Class Shift 2- Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3- Regret Makes for Poor Decisions

Tim didn’t have time now for the emotional drama of his personal life. New Rome was far from safe. He might have promised the guild master, Charles that he would stay inside tonight, but that felt moot now. Tim didn’t want to save the entire city but he was definitely going to protect the few friends he had.

“Kayla, you protect the inside. I’ll protect the outside.”

“This is my inn, who do you…” Kayla began.

Tim sighed. “Not now. Just work with me. You are better in close. I can accomplish more outside. If I fight here. It will only cause more destruction.”

The retired assassin nodded at me, but Tim could tell there would be hell to pay. It usually didn’t go over well when you tried to tell a woman what to do, especially if she thought you were only saying it for her own good.

Mischief ran to Tim and headed up his pant leg. Apart from the connection the two shared the sensation might have been rather unnerving, but Tim shook his head. “No, little buddy. I need you to protect Cecelia. You know how important she is.”

The mouse squeaked back a protest but it was only half-hearted. Tim had already realized that he mouse liked snuggling with Kayla more than him. Atticus and his daughter were both staring at Tim as he instructed the mouse. They could only understand one side of the conversation, but that was enough.

The older man put his arm around Cecelia before nodding his head and mouthing the words ‘thank you.’ Tim was For her part Cecelia caught an exuberant Mischief as he left up at her. She looked at Tim. He could see the questions forming in her mind expressed by the confusion on her face. He opted to cut those off now. There wasn’t time to worry about a 17 year old’s emotions. “Be careful he may try to snuggle inside your bodice. If you just feed him some snacks he’ll be your friend forever. And even though he is only level 5, he is far stronger than he looks.”

She nodded and then Tim started moving the myemar goliath’s corpse. It’s blood had covered his roots as well as far too much of the inside of the inn. Cleaning that was going to take some time, but at least he could move the body. Tim could only shake his head at how much blood there was. So much.

Tim felt a tingling sensation in his hand. He pulled it towards his body as it got warmer, not really burning but the warmth one might feel in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter night. It was welcoming and fearsome all at once. Then he swore he heard a whispered voice say, “The powers in the blood.”

He already felt he was having enough trouble fitting in here. The people Tim could count as friends were very limited but what kind of friend would he be if he turned down a means of gaining power. He couldn’t commune with Cal-Dakota again to ask him about it. Not that he could trust anything the gambling patron said. He could try asking Semona, but there was no guarantee she was listening now. As the self-appointed protector of humans, she had a lot to keep her busy with the attack on New Rome.

What the hell, he gave it a try. Tim closed his eyes and scrunched his face up as he concentrated. He was glad to be facing away from Kayla and Cecelia. Well and everyone else, but for some reason they were the two that he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of.

He tried to push his thoughts out. “Semona! Hey, can you hear me? I need to ask you a question. C’mon, where are you when I need you.”
 He kept shouting inside his head until he had been standing there long enough that he heard Kayla’s voice from behind him. “Uh, Tim… are you okay?”

He shook out the tension in his shoulders and he turned to face her. “Yeah, sorry, just lost in thought.”

“It’s okay Tim if you need to rest. We’ve all be through a lot but you more than most. Maybe you should sleep and I’ll send someone to wake you if there is another attack.”

Tim glanced at the wreck which was the front wall of the inn. It was a testament to how sturdily the building had been crafted that it was still standing at all. If another attack came, they wouldn’t have the choke points of the door and windows to slow the enemy. They could easily be overcome before he was even woken.

That and sleeping was something of a sore subject with Tim. He might not change this time, but every time he went to sleep there was a chance. As far as he could tell, it was 10% each time he slept but that was cumulative and rose. So after sleeping ten times, he was always going to change. Change classes, change bodies, change ages, even his personality was subtly affected by the changes. And there was still the fear in the back of his mind that he would end up changed into a woman with one of the transformations. Not that he didn’t like women, he just didn’t want to be one. Of course, he also didn’t want to be in his crypt keeper form from the blood mage again either.

All those thoughts passed through his head in an instant. “Nah, thanks though. I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t do everything to protect you all. I don’t have many friends here in Iocusinte and the people I care about most on this damn rock are right here.”

