Chapter 12 - New Class Corestone Equipped (Patreon)

I turned to look at the newcomer. She was tall, but not quite to my height. Her platinum blonde hair was pulled into a neatly arranged braid, and her features were somewhat ageless. She could have told me she was twenty or forty and I’m not sure either would’ve surprised me. She wore an intricately stitched robe, far more lavish than anything I’d seen so far in town. There was a silver badge pinned to her shoulder.

Lyria was staring at the badge with unmasked awe.

“I’m Circa,” she said, extending a hand toward me.

She searched my face with dark blue eyes. Her gaze was intense, almost as if she were trying to read my mind. She suddenly gripped my hand tighter, and I felt a pinch in the center of my palm. “This will only feel strange for a moment. Forgive me.”

I tensed as I felt warmth flood through me, leaving tingling heat across the surface of my skin all over. My nagging cuts, wounds, and aches evaporated in a warm rush. She let go of my hand, and I looked down, pulling my sleeve up in astonishment to find all my cuts and gashes were gone. Even the stab wound from Jinglefoot felt like it was gone.

“Wow,” I said. “Thank you.”

She nodded as if it was as simple a favor as offering a stranger a tissue. She inclined her head toward the box of stones. “Choosing a class for the first time?”

“We’ve got this handled, thanks,” Lyria said. She positioned herself to exclude Circa from the conversation

Unbothered, Circa moved around to stand on the other side of me. “There are four base corestones,” she said, like a teacher preparing to lecture her students.

Lyria made an exasperated sound and folded her arms, watching. 

“Sword, shield, heart, and soul,” she continued. “The stone will mold its initial path to your nature. One could spend years lost in libraries reading about the possible starting permutations. Suffice to say that your connection to the mana will guide you down an appropriate path.”

“In other words,” Lyria cuts in. “Everybody gets different powers from the same stones. No way to tell till you bind to one.”

“Not exactly correct,” Circa’s lips are pressed thin. “There are ways to guide and mold your nature to make certain abilities a near certainty. Just as you can devote yourself to a specific path to nurture your corestone along certain known paths.”

The two women shared a moment of tense eye contact before I decided to clear my throat. “So it’s like a theme, then? I won’t know exactly what abilities I’ll get to start, but I can guess their general theme?”

I didn’t know this woman, but healing my wounds already got her a few points in my book. I was also happy to take any extra input on something as important as choosing my class. 

“That is… close enough to correct. Yes,” Circa says.

“Which one is best?” I ask. “And I can guess what sword and shield’s themes are, but what is heart and soul?”

“A heart stone is what I use,” Circa said. “She lifted a palm, and a purple orb appeared in it. The orb had a symbol of a heart with tendrils snaking out in all directions. It was glowing from the inside. She removed the sword stone from the prongs and set hers down.

I only had time to read [Epic] Lifeweaver and see a very long list of active and passive abilities, each with its own rarity and tier associated below. Circa picked the stone back up, and it vanished smoothly, presumably returning to her slip space. 

“A heart stone will often give you some ability to heal yourself and others. At first, you may have no offensive capabilities at all. As you progress, it’s quite common to gain methods of self-defense. A soul stone, on the other hand, is relatively unpredictable. Typically, it provides a mixture of magical abilities that can aid allies and harm your foes. As you’ve probably guessed, a sword stone is focused on offensive capabilities, and a shield stone is focused on defense.”

“Thanks so much for your help,” Lyria said tightly. “I can take it from here. He’s my problem.”

Circa’s eyes were pure ice. She reached down to Lyria’s wooden badge and touched it with a long, well-manicured fingertip. “I’d happily take him off your hands. It looks like you could use some time to focus on your training.”

I raised my hand—why was I raising my hand? “Just jumping in a second,” I said. “When you say you could take me… what do you want to do with me, exactly?”

Circa gave me another one of those intense glares. This time, she looked like she was confused. “I thought perhaps you wanted guidance from somebody more experienced. I overheard you were considering joining the guild. I’ve been a member for quite some time. I could mentor you if you wished.”

Lyria put an arm in front of my chest and wedged herself in between me and Circa. It was silly because there was an entire counter worth of space, and the three of us were jammed together like sardines now. The small red-headed guard was squished between us, trying her best to stare up at the taller blonde woman. 

“Frankly,” Lyria said. “I don’t trust your intentions.”

“Perhaps I should be the one questioning yours,” Circa said. “A town guard attaches herself to a promising, handsome young man and refuses to let one of her superiors guide him?”

“Promising?” Lyria sputtered. “He can hardly cross the street without getting himself killed if I’m not helping him.”

