Part 25 - Merged Class

  Within the world of her soul, Liz opened her eyes to find the fortune telling tent still the same as usual. Vibrant purple fabric, a small table in the middle of the space with a crystal ball, and the ever-present Seer seated on the opposite side of said table.

  “Shall we have a chat, first? About everything?” Seer offered a small smile that didn’t match the pity in her eyes.

  “I… Yeah, I need that.” Liz sank into the chair with a sigh of relief as tension finally bled from her body.

  “First, current circumstances. We are, seemingly, safe. Food and shelter are secure, though pudding isn’t quite water. We’ll get there. We have a chance to relax and figure things out, and really sort through what it means to be on Pallos now.” Seer spoke in a low tone, one with a patience and gentle expression of tender care.

  “Right. Every time I feel like I can wrap my head around what this world is like, something new flips the entire board. First the killer in that port town, and then Mourningloft. All those people dying was just… a shock, I suppose.”

  “It’s important to come to terms with it all. In this world, people die, and they die often. There’s not much most countries can do when high level people turn to crime. We are not a hero in this world. At best, we can save a few lives in some circumstances. What we do have is a mission that will have far greater effects on this world than we’d have trying to handle the issue at the root.” Seer folded her hands and rested her chin on them thoughtfully.

  “You’re right. We need to keep in mind what our goals need to be. We need to learn how to repair these spatial rifts and get them handled. I need to become self-sufficient. I don’t want to need the help of any organization to travel around and live my life.”

  “That’s partially correct. But keep in mind the safety of towns, and then there’s how spread out the problems are. They’re all over. We’ll need to spend decades on this mission, and that’s if we make it out of the ocean alive.” Seer grounded the conversation with realism before Liz could go off on that tangent.

  Liz took a deep breath. She centered herself, then looked Seer in the eyes.

  “Are we going to talk about what happened?”

  “Receiving credit for several thousand deaths, or the fact you have come to fully unravel what we were subjected to in the void before coming to Pallos? Yes to both. Right now, actually. Faythe is unlikely to have seen so far ahead as to know that the Exterreri Envoy would trigger the loss of the whole city. Frankly, it means she also lost any way of telling if we’re dead or alive, since the Monument was lost with the church. She wanted us for a reason, and losing us as an asset is a waste for her. You’ll see why soon, but there was a reason she wanted us in her camp.”

  “Right. It’s just… How in the world did the system think we were responsible enough to be given even partial credit?”

  “I have some theories. Top of the list… we considered ourselves part of their group. Wearing the right colors, being in contact with them, being targeted alongside them, all of the factors added up to both sides believing we were part of that same team, and therefore the system granted things that way. Though, if you come out of this class-up with the experience gains to match killing thousands of people personally, then somehow you were the center of the actual disaster. I’m doubting that will happen, though. It didn’t say ‘you have slain,’ it said ‘your party has slain.’ Make sense?” Seer reached a hand out and took one of Liz’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

  “Well, as depressing as it was, no matter how I think about it, there was nothing I could’ve done to change much. I haven’t found a reason to blame myself at all, but just being party to it was harrowing. I didn’t know any of that could happen.”

  “Glad you’re not beating yourself up too much. The shock was rough, and being on the ocean floor was completely horrifying. On the second topic, we’ve finally finished that side project. After splitting off a solid portion of your mind to process the experiences of the void, we can now fully understand the gravitas of our mission.”

  Liz turned it over in her head and nodded, putting the conclusion into words. “The things out in the void are real, they are expanding, and they are horrifying. A true representation of the worst things Lovecraft ever dreamt of. And if the issues on Pallos continue, there’s no telling whether or not that creature comes through to this world as well. So we fight because we know just how bad everything can become if we don’t.”

  “Hit the nail on the head. Fair to say the gods are keeping other influences out of Pallos for the time being. But we have the direct experience to draw upon, so we’re the best to champion this cause. Now, on to me beating you into next week.” Seer cracked her knuckles and then karate chopped Liz over the head faster than should’ve been possible without stats.

