QUILL

“What do you want to do first?” he asked his now-sober partner. It was difficult not to tease the heck out of her over last night, but he would wait until later. He could see how embarrassed she was and didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

She touched her chin in thought, then lit up with an idea. “Hmm. Oh! We should read that guide we bought. The more we learn, the better.”

“The…guide we forgot in the guild last night.”

“Oh.” She blushed, looking cute. “Sorry.”

He waved her apology off as unnecessary.

They rushed across the street and into the guild. Lucky for them, the staff had collected their lost book and, when asked, returned it. They exited the guild and returned to the bright morning sunshine. Finding a patch of grass under a tree, they sat down side-by-side, hips touching, to have a read.

Quill couldn’t tell whether being this close to her and having their hips touch was more exciting or comfortable. Either way, it felt good. He pointed at a page on classes. “As she said yesterday, it looks like we gain stuff in stages: choosing class at level five, and major skills at ten, twenty, and so forth.”

Jane ran her finger down the side of the table with the classes listed. “I’m really, really glad we got this before we chose our classes. There’s a lot more info here than in the plaza.”

“Yeah. Super lucky,” he readily agreed. This became even more true once they saw that some of the classes were definitely unfinished.

Alchemist Fighter

Choose from fire, ice, water, electro, earth, or air elements.

5 - Enemy Specialization (1), Elemental Infusion for Weapon (1)

10 - Extra Attack (1)

20 - Minor Battle Potion Alchemy (HP regen, Stamina regen, +DMG)

30 - Dual Attack

40 - Minor Battle Potion Alchemy (HP regen, Stamina regen, +DMG)

50 - Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Paladin

Paladins only utilize the Light element.

5 - Aura of Light (passive, regenerating dmg shield, self), Light Infusion for Weapon

10 - Counter (absorb 50% of damage taken and counter-attacks)

20 - (placeholder text); Taunt

30 - (placeholder text); Hammer of Justice

40 - Full Counter (absorb 50% of damage taken and counter-attacks with 150%); Self-Sacrifice for Another

50 - (placeholder text)

Cleric

Choose from fire, ice, water, electro, earth, or air elements.

5 - Turn Undead (1), Heal (single target, major)

10 - Channel Energy (single target, elemental dmg)

20 - Heal (AoE target, major)

30 - Cleanse debuffs (AoE target)

40 - Dispel magic, Create mana font

50 - Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Tattooed Ranger

Choose from fire, ice, water, electro, earth, or air elements.

5 - Tattoo: Elemental specialization; Arrows: Climbing Rope, Flare

10 - Tattoos: Elemental Rain, Elemental Charged Shot

20 - Tattoo: Enemy Specialization (2); Triple quiver capacity (passive)

30 - Tattoos: Explosive, Armour Piercing Shot; Arrow: Net

40 - Tattoo: Rapid fire (3)

50 - Tattoo: Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Druid

Forms must be unlocked via quests to be usable.

5 - Sprout of Life (Heal over time, single target, minor), Channel Energy (life element)

10 - First Form unlockable (dryad (f) or treant (m)), Tangling Roots

20 - Second Form unlockable (placeholder text), Sapling of Life (Heal over time, AoE, minor)

30 - Third Form unlockable (merperson)

40 - Fourth Form unlockable (placeholder text), Tree of Life (Heal over time, AoE, major)

50 - Fifth Form unlockable (placeholder text), Ultimate (placeholder text)

Elemental Mage

Choose from fire, ice, water, electro, earth, or air elements.

5 - Mana Costs -25%, Blast (single target)

10 - +50% Damage, Storm (AoE target)

20 - (placeholder text)

30 - Mana Costs -50%, Polymorph (2 min)

40 - +100% Damage, Doublecast

50 - Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Monk

Choose from fire, ice, water, electro, earth, or air elements.

