The Party exited the room only to be met by a hallway full of people who began asking questions and wanting Joe’s attention. Ronald and Kyle followed them out and began herding people away from bothering Joe or his friends. Joe noted that Mirabella was already invisible as she was nowhere to be seen. As it was though, it took almost fifteen minutes to get back up the stairs and onto the first floor after a great many people wanted to shake hands and offer their thanks. It seemed that everyone was notified about the Sanctuary Zone, its upgrades and who did the deed.
When they finally got to the main hallway again, Joe noticed that the walls here had been converted into castle-like cut stone and the same heatless torches lined it making the area seem rather homey and warm. The biggest difference, however, was the signs above two new doors on the same wall that the doors to the office had been on. These doors were no longer the gray industrial doors of the County Building, but rather ornately carved wooden pieces of art bound in brass adornments. The sign above one said “Shoppe” and the other stated “Class Room”.
Joe felt his heart begin to beat faster and Bixby picked up on his excitement by wagging his tail and panting. He instinctively took a step towards the Class Room but was brought up short by Iona. “Hold on Joe.” She said in a slightly commanding tone. “Donnae go off just yet.” She gestured to Rory and Kier, “We’ve been doing a bit of talking and we want to propose something to you.”
Curious, Joe crossed his arms, “Ok. I’m listening.”
Kier continued, “With the play what’s been happening to you with the System, we think you should go to the Shoppe first and see if you can purchase as many spells and abilities as it’ll let you have. If our theory is correct, you currently have no limits on how many spells outside your class that you can know. Same goes for abilities. If you genuinely want to take advantage of your situation, we think that’s the best step for you.”
That caused Joe to pause and really think about his unique situation. As excited and ready as he was to finally get a class and levels, he could not waste such an excellent opportunity to become as powerful as possible. Nodding, he said, “Yeah. Absolutely. I agree one hundred percent. Thanks guys. I would have gone straight to the Class Room and probably would have thought of this after the fact.”
“Tis a’right. We got your back lad.” Rory smiled. “Now, shall we shop? I’ve got some things to sell.”
“Hold up.” Joe caught Rory as he made for the door.
“What in Mithra’s name is the matter now?” Rory complained.
“I just wanted to say thank you. To all of you. And to show my appreciation for all you’ve done to get me here to my sister and nephew.” He hugged Holly to himself briefly. He focused for a moment and then everyone in the Party stood shocked.
“You…” Iona and Kier both sputtered.
“I’ll nae look a gift mule in the arse!” Rory stated happily.
Holly asked, “Did you do this for everyone?”
“Yes. I want you to be able to provide for Matty in case something happens to me.”
“Tis a huge heart you have Joe Sherman.” Kier took Joe’s hand in a firm grip. “You donnae need to do this.”
Rory spat, “Oh I think he does!”
Joe smiled at his friends, “It’s okay. I want to. Consider it a gift to my friends.”
Mirabella appeared next to Joe and gestured for him to kneel. He knelt and leaned down to her level as she pulled her hood and mask away. She took his face in her tiny hands and kissed both of his cheeks in a slightly ritualistic manner, much like the Europeans did in some of the movies Joe had seen. He could see tears in her eyes. “Many thanks my friend. I have never seen, let alone held twenty thousand gold.” She smiled, “Oh and look, there is an achievement for that. You are a gift that continues to give. I marvel at your generosity.”
Once everyone had managed to calm down, Kier looked at Joe. “Are you ready lad?”
Joe smiled back and nodded, “Yeah, let’s do this.” He reached out his hand to the latch handle, depressed the latch and pulled on the door.
It would not budge.
“What the Hell?” Joe tried again to open the door but had no success. “Is it broken or locked or something?
Kier looked sternly at the door and tried the handle. The door opened smoothly for him. Joe saw the opening of the door was a shimmering pale blue field of Mana. Kier closed the door and had Joe try again. And again, he could not budge the door.
Iona stepped forward and was able to open the door and close it. “Methinks that you cannae get in until you’ve gotten your class.”
“Damn.” Joe said, disappointed. “I guess that answers the question of whether or not I can get more spells. I was really hoping.”
Rory threw his hands up in the air, “Finally! Some’at the System has deemed that the Mighty Joe cannae do!” He turned to Bixby, “Can you imagine the monster he’d have become if he could’ve gotten a dozen more spells or more before getting his Class? T’would have been beyond obscene!” Getting no reaction from the dog, he turned to the others, “Well, boyo, time for you to go get your Class. And while you’re doing that, I’ve got some shite to sell.” With that he opened the door, stepped in, and promptly disappeared. The door shut quietly behind him.
