Once he starts the shower and it heats up the lazy fox isn’t so lazy anymore. Finding her brush, she walks into the bathroom and hands it to Helo. “Huh, so the sleepy fox isn’t too lazy to get pampered.” Sitting in the warm shower Helo and Lelai relax. They have never had this much luxury.
Hearing a yell outside. Helo looks up, jumping back was a flash of silver hair. “Helo! You need to shut your door!”
Hearing this he only shrugs. Obviously, he doesn’t like walking around naked. But when he is in his space, he likes to be free. The open window is just too great to not take advantage of. So, the open doors. “Ha, they should just stop walking in on me.”
Drying himself and Lelai off Helo gets dressed for the day. Putting on a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt with a red rose on it he heads down stairs. These girls keep giving me clothes with roses on them. Maybe I should show them my insignia on my throwing knives. Deciding that he doesn’t mind the roses he decides that eventually he will get around to putting that cool insignia on his things.
Entering the kitchen Helo can see the central counter and it has a ton of food on it. All the food is covered, and the covers are buzzing with mana in his senses. “Oh cool. Heating enchantments. That is really nice.” Looking at the enchantment Helo sees the central rune and can’t Help but think it looks familiar. Shaking his head he grabs some food and sits down to eat. Spinning in his stool while eating Helo hears someone come downstairs.
Allie coming down the stairs with a blush stops and looks at Helo then at Aiko who is cooking. Looking between the two she has an epiphany. “You walked in on him! That’s why you were blushing!” She says while pointing at Aiko.
Laughing at her reaction Helo just nods his head. “Yeah, she spooked me. I fell asleep in the bath and she walked in.”
Pouting at the two talking about her Aiko changes the conversation. “You both have plans today. First, Helo needs a class. Second, he is going to the main house to talk with Graham-Sama and Micah-Sama. Third, we all need to train and get used to the new member.”
“She is right. We should head out.” Hinata says coming down the stairs. Today she is wearing a white blouse and black leggings. She looks like she is matching Helo.
“Hey! I want to match him!” Allie says while pointing between them. She is wearing a blue sweatshirt that goes great with her hair and eyes.
“Nope, we should go.” She says while leading them to the garage. Loading into the pimped-out cart they head on their way.
On the way to the cavern Allie and Hinata explains more about classes. “So, classes start at tier 1. But what separates skilled people from the rest is that for your first class if you have a high enough skill, affinity or bloodline you can get a tier 2 class at tier 1. This means an extra 40 levels where you are gaining a higher number of stats. This trend can continue but it gets trickier. To have a tier 3 class at tier 2 you need to unlock and be able to wield your aura. This isn’t something everyone can do. It requires a strong will and a sense of self that manifests itself outside your body. After that you have to be able to wield it which can be tricky because it drains your body and mind of energy. A lot of people unlock an aura in a high stress moment. But a lot never do. It is the first true bottle neck in growth. 1 in 1,000 people who make it to into tier 2 give up before unlocking an aura. 1 in a 500,000 people might be able to enter tier 2 with a tier 3 class. But to push further than that requires a lot of work and luck.”
“Anyway, your average person has a class the same tier as their level. Then they hit the bottle neck and that’s it. On our world due to the low concentration of mana reaching past tier 3 is impossible. Well, nobody in any of the families has done it. Most of the leaders and elders are stuck trying to get enough experience to reach level 201. This will change once the integration starts and stronger creatures are appearing. But right now, the only place you can gain experience is in the dungeons and they only have enough mana to create so many high tier 3 creatures. Plus, fighting weaker creatures doesn’t really give you anything.” With a shrug Allie just rolls her hand.
“It is going to stay like this for a while but that is the sum of things. With you already having your aura your pretty much guaranteed to have a tier 3 class at tier 2. Unfortunately, you can only ever be one tier ahead. But the true test of the elites is keeping that lead. The higher up in tiers you go the more levels a class has. That means the more and more stat points that you gain above everyone else.”
“Anyway.” Hinata cuts in. “We are here.” Leading them both in they start walking into the cavern.
While walking in Hinata adds to the conversation. “Allie is excited about your potential so she explained tiers to you but she forgot to explain about classes. Not all classes are the same and even the same classes are different based on skill choices. The further your class gets from the basic name and the more personal it becomes the better. You’re not supposed to talk about classes unless you are really close.” Hinata says this while looking away. “But I’ll tell you about mine… okay…” While she says this Allie looks affronted that Hinata got to go first. “So, my class I ‘Mystic Swordswoman’. How this plays out is that warrior is the tier 1 version, then swordsman/women is the low tier 2. Adding the mystic portion shows how my class is more personal. Allie said that I am a Dryad which is true. This connected me to nature and gives me a strong vitality.”
