Gren rose to his feet abruptly. “I don't think this is something mere mortals should be privy to,” he said. “I'm going to check the traps and then figure out what to do about you.”
Kate opened her mouth to protest, but Gren had retrieved his bow from by the door and stepped outside a moment later.
Giltarians are a bit of a superstitious lot at times, Io explained. Even those who don't have much use for Heroes don't want to hear what they consider secrets of the gods.
“Okay, fine. Now what's this Basic Training you were talking about? Am I about to get drafted?”
You have been, in a sense.
“Touché.”
Io became brighter again, rising up and speaking in an officious-sounding voice. Now, then. It is this one's pleasure to welcome you to Giltar. I hereby initiate Support Hero #21's Basic Training.
A window obediently popped up. It was covered in text.
Kate grimaced. Even just skimming it, it looked like an encyclopedia entry on Giltar: an overview of its people, geography, and history. “Io, look, I'm really tired. And in pain. And just kind of done with all of this right now. Can we skip the history lesson for now and get to the pertinent bits?”
This one... supposes, Io allowed reluctantly. But we will have to go over it at some point. This is important information, you know.
“I'm sure.”
Very well. Io seemed to rally. The screen blinked out, replaced by another. For now, this one will give a brief--
“Very brief, I hope.”
--overview of what it is to be a Support class in this world. You were chosen because you showed exceptional potential. You have experienced circumstances that made you ideal for adapting to the system the gods have put in place to fulfill your intended role. As the charming Gren pointed out, healers are a hot commodity here.
Experienced circumstances? Was it really referring to her hundreds of hours wasted in video games? These gods were crazy. “Was it true, what he said about mana reacting differently to humans?”
Yes. Humans may replenish mana with time or potions. Their magic is also more powerful. Not just that, but humans can do one thing Giltarians cannot: they can evolve, or level, at incredible speeds.
“Hold up. Gren's a level nine. It's right there floating over his head.”
It's not that they are unable to level. It just takes much longer. Years. Gren looks to be in his forties. It took him all his life to get to that level. Hunting and fighting monsters in these woods every day for the last few decades has helped him. Even a retired member of an army who fought all his life is likely to be no higher than level twenty or so. A Hero, however, can jump to level nine in a matter of days or weeks. The experience you will earn from fighting the monsters of this world will be ten times as much as a Giltarian can earn.
“Oh. Good.”
Most Giltarians find the Heroes to be a helpful presence, as they are strong enough to take on the many monsters that infest this world. A few individuals see you as outsiders or meddlers. You must ignore these naysayers. Regardless, even obstinate men like Gren are happy to see human Supports. You will find they are much more willing to help you. However, in return they will likely expect you to help them.
“Heal them, you mean.”
Yes. And while this is not a requirement, the gods do look favorably on it. Still, it is understandable that humans will want to look after their own first and foremost. In the past, most Supports stuck solely to their parties and healed their fellow Heroes almost exclusively.
Kate frowned. “Seems a little hard-hearted. Especially if the Giltarians so clearly need the help.”
Not at all. Heroes are needed to fight the battles Giltarians cannot hope to win. Having limited access to human Supports is something to be expected. It is most important that the Heroes fighting are kept in top shape.
“I guess...” All this talk of fighting was making her a little uneasy. It didn't surprise her; a Support class meant other classes like Tanks and DPS. Obviously they were here to fight something. But after her close call with the wolves, on top of the knowledge that she was nowhere near anyone willing to team up with and protect a weak Support, she couldn't help but shiver at the thought of battle.
As a Support class you will be the one to keep your future party members alive, healthy, and ready to fight the good fight. Please note that this year's recruitment of Supports is even more dismal than usual.
“I'll bet you have a ton of damage dealers, though.”
Correct.
Kate snorted quietly. “Yeah, that tracks.” In her experience, the majority of the people who played the games she did tended to prefer DPS characters. “I'm the twenty-first healer, right? I even remember that there was a counter that said twenty out of a thousand slots filled when I, er, volunteered. Do you know how many there are in Giltar now? Because I bet it's not a thousand.”
This one apologizes. That information is confidential.
“Is it less than a hundred?”
Io wobbled a bit, then briskly changed the subject. Now that you have been briefed on your role, it is time to select your secondary class. This will unlock all level one base class skills and spells as well as the starter abilities for your second class. As promised, this one has managed to skew the odds in your favor and assure that you will have one random rare or better class to choose from alongside the common ones. We will begin with a brief summary of your base class.
The information window blinked to life, and Kate leaned forward eagerly.
Base Class: Support
Skills:
Natural Regeneration I
Outside of combat, you will naturally heal 1 HP & 1 MP every ten seconds.
(This skill can be leveled up)
Spells:
Heal Self I
Heal yourself for 25 HP
Cost: 10 MP
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Cooldown: 2 minutes
(This skill can be leveled up)
Heal Other I
Heal someone else for 25 HP
Cost: 10 MP
Cooldown: 1 minute
Range: 20 feet, LOS
(This skill can be leveled up)
Deflect I
Cast a temporary shield over yourself or an ally that will decrease
all damage received by 25%
Cost: 20 MP
Duration: 4 minutes
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Range: 20 feet, LOS
(This skill can be leveled up)
“What's LOS? Oh, wait. Line of sight, right? So I have to see someone to heal them.”
That is correct.
Kate felt the corner of her mouth tug into a smile. Magic. She was going to be able to do actual healing magic. Deflect definitely sounded useful. Two minute cooldowns on two of her spells, though. She would have to be careful not to waste them. “Can I try it?”
Please do.
Kate pushed her robe aside and held her hand over the wolf's bite.“What do I do? Is there some magic word, or..?”
