The production class room looked much similar to the combat one, with undecorated wooden walls and a glass orb atop an altar in the center. Other than the magical orb, the whole room felt desolate, unimaginative, and abandoned. This time, Roy was the first to walk up and touch the orb.
Available Classes:
Apprentice Alchemist
Huh, that’s a small list… Is that the only production class I have a talent for?
Seeing only one production class on the screen hovering in front of him made the task of choosing easy. Roy chose ‘Apprentice Alchemist’ and the usual floating screen appeared once again.
“Congratulations on awakening your production class. You can purchase class skills in the shop.”
“Congratulation, you have unlocked your production class starting skill. You can find the description and the proficiency level in your status window.”
Basic Potion Brewing
Description: The ability to create simple potions using common ingredients, such as healing or mana potions.
Proficiency: 0.0%
Mana potions? Roy’s mind immediately flashed back to the vial of blue liquid that filled him to the brim with mana. If I can make a lot of those potions, no one will be able to stop us.
“What got you smiling like that?”
Jack’s voice brought Roy back to reality. He turned around and chuckled, “Remember that blue liquid I drank earlier?”
Jack raised an eyebrow, “Yeah? The one that gave you enough mana to blast the red bear’s whole body? Yeah, I remember it.”
“Why? Did you get it again?” Robb laughed.
“Almost,” Roy responded with a smile. “I got a skill to make something like it, apparently?”
There was a silence in the room as both Jack and Robb looked at Roy with incredulous eyes.
“Are you for real?” Jack’s voice was high at the unexpected information from Roy. “You’re not making a stupid joke, right?”
“That’s what the skill says,” Roy shrugged with a wry smile.
Jack’s expression morphed from doubt to surprise to unadulterated happiness. He slightly chuckled and his chest heaved up and down, as if it was a damn about to burst and let out all of the emotions he had repressed. His chuckle slowly turned into full-on uncontrollable laughter.
“Yes, that’s what I like to hear!” Jack exclaimed with a wild expression, startling even Robb.
“Tomorrow, let’s go kill those knights,” Jack’s voice was full of venom as he stared at Roy. “Now is the best time. With all these skills and classes, we’re going to be so much stronger than them!”
Jack’s powerful feelings struck Roy’s heart like an arrow, but his face remained unperturbed, “Calm down, Jack. Now isn’t the time, yet.”
The red-haired young man looked at Roy with an open mouth before snapping, “What do you mean ‘Now isn’t the time’?! Now is the perfect time!”
Jack unsheathed his sword and filled it with blue energy to the brim.
“Arcane sword, that’s the name of the skill,” Jack let out a pained chuckle. “If I had it before, Parker wouldn’t have died. Hassan definitely wouldn’t have lost an eye, and Daven wouldn’t have lost his fingers.”
“Hey, Jack. You should relax,” Robb looked at his wrathful friend with concerned eyes, “Getting angry and going to fight is not the best idea.”
Robb’s words seemed to go in one ear and out the other as Jack turned violently and glared at Roy with furrowed eyebrows, “And Aiden too! Did you forget what they did to him? They burned him to ashes! We don’t even know where his bones are!”
Stolen story; please report.
“I know…” Roy bit his lower lip and looked down. “I swear, we are going to get our revenge in full.”
“And when is that?” Jack’s eyes stared into Roy’s soul. “When are we going to kill them? When are going to massacre every last one of them?”
Roy took a few seconds to answer as both Jack and Robb looked at him, “Right after we clean out the rotten shit in our own-”
“Hey, are you guys done?”
Hassan cut Roy before he could finish his sentence. The three friends looked at him with varying gazes, each with their own thoughts.
Jack looked back at Roy with an open mouth, “Hey, what rotten shit are you-”
“Not yet,” Roy looked at Hassan and smiled, completely ignoring Jack. “Have you guys finished already?”
“Daven still hasn't finished, but the rest of us did,” Hassan tilted his head and gestured at the men behind him in the corridor.