5 - Donation (boosts HP and Stamina regen for 1 day), Bark Skin (passive)

10 - +2 Stamina, Elemental Infusion for Strikes, Kung-fu flighting

20 - +2 Stamina, STA Regen +100%, Stunning blow

30 - +2 Stamina, Evasion Chance (passive), Steel Skin (passive)

40 - +1 Stamina, (placeholder text), Resistance to debuffs +50%

50 - +1 Stamina, Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Rogue

5 - Pickpocket, Pick lock, Trap (elemental dmg)

10 - Stealth, backstab; dual wield

20 - Create Disguise; Trap (paralyze); Disarm trap

30 - Charm humanoid (10 min); Evasion Chance (passive)

40 - (placeholder text); Lucky (passive)

50 - Ultimate Burst (elemental dmg)

Artist

5 - (placeholder text)

6 - (placeholder text)

8 - (placeholder text)

10 - (placeholder text)

40 - (placeholder text)

50 - (placeholder text)

Quill ran his finger down the list of classes. “Ok. First off, cleric is an easy choice. They’re always going to be useful. They probably won’t be able to solo anything because they don’t really do any damage, but every party and every raid is going to want one, probably more.”

Jane nodded, agreeing, but countered, “A lot of responsibility on their shoulders, though. Especially in raids.” She pointed at the top of the list. “Check out Alchemical Fighter. Cool idea, drinking potions that do different things. If only they can use those, fine, but if they have the ability to make potions and give those to others? That’s a steady source of income and another valuable party member.”

“Makes me wonder if alchemist is no longer a stand-alone profession in WoF anymore. They’re going to be a good all-round class, probably a fairly strong tank, though not as good as paladin.”

“Ranger is nice and simple: ranged DPS. Some interesting specialty arrows that give utility but most just hurting monsters from safely out of reach. Easy to play, no responsibility, lots of satisfying DPS.”

He smirked. “I didn’t notice any tattoos on you earlier. That what you’re into?”

“Uh…maybe? I like the idea of a tattoo. Not sure about the permanence of them.”

“What about covering your whole body in them? Because that’s what it looks like they have to do to get their abilities.”

“Some tatted up people look really badass. Not sure that’s me, though.”

“Is it just me or does monk look weak?”

“Yeah. Looks like the marathon runner of adventurers. Good for long fights, maybe?”

“Right. We know max Stamina goes down over time in long encounters. It’s the only class with a boost to base stats, and they’re insane. Plus 8 over the course of the game? Assuming level 50 is max, which we don’t know for sure.”

“This might be a never-ending game. Who knows how many expansions they’ll come up with. They may never let us out of here.” She hummed. “I’ve never seen Artist as a class before.”

“Bards.”

“Then why not say bard? I wonder if they have a range of skills, not just singing.”

“Don’t know. Nothing’s listed. It’s like they never even started on that class. Or were thinking about taking it out?”

“I doubt anyone’s going to try it and find out. Not when our lives are on the line. But if this was just a game, it would be the first one I pick.”

Quill threw his head back. “Ha! Me too. Just to find out what it’s about.”

They shared a glance and smile, happy to see something of themselves in the other.

Jane turned back to the guide. “Mage looks like it has amazing DPS. Doing twice the damage at level 40? Insane. If ranger excels at single target damage, I’ll bet mage is the queen of area damage.”

“That is damn tempting. Just like the cleric, they’ll fit into any party and be a cornerstone in raids. But…” Quill scowled. “I’ve never really played mages. They’re just not me for some reason. I really want to be a paladin; it’s my favourite class. The idea of being able to protect others, of standing for something noble, something bigger than ourselves. That…reaches me. But those cretins didn’t finish all the skills.”

Jane snickered. “Did you just use the word cretin?”

He side-eyed her. “Yes.”

“Nice.” Jane bit her lip and went back to reading. “Maybe they’re unfinished. Or maybe they just didn’t finish the text here? Don’t forget; we’re able to pick up extra skills while we play.”

