So thirsty. There was a lovely cup of water waiting for me, along with some cut-open mangos. Was Auri experimenting with ‘smelling salts’ again...? I rolled over to grab the water, and did the awkward ‘try to drink while lying down’ move. I blinked as the first refreshing gulp went down my throat.

    Wait, I was an idiot.

    I [Teleported] - was that even still the skill name? - upright, bringing the blankets along to cocoon myself. I idly read the note next to the water.

    Elaine,

    Give us a warning the next time you decide to read the books inside your soul world! We’re a little worried, let us know when you wake up.

    Love,

    Iona

    Ah, whoops. I’d impulsively, spur-of-the-moment decided to go a-reading. I’ll have to think about it and warn people next time.

    “Hey, I’m awake!” I yelled, then settled in to see what I’d gotten. The mangos somehow found their way into my hands, and I got a-munching.

    Notifications!

    [*ding!* [Seraph of the Dawn - Radiance] has evolved into [Dawnbringer - Radiance]!]

    [*ding!* [Sage of Tomes - Spatial] has evolved into [Sage of Eternity - Spatial]!]

    [*ding!* Congratulations! [Dawnbringer] leveled up! 1024 - 1251. +256 Strength, +256 Dexterity, +256 Speed, +256 Vitality, +4096 Magic Power, +4096 Magic Control, +4096 Mana, +4096 Mana Regeneration from your Class per level! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid) per level! +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Strength from your Element per level!]

    [*ding!* Congratulations! [Sage of Eternity] leveled up! 1024 - 1232. +2048 Magic Power, +2048 Magic Control, +1024 Mana, +1024 Mana Regeneration from your Class per level! +1 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Speed, +1 Vitality, +1 Mana, +1 Mana Regeneration, +1 Magic Power, +1 Magic Control for being Chimera (Elvenoid) per level! +1 Mana, +1 Magic Power from your Element per level!]

    Seeing the two classes leveling up side by side really drove home what a massive jump there was going up in quality. Being one of the elite Sentinels of Remus, one of the last defenders of humanity had earned me a dark green class. Granted, it might’ve been a little stronger stat-wise if I hadn’t invested so much in becoming Immortal, but ‘Peak soldier of a nation’ was dark green. I was three quality steps above that in my lowest class, and from what I understood, stats roughly doubled with each step up in class quality.

    A shame dragonslaying wasn’t part of [Sage of Tomes] and now [Sage of Eternity’s] desired activities. I was fairly sure that had single-handedly contributed to [Dawnbringer’s] improved stats. Not that I was complaining, I loved both of the classes!

    Okay! Time for the big one! Let’s see what new skills I received. Given that I’d taken the ‘natural upgrade’ on both classes, I expected many skill names to stay the same, maybe change a bit of flavor. The real devil would be in the details, and I’d need to retest all my skills to figure out what I could do now.

    [*ding!* [The Rays of the First Dawn] has upgraded to [Radiance Beams]!]

    Radiance Beams: Golden flames leap from your fingers at your command, burning even the very air itself as it instantly incinerates your foes. -32,752 mana regeneration.

    Short, sweet, to the point. The restriction mentioned was probably cosmetic - I’d test it in a moment - and the mana regeneration it was taking up doubled. Excellent! The skill was my staple offensive ability, and as much as I’d tried to branch out, nothing had managed quite so well as my trusty beams. Well, [Beams] now.

    [*ding!* [Wings of the Seraphim] has upgraded to [Essence of Flight]!]

    Essence of Flight: Staying on the ground is merely a suggestion for you, the vast and boundless sky your playground. -32,752 mana regeneration.

    Oooh, the first thing to experiment with! Did I still have wings? Did my talaria return? Could I simply... move myself through the air? That one would be kinda boring, I liked having wings or something else. Iona had her own flying skill, but she just moved through the air like a statue, that was boring. r?α?NO?Β?s??

    [*ding!* [Radiant Angel’s Spear of Obliteration] has upgraded to [Sun Blades]!]

    Sun Blades: Summon blades of light to strike against evil! Coat your weapons in Radiance to defeat your enemies! -32,752 mana regeneration.

    I was honestly less than impressed with the skill, no matter how long I’d spent training it. I recognized the need for it - when I needed to hit something hard, I wanted the tools to hit it hard. It was just so rare that [Radiance Beams] couldn’t handle a problem, but the extra firepower let me get there.

    I was willing to trade the skill for something more effective, but the skill was good and it had saved my life. It just... didn’t quite fill me with the same excitement as everything else did.

