Alex was keeping an eye on the three occupied rooms. He wasn’t able to fully see inside, and he didn’t want to, since his friends were in their birthday suits. But he could see a general shape inside with his Eyes of the Cosmos. He would see their humanoid forms and their general position. Because of this, he knew when all three had accepted their class evolutions. They all collapsed to the ground.
He watched the changes unfold in them, studying the mana and the process of the class evolution. It was fascinating to watch. Mana seemed to appear in the air and condense into their bodies, infusing them with more power. He assumed the mana was changing their bodies, but he couldn’t see many details from outside the stone room.
Is the Universal System creating the mana for the change, or where is it coming from?
It took them almost an hour to wake up. When one of them did, Alex slowly opened their door. Immediately, a foul stench rolled out of the room. Derek quickly ran out of the room, naked, cursing and yelling about the smell. His body was covered in the disgusting, black sludge that reeked and threatened to make everyone lose their lunch.
“Damn, that stuff is vile! Oh, god, it's all over me too.” Derek lamented.
Rykos was next, and he did vomit everywhere. His beastkin sense of smell was stronger than the humans causing the stench to affect him greatly. Even Korgrith, beside Alex, was struggling not to be sick.
Sam pinched his nose shut and laughed uncontrollably on the ground. It took all of Alex’s self control not to join him.
In preparation for Sarah coming out, Alex had pulled out some old clothes they had found and held them out for her to use, so she didn’t get the sludge on her equipment. All three quickly ran to the nearest water source to scrub down. Sam, at Alex's request, burnt the three rooms they had used. He attempted to burn away the foul substance before Alex buried it all in the ground.
Giving them privacy to wash and bathe, the others waited nearby in the forest. They wanted to be close for protection. The bathing members of their party didn't have any of their equipment; Alex was still carrying it all in his storage. It took them a long time to get all of the disgusting sludge removed from their bodies.
When they were done and had all their gear back on, Alex asked them about the class evolution changes and the details about how it went, since his evolution was different.
Rykos spoke up first for once. “I was offered three choices. The common class Veteran Warrior, Uncommon class Unarmed Fighter, and Rare class Bestial Brawler. The third choice fit me perfectly. I use my claws and fangs,” he said, nodding in agreement.
Sarah spoke up next. “I was offered four choices. Two common classes- Veteran Support and Generalist Support, an uncommon class, Holy Priestess, and a rare class, Barrier Warden. I picked the rare class. It gave me more focus towards defensive abilities while still healing.”
“Like Rykos, I had three choices. Common, Uncommon, and Rare. The rare class was the path I wanted to take, defensive and shield focused, plus it offered the most stat points.”
Alex thought for a moment, considering the information they had just given him.
“So there are a few points we can take away from this. Class ranks for one. There were Common, uncommon, and Rare and there might be some higher we get offered in the future.”
I wonder what rarity mine is? He quickly thought before moving on.
“You also said that each rank offered a different amount of stat points. So that comes to the reason that picking higher rarity classes might be better in the long run. Those extra stat points would add up. Plus, the higher classes might offer other benefits, like more skills or special future evolutions.”
Alex asked one of them to read off their class choice list and information. Then he asked whether everyone's descriptions were similar. They all agreed it was. He was silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts and considered it.
“Hearing the class descriptions, it sounds like you unlocked those choices. Using Derek as an example, his first choice was Veteran Warrior. You all had a Veteran something class choice. So maybe that one is standard all around?”
“But the class variations changed after that. Your other class options were based on individual talents and fighting styles. That means you could probably aim for specific classes in the future. Like if Derek starts using a bow, when he evolves again, he would probably be offered a bow class.”
“This also means we could direct our growth, or someone else's, to help them get a class they want.”
Derek spoke up, stopping Alex from rambling anymore about his thoughts on the matter. “This will be good information. We all have friends or loved ones, and we could help them get stronger or get more specific classes as they evolve. We can even use this now to improve the lives of the people in the camp. We can direct them to classes more suited to their taste.”
“I agree. This is good. I will share this information with my people when we return,” Korgrith added.
“Good. The more that know the information, the better. Now, if everyone's ready lets get Korgrith and Sam their evolutions. If their class choice follows the same pattern, then it’ll verify what we’re thinking,” Alex said, as he turned and walked back towards the stone rooms.
“Alex, I also received two achievements, and I would bet the others got them too,” Derek added as they walked.
“Oh?” he said in surprise. He had forgotten about those. “Were they about hitting bronze rank quickly?”