“Yeah… I noticed.” Helo says quietly. He is a bit embarrassed because her vitality makes her smell really tasty.
“You did? Never mind anyway but my family also has a connection to a spirit beast. A kitsune, they are forest protectors, where dryads are connected to tree and nature. The kitsune aspect of my bloodline is something that my family works to bring out. This increases our affinity to illusions and magic while helping us connect to nature on a deeper level. So, a ‘Mystic Swordswoman’ makes my tier 1 class a high tier 2. Because of the high category my skills are more personal, this makes them stronger. Like someone with a fire affinity casting a fire spell.”
Butting in Allie speaks up. “Yeah, her class is great! We will spar later and show you our skills! My class is an Arcane Mage! My ancestors came from a world of magical beasts. My father’s side is a moon affinity Wolf. Eventually becoming wolf-kin because of having kids with elves, the bloodline diluted over time. If we awaken our bloodline enough, we can have divination abilities!” Getting a little quieter she says, “That is why my brother isn’t very nice. I was born with a high affinity for divination. So, my family is putting in a lot of effort to awaken my bloodline. But yeah, my class is in the same place as Hinata’s. It started as mage.”
“So, Helo-Kun you are going to get offered a ton of classes. But you need to choose one that fits with you the best. Also, keep in mind that there is a second class. So, if there are two things that feel right you can get it later. Plus, if you wait the option might be a lot better.” Leading Helo down a branching path in the cavern they enter a room with a small library along the walls and a crystal in the center. Hinata says “These books are filled with classes and skills. It isn’t complete, not even close but this is much of what Allie and my family know. It has knowledge from our family’s time on earth as well as what they come to earth with.”
Walking forward Helo looked at the two girls who both smiled. Allie looked incredibly excited and Hinata just looked happy. Both girls found seats further in and pulled out some paper to write on. Placing his hand on the orb he saw a massive list.
Congratulations on reaching the first milestone.
Choose below…
Tier 1:
Low:
Mage
Scout
Warrior
Support
…
Tier 2:
Barbarian
Rouge
…
After his talk with the girls Helo skipped by all the different tier 1 options. Finding the tier 2 he saw that they were split between 5 options. Low, medium, high, peak, pseudo tier 3.
Looking at the girls he asked about the final option. Under that list he only had one option. From their responses they had no idea. Looking through the books Allie finally left to find an elder. Twenty minutes later Elder Anthony came in with a pleasant smile. Saying hello, he handed a book in his hands to Helo and told him to just drop it off at the main house. It was a tier 2 class that incorporates aura usage. From what the book said it basically guarantees an easy transition to tier 3 and potentially tier 4. But it locks that class type in.
Looking back at his options he had a few that he liked. Some classes talked about his ability to regenerate or strengthen himself with blood. But in the end, none of those fighting styles fit him. The only times that Helo would have to focus on his regeneration was with things went wrong. It is a good option for a second class but in the end, he chooses the pseudo tier 3.
Congratulations you have reached level 11. You have gained 2 free stat points.
You have gained +1 to Vit, Will, Per and Agl. Due to your race being Vampire?
Because of your class ‘Shaded Predator’ you have gained +1 to Will, Vit, Agl, and Dex.
Name: Helo
Tier 1
Class: Shaded Predator (Pseudo Tier 3)
Level 11 (0/1,025,000) (1000 + 1,024,000)
Title: Nature’s Alpha (Epic)- This title augments your aura to be more connected to nature around you. Increases the efficiency of Vitality, Will, and Perception by 25%. Gain x4 to experience when killing an alpha and its pack in a nature themed type dungeon.
Gear: Alpha Wolf Hide (Epic), Boxers of Infinite Regeneration (Epic)
Stats: 162
- Str: 10
- Agl: 23 (+10%)
- Dex:18 (+10%)
- Per: 28 (+25%)
- Vit: 31 (+35%)
- End: 11 (+10%)
- Int: 10
- Will: 31 (+35%)
Shaded Predator: You have a preference to hunt in the dark and strike swiftly. This is a hunting-based class with a focus on knives, movement, armor penetration, stealth and an affinity with darkness. Be it man, beast or monster. Your wreathed in shadows and hunt to kill.
“Wow. I feel good. Like better than usual!” Helo says with a smile. Looking up he sees the girl.
