Jill P.O.V

The assassin class would synergize more with her new weapons, but the pixie class would let her become more of a spell caster. Knowing that spatial magic was one of the most powerful types of magic, she felt more interest towards this class. Casting spatial spells would be incredibly desirable, and teleportation skills could earn a lot of gold.

Honestly though, if they kept getting rewards like today, she bet that it wouldn’t take long to settle her debts. Not realizing how quickly adventurers earned gold, she probably blew her own concerns of out proportion. The debt felt so easy to deal with now, and she could feel her face heating up as she remembered her stupid demands from back at the guild. Even without taking extra gold, it wouldn’t take long for her to pay off the debts.

There were a lot of good reasons to pick either class, but there was one thing she wanted to have. A storage space seemed so useful, and now everyone else had one. Believing that better spatial magic would let her make one, she was more inclined to the pixie class. Although, she had seen the changes a class could make to someone. She didn’t want to end up scarred like Mash. Thinking about it though, pixies were supposed to be cute and unrealistically beautiful.

The assassin class was tempting too, naturally fitting into her current fighting style. She would have to change very little to adapt to the class. Not to mention that it would work better with her new weapons, but she could sell them if she didn’t need them. With that in mind, she knew what class she wanted. Wondering what changes would happen to her body, she reached out to the pillar that smelled lightly of apples.

______________________________________________________________________________

Mash P.O.V

Mash sat meditating; he was watching the others as they chose their classes. Getting up, he noticed Luke moving a little. It seemed like he made his choice. Nothing changed about him visually, but he felt different. Was it his aura, his presence? Either way he felt like a new person and radiated a warm sensation. Whatever Luke had done, made it so Mash felt like he was being empowered. He wanted to ask him about it but choose to wait for Jill to be done.

In reality, he didn’t know Red’s class information either, and wanted to wait for them all before asking them about it. Although, seeing her fight had been an adequate demonstration of her skills. While her skills were flashy, Mash wanted to get a mobility skill of some kind. Something like Jill’s teleport would be incredible. The only skill of Red’s that he really wanted was a manipulation skill, since he already had a creation one a manipulation one would let him move his wooden weapons freely. It would use mana, but he already fantasized about making giant weapons and swinging them all around himself. That would be fun.

Pondering what skills he would want in the future, he jumped backwards as Jill’s body started glowing. It started in a subdued white light, but she quickly grew into a tiny star. Mash had to shield his eyes and saw the others doing the same. The light swirled around her until it formed a cocoon. The light was moving even as it seemed to harden. After which it started shrinking until it seeped into her skin. Once the light dimmed enough, Mash just stood there staring.

He didn’t know what he expected, but the eyes that were staring back at him were not Jill’s. That didn’t make sense since they were in her head, but he still couldn’t be certain. Her eyes were beautiful but also terrifying. Filled with interconnecting hexagons, they looked like an insect’s eyes, but somehow more encompassing. The colors seemed to be shifting, and Mash reflexively took a step closer, wanting to see more. She raised her hand up to stop him and spoke snidely.

“What are you doing?”

Mash had gotten a lot closer than he intended and didn’t realize. Startled by both her voice and general appearance, he moved backwards getting a better image of all the changes. Her voice had changed a little and seemed to travel more easily through the air. It kind of felt like she was talking directly into his ears. It would take some time to get used, but that was not the biggest difference.

Her whole appearance had changed. It wasn’t drastic, but it seemed like she was more ethereal. There was an impossible cleanness to her skin, and all the dirt and scratches seemed to have fallen away. Her unblemished skin was accented by her hair that now faintly sparkled. If he looked closely it looked like the sparkles were falling from them like ashes.

“Um, you look different, and I don’t think stealth is going to be viable anymore.”

Mash spoke apprehensively, still shocked by her transformation. He looked to the others, and they seemed similarly surprised, Red even looked envious, as she started speaking sadly.

“That’s not fair. I mean… just look at Mash.”

Choosing not to acknowledge the comment, he just asked his own question.

“Well, tell me what classes you guys got.”

The statement got Jill’s attention; she had been staring at her own reflection for a while now. Although everyone had been distracted, but he couldn’t help but ask them. He wanted to know theirs but wanted to pick his own class more. It became a real test of will, not to select his own class, but he held back believing that the payoff would be worth it.

“My class is called Enhanced Pseudo-Pixie, and it’s a weird one. A bunch of my skills changed drastically to affect my new class in different ways. My skill that boosted my senses now allows me to see mana and even spot spirits too. The other skills received similar changes, but the biggest change was with my teleportation skill as it is no longer limited in range, and I can take other people with me. The further away and the more people, the more mana it consumes. As for new skills, I have one called loved by space, which is supposed to give me a sixth sense for danger, and makes the “world work with me,” whatever that means. This last one you have to see.”

