We agreed to go to sleep, we said we would go to sleep, and yet there was in fact no sleeping done. Though to be fair, could one be expected to sleep after what we had heard?
"You seem to be slacking on me, don't tell me you all arrrrrrre still waking up?"
Victor said from his rock as we all moved around below him. Victor had apparently turned back mid hunt and decided we could do morning sparring with each other to train and get practice. Jax was with Selene, Aiden with me, and Little Fox with Thalia. However we were distracted by two things. The first was just how badly Jax was being thrashed.
Selene grew up in a place where you learn to hold a weapon before you learn your letters, but even still, Jax wasn't a slouch either. What made it even scarier was the fact that Selene hadn't even used her trump card that she used when we were stuck with Ymer just two days ago.
Jax tried and tried again to land any kind of strike against Selene, but her left arm had changed, fanning out almost like a large tower shield that stood against every punch he tried. Even when he had time to charge up a strike his paw only left a dent that rapidly healed. To make it worse Selene would occasionally shift her arm to be more blade-like and slash at Jax often doing 30+ damage, something a bit surprising considering Selene wasn't known for her offense.
Thats mainly for the others opinion, I saw her kick the tiger guys ass last time, but it was a bit awe inspiring to see Selene performing at a level that seemed to help her feel more confident with her own strength. With that however there was now a bit of a dilemma.
In the hierarchy of power in our party Jax had led with Selene being a close second, I was in third with Kaelen in fourth, Aiden in fifth and Thalia in sixth. Yet, I have noticed that I have slipped back, Aiden is now in my number 3 spot, and even Thalia is now right behind me, and while not a bad thing, my pride was aching a bit.
Victor suddenly stood up and clapped his paws together as we saw a pulse of magic extend through the ground as 6 chairs formed from stone rose up.
"You all seem too distrrrrrracted this morrrrrrning to learrrrrrrn frrrrrrrom sparrrrrrrring so we will instead go overrrrrrrr the otherrrrrrr thing I wanted to coverrrrrr beforrrrrrre yourrrrrrrr next confrrrrrrontation with little Ymerrrrrrr."
We looked between each other for a moment before we all began to make our way over to the chairs. Aiden fished in his bag and grabbed out a healing potion for everyone as he tossed them out.
"Only got 11 left, gonna have to make more soon."
He grumbled as we all sat down. Victor took a moment to look all of us over as I scanned his eyes looking for something in them to show that he was any different from yesterday, but I couldn't see it, and yet the conversation with Averith and Trent from last night had me listening to the small differences, the lack of classical almost rhyme scheme speech right now compared to yesterday being the most glaring, and yet just like the others, I kept my mouth shut.
"What we will be going overrrrrr today beforrrrrre we get on the rrrrrroad is the basics that everrrrrry competent adventurrrrring party should be awarrrrrrre of. That being the 77 differrrrrrrrrent classes."
Jax, Selene, Thalia, and I nodded along however Aiden and Little Fox seemed to be surprised by the number. It was in that I had to remember, that while Aiden had grown exponentially on the mountain, he was literally just over two months off of living on a mountain his whole life. He put on a good show, but he had a lot to learn about stuff.
Victor once again sent a pulse of energy through the ground as behind him a wall divided into 7 sections appeared. With each wall having a blank header. Yet as everyone stared at this display I stared at Victor's paws, even as he continued to speak he was drawing something into the stone at his feet while it wasn't his own reserve of energy draining, but the mana in his crystal legs that let him draw the shape.
"Liorrrrrra, you seem to be paying extrrrrrra attention, why don't you tell us the catagorrrrrrys."
Shit, he asked me a question, but what's the topic again? I thought as I straightened and took a moment as if pretending to think. Something about classes, wait, he must mean the class categories…. Shit, what were those again?
"Well, I don't remember all of them off the top of my head but, I know that 3 of them are Melee, Ranged, and Support."
I said giving up on trying to guess the others. Victor nodded as the first 3 of the seven sections on the wall had their headers fill in with Melee, Ranged, and Support respectively. Better yet, under each a list appeared. Counting quickly I saw that Melee had 11 spots, Ranged had 16 spots, and Support had 7 spots.
