Bastion, Elyra, Seraphina, and Lilia gathered in his room, the air charged with quiet anticipation. Today marked more than just a personal milestone. Ranking up signified a leap in power, prestige, and influence. It was a moment that could reshape their future, and none of them took it lightly.
"What class do you think the Goddess will give?" Bastion asked.
"I don't know, but I hope it's better than Phoenix Mage," Seraphina replied.
"You defeated the Demon Lord. You better get something good out of it," Lilia said.
Phoenix Mage was currently the best class Seraphina could choose based on what she knew. It was a powerful class, as demonstrated by her slightly inept brother, who had managed to go far in the academy competition years ago by relying almost entirely on his phoenix summon.
With Phoenix Mage being a solid choice, she didn't mind ranking up now just to sneak a peek at the gift the Goddess had given her. As for her inability to make healing potions, that was simply a risk she would have to accept.
For the final time as an Apprentice Rank, Seraphina checked her status.
[Name]: Seraphina Phoenixhart
[Age]: 24
[Class]: Alchemist (Rank 2)
[Ability]: Alchemist's Flame
[Rank]: Apprentice (Rank Up Available)
[Level]: 100 (200)
[Health]: 100/100
[Mana]: 125/125
[Strength]: 50
[Dexterity]: 120
[Vitality]: 100
[Intelligence]: 125
[Wisdom]: 120
[Charm]: 75
[Status Points]: 0
[Arts]: Alchemy 3, Fire Magic 3, Water Magic 3, Earth Magic 3, Wind Magic 3, Dark Magic 3, Light Magic 3, Throwing 3, Staff 2, Cooking 1, Riding 1, Taming 1, Traps 1, Tailoring 1, Leathercrafting 1, Scribing 1, Jewelcrafting 1, Cartography 1
[Skills:]: Fire Bolt 3, Mage Hand 3, Amplify 3, Analyze 3, Synthesize 3, Extract 3, Vaporize 3, Summon Bottle 3, Smash 2, Parry 2, Dodge 2, Dash 2, Jump 2, Summon Familiar (Mew) 2
[Skill Points]: 75
Similar to Bastion, she had taken elemental mastery classes to improve her basic elemental arts, ensuring she had a solid foundation in elemental manipulation for convenience and versatility.
She had also gathered a substantial number of arts to boost her potential for earning money.
As for her skills, only the physical ones remained unupgraded, while her core alchemy skills had reached Level 3 just in case she ended up receiving the Rank 3 or Rank 4 version of the Alchemist class, whatever that might be.
"Well, here goes nothing," Seraphina said before initiating the upgrade through the status screen.
A moment later, she found herself surrounded by golden flames, deep within her soul. Her vision was consumed by a glowing status screen displaying a list of available classes.
She scanned the list and froze in shock when she saw the top entry.
Rank 4: Phoenix Archon
She swallowed her excitement and reminded herself to stay focused. The goal of this rank up was to explore all her options.
She continued reading through the list:
Rank 3: Phoenix Mage
Rank 3: Battle Alchemist
Rank 2: Potioneer
…
Phoenix Mage was expected, but Battle Alchemist?
She thought back to all the times she had burned herself through accidents and reckless experimentation. She often fought using potions and rarely relied on weapons, except when stealth was needed. She had probably killed thousands with her concoctions alone.
After a moment of reflection, she nodded. She had earned this class with everything she had put herself through.
Feeling vindicated, she selected it and continued browsing the class options.
[Alchemical Constitution]: Grants passive resistance to poisons, toxins, and chemical damage. Enhances the effects of beneficial alchemical concoctions on self. Increases magic resistance and mana regeneration.
[Quick Brew]: Instantly crafts an alchemical concoction from stored materials during combat.
[Alchemical Quick Slot]: Provides dedicated storage for alchemical concoctions, enabling rapid deployment in battle.
[Alchemical Throw]: Enhances the speed and precision of thrown alchemical items, increasing the potency of their effects.
[Alchemical Infusion]: Applies an alchemical concoction to the user's weapon, imbuing it with the concoction's properties. Boosts the potency of infused effects without risk of self-harm.
[Alchemical Burst]: Instantly covers a wide area with an alchemical substance, affecting all targets within range. Amplifies the potency of the concoction's effects.
"I would have jumped on this if I hadn't decided to save money instead of wasting it," Seraphina muttered to herself.
She returned to the class list and turned her attention to the Potioneer class.
Alchemy, she knew, was the broader art of material preparation. It was not limited to potions or concoctions. With enough knowledge, an alchemist could even create certain metals. Potioneers, on the other hand, focused exclusively on brewing potions and refining their effects.
[Potions Specialist]: Reduces brewing errors and increases the likelihood of crafting enhanced potions with bonus effects. Slight chance to extract rare materials when harvesting. Grants increased mana regeneration.
[Refined Brewing]: Improves the quality and effectiveness of all potions. Reduces brewing time and resource consumption.
[Focused Brewing]: Brews potions that temporarily boost a specific stat or trait, such as strength, speed, or resistance.
