Birth [Successful]
System [Unlocked]
Merging [Successful]
…
..
Modifier Adjustment [Successful]
…
..
Paths [Evaluated]
[Error: $#@@!%]
-> Deferred [Successful]
Class [Evaluated]
…
..
Class [Selection]
Brawler [Basic] - Tactics are for those who stand back and watch. You're made to be in the thick of it.
Stats: +9 Strength, +2 Constitution, +4 Endurance
Modifier: +.2 Strength. +0.2 Constitution
(Specialist) Spliced Soul [Epic] - The body follows the mind, and the mind bows before the soul. Yours is not alone. But in a space meant for one, a second resides. Two may become one, once more.
Stats: +7 Willpower, +10 Spirit, +2 Perception, +5 Wisdom.
Modifier: +.9 Willpower, +1 Spirit
(Growth) Seed of Fire and Lightning [Rare] - Touched by lightning and burnt by fire, each has left its mark. Time will tell if the seed will grow or rage out of control.
Stats: +9 Strength, +5 Constitution, +3 Dexterity, +3 Intelligence.
Modifier: +.3 Constitution, +.2 Strength, +.2 Dexterity, +.2 Willpower
Consumed Blade [Uncommon] - Let the anger of injustice influence you. Let the thirst for vengeance consume you. Wronged and betrayed, there is a way forward.
Stats: +9 Strength, +4 Constitution, +4 Endurance
Modifier: +.3 Strength. +0.2 Endurance
Edan stared at the list of text. The list of [Success] commands helped release a knot of tension he hadn't even noticed. A weight seemed to lift from his shoulders and he felt almost giddy.
Hanging suspended in this space of blinding light and system text, it was easy for Edan to forget where he truly was.
He'd actually done it. He'd birthed his system, and just look at his class options!
The first option made him laugh. Tali had said he was crafty and sneaky. The system didn't seem to think so. The second option was, interesting to say the least. Edan didn't doubt for a second it was thanks to birthing his system while having Kiba in his SoulScape.
Being an Epic class meant he would receive more stats per level and a higher modifier on each grade than the Basic class, Brawler, but the stats it focused on didn't suit Edan. The prefix [Specialist] also meant it was more than likely a non-combat class.
Still, it was impressive. Edan read over it one more time, focusing more on the description than the rewards. There was something…ominous about it.
Moving on Edan looked at the next option down the list. The mention of fire and lightning intrigued him. It made him think of his Vitalis. The Stats and Modifiers for it were very nice as well. Almost perfect for him.
Once again, it was the prefix that gave Edan pause. Growth classes were a double-edged sword. Classes could change, even evolve as you increase in grade, but the intent behind it remained. A Warrior would always be a warrior, regardless if he was an F-grade Blade Warrior or an S-grade Abysall Blade Warrior. The same went for Specialist Classes. You could go from being a Field Enchanter to a Star Blessed Enchanter, but you would always be an Enchanter.
A growth skill would change at each grade to match the user. If Edan stayed true to himself and continued on as he always had, it would increase rarity and become more powerful with him. If he didn't and got distracted at a higher level, it could revert back to a lower rarity, the stats and modifiers changing to match his new interest.
Edan would hate to find out he had a passion for farming and on his evolution to E grade his skill turned into [Farmer of Heat and Sparks]
That left the last option. It also gave him pause. Not because he liked it, but because he didn't like what it said about him. The system acknowledged that he had been betrayed, and it acknowledged that part of him wanted to take revenge. Apparently so much so that it had given him a class associated with it.
The Endurance and Strength from the class would help him get out of here so he could meet Aser again.
It was the most immediately helpful class.
So Edan selected [Seed of Fire and Lighening].
Edan recognized and acknowledged his own shortcomings. He had always thought about the path of cultivation as a given. He would train and fight and level up and eventually increase in grade, only to do it again. There would be those who got in his way, like Aser, but for the most part, he would simply live his life.
He had been wrong. Edan had been fooled by the Four Star Heavenly Sect and almost killed by Aser. There were others out there more determined to do whatever it took to get to the top, and they wouldn't be afraid of crushing him.
Edan couldn't just take his future for granted.
He needed to grow.
(Growth) Seed of Fire and Lightning [Rare]
Generating Skills [Success]
Assigning Path Options [Error]
-> Adjustment [Error]
-> Deferred [Successful]
Title/s [Obtained]
First Step - You take your first step down an unending path. May it never waiver. (+.1 to all stats)
Glutten (F Grade) - Enter F grade with inflated stats. (+.2 to all stats)
The two titles were expected. Everyone got the First Step title and the title for reaching F grade. Though it looked like Edan's had been upgraded to Gluten. The extra +.1 to all stats was a welcome addition. It wouldn't mean much at the moment, but once he started pushing into the higher levels it would make a big difference.
…
..
Path [Error]
-> Adjustment [Error]
-> Deferred [Error]
-> Processing
->
->
Legacy Remnant [Detected]
Legacy [Created] -> [Broken] Fledgling (Origin)
Repressed - Much remains hidden. Contained. Waiting. (+0.1 Constitution, +0.1 Endurance, +0.3 Spirit)
…
..
What the fuck? Edan wondered, looking at the text hovering before his eyes.
Path [Adjusted]
Path of ^*%&%% -> #@(($#% [F] - + 15 all stats. +0.1 Constitution, +.2 Spirit
Path of Primordial Flames -> Embers [F] - +5 Constitution.
Path of Lightning -> Spark [F] - +5 Dexterity.
Path of ##@&^$ -> @#)(*#@ [F] - + 15 all stats. +0.1 Wisdom, +.2 Willpower.
…
CONFLICT [Path of ##@&^$] || [Path of ^*%&%%]
..
