I often find myself regretting the decision to abandon Tanya to her fate, even though my help would have done little good in her battle with the demon, given her Observer’s words. I did not trust her and she did not trust me, but I had helped her in her task until that point. Abandoning her when things were at their worst meant that we would never be allies again, for Tanya was a person who never forgave nor forgot.

As for why I made that decision? It was instinct, more than anything else. Some part of me was rebelling against my decision to help from the very beginning. If Tanya’s group had had young children with them, I might have understood my actions or at least accepted them more easily, but the System is a world where only those with the strength to strive survive. I have little doubt that most of the people following Tanya’s group died in the first year, regardless of her efforts. Most people from Earth never did adapt to the System, and those that did became cold and contemptuous of those who did not.

If it were just Tanya, I probably would not have abandoned her. However, the part of me that will forever be a predator could not accept such a high possibility of death protecting those who would always be weak.

___________________________________________

Lyam sat on a tree limb, over forty feet above the ancient forest’s floor. The forest was old growth, obviously untouched by fire or ax at any time in recent history. That in itself told him he wasn’t in America anymore. Somehow, the System had replaced the entire area outside of town with forest, leaving no trace of the highways, cabins, or campgrounds that had once been a part of the lands closest to the town.

If the entire world has been changed like this… most people are going to die. Without the roads, there is no way to get supplies to the cities, He thought with some sorrow. Even large towns like the one he just left would rot, unable to support their populations without access to farmlands.

After a few minutes of reflection on the fate of humanity, Lyam settled down to look through the list of Classes offered to him when he clicked the mental tab on his status sheet.

Classes that he imagined were typical to fantasy settings, at least from what little he could recall from his childhood rummaging through the limited library available to him in school, were obviously there. Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Witch, Assassin, Cleric, Duelist, etc… From what he could tell, anyone who fulfilled the basic requirements of a Class could gain it, but many classes could only be obtained past certain level caps, usually at intervals of ten.

Lyam wasn’t and had never been a gamer. He was unsure of what would be best, but he immediately eliminated the standard Warrior and Fighter classes. Pure fighting classes apparently weakened magical power just by taking them, and at present, his magic was his best tool for facing the unknown dangers before him.

Rogue Classes attracted him to some extent… he understood the basic abilities and skills of those classes intimately. However, something held him back from choosing any pure rogue classes… a desire to depart from his past.

Mage Classes were more attractive, but their fundamental fragility made his colder, more pragmatic side wince. His high potential for gaining willpower and intelligence through his racial trait made him a natural fit for mage classes, from the descriptions, but he didn’t quite like what he saw.

It was with the ‘mixed’ classes that he found some that took his interest.

Windblade- A Class built around using wind and gravity magic to incorporate flight and speed enhancing magic into a single whole with bladework. These individuals can move at incredible speeds with perfect grace, landing blows on foes that would normally be out of reach of melee fighters due to their flight abilities and easily slipping past the attacks of slower flows to deal fast, painful blows of their own. This class can only wear cloth or light armor, but in exchange, wind or gravity magic reinforces their defenses.

Skirmisher Mage- a mage who uses high mobility and magical striking power to keep away from opponents while unleashing destruction at key times. They sacrifice the high AOE destruction of a true mage or battlemage and the defensive magic of a Mage-Knight for the ability to always stay ahead and slay their enemies from afar.

Curse Mage- A Curse Mage can wield magic like any other mage, but they can also utilize curses, possessing an intimate knowledge of the nature of karma and how to use it instead of being used by it. Curses hold immense potential for power, right along with ritual magic, but the cost of using them comes in pain. Potentially, anybody can use a curse, but most do so without any understanding of the nature of a curse.

Mage Dagger- An assassin variant that uses a combination of spellcraft and stealth to defeat enemies. Mage Daggers were originally created by a Drow King to eliminate Matriarchs that sought to challenge his power and bring back the age of female dominance. Mage Daggers have a number of unique abilities, such as infusing toxins into spells and creating temporary enchantments for weapons and tools. However, their magical abilities tend to be limited by their dependence on stealth and subterfuge, reducing their ability to master the more flagrantly destructive magics such as fire or necromancy.

Lyam considered all four, weighing their advantages and disadvantages, and eventually narrowed it down to a competition between Mage Dagger and Curse Mage. He liked that Curse Mages could infuse curses into objects or use them to enhance their bodies, but his colder side adored the synergy between his existing skills and those of a Mage Dagger.

It was one of the few times in his life he felt himself to be indecisive.

It was also at that time that he discovered something interesting about the System… it was flexible.

