Portal Game - Chapter 4 - Class Selection
“You have got to be shitting me!”
Elise glared daggers at James as he finished his explanation. The girl was sitting on the sofa as she leaned forward with her arms resting on her legs. It was a miracle that her precious lounging spot had survived looking at the state of the rest of the place. To say that the apartment was in serious disrepair was a gross understatement, to the extent that James would slap anybody that had the audacity to make the mistake of saying it.
The events following the wolf attack had been hectic and chaotic. James had dragged the body of the dead housewrecker through the house over to the bathroom, trying his best to ignore the bloody trail he was making that he would inevitably have to clear up later. Whilst he struggled to shove the thing through the portal, (remembering this time to deactivate the violet vortex after he was done), Elise had the pleasure of dealing with the neighbours.
Mrs Smith had always been a piece of work, and had only gotten worse as the years went by. The old croon lived in the space below theirs, and the woman was every apartment-dweller's worst nightmare. She was the type of person who hated everybody below the age of 30 for no reason at all, and then made that their problem. Many a time James used the washing machine only to be greeted by the sound of Mrs Smith beating her ceiling with a mop, followed by incessant knocking on their front door when he didn't abandon the duty of cleaning his dirty clothes for the ghastly woman's convenience.
So, immediately following the experience of almost being mauled to pieces by a big bad wolf, Elise had to politely listen, (something that was already immensely difficult for the girl as it was), to Mrs Smith ranting on about how youngsters these days have no manners and how our parents had raised us poorly. If it were James, he would have just slammed the door in her face. Elise was different though. The girl had a thing about wanting to be liked by everyone and always leaving a good impression, with family being the sole exception.
'It's only natural that she's a bit pissed off' James concluded.
"So," Elise regarded him incredulously. "You're telling me that you were just relaxing in the bathroom doing who knows what, when a portal randomly appeared in front of you."
"Yes" James nodded.
"And then the portal asked to be your friend or some shit, and you accepted?" She continued
"It asked if I wanted to claim it actually" James corrected her in a pure matter of fact tone of voice.
"Same fucking thing!" Elise affirmed. "And you accepted?"
"Not for the lack of trying to decline"
"Okay, so after you made friends with some magical gate to wonderland, your dumb ass decided to go through it?!"
"Absolutely!"
"And then you find a fantasy world on the other side, and let me get this right..." Elise took a deep breath, preparing herself for the absurdity that was about to leave her mouth.
"The fucking world spoke to you and gave you stats and shit?"
"It gave me mana as well," James jovially added.
"Whatever," Elise waved her hand flippantly. "So it's like one of those situations you see in anime?"
"Oh I wouldn't know, I'm not a weeb"
Elise scowled at him but refrained from retorting. She took a long sip from her glass of water before returning it to the wooden chair they were using as a replacement for the coffee table.
"Okay, I'm telling you it IS an anime situation. The portal part seems more similar to Narnia but the rest is basically that."
As much as James wanted to continue feigning ignorance, he had to admit that this whimsical situation was something rather common in the strange Japanese cartoons. He was ashamed to admit it, but his attention may have wandered once or twice whilst he was in the living room, resulting in wim watching whatever Elise had on television. The impression that had of the little anime he had seen made him consider the entire thing an oddity that shouldn’t exist. James was thankful that Svilenia worked with stats and levels. At least he was familiar with those from video games.
“Show me your status!” Elise said abruptly, startling James who was currently thinking of said thoughts.
“What?”
“Your status. If you're telling the truth then you should have a status or something. Write it down as proof that you’re not messing with me!”
“Don’t you want to confirm the rest of my story?” James inquired.
“Oh please!” Elise almost seemed offended at the suggestion. “The rest is obvious! You went around exploring without a care in the world and that mutated scooby-doo followed you back when you screwed up like an idiot.”
James scoffed at the girl’s arrogance. Elise probably wouldn’t have even made it back to the portal in his situation. Nevertheless he pulled up his profile, considering the request.
