The three of us followed Duke Sept to his office, where he invited us to take a seat as he started digging up something from his desk. I gave Nico an inquisitive glance, but she shrugged her shoulders. Soon enough, the man pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write on it.

“You asked for our good will, good lady, and you shall receive it.” He said, setting down his ornate pen and handing me the parchment.

“On this parchment is an oath of friendship from House Sept to you. No matter how long you live and how many generations of our family pass by, any and all members of House Sept are duty-bound to come to your aid in whatever manner you need, and however many times you need it.”

Despite my shock, I mechanically took the document in my hand and stared at it. The handwriting was so fancy that I struggled to read what it actually said, though I had no doubt that the duke was telling the truth.

“You should also take this.” He said, offering me an enchanted, silver pendant.

Engraved on it was the now familiar Sept family crest.

“What’s this?” I asked, and Nico’s brother answered.

“This pendant is a sign of affiliation with our house. They are often granted only to messengers or envoys bearing our name. The actions of its bearer reflect on the noble family that granted it, so they are not given lightly. It is the greatest honor a noble house can bestow.”

Wow. That’s a lot of trust they’re placing in me.

“Are you sure it’s alright to give me something so valuable? I might end up bringing trouble your way, accidentally or not.”

“So long as you do not become an enemy of Lady Mett, we are unconcerned. This is the least we can do to pay you back. Our doors are forever open to you.” The duke said, waving away any concerns nonchalantly.

I smiled sheepishly and thanked the duke before Nico urged me to follow her outside of the office. Ozier stayed inside and continued to talk to his father, something about participating in an air raid on the Serpent’s Throat to wipe out the remaining monsters on its surface and pave the way for a land force to retake it.

While I was intrigued, I put it aside for the moment as I turned back to Nico.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, following her lead.

“You had said that you wished to seek help from the Goddess regarding your trauma. Was your talk helpful in that regard?”

“Well, while I did get a sort of temporary fix, it’s a bit more complicated…”

***

Seeing the direction our conversation was heading, Nico took us to the manor’s private arena. Nico stood over the controls while I stood alone, waiting for the black dome to cover me. My heart was slowly beginning to pace, though I tried not to think about what I was about to do.

“Is there a particular location you want to be placed in?” Nico asked.

Hmm…

Any layer of the Unfathomable Abyss was absolutely a no-go. I have terrible memories of that place. I also doubt that the arena has the Draconic Isles available – neither god nor human had ever set foot on their shores.

“Can you place me in empty space?”

Nico stopped looking at the controls to give me a strange look.

“You mean the empty void outside of our world? Why?”

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I shrugged.

“The last few times I advanced my class, I received visions from beyond our planet. I can’t think of any relaxing place available to you, so I might as well try this out.”

Nico frowned then began to fiddle with the controls for a while. The moment dragged out into minutes, and I was starting to get bored. By the time I was about to call out again, Nico spoke up.

“There isn’t anything resembling what you’re asking for.” She said.

I felt a little let down at that.

“Well, thanks for trying anyw-”

“Hold your drakes, let me finish first.” She said with a cheeky grin.

Seeing hope well back within me, she continued with a satisfied expression.

“While there isn’t anything like what you asked for, I made do by selecting the peak of Saint Katarina map and setting your starting location as high as the controls would allow me – and that’s a lot higher than I thought. You’ll be just barely within what the arena considers to be the borders of our planet, but still quite a distance up. It’ll take you a long time to fall back to the surface, but I have a feeling that won’t be an issue for a gravity mage.”

“Thanks Nico, you’re the best.”

As I said that, the black dome finally covered my head, and the stars rushed past me. Our world appeared in the horizon, but this time, the planet stopped moving closer when it fully covered my view.

“Huh. There’s no air here.” I thought, feeling my body strain against my scales.

“Kiara, you’re falling back to the surface. Activate your skills to cancel out your gravity.”

Nico’s warning surprised me, so I reversed my weight, which pushed me away from the planet.

“Time to figure out how high I can go!” I chuckled as I began multiplying the force pushing me upwards.

Because there wasn’t much air, I couldn’t tell how fast I was going, but I could feel my body being pressed by the modified force of gravity.

“I wonder if I’ve already past the point I started falling fr- OOF!”

My breath was knocked out of me, as I was splattered across a flat surface above my head. Reducing the force of gravity to a bearable standard, I finally looked at what I’d collided with, only to find empty space above.

“What the hell? I am pushing up against some strange, invisible wall.”

Nico didn’t say anything, but I knew she was listening.

“…Anyway, enough stalling.” I said, making a makeshift floor of the invisible ceiling as I sat upside down.

This way I could only see empty space, which was good enough for me.

“Here goes nothing.” I whispered.

My heart was beating faster and faster as I began calling up the class advancement menu. With a shaky voice, I began to look down the menu until I found the class I was looking for.

[The Crusher]

Secret Class Requirements:

* Can speak, read, and write fluently in an Akashic language.

* Possesses a minimum of high affinity for all attributes.

* Possesses at least five divine shards.

* Cast a spell with all base attributes using an advanced-grade magic circle.

* Has not evolved to rank A or above.

* Possesses a limit breaking skill or title.

Do you wish to advance your class into [The Crusher]?

My heartbeat had reached a crescendo, and I found myself unable to breath. And yet, that was as bad as it got. The shaking limbs and the urge to throw up were gone, and my vision wasn’t blurring from the sheer stress like the past times I tried this.

“You can do this, Kiara. It’s about time you got over it.” I thought to myself.

I saw the way my past life had ended. The powerlessness Teti had experienced at the hands of common thugs and evil gods alike. I recalled how I’ve cheated death more than a few times only due to the aid of others. I thought of the people I cared for, including my friends from the academy, Aunt Ighir and Durreg, Mom, and even Madeil, and how their lives may be threatened by the coming storm.

The Goddess of Fortune and my class advancements both have been warning of a dire future waiting for me, and the same end that Teti had met may strike again if I wasn’t prepared to face it. I forced myself to take a deep breath, then I breathed out.

“I am so sick and tired of being afraid and helpless.” I said to myself.

“I am not going to wait for threats to come and endanger me and mine. I am going to take them by the horns and bury them in the ground long before they even get close to doing so, and I won’t let this stupid trauma get in the way of that.”

A fire burned in my eyes, and I began feeling my indignation scorching my hesitation inch by inch. I eyed the prompt before me, which still waiting for my response.

“I am the stubborn and headstrong berserker, the bitterly vindictive schemer, the viciously independent beast, and woe be to those who would dare to shackle me!” I screamed in my heart as I furiously accepted my class advancement.

Just as my vision faded with the beginning of my advancement, a number of new prompts appeared before me.

Skill Obtained: [Trauma Conqueror]

Title Unlocked: [Defier of Fate]

[Divine Shard] gained!

Mission Issued: [Crush Your Enemies!]

Rank: SS

Mission Issued: [Protect Your Allies!]

Rank: SS