Chapter Forty Four - Class and Profession

I walked down the narrow stairs once again, aiming to speak with Reldin. I felt as alone as I ever had in Dungeon Home. I missed my friends. I was mad at them but neither of them had known Red Thorn had been the one to hurt me. At least… I didn’t think they did. They’d sounded… shocked. Worried, when they discovered she was my tormenter.

I still wanted my revenge, but seeing her die… it hadn’t been as satisfying as I’d hoped. At that moment, it’d felt wonderful. Watching the wretched woman finally feel the touch of her own blade? Exquisite. The crash afterwards hadn’t been worth it though.

Now, with the clarity of nearly five cycles of mindless riding behind me, lingering guilt hung on my conscience. Hadn’t I sworn not to be like the invaders? How had I been any different from Red Thorn?

I hadn’t had time to process the revelations that had come from that conversation, and had been too devastated by Amy and Iron’s betrayal to think about them until now.

I was an Ay Eye. Other monsters didn’t have consciousness, so killing them was okay. Apparently all adventurers assumed this to be true, but me being an Ay Eye, made me sort of not like my kin. But… also not human.

Was I damned, to never be content following the Instinct yet never be able to be an adventurer either? What had I done to deserve this isolation? I’d tried to obey the Instinct, hadn’t I? I’d tried being an adventurer, too, hadn’t I?

It was all so damn confusing. Listening as each new NPC I met gave me a fixed speech every time I approached them was not helping. The words were hollow. Interesting sometimes. Helpful sometimes. But lacking the same thing as the bugbears. There was no… life, and for that I was unfortunately coming to realize that I’d done the same thing as Red Thorn. I’d judged them for that lack.

I hadn’t cared about the bugbears once they started dying because there was no spark there. Nothing behind those dead eyes. None but Bugbear himself, at any rate.

Was I being hypocritical? If Red Thorn thought I was no different from the bugbears for all that time… was it just for her to suffer my same fate? Was that fair?

Probably not… but she shouldn’t be allowed to just give a half hearted “I’m sorry” and get away with it either! I got so angry when I saw her, and now she was dead set against me. I couldn’t stay within the city forever, with its lifeless denizens and the adventurers who did nothing but fawn over my skin before going off to do… whatever it was they did. Presumably eat Cherry Delight and kill more of my kin.

I wished Amy or Iron would show up. I...

I blinked, before pulling my friends list. Sure enough, Amy and Iron were both online, though I didn’t know where they were. They were no longer in my party, so I couldn’t see their names or hp numbers like I’d been able to when we’d entered Twisted Wronkle Woods.

Knowing they were in the game was surprisingly unhelpful, but fortunately there was a message system.

I opened it, willing the message I desired into existence before me, and sent it off to Amy.

Subject Line: I feel betrayed.

Amy Thyst,

Waiting for you in Variak. I… have questions.

Gell, the Jellyfae

Unlike Amy and Iron, Bellcandy and Dull Beauty had stood up and fought Red Thorn, at least partially on my behalf, and we’d only known each other for a little while. That was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me.

I opened a new message and was delighted to find I could send the same message to more than one person.

Subject Line: Friends?

Bellcandy and Dull Beauty,

I’m not sure if you fought for your own reasons or to protect me, but either way, thanks for fighting her. I managed to survive and get to Variak. I’ll be here if you want to talk.

Gell, the Jellyfae

Bellcandy was already my friend from back when he’d first sent me a message before we’d met in Bluebell Bridge, but Dull Beauty had never requested a piece of my name, so I sent her a private friend request. Both of them appeared to be offline at the moment so I didn’t expect a reply.

Dismissing my invisible screens, I approached Reldin once again, idly noting the bright golden exclamation point sitting above his head. He sat looking bored behind his desk until the second I approached, when his eyes began to dance with enthusiasm.

“Gell! It’s so good to see you again!”

I cocked an eyebrow. “I saw you less than an eighth of a cycle ago…”

If the man noticed my sarcasm he didn’t acknowledge it.

“So, now that you’ve been to see your lodging, I bet you want to get up to adventuring, huh? Well, it looks like there are lots of things available for you to do! If you don’t mind, we always need new adventurers to clear out the giant rats and direbugs that haunt the area around the outskirts of Variak! Do me a favor and kill five of each!”

He paused in his speech for just a moment, and I was about to respond, growling and clenching the counter with my fist tightly before he continued abruptly.

“Also… it looks like you’ve reached a high enough level to pick up a class and a profession! You can try and pick up any profession and switch between them, but take care when picking your class. You can only pick it once, and that’ll be your class for life, so choose wisely!”

“I can only have one class, for the rest of my life!?” I exclaimed heatedly.

Reldin lowered his voice conspiratorially, bending down a little to whisper closer to my ear. “Well. There are rumors that some adventurers have managed to change classes with some scary levels of magic or twisted rituals. Personally, I’d be pretty wary of those though!”

The man even whispered excitedly. Probably because he seemed to do nothing but stand behind that desk all the time. Didn’t he ever do anything? At least the bugbears wandered.

“So… what are the classes and professions?”

“I’m glad you asked! Classes are disciplines which allow you to learn marvelous abilities, so you can fight powerful enemies and heal your allies. Professions are one of the best ways to make money in Tread the Sky. Professions are specified areas of expertise that allow you to offer other adventurers items or services that they may need! Which would you like to know about first!?”

Another dialogue box appeared. I was beginning to realize these boxes, while similar to Miss Tutorial, were nothing like her. I mentally began referring to them as NPC Boxes, as I viewed two options in a list form.

