“A dark spectre? Never heard of it.”

They were trying to figure out how the rare class test worked. But navigating the cave was making it hard for them to concentrate on anything.

It was dark.

It was really, really dark.

“I can’t see a damned thing,” IEatTortillas complained and Seven turned towards the sound of her friend’s voice.

“Yeah, I can’t even see you.” She noted with bemusement, “You think I should start blasting with magic? If I hit you, I should be able to see you.”

“Ha. Ha. Smartass,” his eyes lit up, “Well, it’s not a bad idea. The magic will light up the cave right?”

Seven fired a magic blast into the air as a response and for a split second, it bathed the entire cave in a light glow.

Then it splashed against the ceiling and died out.

“Damn. I don’t have the mana to spam those things. Who knows if there’s anything further down there that’s going to attack us.”

“Who cares. They’ll eat us anyway while we aren’t looking. Shoot some magic downwards and let's see how far it goes.”

-1

“Ouch.” Seven slammed her toes on a rock and took some damage, “Yeah okay.”

She fired a magic blast in front of her and saw it whiz down the cavern, lighting it up as she went along. It didn’t take long for the magic to light up the end of it where they could see Attracting kneeling down next to a treasure chest.

“Hot damn he’s fast.” IEatTortillas let out a sigh. “Here we are fumbling and Andrew’s moving like he has night vision goggles.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.” Seven cupped her hands together to amplify her voice towards Attracting. “Hey! did you get everything!”

“Yeah.” His calm voice replied, “You can check the party chat to confirm.”

She looked at him in surprise and she opened the party chat. When she was fighting she made sure to minimize most of her options so that they wouldn’t impair her vision during a crucial moment.

[Player: Attracting has opened a silver treasure chest.]

[Player: Attracting has picked up 10 silver, 1x Brass Knuckles, 1x Shadow Book II, 1x Crystal Dagger.]

Attracting walked back towards them and she could hear his footsteps in the dark. The guy didn’t even hit a single rock on the way back.

‘Maybe he does have night vision.’ Seven mused. She didn’t even know his species yet.

They walked out of the dark cave with the contents of the treasure chest spread out in a menu.

The priest's book was weird, but they agreed to provide it to Attracting since he was the only one that could use it. The Brass knuckles also went to IEatTortillas but the last of the items caught her attention.

Crystal Dagger (Green):

Intelligence: +4

Increases casting speed by 5%

“Dibs!” She smiled as she asked for the item.

“I guess it isn’t really something either of us can use.” Attracting shrugged as he passed her the dagger.

“Not a bad find. Should last you a good while.”

“Hell yeah.” She finally had a piece of equipment that she hadn’t had to haggle Terhin for, she turned to Andrew. “What’s the book used for?”

“I can’t use this yet because it looked like it's locked to a class called Shadow Priest. Who knows,” His eyes twinkled knowingly, “Maybe that’s one of the classes I’ll get offered during the class up.”

“Sure. And if you don’t maybe we can sell it.” IEatTortillas eyed the book greedily. It was another green item that looked pretty expensive.

Attracting laughed. “Maybe we can. But let’s wait until we get our classes.”

IEatTortillas shrugged in response and they all began walking back to the village.

He turned to IEatTortillas, “You should definitely take this more seriously. With your skills and the quests we’ve done they'll definitely give you some good options. You should think about them. This is your chance to barrel to the top and I definitely want you to get something good out of it.”

With those words, he ran out of the woods towards Barnacle’s shack.

“Wait, wait.” Seven stopped her friend before he could follow Attracting, “Let’s take our time.” She gestured at the surroundings, “This scenery is pretty nice when it’s not trying to kill us. Besides, your class isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah but..." IEatTortillas had a troubled look on his face. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it since he mentioned them. But the fight with the dragon took my mind off of it until now. What if I don’t get a rare class?”

