[393] 5.17 The Third Ascension II

“You’re really going to make me work for this, aren’t you, Sera?” Phina says.

“And here I thought you would enjoy having some company after being cooped up in here all alone over the last three years.  I mean, not saying I don’t get it or anything; Chloe knows we’ve spent a few overnights getting a bit too deeply enthralled into some project or another.”

“Ugh.  Don’t we know all about how bad we got chewed out being three hours late to bed that night.”  For the first time since I got here, it’s Phina’s turn to roll her eyes in dismay.

“Yeah.  I’m pretty sure we got read the whole Riot Act, in its bigger, longer, and uncut form.  With every addenda, codicil, and amendment tacked on at the end.”

I grin at her momentary discomfort before letting her regain her dignity.  I’m sure she’s got more than a few ringers to get me back if I push her too far, because I can sense a few awkward memories trying to worm their way back to the forefront of my mind.

“Okay, Sera, let’s go ahead and get on with what we’re here for.  The sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can go rescue our fair maiden from the clutches of the general’s pleasure.”

I chuckle.  “I’m not sure which maiden you’re talking about.”  Then a wink for good measure.

Another me appears in hologram, this time wearing armor only slightly less revealing than I would be wearing in the very unlikely event I choose the [Battle Dancer] class.  Here, rather than being a slender and lithe warrior who pirouettes in and out of danger, I’m absolutely ripped, with the whole eight-pack abs and the sort of scars that some people would find hot but Chloe would be put off by.  With the giant greatsword I wield, I have a feeling that I understand exactly what part of myself is being augmented by this choice.

[[Berserker Maiden]: The [Berserker Maiden] is fueled by her love of battle and the thrill of putting one’s life in peril.  While some see fighting as senseless, you see combat as a chance to pit your mettle against the strongest and worthiest foes.  With each battle, you grow stronger, tougher, and more dominant, more able to live your life untethered to the whims of anyone who seeks to chain you.  Abandon all reason with this class, and give into the primal fury that lies within you!]

I glance over the parameters to see just how lopsided they are.  I’m not at all surprised by a class that more or less sacrifices every scrap of magic I’ve worked for to this point.

[[Strength] +25, [Speed] +25, [Vitality] +20, [Mind] -60, Maximum [Health] +5,500, Maximum [Ether] -4,000 when choosing this class.  [Strength] +3, [Speed] +3, [Vitality] +3 per level.]

All of this is and ought to be disqualifying.  There are two aspects to this class that leave me unable to completely reject it.  First, this class suggests that if I follow this path, I’ll be able to dip far more readily into my [Overlimit] state, gaining both more power and doing so with fewer drawbacks than I’m currently subjected to.  I might even learn to draw a portion of its power out more directly.  For now, it’s just a nice-to-have, but it will be relevant later, when I begin working toward the goals of my creators.

However, it’s the other Skill I should get around Level 120 that is truly worth mentioning.

[[Soul of the Primal Mind]: Calculates all Experience the [Berserker Maiden] gains as though her level were 5 lower.]

“Pretty good, no?” Phina asks.  “I mean, I know we’re not going to take the Class or anything.  But I can’t very rightly not show you a Skill like that.”

And she’s right.  I’ve got a trait that increases my Experience gain by 50%, but the Experience scaling factor is so brutal that I’m usually only two or three levels higher than Chloe at any given time.  To compound that trait with this innocuous-sounding Skill would mean, at the cost of one Skill slot, I’d be functionally able to gain five more levels than my peers.  I suspect the true value of the Skill won’t truly surface until I’m getting close to the level cap and will need every advantage I can get to reach Level 255 and the possible 256 that lies beyond.

“It’s good.  That one Skill is amazing.  But it’s not who I want to be.”

“It’s part of who we are, Sera.”

“It’s part of who we are, indeed.  That doesn’t mean I want to highlight and accentuate that for the next several years and likely never go back to being some sort of magic wielder.  Show me another.”

She does.  And for the first time, I’m actually excited about the new prospective version of myself, strolling between the principal layer of reality and the deeper layers underneath with the same ease of breathing.

[[Walker of the Weave]: You have learned to manipulate and step between the boundaries of existence to peer at the deeper truths which lie underneath.  The [Walker of the Weave] is equally at home in subspace as conventional space, and seeks the forbidden knowledge of the innermost structure of the universe itself.  Master the powers of space and time and you can enter ten thousand battles without fear.]]

[[Strength] -8, [Speed] -20, [Vitality] +12, [Mind] +25, Maximum [Health] +1,500, Maximum [Ether] + 2,000 when choosing this class.  [Vitality] +3, [Mind] +3, 3 Free Stat Points per level.]