Fusing Mage Dagger and Curse Mage Class Potential

He felt like acid had been poured into his veins, and he wanted to scream. However, he merely stiffened as the System remade his body and spirit, implanting knowledge and muscle memory, altering him on a hundred levels. He didn’t know it, but such ‘class fusions’ were one of the many things the System desired of its Sublimation of new worlds. Whenever a new class was created, it created more potential for the world the System had created.

There were rewards for those who gave the System what it wanted.

New Class: Curse Blade created. Scanning potential… potential is equivalent to 2nd Tier Class. Subject is of inadequate level to achieve 2nd Tier Class. Adjusting for racial potential… 2nd Tier racial potential compensating for lack in levels… complete.

His pain lasted for hours, as his body warred with itself, trying to contain the unique power of the advanced class it was not meant to have yet. Every moment felt like years, as his very essence, as yet insufficient to contain the power, was stretched, bent, beaten, and burned.

The waves of pure mana swirling around him as his body, spirit, and mind were tortured by the System fed the tree he sat upon, causing it to bloom, a glowing seed embedded in its trunk coming to life, forming a girl of wood as wave after wave of mana purified by his pain was greedily devoured by the tree. The dryad, newborn, opened emerald-green eyes, her skin turning from bark to smooth brown flesh, her small body growing into that of a curvaceous, nude woman.

Her tree grew taller, surpassing the height of the surrounding canopy, its branches shading trees that had, until that day, been far larger and older than itself. In its greed, it created a second avatar, thinking to use it to forever bind the source of its growth to itself. It did not have the intellect or wisdom to understand, yet, what a great mistake this was. The newborn dryads looked into one another’s eyes and screamed in agony as their bound souls, no longer one, separated.

The younger of the two, realizing she could no longer be a part of the tree, sought the source of the mana that had given her life… and she bonded to Lyam, her soul enwrapping his, his will empowering her. The mixed nature of his soul infusing her own, staining the innocent dryad, changing her into a young, elflike woman with rich amber eyes in moments.

Awareness, for the first time, came to the former dryad, her master’s pain digging into her like it was her own. She also understood, being a part of him, that he would not accept her if she was there when he awoke, for the intimacy of the soul bond had changed her irrevocably, imprinting her with his experiences and history.

She quietly left him to his pain, knowing she would have to take care in how she revealed herself to him, lest their first true meeting end with her death.

Her sister looked on, uncomprehending, her mind and spirit still innocent. Her tree was wounded, its foolish and greedy actions having damaged its consciousness. It would be decades before she became truly aware, and she instinctively sank into the bark of the tree, closing her eyes to wait patiently for healing.

She was part of a tree, after all. Time would heal their wounds.

_____________________________________

Lyam emerged from his pained trance with a gasp, feeling as if years, decades had passed since his hell began. However, his eyes told him it had been only a few hours, as the sun still sat just above the horizon and he wasn’t yet hungry.

Class Chosen: Curse Blade. A curse blade wields curses and magic while striking from stealth. It has the deep knowledge of curses born from a Curse Mage’s training while also having a deep understanding of the arts of assassination and enchanting from that of a Mage Dagger. The Mage Dagger’s body enchantments can now be made permanent through the use of blood curse tattoos, and it is now possible to conceal the karma of curse use through manipulation of the user’s aura. This is a new class, and its potential is as of yet unexplored. Karma can be restored through mana cultivation. Class Skills: Curse Magic, Blood Curse Tattoos, Aura Obfuscation, Stealth, Mana Cultivation

For creating a new 2nd Tier Class, you are awarded 4000 xp and two class spell scrolls. You will also be awarded the title ‘The First Curse Blade’

Title: ‘First Curse Blade’. Tier: Unique. A title granted to the creator of the Curse Blade class. Reduces the costs (karmic and MP) of using Curse Magic by 50%.

The new knowledge inside his brain was thousands of times more dense than the spell and weapon style scrolls he had used so far. It was also so beyond his previous understanding that he was having trouble fully reconciling it with his own pre-existing knowledge.

+3 to Willpower for observing the creation of a new System Class. (Hidden Racial Trait: Knowledge Growth)

+3 to Intelligence for observing the creation of a new System Class. (Hidden Racial Trait: Knowledge Growth)

Lyam opened his stat page.