{Profile:
Name: James Haggen
Race: Human
Level: 1
Primary Class: None
Secondary Class: None
Health: 94/110
Mana: 120/120
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 11
Vitality: 12
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 15
Spirit: 14
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Free Points: 5
Titles: [Otherworlder], [Portalbound]
Class skills: None
General skills: [Sense Portal] - Lvl MAX, [Knife Proficiency] - Lvl 1}
{Requirements met! You may now choose your first class!}
All of his stats had gone up by 5 and at some point had gained the [Knife Proficiency] skill. He must have missed the notification during all the chaos, not surprising considering everything. More pressing was the notification about choosing a class. James wasn’t a stranger to RPG games and character creation was by far his favourite part. It was a constant effort to contain his excitement and eagerness to make a choice instantly.
“So, are you going to show me or what?” Elise interrupted his thoughts impatiently. James regarded the annoyance as she shifted in place uncomfortably. As much as she tried to hide it, his sister was obviously dying from curiosity. She looked at him earnestly, eyes full of anticipation. Elise, who never listened to a word he said, who never helped around the house or cleaned up after her mess, finally wanted something. This was going to be fun.
“No,” James dragged out the word.
“What?! Why?!!” Elise spluttered. “If you’re going to come out with a story like this, at least have the decency to follow it up with evidence!”
Ah. So this was what it was like to hold an otaku's wet dream over them like a carrot on a stick. Correction: this was going to be really fun. After all those years, James finally held an advantage over his bitchy sister.
“If you want to confirm my story just take a visit to the bathroom,” he said happily, knowing that his suggestion wasn’t what she wanted. “The portal’s still there you know?”
James couldn’t help but smirk as Elise stood up, huffing as she made her way towards where he knew the vortex lay.
“You’re an asshole you know?!”
“What? You asked for proof and I’m giving it to you!”
Elise didn’t reply as she stomped over to the bathroom. They both knew she already believed him more or less. After all, a giant raging bloodthirsty wolf had the effect of eliminating a person’s sense of disbelief. Nevertheless, any of the little doubt she left would be destroyed after seeing the portal. Even deactivated, the spatial anomaly was a sight to behold. Now alone and without his sister to disturb him, James opened up the class advancement notification.
{Requirements met! You may now choose your first class!}
{Due to the Title: [Otherworlder], your options of class choice have been expanded! All paths are open to you!}
{You may choose one of the following classes to adopt: }
Following this notification came an enormous list of class options that seemed to contain endless possibilities. James scrolled all the way to the bottom to get a better feel for what was being offered, mentally taking note of any classes that interested him. The list was divided into two sections: combatant and noncombatant. The noncombatant classes ranged from the mundane like [Fledgling Farmer] to the magical like [Novice Alchemist], with every occupation that James could think of and more available. After a moment of thought, James dismissed the noncombatant options without analyzing them too much. He was already an office worker on Earth and he didn’t feel like picking up a second full-time job or any job at that. The crafting route very simply didn’t appeal to James.
The combatant classes however were a lot more interesting. As he looked through, the young adult found everything he would expect from a fantasy world, although there were a lot less options and they were a lot more general. James opened up the descriptions of a few classes at random to see what they were about.
{[Novice Warrior]
As a Novice Warrior, you strive to be a master of direct combat. Wielding the weapon of your choice, you eagerly close the distance to overwhelm your enemies with your sheer strength. May the path ahead of you be wrought with glory and the taste of victory. On level up: +2 Str, +2 Con, +3 Free Points.
*Requires Mastery in a Close-Range weapon at Lvl 10 - Overwritten by Title: [Overworlder]}
The stereotypical warrior class. In any RPG video game this would always be an option, and quite a viable one too. James had used many warrior characters across his games career, and while they weren’t the most fun class to play, they certainly pulled their weight! While these things were true, James had no desire to pick this class. After the fight with the overzealous wolf from earlier, James didn’t want anything to do with close-combat, or any type of combat at that! That was probably unreasonable if he wanted to frequent the newfound fantasy world, but if he had to fight, he’d rather do it from afar. The young adult also couldn’t help but notice the class requirement listed at the bottom.