“Wow, you guys are fast!” Roy nodded in amazement and raised his eyebrows. He then scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously, “We’re quite slow, it’s just me that got his class. Let’s go outside while Jack and Robb finish.”
Roy walked toward Hassan with a smile before glancing at Jack and Robb as he reached the door. With a barely noticeable signal with his fingers, he told them that they would discuss things later.
The two walked outside while Hawk and Tyler followed after them.
“So, what combat class did you get?” Roy broke the ice and asked Hassan.
“Apprentice Mystic Spearman,” Hassan chuckled. “I’m not sure about the Mystic part, but I’m definitely not an apprentice spearman. These gods must have no eyes to call me that.”
Roy laughed before saying, “That’s a cool name though, its skill must be good too.”
“Well, I did get Spear Mastery,” Hassan shrugged. “It must be like Jack’s Sword Mastery. I can now finally show him who is the boss here.”
Roy chuckled under his breath but did not say anything. He looked back at Hawk and tilted his head, “Let me guess, Apprentice Ranger?”
“Oh please, it’s Apprentice Wind Ranger,” Hawk corrected while rolling his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Roy shook his head and laughed. “I forgot that everyone is getting their little special class. I wonder how special it is anymore.”
“Oh, it is special…”
Roy turned to see Tyler looking down with a defeated expression on his face.
“Apprentice Priest… that was the only good option.”
Roy nervously smiled at the unexpected twist before biting his lips and closing his eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. Priest is a great class too, I haven’t seen another priest yet!”
Tyler managed a weak smile, but disappointment still lingered in his eyes, “It’s alright, you don’t need to feel bad about me. I already knew I wasn’t special, so of course I’m not going to get a special class.”
Well, fuck. How do I respond to that?
Just as awkwardness started to spread between the four men, Aswad made his way in.
“The class awakening is not the only time you can get a special class. If you clear certain criteria, you can evolve a normal class to a special one when you perform your class advancement.”
Aswad explained with a smile, lifting Tyler’s mood with each word.
“And the term ‘special class’ is a bit of a misnomer. What they are is just combinations of classes, affinities, and specialties.” He looked at Hassan before continuing, “A mystic spearman, for example, would never be as proficient in spear arts as a pure spearman, and would also fall short in mystic arts compared to a pure mystic.”
Just as Hassan frowned at the revelation, Aswad comforted him and smiled, “It is the combination and the synergies between those two arts that make your class powerful.”
Seeing how quickly Aswad cleared the situation, a big weight was lifted off Roy’s shoulders. Thank the gods for Aswad, coming in to save the day.
“So I can get one of these special classes too?” Tyler asked with hope reinvigorated in his soul.
“Of course,” Aswad replied as a matter of fact. “It just depends on your affinities and the type of skills you master. The more skills you have mastered, the more special classes will be available to you when you try to advance.”
“You’re a knowledgeable guy,” Hawk remarked. “What did you say you were again?”
“I am the guardian of the territory,” Aswad lightly bowed. “My role is to protect the territory and its lord.”
Aswad’s slight glance and smile at Roy left the latter feeling something he had never experienced before. It was a certain elation that transcended other feelings.
“So you’re on our side,” Hawk chuckled. “But how powerful are you? You moved so much water from the lake earlier and killed that raging fire. You must be able to destroy armies with ease.”
“My power is honestly quite limited,” Aswad replied with a wry smile. “I needed to use a significant portion of the lord’s monster gems to use that spell earlier. I also cannot move past the limits of the territory, as I am merely its guardian.”
“That’s a shame,” Hassan clicked his tongue. “With you, we could have raided that bastard lord’s hall this night and gotten our revenge.”
Hassan caressed his bandaged left eye as his face morphed into pure rage. “And this is the lord we were serving just a few days ago. This apocalypse truly showed the face of those hiding behind a mask.”
Hawk’s expression turned serious too and he tapped Hassan’s shoulder, “It’s okay, we will be done with them soon.”
While the two knights were talking, Roy looked at them both with cold eyes. Though the rage and pain seemed genuine, in this world, truth and lies blurred together like the fading colors of twilight.