Chapter 13

  Skill Advancements And Legacies

  “Now that is how you show the difference between going through the motions and true talent,” Madame Voyou exclaimed.

  As for me, I still felt a faint dull ringing sensation as my mind tried to process what had just happened. Yet, I had the system right there telling me what I had done. I had reached down deep and for one moment tapped into a passion, into a pulse of inspiration that I didn’t even know existed.

  Then when I saw the light of that inspiration, rather than shying away, or averting my eyes, I stared deep. I stared so deeply that I fell into it and felt the pulse of power fill me. When I finally emerged, I was greeted with a new message that I had never seen before.

  Without question I took this upgrade, knowing that such opportunities come but once in a lifetime. If I denied this upgrade here, I would continue with my Uncommon variant of Music, until it was finally maxed out and only then would I regret my decision. I could almost see an older version of me forever trying to chase this experience, this insight of proficiency and forever dreaming of feeling this wave of euphoria again.

  That’s why I accepted the change almost immediately. Not even questioning the ramifications of what this meant.

  Shatter.

  The moment I accepted the change, something deep shattered in my mind as I felt the full deluge if insight that I had been slowly glimpsing, surge forth and engulf me like a tsunami. Rather than fearing the wave, I accepted it, letting it splash over me as it began to seep deep into my bones.

  My breakthrough granted me both the new Skill, its retroactive tier bonus, and three additional levels, increasing my Music Resonance to level 82, granting me the full bonus for reaching a ten-point threshold for an Uncommon Skill giving me an increase of +1.06 for Perception, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Stamina at an Uncommon Skill rating.

  From there, I was granted a retroactive bonus for all 82 levels that granted an additional +0.01 increase to all prior levels. This resulted in a bonus of +0.82 to my Perception, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Stamina.

  Which might not seem like much, but that is the raw bonus offered from a hundred common classes, before factoring in things like tier bonuses. A lot, and now my ability to learn and advance in Music had doubled.

  Of course, Musical Resonance wasn’t the only Skill to increase, as there were others as well. Taking a moment, I checked the progress of everything else.

  Seeing the effects of constantly working to improve my skills had a painfully slow but pronounced impact on all my attributes.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The chances are minor, incremental at best, but they are a constant sign that if you keep pushing forward, you can do great things in this world.

  Fwoosh!

  Whether it was just a mental impulse letting me know that my momentary surge of insight was over, or if it was a physical manifestation of light energy that others could see. I heard the rest of the class react.

  “Whoa!” The kids nearby stated, some shielding their eyes as if they too saw the same surge of light that I certainly felt as the Skill upgrade was noted.

  “Well, that class is what we call an accepted epiphany,” Madame Voyou finally managed to say, her one blue eye staring at me such intensity that I swear I could almost see her peering through me. Perhaps she was, as her eye did glow a faint blue at least once, which I’ve come to suspect means the use of an Inspection skill of some kind.

  “What’s an accepted e-phany?” One of the unawakened girls ask, that is a girl not wearing a colored blazer depicting formal acknowledgement from their family.

  “Epiphany, and there are two types. Accepted and wasted. An accepted epiphany is like you saw here with Ms. DiV—I mean Ms. Bloom,” Madame Voyou managed to correct herself. “An accepted epiphany usually follows a deep moment of insight and inspiration, at which time your mind is found to have unlocked hidden truths about whatever Skill you are using when the insight hits. This is why Ms. Bloom’s music was so impressive, as she was finally able to unlock her untapped potential. With that she was granted a chance to upgrade her Skill. Now there are a lot of factors that go into this, but everyone will tell you it is always best to accept an epiphany, even if it means locking in a nearly completed Skill for a longer time.”

  Pausing for a moment Madame Voyou again scanned the crowd once more, smiling brightly when she took me in again. Perhaps reading the room, or at least understanding what questions the other students might have, she continued her lesson.

  “Now, you might wonder why I am pleasantly pleased with one of my students having an epiphany? Well the answer is simple, my teaching Skill greatly increased, along with my still working version of my Music Theory Skill, along with a myriad of other developments. I will also say two things.”

  Madame Voyou paused, flashing two quick fingers to the class before removing one, just leaving a pointer finger swaying in the air.

  “First, many of us Teachers have a Class Profession that is not teaching. Instead, we have a practical class that have either met an advancement bottleneck, or met a physical set back that makes future progression nearly impossible.” With that second note about physical setbacks, Madame Voyou gestures to her prosthetic right leg, and her missing right eye.

  Madame Voyou pauses for a moment, long enough to make sure the students fully understood that first point.

  “And secondly,” Madame Voyou begins holding up her second finger again. “If you encourage someone to follow in your footsteps, to take your class, you can pass on your class to the next generation, while you automatically max out any remaining Class Skills that you are working on improving. At which time you can either retire, or if you are determined enough, you can become a full time Teacher, at the same rank as the Class you parted with. This is how you have family lineages spanning countless generations all being Counts, Clerks, Court Wizards, or other prestigious positions.”

