"So first, I don't want you to choose your Class's evolution because of the party you're in," Astrid said. "We've already talked about it, and there's a chance that our party won't continue together after however many years. I don't think any of us want that, but if we end up having to split, I'd hate for you to be stuck with a Class that you didn't want in the first place."
Benedict chuckled as he shook his head. "I can see myself happy with either option. The rare version, Aural Bard, just strengthens what I already have. Would merge Song of Healing and Quickened Step while upgrading Doubletalk. The new skill made from Song of Healing and Quickened Step sounds pretty good, but I honestly don't know a whole lot about Bard skills at higher levels. They might be mediocre, because I don't have the numbers for other options."
"I've only heard stories as well," Astrid agreed.
"This other one, though… Caustic Bard." Once he'd said it, Astrid blinked slowly several times. Caustic? Like an acid? Interesting.
After thinking it through, she asked, "So it's more of a damaging type Class? Instead of a variety of support, more of a damaging support?"
"Exactly. The only problem is," Benedict hedged, "that I can tell that while it isn't going to take away Song of Healing, it merges it with Scathing Scream, making a different multipurpose Skill. Somehow, Quickened Step is also merged with Scathing Scream. Even looking at the Skill description, it feels like Caustic Bard will, as a selection, weaken my ability to support you all in exchange for being able to also do damage to enemies."
Astrid blinked a couple times. The rest of the party seem to have come out of their own reading of their Class evolutionary options, though it didn't look like anybody had selected their Class. Except for Astrid. She fought down the hint of embarrassment as she decided not to mention that right now. Instead, she asked, "Would you read out the description of Caustic Bard?"
"Caustic Bard (Very Rare): Though you started your journey focusing on healing and supporting your party, you have learned that healing is far from the only thing you can provide. Though it was your final Skill gained, you have relied on Scathing Scream to stun and harm as much as you have leaned on Quickened Step and Song of Healing. You confronted the mind of a drake more than twice your level and a tier higher than you while slowing the beast and healing your allies. You confronted the attacks of assassins and abductors two tiers higher than your own, using your quick reactions and Skills to preserve life. Whenever insurmountable odds present themselves to you, you escape through wit and the strength of your tongue. As such, you have progressed faster and further while pushing deeper and harder than your peers. Selecting this Class will bless you with the merging of the Scathing Scream (Bronze) and Song of Healing (Bronze) Skills into the Skill: Song of Vindication (Iron) as well as the merging of the Scathing Scream (Bronze) and Quickened Step (Bronze) Skills into the Skill: Hasty Rebuke (Iron). The Skill: Doubletalk (Bronze) will be upgraded to the Iron tier. Attribute growth per level (Racial traits): Power +2 (+1), Alacrity +4 (+1), Fortitude +4 (+1), Magical Potency +10 (+1), Self-Mastery +8 (+1), Acumen +6 (+1)."
Benedict finished speaking and the party nodded appreciatively. He would end up with three Iron Skills, if he took the Class. Just like Astrid. She nodded as he continued explaining, "Looking at the Skill descriptions, they both do more than their Bronze versions, but maybe half to three quarters of what I would expect the Iron tier to do. The exchange is that Song of Vindication and Hasty Rebuke both also debuff enemies who hear it."
"And the Class is focused on buffing and debuffing instead of just healing or supporting." Astrid nodded. "That's why you don't know if you should take it."
"Yeah," Benedict answered. "I don't know if I should push myself in this direction, even though it means a 180 attribute point difference in the long run if I didn't go with it. The Magical Potency and Self-Mastery growths are just 1 higher each than Aural Bard's. I don't know if I'd be able to get other healing Skills with Caustic, which would prohibit me from being able to be a better healer in the long run. We've all worried about that before, so…"
As Benedict trailed off, Astrid chuckled. "It sounds great to me, and I got a Skill offered that maybe isn't as numerically powerful as what it would be at Iron, but is way better now. I get the worry about how it works. There's a reason why I asked what the difference was. If the very rare Class offered was a specialized healing Bard, I figured you wouldn't hesitate so much. I said I might be able to help, but here's the Class I'm going to choose."
After reading out the Class's description, Astrid said, "That might not seem to matter, but here're the Skills it provides.
"Immortal Warrior's Body (Iron): An Immortal Warrior's purpose is to survive though insurmountable difficulties. Their greatest asset is their Body. This Skill increases the passive rate of mana, health, and stamina recovery by 75%. Four times per hour, the Skill's holder can activate the Skill to recover 25% of all mana, health and stamina. 25% of all that is recovered is applied to the next attack made.
"Immortal Warrior's Aura (Iron): An Immortal Warrior shares their immortality with their allies. For a Moderate cost of their mana per minute, grant an aura to all allies within 10 meters that transfers their wounds to the Immortal Warrior."
