Chapter 49 – Class Change Curse

  Rayne was on her way back to their campsite. She had tried to get a closer look at the Wenduags’ camp, but approaching in the middle of the day proved to be difficult. Ultimately, she had to pull back or risk alerting Clayton.

  She was only able to determine that nothing had changed in the camp’s activities in the past few days. That was a small comfort. She was half expecting Clayton to have heightened the security and increased the patrols, but, if anything, it almost felt like the Wenduags were less attentive and organized than back when Rayne was in the camp.

  That had to be important. Either Clayton was getting complacent since becoming of Blood Mage, or he was losing his control over the beast. If that was what was happening, then that posed an opportunity and a risk. If Clayton loses control of the Wenduags then bringing him down would be much easier, but she wasn’t sure what the Wenduags would do if they were off their leash.

  They needed to get her people out of the camp before that happened, but they were still several days away until they would be ready to make their move. Would Clayton’s hold last that long?

  “Hey!” Rayne heard a voice that sounded like Zephyr. She stopped in her tracks looking around but couldn’t see the Familiar.

  “Hey, over here!” Zephyr called to her again.

  Rayne activated her True Sight ability. It was still very new, and she was not used to using it, but Jack was able to see her with it when she was invisible. Almost immediately, the silhouette of Zephyr appeared floating in the air.

  “What are you doing over here?” Rayne asked.

  “Cheering on the Terg,” Zephyr said indicating a strange amphibious creature sitting near the edge of a small lake nearby. “It’s been singing for a while. I think it’s trying to attract a mate. That’s something creatures do, right?”

  “Yes,” Rayne said. “Good luck with that? I’m heading back.”

  “Oh,” Zephyr said. “Can you pick up the others on the way? I left them at the meeting point.”

  “Sia and Teresa? They’re here?”

  “And Elizabeth,” Zephyr said. “Well, I left them in the morning, so maybe?”

  “I’ll go looking for them.”

  *~*

  “We’re back,” Rayne called out upon returning.

  “Welcome back,” Jack called to her. “We?”

  “Hey Jack,” Teresa said. “Rayne told me you made us some bows. Why are you sitting in water?”

  “Jasper suggested it,” Jack explained, pulling himself out of the river. “Trying to unlock another elemental affinity. You’re just in time. We were going to make more arrows soon. The bows are over there if you’d liked to check them out.”

  Teresa and Sia went to inspect the bows, but Elizabeth immediately went to greet Ciao.

  “Awesome,” Teresa said picking up one of the bows. “You already made uncommon rarity? And enchanted?”

  “Yeah,” Jack said. “Rayne and Sylvian helped me to correct some of the problems I had with the first few. Not sure if I can do better just yet.”

  “No these will do,” Teresa said. “How about the camp?”

  “I have created enough living spaces for all of us and our people,” Sylvian said indicating the tree beds. “We should also start producing some of the local herbs soon.”

  “I decided to wait on trying to make any of the blueprints I have,” Jack said. “Figured we can work on that after rescuing the elves.”

  Sylvian nodded. “Until we use the Foundation Crystal, there isn’t much value in planning the city out yet. Anything you make now would also be of lesser quality than what you could make with the bonuses it would provide, but this should at least help hide our people for a while.”

  “Can I help with the arrows?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Sure,” Jack said. “We only have about a hundred right now. We could always use more.”

  “Have you practice with them yet?” Teresa asked.

  “I have,” Rayne said. “They are better than the ones we were using before.”

  “That is actually impressive,” Teresa said. “You ever make a bow before?”

  “No,” Jack said. “I barely done any kind of crafting before coming here.”

  “He does have the class though,” Sylvian said.

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  “Is that enough?” Jack asked. “I haven’t gotten a skill for carpentry at all. I was kind of expecting a skill as well.”

  “The Class grants a passive skill,” Rayne explained. “If you had the skill before taking the class, it would have been incorporated into the class.”

  “That’s why only you made the bows,” Sylvian said. “The more you worked at it and the higher your level in the Profession got, the better the creations would be. The things you make will just be better than what we could make.”

  “I do remember losing my cooking skill,” Jack muttered. “But it didn’t do that for everything. I still have my Construction skill, even with the Builder class.”

  “It is probably considered a supporting skill,” Rayne said. “Like Fletching and Carving will help you make arrows and designs with your Carpenter class, but you won’t get a Carpentry skill if you already have the profession. Fishing and Trap Making are supporting skills for the Hunter profession.”

  “I’ll have to work on getting some for my other professions then,” Jack said. “How are the others doing?”

  “The tunnel team hit a snag the first couple of days,” Teresa told them. “They intended to go through the city by making a hole in the wall.”

  “Really?” Jack asked.

  “Well, Savgar intended to,” Teresa said. “But there is some kind of strong self-repair function built into the wall that they couldn’t get past. So, they had to find a different place. Set them back a lot. They still had half-a-mile left to dig by the time I left them.”

  “Then they should be ready by tomorrow?” Rayne asked.

  “Yeah,” Teresa answered. “At least Savgar should be. Elaine just went into the Trial. Have we had eyes on the camp?”

