“Any more questions?” Sum offered as its eyes became one again.
“What’s next for us?’ Fayde asked.
“If you were being introduced into the cultivation system the normal way, you would have been presented with your starter class options a while ago. Would you like to view the options now?”
“Better be something good.” Fayde said with a huff.
In front of each of them, three cards appeared.
“These are your class cards, hand selected based upon how you performed during the Refinement.” Sum explained.
Sum just kept making things more and more complicated. First this weird void, the ‘Refinement’, cultivations, and now classes? Not wanting to have the entity go into another tirade that would have them all contemplating why they were, they directed their attention to the three cards before them. The cards themselves were simple. Tan bases that brought to mind aged papyrus with an image taking up the majority of the card. Above each image were words.
“Blade Dancer, Snake Charmer, and Life Drinker.” Fayde said as she looked at her cards.
The Blade Dancer card had a woman in mostly loose clothing holding a blade above her head while the image of her body was like someone took a photo of her mid dance. The Snake Charmer was in similar garb, just of a different style, but she stood inside the coils of a massive snake. The right hand was extended outward as if she had just thrown dirt in someone’s face, but instead of dirt, the snake around her was lunging out to strike with its large venomous fangs. The Life Drinker took a very different turn in appearance. The figure was garbed in leather armor wielding a sword in each hand. One sword was hanging to its side while the other was at the mouth of its wielder, who was the only one having facial features. A tongue was licking a black substance from the sword, and if colors other than black and tan were being used, Fayde knew that liquid would be blood.
“What kind of classes are these?” Fayde asked, a bit dejected.
“I just told you.” Sum said. “Hand selected based upon your performance during refinement.”
“Shouldn’t there be a where is the ranged and spellcaster options? All of these are melee classes.” Fayde retorted.
“Too small minded. Look at the back of the cards.” Sum answered, waving his hand in a dismissive manner.
Very annoyed, Fayde grabbed the Blade Dancer card and flipped it over. On the back were three boxes. The first and largest box had an outlined figure with nine circles inside of the body. Three of the circles were located in the head, while the other six were in the torso. The majority of the circles were in a straight line, except for two which were equidistantly placed on either side of the chest. None of the circles were labeled, but they reminded Fayde of the chakras from Hindu or Buddhist spiritual traditions. To the right of the image box was a thinner box that was just as long, but much less filled in. It only had two lines that read ‘Sword Mastery’ and ‘Sound Manipulation’. The third and final box was at the bottom of the card and had the most to say.
‘Swing body and sword to your own tune of death. Captivate and awe them unto their own bitter ends.’
Fayde took her time to look over the Snake Charmer and Life Drinker cards as well, only really taking note of the skills on each. The Snake Charmer skills were ‘Companion Pact’ and ‘Enhance’ while Life Drinker had ‘Sword Mastery’ and ‘Blood Manipulation’.
Of the three options, two seemed to be a mix between a melee and spellcasting class, while the third was a melee support class. The fact that two of them shared the skill ‘Sword Mastery’ didn’t escape her notice. Was Sum implying that she had an affinity to the sword over other weapons. What she found amusing was the part of the names of two of her class options, Blade Dancer and Snake Charmer. During her refinement she had practiced Naga-Atem, a very specific form of Snake Dance originating in India she learned a very long time ago. Life Drinker was a standout for the fact that she showed no inclination towards vampirism during her refinement, unless Sum was using her porphyria and that no longer being an issue as a reason to suggest it, almost like a joke.
“So, my options are two melee casters and a melee support for my class?” Fayde asked.
“Yes, that is correct.” Sum answered.
“And these are the only options I’m going to get?” She continued.
“Until you hit the next major threshold, yes.”
“What does threshold in your cultivation system represent?” Lith asked.
“It signifies a major change in your ability to grow. After a certain point, your body becomes acclimated to the power you hold and use, eventually making it possible for you to take on more power, assuming you have made your body ready for that next level.” Sum explained.
“Like levels in a video game?” Guidry asked.
“Hmm,” Sum thought. “No. Perhaps I should explain more. You can think of cultivation coming in minor and major thresholds. As you progress, you will naturally overcome the minor thresholds, where your bodies can contain and exude more power. At a certain point, your body will have built up a tolerance to the minor thresholds, which is where the major thresholds come into play. A major threshold signifies a leap in your overall cultivation. There are requirements to overcoming a minor threshold, but you will learn them later.”
“Why not tell us now?” Matia asked sarcastically.
“Too much information too early could spoil how you cultivate. I like things to be more natural in development.”
“Then why are we here?” Fayde asked, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.
“You can thank the little ring there.” Sum said as he pointed to Fayde’s new engagement ring.
