With their trip to the blacksmith done, Mark led Donny outside the town. There was the matter of the mayor’s assistant and the reward, but it was scheduled for tomorrow. He did not need to meet the assistant, and all he needed right now was the public display in front of everyone, especially the caravan.
After all, he did not plan on coming back to this place. He has spent his first moments in this world living in this town, and he got to know many people, but all in all, it was pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.
Moving out of town, Mark turned to Donny.
“You must have leveled up already with the action yesterday, did you get the option of Ranger as you wanted?”
“Yes, Master but another option appeared, look.”
Donny rolled up his sleeve and let Mark look through his status.
Name: Donny Clearspring Class: CHOOSE
Level: 12 Experience: 87/20480
MP: 34 SP: 60
Strength: 19 Agility: 27
Constitution: 20 Intelligence:17
Skills: Novice Bow Mastery LVL 9 EXP 433/2560, Precise Shot LVL 8 EXP 311/1280, *Stealth LVL 1 EXP 6/40*, Sprint LVL 6 EXP 313/320, Forest Stride LVL 7 EXP 188/640, Animal Handling LVL 8 EXP 5/1280, *Stamina Control LVL 4 EXP 11/320*, *Bolster LVL 5 EXP 90/320*
When he focused on the class nothing happened, he looked at Donny, and understanding the request, Donny focused on his wrist and soon enough the image changed. Now the Status was gone and only a little table with classes remained. Looking at the options Mark was quickly intrigued.
Class
Talent
Description
Farmer
Growth
The life of a Farmer is not as easy as one could think. Everyday he must fight elements, and animals to protect his farm. To produce sustenance for his loved ones and other people around him. Those choosing this path dedicate their life to tending to their land.
Ranger
Forest Stride
The walker of the forest, living with it as one, in harmony. Always seeks the balance and health of the forest. A master of the bow, friend to animals, and keeper of life. Unfaltering in the defense of his home.
Hunter
Bow Mastery
The stalker of the prey, Hunters are one of the deadliest predators in the forest, though they care little for the balance of life, interested in the gains their prey bring. Those choosing this path are dedicated to becoming the deadliest sharpshooters.
Beastmaster
Animal Companion
Little is known of Beastmasters, rumored to hold a great power over animals, they can become an unbeatable foe given enough time and dedication. Those following this path will dedicate their life to understanding and living with their less sentient companions.
The Class choice is currently restricted due to:
Servitude Bond with another being known as “M4rK”
Only available after gaining the Master’s permission.
There was something strange about this notice. He expected the classes to be different, but the small difference between their Ranger prompts was unexpected. Even more so Beastmaster, there was some strange emphasis placed upon it like it wanted to be chosen, and from what Mark could see, it fit Donny very well.
Oftentimes during their training, Donny stopped by to whisper with the wildlife around him. The strange horned hares, which usually ran away at the sight of Mark, stopped by when seeing Donny and chittered for a moment. Squirrels traveled along with him during his runs, and wolves just nodded while passing by.
All the same the incident with the wolf attack on that one day was strange, but he guessed they were too hungry to care for whatever atmosphere Donny was emitting. Now it was just confirmation of his deeper bond with nature. It would also explain the very emotional response when he first connected with that tree.
What worried, or rather let’s call it, intrigued Mark the most was the notification below the classes. He already knew Donny wouldn’t be able to choose without his permission, but the spelling was strange, it was written with numbers and it was capitalized in a weird manner.
He quickly looked at his wrist to confirm if everything was ok, but right there it spelled Mark, as normal as it could get. Then why was it acting so weird when it appeared on Donny's list. He guessed that it would land into the pile of questions he just could not answer, but he swore he would someday get to the bottom of this whole transmigration mystery.
“What do you think Donny, which one would you take?”
Mark wasn’t really giving Donny any choice in the matter, he already made the most optimal decision, but he wanted to know if the boy would be capable of critical thinking. His dream was to become a Ranger, the same as his Father. If this sentiment impeded his decision-making in matters as crucial as this, Mark wanted to know.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Donny looked up at Mark, and seeing the seriousness behind his eyes he fell into deep thought. He thought of all the things his Pop has taught him about the Forest, about animals and plants, about the harmony in life. He always wanted to go in his Father’s footsteps, take care of the forest, and commune with Nature. That is exactly why he wanted to be a Ranger, he realized.
