Arianna sat on the bed, staring at the glowing screen before her. The system interface displayed six possible advanced class options, each one reflecting different aspects of her abilities and actions up until now. Usually, an Awakener would receive only one to four options, dictated by their training, experiences, and battle tendencies. Yet here she was, given six choices. It was both an honour and a burden.
Luremaster – A master of drawing attention, manipulating enemies, and controlling the battlefield through deception and baiting tactics.
High Priestess – A revered healer capable of channeling immense healing power, specializing in advanced restoration, including the reconstruction of lost body parts.
Battle Chaplain – A warrior of faith, combining clerical magic with martial prowess to stand on the front lines, supporting allies while delivering righteous blows.
Arcane Saint – A fusion of healing and arcane power, wielding blessings, healing magic and raw magic to aid allies and smite foes from afar.
Warpriest of the Flow – A combat-focused priest who seamlessly integrates healing, buffs, and melee combat, adapting to battle conditions with fluidity.
Celestial Battlecaster – A hybrid spellblade wielding healing and arcane magic in perfect harmony, unleashing devastating ranged and melee attacks while maintaining their healing capabilities.
Arianna’s eyes lingered on the High Priestess class. She had never considered herself a traditional healer. She preferred to be in the thick of battle, helping her allies not only by healing but also by fighting alongside them. And yet…
The description mentioned reconstructing lost body parts. Her mind immediately flashed to Marcus. His missing arm. If she chose this path, could she restore it? The thought made her hesitate, but deep down, she knew this class did not align with how she fought. The question was, did she want to change everything about herself just for a possibility?
She exhaled sharply and moved on.
Luremaster was an interesting choice. It fascinated her how the system had recognized her natural tendency to draw enemies’ attention. She had developed a knack for baiting enemies ever since she had played decoy for Cassis in the fight against the hobgoblin. It was a skill, one she had honed unconsciously. But could she dedicate herself fully to such a class? The thought of always throwing herself into danger on purpose made her uneasy. No, this wasn’t right either.
The Arcane Saint and Celestial Battlecaster called to her. They would allow her to harness her talent for mana manipulation while still retaining her healing abilities. But something nagged at her. These classes sounded… fragile. She had been hurt too often, too easily. She knew what it felt like to be overwhelmed in battle, and these paths might not provide enough resilience to withstand prolonged combat. What good was her talent if she was dead before she could use it?
That left Battle Chaplain and Warpriest of the Flow. These would give her the defences she needed while still allowing her to be an effective combatant. But she worried—would she be sacrificing her strengths by taking a more defensive route? She was undeniably gifted with mana. Would shoring up her weaknesses make her an overall lesser fighter?
A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, and just as she dismissed her status screen, she heard a matching sigh from her side. She turned her head, meeting Cassis’ gaze. He looked just as lost as she felt.
“That bad?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light.
“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “That difficult to choose. What about you?”
“Same.”
They sat there in silence, each lost in thought, the weight of their choices pressing down on them.
Arianna took a deep breath before speaking. “I think I’ve narrowed it down, but I wanted to talk it through with you first.”
Cassis nodded, his gaze still serious after looking through his own choices. “Alright, let’s hear it.”
“Well, I already ruled out Arcane Saint or Celestial Battlecaster. They sound too fragile for my taste. But Luremaster is actually a fascinating class—it plays into my strengths and my ability to bait monsters.”
Cassis stiffened instantly, his expression darkening. “No.”
Arianna blinked, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”
“I said no. You’re not taking that class.” His voice was firm, unyielding.
Heat flared in her chest. “And who exactly do you think you are, forbidding me anything?”
“I won’t watch you do that again!” His voice rose, frustration and fear warring on his face. “You nearly got yourself killed playing bait before! You think I’m just going to stand by while you pick a class that’s entirely about putting yourself in harm’s way? I can’t—I won’t—lose you, Arianna!”
His words slammed into her like a wave, but instead of melting under them, she inhaled sharply and forced herself to stay calm. “Cassis,” she said, quieter now, but firm, “I know that. I know you’re scared of losing me. But you need to understand something: you don’t get to forbid me from doing anything. Ever.”
His chest rose and fell rapidly, the fight in his posture clashing with the flicker of relief in his eyes. “You weren’t even considering it?” he asked, his voice hoarse now.