They all nodded as Derek answered. “Yes, the achievements said I was in the top 10% of the tutorial and our Prime Planet, in ranking up to bronze the fastest. The achievements gave a +2 to all stats and a 2% boost to all.”
“Well, that’s awesome. Can’t complain about some free extra stats then.”
It's a bit lower than mine for being the first Bronze rank, but I’m glad they got some extra power from it.
It only took them a few minutes, and then both Sam and Korgrith were locked into their rooms, starting their evolutions.
***
Korgrith stood there for a moment after the door closed. He was going through his notifications before checking his class evolution options.
So much death. He thought to himself. Life was much more peaceful before the Universal System came.
We sometimes had strife and war with other tribes, but overall, life was far less filled with killing, except for food. We lived as one with nature and honored our tribes. Korgrith wasn’t opposed to the death and fighting; he just wished his tribe could live in peace again. Perhaps Alex will help my tribemates find it again.
Opening his class evolution options, he saw three different choices.
Veteran Warrior (Common)
This veteran warrior class is the upgraded version of the basic Warrior. It focuses on improving what the basic Warrior brought to the table. It is a good all-around class that doesn't specialize in any one area of the warrior aspects.
+3 Strength, +3 Toughness, +2 free points
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Barbarian (Uncommon)
Barbarians are strong and relentless in their fighting, but they refuse to wear much armor, relying on their natural defenses. You’ve shown yourself to be a fierce fighter, defeating large numbers of foes while wearing minimal armor. This class uses two-handed weapons and restricts the armor worn.
+4 Strength, +4 Toughness, +2 free points
Earthen Bruiser (Rare)
You consistently used a two-handed weapon in battle and have both used earth to kill enemies and been beaten by earth also. This class attacks using large weapons and also gives the use of minor earth magic, allowing you to improve your defenses or use it to help offensively.
+5 Strength, +3 Toughness, +2 Endurance, +2 free points
Hmmm? When was I beaten by earth? I have used Shattering Stomp to attack with earth, but when wa–... As he was considering it, he vividly remembered Alex hitting him with his body wrapped in earth magic during their fight when they first met.
So I unlocked this class because Alex punched me with Earth magic. That’s... Unexpected, but welcome. This class is the clear choice for me. It is strong.
Korgrith chose the Earthen Bruiser class.
***
If you said Sam was excited for his class to evolve, that would be an understatement. While he wouldn’t admit it to anyone right now, he had been enjoying the tutorial.
I know Alex has too, I’ve seen it on his face. He’s just like me. This new life is so much more than we ever had before. We were gamers too, so this feels like home.
Though it is sad to see so many people die. I wish everyone had the option to choose this instead of having it thrown at them like a fastball. The worst part, though… I’m going to run out of weed soon…
He pulled up his evolution options.
Veteran Mage (Common)
This veteran mage class is the upgraded version of the basic Mage. It focuses on improving what the basic Mage brought to the table and adding to it. A veteran mage is able to learn another school of magic, but they are limited to the base spells.
+3 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +1 Willpower, +2 free points
Fire Mage (Uncommon)
This class is an improved version of the path you have walked. It will focus your magic talents into Fire Magic, giving you a wider range of fire spells and increasing the damage done by fire. While fire is mostly the path of destruction, it can be used in many different ways.
+5 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +1 Willpower, +2 free points
Cinder Mage (Rare)
You’ve proven your ability to wield the power of flame and its remnants. Cinder mages are a subclass of the typical fire mages. You have unlocked this mage evolution by your focus on fire magic, mana manipulation, and your proclivity to fill your body with smoke. They do use fire, but they also take advantage of the things it creates. Smoke, ash, vapors, and a cinder mage wields them all with strong manipulation.
+6 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Willpower, +2 free points
Sam smiled after he read his last class option. He had a shit eating grin plastered all over his face.
That is the single most amazing class I have ever seen. He thought gleefully. Who knew all my “medicinal” herb usage would come in handy inside a magical system?
He chose Cinder Mage, of course.
***
An hour passed, and Alex saw the two new Bronze ranks stir. Sam walked out first, full of swagger, stinking to high heaven, and barely covering his junk.
Korgrith on the other hand, covered nothing. He walked out on "three" legs and headed right towards the local stream to clean himself up. Shaking his head, Alex followed them, since he was the one carrying their equipment. He could hear Sarah behind him, coughing after her loud gasp, and Sam snickering.
Another hour passed as everyone was cleaned, clothed, and read over their new class changes. They planned to check in with the camp to make sure the new residents weren’t causing any trouble, then head out to test the parties' new skills.