He hesitated and felt a bit of hope. “I guess.” He mulled over the words, reading them for the fifteenth time. “It’s likely a tank class, probably designed to be the best at that. The regenerating damage shield would be great, but I’m betting it scales off my HP, which is really low. On you…” He sighed.

She hastily shook her head. “I don’t want to be a paladin. I can’t handle the pressure of tanking by myself. Maybe we could address your HP with really good gear?”

He like that she used the term ‘we’ even when it was him they were assessing. “Maybe.” He sighed again. “I really have no idea what class to choose. With my attributes, I think I’d suck at all of them. What about you?”

“Well… Every class has cool stuff. I’ve always liked druids. The nature, the magic. Gorgeous costumes. I might choose that. They heal.”

“I think most people are going to choose cleric as the healer class. Being able to heal instantly is generally way preferable to healing slowly over time. Especially in life-and-death situations. And druid looks like a weak damage class, I’m guessing.”

“Yes. But…hear me out. I know druids aren’t known for being the best tanks or best healers; they’re a little bit of everything. A utility class. That might be useful, right?”

“Depends. Is Golden Impact the same as previous versions of World of Fantasy, or is it different? We just don’t know what the future holds. But…my first instinct is that it’s a weak class.”

She pouted and didn’t seem to want to let the idea go. “I don’t know what the dryad form does, but merperson probably means I can swim in water just like a fish.”

He raised a brow. “But how many bosses are going to be underwater? None of the other classes can fight that way.”

She grumbled, looking frustrated. “The other forms might have cool features, too. As a druid, I can transform.” Her eyes lifted, and she looked wistful. “How cool would that be? The ultimate cosplay!”

He laughed. “Pretty cool.” Then he grew serious again. “But beyond being fun to play, are they useful? We’re both leaning toward one class or another based on our personality or who we want to be. I don’t know if that makes sense right now. As much as I’d like to approach this as a game, this is more like planning out your career in real life.”

“Ugh.” She sat back. “I hated that, back in high school. ‘You’re a kid with zero life experience. Please plan the next fifty years of your life, including what job you want to do without ever having worked before.’ Stupid.”

“Right?” He gave a sad shake of his head. “As if anyone knows who they really are that age. Or what they want.”

“I’m in my twenties, and I’m still figuring it out.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I thought I had an idea. Then we ended up in here. Suddenly planning an entirely different future from a week ago.”

“I drifted through different jobs after school. Not sure what I wanted or where I fit in. Nothing seemed to click. Next thing you know, years have gone by, and everyone else seems to be well along in life, following some kind of blueprint. They’ve all got careers they’re proud of. Weddings, kids, busy-busy now, too busy for you. You look up one day and wonder how you got so off track.”

“Or why you’re so alone.”

He looked over at her in real surprise. “You too?”

She looked mildly offended. “What? I can’t get lonely?”

“Well…I mean, look at you. Sorry, I just mean, you’re beautiful, so it’s hard to imagine you’d lack for friends.”

“I think I got a little too wrapped up in doing my own thing. Didn’t keep up with them enough. But maybe some of them didn’t like who I was becoming. I don’t know.” She glanced his way. “What about you?”

He stared at the ground, thinking about it. “It’s kind of hard to stay friends with people you knew in school. Or those in those early years after. At least for me. They all seemed to grow in one direction and…I didn’t go the same way for some reason.” He shook his head. “Guess I never really figured out who I am either. I fell into my current career. I never chose it.”

Her eyes rose to his, quizzical. “What do you do?”

Half embarrassed because it was nothing to brag about, he answered somewhat sheepishly. “Foreign relations, sort of. I liaison between government and foreigners in Japan. Salaryman job. Very boring.”

Jane perked up with real interest. “You live in Japan? That’s cool!”