“No, I wasn’t. But that’s not the point.” Arianna exhaled, rubbing a hand over her face before looking at him again. “You are not my guardian, Cassis, and I’m not a child. Even if we were actually together, you still wouldn’t have the right to make my choices for me. If something I’m doing or considering bothers you that much, you can ask me to reconsider. Nicely. But never in that tone, and never with those words.”
Cassis ran a hand through his hair, frustration still evident, but the storm in his eyes was fading. He hesitated before nodding slowly. “I… I get it. I think.”
Arianna’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “I’m willing to compromise, Cassis. I always am. But if you ever think you can override my decisions, we can end this fake relationship right now.”
His eyes widened at that, and for a moment, silence stretched between them. Then, he exhaled, his shoulders sagging as the tension drained from his body. “No,” he said finally, voice quieter now. “That’s not what I want.”
Arianna nodded, her throat tightening as her own emotions swirled inside her. She blinked rapidly, unwilling to let the tears at the edges of her vision spill over. She wasn’t even sure if she was crying from frustration or relief. Maybe both.
Cassis rubbed his temples, looking away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I should have trusted you.”
Arianna let out a shaky laugh, some of the tension easing between them. “Yeah. You should have.”
She hesitated, her gaze flickering over the glowing screen in front of her. The High Priestess class lingered in her mind, not because it suited her, but because of what it could do—what she could do with it. If she chose it, she might be able to restore Marcus’s arm. That thought alone was enough to make her waver.
Unsure after their earlier argument, she finally voiced her thoughts to Cassis, expecting him to immediately dismiss them. Instead, he surprised her.
"Thank you," he said simply.
She blinked, caught off guard. "For what?"
His expression softened. "For still being willing to talk to me about this. And for thinking about my father—and the rest of my family—so much."
Arianna wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she said nothing, waiting for the inevitable counterpoint. It came soon enough.
"But I don’t think you should take it," Cassis continued. "You must know it’s not the right fit for you. As a High Priestess, you’d be stuck in the back lines, far away from the fight. That’s not who you are."
She let out a slow breath, her fingers tightening around the edge of the blanket. "I know," she admitted. "But it’s only five levels until our next evolution. If I take it now, I can heal Marcus, then at level 20, I might be able to switch to something else."
Cassis shook his head. "It’s not that simple."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
He exhaled, leaning back slightly. "Sure, level 20 is when we can evolve, and we need to do that to reach E-rank otherwise we’ll be stuck at level 20. But it’s not as flexible as you’re thinking. The classes we choose now won’t just disappear. They’ll most likely stay the same—just stronger versions with a ‘+1’ next to their name."
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Arianna’s lips parted slightly, processing his words. "I know that happened to you with the Knight class but you memorized a lot of evolution requirements, didn’t you?"
"You’re right. In the other timeline, I chose Knight. And when I reached level 20, I only evolved into Knight (+1). It took some time, too. And I only reached that because I got hold of the evolution requirements from another Knight (+1). I had no way of aiming for something different, because the requirements for other evolutions weren’t clear. The system doesn’t exactly give you a roadmap. It only tells you afterwards what the requirements were. But many people especially those with unusual classes were too selfish to share their evolution requirements."
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration flickering across his face. "Later on, we finally managed to make a guide—that’s why I didn’t have a lot of problems with evolutions from then on and knew what to do. I was following a basic path. The Awakener Bureau wrote down the evolution paths for basic classes like Knight, Archer, Thief, Healer, ... We even learned what people needed to do to qualify for better options. But your classes?" He gestured to her. "They’re unique. The system doesn’t rank classes—it just evolves them. The names alone suggest they’re already evolved, maybe even second- or third-tier evolutions. That means the requirements for their next evolution will be a lot more complicated."
Arianna swallowed. "So, you think if I take High Priestess, I’ll be stuck with it?"
"I think it’s a real possibility, at least until you reach level 40 for your next evolution," Cassis said. "But if you’re stuck and can’t evolve first, you could be trapped at F-rank a lot longer than you think."
She looked down at her class options again, her earlier certainty beginning to waver. If she was stuck with High Priestess at level 20 until level 40, that was too long and too dangerous. She had never questioned how Cassis new what to do to get his next evolution in the other timeline and he – his taciturn self back then – hadn’t offered this information. She shot him a dark look.
To her surprise he must have realized where her thoughts had gone and apologised, looking a bit embarrassed.
Arianna took a deep breath before speaking. "There are two classes that stand out to me the most: Warpriest of the Flow and Battle Chaplain."
Cassis nodded, waiting for her to continue.
