Path of Stars, Ch 39: Critical Decisions (Patreon)

The rainbow sky of the tree turned dark and the streaks of light became stars spread across the Void. Silver, white, blue, red, green, emerald, purple, yellow, and gold points appeared, stretching across the distance. There were even ones as dark as night that glimmered like diamonds in the vast sprawl of the heavens.

Each of them was a class, an option in front of him.

Sam rolled his shoulders as he reviewed the changes he’d gone through since his last Evolution, including all the abilities he’d raised to Heroic, and he nodded. He had developed a lot since then, and he’d even added some more traits and innate abilities. It should have been enough to set a good foundation for his Third Evolution.

“You have quite a few options,” Asenya said with a smile. Her eyes were sparkling now with delight as she watched him. It seemed she was looking forward to this as well. “Would you like help narrowing them down?”

“Please,” Sam said with a nod. “I’d like to see anything that offers significant power and builds upon my current classes.”

“You have accomplished a great deal since your last Evolution,” Asenya said as she looked up at the stars above them. “The record of your experiences is engraved into your nature and echoed in the Path. I am impressed.” With that, she reached outward and drew a handful of shining stars toward them, until six hovered in front of Sam.

“These are the most powerful of the class options in front of you,” she said, “and the ones that complement your current class the best. We can deal with your subclass afterwards. I have an idea for that, but I’ll tell you in a bit. Each of these classes comes from one or more of the deeds you accomplished while on the Path. None of these classes has been seen before. They are all unique.”

“All of them?” Sam asked with astonishment. “I’d have thought one or two would be unique, but not all of them.”

“At your current level, it’s difficult to follow someone else’s path,” Asenya answered easily, “especially for a Titan like you. Fortunately, smoothing out this problem is one of the main features of the Path. It records all of your deeds and abilities, your traits and more, and it helps you to construct a suitable class from them. Although you might find inspiration from another’s class, all of the future paths in front of you from now on will be unique, unless you wish to settle for something less. You do have that option, although I don’t recommend it.”

“No, that wouldn’t work.” Sam shook his head as he looked at the classes in front of him. “Let me see what these are.”

Each of the stars was gleaming with a brilliant light and radiated a sense of dense power. They dwarfed anything he’d seen before. Every Evolution was about three times stronger than the previous one, but these felt even denser than that. They reminded him of specific things that had happened in the Void, from rescuing Alora, to gathering the naga army, hunting lizards, crafting astral artifacts, and killing the Outsiders. That wasn’t all they were, but each of them had a distinct imprint from those events.

He reached out and touched them one by one, assessing the information inside. The first one glimmered like a dark black diamond, its facets reflecting the light of other stars.

Demonbane Artificer. Unique. Heroic.

[Your efforts to rid the Void of invading enemies have borne fruit. This unique class is designed around the eradication of your enemies. It has strengths in combat and in crafting weapons and golems that will hunt your enemies for you. Wherever you walk, an army will follow.

This class receives +10 Strength, +15 Constitution, +5 Agility, +50 Intelligence, +50 Aura, and 20 free attribute points per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Demonbane Golem.]

Sam winced as he read the description. It was tempting, but at the same time, it was a class that would take fighting to the extremes. All of the new crafting abilities from it would be for war and killing. The ability for it would augment his golem designs and give him a pattern for a much more advanced combat golem, one that would excel in hunting down Outsiders. It also offered a huge amount of attribute points, but he’d have to see what else was available before he chose it just for that.

It was tempting, but he wasn’t sure he wanted a class that would push him in only that one direction. Crafting could be used for other things as well. Still, he almost chose it right then, just because it would be effective in the future.

He moved on as he turned to the next class option. This one was a bright star that shone with a rainbow of different colors. It almost reminded him of the Wild Spirits.

Wildstar Artificer. Unique. Legendary.

[Your time crafting in the Void and with the Wild Spirits has merged into this unique class that offers a balanced approach to astral energy and artificing. Every artifact you create from now on will be blessed by the power of the Wild Tree and find its own unique balance among the elements of the Void. This will result in one random elemental effect being added to the artifact. You will not be able to choose the effect.

