Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 60: Tier 2, Too

Monthly Experience

Calculating...

Relevant Skills Training: +400 Exp

Physical Exercise: +0 Exp

Sparring: +0 Exp

Knowledge and Understanding: +240 Exp

Life Experience: +4000 Exp

Total Monthly Exp: 4,640

Experience 3,000/3,000

Initiating Class Change to Tier 2

Select New Class

Note: Primary Class: Fighter shall become Secondary Class

Reivyn had decided to turn his Experience Siphon ability off after he had decided on the initial Caster Class for entering the Magic Academy. The Class one directly affects the speed of leveling up the relevant Skills, and the Monthly Experience Calculation also bases the Experience awarded on the Class, as well. So far I've been doing a lot of physical fighting, so I've been getting decent Experience rewards for those Skills.

I'm entering a new phase in my life, though, where I'll be focusing much more heavily on mana Skills, and I needed to have a Caster Class to get accepted to the Magic Academy, too. It was time to finally breach Tier 2 for real.

Reivyn didn't need to think about his Class selection. Unlike last time when he only had 60 seconds to make a decision, Reivyn had been able to see and compare his available Classes for well over a month. He chose his interim Class immediately.

Light Magus Tier 2 Rare Advancement: 5 Unassigned Stats/Lvl (Tier 2, Rare) STR: +1/3 INT: +2 VIT: +3 MAG: +3 DEX: +1/3 CLA: +1/3 CHA: +0 PER: +1 LUK: +0

Class Skills: Basic Elemental Spells (1): Bolt 2(4)MP, Flash 2(4)MP, Beam 4(8)MP (+Duration), Blast 10(20)MP - (Double MP Costs for non-Light Affinity

Lattice (1): Bonus to Mana Manipulation +21%

True Light (1): Infuse your Will into Light Elemental Spells

Available: Intermediate Light Spells (0), True Illusion (0), True Mana (0)

Reivyn felt his meridians shift about inside of him. It wasn't the feeling of the literal, physical pathways changing, but it was more a metaphysical feeling, and he could feel the changed routes as he circulated his Mana through the pathways. The new meridian paths didn't completely change the ones that had been built from his Fighter Class, but they instead built upon the foundations laid. It had been something he had been anticipating.

"Typically, a Tier 1 Class doesn't even have meridians other than what is inherently present in all people," Knight-Lieutenant Brand said. Reivyn had visited him in his office one last time before departing with Lin's Company and his Party. The Knight-Lieutenant had had some final tidbits of knowledge and advice for Reivyn. "One of the things that aren't mentioned about the Peasant Levy Class and the Conscription mechanic is the meridian foundation. You can expect to have marginal increases in your Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity that wouldn't normally be there when you Class up soon."

"Is that why people with Bloodlines have superior Stats?" Reivyn hadn't meant to ask the question out loud.

"That's exactly why. Someone born with a strong enough Bloodline will have their Class meridians built on the foundations of their Bloodline meridians. Do you have a Bloodline?" Knight-Lieutenant Brand asked conversationally. Reivyn knew that he could trust the older man, as he hadn't leaked a single thing about his Mythic Skill, other than to the Knight-Captain who had also kept the secret, so Reivyn wasn't too concerned with his blunder. He still chose to hedge his bets, though.

"I don't have an activated Bloodline or anything," Reivyn said nonchalantly. Brand gave him a knowing look but didn't press the issue.

"One of the reasons I'm here in a position of authority is that my family actually has a weak Bloodline. I say it's 'weak,' but it's more than 99% of what everyone else has, and it has served my family well over the years," the man supplied. "But enough about that. Is there anything else I can do to help you along before you move on to bigger and better things?" Reivyn had already indicated this was their final meeting before he headed to the Capital to join the Magic Academy.

"There is, actually," Reivyn said. "A wise man once taught me the ropes of handling a horse, but I find myself, and my companions, without a mount. I figured I could get a better deal in purchasing one from you, or you could steer me in the right direction." Knight-Lieutenant Brand considered Reivyn for a moment over his clasped hands under his chin.

