NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: Class Fusions
Now, shifting back to what you originally came here for, what do you want to be?" Tom asked curiously as he tried to ignore the larger implications of his discovery.
"Um, what?" Sam asked, confused.
Tom let out a sigh. He expected this was going to be a recurring problem.
"What do you want to be? Do you want to be a sniper hidden in the trees? A hunter roaming the world. Do you want to be an assassin striking from the shadows? Or maybe you want some magic? Be a healer like your dad here. Maybe you want to be a pure crafter? It doesn't matter if you change your mind later. But having a proper idea to build yourself around is helpful."
Tom watched as Samtha rolled the idea over in her head as he copied down her status. He was pretty sure steam was pouring out of her head as he tried to wait patiently for her answer.
"Right now, I'm more concerned about being alive. So what can you do to improve that?"
"Do you have any preference for a build?" Tom asked.
"Not really," Samatha admitted.
Tom wanted to roll his eyes. Min Maxing wasn't nearly as useful if the person didn't want to grind out the skill levels.
"How about you tell me what your favorite games are, and we can go from there." Tom cut in.
She listed them off: "Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, The Legend of Zelda."
Tom nodded. He could work with that.
"I can help you unlock the [Monster Hunter], [Bounty Hunter], or [Treasure Hunter] classes. Each one would be an improvement over your current build. I would recommend [Treasure Hunter]."
"Theo said the same thing," Sam muttered, "but Why [Treasure Hunter]?"
"It's mostly a class about finding valuable stuff. Detection abilities, personal storage skill, tracking, and stealth. It's about avoiding trouble, not getting into it."
"Wouldn't [Monster Hunter] be more useful?" she asked, confused.
"For fighting monsters, sure," Tom admitted. "but there are two problems with your logic. First off, there are only two ways to get a class. The first is to meet the qualifications and directly grab the class from your menu. The second option is to fuse two classes of a lower rarity in order to unlock that class. As long as you keep fighting monsters, you'll eventually get the [Monster Hunter] class because we're battling monsters. But for, say, [Bounty Hunter], you would need to hunt down actual people, and for [Treasure Hunter], you would need to find real treasure. I don't really see you doing either of those things, so now is a great time to get a class you might not normally be able to pick up."
"You aren't taking [Bounty Hunter]," Chester cut in.
"Why not?" Sam asked
"I don't want you to go around hunting other people. I understand taking classes to protect yourself, hunt animals, or look for treasure, even if I would prefer you to stay here and be safe. But you are not going to take a class based around hunting and killing people," Chester said in a tone that brooked no argument.
"Ok, Dad. Ok," Sam said, surrendering to her father's judgment.
Tom patiently waited for Sam to make her decision as more people started to line up behind her.
"Alright, then I think I'll pick up [Treasure Hunter]," Sam said.
"Great, now do you want to wait until you unlock [Meditation] to fuse them yourself? Or can I use my [Soul Forge] skill to fuse them myself right now? " Tom asked.
"You can do it now?' she asked.
"Yes. Would you like me to?" Tom asked.
"Sure," Sam said nervously.
"Hand, please," Tom asked as he fired up his [Soul Forge].
The moment he touched her hand, he entered her soul space. He had never used this part of his bloodline on someone else, and he was understandably nervous.
Samatha's soul space was almost identical to his in some ways and completely different in others. The black void of space with nebulas and stars was the same. Instead of his nebulas and stars, there were only two nebulas, one of black and the other of dark green. With his bloodline skills, he could see the beginnings of the constellation.
He could see how he could put them together in different ways to achieve different results. All of that potential was just sitting there, calling him to be used. He carefully angled them to combine them to unlock the treasure hunter class.
Class Fusion: Level 3 Rogue - Common + Level 3 Ranger - Common → Level 6 Treasure Hunter - Rare
Skill Fusions:
[Eagle Eye] → [Magpies Eye for Treasure] - Epic
[Subterfuge] + [Silent Steps] → [Silent Explorer] - Epic
[Bows] + [Assassination] → [Deadly Aim] - Uncommon
[Magpies Eye for Treasure] - Epic:
You can read the status of any item you come across. Increase the amount of information gained by 1% per skill level
Treasure is highlighted in your vision.
You can also telescope your vision. Increase maximum zoom by 5% per skill level.
[Silent Explorer] - Rare:
+1.25% to your Acrobatic & Sneak Mastery per skill level.
+1% increase to your rogue-type skill gains
[Deadly Aim] - Epic:
+1.25% to your Bow, Crossbow and Firearm Mastery per skill level.
You are 1% more likely to hit your target per skill level.
When attacking with a ranged weapon in sneak or stealth, increase all damage by 9% per skill level.
Tom exited the soul space bombarded by notifications as Samatha staggered at the sudden change.
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 20>
"Wow," Samatha breathed as she looked at her new skills. "That's new. Are these better or worse?"