That is up to you. Some prefer to use specific words or phrases. They are your spells. The chosen word is not as important as the intent. Simply focus on the spell you are trying to use. Remember that whatever keyword you choose will be permanently attached to that spell, however, so be sure it is one you will remember.
“So I could theoretically use the word 'banana'.”
Yes. But that would be ridiculous.
“I'll keep it simple. Heal,” she said firmly, thinking of Heal Self's description.
Her hand glowed faintly, and with increasing excitement she watched as the wound began to close. In less than a minute it was as if there'd never been an injury at all. “That's amazing! Quick, how do I bring up my hero window again? I want to see my HP.”
Simply say 'Status'. Though there is no need. If you ever want to know your HP and MP, think of it and glance to your lower left.
She hadn't said status last time to get the screen up. Perhaps the system or the gods had taken pity on her. She turned her gaze to the left, and a small screen flashed briefly to display her most basic stats.
HP: 85/90
MP: 10/20
She'd forgotten how small her MP pool was. She only had enough to heal once more. “I only have ten MP left.”
Your MP will go up as you level. But remember, it will replenish over time outside of battle. During battle you will have to rely on mana potions and other items.
“This is very cool. But I really want to see the options for my secondary class now.”
The window with her class summary wiped itself clean and filled up with new text. Io floated slowly around her.
You will have to pick one from these four choices. Please bear in mind that this choice can not be undone. Choose carefully.
“Are you allowed to advise me?”
Only to a point. You may tell this one your strengths and weakness or your goals, if you wish, and this one will suggest what may be the most suitable class. But in the end the decision is up to you alone. If you wish to see the specific spells for any one class, please focus on it to read further information.
Kate leaned forward eagerly, feeling an edge of trepidation as she carefully read over her choices.
Sage
All healing spells, including those from base class, become more
robust at the cost of a required casting period for each spell.
Even otherwise instant-cast spells now require a casting time of
at least 3 seconds, scaling up depending on the power and mana
cost of the spell.
She frowned. More powerful healing sounded nice, but being forced to wait for each spell to activate sounded like a risk. Especially since she may not have a party any time soon being so far away from civilization. She glanced down to the second choice.
Defensive Healer
Spells for this class skew more heavily towards defense
rather than straight healing. It includes stronger barriers, shields,
and cleanses.
Interesting, but she wasn't sure if that was up her alley. While it seemed like a good way to keep a tank alive, if the cooldowns were too long for certain barrier spells, it could mean she'd have trouble healing a party in the interim.
Potion Master
Gain the ability to craft healing and mana potions for less
ingredients and crafting time than other classes not geared
towards potions specifically. Potions will be more powerful
and last longer as the skills are leveled up.
That definitely sounded intriguing. “Are Supports the only class that can make potions?”
No. Certain damage subclasses also have the ability.
That gave her pause. It seemed like the most helpful class so far, but what if she landed in a party that already had someone with the ability to make potions? Her gaze dropped to the fourth class option and she blinked in surprise.
Necrotic Healer
By pulling lifesource from living things, the user is able to forego
the need to use mana by trading lifesource for healing.
Lifesource can be obtained from other sentient beings, creatures, and
even plant life.
“What's with this last one? It's like a vampire thing.”
Oh... Io's voice was a bit faint as it floated closer to the window. This is the random rare class that this one promised. But it is... more than rare. This one believes it is considered an Epic Class, rarely seen. In fact, this one cannot recall the last time the option to choose this class appeared.
Kate leaned back, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. She glanced back up at the other options, but found her gaze dragging back to the Necrotic Healer. An Epic Class. And she could see why. The ability to reserve her mana pool by siphoning “lifesource” from somewhere else was incredible. Best of all, even plants counted. She wouldn't have to hurt anyone in her party to use the ability, she could take it from the nearest tree or flower. And in a pinch she could use monsters. It seemed like, if used smartly, it could become almost over-powered. It being such a rare class made it doubly hard to ignore.
A word of warning, Io cautioned, perhaps guessing her train of thought. Necrotic Healers still have a somewhat... distasteful reputation to Giltarians. The class has been... well, perhaps abused is not exactly the correct term, but...
“Let me guess. Heroes have pulled life out of other people to cast their spells before, haven't they? I bet that's pretty horrifying to witness.”
Yes. It was not unheard of for a Necrotic Healer to pull the life from the nearest Giltarian in order to heal one of their own party members. If you are not careful, you can kill someone this way.
Meaning Giltarians figured out fast that humans put their own lives above the natives'. She winced. Maybe she should go for Potion Master after all.
But she couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the Necrotic Healer description.
Who was she kidding? This was the one class that might give her a definite edge until she managed to get to civilization and find a party. Potions could help, but it had mentioned a crafting time. And where was she supposed to find ingredients? With only 20 MP, the chance to bolster her spells another way was too good of a perk to ignore.
“I'm not like that,” she said firmly. “I won't go around pulling the life out of innocent people, even to heal myself. I promise.”
It is not this one you need to convince, Io murmured. If this is the class that speaks to you, by all means choose it. It is perhaps your best chance at survival. We will not reach other Heroes for some time yet. It added hastily, That is not a recommendation. Merely an observation. The choice remains yours.
She felt relieved that it agreed with her. Yes, this was the best class to keep herself alive.
“All right, then. I choose Necrotic Healer.” An instant later she blurted, “Shit!” She'd completely forgotten to even check the spell list. What if they ended up being lame spells? But it was too late now; the window had already wiped away the other options and Necrotic Healer was glowing. Then it blinked and changed, and there were the spells she had so thoughtlessly forgotten to look up.
