We all leave the dungeon and reappear in the small room under the shack. The array on the floor is now dark, and touching it doesn’t bring up the prompt to enter. The black fog that blocks off the entrance to the room is gone, so I just create a portal to get us out. I still have the dungeon core in my hand, so I put it away in my storage core and decide to check it out after I choose a class.
A few minutes later we all arrive at the manor that we stayed at the night before to pick up the remains of the bear. Daniel and Corvax skinned it yesterday while I was searching for the research lab. All of it ends up in one of the bags of holding, even the bones.
After we pack up everything we want from the manor, we leave, heading for the tower. Thanks to my portals, we reach it in record time and don’t have to deal with the winding tunnels and staircases to get there. I just portal us into the main room.
After we put down our loaded-up bags of loot, Daniel and I look at each other with knowing glances.
“Class selection?” I ask.
“Class selection.” He answers.
I move to sit down on the floor with my back against one of the walls and hit accept on the class selection.
[Class selection process beginning now]
Ray Alder, you have proven yourself proficient at many aspects of mana and the [System] as a whole. Your list of achievements and accomplishments grows by the day, and your strive for self-improvement has not gone unnoticed. You are currently at one of the most important steps on your path to power, the first one. You have just started on your path, and this choice will start to solidify the foundation of your power. Choose wisely.
Wow, it’s not like the [System] to be so forthcoming with information. Maybe this is a sign that things are changing? Or maybe this is a one-off. Either way, I’ll take what I can get. Let’s look at the first option.
[Arcane Enchanter]
You have shown a high amount of skill and talent in the field of enchanting, creating several potent weapons and items with little outside guidance, as well as having a high aptitude for deciphering the purpose of magical items unaided. This class focuses on the creation and modification of magic items. Choosing this class will grant the following benefits.
[Mana Carve] Active Skill
[Mana Stabilization Field] Passive Skill
A class solely focusing on magical item creation? It seems kind of… weak. [Mana Carve] is most likely a skill designed to be used to carve out channels and nodes while enchanting, but I can use raw mana manipulation to do the same thing for now, and magic items and their creation will always be secondary to me anyway. [Mana Stabilization Field] sounds interesting, however. I would guess that it’s so you can more safely work on magic items or something like that. Depending on its size, it could be useful for stabilizing portals, but I’ll check out my other options before coming to a decision.
[Portal Specialist]
Portals are like second nature to you after you discovered them. Whether it be for short- or long-range movement, to redirect an enemy's attack, or just to grab something in another room, a portal is the perfect tool. This class focuses on the creation and stabilization of portals of all kinds. Choosing this class will grant the following benefits.
[Stable Portal] Passive Skill
[Rift Mastery] Trait - Grants the user an increased understanding of rifts and assists in their creation and stabilization.
Now this one is more of what I was looking for. A class specialized in something space-related. I’m not too keen on focusing on such a specific part of space magic, but it doesn’t seem like it limits anything; it just gives a buff to portals. [Stable Portal] seems pretty self-explanatory, but once again it’s something that I can already do, albeit probably worse than the skill, but I can always improve. [Rift Mastery] seems interesting, especially since rifts are the starting point of both my teleports and portals. This class gets a maybe.
[Mana Warrior]
You have shown a high aptitude for internal mana usage in combat scenarios. Your high levels of mana combined with your control over it have allowed you to become a much more capable physical fighter. You have proven that no matter what weapon is in your hands, mana is the most versatile of them all. This class focuses on temporarily buffing your body with mana, as well as creating permanent mana constructs internally. Choosing this class will grant the following benefits.
[Mana Shaping] lvl 14 > [Mana Construct] lvl 3
[Mana-Body Synchronization] Trait - The entirety of your body will become significantly more mana conductive.
Now this one is very interesting. It looks like my [Mana Shaping] gets upgraded to [Mana Construct]. Mana boosting is something that I have kept active for almost every waking moment since I learned how to do it. Even now, doing nothing, I have a light burn going across my entire body, using such a small amount of what my heart produces each beat to fuel it. [Mana-Body Synchronization] feels powerful. A more mana-conductive body would allow me to boost my body even further, but something else about this class interests me instead: the part about internal mana constructs. What even is that, some kind of internal enchantment? Something else to think about. Now on to the next class.
[Champion of Peros]
You have been granted this option, as you have personally spoken to a great being and successfully negotiated a contract with them. This class focuses on deepening your bond to Peros. Choosing this class will grant the following benefits.
[Condense] lvl 7 > [Concentration] lvl 1
[Champion of Peros] Trait - Form a connection with Peros at will.
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Well, that’s an immediate no. [Concentration] seems like a really useful skill, but I am in no way going to tie myself further to him. And that trait is too vague. What can he even do through that connection? And does he connect at his will or mine? This class is a huge no from me. On to the last one.