Name: Lyam Aldren

Level: 9

Race: Saevere

Profession: Hired Killer

Class: Curse Blade

Title: Cain’s Successor, Kinslayer, The First Curse Blade (Reduces costs of Curse Magic by 50%

Available AP: 15

Available SP: 2

HP: 2030/2030

MP: 2300/2300

Str: 13

Agi: 23

Dex: 23

Con: 18

End: 18

Int: 28

Will: 28

Cha: 14

Lck: 10

Martial Skills: Light Blades 40, Backstab 25, Stealth 25, Magic Resistance 5

Magic Skills: True Sight 40, Gravity Magic 13, Curse Magic 10

Crafting Skills: Blood Curse Tattoo 10 (sub-skill of Enchanting, class-related), Enchanting 10

Spells: Psychokinesis, Gravity Arrow, Blood Curse

Weapon Style: Cat Dances with Swords (Novice)

Non-Combat: Perception 50, Mana Cultivation 5

Perks: Kinslayer I (5% damage boost to sapient humanoids, -5% to damage taken from sapient humanoids), Absolute Metabolism (Perfect immunity to and absorption of poison, disease, and curses)

Racial Perks: Mana Core, Innovative Nature II, Inspiration

Talents: Compartmentalization (This individual can shuffle his emotions to the side almost at will), Cold Mind (This individual will ignore all attempts to sway him emotionally from a chosen course, whether born of magic or conventional means), Persona Creation (This individual naturally adopts personality traits that will give him a better chance of success in his chosen endeavors), Greater Magic Affinity (potential to master at least 3 schools of magic, two basic, one Celestial, Class Schools do not count for Affinity Talents)

Lyam examined each of the new skills (other than Curse Magic, which was self-explanatory) he’d apparently gained from his new Class, also noting that his basic stats had been boosted quite a bit by both the bonuses from the class and racial trait.

Blood Curse: An Enchanting technique that is also a spell, it allows the transformation of blood into enchanted ink. The potency of the ink is based off of the potency of the blood used.

Blood Curse Tattoo: A sub-skill of Enchanting which allows the use of the blood of mystical beings or the caster to be infused into ink for tattoos that can be used for the basis of body enchanting and spell storage. While this skill is difficult to master, those who master it can make their bodies, or those of their allies, far more powerful than they could possibly be naturally… at a price (Max HP, Max MP, or Karma).

Mana Cultivation: A skill that allows one to use the mana in nature to slowly cleanse their body and spirit of impurities by cycling it through their mana system. By doing this, the body and spirit become stronger, and feats of physical and magical prowess that would otherwise be difficult become easy, the impossible becoming possible. This is a base technique for the Cultivator, Spirit Monk, Curse Mage, and Curse Blade classes.

You have received your reward for the quest Demonic Feast Trial. You have received Body Cultivator’s Tattoo set!

Lyam looked into his inventory and withdrew the tattoo set before examining it.

Body Cultivator’s Tattoo Set: This Tattoo set contains nine infused glass ink pots and a set of Blood Ink Needles inside a Preservation Box. All enchanted inks contained inside the box will remain fresh until the box is destroyed. Blood Ink Needles are made from the crystallized blood of a Master Vampire, purified so that only the pure blood mana remains within.

He then examined the two spell scrolls he had been given for creating his class.

Spell Scroll: Bottle of Worms- An ancient curse used in many worlds to destroy enemies or gain power. By forcing at least one thousand living beings into an enclosed space and forcing them to destroy and eat one another until only one remains, the survivor can be sacrificed to either inflict a terrible curse on an enemy or infuse the mage with the power of the curse. Karmic Cost: Extremely High, Potency: Potentially unlimited

Lyam shuddered. It was really obvious to him that the curse wasn’t something he wanted to try. He wasn’t squeamish, normally, but the methodology of that curse was just horrific. He went ahead and used the scroll anyway, wincing as the knowledge of the curse’s mechanics were implanted in his brain, Oh, so you can use insects? I guess that isn’t as bad… but I get the feeling that more powerful the creatures, the more powerful the curse. Talk about slippery slopes...

Spell Scroll: Cursed Runes- A set of 99 runes created by ancient duergar curse mages that can be activated by infusing the blood of the caster. How the runes are combined defines the function and vector of the curse created.

He found this one far more to his taste. He didn’t even bother hesitating, and a few moments later, he had the full knowledge of the various runes and the basics of how to utilize them, Good synergy with Blood Curse Tattoos, at least from the info I got when the System gave me the skill. Duergar must have seriously nasty minds, though, since the example scripts seem to be designed to cause suffering and pain to enemies.

The cold part of him was enjoying the potential lethality of both ‘spells’ (though he was unsure if he could call either of them a spell, really). The Saevere part of him was fascinated with the possibilities presented by the runes and how he might combine them.

This new world was making him more potentially dangerous with every passing hour, and he found that disconcerting. In his life, he had always had to struggle, to train, and to strive for every added bit of efficiency in his work. He was deadly because he never stopped working to make himself more so, and because he treated himself with the same ruthlessness he did his targets.

