Class Description Wanderer A jack of all trades, the Wanderer dabbles in combat, creation, and conjuring in equal measure. The road is demanding, after all. Skill/Ability gains will change depending on what induces level up. Survivalist The wilderness can be a dangerous place, but not for a Survivalist. Skilled in living off the land, the Survivalist uses traps, archery, and superior knowledge of the environs to get ahead in life and battle. Barbarian A Barbarian is a hardy character, wading into combat with adrenaline pumping and ripping enemies limb from limb. Outside the battlefield, the Barbarian is just as capable. Wrestling predators, withstanding toxins, weathering blizzards and sandstorms alike, the Barbarian is endurance epitomized.
Scott's eyes carefully scanned up the menu as he snacked on the charred bird. This decision held weight, and the last thing he needed to do was to go in rashly.
Wanderer seemed... interesting. Jack of all trades type classes in RPGs tend to be the started class you abandon unless you max it out for some amazing end-game super skill, but this wasn't a video game. Being a little good at everything when he has nobody to rely on but himself definitely didn't sound like a bad move.
Survivalist was probably offered by his actions so far... maybe by the same system that Wanderer uses to plan what you get on level up? He could do theorycrafting later. Survivalist would ensure the smoothest start to his time on the island, and probably meant herbal medicines and better stealth, too. Scott grimaced as he swallowed the tough bird meat. "Probably would improve my cooking, too..."
Barbarian felt like an odd offering on first glance, but the more he reviewed it the more it made sense. Defend himself from external threats much more easily, more health to survive the crappy conditions on the island with more room for error, and that toxin resist sounded especially appealing. Would he be able to live off of shia berries without hating himself with that? That'd be a big win in and of itself.
Eventually, Scott whittled it down between Wanderer and Survivalist. Barbarian sounded very adventuresome, but that was sadly the last thing he was doing where he stood. He began to mentally stack the pros and cons in his head. In favor of Wanderer, a varied skill tree would mean getting to explore more of what the world had to offer, maybe even getting some magic in. Eventually it might even become rare for him to end up in a situation where he had zero choices. On the other hand, Wanderer was also the most ill-defined. No theme to extrapolate from, extremely vague future abilities, really just an overall gamble. The argument for Survivalist was pretty straightforward. This is a survival scenario that Scott finds himself in, plain and simple. Survivalist means a much higher likelihood of surviving these first days, it means getting up to speed faster (whatever that would look like), and it meant many essential skills becoming his focus. The stereotypical "sneaky hunter" type also seemed to line up with him stat-wise. As nice as it all sounded however, the question remained as to what he'd even end up with going from there. There didn't seem to be a lot of room for growth, and what if he eventually found civilization? Survivalist would be basically useless then, right?
Weighing these in his mind, Scott made his decision. He had taken a gamble even coming here in the first place. It had screwed him over, even his miserable life back home was better than starving on a beach hiding from bush-panthers. Why not double down?
You have selected: Wanderer
Stats Increased!
HP: 12 -> 19
MP: 1 -> 3
Str: 7 -> 8
Wil: 6 -> 7
Mag: 0 -> 1
Class Skill unlocked!
Wandering Soul
New Skill unlocked!
Nature Wisp
Name: Scott Lvl: 2 HP: 19/19 MP: 3/3 Str: 8 Int: 10 Dex: 14 Wil: 7 Con: 12 Mag: 1 Status: None
Skill Title Rarity Description Use Mode Dilation Common Speed up your perception and reaction time, causing time to appear to slow by 10x for you. Lasts 5 seconds. Active: 1 MP Wandering Soul Special You grow stronger the more of the world you see and experience, in more ways than one. Passive Summon Naturesoul Uncommon Call upon the world around you, summoning an avatar of the land itself to aid you. This binds the avatar to you on the first use, each consecutive use re-summoning it if lost or separated. Active: 3 MP Crafter II Common Further increases general proficiency and lowers failure rate. Some general recipes gained. Passive
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The average level of all players in the area has increased significantly. Increasing area level.
Suddenly, Scott was bombarded with screens after making his decision. He had no time to process any of it before the ground underneath him started to shake, as if an earthquake had started up. Fissures of light shot up from inland while the beach started shifting, the shoreline wobbling and deforming like a stiff metal sheet.
"This can't be good."
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After the world stopped heaving, Scott tried to stand up and move about, only for his legs to collapse as new panic set on. The world began to spin as his heart started pounding.
"Breathe... in... out... in..." Scott muttered as he fell back to the technique he had practiced for awhile now. "I see the pink sands, the menus, my fire, the stick I cooked on, the forest. I feel my cut aching, the sand giving under me, the heat from the flames, and the Canteen strap on my shoulder." He silently thanked whatever gods existed in this world that he was still wearing that when the quake began. "I hear the waves, the bugs buzzing, and my heart beating. I smell the burnt bird and the briny water. I taste bland meat."
He had gone over this multiple times with his therapist. Time and again. His heartrate slowed, and felt more relaxed as he distracted himself. "One thing at a time." He surveyed the windows. First off, it seemed levelling up was a full restore. That was incredibly helpful. He quickly looked down at his leg, and sure enough, nothing but a red area remained. It still hurt like hell, but he wasn't risking an infection anytime soon. Then he assessed his new skills. Wandering Soul was... vague. In fact, it really didn't explain any tangible benefits whatsoever. That was what Scott signed up for, he supposed. The Naturesoul skill... that could be answers. It also meant interaction, and anything Scott could talk to would be welcome where he was sitting. It was closer to the evening, too, so mana regen would have him covered for tomorrow. He looked inside himself and just... knew how it worked. He could mentally feel how to use his energy to reach out to the world around him. So he began to call out.
Activated: Summon Naturesoul
The wind began to blow faster, and he heard birds making a commotion from the nearby trees. Energy began to coalesce around him, and Scott felt... peaceful, yet at attention. He felt like he had a great night's sleep after getting a new pair of glasses, the world around him eager to be appreciated in detail. He instinctually began to guide the energy, the motes of life and will dripping off of him and suspending themselves in the air, as a small wooden face began to form.
"Hi!"
Scott blinked. That was... fast. "Hey! You're the Naturesoul! Cool, okay, so like... you're the spirit of the land right? What just happened? What can you help me with? How are you? Did I make you or did I make your body or did I summon you or-"
"HEY!"
Scott's ears rang as the Naturesoul's voice echoed into the open ocean. "Okay, sorry... sorry... one at a time. What just happened?"
"You called for me, and so I appear!" the small wisp said, shooting towards Scott and narrowly missing as it began to orbit his head.
"Uhhh... okay. What just happened to the island?"
"I woke up and I was a little bigger! And then you called so I came to say hi!"
"I...see..." Scott trailed off... clearly he wasn't on the same page as this creature. Or... that one last message about area level. He hadn't taken the time to fully process that before summoning this being. That must've been what happened to some extent... though that left a lot of details unknown still. Clearly the little wisp was infantile, was that because of his powers or was this... what the land around him was? It would make a strange kind of sense... an island in the middle of nowhere, completely isolated... not a lot of experience with anything besides itself. Well, it couldn't hurt to ask. "Have you talked to anybody before?"
"Nope!"
"Have you ever seen anybody like me before?"
"Nope!"
Scott felt the panic setting on again.