Syl

Chapter 52: Classes and Spells

"Oh, I got given a skill point," I blurted out.

"The first one is always free. That's how they get you." Whitney joked.

"You should have also received a skill revelation, possibly more," Tabitha pointed out.

I nodded, "Just [Water Magic]."

"Definitely grab that, as leveling up a magic skill will unlock other magic-related skills for you in the future." Tabitha further explained, "As you level up your class, you will potentially have more skills revealed to you. You could also receive a revelation from defeating an insanely strong monster, completing a dungeon, finding a rare item, or meeting some other strange requirement-"

"Honestly, it can be frustratingly random at times." Kurt interrupted.

Tabitha cleared her throat, frowning at being interrupted before finally continuing, "It's just how the Gods decided it. Anyway... You could also receive a class advancement as a revelation, which, if accepted, will immediately change your class. If you don't accept it, you can swap to it later, so think before blindly accepting, especially if it's a different class type."

"There's plenty of stories in the guild of a Cleric receiving a revelation and suddenly becoming a Paladin, only to find out their healing spells are either not as effective or efficient, or they have lowered mana capacity," Dewi added, to which everyone nodded in agreement.

"Your class affects your attributes?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, although it's also one of those hidden things not fully understood. But you can apply some common-sense and basic patterns to them. High levels in a magic-related class will buff spells and mana, whereas a warrior will receive a boost to strength or fortitude." Tabitha answered.

"Does that mean if I swap to a different class, I'd lose all my progress?"

"Not... Exactly. Ugh... I wish the Gods would just explain this to us." Tabitha groaned. Clearly, I wasn't the only new adventurer who asked this question.

"From research and observations, even if you swap to a completely unrelated class, your previous class history does have some minor effect on your attributes in the long run." Dewi tagged in to explain, "And higher tier jobs of the same type fully inherit from their predecessor. So all bonuses gained from a Scout would automatically be applied to a Rogue."

"Shouldn't everyone just level up all the classes available? Even if it's minor bonuses."

Everyone except Dewi looked horrified at my suggestion, and he laughed, "Of course, the girl who doesn't need to worry about dying of old age would suggest that. But us normal humans unfortunately don't have that luxury and try to get as much as possible before time takes its toll."

"... I think that's mostly everything." Tabitha said wearily, "I'd suggest bugging Dewi for magic questions. Anything else you'd like to ask me?"

"Could I ask for any skill suggestions?"

"Ah! Of course, but don't you dare spend your first skill point on anything but [Water Magic]." Tabitha stated with a finger wag.

"[Identify] is a classic, and it'll let you see the level of monsters and help you judge whether to fight or flee. [Mapping] is great, especially if you want to explore dungeons. [Cooking] is another a lot of adventurers pick up if they do a lot of extended duration quests or a lot of traveling. [Dissection] is useful if you want to harvest monster parts out in the field."

She displayed each skill for me, although I already had two of them. I didn't think I'd need [Cooking] unless I wanted to further my disguise, but I wanted [Identify].

<>

Provides basic profile information about the target.

Skill level increases the likelihood of successful identification.

Functionality can be improved through other skills.>

Adds affliction statuses to the [Identify] menu, providing information on the contamination percent and remaining duration.>

'The mystery skill revealed itself! Now I'll be able to see when my poisons are applied and when they will expire.' I was a very happy slime.

My celebration was interrupted by Dewi and Whitney chuckling, "I don't think you need to tell Syl here to get [Dissection]."

"Don't-" Kurt pleaded, trying to stop Dewi.

"Syl here is a master of the skill, such perfect harvests you'd never believe your eyes."

Tabitha seemed intrigued, and Dewi pulled out a portion of the wolf fur, showing it to her. Tabitha carefully examined it, then seemed to come to a realization as she pointed at Kurt. There was a back and forth between them when Whitney explained the situation and outcome, to which Tabitha agreed that Kurt paying my inn fees was a fitting punishment if I was going to claim it was thanks for being saved. While they chatted, I wanted to grab my first magic skill.

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I felt the knowledge and information pour into me and received my first-ever spell. I immediately knew how to cast it and its potential uses. Which, sadly, were not much. It was a small ball of water that could do a minor amount of concussive damage at best, as it would pop on contact.

I held out an open palm and cast the spell, and a small ball of water formed that hovered slightly above my hand. Thanks to [Mana Sight], I could see the blue aura of water mana contained in it. Dewi was the first to notice and gave me a sad smile.

"Your first spell, I'd congratulate you, but sadly, water magic is rather dull at the low levels." He said and held out his palm, forming a swirling vortex of flame.

"Hey! No spells in the guild hall!" Tabitha scolded.

"One thing I need to tell you about magic is that you are not limited to the default spell you learned. Instead, that spell shows you the limit of the current level of your magic, and creating custom spells is where a good mage shines, and a mediocre mage falls into obscurity."

Dewi shaped his vortex of flame into various shapes and patterns before it vanished. I tried to do the same, and by pulling on my knowledge of using [Shape Slime], I managed to morph my plain orb of water into some simple geometric shapes before it popped and splashed over all of us.