Classes

Professions

I pressed Classes and a larger array opened. Best get the one I didn’t care for out of the way first.

Classes

Dogaia Pel’Bramont The Iki Confederation The Jican Empire Known Wilderlands Classes

Professions

Huh. So different countries had different classes? Did that mean if I wanted a class from Pel’Bramont I’d have to travel there? And what were Wilderlands Classes?

I clicked Dogaia since I was pretty sure that was where Amy or Iron had told me Variak was. Where I was.

Archer

A ranged class with relatively weak melee skills. Damage focus. An Archer concentrates on devastating foes from a distance. The Archers are trained in the Barracks. Becoming an archer may require aligning with the city of Variak. A tried and true method of killing, the archer can bring devastation from above while laying deadly traps to catch those who might try to ambush him or her from behind. Leads to: Sniper, ???

I knew that class. Dull Beauty was almost definitely an Archer.

Monk

A melee class with a heavy focus upon martial prowess. Tank focus. A Monk concentrates on drawing attention to himself and dodging blows while delivering devastating attacks to stun and confuse opponents. Due to rigorous training, Monks are capable of minor self healing. Monks are trained at the Varisshin Monastery. Leads to: Savant, Ninja, ???

‘Yeah, yeah,’ I thought, bored. ‘They’re the punchy punchy types; I knew that already!’

Rogue

A melee class who delivers crippling blows before fading into darkness. Damage focus. Rogues utilize their unique talents in order to get into places they don’t belong. They are trained in the Barracks, though rumors exist of another way to become a rogue without allegiance to Variak. Rogues receive discounts when purchasing items from the PK markets, and the option to attempt to swindle shop owners. They also become infamous much faster for killing other players and will usually receive higher bounties. Leads to: Ninja, Assassin, ???

I shuddered. I would never be a Rogue.

Druid

A melee class who uses the magic of nature to fight and heal. Damage focus. Druids are capable of shapeshifting into monsters they have encountered or have an affinity for. While shifted, they may gain the traits and abilities of the monsters they become, making them incredibly versatile fighters and even healers. Trained in the town of Uresh, located in the northern outskirts of Variak. Leads to: Sorcerer, ???

White Mage

A healing class who can use their magic to–

I dismissed the page almost immediately upon reading Druid. That was what I wanted to be. The moment I read that a Druid could shapeshift I realized that I had no doubts. I wanted my old body back. I didn’t want to be this… human thing. I didn’t want to keep being mistaken for an Ay Eye.

All of that was secondary to professions though. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life but there were many professions to choose from and it looked like I could spend a long time learning how to master each one if I so chose. That might be fun!

Classes

Professions

Dogaia Pel’Bramont The Iki Confederation The Jican Empire Known Wilderlands Professions

Once again I picked Dogaia and was pleasantly surprised at the list.

Carpenter

Skilled at crafting household items, musical instruments, training weapons, and houses. Available in all locations. One of the essential three professions needed to construct a SAFE ZONE.

Builder

Skilled at constructing buildings, roads, walls, strongholds and landscaping. Available in all locations. One of the essential three professions needed to construct a SAFE ZONE.

Amenity Mage

Skilled at the automation of household objects. Can craft healing pools, mana fonts, home points, connect Auction houses to the local or worldwide networks, and build SAFE ZONE lines around areas defined by walls or by an area cleared of monster presence. Available in all locations. One of the essential three professions needed to construct a SAFE ZONE.

Weaver

Skilled at the creation of decorative clothes and light armor. Can also repair damaged or broken clothes and light armor. Only available in Variak and Pel’Bramont.

There were quite a few more professions available like apothecary and goldsmith, but for now, I’d become too excited by the prospect of becoming a Druid to worry about those. Any of these classes sounded interesting but I didn’t know much about each one so I figured talking to people might be a better way to get information anyway.

I closed the NPC box and told Reldin thank you before turning around and leaving.

“Oh! Wait! I see you haven’t set your homepoint yet! Would you like to set it here?” he asked.

I blinked, my eyes widening. I could set my homepoint here? Well of course I could! Variak was a safe zone just like Bluebell and the Shady Woods Copse. Why hadn’t I thought of that? Now, even if I died, I would still safely return to Variak!

Red Thorn couldn’t get me anymore. I was safe.

I beamed at Reldin and reached over the counter to give him a big hug. He squawked indignantly and I laughed.

“Thank you, Reldin! I would very much like to do that!” I exclaimed. The NPC box appeared and I clicked yes.

Nothing happened though. Instead, a line of red text appeared reading: “Insufficient Funds. Need 75 Copper.”

“Uhm. It… it says I have insufficient funds. What… what does that mean?” The round interface numbers appeared in the lower right corner of my invisible screens highlighted red. There was a 13 beside the little image of the coins, also highlighted red. That… meant I only had 13 round interface numbers when I needed seventy five?

Uhm.

“Reldin… how do I get… uhm… funds?” I asked, confused. “Didn’t you say professions were a good way to make money?”

“Have a pleasant day, adventurer!”

“No… but these round interface numbers. How do I get more of them?” I asked again.

“Done with those rats yet, adventurer?”

I growled. He was acting just like the guard had. This time I wasn’t as angry though. Just… sad.

“Reldin… can you help me?”

The man… twitched. Just a little.

“The adventurer’s guild is here for you, adventurer,” he said, for the first time sounding… almost sad himself.

I nodded in understanding. “Thank you anyway, Reldin. I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye, adventurer!”

I turned and left the adventurers’ guild, feeling my silent loathing for the Instinct grow more by the minute.