Jeb’s vision slowly returned. Or at least, the sensation of being blinded slowly faded. Even when he felt like he should be able to see again, all he could see was a dark void. As he stared, the void slowly became filled with stars. As he focused on one, he understood that it represented a potential Second Tier Class he had access to.
Given everything that he had been told, Jeb had expected no more than five or ten options. He found that he was surrounded by potential Classes, though. As he kept focusing on the first star he saw, explicit information began to become visible.
Lesser Mud Initiate
It made sense to Jeb that he would be offered that Class. He had completed the Class Quest for Least Mud Initiate, and that was generally seen as a good way to guarantee the next Class in a series. Continuing to look at the Class, he saw even more.
Lesser Mud Initiate Second Tier Magical Class (Advanced) Rare
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Congratulations young Mage. You have demonstrated your claim to knowledge over Earth, Water, and Mud. Continue learning more Glyphs to solidify this foundation.
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Level Bonus: +6 to Willpower +4 to Mana Depth +2 to Intelligence +1 to Magic Affinity
It came with more than double the Statistic Gain that he had gotten for his first Class, which made it tempting. That being said, it was an explicitly Glyph based Class. He saw his own Status begin to glow beside it, and knew that he would still be unable to use his Bardic Magic or Enchanting Skills. Focusing longer, Jeb saw the constellation of potential Classes he could Tier into from it spin out into infinity, forming a multidimensional grid of connected points of bright light.
As he let his focus drift, Jeb saw that the different stars around him were not all identical. The more of them he looked at, the more he was able to parse out the meaning in the offerings. The brighter a Class’s star was, the more it overlapped with his existing Skills and Spells. The color seemed reflective of temperature, with hotter seeming stars being more powerful.
Jeb wasn’t entirely sure how he knew, but Lesser Mud Initiate seemed like a stronger Class somehow than Least Water Initiate (Second Tier). The same was reflected across all of his offerings.
As Jeb carefully considered every Class he was offered, he realized that there was even another level of order to the way the Classes were presented. The more similar that two Classes were, the closer they appeared to each other. Lesser Mud Initiate and Least Mud Student almost seemed like a double star with how close they were to each other.
Jeb kept searching. He had mostly given up his dreams of becoming a Farmer, but he still did not want the System to take the choice away from him. When he became a Mage, it would be because he chose it, not because he was forced to become one.
During his search of every Class he was offered, Jeb realized that there was a fourth metric. The further away a star was, for all that distance seemed like is should be meaningless in the void he was occupying, the less he wanted the Class. Whether that was the System responding to his desires, or the System warping them, he could not decide. The fact that he saw a Spellsword Class before anything Farming related made Jeb think that it was the latter.
After completely rejecting all of the war based Classes, Jeb finally found a Farming Class. Even as he focused on it, though, he felt a deep part of himself reject the notion. When the information started to appear, he understood why. The constellations that he saw floating behind each Second Tier Class connected more or less to each other, if only dimly. Beyond this Farming Class, though, there was not a single connection to a Magical Third Tier or higher Class.
Jeb understood what the System was telling him. He could have a Farming Class if he still wanted, but at the expense of ever being able to do explicit Magic again. Sighing, he turned back away from the Classes that his family had all gone through.
“Can I filter these somehow?” he asked the void. When Jeb heard his own voice, it was a little surprising. He had seen stars in all directions, including up and down, so he knew that his body, at least, had not come with him to this space.
Still, the void seemed amenable to his request. “I know that I won’t take any Class that’s in the bottom twenty percent of power,” he said, remembering some vague snippets of Theorycrafting. A Class’s power was determined both by how much strength it explicitly granted as well as what Classes it could grow into. If there was a Second Tier Class that gave power equivalent to a Fifth Tier Class, but had no progression at all, that would be nearly worthless. On the other hand, power later was only useful if you ever managed to achieve it.
Jeb saw the coldest stars begin to fade into nothingness. The hottest stars seemed to cool off as well, so that he was able to see the differences between them better. Though it pained him to explicitly eliminate the Farming Classes he was offered, Jeb made his next filter. “I know that I won’t take any Class that doesn’t match me well,” he said, “and my Skills, while not a perfect reflection of who I am, are still important to me. Can I have the bottom fifth of Classes in Skill match removed?”
The distance and brightness of stars were fairly well correlated. Since he still didn’t entirely trust the System to know what he wanted, it seemed like the wiser choice to eliminate Classes that did not allow him to use the Skills he had earned. As he watched, every star faded, with the dimmest disappearing entirely.
