“Do all classes have a class tree?” she had been wondering about this for a while.

“Yes. Unless my knowledge deceives me.”

“So what’s the difference between skills and a class tree?”

“The class tree generally provides bonuses and traits that affect the skills or abilities as a whole. Certain traits link to others that provide different bonuses, all compounding together. Skills can be strong by themselves, but combined with the class tree even a weak spell can become very powerful. However, from what I have seen of your class, I cannot be certain what to expect. It does not seem to follow the normal rules of class systems.”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out.” After glancing around the cavern quickly she decided to extinguish the light orb in order to replenish some of the mana she had used. I really hope that wasn’t a bad idea. She then opened the Vagabond class tree.

Vagabond Level 2

Class Points Available: 2

A Wayward’s Gamble - Cost = 1 Class Point

“Uhh, Whisper? It’s saying I need to use a point to...gamble?”

“I do not know what to say human. I have no experience with this...class.”

“Well should I do it?”

“Learn to make small decisions on your own, girl.”

“Right, I can do this. Okay, here goes nothing.” I’ve never gambled in my life…

She selected the option and confirmed that she was prepared. Prepared for what, she didn’t know.

The page suddenly swirled with color, a dark red and silver dancing on the paper, intertwining but not mixing. It spun and spun, mesmerizing Kass as she watched. The colors suddenly thickened and then lifted off the page, becoming a ball of liquid.

Still the colors didn’t mix, and Kass watched as the red split into three separate shapes. A small cube, she realized. All of them.

The silver hung in the air for a second longer, and then split into three blobs. They each rushed to one of the cubes and splashed into it, covering most of the red and solidifying.

The now silver cubes continued a slow rotation in the air, each one containing a streak of red on each of their six faces. They’re...dice?

New words appeared on the page below.

Roll to Win. Consumes Class Point Upon Casting.

No Matches = Common/Uncommon Reward

Two Matches = Rare/Epic Reward

Three Matches = Unique/Legendary Reward

What kind of a class did I choose…? Kass looked at the floating dice and then back to the words below. Guess I’ve got nothing to lose, right?

She grabbed the dice out of the air and looked at the markings on each side. Each face was different, and each dice contained the same symbols. Sounds simple enough. Without anything else more to do Kass shook the dice in her hand and cast them onto the open book.

Before connecting with the page the dice landed on an invisible platform. They bounced and rolled, one even hitting a wall of the invisible box that kept them contained. The dice settled and Kass looked at the symbols facing up. There weren’t any matches.

The dice disappeared and once again the information on the page of the floating book changed. The old ink melting away, replaced with the new.

Reward

Worn Leather Boots - Perfectly Functional

Spellbook of Conjure Small Flame - Ages 8+

Glass Eye - Never Know When You Might Need It

Select One

What? Glass eye? Ages 8+? She looked at the options and didn’t even know how to react. “It’s just some random assortment of...things that I can choose from. I...might have made the wrong class choice Whisper… Then again, those boots could come in handy, probably more so than a class boost right now...hmm.”

“There is no option to spend your class points elsewhere?”

“No, not that I’ve seen. Are you sure there isn’t a class like this that you’ve heard of?”

“I am certain.”

“I think I’m going to get the boots, unless you think being able to conjure a small flame would be better? The glass eye is ridiculous...who would ever need that?”

“Boots would be most efficient for you.”

“Okay, now how is this going to work....” Kass selected the worn leather boots from the list and then waited for something to happen. While she waited she resummoned her orb of light so she could see around her again. After what seemed like forever but was only around half a minute, the small portal opened above her and a pair of boots dropped to the floor.

“Good thing I didn’t get something breakable...what would have happened to the glass eye?” she said as she moved over to her reward. She looked them over and found the description to be adequate. They were indeed a worn pair of leather boots, and they seemed to be around her size. “Hope I don’t get a foot fungus from this…”

She slipped them on and was surprised by how well they fit. They weren’t stiff either like a new pair of boots would have been. It felt amazing to be standing on the ground without small rocks and other random things digging into her feet.

