--------
Seraphiel bit her lip. Something inside her pushed her in a particular direction. Instincts telling her what the right answer was. Yet, she had so many questions and saw so many problems with the choice. "I'm not enjoying the loss of autonomy that comes with the Heroic Spirit Class. I also see so many potential ways to abuse the whole summoning system."
Lucifer got a look of realization. "I forgot that you haven't spent much time on entertainment in this world. Most of these are official events like the ones you've already taken part in. Since most of these events are overseen by at least the Gods and most likely viewers, they're mostly comparable to other official events. They're entertainment. Nobody is going to abuse their command seals when they need them for the event, and when under the watchful eye of…well, everyone watching. If someone tries, there are judges that can intervene.”
He looked at her a bit amused. “Also, you might not recall, but the strongest heroes have limited resistance against the command seals. Considering your investment in Willpower and your Classes, I’d say you qualify. That’s not to say you’re immune, just that you can struggle against them, effectively freezing in place, or use malicious compliance. Besides, even non-official pseudo–Grail Wars still go through the System, which means me. I have the sole arbitration over the proceedings. I monitor all the events, and if anyone tries to use their summons in ways that cross certain lines, I can always yank the summon out. I should point out though, that those lines are quite liberal, and they have plenty of leeway to keep to the spirit of the original event.”
Lucifer continued with a wide grin. “Besides, you haven’t realized something. If you get summoned specifically by borrowing your old legends, as you are rather well-known in certain parts, you will get summoned with at least part of your old powers. You wouldn't match your legend otherwise. And do you think your real body could be taken advantage of?”
“Hmm. Fair point. I still don’t relish the idea of being yanked out of my life and leaving my friends in trouble.” She said carefully.
“That is the downside of the Class, although, as I said, you’ll know if you’re being summoned beforehand, so it’s not an immediate thing. There’s also a bit of a downtime between summons. You can’t be summoned constantly, so you’ll know there are times when you can’t be summoned. Good for doing things where you don’t want any interruptions. It also seems you're under the impression that you'd be summoned often. Even the most commonly summoned spirits with plenty of people trying to summon them specifically using their old artifacts get summoned maybe once a year at most. So yes, you might have to push off some things on short notice if and when you're summoned, but a week every few years isn't exactly a huge imposition." Lucifer explained, playing the ironic devil’s advocate.
“Why do I feel you’re pushing me towards this Class.” She frowned at him.
“That’s because I sort of am. I’m your Guide. It’s my job to push you towards things that would benefit you the most. I know very well your propensity to independence and chafing under any control. And yet, I still think this would be the best Class for you despite the risks. The other two aren’t bad, or I wouldn’t have offered them, but I haven’t guided you wrong so far, have I?”
“You have not. On the other hand, I get the sense that there’s more to this than the others.” She argued.
“Because there is. It is by far the most amusing option as well. If you recall correctly, you were brought here to stir things up. This is by far the most effective way to do that.” Lucifer admitted. “You could say it goes well with our goals.”
She sensed an opportunity. “Is Mother in on this?”
“She is aware and is favoring the option, yes. She can’t influence my choices as your Guide of course, but she approves.” As always, Luci didn’t lie. He might not tell the entire truth, but he didn’t lie either.
“Mother.” She called out, not surprised when the elevator to the penthouse suddenly dinged and opened to let the Goddess in.
“Yes, my Champion.” She replied glibly, stepping out of the elevator, wearing a revealing red dress suitable for a night out.
“You want this, I assume.” She probed.
“It would go well with my plans, yes.” Charlotte nodded. “I want to dazzle these pretender gods with your power, and this is the best way to accomplish this. I won’t push you to it, but it would please me quite a bit, yes.”
“Then I need some assurances.” She looked at the Goddess firmly. “I absolutely cannot allow myself to be summoned by anyone from that universe. We both know it would be a shitshow. No summons by my enemies either.” She knew the Goddess could make it so the terms would abide. She could do anything after all. Even if someone tried to summon her, the Goddess would be able to stop it.
"Done," Charlotte promised right away. "Although…we should at some point go through a list. You have…frenemies I think the young people call them these days?"
She cleared her throat to keep things on track. “I need a bit of incentive.” She also demanded.
Lucifer tossed a card from his deck; except this time the entire card was covered in gold leafing. “I can help with the incentive part. Instead of going through all the Class Evolutions, you get it straight in the state you would if it was a level 500 Class.”
Seraphiel’s eyes narrowed a bit as she did the calculations. “That’s a lot of extra stats.” She muttered, allowing her fingers to graze across the card. “You really want me to take this Class.” Yet, despite all the risks, her instincts were telling her this was the right decision. Not necessarily because of the power, but because of what Luci had said earlier. Most people took a more relaxed or even hobby/utilitarian Class at this level. Despite the potential imposition, the Class sounded fun. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t look forward to being summoned. She flipped the card around.
