"Which will it be Ren Hanaki?" Enoa asked.
"Classes." He muttered, feeling the weight of the decision. The dinosaur appearance had made it clear that this was no joke, the stakes were high and present, and he was at most just a pawn, but even so, he needed to improve his chances and selecting a class was paramount.
His eyes darted across the blue screen with the class descriptions, he read them over and over, digesting their meaning. He needed to be careful, one could not change them after they were picked. In certain cases, they could be made to evolve, but that was rare, chances were that whatever he picked now was what he would be stuck with for quite some time.
"Will my choice be permanent?" He asked, raising his brows at the self-proclaimed angel. Angels from what he knew and had read were beautiful human looking creatures with wings, not an ugly teddy bear with a terrible attitude.
Enoa raised her arm and looked at her wrist as if she was checking for the time, except she had no watch on, she clearly disliked that Ren was taking his time on his choices.
She let out a sigh, "I should not be doing this, but the gods already are liking you, and I love it when they are happy, everyone does, and you should too. I want you to last long, if only for their entertainment, and maybe you can make this world a little more interesting for them to give a shit about it. All the classes have their perks, but if I was you, I would go with the Cultivator class." She had all of Ren's attention now.
"Unlike the other classes, the growth of a cultivator is almost endless, and it bears the highest chances of reaching zeniths of power. You could get stronger without the need to rely on the system, and the resources to do so are present if you look hard enough. Only mages are more powerful than cultivators on strict terms, but the gods have not found you fitting of that power." She explained with great finesse. Ren immediately understood that she was rather experienced at this.
[The god of Justice and Fairness disapproves Enoa's meddling, -10 favor points]
[The god of trade and intelligence favours Enoa's meddling, +5 favor points.]
[The goddess of compassion is astonished by Enoa's words, and moved by her surprising feelings of compassion, +21 favor points]
These messages popped up on Ren's information tab, he was thankful that they did not shoot up in his head unannounced at least, but he was far from understanding what they meant.
Enoa grimaced, gritting her large pristine teeth cringing over what she had just done
"I should not have done that."
'So advising me is not the best course of action for her? Things seem better for me at least.'
"What are favor points? And these gods, who are they?"
Favor points, a Class Wielder needed to know them, knowing the mechanism of the system was one right they were entitled to understand. That would not be going beyond her jurisdiction. The last thing Enoa wanted was a god to be mad at her over a measly human that would not live for long.
"Yes, favor points are simply a means to quantify the favor you have in face of the gods. It affects how lucky you get in terms of the system rewards, and the path of your destiny. Favor in sight of one god is likely to improve your likelihood of another god finding favor with you. Whatever you do, do not let your favor be down to a zero, that way, you are guaranteed to die a most unfavorable death."
'Does that make me sort of an entertainment to appease these so called gods?'
Ren wanted to blurt aloud those words, but he was worried that the gods would not like that. Nobody liked when their judgements were questioned, most especially pompous gods who millions revered, and so he kept the question to himself.
'Oh fuck this, fuck everyone. I just want to go home.' That ship had already sailed, he knew he wasn't going anywhere, at least not soon.
He cupped his chin, appearing quite poised for the first time since his arrival.
"Well then, I must try to seek more favor from the eyes of the gods." To any other ears, that would have sounded insincere, but to tone-deaf Enoa, it didn't, or perhaps the creature just did not seem to care.
"Do you need me to remind you once again what you need to do?"
"Yes, I have made up my mind. All these classes look filled with promise and potential, but is there a rule that dictates I just pick one?"
"What?!" Enoa blurted, shocked by the question.
"You told me that I should pick a class. Is there a rule that says I must pick only one? I am already a farmer, should that not come with me already? Why should I forfeit a class for the other? Especially the farmer class."
No class wielder had ever challenged this custom in the past. A class had simply been the way things were done.
Enoa swallowed, she knew she had to tread carefully, and there was no doubt that the gods were interested in this and were listening in. Certainly, there was no rule that dictated just a class must be selected but that was what was expected, a class for a person, multiple classes would simply make things much too easy for its bearer, and the gods would get bored of that quick.
Was she to lie? That would certainly invoke mixed reactions, she could not imagine the god of light, and the god of truth to be fine with that, and besides, it could hurt her credibility. She represented the gods, and she needed to think of their image.
She maintained a stern countenance, not allowing any cracks to display the uncertainty she felt.
"There are no rules dictating that, but that has been how things have been done, a tradition. It would be unfair to have more than just one."
Ren had a scowl now, how dare she speak about fairness? Her masters had picked him up from his place of comfort and thrown him into one strange world that may be crawling with monsters for all he knew, the angel, whatever it was, should be the last one to utter such a word.
"I reject that tradition. I believe it would be unfair to myself if I do not make the best use of the opportunities given to me."
Enoa almost choked on her words, she clearly was not used to being refuted by one of Ren's caliber, only her masters were allowed to do that. She had no reasons to give in however, and before she could speak, Ren cut in.
"Let us have the gods decide. He cried out, his voice traveling into the quiet dark.
[The god of fairness and justice likes your conviction and courage, you have gained + 2 favor points.]
[The goddess of compassion thinks you wise already, you have gained +3 favor points.]
[The god of light has been drawn to you, + 1 favor points.]
Enoa could not help but turn frantically, she had always had her way, and now that someone had challenged her, she was at a loss of how to rein in control.
A message appeared on Ren's information tab.
[The gods will cast a vote, and decide what it is that you must do.]
[.....]
Both man and angel watched the information tab intently. A minute passed, and then, a response was given.
[The gods have decided.]
[It's clear that you favor your occupation as a farmer, and as such, the gods would let you select another class upon selecting the farmer class.]
Ren smirked, it wasn't exactly what he wanted, and if he could have his way, he would select all available options.
Both him and the angel locked eyes, and Enoa drifted back.
[ "You've received an opportunity that none have received, you should be grateful.]
'It is right, I should.'
Ren cupped his hand around his mouth and screamed, "Thank you oh great ones." An obvious tactic to earn more favor points.
[The goddess of compassion acknowledges your gratitude, you have gained +2 favor points]
[The god of fairness and justice has developed an interest in you and acknowledges your gratitude, you have earned + 3 favor points]
[The god of trade and intelligence likes your display of gratitude, you have gained +1 favor points.]
Ren's eyes drifted to Enoa's face, he was not sure if he could attribute the emotions of humans to it, neither was he sure how its face worked, but was that a look of surprise? It definitely seemed like it.
The so-called messenger let out an exasperated sigh, "So what will it be Ren Hanaki?"
He grinned, it felt nice getting his way, and he said, "Farmer or Cultivator, why not both?"