"T-The other 4 categories are Mixed, Control, Other, and Production."
Selene answered as Victor pointed a paw at her raised hand. He nodded as the remaining 4 sections filled in. Mixed has 10 spots, Control has 7, Other has 11, and Production has 15. Victor swished his tail over the list as a few spots became filled in
melee
1: ???
2: ???
3: ???
4: Pugilist
5: ???
6: ???
7: ???
8: ???
9: ???
10: ???
11: berserker
ranged
1: ???
2: warlock
3: ???
4: ???
5: wind mage
6: fire mage
7: ???
8: ???
9: ???
10: ???
11: ???
12: ???
13: ???
14: ???
15: ???
16: ???
support
1: shrine maiden
2: ???
3: priest
???
5: ???
??? ???
mixed
1: ???
2: ???
3: ???
4: ???
5: ???
6: ???
7: ???
8: ???
9: ???
10: ???
control
1: ???
2: puppeteer
3: ???
4: cultist
5: ???
6: ???
7: ???
other
1: ???
2: werewolf
3: vampire
4: ???
5: ???
6: ???
7: ???
8: ???
9: ???
10: ???
11: mutant
production
1: ???
2: ???
3: ???
4: ???
5: ???
6: ???
7: ???
8: ???
9: ???
10: alchemist
11: ???
12: ???
13: ???
14: ???
15: courier
As we all took a moment to read them over, I recognized 7 of the classed, Pugilist for Jax, Aiden for Alchemist, Selene covered Mutant, Thalia is a Puppeteer, Little Fox has warlock powers, I was the mentioned Wind Mage, and Victor covered the Werewolf slot, despite the fact that I was pretty sure he wasn't actually a werewolf, and instead some kind of mage.
Yet looking over that list I noticed 5 I didn't know, and one I did which made me wonder about the other 5. Victor didn't wait as he walked over to the melee section and poked his tail like a pointing stick and tapped Beserker.
"The Beserrrrrrkerrrrrrr class is well known forrrrrr theirrrrrr durrrrrability and melee prrrrrrowess. What makes them trrrrrruelly forrrrrmidible is theirrrrrr ability to turrrrrrn damage taken into powerrrrrrr forrrrrrr theirrrrrr attacks."
Victor continued to the ranged section without waiting for a reply as I thought back to the tiger beastkin making a mental note of his class.
"The Firrrrrrre Mage is one of the corrrrrre fourrrrrr element mages. While wind mage as an example specialized in rrrrrranged attacks and pushing enemies. Firrrrrre mage carrrrrres only about maximum damage."
As he moved on I saw Little Fox rise her paw. In a mimickry of how Selene had earlier, including the little fidgets Selene had done, but Little Fox seemed more confused by them than anything.
"Um, sorry to interrupt, but why do you keep doing the weird rolling R thing?"
Victor stopped and turned back as the rest of us froze, not looking at Victor or Little Fox as Thalia and Jax next to Little Fox tried to subtly but urgently get her attention.
"It is something that I have always done, the rrrrrrolling of the tongue, it just happens."
Victor said as if he was explaining something casual as we all prayed to any of the gods we could think of for her to not ask further but Little Fox didn't get the hint.
"No, that's something Victor does, and we were told that you're not Victor."
The silence that fell was terrifying, no birds chirped, no wind blew, not even so much as a bug made a sound as if the entire rest of the world around us had stopped for a moment. We had failed to warn Little Fox before and yet even Little Fox knew something was catastrophically wrong as she froze, her hackles raised so high they might jump off and run away from her body as she stared at Victor whose eyes were closed as he gave a soft smile that seemed more ominous than calming. I felt a wave of fatigue pass over me as a trickle of blood began to run down my face, a system screen appeared before me.
