I woke up in the black of my soul, with the ebbing colour of the aurora above me. It was comforting. Oddly so, considering I blacked out after making a magical death flower, fueling a spell by literally killing a part of myself.
“Man, it's going to suck waking up. My guts are going to be revolting the second I wake up. They will not like being dead.”
“You don’t say?” Sophy called out, her words distant.
“Hello Sophy… Wherever you are.”
“Hello, Saphine. You know, you have me doing a lot of work lately. If I were a bit conceited, I might think that you were trying to get close to me, fainting all the time to get me to come over. Doing things you shouldn’t have done faster than you should have. You know your levelling rate is absurd… Right? Mortal Spirit or not, you're becoming a nightmare at an absurd rate; I would be worried about denaturing your anima if you weren’t ludicrously resilient.”
“Show thyself, wench,” I murmured, unconcerned by the aurora above me, watching its curls and waves.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said closer this time.
A curtain of sorts pulled back in the corner of my vision and out came Sophy. She clapped, slowly. She looked… Different.
“Did you get taller?” I asked her.
“I go bigger, yes. I’m digesting the anamid, all that anima needs to go somewhere, you know? You get rid of your food, I don’t. Its all valuable. Sure some of it just gets used up, but the rest of it is very useful.”
She was still girthy, though it had lowered a little bit. She was still more like 12 months instead of 12 weeks, but it was a bit smaller. And I could tell from where I lay that she was not only taller but denser. The wiggly bits of her body were more wiggly, and there were more of them, like a densely embossed art piece.
“It gives you skills or whatever, right?”
Sophy came out clapping, her form slightly denser and taller, her stomach slightly smaller.
“Look at you, remembering stuff. I have some new skills and classes, and I think it will be fairly good for you in the long term. I have this new one you can get, but you need to have a few skills you can’t get yet.”
I looked at her, pulling my gaze away from the beauty of the light.
“You know I didn’t come here for levelling, right?”
“I know, but if you're going to get me to put in all this hard work in my current state, you should indulge me a little. It's polite, you know?” She said poutily.
“I thought you said you weren’t pregnant?”
“I’m not! But you seem not to realize just how much I’m growing right now. You're so focused that you don’t seem to understand that anima gets a bit soft when you level too much at once. Do you know when your skills feel distant and weak? Yeah. Imagine that, but your entire body. I’m holding myself together, but waddling around is kind of a pain.”
I took a deep breath before nodding and got up. The ground had been peaceful, but Sophy was a good egg; keeping her waiting by being an ass when I might wake up any moment now would be a waste of both of our time.
“OK then. So what are you going to suggest, oh guide?”
“No need to be fancy or polite,” she mirthfully chuckled, “I’m just making sure you tear your soul in half and making sure you have a plan for all this anima you're going to generate. First of all, you're almost out of your slump; as it stands, you could gain a level right now. And I don’t mean a class level, I mean you could go to 21 and be halfway through to 22.”
I blinked at her, my spectral form and all my wiggly bits within stopping as I took that in.
“Wait… seriously? You said I gained levels, but I didn’t expect them to be class levels, how?”
She looked at me, her non-face severely cast her in a way I didn’t think I could stand to weather.
“I don’t know, little miss. I figured out how to cast a second-level spell all on my own; pray to tell, how did you gain two levels from that? Oh, and let's not forget the nighttime candle lighting and following your teacher's instructions. That, together along with general practice and skill use, got you five levels of [Journeyman Mage]. You got almost one level in both your level 28 classes and three levels of [Woodsman] from hiking around with Anna… Good on you, by the way; nice spot for you to finally open up a little.”
I cringed at the last bit, but she at least seemed genuine.
“That seems like not a whole lot of stuff for the levels,” I pointed out before my mind caught up with my tongue. “The souls, that always boosts me up across the board.”
“Yep, that makes up about a third of the experience… Honestly, it's mostly them that’s got you skyrocketing… I’m sidetracking myself. What is your plan for those classes? For [Woodsman], you were ok with going to [Forester]; are you still good with that?”
“Well, yes. Unless you suddenly have an even better option, I still need everything it can give me. It's got good utility, survival if I’m caught in the woods, mobility, and fighting stuff with a shovel. It's got it all.”
“Cool, Cool. When you decide to upgrade to [Forester], you can pick whatever skill you want. Now… Your magic class isn’t getting upgraded right now, but can I assume you're going for death magic? Or I suppose a class like [Death Mage].”
I thought about it, taking to pacing back and forth.
I gained a decent amount of skills in death magic from being a psychopomp, and the upsides of death magic would help fight against the plight of the valley. It was too good to pass over and shred dark magic, and as I got stronger, it would only get better.
But it competed with my fighting.
Would I continue to fight or to become a mage?
“Can I just bounce my thoughts off you?” I asked Sophy.
“Sure. What else is a [Guide] for if not to help guide you?” She said, with what I felt was a smile.
I took a deep breath before I started thinking aloud, glimpsing up to the aurora, as if the experience up there could give me guidance on my predicament.