‘Ah, so that’s how the [Overworlder] title works,’ he mused before moving on to the next class that had caught his eye.
{[Novice Ranger]
As a Novice Ranger, you strive to be a master of indirect combat. You fight from afar as you riddle your opponent with wounds from an unseen foe. Whether these wounds be from arrows, traps, or poison is up to you. You enemies shall never see you coming. May the path before be overflowed with the blood of your enemies and the bounties from your exploits. On level up: +2 Dex, +2 Int, +3 Free Points.
*Requires Mastery in an indirect or ranged combat skill at Lvl 10 - Overwritten by Title: [Overworlder]}
The novice ranger class fit James’ requirements more than the warrior one did, but it still wasn’t what he wanted, especially considering the much more juicy options below. He skipped past [Novice Pugilist] and [Fledgling Rogue] to examine the options that really held his attention.
{[Mage Acolyte]
As a Mage Acolyte, you strive to exert control over the forces of nature and bind them to do your bidding. While your area of expertise may vary further along your path, the foundation of all mages remains the same. Manipulating your mana to sling spells at those who go against you, your enemies can only despair at their demise. May the path ahead of you be full of enlightenment and inspiration. On level up: +2 Int, +2 Wis, +3 Free Points
*Requires Mastery in a mana related skill at Lvl 1 - Overwritten by Title: [Overworlder]}
This was the class that James wanted. Everybody dreamed of using the mystical forces of magic at at least one point in their lives, yet most put away that childish desire as they grew up, acknowledging the impossibility of the matter. James wasn’t one of those people that grew up daydreaming of one day unlocking some hidden power. As a functional member of society, he had accepted reality just like everybody else. Yet having the option to do the impossible presented to him like this… it stirred some forgotten desire inside of him. The class description had made it clear that it would be generic at first just like all the others, but the thought of progressing, prospering in a field of magic of his choice, the thought invigorated James. If it weren’t for the last option, this would be an easy choice.
{[Deacon Initiate]
As a Deacon Initiate, you strive to wield the power of the gods to fulfill their divine purposes. Using powers beyond your own, you will perform miracles beyond the realm of what you thought possible. While the deity you serve remains variable, one fact remains consistent: your patron deity shall work through you. May your path be paved by your faith and illumination from above. On level up: +2 Spirit, +1 Wis, +1 Int, +3 Free Points.
*Requires a blessing from one of the Svilenian deities - Overwritten by Title: [Overworlder]}
Let’s just make one thing clear: James did not like this class. He didn’t like it at all.The entire description made the class seem like a prison that would rob his agency. Serving some unknown fantasy god for who knows how long didn’t sound appealing in the slightest, notwithstanding the benefits that may be offered. Besides, James was an atheist. If he were forced to choose some faith to follow, he’d choose Christianity as his mother had, not whatever this was. There was only one reason that James had even taken a look at this class. When one thinks of a priest-like class in a video-game, one thing comes to mind almost instantly: Healing. That brought James to think of his coma-induced mother. Would choosing this class present the opportunity to bring her back? Would it be worth the personal sacrifice that James would have to make?
“Well FUCK! There is something here! Why is it in the bathtub?” Elise yelled from the bathroom, interrupting his thoughts. James rolled his eyes. How was he supposed to know why the portal had appeared where it had?
“Shut up Elise! I’m picking my first class.” James yelled back, his exasperation clear in his voice.
“Huh?! What?! Don’t pick it yet! Wait for me!”
Elise’s antics had given James a few seconds to clear his thoughts. In the end, was picking [Deacon Initiate] the right choice? James shook his head. No, he didn’t think so. If there was one way to help his Mother, there would be other ways, and finding those other ways only gave James more motivation to reenter Svilenia notwithstanding the realm’s awful first impression.
Resolving himself, and not waiting for Elise to scramble back to the living room, James selected the [Mage Acolyte] class.