7 – A Friendly Ear

Andy read the notification several times, wondering if he could safely decline and revisit it later. The problem was, he didn’t know how to do that. The System seemed to have prompted him due to his reflections, not because of anything he’d done with his status sheet or from an item he’d activated. If he said no in the hopes that he could think about it a while, and maybe get someone else’s opinion, would he be able to trigger the option again when he was ready?

Biting his tongue, he leaned back on the couch, resolving to give it some solid thought on his own. If he went with his knee-jerk reaction, he’d say yes, but Andy wanted to consider it a little more carefully than that. Why did he want to accept the class merger? He supposed that one of the main reasons was the specific words the System had been using. Before, when it mentioned the merger, it referred to the new class as possibly “rare.” Now, in this latest message, it said the merger was “unprecedented.”

Was unprecedented better than “rare” or did neither term have anything to do with quality? If something was uncommon, that didn’t make it good, right? Just because it hadn’t happened before didn’t mean it was going to be elite. Even the System said so—the class merger couldn’t be “evaluated” beforehand because, apparently, nobody had ever merged Pyroglyph Invoker with Umbral Reaper. Of course, none of that really dissuaded Andy’s inner excitement at the idea. He was about to be the first person to have an entirely new class. That had to count for something, right?

He had some other clues to go on, too. He’d already merged a skill from each of those classes into something new, and his Smoke Lance spell was a damn good one. It wasn’t like he was about to merge two bad classes, either. Both were considered at least “uncommon” by the System, and both had provided him with several powerful abilities. He supposed it was possible that he’d lose some of those abilities and not gain anything new that would adequately replace them. If he lost Twilight Steps or Veil of the Stalker with no replacements, he’d severely hinder his ability to solo-hunt in the dark as he had been.

“That would be a hell of a nerf,” he said with a groan, no closer to a decision. “It would be awesome if the damn System would talk to me!” As usual, his hopes that the System was listening and would take pity went unanswered. What he really needed was another visit from that guide. Sadly, he had no idea how to trigger such an event. He continued to deliberate, going through the pros and cons in his head, and was getting more and more frustrated when a knock at his door saved him.

“Yeah?” he called.

A familiar voice replied, “It’s Bea.”

Andy sat up, surprised. Why was the Water Witch visiting? “Um, just a sec.” With the System message still blinking in his vision, he walked over and opened the door. Bea stood there, white hair pulled back in a bun, pale brown eyes looking up at him. “Uh, hey, Bea. What’s up?”

“Oh, I wanted to give you an update on Omar. He’s looking good.” She smiled, and not for the first time, Andy wondered if she was as old as he’d first assumed. Her teeth were very white, and he failed to see many wrinkles on her face. “What about you, Andy? I, um…” She trailed off, looking left and right, almost nervously.

“What is it?”

“Well, you know how some classes offer notable abilities when you level?”

Andy nodded, stepping down from the trailer to be on her level. “Sure. I have a bunch.”

She looked to the east, peering into the sky. “Well, I have an ability that sort of attunes me to certain types of weather. I think a storm’s coming—a big one.”

Andy peered into the sky, trying to see what she was looking at. It wasn’t dark yet, but he could already see some stars twinkling near the horizon. “Not a cloud in the sky.”

“I know. I can’t tell how soon—maybe days away still—but I think a big storm’s on its way. I think we ought to look into those tunnels sooner rather than later.”

Andy leaned a shoulder against his trailer and folded his arms. “You think it’ll be that bad? Even when the System came, the storm wasn’t bad enough to threaten the trailers.”

She made an exaggerated shrug. “I don’t know, Andy. I just know this feeling… It’s like a warning more than a heads-up. You know?”

Andy nodded. “Okay, well, I’m planning to check out the tunnels soon, anyway.” He sighed, pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead.

Bea reached up to squeeze his shoulder, her grip surprisingly firm. “Too much on your plate?”

“It’s this damn System stuff—classes and skills and all that. I have too many questions and no answers, like all I can do is experiment, and there aren’t any do-overs.”

Bea tugged his shoulder, guiding him toward a nearby concrete picnic table. “Let’s sit down. Sounds like you could use a friendly ear. Tell me what’s on your mind, and maybe I can help you figure something out.”

Andy focused on the bright yellow letters of the System message and nodded. “Honestly, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.” He and Bea sat down on either side of the table, and Andy took a couple of minutes to fill her in on his dilemma. When he finished, he shook his head, chuckling. “I feel like I’m blowing this out of proportion, but the truth is that I have some really good abilities right now and they’ve been instrumental in…” He sighed, waving his hand toward the park behind Bea. “Everything, I guess.”