There were still too many Classes for Jeb to decide between. He repeated his culling, this time switching to the bottom half. As each Class was removed, he noticed which of the hottest and brightest stars seemed to change the least. One of them remained a bright beacon. Jeb had been initially hesitant to look at it, since he could tell that the System was pushing him to look at it. When he was down to only Magical Classes, though, he grit his metaphorical teeth and focused on it.
Wizard Second Tier Magical Class (Advanced) Novel
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You have not been content to rest within a single School of Magic. Nor have you kept the Schools you have learned separated, as individual wells of power for you to draw from. Instead, you have sought to understand the very underpinnings of Magic, finding even the font of Magic.
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Level Bonus: +5 to Willpower +5 to Mana Depth +5 to Intelligence +5 to Magic Affinity +5 to Charisma +5 to Presence
The Class offered frankly ridiculous Statistic gains. Compared to Lesser Mud Initiate, he would only gain less in Willpower, which was easily made up for in every other Statistic. Jeb watched his Status carefully as he continued to focus on the Class.
To his surprise, he would not keep Bardic Magic, Enchanting, or Least Mud Magic. When he focused on that, he understood why. The three Skills would combine, along with Mana Manipulation, Spell Glyphing, and Improved Glyph Groking. He was unsure exactly what they would become, but he knew that whatever they made would absolutely be stronger than any of the Skills individually.
To his surprise, the majority of his other Skills remained unchanged. He wasn’t sure why a Wizard, whatever that was, would need Fertilizing or Glassblowing, but he supposed that he had used nearly all of his Skills to do something Magical.
He saw that he would lose Running, Lifting, and Athletics, though. When he focused on them, hoping that they would also combine, he saw a new message appear.
You have no wish to be a Warmage. Your body exists to you as a vessel for you to work your Magic, rather than a focus of cultivation itself.
Jeb couldn’t explicitly argue with that. Even though the Class seemed powerful and like a fantastic fit for him, he was hesitant to accept it. He looked for any other star that he hadn’t inspected, hoping to find something else that would speak to him. If one did, he would be more comfortable accepting this Class, knowing that it was not a trap.
As though his wish had created a new star, he saw one that had been hidden before.
Lesser Druid-Mage Initiate Second Tier Magical Class (Advanced) Suppressed
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Warning: This Class and its progressions are forbidden in your nation of residence. Claiming it will result in you gaining the Achievement: Outlaw, which will change to Achievement: Exile if you leave your nation.
Jeb sighed, releasing that Class option. It seemed to resonate with a deep part of him, but he had no doubt that becoming a Druid was a choice that he would immediately regret. He refocused on the Wizard Class, noticing only then that it was the only Class without a modifier.
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He would not be a Least or Lesser Wizard, or some sort of Wizard’s Apprentice. Instead, he would have the apparently brand new Class of Wizard. Out of curiosity, he looked at what Classes it could develop into. Thankfully, he would apparently be able to leave the Class if he hated it, since it overlapped with every other Magical Class’s constellation.
“Is there a reason not to take this Class?” he asked the System, not expecting a reply. None came.
Imagining himself nodding, Jeb accepted the Class.
Congratulations! You have Tiered Up! -100 Experience, New Class: Wizard.
Excess Experience detected. Multipliers applied: Level up: 0.5 Tier Up (1-2): 0.25 Total Multiplier: 0.125 Remaining Experience: 1365
Congratulations! Your Skills have Combined! Least Mud Magic (Class Reward, Magical) Mana Manipulation (Magical) Spell Glyphing (Magical) Improved Glyph Groking (Magical) Bardic Magic (Magical) Enchanting (Magical)
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Have combined into the Skill “Magic (Class Reward, Magical)”
Some Skills have faded from you. Running Lifting Athletics Are no longer yours to command.
As the starscape faded, Jeb felt the new power enter him. His soul was rewritten as the Skills he knew were changed and deleted. The searing pain distracted him long enough that he did not notice how he reentered his body.
“So, Jeb, what Class did you choose?” he head Petra ask.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Humdrum Human Age: 16 Class: Wizard Level: 2 Experience: 1365/202
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Total Statistic Load: 563 ->593 Physical Load: 218 ->223 Strength: 52 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 54 Vitality: 55 Presence: 4 ->9
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Mental Load: 345 ->370 Intelligence: 68 ->73 Willpower: 75 ->80 Magic Affinity: 74 ->79 Mana Depth: 64 ->69 Charisma: 64 ->69
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Mana: 1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Meditation Gift of Gab Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Glassblowing Magic
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)