“Un, it doesn’t get shown on your status, but whenever you tier up you gain an increase in stat efficiency.” Hinata says to Helo. “Now come sit down. You should choose your skills. This is something you should talk to us about though. More so because we will find out soon.”
“I understand. My items have stat efficacy.” Helo says while walking and sitting on the couch across from Hinata and Allie. They both are looking at him with shock.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“What! How do you have that!” “That’s not possible in the tutorial dungeon” The girls yell together.
“Well, when I ended the tutorial, it said that I got a bunch of bonus reward for completed it solo, for killing all 4 bosses, and for completing it on hard.” While speaking the girl nod, then they looked shocked, and then mad.
“That is why Calain kept saying we should just check the tutorial!” Allie yells while slamming one fist into the other. “I’ll tell daddy when we see him after you pick your skills.” Allie says in an indignant tone like a stubborn little girl.
“So, there is a lot here. I’ll read it out loud.”
For choosing the pseudo tier 3 class Shaded Hunter you get to choose up to three class skills.
For choosing the pseudo tier 3 class Shaded Hunter you get to choose one aura ability.
Due to your racial skill ‘Dark Curse’ you are incapable of using mana. This reduces your class skill choices. You can do this once per class.
Due to your racial skill ‘Dark Curse’ you have the option to make one class skills a racial skill. This will increase the skill tier and growth potential.
“Huh that is a pretty cool trade off.” Helo says to the girls.
“Really? But I use mana for everything.” Allie says in return Hinata just silently agrees with Allie.
“Yeah, but the reason I have my aura and why it is so strong is because of my lack of mana. They only way I could fight some of those creatures in the dungeon was with my aura and bloodline abilities that I developed.” Both girls take a second to think and realize that using mana for everything helps with mana abilities and not with other things.
“From what I understand. Even people with innate abilities or affinities they are not working on them as much as they are working on their mana abilities. They just use unique gifts to help strengthen their mana. Like someone with an innate control over fire, he might be able to manipulate fire using only his innate ability empowered with his aura. But instead, he uses mana and has his innate ability act as an amplifier. I might be wrong. I haven’t been a part of this world long and most of my knowledge is from you both and reading the books in this room.” Helo says with a shrug.
“Wow.” Hinata says staring into space. She is realizing that she is using her mana like a crutch. No, it isn’t bad but maybe she should train without using her mana sometime. Only using her innate gifts.
Allie can’t wait to tell her father about this new idea. “Anyway, I guess I’ll hold off on making an ability a racial one for when I find a skill I just can’t say no to. Like… Teleportation!” Helo says with a smile and going back to reading. To him all of the skills that he reads are things that with enough practice and control he could do by himself. He wants to choose a skill that is complicated and difficult to develop. Focusing back on his skills he tells them to the girls and they start choosing.
Class Skill Options.
- Mute Steps -mask the sound of your steps
- Sense Presence -sense the presence of others around you
- Detect poison -use over a meal or something in nature to detect poison.
- Quick Step -your next step carries you twice as far, twice as fast.
Choose one.
You have chosen ‘Quick Step’
Class Skill Options.
- Mute Steps -mask the sound of your steps.
- Manipulate Shadow- use this skill to pull shadows to hide you.
- Balance – increase dexterity for 30 seconds
- Penetrative Strike- your next strike increases in penetration distance.
Choose one.
You have chosen ‘Penetrative Strike’
Class Skill Options.
- Mute Steps -mask the sound of your steps
- Balance – increase dexterity for 30 seconds
- Disabling Strike- inject mental energy into your opponent on your next stroke slowing that location’s ability to react.
- Manipulate Shadow- use this skill to pull shadows to hide you.
Choose one.
You have chosen ‘Disabling Strike’
Aura Skill Option. This is based on your own practice and potential. Aura and its abilities are as limitless and limited as its user. Choosing an aura ability is giving your aura a direction and aura is tied directly to who you are. The closer you and your aura are aligned the stronger it will be. This will give it a passive state and an active ability.
- Hunter Absence – hide from others
- Null Presence – Weaking the meaning of concepts around you
- Desolate Desires – weaken their will to fight
- Dark Cloak – wreath yourself in darkness
Choose one.
“Okay. So, skills just seem like a cheat sheet.” Helo says after choosing
“You’re not wrong. But for many it is the be all end all.” Hinata replies while looking over the list of aura abilities. “Your skills correlate with things to do with your class. For a class as personal as yours or mine they are skills that with the right type of manipulation we could do them. I had the same reaction when I was choosing. My father explained it this way. For someone who is an artificer and fights using the items they make is it better to consciously fine and refill each item you own in the middle of a fight. Training for hours or how to fire each one and refill them without breaking stride. Or choose a skill to do it and practice or things. Like your new disabling strike. You could learn it, but in the middle of a fight would you rather go through the precise manipulation to get that effect as your dodging the swings of a troll. When just one hit could kill you or would you rather focus on getting a clean hit and then flip a switch. Remember these skills are just the first step. Each time you use a skill you’re modifying what you want it to become.”