“You’re afraid that this new class might make you less effective.”

Andy nodded. “Exactly.”

“Well, if you took the new class, what would be a worst-case scenario?”

“I guess that I’d lose all of my skills and spells and get useless ones in their place.”

“All of them? Don’t you have some abilities that aren’t tied to your classes?”

“Well, yeah.” Andy started listing things off, counting them by holding up a finger for each point, “I’d keep my spear skill, my critical mastery, sneak attack. I’d still have all of my improved attribute points, so I guess I’d still be an effective fighter.”

“So, even in the worst case, you’d be one of the strongest people around. What about your levels?”

“I think I’d lose those. I’d be level one again.”

“But that’s not bad, is it? It’ll give you a chance to gain more improvement points.”

Andy shrugged. “That’s true, but we don’t know if that’s good. We have no idea what the level cap is. What if all these early levels are just baby skills? What if, at level twenty, people start getting really powerful abilities that make all this early stuff pointless? What about even higher levels?”

Taken from NovelBin, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“What if there are no higher levels. What if fifteen is the cap?” She laughed, indicating she wasn’t being serious, but Andy shook his head.

“Nah, we know twenty is a thing because of the System message about the uh, newcomers. It said they’d be between levels ten and twenty.”

Bea clicked her tongue and slapped the table softly. “Oh, that’s right! And that limit makes it clear that there are higher levels.”

“Yeah, which really should be a consideration. We don’t know what to expect, but we’ll never know until someone gets there, and I keep resetting my progress…” He trailed off, unsure how to voice his feelings.

Bea smiled and reached across the table to put her soft, slender hand atop his, gently patting. “You’re not alone, Andy. You aren’t the only one here. Some of us are gaining levels, too, you know. I’m very close to level thirteen. Besides, I don’t think it’s healthy to fixate on being the first to level. I think, with any endeavor, a person should consider their happiness, too. Forget everything else and tell me what you want to do.”

Andy looked at the System message again and softly read the last line aloud: “Warning: this merger is unprecedented and cannot be evaluated beforehand.” When Bea arched an eyebrow at him, Andy shrugged. “It’s almost like the System’s taunting me with that line. Of course I want to be the first one to do this!”

Bea laughed, and Andy really liked the sound. Her voice was rich and melodic, and he suddenly wondered if she had a nice singing voice. “Then do it, young man. I’m curious, too!”

Andy grinned. “That is not the kind of advice I expected from you! I thought you’d advise me toward caution.”

“Why? Because I’m as old as the hills?”

“Yeah, right!” Andy started to say something more, but caught his tongue, keeping his foot out of his mouth for a change. Instead, he asked, “Can I ask you a kind of personal question, Bea?”

She smiled warmly, patting his hand again. “Go on, then. You’ve already shared plenty with me. I don’t mind at least hearing your question.”

“It’s just that, before this all happened, or maybe right at the start of it, I swear you seemed older to me.” He laughed nervously, jamming his fingers through his hair. “God, that sounds bad. I just mean, you seemed like a grandma to me, and now you’re like—I wouldn’t think you were old enough to be my mom!”

Bea squeezed his hand, smiling. “Oh my goodness! You are a sweet boy, aren’t you? Well, you’re not wrong! I’m moving better, I’m thinking better, and I won’t deny that I’ve looked in the mirror. I’m looking better, too! I’m seventy-six years young, but I feel better than I did when I was in my forties. I think it’s the magic. I earned a bound ability called Living Current, and it says that as I gain power as a Water Witch, it will allow my ‘life’s water’ to purify and renew my flesh.” As Andy’s eyes widened, she laughed again and slapped his hand. “How’s that for a trick?”

“That’s…” Andy found himself lost for words. If Bea could effectively reverse her aging at such a low level, what did that say about the potential for other mana users? Other classes? There was so much to learn and explore!

“It’s pretty mind-blowing, isn’t it?” Bea smiled and stood with a soft grunt. “I hope I’ve helped a little, if only as a sounding board. Be brave, Andy, and do what feels right to you. I think you’ve got good instincts.”

Andy stood up, smiling, still struggling to wrap his mind around what she’d told him. “You’ve been a lot of help, to be honest.”

“Well, all right, then. I’ll see you later, right? I’m not sure what you’re planning when it comes to exploring those tunnels, but I wouldn’t mind being part of it.”