As she finished revealing her changes, she pointed at a group of the dead snakes. The space seemed to warp slightly, before imploding, the snakes torn apart into a mess of viscera. Shuddering, Mash turned to Jill and spoke very carefully.

“I’m just going to apologize for any of my future actions right now… Please don’t ever use that on me.”

He didn’t have to fake his concern, that was gruesome. He knew that spells could be resisted if casted directly on a living creature but didn’t want to test it. Honestly, he doubted that any low-level creatures could block it. Grateful that Jill was on his side, he looked towards Red. Noticing his eyes on her, she spoke quickly.

“I don’t have anything quite as flashy as that, most of my changes just boosted my skills. As for new skills, I got this dress, that you guys can see. It is both an active and passive skill, so I could theoretically be wearing it all the time. Passively it boosts my defenses, and if I use more mana on it, I can make it stronger. I got a buffing skill, which boosts my stats based on how much blood is around me. It makes me a lot stronger, but not a whole lot prettier.”

She sounded a little disappointed at that last part, but Mash didn’t think it was true. Her blood dress was beautiful, and the way that it flowed looked astonishing. As far as he was concerned, their classes both looked amazing. Luke hadn’t changed at all physically, but the change in his aura was drastic. He only spoke a few words, but they were the most important ones.

“Let me just show you.”

The first thing Mash perceived were the glowing tattoos. They were interconnected lines that wrapped all over his body, including the hair on his head. Shining with golden light, he radiated power and Mash felt strangely small in comparison. Luke swung out with his fist, and Mash was surprised as the wind brushed against him. There was a lot of power behind his swings now. However, it was the next motion that really stunned Mash. Luke grew a tail, but his size didn’t change. A moment later, he grew his body and could change it as he wanted. He spoke, his voice deep from the transformation.

“That is the gist of it, the rest are just upgrades on my previous skills.”

Speaking the words like it was nothing special, Luke returned to normal. Mash felt the pangs of jealousy and rushed the group to finish their preparations. They quickly continued down the dungeon, now any snakes that they came up with were easily dealt with. Mash barely did anything, as they ran through the corridor.

They ran into a few packs, but as expected they disposed of them quickly. After a few minutes, they arrived at a circular opening. There was one thing that he paid particular attention to. This room had no additional paths. Presumably the end of the dungeon, Mash was getting giddy. He almost waltzed in but was stopped by a hand, as Luke pointed further into the room. Noticing the monster for the first time, he gave it the attention it was due.

The creature easily stood over twenty feet tall. Despite being humanoid in shape, it was covered in scales with a snake like face. Looking at them, it stood in place while picking up an enormous hammer from the ground. Mash had originally thought it was a boulder and was surprised to see the rock get lifted into the air. Roaring, the creature charged at them, and Mash got a glimpse at the hundreds of sharp teeth within its maw. Mash prepared for the fight, even if he was probably the weakest, he would make sure to contribute. This must be the boss for this version of the labyrinth.

“Let me go first!”

Yelling the words, Jill moved in front of the group. She raised her hand into the air, and Mash could see her mana drop significantly. Worrying that the spell wouldn’t work he started growing a wall to at least try and block the creature. He was still the only one here with ranged defenses. It was unnecessary as he saw the spell take effect.

The creature's head imploded, and it fell backward onto the ground without accomplishing anything. Hitting the ground, the body had caused a small tremor and the group rushed over to finish it off if necessary. It was not needed; the creature’s eyes had looked like they had been sucked into its head and blood was seeping out of whatever hole it could find. The skin itself had been undamaged, but everything on the inside had been torn apart. If the creature had its mouth closed it might have still lived, but now it just left Mash feeling unsatisfied.

That feeling only lasted a second though, as he experienced the mana swirl around them. Knowing what this meant, they cheered at having completed the dungeon even if the boss fight was anticlimactic. Mash wanted to sit down and advance his class immediately but stopped when something started growing out of the ground. He glanced at the others, and something was similarly growing from the ground at their feet.

Not expecting anything specific, he was surprised to see what looked like a glorified grape. Slightly bigger than his thumb, the fruit was pitch black. He had never seen anything like it before but felt a connection to it. It was calling to him, and he reached down and plucked it from the ground. He looked towards his friends; they all were holding small objects in their hands. Jill and Red were carrying rings, but Luke had also received a small fruit. He looked just as skeptical as Mash but started eating it anyways. Mash understood why, dungeon completion rewards were always good for the person who earned them. Breathing deeply, he put the entire fruit into his mouth.