  “You absolute, empty-headed dolt!” Seer cracked her over the head again. “You didn’t spend your free stats before you entered!”

  “Ouch… I will admit, I forgot. Sorry. However, it doesn’t matter, does it? This class is whatever Seira offers me, and we just choose the rough direction the class goes in.” Liz rubbed at her somehow swollen forehead.

  Seer let out a sigh before replying. “Yes, that’s correct. Sort of. Seira is giving you something special this time around. A truly a one-of-a-kind class. There are a few elements to consider, but the merged one is… I’ll just show you the choices!”

  Seer spread her hands over the crystal ball and moved her fingers in incomprehensible ways until the images appeared.

  Liz reached out and got a feel for each class.

  [Mending Oracle of Order] - Spatial

  She was becoming the Oracle of Seira? As in, the sole representative of Seira’s divine will on Pallos? That was… a lot.

  “Before you ask, yes, a given deity only has one [Oracle] at a time, and it becomes a close link between the two, meaning Seira can come visit you more easily, and it requires less of her attention to do so.” Seer nodded imperiously, as if she was queen of the world suddenly.

  The class seemed to be entirely devoted to mending the spatial rifts around Pallos, but it had none of the self defense options. It did have great magic stats and powerful dedicated skills, but she’d be reliant on the entire Temple of Order to prepare her protection and itinerary. The class involved politics and settling international affairs with all of the disgruntled mortal nations, especially after the loss of so many nobles and diplomats at the event.

  Her thoughts on the class were predictably negative. She didn’t see herself ever giving up her own self-determination.

  [Fathomless Oracle of Order] - Ocean

  The next option was a [Leader] style of class that offered a core skill to baptise followers and grant them a boost to classes and skills that would mend the rifts in space. She’d be the hands in the background moving pieces around to have her underlings solve the problems. It was how Faythe had decided to spend her time running her organization within the church.

  Horrible stats, but the skills were…

  Liz paused and mentally commanded the display to rewind.

  The image of the baptism was incredibly similar to the primordial water that Seira had wrapped Liz in while repairing her body. It was strange to see a divine class centered around an ability the goddess had used herself.

  Liz still wasn’t very interested in the class. She wanted to go on her own adventures, if possible.

  [Champion Oracle of Order] - Gravity

  The class was pure stats. Incredible power and control with the mana pool to back it up.

  The issue was that she would lose her existing leveled skills, including her [Earth Manipulation] and rely on Gravity magic to lighten her body enough to move. A complete rewiring of how she thought about how she moved. Then with base level skills, she’d be starting fresh. Doable, but Liz got the feeling there was only one right option.

  “It’s so weird that all of these seem to be different paths but none of them after the first has a skill built for actually fixing the rifts. Let’s see the merged one, maybe find an answer there.” She looked up at Seer, who grinned at her like the cat that got the canary.

  The image in the orb flashed, emitting the most vivid blue that Elizabeth had ever seen.

  [Crystalline Oracle of Order] - Gemstone

  Liz studied the image intently.

  Seer briefly paused the images and stole Elizabeth’s attention. “Do keep in mind, there is a divine relic waiting for eventual use. Just so you’re aware.”

  Then the class displayed itself.

  Somehow, it had the most stats out of all the options. Then nearly all the skills had improved versions, with a handful of losses she attributed to simply not having leveled the skills enough for them to merge.

  Her divine class had always centered around the huge question mark of her [Tenet] skill and what it would become once she repaid her debt to Seira.

  This class would keep the same dynamic, but would also gain a new one. A skill that would make or break her, from the appearances alone. She’d learn the name once she awoke from having advanced her class.

  “I have to, really. It’s the best one in every way.”

  “To be fair, your second class is starting back at level eight in the process. A new secondary path. To tread from square one. Combining the two classes makes this option soak in the best options of both classes, so of course it beats having this class go in one direction while the Metal class does something else. It is your choice, but functionally, this one will work out the best. I doubt you could lead Seira’s temple if Faythe was still out there, anyway.”