“Oh…” Andy shrugged, then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought a lot about it, but if it’s not just me going in, I think it would be smart to bring you along. I’ll be sure to let you know before we do anything.”

“Perfect.” With a quick wave, she turned and strolled down the lane. Andy heard her call out a greeting to Monique as she walked around the corner. Chuckling and shaking his head, he walked back inside, closed the door, and sat down on the couch, running his eyes over the System message still prominent in his field of view:

***Congratulations, Andy! Your deep reflection has revealed harmonies between your two primary classes. The System has recognized these connections and offers you a new path: merge Pyroglyph Invoker with Umbral Reaper to form an undiscovered class. Warning: this merger is unprecedented and cannot be evaluated beforehand. Do you accept?***

He thought about what Bea had said—about him having good instincts. Was that true? Maybe it was just luck, or maybe it was him finding a way of getting himself into the right places at the right times, but he must have been doing something right, because he’d managed to pull out a lot of wins since the System had arrived. Did his instincts think he ought to take the new class? “Yes,” he said aloud.

***Prepare yourself, Andy, as the System calculates the most efficient pathways for the merger of your two classes. When the process commences, you will likely lose consciousness.***

Thankful for the warning, Andy reclined on the couch, resting his head on his singular throw pillow.

***The class merging process will begin in 3… 2… 1…***

White light exploded in Andy’s eyes, and a high-pitched ringing blasted any other sounds from his hearing. He felt a warm buzzing sensation behind his eyes, and then, like a cork circling a drain, he tumbled down a tunnel of darkness and fell into oblivion.

When he came back to himself, Andy expected to be disoriented or maybe even to feel ill, but he felt fine. In fact, he felt good. He blinked his eyes, saw several System messages lined up, waiting for him to read them, and focused on the first one:

***Congratulations, Andy! The merger of your Umbral Reaper and Pyroglyph Invoker classes was a success! The resultant class exhibits high potential, and the System has designated it as limited. Enjoy your prestigious new status, but be aware that holding a limited class can make you a target for the ambitious and ruthless.***

***Class, Pyroglyph Invoker, removed. Many abilities provided by this class have also been removed, though similar abilities may be gained as you advance in your new class. As a result, you have been refunded 2 Improvement Points.***

***Class, Umbral Reaper, removed. Many abilities provided by this class have also been removed, though similar abilities may be gained as you advance in your new class. As a result, you have been refunded 5 Improvement Points.***

***Congratulations, Andy! You’ve helped to discover a new class: Brimstone Stalker. This limited class will have restricted Codex access. Only a select few may ever learn its secrets. Earning levels in this class will award 15 mana.***

***Your spell, Smoke Lance, has been assigned as a level 1 ability to the Brimstone Stalker class, and therefore, you will retain it at your current level of mastery.***

***Your skill, Smokescribe, has been assigned as a level 1 ability to the Brimstone Stalker class, and therefore, you will retain it at your current level of mastery.***

***Congratulations! As a level 1 Brimstone Stalker, you’ve learned the notable spell: Unseen Stalker.***

***Unseen Stalker – bound: With the essences of smoke, air, and shadow, you blur your outline and soften your presence. Light bends slightly, and sound dulls around you, making it harder for others to notice you. While active, you can move and stalk prey more easily without drawing attention, though sudden movements, sounds, or direct contact may still reveal you. Mana Cost: 20 per minute.***

Andy read all the notes, eyes widening with each one. He wanted to panic at first when he saw that the System had stripped many of his abilities. He forced himself to breathe calmly, though, and focus on the fact that it said he could earn “similar” abilities by gaining levels. The fact that he had two incredibly powerful abilities at level one gave him hope as he looked at his updated status page:

STATUS:

Name: Andrew “Andy” West

Species: Human

Active Class:

Brimstone Stalker

Level: 1

Inactive Classes:

Unclassed (2)

Experience toward next level: 1%

Mana: 200/200

Perception: 8

Will: 8

Strength: 9

Vitality: 9

Speed: 8

Improvement Points: 14

Notable Skills or Spells:

(* denotes active bound abilities)

Butcher’s Insight: 1

Leadership: 2

Tracking: 1

Spears: 4

Short Blades: 1

Critical Mastery: 4

Sneak Attack: 2

Smokescribe: 1

*Smoke Lance – Bound: 2

*Unseen Stalker – Bound: 1

Notable Distinctions:

Mark of the Predator

Reaper’s Instinct

Vanguard Striker