Cecelia smiled. Atticus and Kayla just nodded. She heard fuel for her crush. They were older and knew what it was to do the hard thing, not because you wanted to but because it was who you were.

With those words to Kayla, Tim realized he had reached a decision. Maybe he should have pulled her aside and asked about the mark. Maybe he should have waited to speak to Semona, for the little that he could trust her. But the simple truth was that Tim couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t use everything at his disposal to protect his friends. That was just who he was.

The irony was that he had never really had to make decisions like this on Earth. He felt a new level of clarity, a sense of identity. This was who Timothy Stein was. He was a man who didn’t run in the face of trouble. He was a man who placed the needs of his friends above his own.

So with that thought he accepted the Crucible of Consumption. There was a sharp pain in his palm where the tattoo of the wolf’s head was. Inside his head he heard a howl and then a wave of weakness came over him. Tim fell to his knees and caught himself with his hands to prevent himself from faceplanting. His hand came in contact with a pool of the myemar goliath’s blood which had not yet been absorbed by the wooden floor.

Instantly he felt alive, like a bucket of cold ice had just been dumped over him. His body trembled and he felt something get sucked up his hand. All of the inn, every drop of the goliaths’ blood was absorbed into Tim. The power was intense, intoxicating. That alone told him it was dangerous but then again, a gun was dangerous too. He simply had to stay in control.

A notification popped into his head.

You have activated the crucible of consumption for the first time. Your body will be transformed by the power of those you slay. You may only gain power from a creature type once although sub-categories of a race apply as their own. The only exception to this is sojourners. Special rules apply for the infestation.
 The power gained by consuming is determined by the extent of your role in slaying the target. You can only eat what you kill. Other factors include how recent the death was, the natural abilities of the slain creature, and the deficiencies in your current form.

Welcome to the pack. You have found the path of true power.

You have gained +4 Durability from myemar goliath. The bonus is doubled because this is your first consumption but reduced because you were not the one to inflict the killing blow. Further you have gained two inches of height and the appropriate mass. This is a permanent gain which will apply to all forms. In the future there may be both permanent and temporary gains.

It would have been hard to explain how, but Tim knew with certainty that this notification didn’t come from either Cal-Dakota or Semona. There was a sinister, raw edge to the words that had to be felt more than seen.

His misgivings increased but he immediately felt the change in his stats. +4 to Hardiness would increase his HP, his physical durability, and strength. The fact that it wasn’t gear dependent was great, but the best part was that the notification implied it would stay with him no matter what form he took.

Tim was a bit ashamed, but he honestly wondered if there were more myemar he could attack and if so what benefits could he leech from them, especially the shadows. They were powerful and had many seemingly unique abilities.

“Tim did the Patrons just speak to you?” Cecelia asked.

He sucked in his breath. He needed to be calm when he answered. Tim opened his eyes. There was a red film across his vision but it quickly faded. He took three deep breaths and then stood up to turn around again. “Something like that. My commitment to protecting my friends was just rewarded.”

The inn was mostly filled with Patronites. Many were injured but hearing this they all began staring at Tim. Even Atticus had a look of awe upon his face. Kayla was the only one who seemed skeptical, but that was her default expression.

Tim ignored them all. It was easier to throw himself into his work. “Now, let me get this out of your inn.”

He begin to command the vines again and they pushed pulled as he pushed until the myemar. Behind him he heard nervous mumblings, but it was always going to be like that. He stood head and shoulders over most of these people in terms of power. That didn’t mean he would hide it. Let those would were too small fear him. As long as he could protect his friends.

As soon as the corpse was outside, he erected a wall of branches. It took effort, but he mana regeneration was fast enough to keep up with it. The branches wove themselves together forming a wall which would both help hold up the inn and prevent further attackers from getting through. Tim lacked the skill to craft a formal door but he made a curtain of loose vines which could be pushed aside to allow one to enter or exit the inn. Kayla kept staring at him, but Tim just took it for her appreciation. He was going to get back on her good side. Then he could sort out things with Cecelia.

Once the inn was secured, he climbed up on top and kept watch the rest of the night. No further attacks came and Tim felt just the smallest twinge of disappointment. But he never left his vigil. Hopefully, more answers would come with the sunrise.