  “Alright. [Crystalline Oracle of Order] it is.”

  Liz absorbed the light and watched the less vivid blue fade from her, followed by the orange shade of [Fate’s Shackles].

  “Alright. Now for the level eight choice of class number two, then.” Seer gave an air drum roll before spreading her hands. “Got nothing.”

  “What? How can there be nothing?”

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  “Oh, no. There’s plenty of options. Thousands, really. Acting classes, dance classes, and criminal classes are the highest choices we could take. Honestly, you should take a few minutes to rethink the lifestyle you’re living. [Merciless] is a skill designed to make a person behave in that way. You need to replace that skill. You want to feel good about who you are when you reach the end of this journey, right? You need to think through the skills you take.”

  “Right. I’ll keep that in mind. Suggestions for skills to replace that one with?”

  “My suggestion? Take a meta skill that improves your style or helps you with things you’re bad at. Not a bad time to try picking up [Swimming], right?”

  “Speaking of, how’d we ever get offered that skill in the first place?”

  “You used to love swimming before the shark week debacle. You just forgot about it.”

  Liz looked up at the ceiling of the tent, trying to cast her mind back to her youngest memories, but drew up a blank. That was how some memories were, unfortunately.

  “Here’s my suggestion, actually. The place you find yourself in is a treasure trove of knowledge. If you’re a good study, you can pick up skills from this Henry guy, and put them to good use. Study the runes of your Runeweave, even. Learn everything you can while you stay in this place, and pick up skills around whatever you can make use of. When the time comes to leave, either try to not get eaten by that sea creature, or find a way to burrow down, leaving through the Below Levels. If you take that route, make sure you get absolutely everything out of this place while you can. You’ll never find your way back again.”

  “All good points. I’ve got a few ideas already, then.” Liz gave a curt nod.

  “Now, narrow down the specifics a little. What do we need right now? What will help us survive?”

  Liz gave that some thought and ended up at one particular choice.

  “That recipe book is for [Oozemancers]. Anything that’ll help there?”

  “Yeah, not quite. We don’t exactly have culinary experience in our background. We’ve definitely never made pudding before. We don’t have the experience to get a decent class. Plus, the Ooze element is Water and Earth. We have a bit of a thing about bodies of water, right? That’s a fair number of barriers. Though, making our own pudding on the road anywhere we go for food sounds totally freaky and I am so game for it. Imagine inviting strangers in the wilderness and sharing some fresh local slime for dinner, right? Hilarious.”

  They both broke out in mutual laughter at the mental imagery for a few long moments before getting serious again.

  “Okay, so we start with a water class? Work on some cooking skills. Anything that’ll help out with that?” Liz chewed her lower lip, not sure if she could get a class to thirty-two before the pudding supplies in the storage room ran out.

  “Hmmm. First, find a way to get over our hiccup of being terrified of sea monsters. In a world full of ridiculous dinosaurs ten times our level. Also, most cooking classes lean towards fire. Though… a quick search isn’t helping with much besides soup related classes. Ah, wait a second!”

  Seer straightened up, narrowing her eyes, and Liz leaned in to peek at the flashing images in the crystal ball.

  [Survivalist] - Water

  Liz loved the idea of surviving.

  Surviving was ideal.

  The class was red.

  It wasn’t powerful, but it was literally a class for basic survival.

  The main skill was [Purify Water]. That was the most useful thing Liz could hope for in a place where she was always worried about the cleanliness of what she was drinking.

  “It does work. It isn’t flashy, but if it helps with surviving today, I can always reset the class later and grab something more enticing later. It’ll be best to know what weaknesses the first class has beforehand.”

  “Are you sure?” Seer seemed to be questioning Liz, but at the same time, she could tell her guide didn’t actually think it was a bad decision.

  “Yes. This is a decent enough starting point. To make it to tomorrow.”

  “Alright. See you again soon.” Seer bowed her head cordially as Liz absorbed the red light of [Survivalist].

