I put off finishing Lust's memories for now. There is just so much left to do that I would rather split it up then finish everything close together. After taking in memories it is better to take a break to let everything soak in. I feel like I can empathize with that person more and more as I absorb their memories. Just like with Greed, I have the same feelings as they did at the time of the memories… So I feel far more shy than normal. Disappointed with how slowly my life has been moving… Which I know for a fact is the exact opposite of how I really feel.

I wish I was older. I'm not even 13 yet and I'm leading an army… With this tree, I can get closer to an age that is suitable for leadership. Even a single year difference might make me feel more… Adequate. I need to get back to work though. So much left to do and… That saying doesn't work here because I definitely have enough time to do it.

I start to work on repairing all the gear… Hundreds of sets of gear, I lose track of the time and when I finally get out of it, it has been an entire week. I still need to enchant the gear with set bonuses. Enchanting them with a stat boost that would best suit their job.

Even just a little help could be the difference between someone living and dying. Enchanting set bonuses takes around the same time it does to enchant a single stat or skill onto a piece of equipment. Which is fifteen minutes to add the mana to the item, then fifteen minutes to enchant it. The gear consists of boots, pants, a chest piece and helm. It takes 3-4 minutes to enchant each of the set bonuses with a weak enchant. While I could enchant them with a stronger enchant, it would increase the time it would take by quadruple per set of gear.

Some quick math means that I can enchant 2 sets of gear per hour. I need to enchant somewhere near 1000 sets of gear. Totaling 500 hours of work altogether. Over 20 days of work is going to be spent on enchanting this gear. I start with doing 100 sets of gear then setting them aside. I take a break from enchanting to finally reveal the fridge to them.

We've been eating our own supply of food as it will spoil if it is not consumed within the first few months of being here. Where as the food inside the fridge will last the entirety of our time in here. Grabbing us each out a ration and showing them how to get everything out and prepared. The fridge is how I thought it would be the first time I opened it before. While it looks like a small box it expands into a giant freezer. You could say it is bigger on the inside if you wanted too... I take three cups out that I brought and pour the greater gods concoction into it for us three. The liquid tastes almost like pure sugar. There are definitely hints of other flavors mixed in but the primary taste is that of sweetness.

Leon starts to take a sip of the liquid and immediately spits it out. I laugh a little, some people just cant handle sweet things. This also has another weird characteristic to it, which is probably the reason he spit it out. The liquid bubbles and fizzes as you drink it. I enjoy the sensation of drinking it as it almost feels like my throat is being tickled.

Lance also enjoys it, the sweets thing might be a younger person only sort of thing. I'll have to remember that for later. Lance enjoys a new type of sweet as well, one I didn't try before. The meals are far more assorted than before. It is something called “peanut butter” and I dig out another meal with it to try. I need to eat more than normal because of the snake contract so I can easily eat two meals. What a unique taste. I enjoy both meals, still hungry I eat another ten fish and pound of lettuce for my meal.

The amount of food I eat normally confuses anyone around me as I eat. Both Lance and Leon have gotten used to it and leave me to finish my meal as they go back to sparring. I finish up meal and get back to enchanting the gear. I manage to do another 100 enchants before it starts to get too boring to continue. I knew this would be the most tedious so I've started my work on them to get it out of the way. I still have another 800 sets to enchant...

I still need to upgrade my own gear but it might be better to wait until the end of our time here. As I might grow out of a set if I readjust it right now. I can make a few hundred regen pills… That sounds just as boring. Aegis speaks up.

“Well… You could try to teach me a class now. With my new soul I can learn them.”

“Why did you wait so long!?”

“I'm in no hurry to learn. I've honestly been thinking of which ones would suit me the most… An undying creature… Which classes would best suit a long lifespan.”

“… And which ones would you think suit you the most?”

“Blue mage is the only one I think would be the most beneficial… For future ones… I think scout would also be good, just classes that have more than the normal amount of skills. Blue mage, scout so far… I'll hold off on learning anything more than that… It could be years down the line when you finally gain another class that would suit me better. Choosing all of my classes now could become a mistake I regret for thousands of years.”

“That is reasonable… Sometimes I forget what you actually are. Sometimes I think of you as a… Why haven't you made a body for yourself out of metal? I know you've absorbed enough to.”

“It consumes resources to hold my form. The only method to get mana… Was from you but if I learn classes that give resource restoration, I might be able to hold more form on my own… Once you teach me blue mage, I might be able to passively expand to cover more without sucking up your resources.”

“You've technically went from an item to a monster. Meaning it was originally impossible for you to increase your fatigue points… Maybe if you practice hard enough you can start getting fatigue points to spend every day. That isn't tied to any class and can be used purely for expanding yourself.”