"Hey! Not bad at all for your first try. Probably pushed in too much mana for a first-level spell, but you'll get there."

"This is why I said no magic in the guild hall..." Tabitha looked furious.

Dewi chuckled and seemed to be gathering both Air and Fire mana, which then swirled around and dried all of us rapidly. I could only assume this was what he meant by a custom spell, as I doubted such a combat-focused system would give something as ordinary as clothes-drying magic.

"I hope you'll accept my apology for my apprentice's mistake," Dewi said, laced with sarcasm and including an overly dramatic bow.

Tabitha rolled her eyes, "Let's just finish registration so she can get settled at the inn and get some real clothes."

She pulled out another crystal and then a necklace that I recognized. She handed me the necklace and instructed me to put it on. I did, but there was no prompt, unlike the last time. I was worried that this was how my secret would exposed, but then she held out the crystal, which gave a soft glow and resonated with my necklace.

I blinked in surprise at the notification. The group was all smiles and welcome. I was feeling very shell-shocked. Everything had been so simple, which made me question everything I had been through beforehand.

"Don't lose that necklace, as it's your identification with the guild, and replacing it is costly. This one is the basic version and has minimal extra functions, and if you want to upgrade, you'll need to either pay upfront or get promoted." Tabitha began explaining.

"Functions?" I asked curiously.

"It will help you keep track of your quests and let you store and withdraw money between guild branches, and due to bad actors in the past, all basic IDs now allow basic party settings. It also lets us know if you've died... Adventuring always has risks, but at least this way, your loved ones can be properly informed. It's why we ask if you ever find another adventurer's ID, please return it to make handling their wills easier."

"I see... Sorry, could you please explain what you meant about party settings?"

Tabby was about to speak, but Dewi interrupted, "Party settings can be changed, usually with a class or a skill. Some bastards used this to modify experience distribution unfairly. It's why we didn't invite you to the Party despite having an open slot, because the guild now frowns upon forming a Party with anyone who can't personally see it's fair."

'So that's what Krutz must have done... He must have set my distribution to the lowest possible.' I thought, still very bitter about the deception and betrayal.

"I see... Thank you. I'm glad there are rules to stop this type of abuse."

"I'll explain quests and ranks to you when you come back, but for now, I'd suggest getting cleaned up, getting some clothes that don't give all the boys a gander at your legs, and getting a real good meal." Tabitha said, extending a hand with a friendly smile, "Welcome to the guild, Syl. I hope you'll have a prosperous career."

I took her hand and shook it, "Thanks for all the explanations, Tabitha, and sorry for all the questions. I'm glad to have joined."

"Now, let's get you cleaned up and some proper clothes," Whitney said with a smile.

"Yup. Gotta get a big hat. All mages have big hats." Kurt said, nodding as if he had dropped sagely wisdom upon us.

"No, they don't," Dewi said with a frown.

I noticed he did not have a hat, but the other mage in the cave did, and so did the mage who killed that green slime.

"Sorry, I meant all the cool mages have big hats." Kurt corrected, to which Dewi audibly groaned.

Before leaving, I tested out my new [Identify] skill. The results were quite a shock.

I then took a peek at my new status menu, I had finally gotten a class!

Name: Syl

Race: Mimic Slime (Blue) LV 17

Class: Mage LV 1

Status: Healthy

Mana: Overflowing

Emblems:

[Experiment]

[Apex Hunter]

[Elven Legacy]

Traits:

Slime:

[Mana Slime LV MAX]

[Acid Slime LV 5]

[Poison Slime LV 4]

[Adhesive Slime]

[Elastic Slime]

[Pseudopod LV 5]

[Slime Density LV 5]

[Slime Shot LV 4]

[Shape Slime LV 5]

[Slime Burst LV 4]

[Vaporize Slime]

Core:

[Core Refinement LV 5]

[Core Storage LV 5]

[Sub-Core Alpha LV 4]

[Sub-Core Beta LV 4]

[Sub-Core Gamma LV 1]

[Consuming Osmosis LV 4]

Mimic:

[Shapeshifting Mimicry LV 4]

[Chroma Shift LV MAX]

Mana:

[Mana Circulation LV 5]

[Mana Well LV 2]

[Mana Reinforcement LV 5]

[Mana Sight LV 3]

[Slime Conversion LV 2]

Attributes/Other:

[Enhanced Intellect LV 2]

[Enhanced Vitality LV 3]

[Enhanced Willpower LV 3]

[Enhanced Charisma LV 2]

[Magic Resistance (Lesser) LV 3]

[Dark Vision LV 3]

[Defy Death LV 2]

Trait Points remaining: 3

Skills:

General:

[Universal Language]

[Equipment Swap]

[Dissection LV 5]

[Mapping LV 2]

[Tracking LV 1]

[Identify LV 1]

Combat:

[Evasion LV 3]

[Melee Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2]

[Ranged Weapon Proficiency (Lesser) LV 2]

[Improved Accuracy (Lesser) LV 3]

[Affliction Master LV 1]

Magic:

[Water Magic LV 1]

Sneaky:

[Stealth LV 4]

[Sneak Attack LV 4]

[Identity Block LV 4]

[Acting LV 4]

Skill Points remaining: 1