"I'll tell you what," he said, "give me two of those Experience Crystals, and I'll use my authority to sell you three horses - you need three, right? You, Teilon, and Kimberly," he ticked off his fingers as he named Reivyn's friends.

"Yes, sir," Reivyn said with a nod. "My other companions already have their own horses."

"Very well, three it is," Brand pulled out a form to make the bill of sale to be given to the quartermaster later.

"I feel like I'm taking advantage of you, here," Reivyn said. "I know horses aren't cheap, and these Experience Crystals won't be too scarce around these parts, soon."

"Mhmm, but they're scarce now," Knight-Lieutenant Brand said. He continued to fill out the form while he explained. "While it's true that we'll be sending the men to delve the Dungeon, and, as it's a Resource Dungeon, the crystals can be considered the resource on the second floor so most of the ones recovered will be the property of the outfit as opposed to those doing the delving, but we haven't started yet. The supply and demand of these resources are still skewed in your favor at the moment, so it's a perfectly reasonable price. This also includes all of the base equipment and some feed."

"Thank you, sir," Reivyn said as he accepted the filled-out form.

"You're welcome. And enough with this 'sir' business," Brand said. "I'm not your superior any longer. We can be considered friends, now."

"Ok... Brand," Reivyn winced as he said the man's name without any titles. Brand laughed at his expression.

"You'll get used to it," he said. They chatted for a few more minutes before Reivyn took his leave.

Reivyn bent down and patted the neck of the horse he was riding. I don't think I'll ever get used to it, he thought with a chuckle. I know I'm considered an adult now, especially since I've officially entered Tier 2, but he still seems like someone on my parent's social level. I feel like I need to add at least a 'Mr.' to his name.

Reivyn sat up straight and continued to look at his full Status after the Class change.

Status Name: Reivyn Class: Light Magus Lvl 1 Age:10 Fighter Health: 2,490/2,490 (+200) Stamina: 4,750/4,750 (+260) Mana: 2,240/2,240 Physical Stats Mental Stats STR: 226 (+6) INT: 224 VIT: 249 (+20) MAG: 224 DEX: 226 (+6) CLA: 155 CHA: 67 PER: 173 LUK: 66 Bloodline: Unknown 2,886,274/10,000,000 Experience: 1,640/3,200

Skills: Tier 1:

Aim (27), Athleticism (45), Balance (46), Drawing (19), Drive (7), Haman (20 MAX), Heavy Armor (7), Hiding (28), Horsemanship (8), Map Making (18), Mathematics (17), Marching (15), Medium Armor (35), Memorization {Social} (7), Mining (18), Observation (41), Penmanship (24), Piano (0), Ride (12), Running (41), Shields (48), Sneaking (27), Stealing (9), Swimming (0), Woodworking (11) Tier 2:

Acrobatics (26), Backstab (9), Eavesdropping (24), Evasion (39), Forced March (13), Linguistics (10), Mana Absorption (49), Mana Circulation (24), Meditation (24), Numbers Concepts (9), Pain Resistance (42), Pickpocket (6), Sense Mana (55), Stealth (23), Strategy (19), Tactics (24) Tier 3:

Battlefield Awareness (18), Blind Fighting (8), Command (20), Commanding Shout (4), Danger Sense (15), Identify {All} (15), Inspire (14), Mana Conjuration (30), Mana Manipulation (32), Mana Shield (20), Mana Sight (33), Mental Fortitude (40) Tier 4:

Dreams of the Past (15), Iron Will (15), Mana Weapon (27), Spatial Awareness (21) Tier 5:

Heroic Bearing (3) Tier 6:

Akashic Record (1), Weapons Master (61)

Affinities: Tier 1:

Air (36), Earth (36), Fire (36), Water (36) Tier 2:

Ice (20), Magma (20), Metal (20), Plasma (20), Wood (20) Tier 3:

Darkness (27), Light (27) Tier 5:

Abyss (1), Veridical (1)

Class Skills: Basic Elemental Spells (1): Bolt 2(4)MP, Flash 2(4)MP, Beam 4(8)MP (+Duration), Blast 10(20)MP - (Double MP Costs for non-Light Affinity

Lattice (1): Bonus to Mana Manipulation +21%

True Light (1): Infuse your Will into Light Elemental Spells

Cleave (96): Reset stance at an accelerated rate of 207%

Charge (97): Sprint towards the target at 208% absolute maximum speed

Flame Weapon (62): Coat your weapon in a raging Inferno. Able to extend the length of the Flame Weapon with additional mana

Available: Devastating Strike (99), Intermediate Light Spells (0), Intimidate (0), Power Swing (0), True Illusion (0), True Mana (0), Quick-Draw (81)

I definitely don't have the Stats of someone just entering Tier 2. Even taking into account people like Teilon and Kimberly who also got a head start on their Stats from the Peasant Levy Class.

I have way more Stats than even someone entering Tier 3 would typically have if they had zero Achievements or other bonuses to their Stats.

Take the Fighter Class, for instance. A Level 60 Fighter would have around 140 to 150 Strength, depending on their base attribute when they attained the Class. My Strength Stat is over 70 points higher than the upper band. Reivyn shook his head. Thinking like this is what gets me in trouble all the time. I can't assume I'm the only person with a lot of Achievements under my belt. Other people already have unlocked Bloodlines giving them steady Stat growth per Level, and people aren't static.

I shouldn't sell myself short, by any means, but I need to assume that anyone I meet has also had their own particular Life Experiences that would make them more than just what the Class would entail.

Despite reminding himself to never get complacent and make assumptions about others, Reivyn was still immensely pleased with his progress. He had only technically gained 16 Levels since he had made the decision to go to the Dungeon, but he had seen close to 150 Stat gains in almost all of his normal Stats, and he had gained a tremendous amount in his Charisma and Luck. He knew that most people never even unlocked those Stats, but he didn't have a baseline to compare himself to see just how high those Stats really were.

I'll have to ask my parents to finally reveal their full stats for me, once and for all, and I'll be able to see where I stack up. Those Adventurers were awfully suspicious...

He had been too preoccupied each time he had encountered the Adventurers to really focus on them and try to figure them out at the moment, but after being able to think about it clearly after the fact, there were a lot of things that didn't make sense.

Like the not-Light Element that the new female Adventurer used. My mother claims to be a Light Weaver and only in Tier 2... but she also claimed to be a Villager when in Tier 1, and I know that that was a lie. What else have they kept from me in order to 'protect' me? I think I'm mentally prepared and mature enough for the full story.

Reivyn looked around the countryside as he came out of his contemplation. They had traveled with Lin's Company to the city where the Duke called home, Malgen, and had parted ways there. The city of Malgen was a true eye-opener for Reivyn, as it was several times larger than Magron. The walls were half again as high, and the level of foot traffic within the city was downright inconvenient.

Lin had tried to get the Party to accompany her to her private house she had outside of the base to spend the evening, but Reivyn had politely declined as it wasn't that late in the evening. He had begun to miss his family, and he could tell that Melissa had zero interest in staying in Lin's presence any longer than she absolutely had to.

The two girls had cooled their little rivalry, though Reivyn could still pick out subtle jabs every now and then. It gets pretty annoying when it's nothing but verbal sparring, but the occasional power play is actually a little flattering. Reivyn had to admit that it wasn't all bad having two girls fight over him, even if he knew it was not in a romantic way.

The countryside between Malgen and the Capital - I still don't know the name of the city, it might even just be The Capital - was dotted with far more communities, so much so that they appeared to be little villages spaced just a stone's throw away - Or even one, big, extended city.