Disappointed but not altogether discouraged, Joe headed for the Class Room and Bixby stepped up alongside him. Iona patted Joe on the arm and ruffled Bixby’s fur. “We cannae go with you, so the rest of us will shop while you get your Class. I suspect it may take you a while. We’ll be here waiting when you’re done.” She turned and entered the Shoppe. Joe noticed that Kier and Bella had already entered as well. That left Holly standing in the hallway.
“Good luck.” She said as she hugged him. “I’ll be with Matty. Come find us when you’re done. We definitely need to talk.”
Joe smiled back, his heart full at the sight of his sister and with her hug encouraging him on. He smiled down at Bixby, “You ready buddy?” Bixby licked Joe’s hand and barked as Joe opened the door to the Class Room and the two stepped in.
Joe really didn’t know what to expect but once he entered the room, it made sense. The room was about fifteen feet wide and roughly thirty feet long. The walls were small stones cemented together with four large ornate, stained glass mosaic windows on either wall. The ceiling was a peeked roof of wooden rafters and rough-hewn slats of what looked like mahogany or some similar dark wood. Chandeliers of glowing stones hung from the rafters giving off a warm light. The wall at the far end of the room was blank stone with a large rolled up tapestry across the upper part at the roof line. There was a single old school, student chair-table combo like Joe remembered from his early school years. Only this one was scaled to fit Joe as an adult.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Standing at the far end of the room was a tall, thin man in dark blue robes. The robes were of high-quality material with a high collar. It was trimmed with gold, hand-stitched needlepoint, and had a simple gold pin on the breast in the shape of an open book. The man’s face was long and slightly severe looking, but his dark brown eyes were friendly and he wore a slight smile as if he had just heard an amusing story or joke. His white hair was slicked back which showed the widow’s peak of his hairline. His long fingers were steepled in front of him as he watched Joe and Bixby enter the room. This dude looks like a wizard praying mantis, thought Joe.
The man gestured for Joe to take a seat at the desk, “Welcome Adventurer. I am Class Master Keeroq. Please be seated and we shall begin.”
Joe decided that the smile was genuine and the tone of voice was soothing. He immediately liked the man. As Joe took a seat at the desk, Bixby sat next to him with his head cocked and tongue hanging out. Huh, I guess Bix likes him too.
Master Keeroq gestured at the wall and the tapestry dropped down to reveal that it was an interface screen much like the scrolls that popped up in Joe’s vision with information. “Now, are you here to upgrade or change your Class?”
“Um, neither. I’m here to get my Class.” Joe answered, feeling a bit awkward.
Master Keeroq’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “I apologize. I must have misunderstood your response. Did you say you came to attain a Class?” He cocked his head a bit to the side. “Meaning a secondary Class?”
Joe raised an eyebrow and kind of wiggled his head, “Well, no. I mean, I need to get my first Class.” He leaned forward with his elbows on the desk, “See, I was left out of the tutorial and so I was not able to get a Class.”
Upon hearing this Master Keeroq stood even straighter than before and his eyes widened a bit with the beginnings of anger. “Young Sir, that is quite impossible. Did you come to my Class Room simply to make jokes?”
“No, sir. I’m being completely serious.” Joe stammered. “You can Inspect me and see for yourself.”
Master Keeroq gave Joe a piercing stare. The calm, reassuring demeanor was replaced by a look of calculation and focus. Joe felt that he never wanted to be on this man’s bad side. Master Keeroq placed a hand on his own chin with a finger tapping on the corner of his mouth, deep in thought. Although Joe was sure that the man was Inspecting him, he could not fathom what the man was thinking. “I see.” He finally said.
“You do?” Joe asked hopefully.
“Young sir, I have never, in all my time serving as a Class Master, encountered someone who had not been either indoctrinated via the Tutorial or was born in a System enhanced realm.” Keeroq stepped towards Joe, “In point of fact, I have never heard of anything like this.” He bent at the waist and peered at Joe, then Bixby as if they were lab experiments. A moment later, he stood tall and returned to his place by the screen scroll. The well cultured faced was once more in place. “I will say this. Even though you seem an impossibility, you are here now and in need of my services. Regardless of your origins, it is my duty to assist those in need of ‘Classing up’ as the youth say.” He chuckled briefly at his own humor and gestured to the screen. Joe’s Status appeared large on the wall.
