B3 Chapter 400: Destiny Redux, pt. 1

Hensch’s Inn. It was exactly as he remembered it.

The Dusty Stables had always been an inviting place — carved wood furnishings with a roaring fire. The common room was the exact right mix: open enough to create a lively atmosphere, but private, and with enough nooks that it was easy to feel like you had your own space.

The System, in all its infinite power, had even managed to replicate the yeasty smell of brewing beer and rising bread, sitting underneath the scent of roasting meat. They mingled with the roaring crackle of the fire and the clatter of activity from the kitchen that was out of view.

After so long apart from it, Kaius was surprised at how instantly he felt at ease. It felt like stepping into a home — one he’d never had, like he was within his own living room.

He relaxed, the knot of tension leaving his spine — he hadn’t even realized it was there, but it must have been since his capture months ago.

Across from him, his guide — really, the System itself, wearing his own aged face as a disguise — gave him a wide smile, lopsided and teasing.

“I told you last time, Kaius, you need to be relaxed for a good Class selection. There’s no point feeling tense when you don’t need to. Sure, out there you’re in the Depths, with your friends watching over your body; but we have all the time in the world in here. You’ve experienced it for yourself now — compression. I can ramp it up and down as needed. There’s no rush.”

Kaius raised an eyebrow at his guide. On some level, he knew it was as close as he would ever come to directly interfacing with the System — the highest power he knew of. At the same time, it felt like talking to an old friend.

“That’s a little on the nose don’t you think? No mystery for how things work? Also, if you’re compressing time, why not make it almost instantaneous?”

His guide laughed. Leaning back in his overstuffed chair, he took a long drink of his tankard.

“I don’t know about that,” his guide replied, setting his drink back down. “It’s hardly a secret worth keeping — one you’ve already been exposed to. I’m a little more deft at it than Xenanra was, so there’s much less of that dream-like fugue. I’m sure you would have put it together either way.”

Kaius snorted. “I suppose that’s true.” It had popped into his mind when it appeared — his last class selection had felt like it had taken a full day, but according to Porkchop, he’d only been out for half an hour at most.

“Still, why not make it only take moments? I’m sure you could.”

His guide drummed his fingers on the side of his tankard, before kicking his feet up on the table.

“Same reason I stop people from sharing details of selections with people who haven’t reached the same point — it helps people make better decisions. I used to have a bit of a problem with people classing up mid-battle. Invariably, if things were dire, people would tend to pick things that helped them immediately — even if they didn’t need to, and it hurt their long-term odds.”

Kaius nodded slowly — he supposed that made sense. Still, it left people vulnerable — it had to have led to deaths.

“Trust me, it leads to less in the grand scheme of things. People can be remarkably stupid when they think they’ve got cards hidden up their sleeve.” his guide answered his unspoked question grimly.

They fell quiet for a moment, and Kaius took a drink. He supposed they were — even he was guilty of that on occasion.

He was eager to jump into things, but remembered his guide’s wisdom — that he had all the time he needed; that it was best to approach these things while relaxed. Taking another long drink, he focused on tasting the earthy notes of a wheat beer.

He sighed in satisfaction. It had been too long since he’d had a proper drink. The one Xenanra had offered him was nice, but it was hard to beat a good draught.

“So,” he started, “what have I got to look forward to? I assume it’s different from last time — there’s some sort of… metamorphosis? I’d always assumed it was the case, based on the strength I felt from everyone else I met in the second tier — even before Xenanra confirmed it.”

“Oh yes, changes aplenty. It’ll mostly be the same as picking your first class — some of your general skills evolve, and you get to select the evolution of your first class skill. There will be new things, however. You remember the experience of your class being built within you?”

How could he forget? That iridescent power he now recognized as some refined cousin to essence, seeping deep into his soul, building a decagrammic net around his soul and infusing it with power.

“Well,” his guide continued, “this time, it is a bit more interesting. Xenanra told you that the Path you have stepped onto is old — and that is true. What was not her place to say was that I built the classes and the tiers to mirror it. It’s an accessible alternative available to all — Yet part of that is something deeper and more qualitative than can be reflected with my constructs alone.”

Kaius tuned in, focused. Deep secrets — he wondered how he’d never heard them before. Even if it was rare on Vaastivar, plenty of people had reached the second tier. For it not to be common knowledge, something must be preventing its spread.

“You’re right, of course,” his guide said with a nod. “I am preventing it. Much like I prevent information on class selection from reaching the ears of those who’ve yet to pass it. You’ll be receiving an explanation a bit more full than those of your predecessors, simply due to the second stage having progressed.”

His guide kicked his legs off the table, shifting forward to replace them with his elbow.

“In essence, with each tier you rise, the transformative power involved in remodelling your class construct is suffused through your body, mind, and soul. A rebirth, in a sense. My best attempt at recreating the progressive apotheosis of ascendancy — and smoothing it out for those who walk the Path. Of course, it is a flawed thing — there is only so much that can be done with external aids. But… for those such as yourself, who walk the path in tandem, there is an opportunity to potentiate the transformation.”

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“Xenanra mentioned that,” Kaius replied. “She said that having all of our aspects ignited would strengthen it — and both embodiment and cycling let you push it further.”

“Just so,” his guide confirmed. “Every ignited aspect increases the ‘surface area’ I can suffuse. Every degree of embodiment enables us to leverage more of your will and bring it into alignment with the transformation. Conscious control — as with cycling — allows polish, perfectionism.”

It sounded fascinating. He still remembered the feeling of that electric energy — the iridescence that had suffused him with the system had first built his class. Seizing some of that for himself? Well, he wanted as much as he could get.

“How many manage to fully gain the benefits?”

“Very few manage to squeeze every ounce of transformation to the utmost, even if you only consider those who can cycle. It is still hard to say if you will be amongst their number, but at the very least… Someone who has seized cycling so young and so quickly? They have a strong chance to be in the upper echelons.”

“This rebirth,” Kaius asked, “are there risks? Is it arduous?”