“This?” Fayde said as she raised her hand to her face, looking intently at the ring. As she watched it, the galaxy like center of the ring almost seemed to blink. She grabbed it and tried to remove it from her finger, but it was stuck. Not that her knuckle had swollen, but the ring refused to budge even a little on her finger. “What the fuck is this thing? Why can’t I take it off?”
“Different societies call it different things. But the way I have come to understand them is as a beacon. They appear in unintegrated universes. They randomly wake up when certain people put them on. As for why you cannot take it off, it is bonded to you.” Sum explained.
“To be clear,” Lith interjected, “did you make it?”
“No.” Sum said with a finality. “We should return to the topic of your classes.”
Fayde stared at Sum for a while longer, her mind racing with questions and accusations. The rest of her family had already gone back to looking over their cards. Still, her mind couldn’t stray from the fact that the way Sum described the ring make it sound like it hadn’t made the rings. The topic was clearly off the table for further discussion, but questions still plagued her mind as she went over her cards. Which should she pick? Blade Dancer sounded the most realistic and really appealed to her synesthesia. But she wouldn’t mind having a snake companion to aid her and her family in combat. And how far did blood manipulation go? Could she control the blood inside of her enemies or was she controlling her own? The more she read, the more questions she had. She almost wished that she could try out each class or even combine the three…
“I can do that!” came a voice.
Fayde looked around. She had heard a voice and saw the colors of it, but they were colors she had never seen before, a voice she didn’t recognize.
“Hello?” She said aloud.
Lith, who was standing next to her, turned to her. “Yes love?”
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“No, Love. I was thinking about what class to pick.” He paused for a moment and turned fully towards her. “Are you alright?”
“I mean, no.” She answered with a condescending laugh, before retracting her exasperation with the situation they all found themselves in. “I just thought I heard someone.”
“I didn’t hear anyone.” Lith said.
“It was me.” Said the voice again.
Lith’s and the unknown voice overlapped. She looked to the side, rising her finger to hush Lith. “Hold on.” She listened for the voice again, while thinking. Moments passed in silence. She became aware that her family and Sum were staring at her.
“Mom, is Grandma okay?” Guidry asked Trevor.
“I’m sure grandma is fine honey. Go back to picking your class.” Trevor answered her son.
Fayde stopped listening for the voice before turning back to Lith. “Sorry. It’s probably just stress. Maybe all of this is the last straw and I’m finally going crazy.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Lith took a step closer to her and extended his hands. She gladly took them in her own.
“It’ll be okay.’ He said in that reassuring tone that always brought her a modicum of peace. “We’ll make it through this together.”
Fayde nodded before releasing his hands and turning back to her cards. Lith took a step away looking back at his own cards. She took all three in her hands and closed her eyes. The first time she heard the voice, it said ‘I can do that’ when she was thinking combining the cards. So, she thought about it again.
“Yeah, I can do that if you want.” Said the voice again. It was small, almost childlike, and coming from inside her own head.
‘I really am going cray.’ She thought.
“Umm…” started the voice again. “I’m confused.”
It’s confused? Yep, she was definitely going crazy. A voice inside her own head was questioning itself. Must be her CPTSD rearing it’s head once again.
“I’m not a random voice inside of your head. I’m the ring on your finger.”
Fayde opened her eyes and looked at her ring again. Once again, the galaxy like light in the middle of the ring seemed to blink once again.
‘You!’ She thought. ‘Just what are you?’
“I’m a ring.” It said simply, as if that was all there was to it.
‘Rings don’t talk or have blinking galaxies inside of them.’
“I do, and I’m a ring.” It answered, not giving any real explanation.
‘Fine.’ Fayde said, fed up with bull shit nonanswers for the day. ‘You said you can do ‘that’. What do you mean?’
“I can combine the classes for you. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
‘I mean, if it will be better.’ Fayde answered, not wanting to get a bad deal.
“Oh yeah!” The voice said excitedly. “You’ll get a better class with the abilities of all the fused classes.”
‘What’s the catch?’ Fayde asked. Something that good couldn’t come without a price.
“Catch? Like a downside or something?”
‘Yes.’ Fayde answered.
“No, catch. It’s just something I can do.”
‘Why?’ Fayde asked, skeptical of the ring still.
“Why can I combine the classes? I don’t really know. I just ‘know’ that I can.”
‘No, why are you doing it?’
“Oh! Because you woke me up. Sleep is boring.” It answered.
Was that all? Was that it? It was grateful for waking up when Fayde put it on, and that was reason enough for it to combine her classes. It really was just like a child. She felt kinda bad, it felt like cheating, or taking advantage of an innocent.
