Pellex had finally made it. First Echelon. He looked around at the empty, dark space, and tried to take it all in. He was within his soul right now, and that was not easy to enter. If he squinted, he could see a faint blue sheen a fair bit out – that would be his soulshell. Pellex looked more closely, but he couldn’t find any imperfections – Ploris was a master at his art. Pellex broke off from that line of thought and turned back to the box; Class selection, in addition to easily bringing one into their soul, sped up time significantly, but Pellex could learn meditation from Ploris whenever he wanted. This was what he had been waiting for his entire life. The moment he would finally become a true [Artificer]. With that thought, he dismissed the notification and brought up his status screen.

Pellex Audenry

Level: 5

Class: Unclassed

Ability Scores: (9 free points)

Power: 12 Physical: Agility: 14 Fortitude: 13 Power: 16 Mental: Agility: 18 Fortitude: 14 Power: 13 Social: Agility: 13 Fortitude: 13

Stats:

Phi: Maximum: 120 Regeneration: 17.5/hr. Endurance 0.065% Thi: Maximum: 160 Regeneration: 22.5/hr. Stability: 0.07% Sci: Maximum: 130 Regeneration: 16.25/hr. Skepticism: 0.065%

Skills: (1 free point)

Basic Artifice (Iron Grade I)

Locate (Bronze Grade III)

Foresight (Bronze Grade IV)

Material Evaluation (Bronze Grade II)

Pellex had figured out his choices long in advance. Two points to mental power. Sometimes called intelligence, but it was more brute processing capability. As an [Artificer], he’d be able to start learning Runes, and keeping track of the complex glyphs, their functions, and their numerous and often unintuitive interactions with each other simply weren’t comprehensible by the normal human mind. Three points to mental agility. Some [Artificers] were content to churn out basic constructs their entire lives, but the class was meant for creation, the exploration of the infinite possibilities of invention. Mental agility, the ability to think outside of the box, to make unexpected connections, was essential for the path of the true [Artificer]. A point to mental fortitude. Pellex had left an ability point free on the advice of his parents, who had always been a bit worried about how heavily he had planned his progression, and asked him to make sure to keep his advancement “fun”, for his own sake. Pellex wasn’t sure how “fun” using the point to hopefully stave off any negative mental effects from nearly dying to bandits, watching those bandits kill a city guard, then using that guard’s rifle to blow a chunk out of a man’s chest and take part of his soul for power was, but he was still glad he had saved it. One point in social agility. Moving more easily in unfamiliar social situations would help make contacts, the lifeblood of an [Artificer]’s business. And, finally, two points to skepticism, social fortitude. Not that Pellex expected to ever have to deal with a betrayal, but moving past heartbreak and having an easier time detecting dishonesty in relationships was always good. As a bonus, it was the best way to defend against sci classes. The arder leader hadn’t been using much sci-casting, but if he had, things could have been very bad. That just left his skill point. Pellex waved his status page away and brought up the [Artifice] skill tree.

[Artifice]

Tier 0

[Basic Artifice]:

Gain basic knowledge of mechanical devices and thi-powered constructs.

Cost: 2 thi per 18 seconds

(2 thi per 3 * skill level seconds)

Owned (Iron Grade I)

[Tinkering]:

Studying most simple constructs allows you to easily grasp how they work, and shows you how to tinker with them to suit your specific needs, improving them slightly.

Cost: 1 thi per 2 seconds

(1 thi per 1 + skill level seconds)

Select for 1 skill point

[Percussive Maintenance]:

Whack a malfunctioning machine to restore it to proper function. 5% per skill level chance to work.

Cost: 10 thi

(10 – skill level/2 thi)

Select for 1 skill point

[Material Evaluation]:

Determine the composition of a cohesive object and its material fitness for the purpose you intend. 2.5% higher precision per skill level.

Cost: 9 thi

(10 – skill level/2 thi)

Owned (Bronze Grade II)

[Metalshape]:

Makes a metal object more pliable for you for a short time. The purer the metal, the easier it will be to affect. Affects larger objects and makes them more pliable upon upgrading.

Cost: 30 thi

(30 – skill level/2 thi)

Select for 1 skill point

[Construct Activation]:

Bypass a construct’s usual activation method with a burst of thi. This skill becomes harder to defend against upon upgrading.

Cost: 30 thi

(30 – skill level/2 thi)

Select for 1 skill point

Pellex selected [Metalshape], as he had planned. [Construct Activation] was very tempting, but, with an effort, he ignored it, and he pointedly avoided thinking about the [Divination] tree, where the rest of his skills came from.

Are you sure you wish to select

[Metalshape]

Yes / No

Pellex hit “Yes”, and the box closed. The void space seemed to shift, and a new box opened.

Class Selection

[Hunter]:

Tier: Basic

Requirements: Kill one monster.

Effects: Unlocks two advanced skill trees, efficiency of experience integration from monsters is increased by 50%, 20% more damage to monsters.