.
[Path of ##@&^$] || [Path of ^*%&%%] -> [LOCKED]
Integration [Complete] -> Grade [Adjusted].
Edan had barely reached the end of the notification when pressure began to build within his ears. He opened his mouth, to try to ease it, but it just kept growing until Edan was squinting against the pain.
Then it stopped.
Then the bright light vanished. The darkness that remained was all the more terrifying for it.
Then Edan felt himself fall and he screamed.
The scream cut off when he felt something solid beneath his back. Blinking his eyes Edan squinted up at the sun overhead. Sitting up in confusion, Edan glanced around.
He was sitting on a small, grassy hilltop that poked through thick fluffy clouds.
Getting to his feet slowly, Edan patted himself down, and happy to be injury-free, he moved cautiously down the slope. He pulled up short when he noticed arcs of lightning flashing between the clouds. Not down from them, like you would imagine lightning to do, but between them.
"Where am I?" Edan said aloud, wondering how he had gotten here. "Hello?" he yelled.
"Well, this is a change," Kiba said, appearing next to Edan and making him jump.
"Sunnova! Warn me next time!" Edan gasped. His anger turned back to confusion as he looked at Kiba. "How are you here?"
"What do you mean?"
"How are you here? I thought you were in my SoulScape…actually, where is here? Any ideas?" Edan asked, one hand resting on his hip and the other coming up to shade his eyes from the sun's glare.
"Seriously, kid?" Kiba asked, laughing. "Come on, I'll show you."
Kiba walked with Edan back to the top of the hill and waved his hand. Edan looked out over the sea of clouds, turning a full circle to take it all in. There wasn't another island of green as far as he could see.
"Everything you see is yours," Kiba said seriously, his hand falling around Edan's shoulder.
"What!"
"It's your SoulScape, you idiot," Kiba said at last as his face slipped back to amusement. "It changes when you rank up. Kinda like a reflection of you. Though those clouds…I wonder if I influenced it a little."
If it wasn't for Kiba beside him, Edan would have suddenly felt very lonely. For some reason, the endless sea of clouds and his single island were more depressing than the darkness his SoulScape had been earlier.
"Kid, it's your SoulScape," Kiba said again, looking at Edan like he had missed the obvious. When Edan looked back at him confused he sighed and directed Edan's gaze outwards. "There's no cracks! You're healed. For now at least!"
Edan gasped, stumbling back with shock and excitement when he realized Kiba was right. He almost tripped and looked down at the mound of freshly turned soil at his feet but dismissed it in favor of something more important.
Edan pulled up his stats.
Edan MaweRace: Human (F)Level: 30Health: 4134Stamina: 3377Mana: 3452
Body
Strength: 96 (Mod: 1.5, Actual: 144)
Constitution: 103 (Mod: 1.7, Actual: 175)
Endurance: 89 (Mod: 1.4, Actual: 125)
Dexterity: 95 (Mod: 1.5, Actual: 143)
Mind
Wisdom: 87 (Mod: 1.3, Actual: 113)
Intelligence: 90 (Mod: 1.3, Actual: 117)
Perception: 87 (Mod: 1.3, Actual: 113)
Soul
Charisma: 37 (Mod: 1.3, Actual: 48)
Spirit: 59 (Mod: 1.6, Actual: 94)
Willpower: 67 (Mod: 1.5, Actual: 101)
Class: Seed of Fire and LightningProfession: —Free Points: 0
—----------
Tali grabbed the Smoke Krill by its tail, her fingers cracking its dark shell, sending whisps of curling grey smoke upward. The monster turned, its dozen forelegs lashing out at her in a rapid succession of punches. The Titan allowed them to land. They did no damage.
The seventeenth floor of the Academy dungeon was made of flowing lava. Tiny volcanos jutted from the scorching sea like islands. They belched thick noxious fumes into the air. The ceiling was obscured by the smoke, though the occasional stalactite poked out like a rock tooth.
Swimming in the lava were creatures that looked like giant prawns with thick tails and elongated bodies with multiple legs and bulbous eyes on twitching stalks. Their dark shells glistened in the red glow of the lava.
Jumping from one volcanic island to another, Tali looked back at her companions.
Reema and Sanik moved forward with tireless determination. Tali had had her doubts when it came to Reema's class. Hers was not a class with high damage output and she feared it would slow them down, but that's where Sanik came in.
Reema seemed to drift between islands, her form fading in and out of focus as she waved her arms, pulling at the air. Any Krill silly enough to attack her found themselves ensnared by thin threads of shadow. Before they could break free Sanik would step past, his blade moving in precise stabs, ending their struggles.
"Edan!" Reema called, her voice bouncing off the hidden ceiling.
"Edan!" Sanik yelled as well.
Tali heard nothing in response. She didn't want to mention it, but the deeper they went, the less likely they were to find Edan alive. If the ambient Vitalis didn't kill him, the increasingly higher-level monsters would.
"He must have gone down another level," Reema said after another round of calls. She had said the same thing on every floor and on every floor, Tali and Sanik nodded and followed her back towards the stairs.
"Trust Edan to run down," Sanik said, laughing. His laugh sounded off though. Empty. Forced. "Everyone runs up, but not him. Nope. He needs to run down…and I bet when we find him he'll say something like 'Well it seemed easier than running up'."
Reema's laugh caught in her throat and she whipped furiously at her face.
Tali felt at her Path. She felt for the threads of the story that were needed to achieve an ending only she knew. She knew it began on Terra, just as she knew it began with Edan. His blood had called to her own, tempting it to burn without conscious thought.
Her Path had never been wrong. Edan had to be alive.
"He must have gone down another level," Tali said, her own voice sounding thicker than usual.