“Yes, I would like for you to combine my class options.” Fayde said. If she and her family were going to be thrown into an even more fucked up reality, she would grab every advantage she could.
“Oh boy! This is gonna be great!” The voice said before the ring on her finger started to shine.
Even with her eyes already closed, Fayde still had to cover her eyes with her other hand from how bright the ring shone. And then, quite suddenly, the light faded. She then opened her eyes, looking at the singular silver card in her hand.
“Bloodletting Siren.” Fayde whispered to herself as she looked at the front of her new class card. The figure on the front of the card wore clothes that were similar yet different from all of the parts that went into it. The torso was covered in a thin veil of sleeveless black fabric that exposed her solar plexus to her bellybutton in a diamond. Thin red ropes seemed to have been stitched into the fabric, holding it in place as they crossed the sides. Long black cloth gloves covered the arms from just above the elbow while only covering the first knuckle of her middle finger. The forearms were reinforced with red leather bracers, and a bangle of rope bound cloth sat delicately above each of the biceps. The upper chest and neck was covered by a scale patterned leather gorget. A belt of leather and rhinestone secured loose fitting black cloth pants on the hips. The shins, like the forearms, were covered in red leather, and simple hemp sandals adorned the feet. The figure bore two curved swords, both dripping with blood, and the figure’s mouth was open, looking as if it were letting out a blood curdling cry or a heart wrenching song. Behind the figure was still a massive snake, but it now bore the hood of a cobra with intimidating eye like designs on each side.
“Fayde!” Lith said as he touched her shoulder. “Baby are you ok?”
“Ye-Yeah” Fayde said after a moment.
“What was that bright light?” Lith asked.
“I combined my classes.” Fayde answered showing him her new, silver car.
“Bloodletting Siren.” Lith read off the card. “What are the skills?”
Fayde flipped the card over and read off the skills. “Sword Mastery, Companion Pact, Enhance, Sound Manipulation, and Blood Manipulation.”
“You got every skill from the previous classes? Is one missing? You have five skills there, but each of my class cards have two skills.”
“Two of my classes had the same skill, Sword Mastery.” Fayde explained.
“That makes sense. How did you do it? Was it that bright light?” Lith asked, as if she had all the answers.
“Well, the ring did it. I don’t really know how, but yeah it was during the bright light.”
“Huh.” Lith said with a chuckle, looking at the ring he had proposed with. “So, I got the right ring after all.” He began laughing hardily. “Think that ring of yours can combine mine too?”
“That’s the guy that gave me to you right?” The ring asked.
‘Yes.’ Fayde answered in her head.
“Sure, I can combine his classes too. Probably your whole family’s classes really.”
With a bit of guidance from the ring, Fayde managed to combine the classes of all of her family members. Lith combined Punishing Pugilist, Merciful Healer, and Beastmaster into the Primal Shaman class. Unlike Fayde’s class, he retained all six skills from the lack of overlap. His class had Martial Arts Mastery, Rake, Healing Touch, Cleansing Balm, Companion Pact, and Enhance. The figure on his card was drabbed in a brown leather and black-brown fur vest, cut out in pattern and roughly stitched. The right arm was bare save for a small fur wristband while the left arm had two double bands of rope on its wrist and just above the bicep. Adorning the shoulders and upper back was a dark brown fur connected at the front by a necklace of sharp canine teeth. Rough leather pants were partially covered by a fur skirt, leaving the right leg exposed while barely coming down past his left knee. The shins of the pants were reinforced with leather padding and more furs, bound by rope. Sitting on the left hip, in a simple leather sheath was a bone dagger with a leather wrapped handle. The figure was crouched in a martial arts stance, but the right hand was open as if to strike out with its nails like they were claws, whereas the left hand was held towards the chest, flat, like it were about to begin a prayer. A large black wolf stood behind the figure, posed as if to begin encircling their prey. They found it interesting that they both had companion pact skills from a class, and wondered how they would diverge. They could figure it out later.
Trevor was next. They combined Flame Blade, Shadow Scout, and Relentless Bladesmaster into Black-Fire Swordswoman with the Fire Manipulation, Shadow Manipulation, Sword Mastery, and Endure skills. Apparently all of Trevor’s class options had the Sword Master Skill, but having two different manipulation skills, especially ones of opposing concepts did seem interesting. The figure on the card was covered in light leather armor, dyed black and red. The left shoulder sported a cape that was secured to an open cropped jacket with rolled sleeves. Red cords and leather belts secured thick red tassels and another layer of black cloth that further obscured the right side of the body. This figure too bore twinned blades in its hands, but black flames were blazing along the blade.