  At that comment, I felt more insight and understanding of how this world worked flow freely into my mind. As suddenly I understood why my mother had been hesitant about getting her own Necromancer class, as she no doubt thought she would somehow inherit Grandfather’s advanced form of a Necromancer Class.

  “Now, you might be wondering why would the child willingly follow in their Parent’s footsteps? Why would they willingly tie their future to do the same boring job, relegating themselves to the same boring existence as their parents?” Madame Voyou asked, her question again seamlessly getting all of our attentions.

  “Well the answer is simple, once a Mentor passes on their Class once, it becomes a Unique Class, which means what class?” Madame Voyou asks.

  “That the minimum and maximum Attribute qualifications are waived.” Many of the students all drone on as one collective monotone voice.

  “Very good, meaning that the rarity of the initial class doesn’t matter. Also, it means that the stipulations of learning rarer Skills are also not bound by Attribute related restrictions. This fact is important, as it means that the main purpose for continuing a Class as a Legacy user is 100% factual. Now can anyone tell me what the urban myth about Legacy Class Skills?” Madame Voyou asks, her voice inflection lowering at the end, drawing in even more focus and attention from the rest of the class.

  “That you get all the Skills at the exact Rarity and level as the last user?” Mr. Fortius states, beginning with confidence, but ending with a questioning lilt at the end.

  “Close,” Madame Voyou begins, “yes they do get the Skills at the exact same Rarity, but the level is only half at the time of transfer, and that only really counts for the first Skills offered by the class. Any additional Class Skills, or Skills learned by the Master are not transferred directly to the Apprentice and can only be transferred after the initial class Skills are fully mastered. Still only having to do half the work to be considered fully competent at your Class is nothing to sneeze at.”

  From there the questions go on, mostly asking for the same answers that have already been expressed by other teachers. Either fully reinforcing the ideas that the more rare the Class is, the more Skill slots available to the Class owner, to different myths.

  Finally, Lyonnel, one of the other musical prodigies of the class, and a person I had long considered my greatest competition in this class asked, “what exactly is your class?”

  Scoff.

  Hearing the question Madame Voyou just chuckled lightly at the comment, “what trying to see if I’d be willing to take you on as my Apprentice, knowing that I need to find a new career opportunity?”

  “What, n-no, I didn’t mean—” Lyonnel stammers, but is quickly cut off by Madame Voyou.

  “Relax, I’m just joking. No, suffice it to say, I have a difficult to master class and had long ago given up hope that someone would be able to learn it,” Madame Voyou began, scanning the classroom with her eye, but as she stopped at me, I could see her eye going wide with an almost questioning tone. As if she was now uncertain of what she was saying. “That said, I do feel empowered by inspiring the next generation of musicians in this world, and I cannot wait to hear the music you all create, when you put your very souls into the music.”

  Shiver.

  At her words, I could almost feel a slight pause and tension as she spoke about putting souls into the music. Almost as if that had something to do with her odd class. A class that would apparently become unique by default as soon as she transferred it over to an Apprentice. Could it be that she found no one was worthy of receiving her class? Or was there something else, did she want us to ask her to be her Apprentice? Would this be some right of passage for her? A notice that we would only be found worthy, if we showed that we wanted it?

  I wondered.

  For a moment I almost thought that was what her one hypnotically blue eye was daring me to do. To take a leap and ask her if she would dare to teach me her Class, to make me her Apprentice.

  I am just about to ask. My mouth even drops as I prepare to voice my thoughts, to see if she would possibly take me as an Apprentice, if nothing else than to show Lyonnel that I am better than him at something. Especially after hearing him get rejected without hesitation. Then I can almost feel me missing my moment, as that one perfect moment to ask passes. It’s time forever marked by the school.

  Ding-ding-dong.

  The class bells mechanically chime out, their haunting notes echoing through the halls, like death knells. Death knells to my chance to ask if I might be worthy of being her Apprentice. Then I realize, she will likely have a daughter, or a son, someone who she is no doubt waiting to pass on her legacy to.

  At that, I get up and begin to leave. Only once I am near the door does Madame Voyou stop me.

  “Ms. Bloom,” her voice smooth like flowing honey. I turn to lock gazes with her, my heart beating slightly faster as I for a moment wonder if she is going to ask me to be her Apprentice now that the majority of the class has left. I hold my breath, as I see the moment, and pause. Only to have my racing thoughts dashed a moment later. “Great work today.”

  That was it, no, you have talent to be whatever type of Bardic creature she was. Nothing about whether I would be curious to learn of her class’s legacy.

  “Thank you,” I reply awkwardly, before leaving.

  As I leave, I can still feel the weight of her one eye staring at me as I leave. Only once I am out of direct line of sight from the classroom does the feeling dissipate, but I still wonder, what if?