“I fight, and now I cast magic. But casting magic requires me to not be fighting, and fighting means I cant cast magic. I feel like I belong in the fight. Anna wants to fight with me, which means she needs someone to keep people off of her, someone to get in front of and let her cast. And not only that but if anyone else comes to fight with us, for whatever braindead reason they might have, fighting is also so often a death wish. Or it is, for everyone but me. I can trade that, and despite what anyone else may say, I feel that’s important. It's important that I stop others from dying when, for me, it's just a little pain. It's like pulling someone out from under a cart in exchange for a scuffed knee.”
She listened to me talk, one hand resting on her bulge like every pregnant woman I had ever seen had and one tapping where her mouth would be if she had one.
“Despite not wanting you to die intentionally, I can understand that. I suppose. You feel like you need to. I should say that I don’t understand it like you do, we're not the same; spirits like me and mortals don’t feel and think the same way, for obvious reasons.”
She said it before gesturing to herself in all her spaghetti glory. Then she continued, “I would even go so far as suggesting you just focus on yourself. I don’t care if a few mayfly mortals die, but I can, I think, say that I can understand that you have the ability, and so you feel obliged to use it. It’s the same for our guides; we enjoy doing this, but we feel obligated to do it, too. It’s a part of what we are.”
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I looked at her and then said, “Exactly. That.” I tried to snap and managed to get it despite my fingers not being flesh. “I feel that. But if I do it… No matter what magic I take, it will end up supplementary to my fighting. I don’t want it to be that way, though. I don’t want magic to be something I sprinkle in. It's magic. It’s the dream of every kid everywhere. So far, my new life has been a fairy tale, living with Anna, learning magic… Less so with the stumbling into evil monsters, but those are often in there too. And I don’t want to just… Let it go. I wish… I wish I could do both. Even though that sounds childish.”
The look she took on was so stoic in feeling. It would have given Strause a run for his money, but I stopped and looked at her, staring at the wiggly squiggles of her face. And then I remembered what she had spoken of. A good class for me, one I couldn’t take yet.
“You're about to tell me about that anamid and how you have a class that does both… Aren't you?”
I could see the wiggles from what looked like a goopy smile.
“Sophy…”
She started to laugh, a joyous belly laugh and put one arm on my shoulder.
“You should see your face… Priceless.”
“Sophy…”
“Don’t get your essence in a twist. There are plenty of ways to fight and cast magic at the same time, but they often come with a downside. [Blade Dancers] or [Blade Singers] cast magic and fight, but they cast magic by the fine swings and motions of blade and foot and small motions. [Spell Blades] save up spells in a weapon and need a lot of skills and good gear. Runes could work, too, but they need decades of study and crafting experience. But for you? I have found one that fits well.”
She drew it out into a pause.
I sighed, “Tell me about the class. You goon, before I start poking your belly.”
“The other [Guide] I found spent a while in the southern archipelago, where they have a type of warrior mage called [Magus]. They use weapons like staves, channelling the magic inside of themselves while shaping external spells with aura skills. Their style lacks good range, but if you need to hit someone outside your aura, let's be honest, you probably don’t need to hold a weapon at the same time.”
I put one hand on her sounder, mirroring her. The feeling of it was even weirder than I thought it would be.
“You could have just told me that.”
She stared right back and answered, “I could have, but it's both more fun and a sign that you should start thinking for yourself,” with no change in tone.
I lightly headbutted her, her form kind of squishing around my head.
“Saphine, please stop; that’s inappropriate to push yourself inside of me,” she said casually, which got me to gag and pull back.
“Please tell me you are messing with me,” I asked her.
“Yes and no, it would be inappropriate if you got inside me, but you didn’t, you just squished me a little. Try not to do that, the last thing either of us wants is to swap anima; we might not be compatible.”
I decided I did not want to know what that meant. The squishiness of Sophy made my skin shiver enough as it was, and I decided to get as far away from this topic as possible.
“So… I can level up now, can I not get all of them at the same time?”
“Why only… Oh, it’s probably because it’s hellish out there, isn’t it? Kind of a shit place to have limp skills, yeah… Hmm, yes, I can get you a specific number of levels; if that’s what you want, can I assume you just want one in each to avoid that? It would still give you two skills, mind you, but before you choose that, you would need to decide on if you want to become a [Magus] now. The choices you need to become a magus are later, but you would need to pick up [Death Magi] now before your skills go up to Unusual and you start getting good skills.”
I snorted, “My skills right now are good too.”
Sophy not answering made me think about some of my newer skills. Gods, I had too many already. It was starting to tire me out trying to remember them all.
“Ok, well… You haven’t shown yourself as wrong yet. I’ll take one in each, and take [Death Magi]… I’ll need an option for [Woodsman’s] last skill, but I’ll trust you on [Death Magi] and [Magus].”
“You won’t be disappointed, were talking about making all your death magic better here. Including that fucking second-level spell… By the way, don’t do that again when you wake up. You’ll just pass out again.”
We stood there for a moment awkwardly. Neither of us is answering, waiting for some kind of let's get the level up on comment.
“So are you-”
She decided to cut me off again. Because, of course, she did; that was just how she worked, quickly shoving a screen in front of my face.
