Monica saw the Reward notification, but was also swarmed by the notification of the Black Widow kill and the levelups that came with it.
*Ding*
You have slain [Black Widow – Level 165]
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a creature a hundred levels above you.
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a creature empowered by Divine Corruption.
You receive extra experience and skill proficiency for killing a Boss monster.
*Ding*
Class – Phoenix Healer (Rare, Enhanced) Level 34 -> 50
+80 VIT, +80 END, +80 STR, +80 DEX, +80 WIS, +80 SPI, +80 INT, +80 CHA and 96 Free Attributes
*Ding*
Healing Skill – Golden Flame Level 48 -> 55
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Flame Level 40 -> 48
*Ding*
Constitution Skill – Phoenix Feathers Level 25 -> 31
*Ding*
Perception Skill – Mana Sense Level 50 -> 68
*Ding*
Movement Skill - Phoenix Step Level 24 -> 34
*Ding*
Phoenix Step Description has been updated.
Monica checked out the new description immediately.
*Ding*
Offensive Skill - Obsidian Impact Level 25 -> 37
*Ding*
Utility Skill - Meditation Level 25 -> 33
Phoenix Step Lv. 34
Rank: Iron -> Bronze
Channel the essence of the Twin Phoenix to move with supernatural grace and speed, leaving traces of flame in your wake. Each step can be enhanced with either the Golden or Obsidian Flame.
#1 Base Effect: Instantly move up at 500% your top speed up to 10 yards in any direction, leaving a trail of your chosen flame. The speed increases by 10% for each Level. The distance increases by 1 yard for each Level.
Current Range: 44 yards
Current Max Speed: 840%
#2 Base Effect: Can be used up to 3 times in quick succession before requiring a brief pause. Maximum uses increase by 1 every 5 Levels.
Current Uses: 9
#1 Special Conditional Effect - Golden Trail: Use the Golden Flame to change direction up to one time while using the Skill.
#2 Special Conditional Effect - Obsidian Trail: When using the Obsidian Flame, increase the damage of your next blow by 200%. The damage increases by 10% for each Level.
#3 Special Conditional Effect - Obsidian Burst: When using the Obsidian Flame, you can choose to activate Obsidian Burst to increase your speed by a further 300%. However, you take damage from activating this effect.
#1 Hidden Effect: You can now use both flames at once.
Cooldown: After using maximum successive steps, you must wait 80 seconds before using Phoenix Step again.
Monica had not gotten the opportunity to use the Hidden Effect during the fight with the Black Widow since it had abruptly ended and she almost died, but she could now, thanks to the Skill reaching Bronze Rank, use both Special Conditional Effects, meaning she could now both sprint in a straight line and suddenly change direction, removing the previous limitation on the Skill.
Not only a third Special Conditional Effect had been added, but the Cooldown had gone from 100 seconds to 80. Considering she could now use it nine times in a row before triggering the cooldown, Monica felt elated.
She briefly stopped looking at the notifications to look at her status.
Name: Monica Monroe
Race: Earther
Title: Avatar of the Twin Phoenix (Unique)
1st Class: Phoenix Healer (Rare) - Lv. 34 -> 50
2nd Class: Avalaible
Talent Class: None
Attributes:
Vitality - 408
Endurance - 250
Strength - 255
Dexterity - 306
Wisdom - 250
Spirit - 250
Intelligence - 250
Charisma - 250
Free Attributes: 96
Skills:
Golden Flame (Healing Skill) - Lv. 55
Obsidian Flame (Offensive Skill) - Lv. 48
Phoenix Feathers (Constitution Skill) - Lv. 31
Mana Sense (Perception Skill) - Lv. 68
Phoenix Step (Movement Skill) - Lv. 34
Obsidian Impact (Offensive Skill) - Lv. 37
Meditation (Utility Skill) - Lv. 33
Equipment:
Steel Talons (Uncommon)
Twin Phoenix Bracers (Divine) - Twin Phoenix Set (1/12)
Nightshade Battle Wear (Rare)
Racial Abilities (Earther):
Tutorial
Quest System
Inventory
Map
Myriad Tongues
Then, she found another surprising notification.