This class receives +25 Strength, +25 Constitution, +25 Agility, +25 Intelligence, +25 Aura, and 25 free attribute points per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Wild Artificing.]

Sam chuckled at the description, even as he was tempted again. It said he couldn’t control the effect, but he was fairly sure he could still predict it. If he made an Ice-based artifact, it would probably be balanced by a Fire effect in some beneficial way, like a sword with an Ice-based attack and a second effect for a Fire-based healing spell.

The class wasn’t at the top of his list, but it was interesting enough that he instantly knew why Asenya was showing it to him. It also had just as many points as the first one, which calmed some of his concerns. Between the two, he’d still take Demonbane Artificer first, but if he’d had a different plan for the future, it would be tempting to be a Wildstar Artificer and see what sort of things he could create for fun.

There was an element of mystery to it that he liked, and it would probably also teach him a lot more about the Void and balancing elements in general. Nonetheless, he shook his head and turned to the third option. This star was gleaming white with a brilliant silver pattern inside like the runes on a fortress wall.

Dimensional Architect. Unique. Heroic.

[Your exploration of the Void and development of spatial artifacts has opened your eyes to the intricacies of dimensional space. This class will allow you to take that a step further, so you can really explore the wonders of spatial design. From now on, every artifact you design will have a spatial element to it, as well as a storage ability. You will also find it easier to construct spatial buildings, traps, and wardings.

This class receives +10 Strength, +10 Constitution, +10 Agility, +50 Intelligence, +50 Aura, and 20 free attribute points per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Dimensional Binding.]

Sam blinked as he read the description. It was just as good as the first two in its own way. It might even be helpful in repairing the Moonlight Relic and Aster Fall’s seal. He could already see the advantages in it, including in building a new Titan Hall that might be able to travel the Void. The fortress feeling that he got from the class star was barely mentioned in the description, but he was sure that the Dimensional Binding ability could be used to fortify his hall and make it able to travel. The attribute points added up to 150 again, which left him slightly puzzled since he was used to more variation, so he turned to Asenya with the question on his lips.

“Do all Third Evolution classes have the same number of attribute points?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Asenya said with a cheerful laugh as she shook her head. “You’ve simply reached the maximum possible for this Evolution. You do have other classes that offer less, but you asked me for the strongest and most interesting ones, and these are all of a similar tier.”

“I see.” Sam nodded as he read over the description again. Then he turned to the fourth class.

Divine Spear of Silvas. Unique. Legendary.

[Your efforts at channeling the aura of Silvas against his enemies has made you into a legend. From hereon, all of your attacks and spells will be imbued with an intense aura of the Moon of the Forests, making them anathema to those who wield Blood and Darkness.

This class receives +20 Strength, +20 Constitution, +10 Agility, +50 Intelligence, +50 Aura, and 0 free attribute points per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Divine Spear.]

Sam raised an eyebrow, but he dismissed the class without hesitating. It was interesting, but he knew Asenya had only included it for variety. He could already channel Silvas’s aura, and even though the class was powerful, he didn’t need to limit himself to it. He’d much rather have something more open-ended and that applied to both crafting and battle. Taking that class would also pull him away from crafting and potentially limit his future.

He turned to the next class, reaching out to touch a star that looked like a white diamond that was surrounded by a halo of golden flames.

Spiritflame Artificer. Unique. Heroic.

[Your effort at creating artifacts and golems with sentience has led you to a path focused on enhancing the spirit of everything you create. The Spiritflame Artificer has the unique capability to bring to life the most inanimate of objects, imbuing them with sentience and igniting their spirit. Golems crafted by your hands will have greater awareness and a refined ability to make judgments in battle and in peace.

This class receives +10 Strength, +10 Constitution, +5 Agility, +50 Intelligence, +50 Aura, and 25 free attribute points per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Kindle Spirit.]

His hand hesitated on the class, still touching the star that represented it. The words of the description resonated with his heart and of all of the classes in front of him, he felt the most drawn to it. It didn’t promise the same effectiveness in battle or dimensional abilities as the others, and it probably wouldn’t help the World Seal that much, but it was appealing to him. He liked the idea of creating more artifacts like the Heart of Magma at Runekeld and Silverbeak. If he took this class, then when he remade the golem, he could bring out a true spirit for it.