"Better," Tom said with a shit-eating grin. "Way better, [Magpie Eye for Treasure] and [Silent Explorer] are straight-up improvements. [Deadly Aim] is brutally basic, but it makes you aim better. It can be upgraded to a form of aimbot, but it's good enough for now. Anyway, you have an affinity for Dark and Fire, with the subelements of Ash. Ask Alex for those spells. If you want to learn other spells, you can come back later." Tom said.
"Magic, like I'm going to learn real magic?" she asked in awe.
"Yep, you can practice on the field outside and avoid needlessly blasting the building. NEXT!!" Tom called out to the person behind her.
"Um, Thanks," Sam said. She looked like she was going to say something, but then she moved on to Alex without saying anything.
Tom just shrugged. Her shit was her shit. He moved on to the next person as the notification popped up.
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 21>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 22>
<...>
<[Soul Forge] has Reached Level 25>
<[Library of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 20>
<[Vision of Akashic Records] has Reached Level 11>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 10>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 11>
<...>
<[Thirst for Knowledge] has Reached Level 13>
<[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 25>
<[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 26>
<...>
<[My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] has Reached Level 30>
<[Logistics Ⅲ] has Reached Level 7>
<[Logistics Ⅲ] has Reached Level 8>
<...>
<[Logistics Ⅲ] has Reached Level 12>
DING!!!
Congratulations!!!
To help people understand their paths forwards and help them grow, you have learned the Personal skill [Teacher] - Common
[Teacher]: when you are attempting to teach someone, their skill and XP gains are increased by 1% per skill level. Information you impart is retained within your student's brains by a factor of 0.5% per skill level.
<[Teacher] has Reached Level 2>
<[Teacher] has Reached Level 3>
<...>
<[Teacher] has Reached Level 9>
Tom let out a sigh. He had spent over three hours talking with nearly two hundred prospective new guild members, going over what they wanted to be and what was available to them. Some of these ideas were plausible, and a few were even interesting. He had only been able to upgrade a few of their classes, as most of them had just [Sunder] their classes due to bad stat placement.
But he had been able to give everyone advice on where to go with their builds and how to achieve their dreams, and Alex had taught them some low-level magic, so the general mood was looking pretty good, considering most of Hopkins could now blast people with magic.
He was sure people would be annoyed when they realized that you needed intelligence to use magic. Most of them had not bothered to add any to that stat and would end up having to wait until level 10.
When they had gone through everyone in the room, Tom turned to his new assistant.
“Alright, Alex, how are we looking in terms of recruits?" Tom asked.
"We have two dozen potential cooks, twenty people with some kind of pet class, fifteen potential hunters, thirty-seven potential scavengers, thirteen life mages, fourteen people with experience in construction, five people with technical experience, at least thirty menial laborers, seventeen people interested in pure crafting, maybe a dozen guards, twenty fighters, forty mages, ten rogues, five clerics, And maybe twenty people with miscellaneous classes like lawyer or scientist." Lin rattled off of her list.
"Well, that's disappointing," Alex said. "We were hoping for more bloodlines. Maybe some proper gamers. By the way, we need to recruit more admins."
Tom looked at her. "Why?"
"He asks why?" Alex rolls her eyes. Tom, this school and its one thousand residents are currently administered by the two of us. Even if we could manage that, you and I won't be here full-time. And let me make this clear: I would rather burn this place to the ground than end up stuck doing admin every day. We will have adventures, and we will have fun. Understand?"
"Understood," Tom said, holding up his hands in surrender.
"So what do we need to do first?" Alex asked, looking at him expectantly.
"Umm," Tom fumbled at the sudden change in topic.
"You don't know what to do? Do you?" she asked exasperated.
"I do, I do. Just give me a second," Tom said as he took a proper moment to consider what they needed to do next.
"We need to start getting people out there today. According to the 'How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse' book, cities will only have enough food for three days. We don't know what state the planet's supply lines are in, so we have to assume they're all busted. We need to buy, scavenge and steal everything today. We need to become self-sustaining as fast as possible."
"What about food?" Alex asked. "We should start with food. Thanks to the dungeon, we'll have plenty of meat. We should get someone to head up both the hunters and scavengers first. Fed people are happy people." Alex reminded him.
"And starving people are angry mobs," Tom said. "Yeah, we all played civ."
"Exactly," she said. That being said, who should we put in charge of the hunters? I was thinking of Samatha. She won those archery trophies, and supposedly, she went hunting regularly before the system, and she was popular, so they'll listen to her."
"I would have thought the scavenger class with her Treasure Hunter class," Tom said.
"Perhaps, but we have a lot of people who are willing to and able to scavenge from stores. The same can't be said of our hunters." Alex pointed out.
"Far enough. Besides, she's friends with Luke." Tom said.
"Why does that matter?" Alex asked, confused.
"Luke has access to two legendary classes and a Legendary bloodline. Unfortunately, if we remove the beta-testers, he's probably the strongest person here. If we can get him some more levels, all the better." Tom said.