Enki’s Far-Seeing Archer, Magi-Tech Gunner, and Flashy Daggerist classes combined to make the Range Master class with the Bow Mastery, Gun Mastery, Dagger Mastery, Archer’s Eye, Amplify, and Light Manipulation skills. Without a doubt, Enki would become their ranged damage dealer, although they were curious how he would balance using both a bow and a gun. The answer became clear as they looked at the figure on his card. Drabbed in fancy padded cloths of purples and greys, held together with brown leather straps and buckles and a singular pauldron on the left shoulder was a figure with two, highly advanced, hand crossbows. The limbs were disconnected from the main body, held in place by some invisible force. One of the weapons limbs were drawn back, two thin beams pulling the limbs into a cocked position were a small mote of light sat in what would pass for the latch. Like Lith’s card, there was a dagger sitting on the left hip, but this one was more in line with modern hunting knives, looking multifunctional. On the hips, holding up leather chaps that were tucked into well made leather booths, were two crossed gun shell belts, each shells seeming to emit the same light as the mote in the latch of the science fiction crossbows. Looking a bot closer at the weapons, there did seems to be a cartridge just behind the latch of each.
Matia was next in line to ger her classes used together. She fused Frigid Stalwart, Stone Breaker, and Graviturgist into a rather curiously named Pluto’s Defender class. It did have the skills of Spear Mastery, Hammer Mastery, Martial Arts Mastery, Ice Manipulation, Stone Manipulation, and Gravity Manipulation, which sparked everyone’s thoughts on just what she could do in battle, and what led to her gaining these classes. No one really saw when she finished her refinement, and she and Lith hadn’t talked about it before Sum showed up. Looking at the figure on Matia’s card, some of the workings of the class made sense. While parts of the dark blue and brown leather under armor were exposed, the chest, shoulders, forearms, hands, thighs, shins, and feet were covered in blue-white stone armor that lets off wisps of frigid air. In the right hand was a stone spear in the same color as the armor, but a blade of ice grew from one side, making it look more like a halberd. In the left hand was a rough stone shield. Topping off the regalia of the heavily armored defender was a helmet that covered most of the head and face, only leaving the cheekbones, mouth and chin exposed. Despite how heavy the armor and weapons looked, the figured carried themselves as if they were unburdened.
Finally, Guidry was up to have his classes combined. His Storm Caller, Sea Waker, and Serpent Monk combined to the terrifying Storm Dragon Tamer. The skills of his new class were Martial Arts Mastery, Lightning Manipulation, Water Manipulation, Companion Bond, and Enhance. The figure on Guidry’s card looked like a sorcerer dressed in well-made fitted cloths and robes, standing in the rain while lightning crackled between the fingertips. The right side of the chest was covered in intricately dyed leather of blues and yellow, straps securing it in place as they wrapped around the sides to the back. The armor continued down the right arm, stopping just above the wrist. A long leather skirt split in the front, revealing blue cloth plants and leather boots. The left side of the skirt sported two flowing ribbons of electric yellow and aqua marine blue, while the right was layered in leathers of blues and yellow, held together by large silver staples. Behind the figure was a long serpent like dragon bringing to mind Chinese depictions as it seemed to be standing or riding on clouds that crackled with lightning.
Every single one of their new cards seemed powerful and promising, and with all of their classes combined, all that was left to do was select the class. They were about to ask how they did exactly that before they felt a twinge of their mental energy flow into the cards. Much like how during refinement they could feel the energy moving as they turned their bodies into action with intent, the thought of claiming the class that card represented, making it their own, sent the intent of mental energy to the card. As the mental energy touched the card, they could feel a tangible connection form, almost as if the card superimposed the body on the front of the card into themselves. Bright light blinded their vision, and they could feel their mental and physical energies converging and forming the nine cores depicted on the back of the cards. Not that they were forming inside of their physical bodies, but that where they existed in their spiritual body were being forced open. The forming cores felt like they would exhaust them minds and bodies, but as they finished forming powered returned to them, re vitalizing them. Shortly after, they could feel impressions forming on their recently realized spiritual forms. Almost intrinsically, they knew that each point where the impressions amassed were their skills, masteries, manipulations, pacts, and the rest. All of them fit into them like an open and ready slot had been available to receive them. As the skills finished forming, the light faded. As they opened their eyes, all of theme were now dressed in the armor and clothing shown in their cards, except for Matia who’s armor was part of what her skills could create. She did have on a beautiful set of blue and purple finery on, ready for the armor to be manifested on top of it.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Sum said as it clapped it’s hands together, creating shutters that echoed through the void. “You look ready to take on your trials.”
