“To arms! To arms!” I heard distantly, as if in a dream.

“Wake up! Get up!” a voice shouted in my face. “Arm yourself!”

I jerked upright, smacking my head on something hard. A brilliant flash lit up the entire world, and a shockwave knocked me out of my cot.

My guide was yelling in my face. At least I assumed it was yelling from its wild gestures, since my ears were still ringing. I looked around frantically. There was chaos and dull noise all around my tent, and it was much brighter outside than it should have been for the middle of the night. My guide was frantically pointing at the tent entrance.

Muffled shouts came from outside. Some I understood, others were like high-pitched gibberish. None of this signaled good news. I slipped two quivers over my shoulders, grabbed my shortbow and quarterstaff, and eased back the tent flap to peek outside.

The encampment was in flames. Arrows were cutting through the air from all directions. Goblins were everywhere. “Shit!”, I hissed.

I reached for more quivers.

***

I let arrows fly as quickly as I could nock them. There were so many Goblins it was hard to miss. Red and yellow numbers filled the air so thick it was like a haze in the smoke above the burning camp. Lighting strobed the night sky from the direction of the Druid grove.

Notifications were scrolling by faster than I could have read them, even if I had had the time to pay attention. For now I was focused on staying alive, and that meant ignoring all of them in favour of shooting Goblins. If I saw a Goblin moving, I shot it. As soon as it stopped moving I found another one.

Rinse, repeat.

By the time I emptied my first quiver I had moved forward enough to pull arrows from the nearest Goblin bodies and reshoot them.

I made my way towards the Druid Grove to find Saelyn. I had to find Saelyn.

I ran to the lightning.

***

Cries of “To me! To me!” echoed across the battlefield. My hearing was returning, but none of the calls seemed any closer to me than the others, so I kept moving towards the Druid Grove.

I ran past piles of dead Goblins, most of them sporting multiple arrows. Here and there were fallen Rangers and Druids, usually surrounded by a ring of dead Goblins. Lightning continued to split the darkness.

In the distance I heard the roars of huge animals. Whether shape-shifted Druids or summoned beasts I couldn’t tell, but I silently welcomed any aid at this point.

***

Sure enough, there she was, surrounded by Goblin bodies, tossing daggers, casting spells, and swinging her quarterstaff like an oversized baton. A baton she spun so fast it was a blur as it circled her waist and shoulders. It only slowed its deadly path to crack against a Goblin skull or limb. I stopped, almost dumb-struck, with arrows nocked in my bow, she was that impressive.

She saw me and her eyes lit up, but a Goblin took advantage of that short lapse in her concentration to fling a knife at her. I barely had enough time to loose my arrows.

My arrows slammed into the side of its head as the knife left its hand, its arc disrupted. Instead of flying true, the knife wobbled towards Saelyn, bouncing off her ribs instead of sticking between them. She staggered and fell back clutching her side, blood leaking through her fingers. Her quarterstaff bounced off the ground and flew towards me.

I roared as I drove forwards, pulling the attention of the nearby Goblins towards me.

I was so close to her I tossed my bow to her feet as I snatched her quarterstaff out of the air. More notifications scrolled past and the air started to shimmer and sparkle around me. I felt my skin tingle with energy. Her eyes widened in surprise, so I hoped that whatever just happened turned out to be a good thing.

Goblin bodies flew as I leapt to her side and landed swinging her quarterstaff.

***

After the Goblins had been driven off and our wounded tended to, we stripped their dead and piled the bodies on the blazing pyre. We tried to make some semblance of shelters out of the remains of the encampment. There was precious little left, the attack had been so overwhelming that our casualties had been heavy. None of the senior Ranger or Druid instructors had survived, since they had led the counter-charge against the Goblins. The few who remained were mid and low level Rangers or apprentices like us.

I sat with Saelyn as we cleaned our weapons around a dying fire. There was little interest in keeping it going, as day would break soon.

Thankfully the townspeople had seen the flashes from the lightning bolts and the militia had assembled and come to assist. The Rangers had saved them from Goblins many times before, so they sent a host out to assist us now.

The militia took over the task of guarding what was left as the healers from Springbrook made their rounds. Most of our surviving healers were exhausted, and some had even used Spellskills to draw on their Health when their Chi and Mana pools were exhausted, putting their lives at risk.

As the sun crept above the horizon, I realised there was a blinking number in the corner of my field of view. I sighed, tapping it I was startled to see I had ignored hundreds of notifications over the course of the night’s battle. Most of them pertained to the battle itself, and I quickly shunted them aside, however there were many that looked like they needed attention.

I pulled up the central screen that seemed to need the most attention and was surprised to find a huge swath of updates. The battle last night had had a significant impact on my training.

Name: Ixion

Class: Apprentice Ranger/Apprentice Sorcerer/Apprentice Druid (2+1+1)

[STR = 15]

[INT = 13]

[DEX = 15]

[WIS = 14]

[CON = 13]

[CHA = 13]

[Health = 12/12]

[Chi = 20/20]

[Mana = 20/20]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Bowyer]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Fletcher]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Sylvan Weapons]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Quarterstaff]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Longbow]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Shortbow]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Appraisal]

[Skill: Lv 5 - Woodworking]

[Skill: Lv 5 - Tracking]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Hunting]

[Skill: Lv 3 - Dressing game]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Cooking]

[Skill: Lv 6 - Intimidate]

[Skill: Lv 3 - Spellcraft]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Arcana]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Concentration]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Nature]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Geography - Sylvan]

[Spellskill: Lv 4 - Elven Sight]

[Spellskill: Lv 4 - Arcane Armour]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Hush]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Stillness]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Empty Hands]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Craft - Arcane]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Rapid Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Multi-shot]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Ranged Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Melee Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Running shot]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Quickdraw]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Dodge]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Reflex attacks]

“Guide.” I spoke softly.

