The idea of reincarnation intrigued him. It really did. The things that would mean for him, for his family; it was immeasurable. If people really were reborn-

They wouldn’t remember anything anyways, would they.

Sebastian sighed as he felt his heart grow heavy. The cycle of reincarnation was rebirth in the truest sense. It still wouldn’t bring them back. Nothing could bring them back. With that not entirely new realization, his train of thought quickly cleared itself of any fog and brought clarity back to his mind.

Upon reaching Lv. 10, he had earned a class and a profession. Sebastian had already picked Frostblade Warden, the evil sounding class that actually felt quite evil; so it was now time to get onto his profession.

The series of events took a while to describe but happened in the blink of an eye, Sebastian’s mind racing. He wasn’t a healer, he couldn’t help his teammates much more than he already had. All he could do now was delve deeper into the system, get stronger, and make sure they’re safe enough to recover.

[Class Chosen, Profession requirements met]

Selecting the dialogue with a thought, Scorn quickly began creating words and text that flashed through his vision, blurring past his eyes like streaks of light. The bladesman managed to catch a few words like Vitality, Prime, Art and Technique, the four words that seemed to flash by the most. Everything else? Unintelligible in his eyes. Literally.

Eventually though, they slowed to a stop. Many words formed together with others to eventually create sentences, paragraphs, and proper readable texts that displayed themselves to Sebastian. Scorn hadn’t put so much fanfare into this before, so Sebastian was actually rather anxious to see what professions he’d get the choice of.

[(Common) Cook]

[Using ingredients from the new age and the old alike, create meals and dishes that would make even the most stoic men weep and the saddest of widows smile. This profession specializes in using meats and plants to form something edible that will improve those who consume it in some fashion.]

[(Uncommon) Beast Tamer]

[The Beast Tamer is friends with people and animals alike, bridging the gap between the beasts of the new age and the people of the old. To be a Beast Tamer means to know how Beasts think, eat, act, and strengthen themselves, as well as how to form relationships with them, be it as an owner, partner, friend, or symbiotic in some fashion.]

[(Unique) Martial Arts Patriarch]

[A Pioneer of the Age after The Light; having dedicated oneself to strength, technique, and magic alike. The Martial Arts Patriarch shows great skill, comprehension, and talent; whilst also compassionate enough to share their knowledge to strengthen others. This is a profession solely based around strengthening themselves and the people by innovating and inventing new methods of attack, defense, and all else that is combat in the new age.]

[(Common) Scavenger]

[The scavenger always knows what’s nearby, when, and the safest way to get to it. Often treasure hunters, grave diggers, or plain scavengers looking for resources, this profession focuses on moving unhindered within ruins, caves, and most environments both natural and unnatural.]

Sebastian didn’t quite know what to think. These were his options? He cooked only once or twice since The Light, he had Scavenged exactly once, he didn’t even really tame Therin, only name him, and he was hardly a Martial Artist. Was the bare minimum really so low?

Then again, he might be the only one with a beast companion, the only one to cook such high level beasts for food, the only one to loot an entire pharmacy, and he was definitely the leader in Vitality Arts and Techniques. The question was, why did this take so long for Scorn to process? Why the streaking lights and fancy animation? One of these options was clearly different, and the answer felt pretty obvious to him.

Beast Tamer could likely be earned if you kept a pet with you after The Light, including a pet you owned beforehand, though maybe every animal just went crazy. Cook was, well, a cook. More than a few people in the Convoy could probably get this Profession if they hit Lv. 10. Scavenger was similar, most militia in the group could probably earn it.

So, simply, it was [Martial Arts Patriarch] that was different. Emphasized by the fact that it had the Unique tag, something not even his [Frostblade Warden] class had. That, and this profession seems to care about teaching and researching Vitality Arts and Techniques, so it went along with what he was already doing anyways.

Having felt he really was overthinking the issue considering the Unique one was the obvious choice, Sebastian willed it in his mind that he selected his profession and the dialogue all vanished within an instant. The world suddenly felt different to him, as if he was more attuned to something that wasn’t mana but ultimately there was no big blue flash of light or massive mana baptism.

Information flooded his mind in mere moments, yet didn’t make him feel light-headed at all, as if he had learned it all step by step. Nothing to do with Vitality Arts or Techniques, but rather how to teach, or identify things.

Opening his eyes briefly to check up on the process of recovering the wounded, Sebastian saw Hasan and Sarah quickly being carried to a makeshift infirmary, Chris following behind. A few people had stood in different positions around him, though all had their back to him, none kept an eye on him. As such, Sebastian closed his eyes once more to figure out what his profession gave him.

[(Unique) Identify Affinity]

[Gives the user the ability to discover a target's affinity before it is awakened. Can be used on anyone of a lower level than the user.]

A very niche skill, Sebastian wasn’t disappointed or impressed. It fit the idea of teaching the inexperienced and leading them on their path, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting something at least remotely similar.