"Battle Chaplain would make me sturdier in a fight," she explained. "I’d still be able to heal well, and I wouldn’t be as easy to knock around as I am now. It’s a safe choice. But Warpriest of the Flow..." She hesitated, searching for the right words. "It feels like it was made for me. It incorporates both healing and mana manipulation, and it even improves my defense. I wouldn’t just be a healer—I’d be able to react to the battlefield as a whole."
Cassis considered her words before offering his own thoughts. "There’s one more thing to consider," he said. "You don’t actually have a set fighting style. You don’t just pick a role and stick to it—you move to where you’re needed. It’s instinctive for you. You sense where your presence can help and how. That’s why Warpriest of the Flow makes sense. The class has flexibility. You might lose a bit of raw power compared to a more specialized class, but adaptability is more valuable in the long run. You’re not the main damage dealer anyway and I’ve done ok without a healer in the past. Now you can heal quite well already, we don’t actually need a more specialized healer. Your ability as a Warpriest to read the battlefield and react would round out our team well."
Arianna sat with his words for a moment, letting them settle in her mind. "You’re right," she admitted. "That adaptability is exactly what’s calling to me."
She thought for another moment, then glanced up at him. "Do you want to talk about your choices too?"
Cassis hesitated, then exhaled, as if bracing himself. "Spellblade Knight, Arcane Duelist, Flameforged Warlord, Berserker, Blademaster, Warbringer."
He listed them quickly, but Arianna’s attention snagged on one word. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Berserker?"
Cassis' expression turned grim. He realized she had noticed.
"Why?" she asked softly.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "When you disappeared, I had to live four years on my own. I... I became full of rage. I did things I’m not proud of. And that rage is still inside me."
"Oh." Arianna’s thoughts flashed back to the gymnasium fight. When she had regained her senses after hitting the wall, she had seen Cassis attacking the orc with terrifying ferocity. It hadn’t been just battle instinct—it had been raw, unrestrained aggression. He had fought like a berserker. Not thinking about himself, not thinking about his allies, only about destroying the enemy in front of him. She had been scared for him. But the moment the orc had died, he had returned to the Cassis she knew, and she had thought it was just a momentary lapse. Now he was telling her it wasn’t.
"You’re not considering it, are you?" she asked carefully.
"No." He hesitated, then admitted in a quiet voice, "But it scares me that it’s even an option."
Arianna reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. She squeezed gently. "It scares me too."
They sat like that for a while, neither speaking, just holding onto each other.
Finally, Cassis broke the silence. "The class I’m actually leaning toward is Flameforged Warlord."
Arianna pulled back slightly to look at him. "Why?"
He exhaled slowly. "It plays to my strengths as a swordsman, but it also acknowledges something I’ve been avoiding for a long time: my mana." His fingers tightened slightly around hers. "I used to think I was bad at magic. But I’ve realized thanks to you that maybe I just never used it the right way. When we fought against the hobgoblin, I instinctively used the spell Flame Burst in my desperation, and it made a difference. You’re alive because of it.” Arianna shuddered. “Flameforged Warlord would let me develop that further without abandoning what I already excel at."
Arianna nodded, listening intently. "That makes sense. You don’t have to be just a swordsman anymore. Your Mana Control is a lot better than back then."
Cassis gave a small, almost self-deprecating chuckle. "Yeah. Maybe it’s time I stop limiting myself."
They nodded at each other, a silent understanding passing between them, and at the same time, they made their choice.
Arianna selected Warpriest of the Flow.
The system responded immediately.
[Congratulations! You have chosen Warpriest of the Flow.]
[New skills gained:]
- Force Absorption (Basic) – (When physical force makes contact with the awakener, some of the force is transformed into mana.)
- Body Reinforcement (Basic) – (Uses mana to make the body stronger.)
[New spells gained:]
- Water Shield (Basic) – (Creates a movable shield made of water.)
- Warcry (Basic) – (Uses sound waves to transport mana properties towards allies.)
[Level gained. Level gained. Level gained. Level gained. Level gained.]
Arianna blinked as the knowledge flooded into her mind. She could already tell how to use these abilities, as if they had always been a part of her. The potential of Force Absorption was staggering—converting incoming force into mana could be a game-changer in prolonged battles. And Warcry… if she could channel buffs through it, the spell could be invaluable for large-scale fights.
She turned to Cassis, only to see him grinning. That was a rare sight.
She raised an eyebrow. “That good?”
“Oh yeah.” His grin widened. “I got two new skills and two spells. And well, six levels.”