“You will.” She reassured him, “I did and I barely did anything. You and Andrew already know how to dodge and fight, and you even did village quests. Your class will probably be even more awesome than his.”

“Exactly!” IEatTortillas said more to himself than her. “Andrew took me on all those quests without even letting me know what he thought would happen. How about asking me if I wanted a rare class? Or even just giving me more time to think about it.”

Seven suddenly found herself struggling to keep up as IEatTortillas sped up while continuing to talk.

“I really just don’t know what’ll happen if I can’t keep up. You said there was a single shadow, right? But apparently Andrew has been doing these things so that there are even tougher tests. What if I get more than I can beat and suddenly I don’t even get the class?”

‘Hmm.’

“Hey Ana, let’s slow down.” She matched her words by easing her steps so that she was walking leisurely.

“What’s up?” IEatTortillas matched her pace and soon enough even the rabbits were passing them by.

“Why do you want a rare class?”

“Because,” IEatTortillas hesitated, “because having a rarer class is better right?”

Seven could see her friend was down. “What are you going to get out of it?” Seven pushed further. “You didn’t even know about them before Andrew mentioned it right? You were pretty happy to be a warrior then, heck, I don’t even know how he knew about it.”

“Yeah, but it’s important.” He tried to make a grand gesture with his hands while walking but she could see his heart wasn’t in it.

“Because Andrew looked so confident?” She smiled at the thought, “Seems like you got caught up in his pace without realising it. But emotions and motivation are cheap if you don’t even know why you want the rare class in the first place. I’m not saying you shouldn’t get one. You should just take a deep breath and think about whether you really do want one.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I definitely got caught up. Damn, Andrew seemed so confident but I guess I’m setting up an unreasonable expectation,” Realisation was in his eyes, “I still want the class. But there’s no use worrying about it if the only downside is that I still get the class I always planned on getting before this.”

“Exactly,” she said, “I can tell you that you’re just worrying for nothing because you’re more than skilled enough to kick the ass of a couple of spooky shadows. So don’t go around worrying about whether you’ll even be able to get the class when you don’t know what causes a rare class to appear. I don’t care how sure he is, there’s no way Andrew can know that you’ll definitely get one as an option and even if you do, you shouldn’t pressure yourself into taking it unless you want it. Besides from all the hype he’s spreading I’m sure we’ll soon be hearing so much his new class, the ‘super awesome, kick-ass, good looking dragon slayer legend’, that we won’t even want to think about rare classes.”

They laughed at the image and before they knew it they were nearing the hut, with Barnacle standing outside conversing with Attracting.

“Hey.” Attracting turned to them and smiled, “Let’s go get our classes now. It's pretty easy, we just walk into the hut.”

Seven had already informed IEatTortillas about the spectres and tests but it seemed that Attracting had all that information already. The man was a Zodiac info ball just waiting for someone to ask him a question.

Without waiting for them Attracting walked through the door of the hut and disappeared in a flash of light. IEatTortillas followed him shortly after and Barnacle walked in behind her. Seven tapped her foot lightly and thought about her recent party member.

-Hey hey hey.- She sent a message out to TidalWave, -I want to go practice my class skills when my friends come back from getting theirs. Want to come join us?-

-I’m a bit busy at the moment.- TidalWave replied almost instantly, -Can I let you know after?-

-Sure,- She agreed, -Holla at me then.-

‘God I’m a dork.’

She immediately regretted her choice of words and was glad that IEatTortillas had no way to read her private messages.

She slowly relaxed as time went by. If Attracting was right and they both had the possibility of rare classes then she knew it might be a few minutes until she saw them again. Even she’d taken around fifteen or twenty minutes including the talking she did and making her choice of class when faced with the unexpected Nimble Mage.

-12

She lazily blasted rabbits out of existing as she waited. Despite the player’s and the village's best efforts, the fluffy rodent population had flourished and now the critters were gnawing deep into the ground to find nutrients.