“Hello.” came the voice to my side.

“I need some help understanding this.” I gestured, to the air in front of me.

“Last night’s events have changed the nature of your advancement. Previously you would have finished an apprenticeship and continued along that path. However, all of your instructors are now dead, and there are no instructors in your apprenticed classes left within the Apprentice Area.” it said matter-of-factly.

I slumped, “Does this mean I can’t finish my training?”

“On the contrary. It means that your training has finished, and it is time to choose your path. In the past apprenticeships were rare. Adventurers simply selected a Class and started adventuring. Unfortunately that meant many more died without advancing very far or were otherwise unsuccessful. Apprenticeships evolved as a way of providing training and experience under the guidance and structure of the Tutorial. Without instructors in your apprenticed classes, the system has reverted to the original structure. Until additional instructors return to the training area, you can now choose how you wish to advance.

“So what does this mean?” I pointed to my screen, “where I have several apprentice options and the numbers.”

“The system has determined that you meet the prerequisites for the Ranger, Sorcerer, and Druid classes. It is also determined that you have met the criteria to achieve first level in each of them and an additional level. If you only met the requirements for a single class it would automatically have applied those levels. However your multiclass status means that, going forward, you must select your classes before you can advance.”

“What about Saelyn?” I asked gesturing towards her. She had stopped cleaning her weapon and was looking towards my guide. I assumed she had been listening the whole time, her face shrouded in the shadows from the dying light of the fire, and sunrise behind her, “...and how did I apprentice as a Druid?”

“Saelyn had already completed her apprenticeship in the Rogue class when you met her. She had been training with the Druids and had completed her Druid apprenticeship prior to last night’s battle. However that drew on both of her sides and she advanced two levels in each of Druid and Rogue.”

“Saelyn was...is...a Rogue?” I turned to her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She turned away, withdrawing inside herself, I could barely hear what she said, “That’s not who I am.” as she continued cleaning the weapon in her hands.

My Guide took this as a cue to continue dumping information on me.

“As far as your apprenticing as a Druid, Druid and Ranger overlap a fair amount at later levels, and you’ve been picking up some during the time you’ve been spending with Saelyn and the Druids. The system saw fit to qualify you as an apprentice during the battle before the Druid instructors were killed. I don’t know the ‘why’ of it, just that it happened.

Saelyn has also been benefiting from that time, although not enough to apprentice as a Ranger. However, it was a large part of why she levelled up more than you did last night. If she wishes, she may select Ranger as an additional class in the future, but she has chosen to remain focused on Druid and Rogue to this point.”

“I’m getting a little overwhelmed here.” I said, holding up my hand to get it to stop so my brain could catch up to all the information that was coming my way. I spent a few minutes putting the pieces together and drinking to forestall further conversation.“Is there any disadvantage to training in all three classes?” I asked waving for it to continue.

“Multi-classing means that you will advance slower in any given class than if you were to devote all of your time and attention to a single class.” my guide seemed to hesitate for a moment, “It may also influence your interactions with others due to their predispositions and prejudices.”

“So some people will like me more, and others will like me less, based on my decisions?”

“All decisions will impact your relationships with others. Even defending yourself against Goblins. Your allies will find that favourable, while any Goblins who escaped may demonstrate respect, fear, or be enraged the next time you encounter them.”

“In that case, I accept the first level in all of them and second level in Ranger.”

The system screen reset.

Name: Ixion

[Class: [Ranger] - 2/[Sorcerer] - 1/[Druid] - 1]

[STR = 15]

[INT = 13]

[DEX = 15]

[WIS = 14]

[CON = 13]

[CHA = 13]

[Health = 13/50]

[Chi = 20/20]

[Mana = 20/20]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Bowyer]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Fletcher]

[Craft: Lv 5 - Sylvan Weapons]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Quarterstaff - focus]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Longbow - focus]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Shortbow - focus]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Appraisal]

[Skill: Lv 5 - Woodworking]

[Skill: Lv 5 - Tracking]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Hunting]

[Skill: Lv 3 - Dressing game]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Cooking]

[Skill: Lv 6 - Intimidate]

[Skill: Lv 3 - Spellcraft]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Arcana]

[Skill: Lv 4 - Concentration]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Nature]

[Skill: Lv 2 - Geography - Sylvan]

[Spellskill: Lv 4 - Elven Sight]

[Spellskill: Lv 4 - Arcane Armour]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Hush]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Stillness]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Empty Hands]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Detect Arcana]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Read Arcana]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Use Arcana]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Read Languages]

[Spellskill: Lv 2 - Summon Companion/Familiar]

[Spellskill: Lv 1 - Craft - Arcana]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Rapid Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Multi-shot]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Quickdraw]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Dodge]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Melee Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Ranged Fire]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Running shot]

[Skill: Lv 1 - Reflex attacks]

I sighed. I wasn’t looking forward to all of this reading, and we had a camp to rebuild. Most of this would have to wait until later.