Class: [Woodsman]
Levels Gained: 1
Skills Gained: 1
Skill Quality: Common
Top Three Picks:
[Bundle]
Passive.
Grants greater ease of carrying things, reduces jostling, and prevents bundled goods from spilling or coming loose.
It also reduces the strain of carrying heavy objects.
[Soft Steps]
Passive.
Your footfalls are softer, leaving less behind to be tracked by and making less noise when walking.
[Reactive Strike]
Active.
Immediately attain a weapon and swing for an enemy when they launch a surprise attack.
“Can I use [Bundle] on Anna?” I asked her.
I liked carrying Anna, even if she hated it. I liked it so much, so I would enjoy at least making it so whenever I did it, it was a little nicer for her. And bonus, I could bundle up stuff and carry them without worry.
She didn’t reply, which I took as a yes, and quickly started speaking in that familiar way that felt more like her saying a skill than any mortal word.
[Journeyman Mage] has gained a level, and is now level 14!
[Journeyman Mage] has gained the skill [Death Magi]
[Woodsman] has gained a level, and is now level 10!
[Woodsman] has gained the skill [Bundle]
Congratulations, your class [Woodsman] has evolved into [Forester]
The power in her words sent me sprawling but she quickly drew up the strands of the skills, then the cube. Carving them adeptly with her too-long fingers like potter clay, delicately changing them from hunks of glowing anima into the toothy twine of skills and the delicate sculpture of classes. She slotted them into me, tying them to my existing skills, leaving me shuttering.
But it was done sooner than I expected.
And then I kind of waited there for the dream to end.
And when it didn’t, I sat up.
“So… When am I going to wake up?”
She looked down at me and then shrugged.
“No clue. You’re out cold. You exhausted too much of your mana. Like all of it. You used all of it all at once. Your current level is more than good for a spell of first level, but you barely had enough for one second-level spell, and that was because you boosted your reserve with life mana.”
I blinked at her.
“Wait… Wait, so I’m stuck here… For how long?”
“I don’t know. It will take a few hours, I guess. Last I saw, you were being brought to the temple district. They could probably do something. It depends on what kind of mana is in the surroundings. If you have an affinity for any of it, you’ll gain more mana, so if they dump you in a corpse pile, I guess you’ll be fine in about twenty minutes… That or they give you a blessing or something.”
I cringed at the idea, my phantom lips tight and pained.
“I would rather not wake up in a pile of corpses.”
“I can check for you if you want. I don’t know how to show you, but I can watch your body for you,” Sophy told me, chipper and sounding refreshed.
“How do you do that?” I asked her.
“I just kind of float around after you on the spiritual plane. Peeking out like staring through a window.” She explained casually.
“That sounds… Remarkably like stalking.”
“It’s a form of entertainment,” she argued.
“That doesn’t make it not creepy, though.”
“It’s not creepy… I’m always watching. Most of us are. It helps us keep track of you. And adjust our methods of guidance… I just happen to be able to talk to you.”
“That still does not make it any less creepy. You're telling me that you are watching me all the time… Even when I sleep?”
“I don’t watch you while you sleep,” she scoffed, which gave me some relief that was immediately crushed when she continued, “I watch you dream. That’s how we contact you… Remember? We check in when you level.”
I stared at her in horror, unable to tell if she was messing with me or not. It was hard to do without eyebrows or eyes… or any facial features.
“Please. Please… Tell me you're messing with me,” I begged her.
“Saphine, I have been with you since you were in the womb. I watched your conception and gave your mother skills to help with a clean birth. I have seen all of your life. There is nothing strange about watching you. I feel I have gone over this… Multiple times. If you want to, think of me like Selly floating around near you all the time,” indignance in her words.
“Yeah… But Selly won’t watch me cuddle Anna. Or watch me as a kind of entertainment.”
“I don’t particularly care about you cuddling people. I find your methods of wooing her entertaining, specifically because I can talk to you, but only for its conversational value. I find your use of skills far more interesting, and then I can talk to you. I’ve begun to optimize for you, not just giving you what you want but giving you the best skills. Most of the time, guidance is more... Hands off. I can’t ask them or tell them anything. If I could… Well, I can’t, even if it kills me inside.”
There was a degree of… exasperated annoyance, her desperate need to guide, fighting her inability to do her job.
“That is simultaneously a little touching and still creepy. I suppose… I’m glad you're satisfied with our friendship?”
“Oh, none of that. I don’t… Uh. You know what I’m going to check. One moment,” she said before slipping out just like she came.
“Uhh, Sophy… Can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes. I can still hear you… Oh, that’s… Well, you kept the shovel, I guess. They have a priest trying to deal with you. He seems to be whipping out a prayer to heal you, though I doubt that will do anything… Oh, and there is another trying to… Oh yeh, that will wake you up.”
“Are you sure?” I asked her.
“Oh, yeh. Well, I’ll talk to you later. Try to not knock yourself out again!”
“Are you kidding me? We're not done talk-”
I woke up, two priests and one worried Anna leaning over me, huddled around my shovel, which was held horizontally by one locked arm.
I also felt terrible, so at least I knew it was real.