Seven: level 13

Health: 29 (+3)

Mana: 48

Vitality: 13

Strength:10

Intelligence: 24 (+4)

Wisdom: 15

Dodge: 14

Elf racial trait: Gain 1 intelligence per 5 levels.

Nimble Mage passive: Gain 1 intelligence and 2 dodge per 5 levels.

Dodge: Makes movement during battle easier. It provides a small possibility that enemy attacks will miss.

Basic Chestplate Armour: +3 HP.

Crystal Dagger (Green): Intelligence: +4, Increases casting speed by 5%

Thanks to her crystal dagger and three levels up from the dragon fight she was at a healthy amount of wisdom and intelligence. She could deal 29 damage if she used a wind blast on a target but each use cost her 7 mana and with a 5-second cooldown, it wasn’t the best ability to spam. During a fight, however, it would prove invaluable. Hopefully, she could use it to gain momentum during a difficult fight.

The stone shift and the ice bolt were definitely game-changers that she’d have to use sparingly. Stone shift had a low cooldown of 2 seconds but it cost her 5 mana for every use. If she wasn’t careful she’d accidentally use it too much and run out of mana. Ice bolt had a 13-second cooldown but its movement slowing lasted 5 seconds and it only cost 10 mana. If she mixed it in with her other skills, it was a high damage skill that could allow her to run away easily from a target or even just position herself better.

The crystal dagger was frankly amazing. She had gained 8 more mana and a lot more damage because of the boost of intelligence, and the casting speed increase was also nice. It was minuscule at the moment but for skills like stone shift that she needed to use on the fly, it could determine the difference between life or death.

‘I need to get some better armour.’ She didn’t know what the knuckles and holy book did for IEatTortillas and Attracting but they had both been able to use the items on top of their normal ones, with Attracting able to put the book in his pocket for its ability to work and IEatTortillas could hold her sword and equip the brass knuckles.

Seven was willing to bet that the two were probably very overpowered at the moment.

“Waiting for your friends to complete their tests? It seems like a waste of good time to take it out on those silly rabbits.”

After a few minutes of slaying innocent rabbits out of boredom Seven was startled by a sudden voice sounding out from behind her.

“Barnacle?

She turned her head back to see the good-natured priest sitting down on the front steps of his hut.

“I thought you were in there guiding them through their class tests.”

“Does a crab eat a fish for breakfast and ignore the frog dropping into its territory?”

“I… have no idea. I didn’t even know that frogs and crabs were enemies”

“Exactly what I said when they asked me if I wanted to become a priest and unleash the mighty power of Verm. The, ‘no idea’ part, not the frogs and crabs.” Barnacle replied cheerfully, “And yes, I guess you could say that I’m up there as well. Or down.” His eyes crossed and he frowned, “It’s really more of a sideways now that I think about it. Oh gosh, it’s a little too much for my mind.”

“Try not to fry your brain in this sun… like a… fish?” Seven probed carefully and pursed her lips when she heard Barnacle bellowing with laughter.

“Leave the nonsense sea similes to me young Magi.”

He coughed and she could see him fighting to bring himself down to a more serious expression.

“So I heard that you killed the monster that’s been terrorising the woods. I’ll admit I’m impressed. Even if you had help it was no small feat.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “Funny how you’ve heard about that. I just got back from the woods myself a few minutes ago.”

“Well,” Barnacle waved a finger at the sky. “Let’s just say a little birdy told me as soon as it could. Big gossips those birds. Can’t get them to shut up sometimes.” An expression of annoyance crossed his face then he grinned, “But enough about those chirpy bastards. You do know this deed counts for a lot do you not? There was only one dragon but they are difficult creatures to come by, let alone slay. You have done a great service to say this village, one that I daresay no other hero will ever repeat. If there is anything you wish to know, any loose ends you might wish to tie up about this situation then I would gladly tell it to the saviour of the village.”

"No. I’m fine."