The part about mastering the power of time gives me pause.  As far as I am aware, there is no such thing as temporal manipulation, even with the System’s presence.  Looking deeper at the potential paths the Class offers, I’m brought back down to reality.  It does offer the potential to move down the path of time mastery, but only in the most limited of manners.  I can accelerate my body and slow down the movements and reaction times of others, but only to a limited extent, and with plenty of drawbacks in return.

The spatial aspects of the Class are more profound.  Most notably, I’ll finally get access to true portal magic.  Should something like our current unfortunate situation happen again— and I suspect it will be recurring at this rate— I can just portal us back all the way home.  Unless my would-be captors both know how to isolate a prison cell from dimensional perturbations and have the diligence to perform the necessary inscriptions, such waylays will be but the most minor of inconveniences.

The problem with the Class, so far as I can see, is that it specializes so heavily in dimensional manipulation that I sacrifice a lot of the flexibility I currently enjoy.  My second Class— and third, when I reach level 128— can mitigate that to an extent.

To my chagrin, the fact remains.  Up to this point, I’ve deliberately chosen paths that allow me flexibility.  All of my options so far suggest that it is time to choose: Do I finally start specializing in a particular path, or do I end up as some sort of magical dilettante who will be overwhelmed by the power of those who do follow a single power.

Even if the answer is the first of those, I still want to survey all of my options before committing to my chosen path.  Phina, being me, does not need prompting before offering me yet another one of the options.  Now I float above a battlefield, one arm made of flesh, covered in a golden glow, and one arm made of black steel, draining the light from the sky around it.

[[Scion of Duality]: You exist in the boundary between two worlds, belonging to both and beholden to neither.  When you have been tasked to choose, you have refused, carving your own path.  You have, through diligence and training, taught yourself the intricacies of magic from first principles.  You have, through perseverance, training, and resolve, forged your body into a weapon.  You have made the impossible possible.  Despite all of this, you have retained an aspect of your gentler nature.

Now, you seek to forge a path all your own, to stand firm in your own beliefs and fight for the world you’ve longed for as yet another calamity threatens all you know and love.]

Well, this Class, based solely on the description, just completely blows the previous four out of the water.  Everything before has been too small or misshapen for my mindset and motivations.  This is like a glove that fits just right, capable of both martial combat and magic without sacrificing the other.

[[Strength] +2, [Speed] +2, [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +8, Maximum [Health] +1,000, Maximum [Ether] +1,000 when choosing this class.  [Strength] +2, [Speed] +2, [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +2, 2 Free Stat Points per level.]

If there is a downside to this class, it’s that I will lose my access to the [Infernal] element.  Instead, I will substitute my affinity for [Infernal] magic for corresponding ranks in the [Spatial] element, which is apparently the fusion of [Light] and [Darkness].  Strangely, the element doesn’t actually allow me to teleport, but it does allow me to mimic the short-distance blinking I already do via [Subspace manipulation], while also, for instance, bending projectiles around me or those I care about.

“So, um, Phina,” I ask, my voice low.  “Why didn’t you start off with this one?  Surely you would have known I’d’ve been interested in it from the beginning.”

“Well, I believe it is what we refer to as ‘expectations management’.  If I show you a class like this right off the back, then when you look at those other options, you’re going to just end up disappointed.”

Right, right.  Of course she already has an answer for that inquiry, because I realized the answer the moment before I finished asking the question.

“So, we’re taking it, right?”

Phina just demurs.  “Well, we certainly could and I sure as hell wouldn’t complain.  But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t more options out there, should you be so inclined.”

“Are there any more good options?  As in ‘good in the sense that we are likely going to have to save the whole world from whatever shit is currently going down’, not just ‘yeah, this would be really nice if I could just move out to the middle of nowhere somewhere and drink mango smoothies every single day.’

“Mango smoothies?” Phina asks.  “I didn’t think we liked those all that much.”

“I dunno.  I guess I just really have a taste for one all of a sudden.”

“That aside, I do know there are some other options for you, and I have a feeling that you’re going to like the ones that I still have in store for you.”

“Oh, well, let’s see what options we still have open to us!”

“I think you’ll like this one, Sera.”

And just from the look of things, I do. In this image, I watch myself fly around from city to city, fighting against the tides of monsters and threats both human and not.  The scene shifts.  Now I’m in the middle of a conference room, watching as international leaders coordinate efforts between one another.  I don’t say much.  I don’t need to.  My presence alone is enough to provide hope to a world perilously devoid of it.

More images follow.  From giant asteroids to invaders from afar, I lead the forces of humanity against the extraterrestrial threats that I know will one day befall us all.  It’s a version of me that I know I can be.  A version of me that I know I was created by Madison and all the others to one day be.  The problem is, I don’t know if it’s who I really want to be.

[The Sentinel of Humanity].