Chapter 161: Choosing a Path

I opened up the System and was greeted by a message written in big, bold, golden glowing letters.

[You have reached level 25. Do you wish to advance your Class?]

“Why, yes, System. I would love to advance my Class. Thank you for asking.”

The options revealed themselves to me and I read them aloud.

[Path of the Moon]

Here lies the domain of Mēnē, Mother of the Unseen, Weaver of Secrets, Mistress of the Silent Night. To walk in her shadow is to embrace what others fear to face.

Specialize in Mēnē’s domain. Your magic deepens, and the moon’s favor strengthens with every step you take in her name.

[Path of the Forge]

Here lies the domain of Ambelios, the Divine Artisan, Shaper of Form, Sovereign of Composition. To walk in his steps is to master creation itself.

Specialize in Ambelios’ domain. Your understanding of crafting deepens, and the forge’s blessing strengthens with every creation you bring into being.

[Path of the Self]

Here lies no path laid by divine hand, but one carved by your own will alone. To walk this road is to answer to no god, to grow not through devotion, but through sheer, unrelenting force of self.

Forgo specialization in either domain. Gain a skill point every 5 levels instead of every level. Double all stat points gained per level. Skills may be upgraded multiple times instead of once.

I scrunched my nose. “This has to be a trick, right? Path of the Self?”

“It is not something I have heard of before,” Vasil said. He thought for a moment. “But then again, it does suit you, and they did make this class specifically for you.”

“I don’t know. I’m a devoted follower of Mēnē, as you know. I feel like this is a test of my faith. I don’t want to be smoted.”

“Smote,” Vasil corrected.

“Smote? Really? That doesn’t sound right. Smoted sounds a lot better, don’t you think?”

Vasil shook his head. “Not really.”

“Mēnē?” Ola asked.

I pointed at the moon. “Up there.”

She stared up at the sky. She looked a bit confused, but didn’t ask any further questions.

“I’m just saying,” I continued, crossing my arms. “Like always, the descriptions are kind of minimalistic. If I pick Path of the Self, am I essentially telling two powerful deities that they aren’t good enough for me? They have been very good to me so far. What if there’s a catch? What if choosing that one locks me out of some super cool skills.”

“It undoubtedly will,” Vasil said. “But the benefits are clearly stated. Double stat points and the ability to upgrade a skill more than once. With your perk of having two slots per upgrade, that can get out of hand quite quickly. I also do not believe that they would take it as a slight, as they are the ones who provided the advancement option. It is even possible that the other two are distractions and the Path of Self is the one they most want you to follow.”

“I do like things getting out of hand quickly. In a good way. Not in a bad way. Then I don’t like it at all. And what’s also concerning is that I’ll only be getting a skill point every five levels. I feel like that could be an issue. It would dramatically decrease my build options. It doesn’t even give me skill upgrade points instead!”

“It is a tradeoff, that much is true, but everything is a tradeoff in one way or another. Each will lead into a unique specialization. The question is: would you like more skills or would you like the ones you are using to be better?”

“I’d like both,” I said with a nod. “I would like all the skills and infinite upgrades.”

“I suppose most people would, but if I am not mistaken you should still have around five unspent skill points. You can use those to round out your build a bit more, or perhaps even have some fun, if that would make you feel better, since I believe your build has become quite well-rounded already. More does not equal better. Getting better acquainted with the skills you do use, your core skills, is almost always the wisest choice. And with Path of the Self you can improve them, potentially indefinitely.”

“You have a good point. Though I’m not sure about indefinitely. It says multiple, and two is also multiple. Like I said, it could all be a trick.”

“Even if it is just the two upgrades, with your perk that would mean four upgrades per skill in reality. That is more than most people will ever be able to get. I have never heard of anyone being able to upgrade a skill four times, not even the legendary crafters. Not even Gustav Topa who is said to have tricked Chernobog into allowing him to upgrade his skill thrice. And he crafted the king’s sword—Spadayontsa Gvyazda—hundreds of years ago. Every Silesian king since then has used that weapon, and king Boleswav still does today, simply because they have not been able to create anything better. Not even with a runeword. Do you understand what I am trying to say, Hecate?”