“Yeah, it has a lot of upsides. Just an extraordinary experience living in a different culture. I’m glad I went,” he admitted. “But it’s gotten really lonely in the past year. Most foreigners eventually move away, so it’s hard to maintain a circle of good friends. What about you? What do you do?”

She hesitated, and her smile faded away. “I’m a creator online. An influencer.”

“Nice. What area? Are you a foodie? Travel? Book blogger?” He wondered why she looked uncertain about telling him.

“I started out doing cosplay. That’s how I got into it and what I like doing most. I’ve also gotten into streaming, making tutorial videos, gaming, and other stuff.”

“Got a lot of fans?”

“…I’m working my way to three million.”

His jaw dropped. “You — holy cow! That’s huge.”

She paused again, then looked directly into his eyes. She grew all-business and slightly defensive. “Ok, I’m just going to be out with it, and if you have a problem, tell me straight, ok?”

“Uh, ok.”

She took a deep breath and plunged ahead, tough and no-nonsense. “I got my start as a regular cosplayer, but I hit it big because of a sexy costume I did. Went viral. And recently, I decided to get into sexier stuff.”

“Ok.”

She stared at him.

He could guess what kind of response she was half-waiting for, and he was not going to give it to her. “And…?”

“You don’t have a problem with that?”

“That you might charge guys a bunch of money for sexy pics?”

“Yeah.” Her defensiveness went up a notch.

“Short answer: no.” He gave it some thought. He didn’t want to brush it off. He wanted her to feel like he was taking her seriously because this was obviously important to her and part of who she saw herself as. He could see she was expecting criticism or for him to look down on her, and he honestly didn’t feel that way. “I admit, I follow more than a few sexy women online.”

A hint of a smile on her lips. “Oh really?”

A hint of a smile back on his. “Yes.” He took a breath. “I dunno; it’s a tough question. I mean, on the one hand, people should be totally free to be whatever kind of entertainer they want, whether that involves sex or not.”

She leaned away from him. “But…?”

“Well…” He tried to find a good way to phrase his thoughts, not wanting to accidentally hurt her feelings or miscommunicate his own. “In the past, I’ve dated a few women. Not a lot, don’t look at me like that. One thing they’ve all had in common is how jealous they got when I hung around other women, especially if those women were hotter or younger or seemed to have more in common with me than my girlfriend. I can empathize with being worried that your partner might leave you for someone else. Especially when there are a lot of opportunities.”

Her brows tightened into a small frown of disagreement. “Isn’t that a reflection of your relationship, though? I mean, if you two were in a healthy relationship, wouldn’t she trust you and not get jealous?”

“Sure, though, it also depends on the person. And I think there’s a bit of a limit to that, right? I mean, if I was a rock star and surrounded by hundreds of half-naked groupies every night, rich and famous, that might make it difficult to keep trust going with my wife. Likewise, if I’m dating a woman who sexually advertises herself to millions of other guys online all day, acting all cute and saying girlfriend stuff—“

She cut him off. “It’s just an act. It’s a job.”

He hurried to reassure her. “And I know that. Intellectually. But emotionally, when it’s with someone I love and rely on? I’m going to wonder where the line is when she’s interacting with these other guys so much. And it’s just a matter of time before she meets someone better looking, smarter, or richer. Maybe famous. Guys are going to come along and throw money and attention at her. I’ve seen some of those models online, starting out in a dingy apartment, then a year or two later, you see them showing off their sports car, their high-end apartment, or snapping selfies on some dude’s private jet.”

Her voice was flat. “So you think she’s going to ditch you for someone else online. Maybe some rich guy.”

“Maybe.”

She challenged him, “Or maybe you just lack self-confidence.”

“It’s not always about that. We all know how mate choice works. Males are naturally promiscuous, and females are more selective, aiming for the top of the social pyramid. Doesn’t matter who I am as a person if the woman I’m with cares more about money. She might say she loves me today, but when the rich guy comes along and throws money at her, it might have nothing at all to do with me, only about what she wants. I won’t know who she really is and what she really wants until she’s actually faced with those choices.”

