24
As I entered the shrine, I instantly noted that there was a change in the air. The temperature seemed to drop, and there was a heaviness hanging in the shrine, like the weight of impetus. The eerie blue lanterns that normally hung in the space had become brighter, more intense. The priestess of Elaris stood not in her normal place to the side of the veil basin, but centred before it at the top of the two steps that led up to the platform.
Welcome to class specialisation, Luck, said Sage. I will be succinct, given our pressing circumstances. When you step forward, the priestess will begin the ritual, and you will be given the opportunity to choose between several unique classes that are determined by your starting class, your skill and stat level gains, and your demonstrated playstyle.
She was all business, but her tone softened when she spoke next. I don’t need to tell you how important this choice is, but I will say this before you begin: use your instincts. You know what you’re moving towards. You’ve built your stats and skills accordingly, so your choices should be in line with what we’ve talked about. Find the choice that feels like the opening steps in that direction. While this choice will frame your abilities going forward, this too is a beginning. Emergent skills will always be available, but these class skills are unique. They’ll lead to further choices when we reach your final specialisation.
Note that we won’t be able to communicate when you’re making your selection, and I have no way of determining what you’ll be offered. You need to make this choice yourself, Luck.
“Okay. I don’t like feeling rushed for this, but I don’t have time to fuck around. Let’s do it.” I hesitated, then stepped forward, standing before the priestess. The lights wavered and flickered. She raised both hands and brought them together, palms facing each other. A speck of light matching the glow of the lanterns began to form, then expand. As it did, the lights faded away and the entire space went black, like the total void I had experienced right before I selected my player name. Once again I was bodiless, hovering. Everything was gone, but for the glowing orb the priestess had conjured.
The light broke apart and spun into many smaller spheres, which arranged themselves into a pattern with tiny strings of blue light connecting them, each leading to another, then branching off into further divisions. It was like a skill tree, but for classes. For a moment, the weight of my failures pressed in on me as I stared at the luminous spheres. Adeline and her parents were dead because I wasn’t fast enough, or deadly enough, or versatile enough. The only way to make that right was to ensure that next time, I would be faster, deadlier, more adaptable. Next time, no one innocent would have to die.
I looked at the pattern once again, unsure of what to do, then tried to narrow my focus to a single sphere. Information bloomed, a luminous panel that hovered before me, and read:
Rogue Variant: Inukari Knife Fighter
The Inukari style of close-quarters combat was developed in the alleys and backstreets of Detrobah, the sprawling metropolis at the heart of the Inuk Salefa, an eastern theocracy devoted to the worship of the god Salef.
Commoners were forbidden from carrying the traditional large curved blades of the Inukari Beytia, the nation’s ruling class. Instead, they turned to daggers and knives as their weapons of choice. This lethal melee style emerged from centuries of street fighting and brawls between rival gangs, and it’s said that a vagrant child raised on Detrobah’s unforgiving streets is, in single combat, more than a match for any of the Beytia’s soldiers.
This rogue variant focuses on melee combat skills and small bladed weapons. Its primary strength lies in single combat. Inukari fight fast and dirty, using feints, parries and holds to disable or counter an enemy.
+5 to Melee Combat
+5 to Daggers and Short Swords
+5 to Stealth (Urban environments)
+3 to Cunning Strike
+3 to Dodge
When engaged in single combat, gain +15% movement speed, +15% damage, +3 to armour rating.
A successful strike with daggers or short swords has a chance to apply Exploit: the next weapon attack has a +20% chance to land a critical hit, and a successful strike renews the timer on the Bleed condition. This effect cannot occur more than once every 30 seconds.
Grants the Lethal Counter skill:
Cooldown: 1 minute
Damage: High
Turn an opponent’s successful hit into a miss and strike back with a lethal counter attack, which triggers an automatic critical hit and inflicts the Bleed condition.
Grants the Disarm skill:
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Use your daggers to lock an opponent’s wrist and force them to drop their currently equipped weapon. Chance of success is dependent upon dexterity and the level of the skill relative to the opponent’s weapon skill. If Exploit is active, the chance of success is increased by 15% + 2% per level of the skill.
Grants the I Know a Guy skill:
Cooldown: Once per day
Using your knowledge and understanding of the inner workings of criminal syndicates and operations, you can contact locals and quickly gain an understanding of the current city or town’s criminal enterprises, including local gang leaders or crime bosses, territory, and methods. This skill grants you a +5 charisma bonus to interactions with local criminal elements. This bonus increases by 1 for each level of the skill. The cost of illicit materials is reduced by 15% + 2% per level of the skill.
I read the description over thoughtfully. This class would make me a good one-to-one brawler with some decent combo options, but it lacked for much in the way of monster-slaying abilities. Simple dagger combat was compelling, but lacking in diversity, trapping me into a very specific way of fighting. The I Know a Guy skill was interesting, and would be very useful in larger settlements like Trayst, where there was sure to be many criminal elements. I wasn’t sure I wanted to play that kind of rogue, but I couldn’t deny the utility.