[Saint Graph: Multiverse – Grand Servant. Rank XXX, Elements: Varied – Stat Classification: Heroic. As the quintessential Heroic Spirit, you've traveled across the universe, doing mostly heroic acts, and saving more people than anyone can imagine. Even if you're not always the most willing hero, a hero is what you are in the minds of those you've helped. Stats: Free Stat Points: 1600]
Her eyes narrowed. “I seem to recall the Saint Graph only went up to Stellar. And that those Servants had difficulty being summoned. And those were mostly gods.” It was somewhat ironic this would be her first XXX-ranked Class.
“Ah, that’s for Heroic Spirits who have legends in a single solar system. You've been across half the multiverse, haven't you? You've got legends across half of the universes that join this one. And like I said, you'd be summoned with a portion of your real might. Not your full abilities. That would invalidate the whole thing. Or to be more exact, you'd be summoned with the power appropriate and associated with the legend in question. You wouldn't be summoned as Grand Servant in most cases anyway. Those are reserved for special occasions. Although, as both the System and the Gods provide the power for it, the restrictions are a bit looser on such summons.” Lucifer explained.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“And you can’t argue that you’re not a divine being.” Mother pointed out. “In fact, I could argue that you’re actually one of the only three really divine beings, aside from me and your Father.”
“I’m going to go ahead and assume I’m not getting those 1600 stat points for levels before 500.” She realized suddenly.
"Naturally. That would mean 800k points, which is a bit under what you've gained from your other Classes combined." Lucifer grinned. "You will however gain the Skills as if you've already evolved the Class until level 500 and all the stats as if the Class had been that rank the whole time. As it will be."
“Fine. I might regret this, but…” The Card disappeared and entered her body, leaving her glowing with new power. “I need a drink after that.”
Lucifer obligingly lifted a drink with a little umbrella from behind the bar counter and pushed it her way, having expected this. “Thank you for the visit, Mother.” He stated suavely, signaling that she was no longer required.
Charlotte gave a small smile and a wink. “No problem, son.” And just disappeared.
“Why do I get the sense that I’m entering the big leagues now?” Seraphiel asked a little morose.
"Because you are," Lucifer confirmed. "I'll make sure you have some time to get the new Class going, but you can safely expect the first summons in a few months. I think I already know who and where has their eye on one of your legends.”
“And you’re not going to share, are you?” She huffed.
"You know me so well sister," Lucifer confirmed with a grin. "Still, that Class should make sure you're up to snuff and punching well above your weight even if you're summoned as is. Since you're no doubt wondering, there are two new stats one of which I'm not sure if you'll increase too much considering your other Skills. Or you might. The Heroic Spirits mostly utilize the same stats as you already have, depending on the Class of Servant they're summoned as. Notably, you do get access to Mana, as that's rather integral to fueling all Servants. I believe you’ll find that useful for your little projects even if you don’t sink too many stats into it, and the little boost in stats should help you cover any deficits.”
“Hmm, Mana might be useful even if I don’t have a magic Class, seeing as my old abilities haven’t disappeared.” She nodded in agreement. Not all spells require the support of Skills. She knew plenty of spells that were just useful in daily life in general. And well, the stats only improved what was already there. She wasn't unskilled in magic. Although…she did remember when she'd first gained Skills and levels. It had been difficult to even levitate a rock despite her old Skills. She'd have to see how magic would work.
“Which brings us to the next point.” Luci interrupted her thoughts. “Time to make the improvements to your other Classes.” He flicked three more cards at her, showing the expected improvements in stat gains. None of them had gone up in rank, though she hadn’t expected them to.
“I’m guessing level 750 is where the Classes improve again?” She asked.
“Somewhat, yes. Though actually level 1000 is the major milestone where the largest improvements come for everyone. That’s why that Class Evolution also has the largest requirements for materials.” Her brother said carefully, not giving away too much.
“I’m assuming there are some improvements now though?” There always seemed to be.
“Actually, this level is mostly reserved for making improvements to your General and Social Skills. Not Racial Skills, as those we touched on last time, but you’ll get one proper improvement of your choice for each Class as well.” Lucifer promised.
That was a hard one. Picking just one that is. Most of her Class Skills were already well-rounded and powerful. There was one that stood out though. "Can we do anything with [Psionic Efficiency]? While the reduction in power costs is important, it bothers me that the Skill is stuck at the current level and no longer able to improve. An additional effect that can scale, perhaps?"
Lucifer nodded happily. "I suspected you'd go for that one. Yes, it's doable, but it can't be a major effect. How about a slight scaling effect when it comes to the smoothness of casting your abilities? It should bring you closer to how your powers worked in the past. Not a percentage increase in Control or Power on anything, just something to smooth handling large amounts of power. Make things a bit easier and faster.”
She nodded. “That could work. Now for the Paladin…”
Before she could say more, Luci interrupted her. “Before you ask for [Bastion of Purity] to resist things like the command seals, I think you should know that your other new stat and Class will help with that.”