[(Unique) Seed of Vitality]

[Allows the user to condense their Vitality into a seed and give it to those the host chooses, letting them either burst the seed for momentary strength, or let the seed guide their Vitality along its pathways. A teaching aid. Cannot be removed by anyone but the user, including the host.]

This was definitely not expected, and could definitely save some lives. The issue was, a Seed of Vitality was most likely very draining, and he couldn’t imagine giving one to everyone in the Militia. The most important or those with unique Affinities maybe, but he had to conserve its use for those he felt were important.

[(Unique) Belief]

[Allows the Martial Arts Patriarch to collect belief.]

This one just plain didn’t make any sense. At all.

[(Unique) All for One, One for All]

[The Martial Arts Patriarch is more attuned to the laws of the world and receives their passive guidance, better understanding Martial Arts as a whole. The user will better comprehend and link the world together.]

Another one that was rather resistant to understanding but Sebastian didn’t mind much. The overall gist of what the Profession did, in his mind, was help him teach others better. Whatever the last skill meant for him he wasn’t sure, but he assumed it meant he would understand things easier in the future.

Preparing himself for a headache, Sebastian brought forth portions of his Status Window in an effort to better understand what his situation was, now that it changed again. The versatility of Scorn in this regard made him rather happy.

[Sebastian Albrecht, Prime Aspect of Ice and Snow]

[Human]

[Class: Lv. 10 Frostblade Warden]

[Profession: Lv. 1 Martial Arts Patriarch]

[Skills]

[(Unique) Identify] [(Common) Basic Saber Expertise] [(Unique) Prime Ice Affinity] [(Common) Winter’s Song Blade Technique] [(Rare) Ethereal Prison] [(Rare) Ethereal Execution] [(Uncommon) Binding Ice] [(Unique) Identify Affinity] [(Unique) Seed of Vitality] [(Unique) Belief] [(Unique) All for One, One for All]

The level was no longer displayed with his race, but rather levels were given to both Class and Profession. Sebastian could only smile wryly at this, as it meant he’d have to level up a second thing, as well as practicing his created skills and Vitality Art. On the other hand, seeing the skill tab fill out like this was rather pleasing to the eye.

Finally opening his eyes once more, the bladesman took in the sights. Everything seemed more vivid now, even vaguely sensing the mana hidden within the snow, the asphalt, and even the buildings around them. It all felt jarringly separate yet also weirdly connected to each other. Taking a deep breath, he started walking forwards.

The abrupt crunch of boots on snow startled the few guards, having been stationed there for nearly twenty, silent, minutes. Elijah in particular turned around quickly, his eyes weary as he saw Sebastian approach. Sebastian always had a cold feeling to him after his affinity awakened, but now he felt like the cold feeling mixed with the world itself, a rather overbearing pressure.

Seeing Elijah turn to him, Sebastian offered a smile before speaking softly, as if noticing the teen’s mood. “Could you tell me where Dallas is? In the convoy?”

“Uh- yeah, he’s right about in the middle. Coordinating all the guard stations while we figure out what to do against the wall.”

“Anyone investigated it yet?”

“Chris told us briefly what you four saw, and Rich took a look at it just earlier. Crazy man, nearly Dallas’ level. He said it was gradually weakening but it might still be days.”

“Well, I guess I should go inform the big guy before plans get set in stone, eh?”

Patting Elijah on the shoulder, Sebastian quickly made his way over to the middle of the convoy, though his expression long dropped at the reminder of the wall and Chris. He needed to make sure Sarah and Hasan were okay. It wasn’t entirely his fault they were injured, but it wasn’t not his fault either.

“Dallas! Dallas!”

“Ah, the ice statue is awake.”

Waving away one of the other members of the convoy, Dallas turned to Sebastian with a stoic expression. The man’s clothes were somewhat torn and his knuckle dusters bloodied, but he was in okay shape.

“Aye, I’m awake. Not making plans to settle down here, are you?”

“For the moment, actually, we are. You’ve seen the wall. We can’t get through, not for a few days.”

“We might not be able to, you’re right, but why don’t we wait a bit first. I have something I want to try.”

“A new gimmick or something?”

Sebastian nodded. Everyone could clearly see what was happening when he gained his class, and the fact he stood there for twenty something minutes afterwards definitely wasn’t normal either, even by The Light standards. Not to mention this was Dallas, Sebastian didn’t need to hide anything.

“I’m Lv. 10, I have a class now. I think I can break the barrier if I’m lucky.”

“Will it put you out of commission? A cooldown or something?”

“Not that I know of.”

“When can you do it?”

“I want to take a look at the wounded first. Anyone collected the cat's body yet?”

“No, it’s aura still burns most of us, and those who can get close to it are either preoccupied or.. out of it.”

“What do you mean out of it?”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as his stomach sank, a bad feeling permeating throughout his body like a spreading cancer. Even the coldness naturally spreading from him grew withdrawn as his expression fell.

“You’ll see when you get to the infirmary. Ken.. the poor kids not okay.”

Dallas sighed, rubbing the back of his neck gently. Closing his eyes for a moment, the man breathed in heavily before looking back at Sebastian.

“He found his mothers body.”