Overall, this would blend well with a more traditional thief-type rogue, which I hadn’t really built for. I decided against it, and I moved my gaze to the sphere next to it, which also branched off of my Back Alley Shanker class. There were further branches, but none were yet available. A description for the class popped up.
Rogue Variant: Rethari Venomancer
The alchemists of the royal court of Rethar are well-known for their monopoly on advanced alchemy in the coastal kingdom, maintaining tight control over the sale, import and export of alchemical goods. When their dealings are threatened by pirates, rogue alchemists, upstarts or underground laboratories, the royal alchemists employ an operative from their enforcement wing: the Venomancers. Natural assassins, these enforcers come fully equipped with their Masters’ best natural and alchemical weapons and ruthlessly weed out challengers to the royal court’s monopoly.
This is a rogue variant that focuses on venoms, poisons, and other alchemical elements to supplement damage and inflict a myriad of conditions on the target. This is one of the few classes that can apply poisons, venom, or alchemical effects to multiple opponents simultaneously.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
+5 to the Poisoner skill
+5 to the Alchemy skill
+3 to Ranged Combat
+3 to Bows and Crossbows
Health/Mana Potion effectiveness +20%
Resistance to poison, venom, or negative effects created by potions or other alchemical delivery systems.
Weapons, arrows, or bolts coated in alchemical compounds, poison or venom have a +15% chance to take effect.
Grants the Toxic Mist skill: poison, venom, or an alchemical effect explodes in a 5 meter radius and has a chance to spread to targets in range. These coatings must be applied to a weapon or alchemical delivery system in order to activate the skill.
Duration: Instant
Cooldown: 1 minute
Grants the Re-applicator skill: When activated, each successful application of a condition grants an instance of Transmute. Transmute - spend mana to achieve one of the following effects: move an effect or condition from one target to another, exchange one condition for another, or renew the timer on one condition. Transmute is stackable.
Cooldown: 1 minute
Duration: Instant
Grants the Potency skill: When active, your next application of a condition receives a duration bonus of 15% plus 2% per level of the skill. Conditions that damage a target have that damage increased by 15% +2% per level of the skill. If used in conjunction with Re-applicator, the bonuses spread to successful applications against additional targets.
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Duration: 20 seconds + 1 second per level of the skill
Now this was an interesting class. It sort of seemed like a walking invitation to war crimes, given its chemical weapons-like approach. It was a rogue debuffer that used AOE afflictions and conditions to hamper and damage multiple opponents. It was something I wouldn’t have expected from a rogue class, but it would be a great addition to a party for crowd control and constant damage per second. The ability to shift conditions to other targets could be critical in certain circumstances. I strongly considered this class, but ultimately it was conditional on party support. I wanted more direct damage sources and the ability to be reliably independent when outside of parties.
I reviewed my other choices. There was a rogue/sorcerer class called a Daggermage, which focused on enchanting melee weapons with magical effects. The class could switch between damage types on the fly, making it effective against a diverse array of enemies. The direct damage was higher from the enhanced weapons, and it gained bonuses to Melee Combat, Daggers and Short Swords, a bonus to elemental spell effects and, interestingly, the ability to use the associated aspect of whichever damage type they were currently using, boosting the power of the associated spells.
I put a bookmark on that class. There were other options; variants that emphasized more traditional rogue abilities like climbing, breaking and entering and lockpicking. Another was effectively a con-man, capable of social manipulation and deceit. I was about to review my other choices when my vision suddenly glitched, distorted, then returned to normal. A line of the DOS-style text appeared, in the same way it had moments after the World Spell, then instantly disappeared.
Initialising Anex256.ext…
That was it. I blinked, then frowned. The glitch, like a pc monitor with a faulty connection, had occurred once before during the installation of my user interface, but there was no such process taking place right now. I waited for a moment, to see if anything would happen, but nothing unusual occurred. The glitch unnerved me as much as the execution of what seemed like some kind of program in my brain. Again. This made me quite sure it had been deliberate, but was it helping or hurting? There was no way to know. I hung in the black space before the glowing orbs, unsure of how to react, then just decided to continue. I didn’t have time to worry about it now. It was also out of my control.
I studied the orbs in their luminous arrangement again, and one I hadn’t explored yet pulsed with just the slightest glimmer of light, beckoning me, then returned to its ambient state. I furrowed my brows and focused on it, and my instincts lit up like Christmas lights.
Unique Rogue/Sorcerer Variant: Veilblade
The Veilblades were a secretive monastic order of mage-assassins who occupied an impregnable mountain fortress in the former kingdom of Telas, now a part of the Nithian empire. Before the conquest, the Veilblades enjoyed much independence, and were often contracted by the crown. They were instrumental in removing critical threats to the kingdom. These threats included political, economic, military or even the targeted slaying of dangerous creatures beyond the capabilities of regular soldiers or mages. To accomplish this, the Veilblades used a unique combination of martial arts, close-to- medium-range combat, and offensive magic.