Her eyes teared up and she suddenly realized how important these worn leather boots were to her. Never thought I’d cry about getting hand me downs in my life. She figured that was in part because of where she grew up in the world. It gave her a bit of a different perspective on life and she was thankful to have been blessed with what she had back home. Even though it wasn’t much, it was more than many others had.

She shifted from foot to foot, getting a feel for her new best friends. She looked at herself and couldn’t help but laugh. The boots reached her mid calf and hugged close to her skin, but other than that she was still completely naked. “I look ridiculous…”

“Alright sword, I’ve got one more roll. Let’s see what I get this time.” She focused and pulled up the class tree screen a moment later. This time, the dice just appeared, floating above the book. She grabbed them, and feeling a little less nervous this time, gave them a little blow for good luck.

She rolled them between her hands and then cast them into the invisible box. When they finally stopped moving, Kass noticed there were two dice that were matching.

Three options appeared again within the misty page.

Reward

Finsel’s Smuggling Coat - Good for...smuggling, and keeping you warm.

Bracelet of Shalren’s Rest - Sleepless. Sleep-less.

Chunk of Trendinite Ore - Used in making things.

Select One

Kass’ eyes widened at the sight of the smuggling coat. She read through the other options but deep down knew she had already made the decision. What’s with these descriptions though? She was about to make her decision but hesitated, not wanting to overlook anything.

“Is Trendinite ore something I should pick over a warm coat? Or a bracelet that says I’ll need less sleep?”

“Trendinite ore? Mmm yes, very rare. But without a blacksmith that can forge the metal it would be useless to you. Depending on the size, even carrying it would be...well, impossible for you at the moment. Though it is a shame that you are forced to choose an article of clothing over such a valuable material. The bracelet would be powerful as well, but as you are, you need protection from the elements.”

“Yeah that’s what I was thinking. It’s weird though because the smuggling coat is listed as Epic. How could a coat be more rare than a bracelet that makes you sleep less?”

“Many items possess traits that buff the user, or in this case the wearer. Though they differ greatly in power. The stronger the traits, the rarer the item. If what you say is true, this ‘smuggling coat’ could prove to be one such item.”

“I hope so,” she said, thinking over what the blade had said. She blinked her eyes after a second, realizing she had zoned out, and looked back at the options. She made her selection and then looked up, waiting for the portal to open again, ready to catch the reward this time.

Another eternity passed, this time longer than the last. A full minute. Then the portal appeared, but this time right in front of Kass. She recoiled in surprise a bit and was then hit in the face with what she assumed was the smuggler’s coat. The portal vanished after a second longer as she wrestled with the coat, trying to untangle herself from it.

Finally she came free and she looked at what she had just received. She held it up in front of her and it was immediately apparent how big the coat was. Even lifting it above her head the leather still brushed against the ground. That Finsel guy must have been huge...This will sure be interesting...but it’s still clothes. I need clothes.

As she looked closely at it a window appeared as her skill activated.

Finsel’s Smuggling Coat

Rarity

Epic

Stab Resistance

Unknown

Blunt Resistance

Unknown

Elemental Resistance

Unknown

Durability

Unknown

Traits

Unknown

Special

Unknown

“Well that sure as hell helps a lot. The identify skill did nothing. It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know…”

“You must increase its level first if you want to gain more information.”

“I was able to see all the information about you.”

“I am bound to you.”

“Oh, right...It just seems a little useless sometimes. Well it’s a coat, that much I know, even though it’s huge. Not sure how I’m going to make this work…” She placed Whisper on the ground and slipped an arm through one of the sleeves, swinging the coat to the other arm. Once she had it on she pulled it around herself, already feeling its warmth.

She looked at the rest of the leather pooling at her feet and hanging off her arms and was stumped on what to do with it. I guess I could roll it up and tie it off? She sat there thinking about it for a minute but then saw a faint glow emanating from the coat itself. She was about to take it off when all of a sudden it began to shrink, the leather seemingly folding in on itself.

In just a few seconds she was wearing a fitted coat that stopped mid thigh, the arms a perfect length. “Amazing,” she breathed, looking at it in awe. Even the style had changed slightly, slimming at the waist and shoulders, and eliminating some of the exterior pockets.