Muti stiffened, then asked, "The wounds that you would take into yourself—would they be healed by Body? And then be applied to your next attack?"
Astrid nodded, and Muti continued, "And you are not limited to using the Skill once in a stretch of time. Instead, every hour, uses are recovered. Are all four uses replenished one hour after the final one is used, or are they stacks where each use is replenished one hour after its use?"
"The second." Astrid answered, letting Muti shake her head in mock disgust. The rest of the party quickly realized what exactly the Class did, and Felix opened his mouth once, twice, and on the third, he could finally muster his voice.
"And if you use a Skill?"
"It'll be empowered." Astrid started bouncing where she stood, too excited to hold still. She'd already made the choice, and wanted to look at the evolution quest, but she wanted to hear what her companions had gained and wanted to select themselves more than seeing what she needed to do to get her Class. As such, she continued looking at Felix, who grumbled but congratulated her with a genuine smile. She maintained eye contact, still bouncing where she stood, but obviously insistent on what she wanted from him. The Bodyguard chuckled.
"Is there something you want?"
Astrid said nothing, leaning in closer.
"Yes?"
Astrid remained silent, squinting as she came within 30 centimeters of Felix's face. The man couldn't keep back his slightly uncomfortable twisting as well as his genuine laugh. When he raised both hands in surrender, Astrid raised her eyebrows until, finally, he started to talk.
"I got a very rare option as well. The others are fine, but not what I was looking for anyways. Honestly, the description is a lot like yours, Astrid. And Benedict's. I'd guess," Felix said, looking at Muti and Skandr, "that the descriptions of how we qualified for our Class upgrades will be similar. References to facing the drake as well as Anders, and pushing further in the Dungeon than most would. I suspect that pushing against Anders and Maria was the clinching blow to become Very Rare."
Skandr nodded, his own face pretty neutral, but Muti's body language was a little different. When Astrid met her eyes, the Barbarian smiled softly, her lips not parting as she shrugged. Astrid's stomach dropped, but Muti's answer dispelled the fear.
"My evolution's description is different, but I have also been offered a very rare option. I do not wish to share the differences, but they are only expressions of my weakness. I will be a Dread Ambusher."
"Well, if you don't want to share the details," Skandr grumbled, "then I won't either. But it's Storm Wizard."
"Oh, no you don't you bastards!" Astrid denied them, including Felix in her remonstration. "I guess I don't need to hear the specifics of the Class descriptions, but you will tell me what happens to your Skills and your attribute distributions! Felix, you begin, because I don't even know the name of your offered Class."
"The Class is called Hewing Guardian, and as I said, it's very rare. It combines Deft Parry and Axemanship into Guardian's Equipment, which I can feel is a Skill focused on quicker movements and seizing timing to cripple the enemy. There's something there that was missing in my current fighting style, and I think it'll work well. Then, Draw Anger and Guardian's Rush combine to Guardian's Wrath. It has a stronger attention drawing aspect to it than Draw Anger while also allowing me to reposition myself a lot better while strengthening my body with mana to keep from taking as many wounds. Finally, it grants an additional Skill called Whirling Blades. Maybe not what you think of, because it's a retaliation skill, making phantom blades appear around me. It pairs well with Guardians' Wrath, making the monsters come closer while reducing their effectiveness and Whirling Blade damages everything around me."
Finally, he gave the information she was waiting for. Again, Astrid was struck by the cohesion between the Skills offered. There was something that the Class was intended for, and it would be really great at getting the attention of their enemies while also presenting itself as a threat. Still, Astrid needed to know the attribute distribution, and rolled her hand for him to continue. He shook his head as he laughed and said, "Power +8, Alacrity +7, Fortitude +11, Magical Potency +2, Self-Mastery +5, and Acumen +1."
"That sounds great," Astrid congratulated him. "And there doesn't sound like there's any reason not to take it?"
"On the contrary. I can't think of any reason to take the other Classes over it."
Astrid clapped him on the shoulder, grinning widely as she imagined the new Felix in battle.
"One of you two is gonna need to start talking now," Astrid turned, threatening Skandr and Muti with a finger. "My patience is all dried up."
"Dread Ambusher," Muti reported. "Primal Sense and Stealth are combined into Ambusher's Aura. Most of the effect is personal, but I will be able to help the rest of you hide when necessary. Short Blade Mastery and Thrown Weapons combine to Dread Ambusher's Equipment. The Skill is focused on striking from unexpected angles and lethal blows. The additionally granted Skill is Vital Strike. There are passive and active parts to the Skill, the passive strengthens my weapons whenever I strike from a location that my enemies do not expect. If I were to activate the Skill, mana will allow my blade to find the vital points of my enemies, even through armor and protections, which is further strengthened by my Acumen. All the Skills are Iron tier. Power +9, Alacrity +10, Fortitude +4, Magical Potency +1, Self-Mastery +4, Acumen +6."