It took him a little while to pull his hand away, and he shook his head with a trace of regret, but it was combined with determination. He knew he wouldn’t take the class, no matter how tempting it was.

He could already create a nascent spirit in his creations by imbuing them with the right aura. Now that he knew it was possible to kindle a more developed spirit, he would work toward it on his own. With all of his Heroic-tier abilities, he was sure he could manage something eventually. It would just take him longer.

“The last class here is something a bit more special,” Asenya said with a smile as she saw him turn away. It was obvious she knew how much he’d been tempted by the options so far. “Even more than the others, this one required quite a few unique traits to come together before you qualified for it. Take a look.”

His interest was piqued as he turned toward the last star. This one was a pure, brilliant silver that gleamed like it had a thousand flames inside, all of them running together to create a rippling aura of translucent starlight that surrounded it. It felt both like the Void and like endless stars had been gathered into one another to create a reflection of eternity.

Lord of Silver Stars. Unique. Legendary.

[You have gathered allies and followers to your side and now your aura spreads across the Void like the flames of a thousand silver stars. This class requires a high degree of Charisma, the allegiance of a willing army, and a high level of dedication to protecting your lands and people, as well as the ability to manipulate your aura. The Lord of Silver Stars has the unique ability to infuse their aura into the world around them, enhancing their followers and personal creations.

The class incorporates elements of crafting, battle, and leadership. Artifacts and golems crafted by your hand will be innately imbued with a version of your astral aura that will enhance their abilities. Allies will be blessed by your aura, receiving a bonus to their attributes and skills. If they fight alongside you, your presence will strengthen them. Those who swear loyalty to you will receive increased benefits over casual followers.

This class receives +10 Strength, +10 Constitution, +5 Agility, 5 Wisdom, +50 Intelligence, +50 Aura, and 20 Charisma per level. Total: 150 attribute points.

Level 300 Ability: Blessing of Silver Stars.]

Sam’s hand froze in shock as he read the description. He’d been dealing with lord classes of various types for a while, starting with that Lord of Wind and Water on Aster Fall, as well as the Lieutenant of Blood and the Commander of Blood here. He’d also seen that lizard who was a Lord of Magma, but he hadn’t expected to be offered a similar class for himself.

Unlike the classes he’d taken up to this point, this one was Legendary. It wasn’t the only one in the list here, which was split between Legendary and Heroic offerings. Usually, a Legendary class offered great power and came with a severe limitation of some type. The ones in this list were more free in that regard than he’d expected.

He almost rejected the class immediately since it didn’t have anything that would directly help the World Seal, but the fact that it was the last one in the list and that Asenya had saved it to show him made him give it more attention. His fingers tapped on the top of the silver star, sensing the power inside as he studied it in more depth.

The class didn’t have any free attribute points, which put him off a little, but they were assigned fairly evenly. There was a heavy focus on Charisma, but that was to be expected from a class like this. He couldn’t say he would do anything differently himself, since he was already adding his extra points to Charisma anyway. The attribute had a lot of advantages, including its subtle boost to all of his aura abilities.

Given how it worked like that, he had the feeling Charisma would influence the Blessing of Silver Stars that the class was describing. The blessing it offered was probably linked to it, both for followers and for artifacts. The higher his Charisma, the stronger the effect. That tempted him, since he’d poured so much effort into the attribute. This class would finally give him a way to capitalize on it.

Given that it was basically a free ability to enhance everything he created and almost everyone who stood on his side, it was impressive...and it became more so as he continued to think about it. But at the same time, he would have to give up the other classes if he took it. The abilities for Spiritflame Artificer, Wildstar Artificer, or Demonbane Artificer might be more effective.

“How strong is the blessing effect from this class?” he asked as he looked at Asenya. “It’s hard to make a decision without knowing that. It could be good or it could be much weaker than the other options.”