[Experimental Brewing]: Brews potions with unpredictable effects based on the combination of materials used. Instinctively reveals the formula of the resulting mixture once brewed.
[Potion Quick Slot]: Provides carrying capacity for potions. Allows the user to slot specialized brews for rapid use.
[Preserve]: Extends the shelf life and stability of potions, preventing degradation.
"Alchemist is still better, even if a Potioneer's potions are higher in quality. At least I can use it with other production classes," Seraphina muttered to herself. "Still, it's a good backup for when I decide to reach Rank 2."
She returned to the class list and finally turned her attention to the reward from the Goddess, Phoenix Archon. Hopefully, it would not interfere with her mana the way Phoenix Mage did, so she could continue developing a broad spectrum of production capabilities.
Upon selecting the class, she immediately noticed her image displayed beside the class details. She looked mostly the same, except her hair was on fire. It actually looked good, like something out of a game character design.
Setting aside her future flaming appearance, she turned her attention to the abilities and skills the class offered instead.
[Phoenix's Blessing]: Once every millennium, automatically revive upon death in a pillar of fire, restoring full health and mana. Passively leaves behind an explosion that scorches nearby enemies. Grants fire magic the attributes of Life and Death. Increases magic resistance, mana regeneration, and health regeneration.
"This is it. Life and Death can cancel each other out when needed, so I can control their effects. My healing potions would be way more valuable. Even my explosives would be deadlier," Seraphina said with glee. "I basically get an extra life, right? The rest of the effects are fine, though the health regeneration feels a bit wasted. Still, it's a solid ability."
[Eternal Flame]: Summons an immortal flame that enhances all fire-based spells, gradually heals allies, and burns enemies within its aura. Both damage and healing increase the longer it remains active.
"This should be my domain skill. Heals and damages while increasing fire-based skills and spells. Not bad. It's a huge mana drain though. I'll have to prepare plenty of mana potions."
[Deathflare]: Unleashes a concentrated beam of fire infused with death energy that bypasses resistances and sears through defenses. Deals bonus damage to enemies currently affected by healing.
"A simple enough skill, but it's channeled so it's another mana-heavy skill."
[Cremation Pulse]: Emits a wave of life-draining fire that burns enemies and restores health based on the damage dealt. Especially effective against undead or death-aligned entities.
"This should allow me to clear my surroundings easily, though I hope I don't accidentally start a forest fire."
[Scorching Wings]: Unfolds fiery wings that allow the user to dash or fly. While active, the wings leave behind trails of flame that burn and weaken enemies.
"I can fly and escape while leaving flames behind to stop anyone from following me. Very nice."
[Phoenix Contract]: Forms a bond with a personal phoenix companion. The phoenix aids in battle, offering support through fire-based attacks or passive regeneration.
"A better version of the Summon Phoenix skill my brother has. It should work like a familiar, since it's a real phoenix rather than a summoned projection. That means I won't have to passively feed it mana like a regular summon, and it can fight on its own using its own mana. Although, I might still have to feed it to get it to like me. Good thing I took Animal Husbandry."
Without hesitation, Seraphina confirmed her selection.
Her vision shifted as she returned to the real world, only to find the others staring at her in awe.
"You're on fire!" Lilia exclaimed.
"Thanks," Seraphina replied shyly.
"No, she means your hair is on fire," Bastion clarified.
"Oh?"
Seraphina drew moisture from the air and shaped it into a reflective surface.
In the water's mirror-like surface, she saw her hair flickering intermittently with flames.
She reached up to touch it but felt no heat.
"I hope I don't accidentally ignite anything flammable," she muttered.
Focusing her mind, she willed the effect to fade. Slowly, the flames receded, revealing her usual fiery red hair beneath.
"So?" Bastion asked.
"Hehe. See for yourselves," she said before showing her status.
[Name]: Seraphina Phoenixhart
[Age]: 24
[Class]: Phoenix Archon (Rank 4), Alchemist (Rank 2)
[Ability]: Phoenix's Blessing, Alchemist's Flame
[Rank]: 1 (Rank Up Available)
[Level]: 200
[Health]: 100/100
[Mana]: 125/125
[Strength]: 5
[Dexterity]: 12
[Vitality]: 10
[Intelligence]: 12.5
[Wisdom]: 12
[Charm]: 7.5
[Status Points]: 100
[Arts]: Alchemy 4, Fire Magic 4, Water Magic 4, Earth Magic 3, Wind Magic 3, Dark Magic 3, Light Magic 3, Throwing 3, Staff 2, Cooking 1, Riding 1, Taming 1, Traps 1, Tailoring 1, Leathercrafting 1, Scribing 1, Jewelcrafting 1, Cartography 1
[Skills:]: Mage Hand 4, Amplify 4, Analyze 4, Synthesize 3, Extract 3, Vaporize 3, Summon Bottle 3, Fire Bolt 3, Smash 2, Parry 2, Dodge 2, Dash 2, Jump 2, Summon Familiar (Mew) 2, Eternal Flame 0, Deathflare 0, Cremation Pulse 0, Scorching Wings 0, Phoenix Contract 0
[Skill Points]: 175
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