She gave the information as if reporting to a superior, which was to be expected from her typical demeanor. Even so, Astrid could see in the way she squared her shoulders and the slight hint of pride in her voice that Muti was more than pleased.
"It was what you wanted. I'm glad, my bound companion, that you will continue to grow in strength."
Astrid felt there was something she could have said, something more eloquent, but she said what she felt Muti would best appreciate. She seemed to have done that correctly, as Muti's schooled expression broke into a broad grin as she reached out and took Astrid into a strong embrace, nuzzling her face into Astrid's neck. As soon as that was done, she turned and embraced Felix, lifting him from his feet as she did so. When she turned her excited attentions towards Benedict and Skandr, the two men accepted her affection before, once Muti was done, Astrid turned to Skandr.
"And you? What did you get?"
The excitement Skandr'd been infected by melted away as Astrid turned her attention back to him. He pursed his lips before he nodded.
"Storm Wizard. It's very rare."
"So why do you sound so unhappy about that?" Astrid raised an eyebrow. "That's just like everybody else, right? And it's what you wanted. What's the problem?"
"Well, it's good, yeah," he hedged, still not giving the information that anybody was asking for. "It gives Power +1, Alacrity +2, Fortitude +3, Magical Potency +13, Self-Mastery +8, and Acumen +7."
Felix let out a low whistle as Astrid said with a smile, "I knew you were going to stick with being specialized. It makes sense, though I wonder if Benedict's going to be a little jealous as you keep outstripping him that way."
"This isn't about me." Benedict protested. "But you're not wrong."
Skandr smirked a little, but he answered, "I think it won't be long before you don't envy me quite so much. It merges Mana Manipulation and Spellcraft into Storm Magic, while Lightning Bolt and Lightning Reflexes are combined into Storm Administration, which is a weird but potentially powerful Skill, so far as I can tell. It also gives Lightning Enchantment, which is a little more limited than I was hoping for, but makes sense, considering my inexperience."
"So what's the problem?" Astrid asked. "It seems like this is basically exactly what you wanted, right?"
"Storm Magic is the only one that's Iron tier. Storm Administration is Bronze, and Lightning Enchantment is untiered." His voice dropped lower the further he got until it was barely more than a whisper. Astrid's immediate reaction was to try to tell him that it was no problem, that he'd be easily able to overcome this, but the reality was that, regardless of effort, he was going to be a step below the others going into and probably throughout most of Iron. Astrid doubted she would be able to take an Iron skill at 21, once she passed her Class quest, but she could almost certainly get a Bronze while working on maybe getting an Iron skill without having to upgrade it down the road. Skandr wouldn't have that same leisure of working on improving himself for a good amount of time, picking and choosing what would be best for him. That the Trials would be accelerating their progress also meant that they'd all have less time to work on their Skill levels, so Skandr's path would be even more limited, meaning he'd have to choose between Skills he wanted and those that'd be most powerful at the time of his acquisition.
The brief silence that settled over the group was deafening, but Astrid didn't let it last for longer than maybe five seconds. "Then I'd say you should, starting immediately, do everything you can to make sure that you can upgrade Storm Administration to iron as soon as possible. I don't know what exactly that'll take, but if you experiment tons with enchantment and Storm Administration before you pass your Class quest, then you can upgrade one of them, ideally Storm Administration, at 21. That, or take a Bronze Skill you want then. Then, you can continue focusing on different things that you see as options in your Skill selections to have them come in at as high of a tier as possible when you get to 28, 36, and 43. After all, you're evolving right now with two Untiered Skills," Astrid rambled.
"Astrid, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'd prefer it if you just shut up." Skandr tried to keep his face kind as he said it. "I'm not doomed, but this is just showing how I didn't have anyone training me when I was younger, and I'm still behind in certain ways. I'm playing catch-up, I've done a little. Just… have a long way to go."
Astrid wanted to say something, but she decided against it. After all, she wouldn't want anybody telling her what to do in a similar situation, so instead, she reached out and clapped him on the shoulder before turning back to the rest of her party.
"Everybody knows what Class they're going to take, right? Any reason not to take the very rare options?"
With that, there were little chuckles, even from Skandr, and the party all selected their Classes. Except, of course, Astrid. She'd already done so, and she finally felt the little worry in her stomach swell. After all, Klara had been stuck at the top of Steel for so long because she selected a Class that she couldn't pass the quest for. Would she herself be trapped like that, doomed before she even began her journey in truth? She reminded herself that evolution to Iron was the easiest step that existed and stopped getting into her own head, instead looking at her Class evolution quest.