*Ding*
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You have unlocked a new Class Skill!
Monica sucked in a sharp breath, forcing herself upright despite the shreds of Nightshade Battle Wear that barely clung to her battered frame.
Her ears still rang from the final explosive moments of the fight with the Black Widow, and she could taste blood on her lips. Even so, her pulse hammered with the sweet triumph of having cleared the first floor of Viscera.
She decided to gloss over the new Class Skill for now to focus on the most important notification she had gotten.
Ding
Quest Completed – ‘Eradication I/III’
Reward: Second Class Slot
Her eyes widened, and she swayed on her feet, ignoring the bright lines of pain in her legs. Another swirl of text from the System sparkled before her mind’s eye, swirling with the flicker of new possibilities—more messages referencing a newly unlocked option:
*Ding*
You have unlocked the Second Class Slot.
For an instant, time in the ruined nest seemed to still. Sir Tristan, Ted, Heidi, and Dotty stood around the remnants of the monstrous spider battles, no one speaking. Monica alone felt the interface bloom inside her consciousness.
She murmured hoarsely, half speaking to herself.
*Ding*
Your Tutorial Ability activates
[Tutorial Message]
A Second Class is a rare boon only bestowed after completing an important Quest. And, unlike first Classes, they do not provide Free Attributes. Other than that, they behave like a normal Class.
“A second Class…” Monica muttered, scanning the Tutorial Message.
“Apparently, no Free Attributes.” She said out loud. “Are they all just… flat stat boosts, Skills, or something else?”
Ted limped closer, leaning on his mandolin like a cane—he had sort of injured himself by climbing down the nest. Sticky black gore matted his boots making a splattering sound as he approached.
“Dude,” he said, voice raspy, “uh, second Classes don’t grant Free Attributes, right? Their main draw is, like… synergy, or neat passives, or big fixed stat bonuses. They’re meant to be, like, real strong if you have good synergy with your First Class.”
“Interesting,” Monica raised an eyebro. “Let’s see what I’ve got here then.”
Monica let the System’s recommended picks appear in front of her.
Four classes rose to the surface in radiant letters.
Phoenix Blaster (Rare)
+6 WIS, +6 SPI, +6 INT, +2 CHA and 0 Free Attributes per Level
You harness both the Obsidian and Golden Flames to devastating effect, channeling their duality into raw destructive power. A Phoenix Blaster excels at ranged spellcasting and high burst damage, at the cost of defense and stamina. Beware of overextending, as maintaining these potent flames can be draining for both body and mind.
Necessary Experience to Advance the Class (Modifier): x5
Class Malus:
-10% Physical Defense
-10% Endurance Regeneration
Magma Guardian (Rare)
+12 END, +6 VIT and 0 Free Attributes per Level
A stalwart shield against the most brutal assaults, the Magma Guardian channels molten power to bolster physical and fire-based defenses. You become a towering bulwark on the battlefield, shrugging off damage with ease. However, this unwavering resilience comes at a cost of reduced mobility and agility.
Necessary Experience to Advance the Class (Modifier): x5
Class Malus:
-15% Movement Speed
-15% Attack Speed
Spirit of War (Epic)
+8 STR, +8 DEX, +4 END and 0 Free Attributes per Level
A martial path steeped in combative fury. By channeling the Phoenix’s emboldening power into your body, you gain fearsome offensive prowess and faster Attack Speed. The Spirit of War thrives in close-quarters combat and relentless assaults, but sacrifices magical affinities in the process.