  Liz opened her eyes, then rolled out of bed and fell to the floor..

  Something felt wrong.

  [Earth Shattering Arts] didn’t activate on contact with the stone. There was no welcoming sensation of being in contact with the ground.

  In fact, she felt a little light headed.

  She looked herself over and realized her Runeweave garb was loose at her lower right leg, and found her left hand was missing, feeling incredibly breezy as the flesh of her insides was exposed to the cool underground air where the stone of her hand was suddenly absent.

  That was when the notifications rolled in.

  [*ding* You have merged your first and second classes - [Crystalline Oracle of Order] - Gemstone]

  [*ding* Congratulations! Your class [Crystalline Oracle of Order] has leveled up from level 128 to level 168!]

  [*ding* You have gained the following stats per level! +56 Free Stats, +24 Strength, +80 Dexterity, +96 Vitality, +96 Speed, +80 Mana, +256 Mana Regeneration, +128 Magic Power, +128 Magic Control from your class! +1 Free Stat for being Partially Human! +1 Vitality, +1 Magic Power from your element!]

  It felt even more bizarre to no longer be ‘Partially Stone Golem,’ but the ‘Partially Human’ was still there, implying that her body wasn’t exactly human even without the stone aspects.

  Really, it wasn’t the time to be considering her existence.

  [*ding* You have upgraded your second class - [Survivalist] - Water]

  [*ding* Your second class will grant the following stats per level! +1 Free Stats, +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +4 Vitality, +1 Speed, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +2 Magic Power, +2 Magic Control from your class! +1 Free Stat for being Partially Human! +1 Dexterity from your element!]

  Every notification came with a small taste of desperation. She needed to get through her skills and parse them all for a solution before she passed out.

  She didn’t have long, as her missing leg and chunks of her torso felt deeply unnerving. Each missing part of her felt wrong, and in no small part disgusting. It couldn’t be sanitary to have her insides exposed to the air in such a way.

  [*ding* [Seira’s Tenet of Equivalent Exchange] has leveled up! 128->146]

  She wasn’t capped on the skill anymore. Worth noting, but not worth wasting time in an emergency over.

  [*ding* [Earth Authority] has evolved into [Gemstone Mastery]!]

  [Gemstone Mastery: You are the foremost expert on Gemstones on Pallos, with even deeper knowledge than the God of Gemstones themselves. This is a singular passion and infatuation for you. Efficiency Skill. Improved mana efficiency for Gemstone skills per level.]

  [*ding* [Gemstone Mastery] has leveled up! 128 -> 168]

  [*ding* [Earth Manipulation] has evolved into [Gemstone Manipulation]!]

  [Gemstone Manipulation: Your will forces gemstones within your reach submit to you. Shape and control crystalline structures of gemstones of all varieties. Embrace your nature, Oracle.]

  She wanted to pause at that description and think it over intensely, but she was very close to vomiting over the unease she felt. She read on.

  [*ding* [Gemstone Manipulation] has leveled up! 128 -> 168]

  [*ding* [Earth Conjuration], [Tenacity of Stone] and [Rigid Body] have merged and evolved into [Crystallize]!]

  [Crystallize: Conjure Gemstones. In addition, your wounds may also be Crystallized, preventing blood loss and protecting your body. Crystallized areas function as scars, becoming part of the body. Customize your pain tolerances! Recommend seeing a [Healer] as soon as possible, or replacing conjured tissue with naturally occurring material.]

  This was the one! She began to pour mana into the skill, focusing on each missing part of her body as she went, settling for a thin layer to cap off each region for the short term.

  Then, she kept reading, though the hurry was finally gone.

  [*ding* [Earth Shattering Arts] and [Chain Proficiency] have merged and evolved into [Cleavage]!]

  She was going to hate this one. Good thing nobody could read her skills.