He listed them off:
[New skills gained:]
- Body Reinforcement (Basic) – (Uses mana to make the body stronger.)
- Dash (Basic) – (Uses mana to speed up for a short while; can be combined with other skills.)
[New spells gained:]
- Blazing Body (Low) – (Can emit flames from any part of the body in short bursts.)
- Fire Lance (Low) – (Shoots a lance made of fire toward an enemy.)
Arianna nodded, impressed. “We both got Body Reinforcement. That makes sense. Most advanced classes need their bodies to be tougher to survive harsher battles.”
“Yeah,” Cassis agreed. “But I’m curious about this Blazing Body. If I can control it precisely…” He flexed his fingers, as if already testing the spell in his mind.
Arianna couldn’t help but smirk. “Let’s just hope you don’t accidentally set yourself on fire.”
He scoffed. “I’ll be fine.”
She rolled her eyes but laughed. They had made their choices. Now, there was no turning back.
Arianna then explained her new skills and spells to Cassis, watching his expression shift from interest to outright fascination when she mentioned Force Absorption.
"You can turn force into mana?" he asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "We need to test that. Right now."
Arianna grinned, just as eager. "Agreed."
She raised her hand, palm facing him. "Go ahead. Just don’t break my hand."
Cassis smirked but remained careful as he formed a loose fist and pressed it against her palm with a controlled amount of force—enough to be felt, but not enough to hurt.
Immediately, Arianna felt it. A faint ripple of energy trickled into her palm, like a tiny stream feeding into a vast ocean. The amount of mana was minuscule, likely because the impact had been too light, but the implications were enormous.
Her breath hitched. “I felt it.”
Cassis’ eyes narrowed in thought. “Not much, huh?”
“No, but… think about the possibilities,” she said, her mind racing. “What if I took a heavier hit? What if I learned to redirect the force somewhere else? Could I convert impact into an actual mana reservoir?”
They exchanged a look, excitement buzzing between them. They had both gained something new, something that could completely change the way they fought.
“We’ll have to train it,” Cassis said.
“Obviously.” Arianna smirked. “All our skills and spells. Maybe even get a few new spells going.”
Her thoughts, however, drifted toward something else. With this evolution, she had grown stronger, but how much? She hadn’t checked her full status page in a while.
Time to fix that.
She opened her Pseudo Status Page, letting her gaze drift over the familiar layout:
Patron Status Page
- Name: Sapphire
- Race: Deity
- Title: [Fallen Patron]
- Alignment: Chaotic
- Special Chaotic Trait: inner scale of virtuous and evil deeds à leans towards virtuous
Warning: As a Chaotic Deity, you must balance your actions carefully. Both intent and consequence will affect your CP. Should you become too virtuous or too evil, your CP will be reset.
- CP: 200
- Patron Shop: discount available
- Patron’s Avatar: Cassis Walker, Arianna Sloane
- Pseudo-Awakener Physique: Redirect to Pseudo Status Page
- FP: 590
- Fame: Recognized
- Followers: 51
- Fame Shop: open
- Patron chat: open
Pseudo status page:
- MS (Mana Saturation): 56%
- Race: Human?
- Rank: F
- Features: Awareness (Intermediate), Stamina Capacity (Beginner), Mana Manipulation (Expert)
- Unique: None
- Level: 15
- Class: Warpriest of the Flow
- Skills: Bludgeon (Advanced), Baiting (Basic), Willpower (Advanced), Dodge (Basic), Parry (Beginner), Deflect (Beginner), Body Reinforcement (Basic), Force Absorption (Basic)
- Ability:
- Elemental Affinity: Water
- Unique: None
- Inventory: 20 m3
- Spells: Heal (Advanced), Water Barrier (Basic), Holy Water (Basic), Water Shield (Basic), Warcry (Basic)
- Titles: [One From Another World], [Chaotic Priestess of Sapphire], [Superior Survivor], [Monster Bane I], [Protector of the Weak], [Healer of Chaos], [Giant Slayer], [Helping Hand], [Untiring]
- Patron: Sapphire
- Hallo of Fame: open
Arianna’s lips pressed together. Seeing it all written out, it felt real.
She had changed. She wasn’t just some lost girl from another world anymore. She was a fighter, a survivor, and now, a Warpriest of the Flow.
She noticed that her inventory space had doubled. Was that because her MS was high?
She’d get it even higher. Her goal was at least 80 % until level 20. They had a lot of work ahead of them.