    [*ding!* [Six Wings, Six Million Feathers] has upgraded to [Featherstorm]!]

    Featherstorm: A single feather can tickle, a billion will destroy all in your path. -32,752 mana regeneration.@@@@

    [Featherstorm] at least looked gorgeous, and playing around with the individual feathers was just fun! In some ways it was exactly the same as [Sun Blades], except it made me happy to see the swirling mass of feathers.

    I didn’t see direct upgrades on my other skills, but a peek at my numbers revealed the truth. [Celestial Dew] had gone from 0.25% per level to 0.3% per level, a dramatic improvement to my mana regeneration. I was looking at 120,000 mana per second, which was pure insanity. Also known as 440 million mana per hour. Rounded down.

    It made me seriously consider if I should just dump mana as a stat I seriously invested in, and just went all-in on regeneration. Most fights ended when a mage’s mana pool was empty, but I was handling such insanely high numbers already.

    At the same time, what could a mage who made sure their power and mana pool were both up to the mark do?

    [*ding!* [Spatial Authority] has upgraded to [Spatial Mastery]!]

    Oh thank goodness. I was dreading the mana costs involved, but now I was going to enjoy a nice, much-needed discount.

    Way, way back when, Librarian had warned me off [World Traveler], saying portals needed millions upon millions of mana to open. [Spatial Mastery] would help with that, and I’d finally gotten to enough magic power and control to just... cast it.

    What had been an impossible dream as a kid was now within reach.

    [*ding!* [Tower of Knowledge] and [The Library of Infinite Wonder] have merged into [Timeless Manor of the Eternally Curious Sage]!]

    Timeless Manor of the Eternally Curious Sage: Home away from home. You have learned on roads that no longer exist, experienced cities that have been all but forgotten, and attended lessons in more than one academy. You are the eternally curious sage that wanders Pallos learning everything you can, but you also know that true knowledge must be protected at all costs. Where would be safer than with you? No longer will you have to choose between your home and your travels, your home and your knowledge will be wherever you wish. Additional rooms appear manifest with level.

    “Oh no.” I complained to myself. “I’m going to need to rearrange all of it.”

    I was taking no bets if everything had gotten jumbled again. It totally had, and I suspected [Teleportation] was going to get a strong workout. Bonus though, I’d be able to see how much it had quietly improved! Just because the skill hadn’t shown an upgrade didn’t mean it hadn’t changed. Just... less dramatically.

    Another thing I’d need to test was the library. It was now a physical space, and broadly, the skills merging was a good thing. I liked it! I retained the best elements of both skills, and got a brand new skill slot.

    The only part that was possibly a downgrade were the books being ‘accessible’. In other words, if I let Iona into the [Manor], she could wander over to the library, pick up a book, and start reading it. Which was great! Nearly every time, I wanted people to grab my books and read them.

    The two exceptions were around my spellbooks, and the prayer my parents had stitched into cloth, the one thing I had left of them. If -

    My mind froze, then went into furious overdrive.

    The prayer! The precious cloth! It was my only memento of my parents, my family, the only physical trace I had left of them. It was in my [Tower] - sorry, [Manor] - and it had just gotten wildly jumbled up with the gallons of dragon’s blood I kept in there!

    In a blind panic, my heart thudding, I pulled the cloth out and brought it up to my nose, breathing in deeply.

    I swear I could still smell mom on it.

    Safe.

    It was safe.

    Wait! The rest of my books!

    I pulled them out of storage. I pulled them all out of storage with a mental tug, my eardrums popping as the entire room suddenly filled with hundreds upon hundreds of books. There wasn’t quite enough space, so I just... stacked them on top of me as well. Why not, I was solid, I could take a bit of weight. Plus, I could check off ‘literally buried in books I loved’ off my list! Iona chose that moment to open the door, a faint glow of fire betraying Auri’s presence.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    “Elaine?” She was clearly worried. “Are you alright in there? Normally I’d think you being buried in books was your idea of paradise, but I just want to make sure.”

    “Hey love!” I called out, Auri fluttering over the books towards me. “Yeah, I’m fine, I just had a moment of concern for the contents of my skill. Give me a few minutes. Or twenty.”

    “Lunch is on the table when you want it!” She answered back, leaving the door open for Auri to leave again.

    “Brrrpt?” She asked me.

    “I’m fine, and the classes are great! Give me some time to finish figuring it out.” I said.

    “Brrpt.” Auri hopped over the ever-shifting stacks of books - they were still settling in, and my soul was being tortured by hot pokers over how some of the pages were being creased - flipped open a book with her beak, and started to slowly ‘surf’ it down while she read the page.

