share of card games. When he opened the [Cards] menu, he was half-expecting to be dropped into a poker game with three random gods. Fortunately, that day would have to wait, because he found something far more interesting when selecting this option. Four card slots and a token-shaped hole appeared before him. The fourth of the cards was different from the rest, having more depth and emphasis to it, while also being locked behind a Level 6 requirement. In a different row was a list of his classes. Staffbearer. That was the only one he had unlocked.
Tanuki felt a little confused, so he selected the Staffbearer class. A different window opened displaying already-known information about it. The only thing new here was the rewards attributed to the different levels finally being displayed.
[ Level 1 - (+5 Max Mana) ]
[ Level 2 - Unlock ‘Spellbook’, (+1 Max INT) ]
[ Level 3 - Unlock ‘Staffbearer Card’ ]
Selecting the card also revealed a new mechanic.
[ [ ‘Upgrade to Tier 2’ ] or [ ‘Create Asset’ ] ]
Both options came with an explanation. The first was easier to understand. If he were to sacrifice a set of specific items to the Gaia Core, it would empower his Staffbearer class and he would return to level zero without losing any of the gained milestone rewards. The experience required to gain levels would increase significantly, but with each level up he would gain an empowered version of each milestone, a kind of evolution of them.
It all seemed very exciting, however, the requirements were not cheap. He had to be at least Level 1, have a minimum of fifteen mana, three different spells, a class token, and a Blue Essence. A set of Staffbearer clothes was also part of the requirements, the only one he could fulfill.
That left him with the other option, [Create Asset]. What it did was take away his class and with that all rewards besides stat increases. In return, he would be allowed to equip a new class while also gaining a Tier 1 Staffbearer card. He could equip that as one of the possible four and gain an ability tied to that class. In addition, for the first time he creates an asset, he would immediately gain a new class token.
The choice was obvious. He had to make an asset out of the Staffbearer class to progress.
When the button was pressed, blue particles of light surrounded him and swirled with the speed of a tornado. For less than a second, he was absorbed by the blue light, then with a puff it blew apart and faded into the environment.
Tanuki looked at his stat screen.
[ Name: Hachiro Tanuki ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Class: --- ]
[ Level: 1 ]
[ Modifiers: --- ]
[ --- Stats --- ]
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[ HP: 7/7 ]
[ MP: 5/5 ]
[ Strength: 6 ]
[ Agility: 4 ]
[ Intelligence: 11 ]
His class was gone, but his level went up by one. He wondered, is his level tied to how many cards he has? Although it would make sense, he had his doubts. The way his health points were tied to the Gaia Core gave him suspicion that perhaps with the crystal’s growth and level gain, he would also gain more.
“What are these worth anyway? Is it just to show my threat level or do I unlock something by leveling up?”
For now, it seemed to be a straightforward indication of power. It was a badge of sorts. Would someone weaker be foolish enough to try and fight him, they would immediately be assured of their mistake by the level indicator below his name.
Once again, he found himself focusing on the unimportant bits. He shook his head and focused on the new card.
Sitting as the sole selectable card, the “Staffbearing Monk” was a tarot card in appearance. It showed a middle-aged clergyman walking the countryside with a staff in hand. When Tanuki selected it, the empty card slots lit up as if yearning to hold it.
Tanuki pulled the card to one of them and it snapped into place. Above it, a description appeared.
[ Staffbearer Monk ]
[ Tier 1 ]
[ F- Rank ]
[ Description: the user gains the ability to prepare a spell that he can cast without a Spellbook. Every time the user goes to sleep, they can prepare a different spell. Additionally, the Gaia Core can be accessed while asleep. ]
For it being a nerfed version of the Staffbearer class, Tanuki barely felt disadvantaged by the lost spellbook. He had only one spell researched and no more. By preparing it tonight, he would be exactly where he was before creating the card. There was also the small bonus of being able to access the Gaia Core from his dreams. He was not sure why he would want to do that, but if anything, he could make sneaky changes to the realm without anyone noticing. Then again, why would his only companion care about it? Hell, he wondered if Edgar would ever leave that field.
Most of his work with the [Cards] menu was done, only the Class Token remained. It sat in his inventory.
He had a vague memory of the two other bearer classes, Swordbearer and Bowbearer. One gave him a sword and the other a bow. Considering he would have a staff equipped to cast spells, the bow class was out of the question.
Two different ranged weapons with two different damage types. Physical and magical. On paper, it would greatly increase his backline capabilities. He could easily switch between the two weapons when lacking ammo for one, and the added options were great for dealing with specific enemy types.
None of it mattered because of two simple reasons that were closely tied to each other.
Problem One. He had no frontline. He was alone unless he was demented enough to force Edgar to be his meat shield.
Problem Two. Even if he wanted to be a close-range ranged fighter, something that sounded stupid even just as a thought, he would have to spend precious combat time swapping between the two weapons. It was not impossible, but wholly inefficient. That time he would spend charging an arrow or tying the staff off of his back would be time without a weapon, making him vulnerable to opportunity attacks.
"The swordbearer, on the other hand..."
The sound of dual-wielding a staff and sword was not only plausible but pretty badass. He imagined himself running circles around a large boss, running in to exploit occasional openings, then quickly drawing back to melt his enemy with spells.
Sword and staff. He never would have thought it would be so alluring.
The only issue he could think of was that he did not possess any armor. Despite experiencing incredible pain when fighting his first boss, he knew there was always something worse. Although he got a few cuts and a bone nearly broken, it was nothing compared to losing an arm or a blade cutting through his intestines.
Then again, if he lacked the necessary skills to defend himself in close combat, he would end up in the same exact situation.
He did not want to have to duel someone with a weapon. No, he did not want to get close to anything that could mean danger. But then again, he had to face his fears eventually. The sooner, the better.
“Fuck it,” he gritted his teeth and cast the token.
It made a few rolls through the air before bursting into a cloud of stardust that rained below. This time only two constellations presented themselves, the Bowbearer and the Swordbearer. He made his choice before and acted accordingly. The Swordbearer was selected.
[ Swordbearer ]
[ Quality: F ]
[ Levels: 3 ]
[ Description: A swordbearer’s duty is to carry the blade. This class hones basic weapon combat with shortswords while improving the bearer’s strength. ]
[ Special Reward: “Wooden Sword” has been added to the inventory ! ]