After accepting [Blades] and taking a break, during which Jude gave Archie more pointers, Linus got back in the ring again. This time it was a much calmer affair, with him sticking to the moves Jude had taught him earlier and Jude just defending so he could get a feel for the new skill. Even at level 1 he could already feel the difference it made, the skill pushing him to make small corrections to his stance or adjusting his grip. Using the push dagger and shortsword in conjunction was even improved, the shortsword working to create an opening for the dagger to strike.

Content with the skill he thanked Jude for his time before turning to discuss plans for the rest of the day with Archie and Luke. Since it was already early afternoon it was fairly easy to talk Luke into staying in town for one more night. Both of them were planning to keep training with Jude since his fee covered the whole day and they still had the ring book for several more hours. Linus was quite done with exercise for the day and had another plan in mind.

“Jude, does the guild have any alchemy rooms available for rent?”

“Perfect, then that’s where I’ll be for the rest of the day.” He said to the group, heading back into the guild building. Archie walked with him to the doorway, reaching over and casting [Cleanse] to remove all the bloodstains then [Mend] to repair all the cuts in Linus’ clothes. Soon after he had negotiated with a clerk behind the counter for a room plus basic supplies at a fairly reasonable rate. It was amazing how much cheaper some things were outside the Capital. Once he had handed over the deposit she escorted him to the room. Stepping in it was fairly basic but covered all the critical gear.

“Make sure the windows stay open for ventilation. You won’t be disturbed unless we hear an alarming sound, ominous smoke leaks out the door or you significantly exceed your prepaid time. If you don’t know how to use a tool don’t use it, if you do and you break it you are paying for it. Once you are done come grab a clerk that’s on duty and we’ll tally up what you used in order to bill you accurately. Any questions?”

“If I want a reagent that is not stocked in the room, is there anywhere convenient I might be able to purchase it?”

“The counter opposite mine is where people turn in materials and parts for quest completion. Sometimes people bring in above what's required and the guild will buy the extra off them to resell to alchemy stores throughout town but it's pretty hit or miss what they may have on hand or how much of it. You could go to one of those supply stores but there aren’t any that close by.”

“Well thanks for the information and showing me the room.” At that the clerk turned and left. Linus closed the door, sat down on the stool and pulled up the last notification from earlier. Before he got started on alchemy he needed to address his new class options.

New Classes Available: Life Mage, Blood Mage, Medic

He had been planning to go with the Life Mage class but decided to check the other ones as well.

Life Mage A class focused on pure healing skills. Ideal for broad healing applications. Accept | Decline Blood Mage A class focused on blood based healing and manipulation skills. Primarily self healing with added combat prowess. Accept | Decline Medic A class focused on diagnostic and both magical and mundane healing skills. Excels at providing quick and precise care. Accept | Decline

[Life Mage] looked like the straight upgrade of his current class that he expected. [Blood Mage] was tempting, it sounded like it would increase both his survivability and attack power. But the self focused healing could be limiting moving forward and he was the only one in his group with healing magic available. The [Medic] class might be able to evolve into something interesting further along but it’s current description didn’t keep it in the running. He took one more minute to consider [Blood Mage] before accepting [Life Mage].

Please Select New Skill Cleanse | Minor Regeneration

Linus quickly chose [Minor Regeneration], it would provide some of the resiliency offered by [Blood Mage]. Then another notification popped up.

Skill Advancement Available: Advance Minor Heal to Heal. Warning may result in reduced skill levels. Accept | Decline

He accepted the skill advancement as well. The decrease in levels would be offset by the higher skill and would allow him to heal more serious wounds. Pulling up the new skill it had dropped even more than he’d feared.

Heal (Active) (4/20) Heal moderate wounds, ailments and afflictions. Effectiveness increases and cost decreases per level.

It had dropped below the 5 levels required to even form a class. Though his use of [Minor Heal] had been almost exclusively for hangover cures and sore muscles with the occasional alchemy accident thrown in so it made sense. If not for all the healing from horseback riding and from his recent skill training it might have been even worse. He pulled up his status to see all his progress after this latest class upgrade.

Status Name: Linus Class Slots: 6/7 Tiers: Top - 2, Total - 9 Classes and Skills Gardener (Tier 2) Plant Mage (Tier 2) Life Mage (Tier 2) Plant Lore (17/20) Growth (18/20) Heal (4/20) Precision Pruning (15/20) Enrich (9/20) Invigorate (9/20) Germination (4/20) Mana Manipulation (11/20) Minor Regeneration (1/20) Improved Yield (12/20) Mutation (4/20) Noble Progeny Amateur Alchemist Amateur Rogue Leadership (6/10) Extract (9/10) Sneaking (7/10) Concentrate (4/10) Sneak Attack (1/10) Non-Class Skills Napping (5/5) Persuasion (5/5) Writing (2/5) Repartee (5/5) Mental Resistance (5/5) Analyze (5/5) Arcane Lore (5/5) Inebriation (5/5) Mana Blade (5/5) Altered State (5/5) Increase Potency (3/5) Blades (1/5)

It was nice to see how far he’d come since leaving the capital. He’s picked up a new class, tiered up an old one, and made progress on his two highest classes. At this rate he’d be making it to Tier 3 before he knew it. Now he just needed to work on his alchemy! Closing out of all his messages and status he turned to do just that.