"Hmmm, ha, do you think Luke would lead a rebellion against us?" Alex asked.
Tom looked up at her in confusion.
"That's a dark thought," Tom said.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on, Tom, intergroup issues are a staple of apocalypse stories. Just look at The Walking Dead."
"I mean, we have issues, but I don't see how that's going to be a problem, not violently anyway. He's not that kind of person," Tom said.
"People change," Alex pointed out. "This could go very Lord of the Flies"
"I doubt that will be a problem," Tom said as he shook his head.
"Why's that?" Alex asked curiously.
"Do we remember what we saw when the apocalypse started?" Tom asked.
"The big fucking Wyvern," Alex said with a snap of her figures. "That thing's strong enough to take us all out if it can be bothered to."
"Yeah, monsters like that will keep people focused on the fact that the world is full of monsters now, and they will treat us like heroes." Tom said, "We'll give them food, safety and levels, and they will love us for it."
"Alright, but how are we going to do that?" Alex asked.
Tom rolled his eyes.
"First, we need to get some staff—people we can trust to dump some of the organizational and management things onto so we can focus on the big picture. We should start with [Lawyers], [Administrators], etc." Tom said.
Alex stared at him, her head cocked in confusion.
"What?" Tom asked.
"I just, I wasn't expecting that of you. I honestly expected to be mostly running things while you would mostly be a figurehead," Lin admitted.
"Well, that's rude," Tom stated.
"You're not paying me to be polite." she countered.
"I'm not paying you at all," Tom pointed out.
"Exactly," she said as she elbowed him.
Further conversation was cut off as Sgt. Thorn showed up.
"Hey, kid. Time to put your money where your mouth is," she said.
"What?" Tom asked
"I think she wants you to bring a bunch of people back from the dead," Alex said
"Oh, right. Let's get on with it." Tom said, rising to his feet.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Tom Bruner
Race: Half-Elf ()
Type: Humanoid
LVL: 13
SubRace: High Elf / Caucasian
Age 18
Health: 455
Stamina: 585
Mana: 2340
Health Regen: 6.5 per hour
Stamina Regen: 7.8 per min
Mana Regen: 13.0 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths, Guild Master
Immune
None
Resistances
Mental 40% Soul 24%
Weakness
None
Bane
Manslayer
Classes: Augur 10, Tactiction 1, Scribe 1, Pro-gamer 1
Total
STR: 13
AGIL: 13
DEX: 11
CON: 39
END: 13
PER: 130
INT: 117
WILL: 104
SPIRIT: 26
EGO: 13
CHA: 78
LCK: 13
Base
STR: 13
AGIL: 13
DEX: 11
CON: 39
END: 13
PER: 130
INT: 117
WILL: 104
SPIRIT: 26
EGO: 13
CHA: 78
LCK: 13
Personal: +4 PER +4 WILL +3 INT +3 CHA
Racial: +3 WILL +2 CON +2 CHA +1 SPIRIT
Bloodline: +5 PER +5 INT
Level Bonus: +1 to all Stats
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Keeper of Akashic Records]—Forgotten: Through your vein runs the blood of the forgotten Keepers of the Akashic Records. These monks, scribes, and scholars helped create the system, and within their blood are the keys to its secrets.
- [The Pen is Mightier than the Sword] - Level 27
- [Words Will Always Retain their Power] - Level 18
- [Library of Akashic Records] - Level 19 >> Level 20
- [Universal] - Level 16 >> Level 17
- [Wordsmith] - Level 18 >> Level 22
- [My Mind is My Temple, My Soul the Altar] - Level 24 >> Level 30
- [Thirst for Knowledge] - Level 9 >> Level 13
- [Visions of Akashic Records] - Level 10 >> Level 11
- [Soul Forge] - Level 17 >> Level 25
- +5 PER per level
- +5 INT per level
Skill Slots: 18/60: Skill Points: 2
Personal Skills
- [Analyze Person] - Level 20
- [Best of Both Worlds] - Level 10
- [Art of Water] - Level 7
- [Art of Earth] - Level 4
- [Teacher] - Level 1 >> Level 9
Augur 07/16
- [Augurs Eye] - Level 7
- [Bright Arts] - Level 25
- [Art of Life] - Level 15
- [Prophetic Meditation] - Level 27
- [Far Seeing] - Level 11
- Capstone: [Hand of Mercy] - Level 3
- [Quest Giver] - Level 1
Tactician 05/6
- [Nascent Guild Leader] - Level 11
- [Leadership Ⅱ] - Level 13 >> Level 16
- [Raider Ⅰ] - Level 15
- [Coordinate Ⅱ] - Level 10
- [Logistics Ⅲ] - Level 6 >> Level 12
Pro-Gamer 01/11
- [Spell Trap] - Level 1
Scribe 01/6
- [Contract] - Level 9