“Hey,” I said, trying to interject. “That’s not strictly true.” I also noted with some satisfaction that she didn’t object to the “handsome” part.

Nice. 

“The fact that you can’t sense his potential is all the truth I need. You’re wasting his time. Maybe you should go guard something. I’m sure even a girl of your limited talents could handle that. This is the adventurer’s guild, after all.”

“Towns and cities need guards. We protect people while your type runs around for personal gain and riches. Somebody needs to be at the gates when danger comes knocking.”

Circa straightens. “And others prefer to go out and clear that danger from the world rather than wait while it gathers in strength and attacks at its leisure.”
 I cleared my throat. “Or maybe you could both give me advice.” 

Circa and Lyria continued their stare-off for several more tense seconds.

Lyria finally shook her head and turned back toward the three-pronged corestone device. “Do you want to read the rest of their descriptions, Brynn?” she asked.

“I need to have a word with him. In private.” Circa took my arm and dragged me down the bar a few steps. Lyria tried to follow us, but Circa shot her hand out in a way that was definitely threatening. A few people nearby froze, watching the exchange with worried looks.

“Does she know who you are?” Circa asked in a hushed whisper.

I narrowed my eyes. “Lyria?”

“The girl, yes. Does she know?”

“Who am I?” I asked carefully.

Circa gave another jab of her hand, making Lyria take a reluctant step back. Lyria looked so pissed with Circa that she might just draw a weapon. “Seraphel. You left watchers for your return. I’m here to serve you, My Lord.”

Oh. I was not expecting that.

My thoughts raced. I could deny everything, of course. But why would she bother luring me in by promising to help me? Why not simply wait until I walked out of this place and bash my head in if she wanted to harm me? And she already seemed completely convinced she was right. Would denying her claim even do any good?

“If I was who you’re saying… what would you want with me?” I asked.

“To help you in any way imaginable. To serve, as I said. And forgive my insolence, but I do know it’s you. I know your face from the paintings. I’d know it like my own sister’s face.”

“Alright,” I said shakily. Trust wasn’t an option on this one. She’d recognized me. Now, my choices were to run for my life or accept her very, very tempting offer to “help in any way imaginable.”
 “There’s just one problem,” I said. “I don’t remember being who you say I am. So if you’re lying to get me to admit something because you’re sent to kill me, there’s no point. I forgot it all, anyway.”
 “I’m not here to hurt you, My Lord. I’m here to serve you.”
 “So you’re saying… but I mean it. I don’t remember anything. All I know is I apparently… made a choice that wiped my memory of everything before I came to this world.”

Circa’s eyes flashed with worry, but then her forehead creased, and she nodded. “The writings told of this possibility… I had hoped… It doesn’t matter. Our order has been decimated. Ithariel has spent the centuries hunting us all down. I’m afraid our resources are slim, My Lord.”

Our Order? 

“My Lord?” she asked.

I continued staring, then realized she was talking to me. Right. I’m “my Lord.” That will take some getting used to. 

“Yes?” 

“You shouldn’t walk around with your face on display. It has been long, but Ithariel has watchers everywhere. He waits for you all to return, and he’ll send the Molten Hand if he so much as suspects one of you is back. I was able to recognize you from the paintings. And if I could do it, others will, too.”

“Okay,” I said. It seemed like my choice was to wear the helmet that might want to make people mug me, or to wear the face that might bring down the wrath of a god on me.

I summoned the helmet to my hands. 

“Voidgaze,” she whispered. “Stories told of you wearing this during your climb to godhood…”

I raised an eyebrow. “So… don’t wear the helmet? Will people recognize it?”

“Only a devoted follower would recognize one of your old helms. Your face, on the other hand, is far more dangerous to show.”

I slid the helmet on.

Lyria leaned around Circa. “What’s she saying to you? Why are you putting that thing on again?”

“Quiet, Girl,” Circa snapped.

“Um,” I said, leaning close and lowering my voice. “Can I royally command you to be nice to her?”
 “We can’t trust her,” Circa countered.

“But I have to trust you, right?” I asked. “I trust Lyria. She could’ve easily gone and drank herself silly at the bar and ignored her captain’s orders to keep an eye on me. Did she? No. She has faithfully followed and harassed me every step of the way.”
 Lyria opened her mouth like she was about to argue, then closed it.

“She could’ve killed me or captured me when I fell asleep in her bathtub,” I continued. “But she didn’t.”

“Her bathtub?” Circa mouthed.

“Bad example. The point is that trusting someone always feels bad at first. But you know what feels even worse?” I asked.