The road was lined with trees, and it afforded a quite pleasant, shaded ride towards the Capital.

"The trees aren't there just for shade," Melissa had said. "They're also a wind-break for the farms. There was much more forest naturally breaking things up near Magron, so you didn't see it the same way it is here, and there are more individually owned plots of land here. If you'll pay attention and look out into the fields, you can see that they're basically squared off with a line of trees creating neat little boxes. Well, 'little' is a relative term."

Reivyn had done as Melissa had said and seen exactly what she was talking about. The scene caused a flash from one of his dreams to cross his mind for a split second. It appeared that he was looking down on a huge, open area with clearly defined squares of crops below. Reivyn instinctively knew that he wasn't looking at a map in the dream, as he could see the fuzzy horizon way off in the distance, but he had no idea where or how someone could get such a vantage.

The closest thing I can think of that makes any kind of sense is falling off of a giant bird, for some reason. Reivyn shook his head. It wasn't that important.

Reivyn's homesickness for his family only grew stronger the closer they got to the Capital, and he was itching to get his horse to move at a faster pace. He held himself back, though, as he wasn't sure Teilon or Kimberly had Leveled up their Skills enough to handle a mad dash. He knew they had gotten several more Skill Levels in the week they had been on the road, but he also knew that he gained Skill Levels unusually quickly.

My own experiences aren't the best baseline to judge how fast someone gains Skill Levels.

"How much further do you think we have?" Reivyn asked Melissa for the thousandth time. Melissa rolled her eyes as she looked around their surroundings to gauge exactly where they were.

"About a day and a half," she answered. "About thirty minutes less than the last time you asked me."

"Sorry, I'm just excited," Reivyn said with a sheepish grin. "Not just about the Academy, but about my family, also. You'll finally get to meet them, too. You'll have to if you want a Flower Crown for yourself. I doubt Kailey and Riley will make you one without meeting you."

"Oh, oh, oh, I can't wait!" Larissa cheered from beside her sister. "Your sisters sound adorable. Let's see: you have the Laurel Crown of the Flower Knight, Kimberly has The Lady's Flower Crown, and Teilon has The Plucked Flowers - obviously in reference to him being a thief as your sisters said. I wonder what my flower crown will be called." Larissa looked to the side in contemplation, and her gaze landed on Erik. "For that matter, what will Erik's be called? The Silent Thorn?" She giggled at her little joke.

"Hey, that doesn't sound half bad," Teilon said. "But knowing the twins, they'll come up with something all on their own. He'll probably get something completely out of left field, like The Rose Bush, haha." Erik simply grunted. Teilon frowned as he turned to Reivyn. "Does that guy ever smile?"

"I don't think so," Reivyn said with a quick glance. "I dunno, I've gotten used to him like this. I think it would be weird if I looked over and saw a smile on his face."

"True," Teilon nodded his head.

The Party lapsed into companionable silence, occasionally broken by a bit of banter between one or two of them. The trip had been very pleasant, and after reaching Malgen, there were no longer any dangers of any kind of random attack, be it from beasts or monsters.

Come to think of it, the only time I've ever encountered anything besides a few predators on the prowl was the one time the goblins showed up to attack the conscription team. I wonder why that is? Maybe they were just thinned out enough that it hasn't been a problem recently.

Reivyn put the thoughts out of his mind. He was already beyond that portion of his life, and he was about to begin a whole new phase. Sure, he would most likely end up out there again for one reason or another, like running the Dungeon while being an official student, but his family was now in the Capital, and so even though he had yet to actually set foot there himself, it was now his home.

Reivyn looked over at Teilon and Kimberly. Not just my immediate family is there, but the brother and sister I've made are going to be there with me, too. Reivyn still had the occasional regret over leaving Will and Simmon behind like they had, but they were likely still less than Level 10 in their Tier 1 Classes. It was the right thing to do, even if it hurt sometimes.

It's time to stop thinking about the past. I have a whole future ahead of me, and things are looking good.

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