She had to think about what she knew about the spirits before she reached a conclusion. "Magic resistance.” She realized. Some of the Heroic Spirits were famed for their resistance to spells, while others were especially susceptible. She nodded at her own conclusion. Made sense. Also, it now made sense why Lucifer had mentioned she might not want to put too many points into the stat, seeing as she already had other sources of magic resistance and an entire Class to deal with mages. “In that case, [Fount of Purity]. Negative statuses even to my friends and allies can be quite bad, as shown by our recent encounter with Nurgle Demons.”
“Done. [Sacred Fount of Purity] it is.” He nodded in agreement, having expected that.
“As for the last Class, let’s go with [Shiten Kekkai]. I’ve allowed it to languish long enough.” She decided.
“Good choice.” He nodded in approval. “With your new access to Mana, let’s broaden the reach of the Skill and allow the Skill to support magical formations as well. Now for the General and Social Skills. We’ll improve the weapon arts and martial arts of course.”
“Enough to have a domain?” She asked, bringing up the old request.
“Perhaps. If you try hard enough.” He smiled mysteriously.
“Bloody finally.” She grunted, before frowning in thought. "Magical Engineering to combine with my various powers and [Reality Manipulation] to create some of the materials I know about from thin air?"
“Oof, that’s a big ask. As long as we agree that the materials created in such a way can’t be used for Class Evolution. It would upend the entire universe if you could create those freely.” He finally allowed.
“Good enough. [Push Through] actually improving the regeneration of my various powers? Seeing as I don’t have a Mana Regen stat.” She realized the potential issue with having Mana, but very little regeneration. Besides, she knew Heroic Spirits as servants needed Mana provided to them by their summoners. This would help with that as well.
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “Let me guess. Your next request is to have your [Magic Sight] sub in for Magical Control.”
“You know me so well brother.” She grinned, returning his words back at him.
“Fine. You can have them, and I’ll make them good, but that’s it. I’ll allow you to circumvent things a little since you went along with our wishes.” He waved at her. “Now off you go.”
She found herself back on the ship, feeling nice and refreshed. She still had to decide the Skills for the new Class. She was already getting ideas from the Class itself, and she’d learned her lesson on that front. Better to allow the System to help her. The first two Skills were already decided for her, a sort of Skill tax, even though different from other Classes.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: One of Many Legends! You’ve been the inspiration for countless legends over the years and universes. If summoned using one of your old legends as a basis, you’ll gain a fraction of the power you possessed depending on the power of the summoner and the event. You can also call upon a part of that power even while not summoned, though at a large cooldown.]
There was no ‘would you like to accept the Skill’ question attached. Neither had the next Skill.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Divinity Rank EX! You hold a small part of the original creator's Divinity. There is no higher rank of Divinity in existence. The Skill is used to determine the ability to overcome certain defensive abilities and to resist certain effects, as well as determine vulnerability to certain attacks.]
Right. Those were the mandatory ones. They were also passive and didn’t level up. The others she could pick, although certain ones whispered to her more than others. One in particular felt almost mandatory.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Independent Action! Reduces Mana expenditure when summoned or using Skills and abilities. Reduces the need to gain mana from your summoner. Allows you to act independently should your summoner be eliminated. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
Yes. That would do nicely.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Magic Resistance! Resist the abilities and spells of summoners and other servants. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
Yes. It might seem like overkill combined with the new stat, but the magic no doubt available to certain spirits was no joke. Some of it was capable of killing you with a single thought or ending an entire world. And those spirits would no doubt have their abilities boosted by Skills. Additional resistance would never hurt. She really wanted to be able to resist those command seals and knew that would require every effort to do properly, as they were such an intrinsic part of the system.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Heroic form! Stronger, faster, sturdier, and with better reflexes. The bodies of heroes are the result of constant effort. It’s one of the things that set them apart from normal people, and Heroic Spirits are vastly stronger than any normal beings. Improves all your Physical Stats. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
Yes. More effect from her stats, even if it wasn’t defined in nice percentages like some of her other Skills.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Noble Phantasm: Day of Judgement! Sometimes heroics are not enough. Sometimes to destroy a greater evil, an entire world needs to be judged. Bring forth the wrath of the heavens on the unworthy. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
The big boom ability. Yes. She’d always had the power, just very rarely used it. It would also be extremely Mana consuming.
She went through some of the other options. Skills like intuition were pointless since she had [Precognition]. Riding was useless to her since she already knew how to ride or pilot almost any beast or craft. Besides she had her wings. Speaking of…
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Noble Phantasm: Golden Wings of the Firstborn! The strongest shield and the sharpest sword. Your wings have always been your most faithful shield and weapon. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
Yes, she would.
[You’ve gained the new Skill: Perfect Aim! Whether with a gun, bow, or melee weapon, your attacks tend to find their mark, even if dodged. Would you like to accept the Skill? Y/N]
Yes. That sounded somewhat like what a Domain could accomplish. She knew at least a couple Heroic Spirits that had the Skill as a Noble Phantasm, capable of even altering reality to make it true. What else, what else….