“Getting stabbed in the neck because you trusted the wrong person?” Lyria guessed.

I sighed. “No… I mean, well, yeah, that would actually feel worse than what I was going to say. “But trusting nobody and dying alone because you were too paranoid to make friends hurts worse. Metaphorically speaking,” I added.

“He is wise,” Circa said in the way of a disciple reciting a prayer. “His ways are mysterious and pure. His path is known only to him, but his path is clear.” She lowered her eyes, nodding.

“So we’re all going to get along,” I said, gesturing for Lyria to come closer.

Reluctantly, she approached us.

“Circa was just talking about the mentorship thing some more,” I said. “She’s going to be nice enough to advise me on which corestone to pick, too. Oh, and she agreed to come along with us to my personal space for the loot party.”

“Loot party?” Lyria asked, disbelief clear on her features.

Circa gave the slightest curtsey, which made Lyria look even more baffled. 

As casually as possible, I moved back to the three-pronged corestone viewer. Now that my helmet was on, I could freely inspect things and people again. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the ability already. I snuck a glance at Circa.

[Human, Level 50 (Silver)]

Next, I looked at the corestones in the wooden box.

The descriptions were just as bland as the one given by the three-pronged device, so I turned my attention to Circa.

“When you described the classes,” I said. “I was most interested in the ‘soul’ description. Would that be a bad idea?”

“Not at all. More than others, the Soul path will cater to your nature. It can sometimes be weaker to start, but with proper training, focus, and ambition, you’ll likely outpace the other classes in time. It’s generally accepted that evolved soulstones are some of the most powerful.”

I looked at Lyria, who seemed like she was still fuming. “What is your advice? Anything I should know before I pick a corestone?”

“Most people never make it out of Wood rank. If you don’t, Soul will be the weakest and least reliable choice by far. You’ll tend to get situational abilities that you have to slowly build your equipment around to maximize. Sword will guarantee you some abilities that pack a punch early. Heart will mean you have good job opportunities that pay well since all walks of life can use talented healers. Shield is… well, Shield requires a special kind of crazy. When you make your worth by taking hits, you’re flirting with death. But people put a high premium on a good Shield user, so…”

“Hmm.” I stroked my chin. When I used to play games, I was always a sucker for the economic approach. I liked taking greedy risks early that would get me ahead late. The idea of squeaking by with the bare minimum so I could overwhelm my opponent with explosive growth at the last possible moment was my style. But this wasn’t a game. I had to keep reminding myself as much.

Still… I thought about the prestige path I’d chosen. It certainly seemed like something I would pick. It was a path of starting slow and finishing strong. Wouldn’t it make sense if my class synergized with my prestige path? Besides, I had the benefit of getting to pick a second class. I could see now why that was such a huge boon. I could make the risky choice with one stone and then use my second one for something more practical to help survive the weaker growing pains of a Soul stone. 

“Alright, I’ve decided,” I say. “I’m going to choose the Soul class.”

Lyria wore her disapproval plain on her face, but I ignored it. I imagined she thought I was being reckless, and maybe she was right. 

Circa just nodded, taking the Soul stone from my hand and placing it back in the box. “Very well. But I wouldn’t suggest signing this contract of binding with the guild. You can fulfill commissions as a freelance adventurer and earn nearly the same pay rate without the quota.”

“I need this corestone, though,” I said.

“Fortunately, I have two corestones I haven’t sold yet. One Sword, one Soul.” She produced them in her palm.

I stared down at them, mouth practically watering. I’d already made a decision about what I wanted my second class to be, though. I wanted to pair my Soul stone with a Heart stone. If I found myself on my own again, being able to heal my own wounds would be more valuable than any other abilities. I also had to remember that I needed to be discreet about having two classes equipped. If what Circa said was true, I couldn’t necessarily advertise that I was prestige level 1. I could ask her about the second stone when we had a moment alone. 

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“I’m certain. Please,” she said, lifting her hand a little.

“Alright, then…” I took the stone from her. “Can I ever take it off once I put this on?”

“You can, yes. You’ll be tethering your mana to the stone, just like a piece of equipment. Learning to use your abilities is a complex process, though. It’s uncommon for anyone to switch stones after they’ve made progress with it.”

I honestly hadn’t felt like I was tethering anything to my equipment, but I figured I’d take her word for it. I focused on the stone and thought about equipping it.

A cold wave ran across my skin, and the stone winked out of existence. A new notification appeared.

[Attunement successful] “Soul” Class Corestone equipped. 

[Skill(s) Unlocked]

Read now?