“You are so analytical.” Asenya’s laughter was like silver leaves, bubbling up all around as she smiled at him. “I can’t tell you how good it will be, really, but I can say that it is very rare to be offered a Lord class. The requirements for them are extremely difficult to achieve, even more than the other classes. Most classes take one or two qualifications beyond the obvious, but a Lord class takes four or five, and sometimes more.

“Yours took seven: your unique aura abilities, a loyal army, having crafted powerful artifacts, high Charisma, astral energy, dedication to your homeland and people, and the spirit to imbue strength into others, which is the same reason you were offered Wildstar Artificer and Spiritflame Artificer. This class should have some of that same ability to imbue a spirit into your creations.

“As for losing out on the other options...you need to remember that classes are not external things you are granted by the Path.” Asenya’s smile became brighter as she chided him kindly. “Your classes are facets of your inner self. From that perspective, a class that is able to incorporate seven elements of your personality instead of one or two will be much stronger, even if it doesn’t seem to be as precisely focused as the others. Your spirit and traits have to come together to create the path. Most people spend their entire lives searching for a class that will bring out the most of who they are, but few truly manage it.”

“I understand,” Sam said as he bowed his head slightly to Asenya. He could feel the gentle rebuke in her voice. He’d been focused on the best power, but to be fair, he didn’t understand any of the classes that well. All he had was the impression from each class star and a brief description. He’d have to try them out to see, and once he did, it would be too late to change.

Who’s to say that Spiritflame Artificer’s ability to Kindle Spirit will be stronger than the Blessing of Silver Stars? The question floated in his mind as he looked at each of the classes again, studying the options. He knew Asenya had already picked out the best of the available classes for him, so he didn’t ask her to show him anything else.

It was one of these six or something that was worse.

He could try to create his own class again, like he had with the World Core, but he had the feeling that the Path of Stars would only roll its eyes and ignore him. The Path was massively more powerful than the World Core and its ability to create a class based on his attributes, traits, and abilities was much better. There was no issue with determining a path for the future or making sure that these classes would fit his current abilities.

All of them did.

The Path had already sorted through all of the possibilities, probably millions upon millions of them, and confirmed them to create this selection.

Telling it to try again would just be insulting it.

All of these classes offered power. In terms of attributes, there was no real difference between them. A base class at the Third Evolution should have at least 50 attributes combined, but these all had the maximum at 150. His fingertips brushed along the surface of each star again, sensing the energies inside and the promise that they held.

He looked at the +20 to Charisma for each level in Lord of Silver Stars and he gave it a short nod. Even if he had the option, he’d probably put all of his free points into Charisma anyway. The attribute was that useful. Of the six stars floating in front of him, the silver star with a thousand leaping flames inside was also the most intense and complex.

It boiled down to a choice of what he wanted to do with his future.

He considered all of the options, taking his time as he went through them again. He lingered the longest on the combat focus of Demonbane Artificer and the spatial abilities of Dimensional Architect, debating how strong they would be. Then he reviewed Wildstar Artificer and Divine Spear of Silvas before confirming that his initial rejection of them was still the same. Those two were too limited.

In the end, it was a choice between a singular focus on fighting demons, on spatial abilities, or on imbuing spirit...or something that was more all encompassing. He could specialize in those things or he could be more. His hand hesitated as it hovered over each of the stars.

Then he stopped on top of one, feeling the leaping energy pouring upward from it like a sun beneath his hand.

“None of these classes offers a direct way to fix the World Seal,” he said clearly to Asenya. “I have always crafted and fought, with allies and alone, pouring my effort into whatever I need the most. I don’t see a reason to change that now. I’ll take the class that offers the most and that is the best part of me.”

He lifted his hand, revealing the brilliant silver star with a thousand leaping tongues of flame inside as he turned toward her with a smile. His spirit felt pure with the choice, as if it were more him than any of the others.

“I choose to be the Lord of Silver Stars.”

Asenya’s answering smile was a brilliant flame as the rainbow hues of the Wild Tree took over his sight, pouring upward again into the heavens as a massive flow of power. An enormous current of that power began to flow through him, causing his entire body to shiver as every element in his bones and blood came to life, echoing with a deep and resonant thrum.

“Then let’s discuss your subclass before we begin,” she said lightly, her voice resounding everywhere throughout the Void.