Status Screen
Name: Joseph Sherman
Race: Human
Class: None
Titles:
First Soulbound, Monster Hunter, Goblin Slayer, Monster Bane, Woodland Warrior, Jotun Friend, Goblin Bane, Apocalypse Master, Spider Slayer, Jotunkin, Legendary Dragon Slayer, Dwarven Friend, Troll Hunter, Apocalypse BAMF, Soul Antiquarian, Destroyer of Titans, First Seneschal
Achievements:
Incipient Soulbound, Pioneer, Legend Among Men, First Blood, Not Today Satan, Plunderer, Vengeance is Mine, One day at a Time, Rampage, Brawler, Paid In Blood, Delver, Dungeon Master, Can't touch This, Time tests All Men, Watch What You Say, Friendship Above All, Wrath of the Righteous, No Rest for the Wary, I'm Not Kissing That, Undaunted, Virtuoso of Death, Pest Control, Battle Forged, Family is Who You Choose, First Legendary Ability, Worthy of Legends, Celestial Plunderer, Majestic Hoarder, First Contact, Down the Hatch, Friendship is Magic, Maximum Effort, Kill it with Fire, What Wrath Hath Wrought, Apocalypse Ace, Armed and Dangerous, Monster Slayer, Soul Render, Second Sanctuary, Shire Reeve
Statistics
Level: 0 (2,589,900 EXP banked)
Health: 2220
Stamina: 2020
Mana: 1740
Status Effects: None
Strength 87 (187)*
Constitution 135
Agility 67
Perception 55
Intelligence 70
Willpower 104
Charisma 55
Luck 61
Skills
1 Hand Axe Tier 4
Carving Tier 1
Dual Wield Tier 5
1 Hand Sword Tier 2
Hunting Tier 1
Intimidation Tier 2
Jotun Tier 2
Leatherworking Tier 1
Medic Tier 2
Spear Tier 2
Survival Tier 5
Tanning Tier 1
Tracking Tier 1
Abilities:
Bestial Fury
Fireproof
Hard To Kill
Identify – Tier 3
Inspect – Tier 3
Mental Fortress – 25%
Physically Fit
Poison Resistance – 65%
Rage of the Pack
Soul Barrier – 10%
Soulbound Companion
Stealth – Tier 1
Tireless Soul
Tough As Nails – 50%
True Grit - 50%
Void Walker
Spells:
Blink Step
Corrosive Claws
Haste
Mantle of the Mountain Guardian
Pass Without Trace
Web
Damn! Ok, it’s been a while since I’ve looked at my Status. That’s… a lot. Joe marveled at how much his Statistics had changed in the last month.
Master Keeroq stood a moment staring at the screen, then back at Joe, then back at the screen. He was silent so long that Joe thought the man had gone mute. At last, he spoke, “Young sir, I do not know how you came to be in this particular situation, but please be assured that I will do my utmost to assist you.” He walked over to Joe and politely nodded to Bixby. His demeanor had once again changed from a stern looking school master to a kindly father figure. “The amount of experience you have accrued is staggering. The expenditure and raising of your levels will take some time as we cannot simply allocate them all at once. I am afraid that both your physical form and psyche would be torn asunder if we were to attempt it.” He stood abruptly and turned back to the screen, “So, with that warning fresh in your mind, let us begin.”
Master Keeroq gestured and the screen changed to show a long list of Class names. “Now then, normally…” He raised an eyebrow at Joe, “When one enters the Tutorial, one would have a list that is quite long as your potential is wide open. That list would then be narrowed down to reflect the skills, abilities, and life experiences that you had before integration.” He turned back to the screen and gestured and the list shrank appreciably. “Most beings will then begin to weed out the choices that do not fit their perceived personalities or sense of self. But,” he paused, “there are a few that reach beyond their own boundaries and choose a Class that is far outside their realm of experience. I highly recommend against this practice as those that do, often find themselves incompatible with System enhanced life after the Tutorial and they perish rather quickly.”
Finding himself with a litany of questions and sitting in the school room setting, Joe cautiously raised his hand.
“A question Adventurer?”
“Yes, sir. Um, I’ve been told that the amount of experience and gold that I get from monsters is more than normal. How exactly does that work?”
Master Keeroq cocked his head to the side while considering his answer. It made Joe think of the praying mantis analogy again. It was an odd behavior but Joe did not want to be rude and say anything. “I am unsure of the answer to that question. I am not privy to how experience and gold are determined or distributed. The fact that you gain more than others is a mystery.”
Great, more mysterious System shenanigans. Joe dropped his hand, his other questions forestalled as he doubted, he’d get any better answers than a general “I don’t know.”