“...I shouldn't be surprised by you anymore but I still am. I've been thinking this decision over for weeks already and you've brought two things up I haven't even thought about.”

I teach him blue mage for now. He'll wait to learn scout once he is sure that is a class he wants. I take him off and place him on the ground, it takes a long time for him to start moving. Pulling himself forwards by the fingers of the gauntlet. It will take him several hours to move the same distance I can move in a few seconds. For Aegis, this is all new but it doesn't phase him. It might take him years to build up enough fatigue points to expand his body to an adequate size. Everything he builds up now will go towards his future.

I continue making the pills and upgrading the sets of gear. This is all beyond tedious. It takes a very long time but I manage to finish the pills, somewhere near 200. Having potions for my troops and pills for my generals. Each general will end up with about 10 pills.

That includes my pets, I have the teeth I still need to enchant with void storage. I get to work on that, enchanting these teeth with void storage next and storing 10 pills in each. I ask Lance and Leon if they wish to do the same and they both agree.

I give them both numbing poison then rip a tooth out… Lance seems to wince through the pain even though I used more poison on him than I did on Leon. I'm not sure why so I ask him.

“Hey Lance. How come your less effected by poison… I think I remember you also resisting the effect of the mind control from the mind eel...”

“Y-yea… About that… Some time after the test of courage, I got a prompt to upgrade to an awakened class… I've done it but… I lost some of my power by doing it… Not just a little… My strength dropped by 400 and my stamina dropped 300 when I picked it… I lost all my skills above the rank up version and the awakened class capped at level 100… I regret picking it ever since.”

“… Shouldn't you have extra class slots now? Which classes combined into the awakened class?”

“… All of them… All of my classes were above the first rank and every skill I gained after the rank up I lost…”

“WHAT!? You only have 1 class now? Do you realize how strong that class actually is? It has stats similar to that of four classes. If I can teach you more classes, your overall stats will go up rather than down after you level them.”

“I didn't really think you would know what an awakened class was. I didn't really think you would know how to fix the problem I've been having either… I guess I didn't think about it like that… I should have told you sooner because I've been stagnant since I've unlocked this class. With no progression I gave up on leveling… On getting stronger... If I have a reason again… A reason to keep getting stronger…”

He begins to teach me. If I know which classes go into his awakened class, I can experiment more… Teaching him the remaining classes he doesn't have might allow him to absorb them into his awakened class… After hours of teaching, both of us about to give up it finally happens.

Would you like to learn Hero?

Warning! You will lose several other classes by doing so.

I accept.

Awakened class Hero passive skill gained Heroes resolve- Retain all the skills you would gain from the component classes, also strengthening them

Classes removed Warrior, Knight, Dragoon, Guardian, Freelancer

Class experience added to Hero

Hero level 1 to 64

Level 1 Hero passive skill gained Heroic aura- Increase the stamina of all allies around you (doesn't stack with stamina ballad)

Level 10 Hero passive skill gained Heroes resistance- Increase the chances of resisting effects

Level 25 Hero skill gained Heroic shout- Gain the attention of all enemies while boosting the moral of all allies (moral boost gives a small amount of regen)

Level 50 Hero passive skill gained Ally protection- Gain a boost to stats while protecting an ally

Unlike Lance, I suffer no stat loss… I actually gain some stats. Freelancer mixed with all those tank classes… While I don't understand it. I do see that it gives Hero some sustain over the years. While most classes rank up, freelancer is different. Once it hits 100, it restarts back at level 1. Every single level gained gives a stat point in every main stat. Meaning at level 100 you would have gained an extra 100 stats in strength, dexterity, intelligence and stamina.

With you resetting the class back to level 1 you can gain stats indefinitely. Most people avoid this class because it has a low yield with no skills to rely on. Even with a very long life span, it might add to an extra 1000 in each stat at maximum. With 2 classes being the normal maximum, it would normally result in wasted stats in at least two stats. Meaning if you had lets say warrior and freelancer. You would have an extra 1000 in intelligence and dexterity which you don't really use in any of your skills.

It had taken Lance almost drowning in the test of courage to unlock this class… I feel sorry for him that I learned it so easily. I try and teach him freelancer. He looks at me oddly until he finally learns the class and it gets absorbed into the hero class. With that he gains an ever increasing stat boost as he levels up the skill growth, which levels with freelancer… It doesn't seem that it resets the entire hero class, just the skill itself resets. With the skill starting at level 1… He still has 3 more classes he can learn… I feel oddly worn out. Checking my fatigue points they are under half. WHAT!?

Teaching Lance a single class at this point has taken me over half of my fatigue points. Perhaps because it was linked to the hero class? Not knowing the reason and still being tired. I put it off for now. Lance is finally showing his old self again now that he isn't capped at a certain at level 100. He sets off to level up his new skill as I head to bed.