Necessary Experience to Advance the Class (Modifier): x10
Class Malus:
-20% Spell Efficiency
-20% to Mana Pool
Phoenix Forge (Epic)
+30 VIT and 0 Free Attributes per Level
The Phoenix Forge focuses on creating and enhancing equipment via unique flame-infused techniques by combining their life and death with their creation. The Phoenix Forge offers insights on the flame.
What was most interesting so far was that Phoenix Forge, despite being an Epic Class, had only a very brief description, but a massive boost to Vitality.
As her interface highlighted each option, Monica grimaced.
Phoenix Blaster had its own little charm—it was enticing to think of unstoppable flame-lances and dousing every monster in a sea of fire. But, at the end of the day, she was a melee combatant and therefore Phoenix Blaster was utterly useless, synergy-wise.
On the other hand, despite Magma Guardian sounding tanky, she wished that, since she kept fighting monsters while severely underleveled, she could tank more hits instead of being this squishy and easy to kill. Plus, it had a nice boost in Vitality that would go very well with Fury of the Phoenix.
But again, it would be a very poor, non-synergistic choice for her to pick. She wasn’t a tank and despite wishing to be more resilient, it wasn’t what she needed at all.
Now, the next option made her eyebrows jump up.
Spirit of War sounded exactly like her.
If Monica had to describe herself, at least based purely on feeling alone, that’s what she was—an actual Spirit of War. It would pretty much supplement her first Class, making her just… better at everything she wanted to do. Her flames were already strong enough that she didn’t really need a boost there—no, what she wanted was to hit harder and faster. She was already resourceful and her combat instincts were unmatched, if she could get a second Class that would allow her to face stronger monsters while avoiding a unending cycle of death and rebirth, it would have been much appreciated.
Plus, of all the Clasess she had seen so far, the one that felt she could use the best to raise the Skill Efficiency of her Skills was exactly Spirit of War.
One might have thought that Magma Guardian sounded interesting because by being able to tank more damage, she could stay in a life-and-death situation for longer. But that wasn’t exactly her case: Monica teetered on the edge by engaging with the fight actively instead of passively. She was the type of fighter who loved dodging, countering, and generally moving around. That’s how she brought so many Skills to Bronze Rank already.
Now, despite the fact that Spirit of War was so enticing to Monica, the last option, Phoenix Forge, made her stop dead in her tracks.
The previewed stats alone gave extremely high Vitality scaling and forging Skills that might fix her battered gear. She thought of her precious but now-ragged Nightshade Battle Wear and the cracked golden bracers strapped to her arms.
“If I could repair my equipment… maybe even reinforce it with dwarven secrets, that would be as good as getting the Magma Guardian Class. Plus, with all that Vitality, it would free the Free Attributes I get from my Phoenix Healer Class,” she mused inwardly, pondering the synergy with her flame-based talents.
If it had been any other Class, Monica wouldn’t have hesitated half a second to pick Spirit of War. However, a Blacksmith Class sounded very intriguing to her. And it wasn’t just the added Vitality and the ability to make and repair her own equipment, but the fact that Phoenix Forge talked about flame-infused techniques.
Monica suspected that, despite the Class being meant for crafting, she might actually get some non-trivial advantage in fighting as well by picking it.
But choosing a non-combat Class in the middle of a war zone? A flitter of uncertainty ghosted across her thoughts.
It’s a gamble.
She grimaced, blinking away the interface.
“I can’t decide here. Let’s see what the next level has in store—maybe I should at least wait until we check that temple. I need to see the Spear of Dhoznil first.”
A brief lull followed.
Across the broken nest, Dotty gingerly tested her legs. Though Monica had knitted her wounds with the Golden Flame, the girl remained shaky, woozy from adrenaline and pain. Heidi was similarly exhausted—her Mana reserves nearly bottomed out—and she walked by Ted’s side for moral support. The Bard himself still panted and had trouble breathing after singing for so long.
