She gulped down tears and sobbed as she ate her pizza. Penguin taste tested his special light kingdom style cuisine with the solemnity of a food critic, and Nuwa ate her pizza with a fork and knife.
Akeso sampled the fries and found them quite tasty despite their simplicity.
She sighs mournfully to herself, and I tense. "If only we had some wine."
Phew! Don't scare me like that.
Aja quietly takes a ghostly copy of the food offered to her from her shrine. I wait with bated breath as she takes a bite of her pizza. Cheese melts off the sides and drips oil. Her eyebrows raise, and she chews thoughtfully.
I shift from foot to foot as she takes her time.
She finally looks up at me after she's halfway done. "You have my praise. This is truly…a meal fit for the gods."
[Hidden Quest: A Meal Fit For The Gods]
[Completed]
[Build a shrine and offer a meal to a God of your choice. Receive their blessing and a class from them upon receiving a satisfactory review.]
"A class, huh?"
Aja holds her plate in one hand and thinks it over. "Is there any class you're interested in?"
Well, now that I think of it. The system hasn't exactly been subtle. I already have the necessary materials anyway. "Witchcraft?"
"Any type?"
Type? There's a type? "What types of classes or witch classes are there?"
"Types? If you can imagine it, it's probably already been created, but there is no limit to the types themselves. Generally, we categorize the types of classes by the general characteristics that naturally occur in the people who use them. Such as shamans, protectors, elemental witches, arcanists, harbinger, shadow, resonance, empaths, weavers, creation, destruction, runesymiths, and so many more."
She dips her crust in oil and sauce that had collected on her plate.
"A class is not a magic in itself. It's a…job. For lack of a better word. An Elemental Class can be tread by any witch with a connection to an element. However, Arcanic witches are usually those who have strong imaginations and equal parts destructive and creative power. So that they can see both sides of the coin. The parts that everyone understands."
She uses a potato puff to demonstrate. The slightly burnt side faces up, and the other side hides in her palm. She turns it until it's standing upright and both sides are clear to see. "Then they look at the unclear line in between. That's where their magic is. The unexpected. The grey area. The deep between the two shallows. That's where they work."
She pops the potato puff in her mouth, and it crunches. Once she's done chewing, she continues. "Which can be practiced by any magic-using witch as well. However, it's easier for let's say a fire, a psychic, or a shadow magic using witch to tread this path."
She turns to look at the kitchen and then at me before smiling to herself. "There are even house or hearth witches."
Perhaps noting my confusion, she starts listing as many classes as she can. "Well, off the top of my head, there's green, kitchen, potions, hearth, healing, mind, protections, light, dark, horticulturist, storm, psychic, pyro, summoner, shadow, ice, elemental, blood…Necromancy. Magic users who choose these paths. They can have specialized paths as well, though it's not like your class dominates all of your life. It can only be changed again through great sacrifice, however, the price is usually very high. I recommend choosing a class you won't regret one day. Perhaps something you already have experience with?"
Hmm. That's a lot. I'm glad she's being so candid, though it's refreshing compared to these tight lips over here. I shoot a disdainful glance at them when a sudden thought occurs to me.
I can't believe I almost forgot it. What kind of grimoire is this? I pull it out of the inventory and check its contents. Codex Of Blood, Bone, and Mind. Sounds ominous. I'm already proficient in mind control anyway. Maybe she can teach me to control this or lock it up somewhere I can't see.
Control huh?
What about that?
"Control. If that's a class, that's what I would choose, I guess."
She lowers her lashes and nods to herself without any expression. Then her hand flashes with a green light.
[Class received]
[Control Witch]
[Blessing Received]
[The following skills will have a permanent skill level and experience point boost.]
[Skill : Telekinesis] [+1]
[Skill: Psychic Perception] [+1]
[Skill: Psychic Barrier] [+1]
[Skill: Pet Space] [+1]
[Skill: Culinary Novice] [+1]
[Skill: Novice Gardener] [+1]
"That's awesome!"
She laughed with me and continued eating from her plate. Finally, I sat down with the others and had a feast of my own cooking. Oh my god. Why is it so much better today?She wasn't kidding about the herbs. The flavor profile is completely elevated.
We laughed and talked about nothing over the dinner table. Which was my mistake. I thought that with my recent success with Aja, I could glean some more answers from the others.
I was wrong.
What I didn't understand was… to fish.
You first have to offer bait. Depending on what you're trying to capture. The bait might be heavier than expected. So heavy that it can drag you down until you're eye level with the stupid piranhas you were trying to capture.
I got dragged hard.
"So…Who wants to play truth or dare?"
Melinoë patted her stuffed belly and raised a hand in agreement. The others looked between themselves and agreed to play as well. Using an empty glass bottle from the kitchen, we started the game.
I spun the bottle, and it landed on Akeso. Good. "What are you the goddess of?"
She looked a little offended until Melinoë explained. "She's from a forsaken world. We all get the same treatment. Well…"
She knits her eyebrows and looks at me with confusion. What?
Akeso's eyebrows raised, but she seemed a little relieved at that answer. Is she like a celebrity or something? "It's hard to put in words, but recovery, rehabilitation, nursing, and the healing process. So if you ever have any injuries, you can come to me!"
I nod at her mock gratefully and log that away in my don't care file. I spun the bottle for Aja, who was floating right next to me. It spun and landed on Nuwa. Nuwa sat up a little bit and looked at Aja eagerly.
Aja mused over the question and then asked seriously. "Are you a creation or destruction goddess? I know they go hand in hand, but I've found that the humans seemed to be quite confused in my era..." She trailed off, but I got it.
That's weird. In my world, she was definitely someone synonymous with creation.
Nuwa tilted her head, and her hair moved with her. "Hmm…That's a good question. I consider myself a creation goddess, but creation requires destruction in order to grow. So, possibly both. It's never so black and white."
Aja nods, and Melinoë spins the bottle on her own.
It lands on me and I curse out loud.
Melinoë turns to me. "What was your former name? If you remember it."
"..."
I look down and away from her. Well, you gotta pay to play. I spit it out without looking at anyone. "Grace."
I have a really bad feeling about the following questions.