Barnacle coughed lightly. “Well, I’ll give you a hint if you want. You know, if you really wanted to know something about the dragon.”

“Yeah, it was cool wasn’t it. But it’s dead now and I guess that’s that.” Seven said with a deadpan expression.

She kind of liked taking the piss out of this good-natured priest.

“Listen, magi” Barnacle coughed more and she could tell he was doing it on purpose. “I’m saying that there could be vital information that might interest you.”

“Woah. Vital information? That’s amazing.” Seven turned around. “Oh damn, but that rabbit population really looks like a major problem that needs my attention at the moment.”

“There is a treasure involved.”

“Treasure you say?” Seven lifted herself just enough off the ground that she could shift around the face Barnacle, “Well this sounds like vital information about the dragon that I need.”

Barnacle rolled his eyes at her.

“Yes, treasure you greedy little codlet.” His eyes shifted from side to side as though checking to see that nobody was listening in, “As a slayer of that dragon let me ask you… Did you notice that it wasn’t in peak condition? Did it look a little rough around the edges?”

“You’re right, it did.” Seven confirmed.

Barnacle leaned forward and she reciprocated as he began to whisper conspiratorially.

“The truth is that the dragon was heavily injured by the royal paladins of Verm. They spotted the beast whilst it was hunting in the air and fought bravely to seal its mana and harm its wings so that it could no longer fly and hunt.” He sniffed. “A sad fate for a mighty being, but in all honesty, the dragon was weaker than a newborn dragonling when you fought against it.”

“Hah. But fight it we did, and we won. That’s all the history books will remember.”

“Yes, but you didn’t think that cave was the dragons, do you? Of course, it was a cave dragon but the true lair of a dragon would not be so bare. Unfortunately, I have it on good authority that it injured the paladins during the fight and because the dragon could not fly back to its lair there is now an empty cave with the items hoarded over the years by a mighty being that we know likes shiny things.”

“And if I retrieved this treasure, do you want a cut of the treasure for yourself? Perhaps for the village?”

“I wonder…” He smiled mysteriously. “I don’t have much use for shiny coins and baubles. But that is a conversation for then and now is the time for the conversation to end. Your friends are returning. Perhaps you would like to share the information with them. But I’d watch out for the priest. He does not have my trust.”

[You have received the quest: Dragon’s Legacy. Deep within the Signet Woods lays the lair of a once-mighty dragon. Though now deceased, in life the dragon was feared as one of the rulers of the Signet Woods and nobody knows what wonders may appear in its collection. Find the dragon’s treasure hoard deep within the woods before others do. Quest condition: Quest will fail once the treasure has been located by other players or NPCs. Quest will automatically cancel if the details are shared with the player: Attracting.]

‘Watch out for Attracting?’ Seven pondered on his words as she accepted the quest.

Two bright lights shone and Attracting and IEatTortillas appeared in front of the hut at the same time.

“Hot damn!” IEatTortillas shouted excitedly into the air, “That was so awesome.”

They appeared so suddenly that Seven barely had time to register something had changed.

Barnacle had disappeared.

“Hey guys,” She ignored the fickle priest’s disappearance. “I see it went great. What classes did you guys get?”

“‘Glimpse of a True Hero’. That’s not a sentence, that’s the name of my class.”

“Shadow Priest.” Attracting looked satisfied. “It’s a pity that I only got this class. I read that if you get even better classes they stop being associated with the five main classes. They won’t have the word ‘priest’ or ‘warrior’ in the name alongside the class. I guess that’s confirmed since Ana got that kind of class.”

‘Your content expression doesn’t match your humble words.’ Seven could feel her eyebrow lifting itself at him against her wishes. ‘Hang on, isn’t that what TidalWave had?’

She recalled TidalWave’s class, Reaper. It was a class that didn’t have the tag of ‘warrior’ on it. So it was probably a class stronger than any of theirs.

‘Not too shabby.` She was glad he’d gotten a great class.