When Nith invaded Telas, the Veilblades waged a war on their Nithian rivals, the Thorns, and though the struggle was said to be fierce, the greater Nithian military threat overran the territories of Telas. The Veilblades’ mountain stronghold was besieged, and after two years of struggle, the Thorns either destroyed them, or drove them underground. It is not currently known if the order survives.
+5 to Melee Combat
+5 to Martial Arts
+5 to Dodge
+3 to Sorcery
+3 to Charisma
15% reduction in mana costs for offensive spells. 15% damage increase with direct-damage offensive spells. 15% damage increase to unarmed attacks. Magical shields are 25% more effective.
Grants the Retaliatory Shield skill: This magical shield prevents a fixed amount of physical or magical damage before dissipating. Each successful strike against your shield grants an instance of Retaliation. Retaliation: Each instance may be expended to inflict retaliatory damage against the attacker, or multiple instances may be expended for increased damage. Retaliation may be stacked up to five times, with each instance increasing the potential damage. This ability may only be activated immediately after an attack strikes the shield.
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Duration: Instant/Until shield is destroyed or deactivated
Range: Retaliation - 5 metres + 1 metre per level of skill
Mana cost: medium
Sorcery note: modifications available
Grants the Spatial Rend skill: A medium ranged energetic slashing attack that tears through space in order to strike a target from range.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Range: 8 metres + 1 metre per level of skill
Damage: medium
Mana cost: medium
Sorcery note: modifications available
Grants the Veilstride skill: Slip through the Veil and appear at a location within range, and within sight. This skill may be applied in any direction, provided the target space is within range. Grants +15% movement speed for 10 seconds after activation.
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Range: 10 metres + 2 metres per level of the skill
Duration: Instant
Mana cost: medium
This was the one. I knew it immediately. The timing on the glitch and the glimmer of light were absolutely suspicious, but this was what I’d been building for. Ignoring it would be foolish. It could be a trap to lure me into a specific choice, but this likewise seemed the most effective choice for what I was trying to accomplish: A mobile mage-assassin type class that made me effective against an array of enemies. I would fit in a party, and I’d be self-sufficient in solo combat. My basic rogue skills provided me with a toolkit that could still be expanded upon, and my sorcery abilities had nowhere to go but up from here. I took a breath and pulled the trigger, tapping the orb then confirming. The orb pulsed, swelled, then burst into a shower of light.
You have selected Veilblade as your class specialisation. Further progress will unlock additional specialisation options. Congratulations, Veilblade.
The impenetrable darkness faded, and I found myself standing before the priestess once more. She moved to take her usual place beside the basin, awaiting the summons of chests. I gave a brief smile in satisfaction. It was nice to have something going right. My new abilities were available in my skills tab, and I prepared them for combat by organising my hotbars accordingly. I looked at them for a moment, considering.
I then realized that I could now teleport. I could fucking teleport. Holy shit. It was kind of scary, frankly. I would have to be careful not to end up inside a god-damned tree, or a wall. I looked over the basin to the other side of the shrine. There was enough room. I considered.
I had to try it. I focused on a spot far across the chamber, centred between two of the walls. I took a long breath, trying to prepare for whatever the hell was about to happen, then triggered the ability. A sound like flapping fabric whipped through the air. I could feel myself literally dematerializing and rocketing towards the space I’d focused on. It was like being launched from a fucking cannon, bursting into a million pieces, then coming back together again, all in an instant. When I popped back into existence, I stumbled forward and nearly cracked my head on the back wall of the shrine. The momentum of the teleport was extremely disorienting, and left me off balance when I landed.
“Holy shit,” I said breathlessly as I straightened. “That was awesome. I mean, it felt weird as hell, and it’s going to take some practice, but it was awesome.”
I see you’ve chosen the Veilblade class, said Sage after a moment. I told her about my other possible choices while she quickly reviewed my skills. I think this was the ideal choice for you, Luck. It almost perfectly captures what you were imagining.
“I have some ideas on how to expand my skill set even further. This is a huge deal for me. I needed this,” I said.
I thought about the abilities beyond Veilstride. Spatial Rend and the Retaliatory Shield were excellent additions to my skill set, and when combined with martial arts and dagger strikes, it would make me dangerous. I didn’t know what other kinds of spells were out there, but I fully intended to find and employ everything I could to outwit or out fight my enemies.
There was now a final task before I could return to the preparations for the attack later that night. I looked up at the priestess as I dipped my index finger into the luminous blue liquid of the veil basin. “Alright, let’s see what the good people have in store for me.” Whatever it was, it was going to be legendary. "Just put the tools in my hands," I said to the ceiling. "Then you can sit back and watch."
The people did not disappoint.