    Well, I was buried in books, might as well check the last of my notifications.

    [*ding!* Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the skill [Portcullis]!]

    Portcullis: The gate to your castle is slow and difficult to open, but it will keep your inner sanctum safe from all who dare wish harm upon you, while also keeping your friends and family as protected and secured as possible. 16,777,216 mana per cast.

    Naturally, we could see into the [Manor] through the door, and I rushed forward, eager to see what the place was like! Everyone else piled in behind me, Artemis cracking a joke at my expense.

    “Healy-bug!” She gasped. “I thought we taught you how to keep places clean! Remedial lessons will begin at sunrise.”

    “I’m too... old... for... yes Artemis.” I hung my head in defeat as Nina and Auri laughed at my expense. Iona just shook her head knowingly, with a fond smile. I had cleared out a good amount of it to prevent a repeat of last time - by the gods, Nix was a kid then and now had a whole clan! - but some parts were too rare and valuable to risk.

    [The World Around Me] combined with the new, more compact layout of the place, and I could see just about everything that was going on. I immediately started bulk [Teleporting] everything around, fixing the mess even as I gave everyone the tour, Auri lighting the way.

    I knew the class up and changing the skill would ruin all my enchantments. Then again, I could remake them even easier now!

    The [Manor] was like a luxurious ‘castle’ the richest people would have. A large central room where we exited from the portal, then neat hallways leading to rooms in orderly rows. Rooms came in a number of different sizes, easily letting me customize them to different needs. Hinges in the walls would let me easily install doors. Rooms went from the size of closets to the size of ballrooms, and I idly wondered if it was possible to get a skill to have secret passages running through the place. I’d just gotten a huge piece of free real estate, why not try to upgrade it?

    Four towers were at each corner, a spiral staircase leading to a second floor, and an incomplete third floor. I was willing to bet more rooms would be added as I leveled.

    And the library! Oh wonder of wonders, it nearly doubled the size of the manor by itself. Two stories tall, shelves from floor to ceiling, it was a wonder. I couldn’t wait to fill it all up.

    “This place is beautiful.” Iona said.

    I couldn’t agree more.

    [Name: Elaine]

    [Race: Chimera (Elvenoid)]

    [Age: 127]

    [Mana: 32,292,270/32,292,270]

    [Mana Regeneration: 83,680,817 +(401,067,010)]

    Stats

    [Free Stats: 0]

    [Strength: 220,549 (Effectively: 1,764,392)]

    [Dexterity: 244,805 (Effectively: 2,606,684)]

    [Vitality: 813,171 (Effectively: 12,705,797)]

    [Speed: 800,403 (Effectively: 15,754,332)]

    [Mana: 3,229,227]

    [Mana Regeneration: 8,732,979 (+ 40,968,588)]

    [Magic Power: 4,348,852 (+ 316,596,426)]

    [Magic Control: 4,347,709 (+ 316,513,215)]

    [Class 1: [The Elaine- Celestial: Lv 1456]]

    [Celestial Spirit: 1456]

    [Domain of the Healer: 1456]

    [A Drop of Eternity in a Sea of Starlight: 608]

    [Luminary Mind: 1456]

    [Universal Cure: 1456]

    [Clad in Twilight: 565]

    [The Mantle of Dusk and Dawn: 910]

    [Elaine Eternal: 1456]

    [Class 2: [Dawnbringer - Radiance: Lv 1251]]

    [Radiance Mastery: 1251]

    [A Light Shining in the Darkness: 941]

    [Radiance Beams: 1251]

    [Sun Blades: 500]

    [Celestial Dew: 1251]

    [Sunrise Halo: 1251]

    [Essence of Flight: 1251]

    [Featherstorm: 1251]

    [Class 3: [Sage of Eternity - Spatial: Lv 1232]]

    [Spatial Mastery: 1232]

    [Scripture Savant: 1232]

    [Teleportation: 1232]

    [Timeless Manor of the Eternally Curious Sage: 1232]

    [Portcullis: 2]

    [Reality, Writ As You Will: 1232]

    [Astral Archives: 1232]

    [Endless Pursuit of Knowledge: 1232]

    General Skills

    [Long-Range Identify: 666]

    [Everywoman: 614]

    [Companion Bond between Elaine and Auri: 1456]

    [The World Around Me: 650]

    [Oath of Elaine to Lyra: 1456]

    [Sentinel''s Superiority: 1456]

    [Persistent Casting: 1456]

    [Tender Gardening; Industrial Farming: 900]