“How do classes work for summoned beings, and what exactly do they do?” I asked Minerva.

“Classes unlock additional skills and as you rise in rank and tier, you’ll have opportunities to gain significant power. Each class is a bit different, but there are several archetypes. The system will evaluate your past, both on your home planet and during your various summonings, to generate a class for you.

“As you attain each new tier, you will be offered a chance to evolve your class in various ways. Even if you’re not happy with the class you are given, over time, you may be able to customize it to what you desire,” Minerva explained.

“Do I get a choice, or am I just assigned one?” I asked.

“As a summoned being, you will typically have a choice between two or three options. If you wish, during your class selection process, I can provide general advice, but I will not know the finer details. Each class will be custom tailored to the being they are offered to,” Minerva said.

“Is there a way to see the further evolutions of each class before I decide?” I asked, not wanting to pick something that sounded good, only to find it faltered later at the higher tiers.

“No, the evolutions of your class will be influenced by your future actions. I can make some observations based on similar classes I have witnessed before, but keep in mind, your choices down the road may be drastically different,” Minerva said.

My advisor sounded like she wanted to help as much as possible, and at this point, I was just delaying the process. It was time to see what was going to be offered, and I had my fingers crossed that there wasn’t a Summoned Being Insurance Adjuster class. “Minerva, how do we begin?”

“We will begin now; the system will populate your choices shortly. If you wish to keep the information private, you may, or you can allow me access it in order to assist you in the decision-making process,” Minerva said as system prompts began to fill my vision. I granted her access to everything, needing all the help I could get.

You have earned a class, choose from one of the following.

1. Psionic Hammer. This class is a blend of psionic mage and a bludgeoning weapons expert. You will engage in melee combat with your foes, using your mind to trick and distract them as you seek to land a fatal blow. Weapon and gear enhancements will unlock, as will a range of spells to complement this fighting style. You can unlock intermediate combat skill proficiencies with all weapons, and up to master proficiency with bludgeoning weapons. With this class, you will become more resistant to spells and abilities that can influence your mind.

2. Foe Summoner. This class enables you to use the essence of past foes that you’ve defeated. You will learn how to shape the essence of your foes into figurines for later use. Infusing mana into the figurine will summon a similar creature to serve you. The class can unlock combat proficiencies up to the intermediate skill levels, but the true strength of the Foe Summoner lies in the creatures they call to do their bidding. A small selection of spells will become available as you gain rank and tier.

3. Tinker Mage. This support class grants the mage skills to develop and improve artificed items. The Tinker Mage is not focused on combat but synergizes well with others to help keep them equipped and ready for any threat. Combat proficiencies up to the basic level can be unlocked, and a small variety of both offensive and defensive spells are available. Your main strength is in supporting other crafters, but a Tinker Mage can use some of their creations to deadly effect when pressed by a foe.

All three sounded good, and it was going to take a while to come to a decision. “Minerva, is there a time limit for choosing that I need to be aware of?”

“You may take as much time as you wish, do you have any questions on the classes offered?” Minerva asked.

“I’m sure I will, can you give me a bit to mull them over before I start barraging you with questions?”

“Certainly, I have set aside considerable time to help you through this process. This is a life changing decision, weigh your options carefully. The only unsolicited advice I’ll give is to remember that your class will become part of you, and the skills, abilities, and spells, will transfer to your home world,” Minerva advised.

That was something I was already considering. If something would be awesome during a summoning session, there was no guarantee it would be great back on Earth with all the mana restrictions I had to deal with. Taking a seat in my rocking chair, I considered my options, while feeling a bit guilty that I didn’t have anywhere for Minerva to sit. Having guests in my personal space wasn’t something I had considered.

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I decided to go in order as I evaluated each class. Psionic Hammer just sounded cool. My Psionic Jolt spell had proven itself despite being the simplest spell I could cast. The thought of combining a way to confuse and confound my enemies while smacking them with a weapon could be extremely powerful. I also liked the fact that I would build my own mental resistance just by having the class.

“Minerva, the Psionic Hammer, does it use mana in the same way a mage does, or is it just brain power or something?” I asked.

“Though the spells and abilities it uses are connected to your mind, they are still powered by your mana,” Minerva explained. That would mean a big drawback when home, given my limited mana pool and lack of a way to efficiently recharge it.

“Do you have any idea how much mana the abilities would use? How about my mana pool, is it larger with this class?” I asked.