“Yeah.” Allie jumps in. “My favorite skill is called ‘Arcane Construct’ but it started out as ‘Mana Construct’ I could only summon one at a time and they were weak. But now I can summon up to ten and they can take hits for me.” Allie said putting the paper down. “All of these aura abilities sound useful. But it is up to you on what you choose.”
Looking over the skill they all seem like something that with the right amount of effort he could produce on his own. Looking through he makes his decision.
You have chosen ‘Null Presence’
“Mhm. Yes, that is the one that I would have chosen.” Hinata says while getting up. “Well, we have been here for about two hours it is time to visit the main house.”
Allie jumps forward and grabs Helo’s arm. Pulling him ahead she looks over her should and sticks her tongue out at Hinata. With a roll of her eyes Hinata takes the sleeping fox from Helo’s arms and goes ahead to get the pink cart.
Name: Hellesion’Kai’Vital’Spiratam
Tier: 1
Bloodline: Tier 2 Vampire?
Title: Nature’s Alpha (Epic)- This title augments your aura to be more connected to nature around you. Increases the efficiency of Vitality, Will, and Perception by 25%. Gain x4 to experience when killing an alpha and its pack in a nature themed type dungeon.
Gear: Alpha Wolf Hide (Epic), Boxers of Infinite Regeneration (Epic)
Age: 14
Class: Shaded Predator (Pseudo Tier 3)
- Level: 11 (0/1,025,000) (1000 + 1,024,000)
- Aura: Null Presence – your aura passively breaks down external energy phenomena in range. By focusing your aura, you can concentrate your effort on a single phenomenon. Due to ‘Dark Curse’ this works best on Mana.
Stats: 162
- Str: 10
- Agl: 23 (+10%)
- Dex:18 (+10%)
- Per: 28 (+25%)
- Vit: 31 (+35%)
- End: 11 (+10%)
- Int: 10
- Will: 31 (+35%)
Racial Skill: 5
- Greatly Enhanced Perception (Instincts) (Rare)
- Greatly Enhanced Natural Energy (Mental/Physical) (Rare)
- Regeneration (???)
- Major Vitality Siphon? (???)
- Dark Curse (???)
- Primary(N/A)
- Secondary(N/A)
Primary Class Skills: 3
- Disabling Strike (Common)
- Quick Step (Common)
- Penetrative Strike (Common)
Skills: 3
- Identify (Basic)
- Natural Meditation (Uncommon)
- Dagger Mastry (Common)
Disabling Strike (Common): This skill strikes at a targets nervous system injecting it with a combative will (Mental Energy). Slowing and weaking where stuck. Can be used once every 10 seconds. Lasts for about 15 seconds depending on the enemy’s resistance.
Quick Step (Common): This skill uses stamina (physical energy) to increase the power of your next step. Can be used once per minute.
Penetrative Strike (Common): This skill uses stamina (physical energy) to extend the edge of a blade when thrusted, increasing penetration. Can be used once be minute.
Looking over his stats and feeling quite happy with his progress Helo rides with Allie and Hinata toward then main house. Getting there doesn’t take long and they are walking up the short steps to enter the ranch style house. Walking in the front door there is a blonde woman preparing lunch. “This is Mila, she is a part of my mother’s party. She basically raised me.”
Mila walks over with a tray of sandwiches and kisses Allie on the cheek. “You are too sweet. Your father already let me know you were coming he is in the back patio.” Following Mila, the three find Graham and Micah sitting down and drinking tea.
“There you three are.” Micah says with a smile. “I think I’m awakening my bloodline.” Micah says in a fake serios voice. Holding his hands to his head and acting like he is in great strain he says. “I can see it now. It’s coming to me. Ahhh. You three are going to be inseparable.”
Allie gets a kick out of her uncle’s joke, while Hinata just smiles because she is used to this. Graham stares at his brother in irritation not liking the insinuation at all.
“No shit sherlock. He is their bodyguard.” Graham says taking and viciously biting a sandwich.
“But seriously, I heard you needed to learn what a ‘pseudo tier’ is. That means great things for you. Just remember to keep working on your aura. But don’t forget your skills. You get a new one every ten to twenty levels or you will get a skill upgrade. Generally, you can have 7-10 class skills and the stronger you are the more you can have. So, keep that in mind. Now on to our business.” Micah puts his cup down and gets comfortable.