“This is better than any coat I’ve ever owned! It’s so comfortable!” Kass instantly fell in love and took back anything bad she had said about her new class. She didn’t care about class trees or any of it anymore.

“It pleases me to see you this way. Your youth is exuberant.”

She stopped her raving and looked at the sword lying on the ground. “Thanks Whisper, even though that sounded kind of creepy.”

Now that she was more or less focused again, the excitement dying down slightly, she pulled up the last item of business she had left. Stats.

“So last time when you were stuck fighting that demon I didn’t know what to do and put points into each of my stats. Do you think I should just do that again considering we still don’t know much about this class?”

“I...yes. That would be acceptable.”

“Okay so I’ve got fifteen points, so three each.” Kass put the points in and then looked over her status page. “Looks pretty good.”

Name

Kassandra Johnson

Age

21

Eyes

Brown

Natural Hair

Brown

Health

330/330

Stamina

420/420

Mana

313/350

General Level: 57

Class: Vagabond Level 2

Subclass: None

Tertiary Ability: None

Strength

36

Dexterity

41

Endurance

42

Fortitude

33

Intelligence

35

Coronation Tier

-4

Unused Stat Points

0

So now my health goes up with each point? I guess that makes sense, since I’m perfectly healthy now but wasn’t the last time…

“I think it’s time we got out of this cavern, what do you think?” she asked as she picked up the sword and strapped it to her back once more . It was more comfortable having material between her and the cold metal.

“Indeed.” replied the blade. Kass finished buttoning up her new coat and cinched it tight with the belt she found attached to it. Then she stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. She took in a deep breath, slightly smelling something foul, and let it out. She felt ready.

“Oh, one more thing. Do you think if I stuck you into that other beast that you would be able to absorb its essence or whatever?” she asked.

“I do not believe that will work, but it is worth a try.”

“Okay sure.” She walked over to the dead Jagursaw almost in a trance caused by the comfortable boots she wore. They really were amazing, even for something classified as ‘Common’.

She reached the body and was glad that it didn’t stink too bad yet. Kass then tried drawing Whisper from over her shoulder and found that she couldn’t. Instead she spent a couple minutes spinning around in circles with her hand above her head. Finally she gave up and resheathed the portion she had pulled out.

“How do they do that? In all the movies they make it look so easy. Those damn liars.”

“Whom do you refer?

“Oh just movie actors...forget it. How can I draw you from my back?”

“Practice. A change in the scabbard may be necessary. Or you place me at your hip.”

“Yeah. A change in the scabbard…I wonder,” she swung the sword around to the front of her and looked at the sheath. “How would I change it.”

“This is not an area I am well informed. Though I would recommend creating an opening in the sleeve to allow you to draw without having to fully extend yourself…”

“Brilliant!” she exclaimed and then looked around the cavern, worried she had made too much noise. Nothing stirred. She focused back on the sheath and willed it to change, to reform so that she could draw the sword from her back.

After only a few seconds the sheath began to glow with power and Kass knew that it had worked, somehow. The sheath flashed with light and what she saw that replaced it was incredible. It had become wider in size a little bit, and now had an extension of metal that pulled away from the scabbard a little.

Upon inspection Kass saw a small slit in the side of the sleeve that would allow her to remove the blade after only pulling it halfway out of the sheath, instead swinging it through the slit. She figured the extra piece of metal was to help her guide the blade back into the sheath when she was done with it.

“You are one amazing sword, you know that?” She didn’t wait for an answer and instead swung the blade around to her back. This time when she tried drawing it, she succeeded without much difficulty. She practiced drawing and sheathing the sword for a minute or two until she felt more confident in the motion.

“Okay where were we? Oh, right, the body.” She grabbed the hilt with one hand and slid the blade from her back in one fluid motion, bringing it in front of her. She felt like a badass. Then she plunged it into the hide of the monster. It penetrated easily and she waited for Whisper to tell her if it worked.

A minute later the blade spoke, “Negative. I believe we must be the ones to slay the beast in order to gain its power.”

“Well, like you said it was worth a try.” She removed the sword and wiped some of the thick blood off using the beasts own skin and then resheathed Whisper. She then turned and headed for the third tunnel at the far side of the cavern.

“Alright, let’s go. It’s time to get stronger.”