Her faith wasn’t misplaced. She’d chosen the right person to teach her how to play the game and fight.

“Hey, Ana show me what you got.” She turned towards her friend excitedly.

IEatTortillas: Level 10

Health: 48

Mana: 20

Vitality: 24 (+4)

Strength: 27 (+7)

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 10

Confidence: 2

Quarter Lion beast-man racial trait: gain 1 vitality point per 5 levels

Class Passive:

Glimpse of a True Hero passive: The valor of being a true hero shines deep, deep, very deep within you. Vitality and strength are increased by 2 for every 5 levels gained, confidence is increased by 1.

Glimpse of a True Hero passive 2: Hidden.

Confidence: A hero is unflinching in the face of adversity. Confidence will allow you to overcome challenges that seem impossible and sway people to your side that previously would have had doubts. But be careful not to mistake confidence for skill as marching into danger will always bring with it the possibility of death.

Equipment:

Brass knuckles: Strength +2

Greaves of Strength (Blue): Strength: +5, Vitality +4

Skills:

Hero’s Aura (Level 1): Your ordinary attacks are coated with heroic aura. +5 damage per basic attack and +10 against undead opponents.

Hero’s Rally: Increase the attack rate of your allies within a 20-foot radius by 15% for 30 seconds. 5-minute cooldown.

Hero’s Valor: When you are outnumbered in a fight gain +5 damage per enemy, starting from the second enemy (Cap of +20).

“Holy crap that’s so cool.” Seven admired her friend's abilities. “You’re going to one-shot most things around here now.”

‘What class would I have gotten if I had gone with them?’ She briefly wondered to herself, ‘No.’ She realised, ‘If I’d gone with them then I wouldn’t have trained with TidalWave and gotten access to the Nimble Mage.’

She was simply too far behind her friends at the moment. She resolved to herself that she’d catch up to them. First, she would learn the skills required to fight on par with them, the bare basics. Then she would train herself in the art of quest taking. If doing quests could lead to these outcomes, then she knew she wanted to do as much as possible.

‘But I can’t surpass them if I’m always questing with them.’ She furrowed her eyebrows.

“So what do we do from here?” IEatTortillas had flown by her ability check and was already trying to move on to the next task.

“We need to find new quests to do in the village and farm a bit. Maybe head to a nearby city, either Lum or Lux.” Attracting was resolute in his goals. “But first there’s someone I want to meet in the village. A couple of someones if I’m lucky.”

At that, he ran straight into the village without a second thought and was quickly out of sight.

“What about you, Milly? Going to come quest with us?”

“Actually, I’m going to play with my new friend a bit.” Seven rejected her offer.

IEatTortillas smiled enigmatically at her response and waved an enthusiastic goodbye. Seven knew her friend was just as loud and energetic in real life so it didn’t bother her to get a few stares from the nearby players as they wondered what was going on.

Soon she met up with TidalWave and they began to scout the woods for wolves. Occasionally, they would see a roaming treant or dryad that they avoided. Luckily those monsters only stuck to the outer ring of the woods. Unfortunately, once you got into that section there were hundreds of the monsters. But they would deal with that when the time came.

They slowly made their way deeper into the woods and fought every creature that they encountered. A minute turned into half an hour and then longer. It was a long time before they encountered something unexpected.

*BANG* *BANG*

They heard the player before they saw them. One second they had been hunting wolves in the woods and the next there was a resounding boom across the treeline. Seven and TidalWave looked at each other and could see that the other was curious as to what was happening. It sounded like two heavy things were colliding into each other.

They walked carefully towards the sounds, hiding behind the trees and bushes just in case there was something hostile waiting for them on the other side. Soon both of them could see a figure jumping around surrounded by floating leaves.

*BANG*

Seven flinched as one of the person’s hands smashed into a tree so hard that even the others their branches connected to began to shake. The figure stood still as the trees trembled and leaves fell into the air around him.

Then he brought out his weapon.