Warning: your soul is too weak to last long i the presence of T̷̡̡̮̞̪̦͈͕̹͓͚̘͉̪̜̻̱̖̯͒̂̈́̃̉͑̇͒̋̏̍̇͆͛͋̈́̚̕͜͜͝ͅͅh̴̢̨̢̨̢̛̳͈̤̣͍̠̹̘̹̟̫̟͉̗͓̦̬̝͍̱̩͍̘̺̺̭̙̩̫̤̘̱̙̣̣̹̘͙̗͙̎͒͛̄͛̅̂̓̄͌͗͌̚͜ͅē̶̢̛̥͚̞͚̰͉̩̮͎͕͉̙̖̻̦͇͚̝̽̽̑͋̆͛͊̏͐̅̃̕͝͝͝͝ ̶̢̢̨̤͎͇̠͙͖͎̠̫̰̯̖͙͕̙̩̮͎̣͔͕͇̼͖̙̮͕̣̮͉͕̙͓̘̓͗̓̽͜͜ͅͅƠ̸̧̨̧̢̛̩͍͔̻̙̗͔̌̑͑̀͗̀̔̀̍̓̊͊́͂̈́́͆͗̓̀̄̍͌ͅb̸̡̲̗͚̫̥͔̱̼̦̝̻̐̊̒̈́̀̀́̃͊̑̄̇̈̌͛̒̽͗̂̒́̃̂͜͝͝͝ͅs̶̡̨̗̙͈̲̼̠̥̳͎͈̤͕̥̞͖͇̥̰̤͙͔̙̼̯̯̜̼͕͔̙̮̝͗̍̒̂͋̔̃̿̿͂͌̓̈̿͆͂̒̾̾͂̃̀̐̀̈́̈́̇͊͗̄̈̎̕̚̕͘̕͜͜͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅȩ̸̢̧̯̫͔̭̰̠̼̣̫̟͖̤̟̱̣̩͉̯̲̱̥͚͇͖͖̘̙̫̥͙̲̰̤̻͎̯͖̬̤̄̃͑̓̈́̉̌͊͒̂̅̈́̃̉̍̕̕͝ͅŗ̴̢̡̡̧̢̭̠͕̭̭͕̟̫̙̖͎̺͉̘͔͍̩̞͈̯͚̹̦̯͚͎̺̻̜̔́̃̂̒̓́͂̅̓̀̿̏̍͋͗̒̋͊̅̈́̂͑̒̑̋̂̅̈́̐̃̆̊̌̎̇͑̚̚̚͠͝ͅv̸̢̡̡̨̧̨̡̛̛̛̠̫͔̮̱̬̙͎̩̟͔̭̉͋͗̂̂̄͒̌͆̀͒͊̄͐̓̅̂̆͑̈́̊̎̈́͑́̒̿̐̇̽̿̆̚̚͝ę̶̛̛̛̠̫̞̤͕̮̥͕͇̳̟̱̖̬͎̪̙̭̭͖͈͉̝̯͕̼̯̱͌͛͐́̂̀̎͑͑̿̂̅̑̍̎̈́̐̈́̎̈́̓̑̉͊̿̊̉̾͑́̿͌͌͗̿͊͗̈́̅̂̕̕̚͠r̸̼̲̞̭̳̮̹̗͍̘̖͕͖̊͑͑̏͐̓̉̂̅̽̅͑̇̌̿̆̑́̈́̐̽͆̚̕͘͠͝ͅ
I looked around and saw that the others all seemed to be feeling the same thing I was, as blood ran from noses, ears, eyes, and more as Aiden stared down at his hand that had wiped at the trail of blood from his nose. A look of determination sat on his face instead of worry or confusion as Victor seemed to all at once stare at all of us, and none of us as he asked.
"Really now, and if I'm not Victor, who did they say I was?"
His eyes were still closed, and yet it felt like we were being watched from every angle, that secrets were pointless and that everything revolved on the will of the watching thing. In a creepy unison we all spoke at the same time, our voices seeming to echo off each other, our own voices warbled and both silent and too loud as we spoke words that seemed to be guttural and soft, thundering and silent, understandable and undiscernible.