  Jack pointed over the edge of the cliff to the Wenduags’ camp on the other side.

  “I have already tried approaching the camp several times, but I haven’t been able to get a close look yet,” Rayne said.

  “Were you able to find out anything?” Jack asked.

  Rayne nodded. “I’ve noticed some things. I was hoping to get the Wizard and dwarf’s opinion on the matter.”

  “It might take a few days for them to join us,” Teresa said. “Do you think we have that time?”

  “I hope so,” Rayne said. “Have you ever heard of what happens to people that manage to change their class? Do they still retain the skills and abilities from the previous class?”

  “Class change is not a common thing,” Sylvian said. “Zajowle is still trying to accomplish that as well. But I don’t know what happens to those abilities.”

  “Maybe Daniel might know more,” Jack suggested. “Or Jasper? You have any thoughts on it?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know much about the process of changing classes,” Jasper said. “I was only responsible for the onboarding. Class selection and changes takes place long after I leave.”

  “Are you asking about the class change curse?” Ciao asked.

  “You’ve heard of it?” Rayne asked.

  “Only that it is often mentioned when talking about people who have,” Ciao said. “Class change curse. Don’t know why, never looked into it.”

  “That is concerning,” Rayne said. “But if I am right, then I don’t know if Clayton’s hold over the Wenduag and spiders will last much longer.”

  “What do you mean?” Teresa asked.

  Briefly, Rayne explained what she noticed about the change in behavior of the Wenduags and spiders. “It’s not only that they are becoming less organized, but that there is a tense atmosphere around the area as well. I don’t know where it is coming from.”

  “I noticed something strange like that as well when I was observing the camp,” Jack admitted. “There is some kind of tension between the spiders and the Wenduags. They are both under Clayton’s control, but they have separated themselves from each other in the camp and even avoid each other when possible.”

  “And you think Clayton may be losing his control over them?” Sylvian asked.

  “It has to be a possibility,” Rayne said. “If it is true, then it might give us an opportunity.”

  “He has to still have his Beastmaster skills though,” Jack said. “Otherwise, they would have already turned on him.”

  “Skills alone are not enough,” Rayne said. “Just like your Carpenter class. Even if I had the Carpentry skill, we could both make a bow, but yours will always be better because your class will give you a natural understanding and boost to your creations. If you lost the class though, you would still know how to make a bow, but it would not be as good.”

  “I suppose that is possible,” Teresa said. “But couldn’t it also just be that he has over stretched his limit? Can’t apply as much control with so many of them. Everything has their limits.”

  “That could be it too,” Rayne said. “I hadn’t considered that.”

  “We can confirm with the others later,” Sylvian assured her. “For now, we should just keep a close eye on them and make sure they are okay.”

  They spent the rest of the day working on making arrows and practicing shooting them. Jack eventually got the Fletching skill Rayne had mentioned at beginner rank. Elizabeth helped out with making the arrows, but after a while she asked Jack to help her make her own bow.

  “Are the ones I made not enough?” Jack asked.

  “It’s not about the bow really,” Elizabeth admitted. “I just want to work on getting more crafting skills. I don’t have a lot of time before I have to choose my class.”

  “Ah,’ Jack said. “I did much the same thing.”

  “Then you understand,” Elizabeth said.

  “Well, what profession were you thinking of choosing?” Jack asked. “Carpenter?”

  Elizabeth looked over at the others nervously. Teresa and Rayne were busy talking by the bows discussing something Jack couldn’t hear. Once Elizabeth was confident that no one could overhear them, she turned back to Jack. “Actually, I want the one you picked.”

  “Still interested in that one?” Jack asked. “Are you sure? I told you about it. It’s not an easy class to progress. I have been told many times by everyone, even a Beast Lord, that it was a mistake and no one has ever been able to ascend with it. There is a very real chance I might not be able to reach the next realm.”

  “I don’t care about going to the next realm,” Elizabeth said. “I’m fine with this one. But I want to be useful, strong, and free.”

  “I hear you on that,” Jack said. “It is those things, but there are a lot of ways be all three here.”

  “It’s not the same,” Elizabeth said shaking her head. “You have the freedom to pursue anything you want when you want to. Name one class that even comes close to offering that. I want that freedom too.”

  “Well, if you are set on it,” Jack said. “It’s your choice. At least you will go into it knowing what to expect. But I’m not certain it will be possible.”

  “What! Why?”

  “I’m pretty sure I only got offered the choice as I was the only remaining member of the Akashic Order on this planet,” Jack said. “Maybe even the first realm. At least I remember the System mentioning that it normally requires approval by an Elder. I also had to be a Disciple which I only got by choosing an Akashic class for my combat class first.”

  “So, I need to make sure I choose an Akashic combat class first,” Elizabeth muttered.

  “I mean, that would probably be the first step,” Jack said. “But even if you did, there isn’t any Elders to give approval and there are several people now a part of the Order to at least some extent.”

  “But if it only requires an Elder’s approval, would you be considered and Elder for us?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I’m pretty sure Elder is a title within the Order,” Jack said. “But hey, just in case your right, by all means, you have my approval.”

  “Thanks,” Elizabeth smiled.