Chapter 908 – Bye bye Mana Weaver

One thing is obvious: even the system doesn't trust the fraud that is the destroyer of the Ancient Armory, and it had to ask a lunatic who happens to be the Ruler of Wrath for confirmation.

I take a bite of the cheesecake and then take a sip of my drink. For a few moments, I close my eyes and breathe out. Things are as they should be. Life is good.

Honestly, I quite like three of the classes, but the fourth one is straight-up vile. It's a clear attempt on my life, a spit in my face, and a monstrosity that should not exist.

Dominion Juggernaut can crawl back to the hellhole it came from. What do you mean, "reduce mana to 1 point"? How stupid does the system think I am?

I take two more bites and reread the class descriptions again while using Redacthaniel to erase Dominion Juggernaut from my memory because it induces severe anxiety in me.

It is a bit weird that the system’s only offered me three classes, but all of them are quite nice in their own right, so that might be why.

Primordial Weaver is interesting, not because I am thinking of selecting it, but because it hints at things I might be able to learn on my own. Maybe I could truly give my mana different properties. With my ongoing experiments using my tempering passive against kinetic energy, I can certainly expand this concept further.

Maybe I could create a more explosive form of mana with the help of kinetic force? Or a mana that behaves like flames?

Anyway, it means more testing, and that isn't something I really mind.

Empyrean Heir is cool too. Selecting it could lead to a true Divine Heart. It would mean having a more powerful Ichor, likely gaining a new Empyrean skill, and, in the end, a more powerful connection to Black Mana.

I still know very little about the Black Mana God and the Empyreans, so there could still be a lot to learn. But the endgame there sounds like I’d be joining the side of the gods and rising up against the system, or getting merked by one of the system's executioners because I stuck my nose where I shouldn't have.

Not that any of that would stop me. The system, so far, still doesn’t seem able to take away what it’s already given, or at least not without your agreement and a fair trade. Judging by this class, it must evolve and strengthen even if doing so might go against its own interests.

Maybe that’s just how it is, or perhaps it's one of those things the Black Mana God changed in his contract with the system. I also have to wonder if I'm not humanizing the system too much. Sometimes it feels like a machine or a program, while in other cases, it acts like a living person or entity, bound to strictly follow the rules that have been set for it.

Overall, I have no interest in rising up as the leader of the Empyreans, and honestly, I don't feel a need to rise up or fight the system. Does that make me a system slave, as the gods or the wolfpack’s elder seems to think?

Who knows. It’s only been a few years since I awakened to the system, I have plenty of time to think about it on my own.

Mana Primarch is the most obvious choice out of the three options currently being offered to me, though I’ll need to ask Ruby if getting just three offers for my Primary class is good or bad. The last time this happened, at level 300, I had five options.

Well, before I select my new class...

I close my eyes and reappear inside my mental space, back in the humble apartment where I grew up.

Once there, I start looking around with a sigh as I walk from room to room.

I check under beds, behind curtains, behind the couch, under the kitchen sink, in the fridge, and even rifle through a few drawers as well.

Slowly, I make my way through the apartment, and finally, I find myself in the bathroom, where a piece of a washed out red blanket is sticking out of a closed laundry basket. Coming from inside, I hear quiet giggling and take a few steps closer.

When the giggling stops, I move and smack the top of the basket with full force, getting a loud yelp from within.

I open the lid, revealing a young boy with one gray eye and one brown eye looking up at me. His hair is black and slightly curly, and his face is familiar.

"What do you want?" he asks with an annoyed snort.

I close the basket and start to shake it while he shouts and screams inside. I keep it up for ten seconds before stopping and opening it again.

Once again, he looks up at me, this time with even messier hair and a dizzy expression on his face.

"What have you done? Why can't I get a 10th skill? I'm asking because I need to know when I select my new primary class," I ask him.

"Eleven times! That's how many times you've asked me that same question!" he barks from inside. "You stupid buffoon, just leave me alone! Go annoy Mapthaniel or Nerdthaniel. Or if you're so brave, try to fight Assholethaniel instead of picking on someone so much smaller than you!"

I'm about to close the basket again when he thrusts his hand out, stopping me.

"Okay, okay!" he shouts hurriedly. "You… well, we, currently have 10 skills. Removing your current class will remove [Empyrean Lance], so you'll only get 1 active skill from your new primary class, and the system will offer you some other improvement in exchange. If you want two active skills, don't rely on the fact that your skill count shows 9/10, go combine some other skills instead!"

"What skill do I have?"

"Not telling!"

I look up to the ceiling, at that corner that was always moldy no matter how much we tried to fix it. Even the light is flickering and buzzing away quietly in that familiar way.

Then I look back at him. "Okay."

"Okay," he answers.

"Good job hiding it, I guess," I say.

"I am sneaky!" he smiles brightly.

Something about that smile on that face makes me look at him for a while before I wave to him and disappear, waking up back outside.