Description: The beasts are driven by the hunt. When you join it, their driving force is your weapon.

[Fighter]:

Tier: Basic

Requirements: Kill one human.

Effects: Unlocks two advanced skill trees, efficiency of experience integration from humans is increased by 50%, 20% more damage to humans.

Description: To fight, to kill. To take the life of your kin. For whatever reason, it must be done, and this mantle means you can do it.

[Artificer]:

Tier: Common

Requirements: Two [Artifice] skills, use 20,000 thi in [Basic Artifice], gain 2000 experience through construct creation.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, x2 thi maximum, x4 thi regen, x2 thi stability, +50% experience gain through artifice.

Description: The wonders of discovery, the joy of invention; constructs are your domain, your power.

[Oracle]:

Tier: Common

Requirements: Two [Divination] skills, use 10,000 thi in [Divination] skills, gain 2000 experience through [Divination] skill use.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, x4 thi maximum, x2 thi regen, x2 thi stability, +50% experience gain through divination.

Description: See through time itself, learn of things past and to come. Study fate – and change it.

[Oddsmaker]:

Tier: Uncommon

Requirements: Fulfill the requirements for [Oracle] and use a [Divination] skill to win at a game of chance.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, x4 thi maximum, x2 thi regen, x2 thi stability, x2 sci skepticism, +50% experience gain through divination, +50% experience gain through games of chance.

Description: You saw how the game would end, but the power of chance can let you decide.

[Anticipant]:

Tier: Uncommon

Requirements: Fulfill the requirements for [Oracle] and use a [Divination] skill to kill a human.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, x4 thi maximum, x2 thi regen, x2 thi stability, x2 phi regen, +50% experience gain through divination, efficiency of experience integration from humans is increased by 50%.

Description: You know what your enemies will do before they can move – and what they will do is die.

[Gadgeteer]:

Tier: Uncommon

Requirements: Fulfill the requirements for [Artificer] and use a construct to kill a human.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, x2 thi maximum, x4 thi regen, x2 thi stability, x2 phi regen, +50% experience gain through artifice, efficiency of experience integration from humans is increased by 50%.

Description: Bend your inventive genius to war, creating the perfect tool for every situation.

[Cogseer]:

Tier: Rare

Requirements: Fulfill the requirements for [Artificer] and [Oracle], use 10,000 thi using an [Artifice] skill and a [Divination] skill simultaneously, use a [Divination] skill to change your fate where it meshes with a construct.

Effects: Unlocks four advanced skill trees, one hybrid skill tree, x4 thi maximum, x4 thi regen, x2 thi stability, +50% experience gain through artifice, +50% experience gain through divination.

Description: Walk the path of the [Artificer] and the [Oracle] both. See where the gears of time mesh with those of constructs, and use the power of time itself in constructs to create things beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

Pellex came to the bottom of the list and blinked. He had read through everything, of course, and now he was forced to face the fact that his eagerness for [Artificer] had been… shortsighted. It was hard to admit it. He had never even considered that he might do something else, and now that he was looking at the list, he knew that had been an error in judgement. He had suspected he might fulfill the requirements for [Oracle], but he hadn’t been sure, given how little information was available on that class. He had heard that killing someone offered a lot of specialization options, but he certainly hadn’t planned on killing anyone. [Oddsmaker] was, well, odd, but every pure class had a secret specialization that required doing something odd and specific to that tree. Pellex was a little disappointed that he hadn’t figured out what it was for [Artificer], but his mom had it, and she’d tell him once she knew there wouldn’t be any risk of her spoiling it for him. Besides… he wouldn’t have taken it anyway, not with these options. He had always wanted to be an [Artificer]. he had viewed his [Divination] skills as having some useful synergy, nothing more. But [Cogseer]… Not every pure class combo had a hybrid, and most of them were uncommon. Rare classes in general were heavily kept secret, and now that Pellex could see the requirements for one, he knew why that secrecy was so easy to maintain. Just the first two requirements were a lot of dedication, and the last one? Very hard to do on accident, and the way Pellex had done it was mildly ill-advised. Pellex suddenly realized that that he very well might be the first person to see this option on his class selection screen. There would be no guidance, no decades of well-documented knowledge to help him plan his path – but wasn’t that why he wanted to be an [Artificer] in the first place? To explore the secrets of the universe, to discover things no-one else had ever even thought to look for? After all, why did he feel the need to justify this to himself? This was what he had wanted. He had just thought too small.

Are you sure you wish to select

[Cogseer]

Yes / No

“Yes.”

As soon as he assented, the void spat him out, and he was back on the airship floor. As he opened his eyes, he vaguely noticed the fact that there were no noises from the battle, but that quickly became unimportant. Looming above him was an arder, holding the cogrifle Pellex had used. When he saw Pellex open his eyes, a sick grin spread across the pirate's thin face, and before Pellex could react, a skill tore through Pellex’s unprepared mental defenses. Without even a fraction of a second to react, his mind broke under the strain, and he passed into unconsciousness.