Once my shift at the school was over, I found Velatha waiting for me. She gave me a very passionate kiss.
"Did you miss me that much?" I asked.
"I always miss you," she said as she hugged me.
Hand in hand, we slowly made our way through the village with no real direction. Tomorrow was one of our free days and I had no idea of what to do. One thing that had been percolating was ... me, or more precisely the subject of reincarnation. I had all the memories and feelings of Liscura, in addition to my old life, and I genuinely loved Vel. But I felt a bit guilty about hiding it from her.
Maybe it was time for me to come clean, even if it meant potentially losing her. The longer I left the thought to fester, the worse the result.
"What's bothering you?" Vel asked. "I know that look, it's something serious."
"Vel," I started, "there's ... something important I want to tell you. There was … something happened while I was sick and …"
"Does it have to do with your recovery and blessing?" She asked.
"I think so, yeah."
"So, what happened?"
"I think Liscura … I … died," I said, Vel raised an eyebrow, "I don't really remember, the fever was so strong, but it felt so real." Vel tried to hug me but I stepped back. "When I woke up, I was … someone else. I had the memories of Liscura but I wasn't, it's … strange to explain."
"What do you mean her memories?" Vel looked at me puzzled. "Yeah, you were a bit off for a few days but …"
"I think it was the two of us … merging," I said, "or absorbing, or something."
"So … who are you? If you aren't … you? Lis."
"I remember another life, on another planet, one with no system, no dungeon, no magic. I think I died there too and found my way into this body … somehow."
"That's …" Vel paused. "We should ask Breknir, if there's someone who can tell, it will be him."
She stepped closed and hugged me, I tried to shy away but she didn't let me.
"As for me," she said in my ear, "I think you're still you. New soul or not, doesn’t make a difference. If Gaia thought you needed a soul transplant to survive then I'm sure she knew what she was doing. You're still the friend I fell in love with, even if you remember a whole other life, you're still … maybe not the exact same but … it's good enough for me."
I let out a shudder. The tension drained from me and I returned the embrace.
"Thanks," I let out a small sob.
----------------------------------------
Breknir watched the both of us with a skeptical look on his face. Vel had dragged me to him and recounted my incoherent rambling to him. He spent a few minutes questioning me on things, what my old world was like, what I remembered from this life, how I had felt when waking up.
"Very unusual. Your story is too coherent to be a mere hallucination from the ghost fever. It could explain how you recovered so well. A divine intervention. The boon bestowed upon you is consequent as well, powerful."
"Isn't anyone bothered?" I asked, a bit hysterical.
"Matters of the soul are complex," Breknir said, "it is the domain of clerics and necromancers, few others study it. And even if I knew how to somehow identify a soul, what good would it do me as I have nothing to compare it against."
"Liscura," he continued, "the system still identifies you as yourself, it is likely the best confirmation you can get. Anything else is pure speculation and perhaps not worth dwelling on."
"See," Vel squeezed my hand, "you’re still you. Just with some extras." Then, she gave me a mischievous grin. "If anything, it made you really good at ..."
I slapped my hand on her mouth before she could finish.
----------------------------------------
It took a while for me to completely calm down. Vel seemed to understand and she simply held me in her arms. She dragged me to a quiet spot, hidden out of the way near the edges of the village where a small stream from the bath house made its way out.
"Are you feeling better?" Vel asked.
"Yes," I said, "I feel a bit stupid too. To have freaked out over it."
"No, you're not stupid," she nestled her head in the crook of my neck. "I think I would have felt the same, you know. It's a bit scary to think about, really."
"And you're still sure … about us?"
"Absolutely certain," she kissed the back of my neck and I felt shivers go down my spine.
"Now … to get our mind off of this. There's something I wanted us to do today," she continued. "We should pick our classes, I bet you have awesome options if your blessing is right."
"Yeah, you're right. We kind of forgot yesterday. And our trial is probably coming soon."
"That too. So let's get to work."
I nodded. I closed my eyes and brought up the list of classes and almost choked at the length. Most people had the choice of first or second tier classes to start with. Most class chains started at the first tier and evolved from there, magic classes started at the second tier and required an affinity to get. My list was filled with third tier classes.
The third tier for classes was special, instead of providing a large breadth of specialized options like the previous two tiers, it provided a smaller selection of versatile classes. It was where the magic went from single domains like Fire or Water to an entire field like Nature or Arcane.
To get the Druid class normally for example, you needed a magic class with an element compatible with Nature and the [Nature Magic Affinity] perk. Dark Elves got the latter from birth which is why most chose a path that integrated magic at some point.
For me, the class was simply available.
Druid
Requirements: [Nature Magic Affinity]
Description
The druid is adept at calling up the power of nature to both fight her foes and heal her allies.
Bonuses
+15 Wisdom, +10 Intelligence, +10 Spirit, +5 Mind
Core Skills
[Nature Magic] [Nature Bond]
Starting Class Skills
[Nature Lore] [Spell Slots]
I knew I would pick this one. It was, literally, a childhood dream come true from both of my lives. To be able to use magic.