Not because his Dad was one, but because he wanted to be close to the nature surrounding him. He knew Mark was testing him. He wasn’t stupid, everyone in the world knew what Rare classes meant. If you were ever offered one, you would be a brain-dead moron NOT to choose it.
So if he went with his lifelong wish of being a Ranger here, his Master would surely be disappointed. And, really, he didn’t need to be a Ranger to be close to the world surrounding him, his Master has already shown him that, so in the end, he made his choice. He would abandon the Ranger class and become a Beastmaster.
His Father never explicitly wanted him to get the same class, he only cared for the balance of life and the health of the Forest, he would understand.
“I want to become a Beastmaster.”
“Very well then, you can choose Beastmaster as your class Donny.”
Mark moved away a little and used his Eye of Arano, to see every little detail of what happened next. During his Class Up there was a small phenomenon, where he appeared in some sort of shadowy world, with everything being coated in living shade. He wanted to see what gaining a class looked like from a different perspective.
Donny took a deep breath and sent a mental confirmation, choosing his Class.
Mark first HEARD the change instantly. The forest around them, until now so full of life, filled with noises of small critters, and singing of birds, now vanished. No sound was produced as if all life around held its breath.
Then, he SAW the nature around change, the grass under Donny’s feet grew out inches in seconds, the trees around them bent ever so slightly in his direction, but most importantly, out of nowhere, animals started madly dashing towards him.
At first, it was just squirrels and birds, but then came wild hares, the six-legged deer, that he came to know were called Ceyr, then came wolves, small cats, similar to lynxes, and all other kinds of animals. All of them, no matter if they were carnivores or herbivores, predator or prey, stood in peace around Donny, and bowed their heads.
Then Mark felt the Energy, a boundless amount of Energy gathered around, it was not stamina, and from what little he knew of mana, it wasn’t that either, it was somehow much more potent. Powerful. Otherworldly.
All at once it all stopped. There was no more energy, the animal went their ways, still in peace. The trees straightened up, and the grass around them fell flat to the ground under its weight.
It was as if nothing happened, Donny looked around a little confused as if he was torn out of his home bed all of a sudden. Mark knew the feeling, he felt the very same thing when he was thrust out of his space.
With the class choice complete, Mark stepped closer to Donny and they looked at the changes taking place in his stats.
Name:
Donny Clearspring
Class:
Beastmaster
Level:
12
Experience:
87/20480
MP:
38
SP:
78
Strength
19->20
Agility
27->29
Constitution
20
Intelligence
17->19
Skill:
Description
LVL
Novice Bow Mastery
Apprentice handling of weapon: Bow
LVL 9 EXP 433/2560
Precise Shot
Slight correction of a fired arrow.
LVL 8 EXP 311/128
Stealth
You are thinning your presence, avoiding the awareness of other living beings.
LVL 1 EXP 6/40
Sprint
Run much faster.
LVL 6 EXP 313/320
Forest Stride
The art of moving efficiently through a Forest.
LVL 8 EXP 1/1280
*Animal Handling*
The art of communicating with the animals.
LVL 9 EXP 1/2560
*Spirit Animal* ^Unique^
A spirit of an animal could not pass Through and stayed, following behind its friend, the unique circumstances around the lives of both the animal and human led to the Beastmaster gaining a guardian through life and death.
N/A
*Tame*
The Beastmaster can tame almost every animal, given enough skill and perseverance.
LVL 1 EXP 1/20
Stamina Control
You are capable of controlling your Internal Stamina.
LVL 4 EXP 11/320
Bolster
Empower your body with Stamina.
LVL 5 EXP 90/320
Those were some monumental changes, but what interested Mark the most was the sudden appearance of another ^Unique^ skill. It was bizarre in the best circumstances, after all, how many people live in this world, what are the chances there is no one here that already has a skill like this? Did this mean it is not UNIQUE to a person and the word is just a representative of the skills’ rarity?
Wanting to see what the skill could mean Mark turned to Donny, unnecessarily, the boy was already gathering Mana in his hands to activate whatever the skill did. Donny had never heard of Unique Skills, and this was his first time seeing one, he was beyond curious as to what it did.
After gathering almost every point of Mana he had he felt a click in his head, knowing that it was enough he released the Mana ahead of him. For a second nothing happened, until right in front of them a giant Wolf manifested. He was a little see-through, but you could still tell what he looked like.
It was the very same Wolf that stood in Donny’s defense on that fateful day his family was murdered. It now stood before Donny, its eyes glowing with a weak white glow. It was once again standing by its human's side, ready to protect him even in death.