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The God Shards [A Progression LitRPG]
Chapter 13: Class Selection

Chapter 13: Class Selection

Chapter 13: Class Selection

“Are you sure this is how it works?” Allan stared dubiously down at the crest resting in his palm. Leo frowned down at his own.

Against the calluses, dirt, and blood streaked over his hands, the delicate metal frame stood out all the more. Even with the relative lack of light beneath the slanted stone, the center gem still shimmered a little, smooth and cool to the touch.

“Yes I’m sure.” Everything he’d ever heard about class promotion said the same thing about how to activate the crests, though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t still a little nervous. Knowing was quite different from doing, after all.

Leo had just used the 200 points he’d received from the last level up, dumping half into leveling [Renewal] to level 2 like he’d promised himself.

He’d considered saving the remaining 100 to use after changing class; that way he could level agility once the stat was no longer capped. Tier 1 classes used more points to level stats, though, so in the end he’d decided to level his constitution and defense. If they were going to get into more fights moving forward, he needed to make sure he could actually take some hits.

“Hey, this how it works?” Leo called over to Spade.

She was seated casually against a boulder, idly cleaning off her sword with the sort of efficiency that only practice could breed.

The [Executioner] raised an eyebrow. “That’s how it worked for me, yes.”

“There, see?”

Allan still looked doubtful, but he nodded. His brows furrowed as he focused on the crest, Leo watching warily. They’d agreed to do this one at a time since class selection could occupy someone’s attention for a while, and they needed someone fully aware to keep an eye on Spade.

At first, nothing happened. The crest remained still on his palm, and Allan frowned.

Then, from its center, one of the swirling specks of light brightened. Then another. The glow spread until the entire gem emitted a soft, golden light, blurring the edges of the crest.

Leo leaned a little closer, rapt with attention as the crest slowly sunk into Allan’s palm. He’d heard about how the crest was absorbed into the body, of course, but it still felt strange to see something so solid dissipate more easily than a liquid.

With a final flash of light, the crest disappeared from sight entirely. Allan blinked a few times, going rigid.

“Allan? You good?”

It took a moment for the man to respond.

“Yeah,” he finally said. “Yeah, it worked.”

Leo breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing a little. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” he said, and Allan simply nodded.

The [Thief] leaned back against the cool stone, settling into a more comfortable position to give his friend time to pick a class. He made sure to always keep Spade in sight, though if the [Executioner] noticed his scrutiny, it didn’t seem to bother her. She simply continued cleaning the blade, unperturbed.

A few minutes later, a notification popped up in Leo’s vision.

[[1] party member has changed class]

He straightened. “Done?”

Allan nodded. He looked a little tired, but he was also beaming with a subtle, thrumming enthusiasm.

Leo took the chance to check the man’s stats, and his eyebrows raised. “You sure about this class?”

“Is there something wrong with it?”

The [Thief] shook his head. “No, I guess I just wasn’t expecting it, you know?” He gestured vaguely.

Allan hummed and sat down, nodding at Leo. The temporary surprise at Allan’s class choice was quickly replaced with his own excitement barely kept at bay. Taking a second to steady himself, Leo focused down on his own crest.

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If it had been strange to watch, then it was even odder to feel the crest absorbed himself. It wasn’t painful, barely more than a light tingle so slight that he might not have even noticed it if he wasn’t so focused. In some ways, that was probably the weirdest part; it would feel more natural if it did have a stronger sensation.

Leo didn’t have the chance to think longer on the issue, however, because in the next moment, the words he’d been waiting for appeared in his vision.

[You have used a tier 1 crest]

[System processing personal data]

[Compiling potential tier 1 classes]

Leo waited, nerves thrumming with anticipation.

The system pulled from a set of standard Tier 1 classes based on a person’s current skills, former Tier 0 classes, and stats. As such, the lists were highly personalized, and even after choosing a class the system would give different skill options specifically tailored to each individual.

Two [Mages] wouldn’t have the same spell options, and a [Fighter] who was once a Tier 0 [Shopkeeper] would end up with different skills than a [Fighter] who’d been a [Musician], for example.