Was he trying to say that I should steal the king’s sword and use it to upgrade my skills? Probably not.

“Yes, Vasil, my amphibious friend, I believe I do. I believe you are trying to tell me more upgrades are better. Also are we just going to skip over what you just said? Who is Chernobog? How is he giving people the ability to upgrade their skills more? And most importantly, where is this guy?”

“Chernobog is Stvora’s brother. What Stvora is to the light, Chernobog is to the dark. It is said that together they drove all other gods out of Silesia in order to rule together. In the end Chernobog betrayed Stvora, since he believed it better that he ruled alone. So they fought, for twenty days and twenty nights with Stvora emerging victorious. Despite Chernobog’s betrayal, Stvora did not have the heart to strike down his brother, and locked him down, far below the earth.”

I held up both hands. “Woah, woah, woah, there. Stvora has an evil brother? And the king is using a sword that is kind of, sort of made possible by an evil god?”

“It is a very good sword.”

“Also, I feel like locking someone below the earth is probably a lot worse than killing them. You’d probably go crazy pretty fast. Or does he have a nice room? Does he have entertainment? Some wine perhaps? Maybe it’s not so bad. But if he’s just locked up by himself inside a hole, or like trapped in sand or stone, that’s pretty bad. If he ever got out he’d probably be crazy and even more evil.”

Buuuut, if I did find him somehow and free him, he’d probably be super grateful. And if he could grant people stuff like extra skill upgrades, then he could probably do a bunch of other cool and useful stuff for me too. I mean, not for me necessarily, but definitely for me. Not that I was planning to free a crazy, evil god. Not even for super good upgrades or skills. Hmm.

“I am not aware of his accommodations. The stories just say he was locked down far below the earth.”

“How far are we talking?”

Vasil sighed. “I do not know. I hope you are not thinking of freeing Chernobog.”

“Haha! What? Noooo!” I waved my hand dismissively. “Nooo! I wouldn’t do that. I was just wondering. It was curiosity.”

“Right.” Vasil squinted at me.

“What?”

He kept squinting, probably trying to make me feel bad or something. Or maybe he was trying to figure out if I was actually planning to find and release Chernobog. Which I totally wasn’t. That would be reckless, and I didn’t do reckless.

“Look,” I said. “I just find Silesian theology interesting. If I’m going to be around here for a while I should learn what I can. I just want to know I have all the facts, so I don’t make a fool out of myself if someone ever asks what color Chernobog’s couch is.”

“Why would someone ask what color Chernobog’s couch is?”

“I don’t know, Vasil! Why are they calling beaver tails fish here? Half of the things you guys say or do don’t make sense.”

“That is because a beaver lives in the water and has a scaly tail, therefore the Church deemed it a fish so the nobles could legally eat it during Stvora’s Fast, the period when the people are only allowed to eat one full meatless meal per day.”

“I don’t understand why they would want to eat beaver tail at all! It’s also cheating—renaming meat so that you can eat it. Why not name a cow a fish then? Then you can always eat what you want.”

“Because cows do not live in the water, though I agree that it is not logical. Stvora’s Fast is supposed to be a period of solidarity with the sacrifices Stvora made for us. We give up valuable food, to show we remember and honor his many sacrifices.”

I snorted. “Oh, now I get it. Yeah. Beaver tail is definitely a sacrifice. Still, there are better ways to suffer than subjecting yourself to that kind of torture. Like stabbing yourself in the eye. Or setting yourself on fire.”

“Beaver tail is not that bad.”

“Alright, buddy. You keep telling yourself that. Anyway, enough about that. Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps. Back to the Class advancement.”

“Sure.”

“I’ve decided to actually not go with Path of the Self.”

“What? After all we’ve just discussed.”

“Yep. There is only one path that makes sense.”