  [Cleavage: Your fate lies in your own hands, at your own feet. And in other places. Your martial arts cleave a path towards the fate you desire. Martial proficiency improves per level and extends to any weapon you are touching and have merged a combat skill into this one for. Currently: Unarmed and Chains]

  [*ding* [Cleavage] has leveled up! 128 -> 153]

  [*ding* [Elegant Chains], [Chain Reinforcement] and [Chainmail] have merged and evolved into [Gemstone Binding]!]

  [Gemstone Binding: Infusing mana into gemstones, even conjured ones, binds them to you, and even to one another. Bound gemstones will become armor grafted to your body and will become more durable based on your Vitality. Conjured gemstones bound by this skill will take longer to degrade.]

  [*ding* [Fate’s Bonds] has evolved into the class skill [Fate’s Luster]!]

  [Fate’s Luster: Your life shines upon Fate itself. This skill will make your fate a bit more malleable. Passively improves Dexterity, Vitality, Speed and Mana Regeneration when facing an opponent at least 100 levels higher than yourself. +1% per level]

  [*ding* [Fate’s Luster] has leveled up! 128 -> 137]

  The movement of the skill told her two things. First, she was unable to add more skills into the combined one in the way she had combined the prior ones. It was unfortunate, but she wouldn’t be able to train the other stat skills on her own anyway. The second lesson to be learned was that the skill was the last notification from the merged class. Meaning [Templar’s Conviction] wasn’t going anywhere, and would remain in the last skill slot.

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Purify Water]!]

  [Purify Water: Does what it says. Makes water clean and drinkable.]

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Detect Water]!]

  [Detect Water: Sense water around you. Increased accuracy and range per level.]

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Blending]!]

  [Blending: Mix things into water. Food, ingredients, whatever you need to blend together, this skill can get the job done. Improved control and speed per level.]

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Washing]!]

  [Washing: Wash things with water. Do you really need these descriptions?]

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Minor Adjustment]!]

  [Minor Adjustment: Make small adjustments to the state of water. Be creative, it might do more than you think. Improved adjustment speed and impactfulness per level.]

  [*ding* You have unlocked the class skill [Water Resistance]!]

  [Water Resistance: Just in case you make a mistake, this skill will keep you from becoming a danger to yourself. Increased resistance to water related effects per level.]

  There was a lot to think about with the new class, but the system wasn’t quite done yet.

  [*ding* For reaching level 160 in your first class, you have unlocked the class skill [Hardness]!]

  [Hardness: Make gemstones harder. What did you think this skill was going to do? We both know you’re not into that.]

  Liz buried her face in her palms, only to harshly scratch her face with her crystallized stump of a left hand. She considered it, but elected not to heal the scratch with [Crystallize]. She didn’t want to turn her whole body into a massive chunk of crystal. Small things could heal on their own.

  Regardless, the new skill offering was silly. She already imbued [Gemstone Binding] with her mana to reinforce it with Vitality. She’d been offered a mass of impressive upgrades that she was satisfied with. Until some of her existing skills merged, she’d be happy with what she had already.

  Elizabeth next turned her attention to the [Survivalist] skills.

  She took [Purify Water], [Blending] and [Minor Adjustment] without a second thought. Then, she had to admit she was hesitant to take [Water Resistance] just out of spite, since the description made her out to be a fool. In the end, she took the skill. It was too useful to be ignored.

  [Washing] made sense, though she had to admit she didn’t see much difference from [Blending]. If she tossed her dishes or clothes into water and used [Blending] with some soap of some kind, it seemed to her that the two skills would do the same thing.

  [Detect Water] seemed useless. She was literally underneath an ocean. But then she recalled the expanse of the desert she’d crossed with the Envoy and Team Iota. Liz hoped the team had survived, but she hadn’t gone digging through the kill notifications to look for classes that sounded like them yet.

  Turning her attention back to the skills, she figured it couldn’t hurt to have it while her skill slots weren’t full. She could get creative with them and find their weaknesses and strengths all she wanted. In that way, all the skills for [Survivalist] were much better than [Hardness] was. Even if the Gemstone skill was fantastic, she didn’t have room in her slots to test it and find out.

  It was time for Elizabeth to get to work.