Allie, Hinata and Helo sit down across from the two. Both girls grab a plate with food and Helo follows after.
“So, First things fi…” Graham starts.
“Wait! Allie yells standing up to her feet. “Did you know Helo’s tutorial was on hard?”
“Yes.” Graham responds in an even tone. “We found it out afterward. We are already dealing with it. I already took a quarter of your brother’s sponsorship for this month and gave it to you.”
“Oh. Well as long as you know.” Allie says sitting down. Graham looks at her again waiting to see if she has anything left to say. When she is quiet, he is about to speak. “Wait! Did you know that mana can be a crutch some people lean on and that focusing on innate abilities can be beneficial.”
Looking at her curiously Micah speaks up. “Where did you hear that?”
“Helo talked about it. He has a curse and can’t use any mana. So, everything that he does is an expression of his personal energy, bloodline and aura. Well, I guess an aura is just a manifestation of those two things outside of the body. Right? Then it is controlled by your will. So maybe all he uses are his personal energy, bloodline and will.” Allie spits out in a rambling flood.
“Yes, you’re not wrong on both things. But it is far more difficult than that. First off Helo has a bloodline that is far stronger than most or all on the earth right now.” Graham says.
Helo tilts his head in confusion and Micah speaks up. “First let’s finish what we are talking about. A normal human’s foot print on reality is so minimal that they can only do things by touching them physically. Their weight on reality only allows for that. That is why to manifest an aura they either need to train to increase their metaphysical weight or be pushed beyond their limits, even for a moment. But Helo within his bloodline has a powerful concept hidden within. So, he has a stronger metaphysical weight behind his will. It is like measuring the power between a match and the eruption of a volcano. Anyway, I explain this to say yes, your right. Mana can be a crutch but it also has many uses. Enchantments are very tricky to make without mana. Other energies are just harder to manipulate and mana is everywhere. The other point is that until someone has enough weight behind them, their innate skill is like trying to push a boulder up a hill. Somone like me who is stuck waiting for the integration to continue growing can focus on that. But my life span is longer now and I have the time to work on something different that isn’t just power. Mana and skills might be crutches but they are powerful.” Finishing his rant Graham then speaks up.
“Now about us already knowing your brother tried to sabotage Helo and the strength of Helo’s bloodline. Well, Anthony came to me asking if I sent any extra trainees into the dungeon. You see the dungeon runs on energy. Mostly mana but other things as well. Except last week the dungeon expanded enough mana that it would have been like a party of tier 2’s going on a run. If the average of our guards’ fights in a party through the tier 2 dungeon they will fight maybe 150-200 enemies. To get that many tier 0 enemies it would have to spawn about 5,000 monsters.” At this everyone paused to start at Helo. Looking at them he just shrugs.
“What?” He says looking at them all not sure what they want.
“What do you mean what!” Allie says.
“Did you fight that many monsters?” Hinata asks.
Micah and Graham are already aware so they let the girls ask their questions.
“SO?” Allie asks standing up and pointing at Helo “How much exp do you need to level up?”
“Do you need more rest after fighting so much Helo-Kun?” Hinata asks
Chuckling at their two very different reactions Helo looks at Hinata first. “I was a little worried about my mental state as well. But truthfully, I’m aright, a lot of my fighting has to do with my instincts and they tell me that it is how things should be.” He says with a shrug not really realizing how insane it sounds that his instinct think he should slaughter thousands of his enemies. Everyone gives him a weird look and he speak again. “Honestly, I thought it was normal. As I grow stronger will there be any issues? And I needed just over a million exp to max out level 10. And yes, I can say that I fought around 5,000 enemies.”
“Wow, that’s impressive kid. I’m even more thankful than I was before that we scooped you up. Also, no there isn’t an issue. It won’t be until you’re at least at the end of the second tier. That should be a long time from now. The integration should start and you will have plenty of fights.”
With a serious voice Graham speaks up. “On this topic, after hearing a little from you I believe it is a mixture of your powerful bloodline and your lack of mana. A lot of the work the system does is through mana. So, if it is going to full you up with stats it needs more energy. Secondly, this topic does not leave this room. Even to your party. I will tell Cheyeene and Anthony but that will be it. The fact that his bloodline requires more than half ours does to level means it is very powerful and unique. So, we will keep this quiet. I will arrange days where I’ll give you some tasks. But your true job will be to gain as much experience inside of the dungeon.” With a nod everyone agrees.