The more he tried to explain, the stonier her face became and the harder her voice. “So you wouldn’t date a girl who shared sexy pics of herself online? Worried she’d eventually leave you. That you’re just a placeholder.”

“I’m not saying that.”

“Then what?” she snapped, visibly upset.

He drew himself up and firmed his tone of voice. “Hey, now. I’m not attacking you.”

She looked away. After a moment, she shrugged. “Sorry.”

He gave things a moment to cool down. Then he continued back in a conversational tone. “If your girlfriend is actively flirting with literally millions of other men…am I crazy for thinking I might get a little worried? Especially if our relationship hit a bumpy patch or we passed that seven year mark and things felt a bit routine?”

“Hmm.” Still, she wouldn’t look at him.

“Look, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what you do. If you’re happy doing it, I’m happy for you. All I’m saying is that, in a situation where I was in a relationship with — not that we’re in — just hypothetically — ok, I don’t even know why we’re talking about relationships. That has nothing to do with your job. I’m…going to shut up now.” He knew he was just digging himself into a hole and screwing things up with her. With an inward sigh, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

To his surprise, she shook her head and seemed to relax. “No, I get it. Where you’re coming from.”

He waved her words away. “No, you’re right. It would depend on the people and the health of the relationship. If the trust was there…”

She looked away in thought for a few moments. “I suppose you don’t have to do the whole girlfriend experience with your fans. I wasn’t planning on it. There are a few influencers I follow, they show lewd photos and stuff, but they don’t act super slutty or say naughty things to fans. They sort of…keep it professional? Other than showing themselves in bikinis and lingerie and stuff. I know at least one who has a serious boyfriend and another one who’s married. I’ll bet they tailor how they act with fans online because they don’t want to hurt their partner.” She glanced at him. “I can see how certain things could put stress on a relationship, no matter how much you trusted each other.”

They sat in silence for a while, watching other players and NPCs pass in the street in front of them. It was a nice morning, the air clear, only a few fluffy white clouds in the azure sky.

Not wanting things to be awkward, Quill tried to make a joke. “On the other hand, between partners… If a girlfriend wanted to send me sexy pics…she could tease me all she wanted. I wouldn’t mind.”

She huffed and raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”

“Just saying.”

A slight smile returned. “Are you now?”

He fought his own. “Don’t we have daily quests to do?”

Her smile grew wider, with lots of teeth. Kind of like that goblin had shown him earlier: not necessarily all that friendly. “That’s how you’re changing the subject, huh?”

“Jane, sincerely, I think it’s great that you are doing what you love and that you are evidently hugely successful at it. You have almost three million fans. That’s crazy. And I’m guessing you make a living on it because you said it’s your career?”

“Yes.”

“Awesome.” He meant it. “Good for you. I’m sure your boyfriend is very proud of you.” He paused. “Um, sorry, do you have a boyfriend?”

Jane gave him a knowing, challenging look. “Why do you want to know?”

He cleared his throat and stood up. “No reason. Just asking.”

She stood, not letting the subject drop. “What about you?”

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” He hopped off the grass and into the street and began looking around. “Which quest do you want to do first?”

But she was relentless, darting in front of him, her eyes on his. “What about a girlfriend? Wife? Are you married? Do you have kids?”

“No! Ok, we have quests to do. Busy day ahead. Let’s walk and read.” He began fast-walking towards the closest daily quest he could remember, Adventurers Guide open in his hands so he could browse.

She kept pace, her voice now teasing. “You mean walk and talk?”

He was glad that her playful side seemed to be back. There was still an edge to her, like part of her was still annoyed, deep down, but it felt like things were going to be ok between them. “Maybe less talking. Talking only about quests and classes and that sort of thing.”

“Coward.”

“Bite me.”

She vengefully chomped on his shoulder.

“Ow!”