As they crossed path with Monica, who was still thinking about which Class would suit her the best, the Phoenix Healer heard them bicker. What had happened was that at the sight of Monica’s shredded armor—exposing swathes of pale, bloodied skin—Ted’s cheeks had darkened abruptly.
His eyes kept flickering toward her, then darting away, as though uncertain whether to be concerned about her injuries or just a bit interested in her exposed skin. Heidi had noticed this at once.
The eyes of the blonde narrowed, and she elbowed Ted’s ribs.
“Stop it,” she muttered pointedly, “her armor’s in tatters. Keep your pervy glances to yourself, or I’ll burn off your eyebrows off.”
Monica snorted softly, catching the exchange.
Despite the blood, gore, and general chaos around them, an odd flicker of humor warmed her chest. Then she hissed, stepping forward—her chest wounds stung fiercely with each breath.
“I need my damn Mana back,” she said and sat down to Meditate.
Heidi, scowling, stalked off a few steps and rummaged through the debris of a nearby dwarven house. From within the half-collapsed doorway, she emerged dragging a worn, moth-eaten cloak that had somehow escaped the petrification process. She tossed it on top of Monica.
“Here. Wear this. I’m tired of a certain Bard drooling over your lack of coverage.”
Monica raised an eyebrow, letting the dingy cloak drape over her shoulders, half-laughing, half-groaning with pain.
“Thanks. And, uh, calm down, Heidi. Ted’s probably just… worried.” A telling smirk touched her lips as she shot Ted a quick, knowing glance. “But I appreciate the cloak anyway.”
Soon the battered group moved out of the nest and toward their objective.
The Temple of Dhoznil.
* * *
They approached the Temple of Dhoznil and climbed the massive stairs that brought up to the entrance.
By now, Monica had fully healed herself and had been rid of the wounds inflicted to her by the Black Widow. Nonetheless, she was bothered by the fact that she had to wear the nasty cloak Heidi had found or otherwise Ted would be sneaking up glances at her the whole time.
She supposed that one of the things that bothered her about the cloak was that she had caught Sir Tristan, Mr. Honor himself, sneaking a few glances at her—which had been quite flattering.
Not the time for these thoughts, Monica reminded herself.
A chill breeze drifted across the group, stirring dust around the group.
Monica cradled the dwarven Key obtained from the Black Widow’s remains.
As soon as they reached the top, Sir Tristan stepped forward, placing a cautious hand on the massive doors, trying to push.
Nothing happened yet.
He withdrew, and Monica took his place. She looked for a keyhole, but there was nothing. She stared at the door for half a minute and then circled the temple before coming back to it. Then, slowly, she touched the door with the key and a hole appeared right then and there—a perfectly shaped depression that lit up with runes.
The group stood tense, as a deep hum reverberated through the temple façade. Stone columns glowed with molten lines of runes, and the doors rumbled open with a sonorous groan.
They stepped through into a vaulted hall.
Massive murals covered the walls, but the most impressive thing was a set of statues—real ones, not the ones made from real, living Dwarves.
“Those are two New Gods,” Ted muttered. “The statues, I mean. The Blacksmith God and the Architect God.”
“They don’t look very friendly,” Dotty murmured.
“They were never meant to be,” Heidi said, looking at them with reverence.
Monica noticed Heidi’s behavior and smiled.
The blonde had left behind her church, but it still looked at the statues in reverence.
Certain things are hard to forget, Monica thought. Reverence is one of the hardest things to forget.
At the far end, a flight of wide steps led up to a grand dais. An altar or pedestal lay at its center, in front of a monumental carved relief of a stern-faced dwarf, presumably Dhoznil himself.
In the gloom stood a metal cradle, large enough to hold a spear. Its sides were etched with more runes.
Monica squinted and felt her Myriad Tongue Racial Ability kick in.
“This is where Dhoznil’s heritage lays,” she read the runes out loud for everyone before stepping onto the stairs and looking inside the cradle.
However, the cradle lay empty, dust-choked and lifeless.