“Exact mana costs are not disclosed to me currently, but similar classes that use abilities to empower their melee attacks require the same mana as a standard spell of the same tier. For example, an ability that allows you to add psionic damage to your weapon might require the same mana as a magic weapon enhancement spell of the same tier.

“If there are extra effects added to the psionic damage, such as confusion or a stun, the mana cost would increase. As for your mana pool, it would be larger than it is now, but not as large as a dedicated mage of the same tier and rank,” Minerva said.

“So, from what I understand, using the Psionic Hammer abilities will cost mana, and back on Earth, my mana would deplete rapidly whenever I pull on my mana,” I asked Minerva, who confirmed I was correct. While that didn’t make Psionic Hammer a bad choice, it would make it less effective back home.

Foe Summoner was intriguing to me. I’d been summoned via a figurine more than once, and I’d even used one already. Two of the figurines were in my inventory now. How I would craft these, and how much mana that took would be key to understanding how effective the Foe Summoner would be.

“Minerva, for the Foe Summoner, how exactly would I craft the figurines?” I asked.

“Again, I don’t have the exact details of the class, but I believe you would expend mana to create the summoning items. Once created, the figurines would require a small amount of mana to activate, similar to the ones you already possess,” Minerva answered.

“Can I bring the figurines back home with me?” I asked. If I could, then even with a limited mana pool, I could activate powerful summoned creatures when needed. It would be another balancing act, determining how many to bring with me and how many to save inside my loadout for future summonings.

“They should be transportable, just like the others. This, as well as the Tinker Mage, are considered caster classes, so it will have a larger mana pool to work with. How you will craft the figurines and how long that will take is unknown,” Minerva explained.

“My mana regenerates quickly here in my personal space, if I wanted, could I craft here before returning home? You know, top off my resources so I’d have enough to bring home and have figurines saved up in my loadout?” I asked.

“When a summoning series is completed, you will have a limited time in your personal space before being sent home. You may craft during that time, as well as alter your loadout in the armory,” Minerva said.

I really liked the idea of summoning minions of my own to do the dirty work. Back home, the little figures wouldn’t draw attention either, most people would just think they were for gaming or collecting. As with the other classes, not having every detail presented made it tough to decide. Mana cost, crafting time, and a host of other factors could sway me one way or the other.

There was one last class to consider before I decided. Tinker Mage sounded a lot like what Fitzfazzle was. I doubted I would be able to craft mechs at low tiers, but having mana-powered weapons and armor would be amazing. I had a couple of concerns. The items crafted with mana wouldn’t do well on Earth if they functioned like the wands did. If they worked like the summoning figurines, it would make this class much more attractive.

I was also concerned that the main strength of the class was listed as supporting others. When summoned, and back home, I was usually a one man show. I couldn’t count on other crafters making things for me to improve, I’d have to do it all myself.

“Minerva, the Tinker mage is listed as a support class, what does that mean?” I asked, trying to confirm or allay my fears over the class.

“It appears to be a class that works better in a team. Did you have some experience during your last summoning where you might have practiced those skills?” Minerva asked.

“Yes, I was piloting giant mechs, and gave some advice on their design.”

“Hmm, that is probably what triggered this class. While the class can likely craft powerful items for you to use, I think you would find the process a bit more involved than most crafting professions,” Minerva said.

“What about powering the devices, would everything require mana, and would that mana be drained back on Earth?” I asked.

“I suspect mana would be your main power source, but there may be other ways to power things that you can unlock at higher tiers. As it stands, I would suspect your inventions would be drained of their power quickly if you took them home,” Minerva advised.

As cool as Tinker Mage sounded, it would be a bit of a gamble, especially until I reached the higher tiers. I also had no idea what kind of devices I could craft immediately, and how much of an impact they would have on combat. If I was honest, I enjoyed working with Fitzfazzle and the gnomes, but building things had never been my strong suit.

Of the three, I was pretty sure I could eliminate Tinker Mage. That left the Psionic Hammer and the Foe Summoner. Of the two, I preferred the summoner style. I could use creatures as my front-line fighters and keep from being torn up in battle every time I was summoned.

The figurines could also be very effective back home, provided I could craft enough to bring back with me. Only a few points of mana would summon one, and they were easy enough to hide on my person. Psionic Hammer would have me in melee all the time, and I was getting tired of always being hurt.

“Minerva, I think I’ve made my decision. I’ll be a Foe Summoner,” I announced.