Chương 61: (60) 2.13. Level 20

Vin breathed out slowly, letting the smooth lines flow from his mental map out onto paper. He'd seen quite a good bit of this new world ever since arriving on Edregon, and he'd decided it was finally about time he began a journal to keep track of everything. But before all that writing, he was first drawing his own miniaturized map in the front cover for when he inevitably ran across another poor soul who didn't understand what was going on and he needed to quickly explain how this new world worked.

It wasn't a business card, but it would have to do. He tried to keep focused on his map, ensuring locations of vital places were as close to accurate as possible, but his mind kept drifting even as he worked. What would prestiging finally be like? At this point, he was the only member of his party that had no idea. Alka had passed the rigorous tests of the Slayers and become accepted as one of their own, even if she hadn't lived very long afterwards.

Scule had managed to steal an artifact from within the holy vault of the citadel right out from under the nose of their deranged guardian, proving to the System he was worthy of his new class. And Shia, he'd learned, had achieved her prestige class amidst her mass healing and defense of his own Earthers during the recent giant battle. He didn't actually even know for sure if he'd be able to prestige at this moment.

He was banking on the hope that the System had already acknowledged he'd done something worthy of being a prestiged Explorer and didn't require people to do it after getting to the level 19 cap. Unfortunately, because this was totally new and not a part of the old System, none of his friends had any idea if that was the case or not. It better be, he huffed to himself, carefully sketching out a frog with a big skull and crossbones in the desert fragment portion of his map.

I've risked my life to explore every fragment surrounding ours. I drank tea with an ancient magical beast inside his own giant tree. I entered a divine sanctum, destroyed a grand artifact, and discovered how to commune with the Gods for crying out loud! Calming himself down, Vin went back to his map, ensuring his lines remained nice and clean. He wasn't even sure how much longer- Cartography increased to lvl 6! 600 exp gained. Level up! Prestige Requirements Met! Please Select Class Evolution.

Vin grinned as the messages he'd been waiting for finally appeared and the familiar thrum of energy rocketed out from his core, stretching all the way to the tips of his fingers before retracting as the System analyzed him. Pushing his journal aside, he tried to calm himself down, wanting to make sure he had a cool head for this decision. Shia had long since gone to sleep, and he didn't want to disturb the elf while she was quietly dreaming.

She'd told him to wake her up if he had any questions, but also said that prestiging was more of a personal choice. According to her, he should just go with whatever option called to him. It was exactly the kind of unhelpful advice that Vin had come to expect from his friends. Unable to wait any longer, he finally turned his attention to the list of possible prestige options. Whatever he picked would be his class for the next twenty levels, so he better make sure he picked a good one.

To his surprise he had a decent number of options; almost a full dozen in fact. And while a few of them didn't interest him in the slightest, he groaned at the realization this was going to be a difficult choice. Dismissing the ones he wasn't interested in, Vin found himself giving a second glance to five of the remaining options. Runic Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown and learning the ins and outs of runic objects.

Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Focus per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Careful Carving His first option was already extremely enticing. Bonus stats to one of the two attributes he really cared about, and a passive that sounded like it would help him if he decided to try his hand at making runic objects. On top of which he got to keep his Mental Map passive, which wasn't actually the case with all of his options… Spellcasting Student: A class based on furthering your knowledge of magic as a whole.

Bonus: +1 Magic per level, +1 Focus per level Starting Passives: Careful Carving, Iron Mind This one really irked him, because it was almost exactly what he'd been hoping for. Bonus stats to both of the two attributes associated with spellcasting, the Careful Carving passive for creating runic objects, and Iron Mind, which he could only assume would have something to do with making the construction and holding of runic formations inside his personal mana far easier.

The only downside of this class was that it looked like it was an adjacent class evolution rather than a direct upgrade. He'd be leaving the Explorer class tree behind for what looked like the Student one, losing his Mental Map in the process. Vin tried to imagine exploring the crazy patchwork world of Edregon without his Mental Map passive, shuddering at the very thought. Without GPS or even a compass to help guide someone, the only way to keep track of where you'd been was through a carefully detailed map.

And while he did have Cartography, he didn't want to have to stop and update his map every ten feet. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. And it would only get more difficult the further he traveled from their main fragment. Shoving that one aside for now, he looked at his third option. This one was still on the list of potentials for reasons entirely unrelated to magic.

Durable Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown, regardless of the dangers it may present. Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Vigor per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Diehard Vin's missing hand throbbed as he stared at the class that seemed most likely to keep him alive in this crazy world. Suffice to say, Vin had taken a lot of punishment during his brief time on Edregon for someone that didn't even have a combat class. If not for his divine boon, he would have been dead twice over already.

It was no wonder the System had provided him with this option, and the thought of adding to his survivability was definitely appealing. He knew from watching Samtha's group shrug off lethal blows or ones that should have left them with severe brain damage at the very least that the Diehard passive was nothing to sneeze at. While he wasn't leaning toward this option, he couldn't dismiss it outright. Magical Explorer: A class based on exploring the unknown and discovering spells along the way.

Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Magic per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Iron Mind Similar to Runic Explorer, this option checked most of the boxes he was looking for. He'd get bonus stats in one of his two favorite attributes, get to keep his Mental Map passive, and would even get a passive that would most likely be extremely helpful for improving his spellcasting capabilities going forward. It was a strong contender, and he was pretty certain he had his top three picked out already.

Though he did have one final option that looked a bit interesting. Wanderer: A class based on wandering wherever your heart desires, free to make your own choices. Bonus: +2 Endurance per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Free Spirit Another adjacent evolution that would lose him his Explorer class, this one was interesting because of both the double dipping into endurance, and the fact that it seemed to break the mold of 'adjective + base class,' making it a unique class similar to Alka's 'Slayer.'

It looked like he'd be able to keep his Mental Map passive, and he had absolutely no idea what Free Spirit would give him, but he had to admit it sounded enticing. Maybe he'd gain the ability to never be locked up or have his freedom taken away from him. He wasn't exactly planning on breaking any laws in the near future, but he had to admit, as someone that had been arrested once or twice back on Earth, it was an appealing option.

Sighing at the first world problem of having too many good options, Vin eventually dismissed Durable Explorer and Wanderer with a wave of his hand. While the extra survivability would be nice, and Free Spirit intrigued him, he'd come to terms with his spellcasting addiction at this point. He wanted magic. Vin looked over his three remaining choices yet again, struggling with two conflicting sides of himself. For as long as he could remember, Vin had been plagued with wanderlust.

Back when they'd still cared, he'd given his parents heart attacks time and time again as a kid for wandering off and getting lost whenever they turned their backs for even a moment. The ever-burning desire to discover what was just beyond the horizon was a core part of himself, and that had only grown even more powerful since arriving on Edregon. And yet since arriving, he'd awakened a new desire. Something far newer than his thirst for exploration, but almost as powerful a driving force for him. Magic.

Ever since picking up the Spellcraft skill, Vin had become obsessed with magic. In its own way, magic was like its own impossibly vast world filled with incredible mountains and endless valleys, both of which he could just barely see from his meager starting point. He wanted to explore this new world he'd stumbled upon, see for himself just what heights he could reach and just how far he could go. Struggling to come to a decision, he wished Alka was here so he could use her as a sounding board.

Unfortunately, seeing as she didn't need to sleep, the ghost had volunteered to patrol the perimeter of the village and keep an eye out for more of the freaky creatures. He'd asked her what her thoughts were on prestiging before she'd left, and her advice echoed unhelpfully in his head.

'Whichever one makes you better at killing monsters!'

"God damn battle junkie," Vin muttered, putting his face in his hands and letting out a quiet groan. He didn't know why he'd expected anything different, but it sure would have been nice. He bet Reginald would have some good advice for him. Sighing, Vin looked longingly at all three options, his finger slowly wavering as he raised it. With a tiny flick that felt like he was tossing a part of himself in the trash, he dismissed Spellcasting Student.

Vin knew he was making the right choice, but it still pained him like no other. He needed the Mental Map passive to continue his current lifestyle on this insane world. As much as he desperately wanted to focus on magic, he also knew with a hundred percent certainty that he'd be kicking himself for giving up Mental Map anytime he had to travel anywhere. Ignoring the longing ache in his chest, he turned his focus toward his final two contenders, scanning through them once more.

Runic Explorer Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Focus per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Careful Carving Magical Explorer Bonus: +1 Endurance per level, +1 Magic per level Starting Passives: Mental Map, Iron Mind He toyed with the edge of his journal, running his fingers along the smooth leather as he thought. The attributes didn't really matter at this point seeing as he'd just be raising the alternate one with his free points, so it really boiled down to the passives.

One of which sounded technically twice as useful as the other. With one last, longing thought given toward crafting something like the elder's cane one day, Vin dismissed Runic Explorer with a wave of his hand, looking at the winner of his internal struggle. Careful Carving sounded useful alright, but if Iron Mind did what he suspected, it wouldn't just be useful for helping him make artifacts. It would be useful for learning and casting spells as well.

Not giving himself a chance to second guess his decision and start pulling up the classes he'd already dismissed, Vin made his choice, leaning back in his chair and gasping as a second wave of energy washed over him, this one far denser than the first. For the briefest of moments, Vin couldn't even breathe; the magical pressure pushing down on him like the hand of a giant. But just before he could panic, almost as quickly as it had begun the pressure vanished.

Frantically sucking in air, Vin knocked his chair back as he rocketed to his feet, doing his best to take some sort of defensive stance. His heart pounding, he mentally prepared himself for some other invisible attack. But as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, he realized it was already over. Slowly sinking back down into his chair, he noticed he had two unread messages from the System. Willing them open, he took one look at his new messages and grinned. Class Evolution Complete. Level up!

Magical Explorer lvl 20.