For a moment, I look around and shake my head in confusion.

Have I been spacing out? I narrow my eyes and try to remember what I was thinking just a few moments ago, but nothing comes to mind. Just something... a feeling that I won't be getting two active skills from my class if I don't free up another spot, even if my current number of active skills shows 9.

The feeling of trying to remember is annoying. Frustrating, really. It's that feeling of having just remembered something, only for it to slip away at the last moment.

Well, anyway, the question remains whether I want two active skills from my primary class or just one, and if I want the improvement it will offer in exchange.

From the information I gathered before, I know that this Primary Class upgrade is even more personalized than the last one, but it remains true that you usually get two active skills, one passive skill, and some form of improvement.

The question is whether that improvement will be worth more than an active skill, which would be quite something coming from a Unique Pristine class.

I mean, it’s kind of ridiculous. I fought for it, I put in a lot of effort, and I went through a lot to turn my body into what it is, to push active skills to level faster and root deeper within me. But still…

As of now, I'm of the opinion that I don't need two new skills. I have plenty of powerful ones, as shown by the skill combination tokens not being useful for combining them.

It's a bit of a gamble, and getting two active skills might be better. If I really want to, I could try to combine some of my active skills without using a token to free up the slot.

[Selective Adaptation] and [Attunement], for example. I bet if I put all my effort into it, I could do it in a few weeks and hold off on my class selection until then. Or I could complete the 12th floor in hopes of getting a skill combination token, or hope for a side quest to grant one.

Still, the last time I was in the same situation, I remember getting four options instead of the second active skill, among which were trait and active skill evolutions. And I liked that.

At this point, I think I'm just putting it off and trying to come up with excuses, after all, my decision is already made.

"I select Mana Primarch," I say, and then wait for the pop-up.

Congratulations! You have chosen the Primary Class - Mana Primarch (Unique Pristine). In the future, you might be able to upgrade your class or exchange it for a new one, tailored to your actions at that point within the tutorial.

And another window appears.

Your Primary class, Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane), has been removed.

[Empyrean Lance] has been removed from your active skills due to the loss of your Primary class.

500 points of Mana have been removed due to the loss of your Primary class.

Congratulations! You have acquired a new Primary Class:

Mana Primarch (Unique Pristine)

Active skill: [Usurpation] - A skill able to forcibly overwrite the target's authority over their own powers. Dependent on your capabilities, usurped power now bends to your will.

Active skill:No available slots detected.

Passive Skill:Synergy Feed (Upper Pristine) - The user's mana passively strengthens the effects of their other passive skills simply by being present and active, meaning it makes their existing passives more powerful without any of them being directly linked or combined. The effect scales with the amount of mana present.

Bonuses:

Mana +3000

The rarity of Synergy Feed has been restricted to Mid Pristine due to your current physical condition. Granting it at Upper Pristine rarity would have resulted in complete bodily destruction.

Upon reaching Level 500, the skill will revert to Upper Pristine rarity. Adequate preparations are strongly recommended.

Active skill slots at maximum capacity.

Performance assessment initiated.

Unique class classification confirmed.

Achievements verified.

A tailored offer has been generated.

You may be granted a single unique active skill instead of two active skills or other additional personalization parameters given in place of the second active skill.

Do you wish to select a single unique active skill prior to proceeding with class selection?

Yes/No

I stop there for a moment and look over my notifications. The passive skill especially catches my interest, and my annoyance with the system rises a little at its underestimation of me, thinking I would die merely from being given a passive.

Yet... shouldn’t this be illegal? Isn't the tutorial limited to Low Pristine, or possibly Mid Pristine in super rare cases?

Will Diligence manifest himself in front of me, grab me in his mandibles, and shake me until all these beautiful rewards fall out of me?

Maybe I can hide it all. I SHOULD hide it all. The question is how much that would even help, these assholes probably stalked me and watched the fight to get a basic idea of my choices, so the information is already out there. Well, whatever. It doesn't matter right now.

I like [Usurpation], and in combination with my eyes, [Eclipse], and a few other things, it could end up quite fucked up. Maybe I could usurp stats. Usurp passives. Though I doubt the skill is that simple.

But honestly, getting a skill that’ll be a combination of the two active skills I would’ve been given anyway is a clear winner. Though there is the question of whether it's a true combination, or if it's just a single skill equal in value to the two active skills combined.

Now that I think about it, I hope it's the latter option. If you combine the wrong skills, the result might end up being trash, and the system has always been an asshole.

"I want to proceed by being granted a single active skill," I say, mindlessly reaching into the bag of chips while keeping my eyes glued to my notifications.

A decision has been recorded.

[Usurpation] has been removed from your Primary Class upgrade.

Based on your Primary Class and cumulative performance up until now, a unique active skill has been selected for you.

Congratulations. From the total pool of prototype skills, you have been granted a skill never previously assigned.