What bothered him was that the System seemed to hand out power like candy, even as it sent danger in equal measure. He had to wonder just what it was trying to do with him. He couldn’t trust Vvarden’s words, though he did keep them in mind. Vvarden was on the ‘other side’, so anything he said was inherently untrustworthy.

Also, he found it odd that he was rewarded for killing. Being paid for killing was one thing, but the world itself rewarding him for it? It felt unnatural.

Feeling somewhat gloomy, he nonetheless decided he needed to move on. Lyam looked down at the forest floor far below, then decided to scout the layout of the forest before deciding on a direction. It looked like it would be far too easy to get lost.

Using Psychokinesis to aid his jumps to higher limbs (after a few minor failures in grasping the technique), he rapidly made his way to the top, using only a small amount of the spell to keep him from breaking through the thin limb he was standing on. Such fine control seemed to be boosting his skill levels in Gravity magic, as it had already reached 16.

The forest extended far into the distance, but he could see what looked like some kind of walled enclave in the distance to the north, where Helena would have been before the System changed everything. He wondered idly where the actual capital of Montana was, if it no longer resided to the north of the town he’d left behind.

It will be easier to get my bearings if I make it to whatever resembles civilization in this new world. Even if Helena was still there, it would probably be in a similar situation to the place I left behind, He concluded. He frowned, looking at his MP bar… apparently, his MP regenerated faster than he was using it for the spell, so he could keep the spell in use constantly as long as he was able to concentrate. The actual MP usage of the spell for flight was far higher than using it to jump and adjust his weight. He was fairly certain he could simply use it to ‘walk’ through the treetops instead of endangering himself on the ground level.

So, being practical by nature, he immediately proceeded to do so, leaping lightly from limb to limb, catching himself on branches that would have snapped under the weight of a kitten, and generally enjoying the sense of freedom it gave him.

Lyam, for once in his life, wasn’t deep in thought or planning a job. He was simply enjoying being alive. It was an alien sensation, but it was one that also felt natural. He didn’t choose to compartmentalize the feeling as he tended to do with his emotions most of the time, and he didn’t bother to analyze what part of himself they came from.

Occasionally, he caught sight of predators above and below, but it seemed like the ones above didn’t know what to make of him and the ones below rarely took notice. He was slightly wary of the giant ‘birds’ (something told him they weren’t birds) that he could see circling over parts of the forest, as his instincts told him they were dangerous, but even that wariness couldn’t disrupt his good mood.

It occurred to him that he hadn’t drawn the shortsword sheathed at his hip since just after he got it, but he saw no real reason to use a melee weapon if he could avoid coming in close. The sheer danger of getting in close with any of the things he’d seen so far didn’t appeal to his pragmatic side at all. He didn’t mind sticking a knife in someone’s ear from behind, but the idea of trying to use a sword to cut down a Warg created a cold feeling in his belly.

He continued to refine his control of the Psychokinesis spell as he traveled, at times using it to push aside branches in the way of his vector or to add velocity to his movements. He didn’t know it (as he was developing a habit of ignoring skill notifications), but this kind of activity was increasing his Gravity Magic skill rapidly, as the System rewarded those who did new things and pushed the limits.

However, he soon had to start looking for a place to stop. It was getting dark, and Lyam wasn’t willing to continue skimming the treetops in the darkness.

At first, he looked at the ground, trying to discover a good place to hide, but his eyes came to rest on something in the distance that looked suspiciously like an Ewok tree village. He headed that way and came to a stop just a few trees away, a bit shocked at what he found.

What the hell happened here? He asked rhetorically of the world. Many of the tree houses were collapsed in on themselves, the corpses of brown-skinned elves, many of them torn open and obviously chewed upon, lying amidst the detritus. There was no sound in the area, but that was just because none of the denizens were alive.

He leaped to the nearest tree home that looked halfway intact and winced at what he saw. A young boy had died, obviously trying to defend an even smaller (half-eaten) girl lying behind his body, her green eyes wide, her features frozen in twisted agony.

Lyam was no stranger to death, and he was a killer both by calling and by nature. However, he never took jobs that called on him to kill children. He knelt beside each of the children, closing their eyes before placing rough cloth sheets from the mats that served as beds over them. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to weep. He hated seeing kids die, especially like this.

He also wanted to kill. The savage, cold part of his consciousness wanted to obliterate the ones who had killed the children.

However, he was practical to a fault. Instead of making blood vows to avenge the children or howling his rage to the world, he instead found a relatively intact home with no body inside and settled down for the night, boxing up his hunger for death like he did every emotion that threatened his survival.