The real question was, did I want to multiclass?
I had the ability after all.
The real question was, which class should I choose as my secondary?
Druids were full casters, entirely focused on magic use. A second class should both support and complement it. My first thought was to pick Ranger, a favorite of the village scouts, but it felt like a waste to have two classes focused on nature magic. But I felt like the concept was good. There were other classes that mixed magic and armed combat.
Magus
Requirements: [Arcane Magic Affinity]
Description
The magus is adept at both martial and magical combat, able to meld the two disciplines into a unique fighting style. Their ability to enchant their weapon on-the-fly provides them with a breadth of option during combat.
Bonuses
+5 Strength, +5 Agility, +5 Endurance
+10 Intelligence, +5 Spirit, +5 Mind
Core Skills
[Arcane Magic] [Weapon Enchantment]
Starting Class Skills
[Arcane Lore] [Spell Slots] [Spell Combat] [Spell Strike]
Aegis
Requirements: [Psychic Magic Affinity]
Description
The aegis is a master at shaping their magic into physical form, they are capable of creating armor and weapons our of thin air.
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Bonuses
+10 Strength, +10 Agility, +5 Endurance
+5 Intelligence, +5 Mind
Core Skills
[Psychic Magic] [Psychic Manifestation]
Starting Class Skills
[Psychic Lore] [Spell Slots] [Form Weapon] [Form Armor]
I pondered my options. The Aegis was more directly combat oriented while the Magus felt more versatile. I liked the idea of making a weapon appear out of thin air but I wasn't certain of how it would work with a bow, which was my main weapon. I had a better idea of how enchantment worked in this regard.
Picking Magus was the safer choice, at least for now. If I wanted to dip into Aegis later, I would still have the option.
System Action
Purchase Class [Druid] at level 1 for 1 CP
Purchase Class [Magus] at level 1 for 1 CP
Total: 2 CP, Left: 0 CP
Confirm? [Y/N]
I mentally confirmed my choice and felt a sudden rush of energy.
"What did you get?" I heard Val whisper.
"What did you get?" I said.
"Plant Mage," she said.
"Well, it complements you. I think you'll be a great plant mage."
Vel giggled and gave me another kiss on the neck.
"Now," she said, "I bet you got two classes."
"How did you know?" I asked playfully.
"I just knew," she answered mysteriously.
"Well, you're right. I picked Druid as my first class."
"Of course, you've wanted that one for so long."
"And Magus as my second."
"Never heard of it, my bet was on Ranger."
"It's a hybrid class, like the Ranger, but focused on Arcane Magic and weapon enchantments."
"Ohhhhhh, very good. I've never seen Arcane Magic before."
Liscura Van-Niu
[Dark Elf]
Rank 2 | Level 1/40
30 SP | 14 AP | 0 CP | 1 AS
Status
Health
1'855/2'025
+65%/h
Stamina
2'290/2'465
+75%/h
Mana
2'770/3'495
+110%/h
Focus
132/132
Spell Slots
Magus (Arcane)
Max: 6th
0/28
0th: 0/9
Druid (Nature)
Max: 9th
0/46
0th: 0/12
Attributes
Strength
43
E
Intelligence
84
A
Agility
63
C
Wisdom
73
B
Vitality
41
D
Spirit
77
B
Endurance
57
C
Mind
66
B
Perks
[Blessing of Gaia]
[Multiclass]
[Magic Affinity]
[Improved Senses]
[Mana Sense]
[Night Vision]
Classes (2/∞)
Magus (LV 1)
Druid (LV 1)
Core Skills
[Arcane Magic (III)] [Weapon Enhancement (I)]
Core Skills
[Nature Magic (III)] [Nature Bond (I)]
Class Skills (4/10)
[Spell Strike (I, 1/20)]
[Arcane Lore (I, 1/20)]
[Spell Combat (I, 1/20)]
[Spell Slots (I, 1/20)]
Enhancements (1/2)
[Damage (I)]
Class Skills (2/10)
[Nature Lore (I, 1/20)]
[Spell Slots (I, 1/20)]
General Skills (20/32)
[Daggers (I, 15/20)]
[Light Bow (II, 5/40)]
[Light Armor (II, 23/40)]
[Dodge (II, 3/40)]
[Niu Blade Style (I, 6/20)]
[Niu Archery Style (I, 14/20)]
[Anatomy (I, 15/20)]
[Diagnosis (I, 11/20)]
[Medicine (I, 13/20)]
[Surgery (I, 3/20)]
[Herbalism (II, 22/40)]
[Alchemy (III, 17/60)]
[Tracking (II, 2/40)]
[Stealth (II, 4/40)]
[Parkour (I, 16/20]
[Foraging (II, 12/40)]
[Identify (I, 7/20)]
[Niu Sign Language (II, 14/40)]
[Elven Language (IV, 12/80)]
[English Language (V, 6/100)]
Resistances
[Poison Resistance (I, 13/20)]
[Disease Resistance (II, 3/40)]