[Self-Made Space Mage] Unique Class
Magic item creation, raw mana manipulation, close- and long-range combat capabilities, and most important of all, spatial magic. All of these you have learned on your own with little to no outside support, and you have thrived. Every obstacle that finds itself in your path is overcome with finesse, strategy, or brute force all the same, and at the end, you are left stronger for it. This is a brand new unique class created specifically for you as one of the top initiates of Earth, and as such, it focuses on one thing: you. Choosing this class grants the following rewards.
One selection of an active skill from the following list
[Mana Carve]
[Mana Shaping] lvl 14 > [Mana Construct] lvl 3
[Condense] lvl 7 > [Concentration] lvl 1
[Expansion]
One selection of a passive skill from the following list
[Mana Stabilization Field] Passive Skill
[Stable Portal] Passive Skill
[Smooth Transfer] Passive Skill
One selection of a trait from the following list
[Rift Mastery] Trait - Grants the user an increased understanding of rifts and assists in their creation and stabilization.
[Mana-Body Synchronization] Trait - The entirety of your body will become significantly more mana conductive.
[Champion of Peros] Trait - Form a connection with Peros at will.
[Dimensionalist] trait - Gain the ability to sense and interact with cross-dimensional barriers.
Wow, that’s a lot to take in. This class is practically just a pick and choose of the best parts of the other classes. It’s perfect. There also seems to be a new option for each list. I wonder if Daniel or any of the other Earth initiates got an option like this. I obviously choose this class and immediately start looking through the reward options.
The active skills all seem strong, and two of them are just straight upgrades to two of my skills. [Concentration] and [Expansion] are the two that stand out the most to me. [Concentration] seems like a more versatile [Condense], while [Expansion] seems like its opposite. After a few moments I decide to go with [Concentration], as I’m pretty sure I can unlock [Expansion] on my own with some more practice. I just have to do the opposite of [Condense], now [Concentration].
For the passive skill options, the winner is obvious. [Mana Stabilization Field] piques my interest, and it seems the most versatile of my options. [Smooth Transfer] and [Stable Portal] are too limiting, dealing with teleportation and portals, respectively.
Now on to the most difficult of the choices, traits. I immediately throw out [Champion of Peros] for the same reasons as before. My relationship with Peros is purely business, and that trait is too vague. I spend a bit of time pondering [Dimensionalist], but ultimately decide against it, as I don’t really know what a dimensional barrier is, and it seems like the wrong time to try and figure it out. [Rift Mastery] grabs my attention for a bit, especially with how often I create rifts, but ultimately I can’t justify taking it over [Mana-Body Synchronization]. [Mana-Body Synchronization] feels to me like the most potent trait, affecting me at my very foundation.
With all of my choices locked in, I accept the [Self-Made Space Mage] class. I get a few notifications all at the same time. A wave of mana washes over me from head to toe, appearing from nowhere and disappearing just as fast. As it quickly moves through my body, I feel it making small changes, and in its wake I feel considerably more powerful. Mana flows deeper and faster throughout my body, and my control over it deepens as well, at least inside of my body. I continue to feel the changes as I look at the new notifications, starting with my status.
[Ray Alder] - [Self-Made Space Mage] lvl 25
Race
[Human]
Active Skills
[Space Control] lvl 17
[Mana Shaping] lvl 14
[Concentration] lvl 1
Passive Skills
[Mana Sense] lvl 17
[Mana Stabilization Field] lvl 1
Traits
[Adaptive Affinity]
[Beast mana-heart]
[Mana-Body Synchronization]
Affinities
[Space]
[Class selection complete]
[Beginning System Upgrade]
A flash of mana and pain flows down my spine, and my body goes limp. It takes most of my effort just to stay awake. Ah, so this is the real reason Corvax went down so hard after facing the bear. I thought it was the pain and blood loss, but no, this was the real culprit.
For several hours I sit still and push through the pain of the [System] upgrade, using [Concentration] on myself to focus on my new abilities and push the pain to the back of my mind just a little bit. It works well enough, and a few hours later, the upgrade is complete.
[System Upgrade Complete]
[Inspect] function unlocked
[Stats] allocation changed from automatic to manual
[Stats] gained per level reduced from six to three due to grace period ending
[You are now a full user of the System]
I open my status again, this time with my [Stats] showing.
[Ray Alder] - [Self-Made Space Mage] lvl 25
Race
[Human]
Active Skills
[Space Control] lvl 17
[Mana Shaping] lvl 14
[Concentration] lvl 3
Passive Skills
[Mana Sense] lvl 17
[Mana Stabilization Field] lvl 1
Traits
[Adaptive Affinity]
[Beast mana-heart]
[Mana-Body Synchronization]
Affinities
[Space]
Stats - Body
[Strength] - 32
[Dexterity] - 33
[Constitution] - 38
Stats - Mana
[Regeneration] - 117
[Capacity] - 50
[Resistance] - 25
I turn my head to look at Daniel, who is already standing up with a smile on his face. “So what did you get?”
“Let’s cook up some bear meat. We can go over all of our classes while we eat.” He answers as he removes a couple bear steaks and heads to the makeshift fire pit on the roof.