One of the reasons Leo had dumped so many points into leveling his mana was both because he used his skills (especially his personal) often and because those with higher mana stats were often given more spells and skills by the system.

In truth, Leo hadn’t thought much about exactly what he wanted. While someone could try to influence the class options they’d be given, it was difficult to make exact predictions.

In the past, all he’d wanted was to get rid of the [Thief] class and choose something simple that would give him actual job prospects. Now that he was going after the fragments, though, that had changed. He needed something that could stand against the inevitable combat oriented classes that they’d encounter.

Finally, with a flash of gold, the list appeared in front of his vision.

[Thief - An upgraded version of the Tier 0 class. Agile, dexterous, and specialized in stealth and thievery.]

[Messenger - A basic class focused on speed and stamina. Messengers travel long distances to deliver important notices safely and securely.]

The first two were pretty standard, as Leo had expected. One option would always be an upgraded version of the Tier 0 class; he suspected this was the case for Spade’s [Executioner] class. Some people chose to remain highly specialized, choosing the same class at every tier, though it was more common for those who reached Tier 2 and beyond to mix and match different classes for a unique array of abilities.

As far as occupational classes went, [Messenger] wasn’t bad, and he probably would’ve happily taken it if not for the fragments. It was pretty easy to get jobs, it would help patch up his poor constitution, and some of the later transportation based skills could prove quite useful, from what he’d seen. As it was, though, he kept reading.

[Archer - A basic combat class focused on ranged attacks. Sharp sighted and precise, this is a versatile class suited to anyone interested in long distance combat.]

[Mage - A basic combat class specializing in magic. This is a highly variable class, and it receives the most spells of any Tier 1 option.]

[Assassin - A basic class focused on stealth and combat. Assassins are agile, precise, and deadly.]

The spread of options was about what Leo had expected, given his previous stats and Tier 0 class history.

None of the options were terrible, and they all had their own appeals, especially knowing that his skills would be custom tailored to him.

[Mage] was an immediate draw; he hadn’t been certain he’d be given the option, given his low magic stat, but his high mana seemed to have compensated for it. While other classes learned spells as well, they couldn’t match the [Mage] in sheer number and diversity of options.

On the other hand, [Assassin] was the closest to his current class, meaning he’d be able to adapt to it faster, and it could prove useful for taking out other people with fragments.

At the reminder of the fragment, Leo moved a hand to the pouch he’d taken from the warden. He frowned.

Carefully, he pulled the little piece out again, shifting to get a better look at it past the words still floating in his vision.

Leo heard Allan say something, but he was too focused to decipher what it was. The piece still looked much like glass, but when he squinted and twisted it slightly, he could make out a few glimmering specks of light drifting within. It was hard to imagine something so small could house the power of a god.

He thought back to those system notifications, the words still sharp in his mind. Administrator class functions have been condensed into a class crest. Administrator class crest has been broken.

The lights trapped within the translucent shard looked an awful lot like the ones that had been inside the class crest. His heartbeat quickened. Could it be?

Leo exhaled, calming his nerves. Slowly, he closed his fingers around the fragment and squeezed, focusing on it like he had the crest. His brows furrowed in concentration.

Finally, after a minute had passed, he carefully uncurled his fingers.

His palm was empty.

The words in front of his eyes warped, and the world seemed to lurch as a rush of information flooded Leo’s mind.

[ALERT: New class crest detected]

[Overriding former crest]

[ERROR: Class crest incomplete]

[Adjusting class options]

[Customizing class features and skills]

A sharp pain coursed through his skull, and Leo hunched over, gripping at his head. He heard Allan rush over, but he was still focused on those notifications, still rapidly flashing in his vision, until finally a single one remained.

[Tier 1 class successfully assigned]

Leo felt his knees hit the ground, chest heaving with an unusual exertion.

Slowly, he raised his head and viewed his own stat screen, his eyes immediately drawn to the brand new text listed beside his class.

[Fragmentholder, Tier 1]