“Here, Korgrith.” Alex withdrew the large two-handed axe from his storage and threw it at the minotaur. The beastkin caught it easily and wore a wide smile as he hefted it much easier than before.
The camp seemed to be in good shape for now. Most of the people who didn’t want to fight were taking to their roles well enough. All the mages used their elements to support everyone, and others helped where they could. A few of the newer people weren’t doing anything, specifically the new human representative Dick Dbag, but Alex would deal with him later, since it had only been a few hours.
Maybe he's a late bloomer?
Everything seemed fine, so they quickly left to hunt. It didn’t take them long to find packs of goblins. The creatures had become much more aggressive since three of the Generals had died. When they came upon the group, Alex stood back and let his team have some fun. He was curious to see their new classes.
During the walk here, they had discussed their new skills, and Alex was impressed by what he heard. They had told him each had gained two new skills and one old skill had improved.
First to charge in was Derek, of course. He was the tank. He always made sure he was the first to engage.
When Derek made contact, he quickly killed a goblin warrior with a Power Strike, while blocking several other blows using his shield with ease. Being Bronze against an unranked, there was a large difference in stats.
Rykos was next. Using a new speed boosting ability, he ran into the backline. He glowed with an aura and slashed out with his claws, devastating the skirmishers in a single blow.
Korgrith was just casually walking towards the Goblin Raiders with his new berserker axe. Hitting Bronze allowed him to finally wield the weapon from the General. When the Raiders were almost on him, Alex saw his mana seeping into the earth under him, and then it rose up to coat him in rock armor. He then swung his new axe in a wide arc, cleaving two of the goblins in half.
Sam was just standing nearby, smiling. He was waiting for a good opportunity to show off his new skills. Watching him, Alex saw a vapor substance that looked like smoke, rising up off his body and floating towards a group of goblins. Once it was spread throughout them, he looked over at Alex. “I wish I had a white glove before I did this, I’d look like a certain flame alchemist from that badass brotherhood anime,” he said to him, and then snapped his fingers, igniting the smoke, causing it to explode on top of the goblins.
“True. But you're way less cool than he is,” Alex said back, chuckling at the ease with which they were killing goblins now, and even having fun with it.
We’ve all come a long way since our first fights in the tutorial.
“Pfftttt. You're just jealous of my cool new skills.”
“You remember my class lets me learn some new skills, right? I might even be able to pick up your new fancy smoke magic stuff,” Alex said with an evil smile.
“Uhhh.. no. Go away, it's mine. No copying me.” Sam said before moving farther away from Alex.
“Hey Alex, do you mind helping me test one of my new skills?” Sarah asked him. She hadn’t done anything yet, since no one was in trouble.
“Sure, what do you need me to do?”
“I want to test my [Barrier of Protection]. Can you bring a few of those melee goblins over here and let them beat on my shield? You can help if you think I get into trouble.”
Alex laughed a bit, “Yeah, sure, that sounds fun. I’ll be right back.”
“Korgrith!” Alex called out, walking over to him. “I need two of those melee goblins for Sarah, don’t kill them all.”
He turned to look at Alex. “Hmm? She needs two? I'll carry them over.”
Alex watched as Korgrith put his axe on his back and grabbed two of the goblins he knocked to the ground. He easily held two in one hand, while he reached down to grab their weapons as he carried them over to Sarah. The goblins were kicking and screaming the whole time, unable to do any damage to Korgrith's stone covered arm.
Throwing the goblins down near Sarah, he tossed their swords near their feet. The two Warriors instantly grabbed them and leaped after Sarah, since she was the closest and probably looked like the weakest. Which was fair since she was a support.
Right before their swords landed a strike on her, a barrier appeared. They kept attacking like rabid animals, but they couldn’t get through it. Sarah was enjoying herself too. She had a wide smile on her face.
Focusing, Sarah changed the barrier around her. Instead of enveloping her like a bubble, she changed it into a wall between them.
“Can you enclose them in it? That could be useful,” Alex asked, as he and Korgrith watched.
“I’m not sure. I can try,” She responded. “Changing the barrier's shape is taking more mana, and each time they hit it, it's weakening. I can keep it up with a sustained flow of mana, though. It isn’t cheap.”
They watched as the barrier slowly folded around the goblins, trapping them inside. “So yes, it looks like I can. But I couldn’t do this for long, and definitely not against a strong enemy. My mana is dropping quickly.”
“Well, it's still good to know, and could prove useful in the future. Want us to kill them now?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Korgrith stepped forward and brought his axe down. Right before impact, the barrier dissipated, allowing him to finish them off easily.
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