"Y̵̡̨̡͕̲̖̜̹͐̒̿̓̈̆͊̈͌̅̇̈́̒̒̽̎̒̓̋̀͐̂͗̍́͐̓͆̅͌͑̈̎͒̉̇̈́̕͘͠͠ơ̶̧̨̛̝̞̪̱͚͍͍̦̬̖̓͒̏̀̄̓̔̈́͑̈́̀̄̓͋̂̇̇̎̿̈́͒̌̎̂̾̏͗̍͋̈́̀̿̒͊͐͆́͂͑͆́̚̚͘͠ủ̵̡̫͔̯̻̫̝̹̘̭̱̓͒ ̸̡̨̧̳̜̪̲͚̺̜̹̙̭̩̹̳͙͖͖̝̤͙͇͓̖͎͓̫̻͉̦͔̩̖̐̑̾͊̃̿̂̓͜a̸̢͈̘̞̜̞̭̼̬̬̰̫̹̼͓̹̻͓͔̩̍̄̈̂̂̋̽̾̍̾͗̿̊͊̑̐̍̈́͑̌̒̉́̄͘͠r̶̨̧̛̛̙͖̯̬̲͇̲̤̲̮͈̤̩̭̣̥͕̣͍͈̮͎̹̖̖͖̹̱̺̭̹̳̤͈̻͍̞̳̘̗͎͆͑͐̒͒͋͊͂̐͑̓̈́̓̓͑̈́̓̋̍͛́̇̀̃̀͑̀̍͒͂̏̕͜͜͝͠ͅͅe̸̢̢̢̧̨͈̤͇̠̝̳̱͈̪̺̻̖͕͓̜̜̱͖͔͙̠̦̜̯̩͓̯̮̦̦͇̤̬̹͔͕̾́̾̓́̋̍͌̊͜͝ ̵̡̧̞̘̻͍̹̮̝͙̖̫̤̮͚̗̲̥͙̺̯͉̪͈̻̪̩̬͈̺̿͑̐͒̂̉̄̈͆̋́́̓́̃͌̍͋͛͐̇̚͘͜͝͠ţ̵̡̡̞̜̘̪̫͈͖̬͕̝̼̺͙̱̰̞̟̲̝̘̜̭̥͍͓̮͍͚͓̟̰̦̘̝̘͍͇̳̮̺̔͜͜ͅh̴̢̧̛͍͎̺̤͉̻͖̻͙̩̫̥͚̜̊̊̀͑́͒͑͑͆̉̿́̀̽͆͒̓͌̾̚̕͝͠ě̷̡̡̧̡̢̧̧̧̡͇̫̞͙͇̳̩̤̜͙͕̜̼͔̱̫͈̜̞̟͕̦̭̠̖̺̫̃̔͋̑͌́̍̃̋̄̊̈̃͒̂͒̆̊̾̅͋̒́̎͘̕̕̚ ̶̧̧̡̨̛̛̗͖̣̖͚̖̹̯̝̘̥̻̦͙̬̻͈̹̯͔̱̥͓̦̰̓͐̏̂͑̆̔̇͒͂̀̅͐̌̏̊̔̍͋̋̿̇̒̅̀̅̍̔̌̂̇̅͘̕̕͝͠͝ͅƠ̴̛̛̝̬͕͚̟̾͆͐̋͗͒̽͑̐̐̋̒̌̂̋̌̾͗̊͑̈́̔̂̒̾̋̑̽̈̋̾̓̀͘͠͝͝͠͠͝͠b̸̢̢̧̧̡̛̝͉̹͓̱̝̮͙͚̦̗̩̜̙̟̙̳̯̂̀̀͂̄͛̈́͐̇̾́̀̂̆̅̋͑̀̇͑̿͊́͌͊́́̿͋͜͝s̶̨̭̼͙̬͍͕̰͉͈̮͓͉̺̝̥̬̪͍͖͇̙̤̤̃͐̉́̓̽͒͌́̈̓̎̋̀́́͐͒́̿́̿̊͋̑̕͜͝͝͠͝ͅę̵̼̣͙͉̳̰̪̭̱̖̺̖̫͓̳͔̯̩̮̯̙̳̬̝͉̯͈͎̖̭͚̻̺͉̥̹͚̆̀̈́̑̀̾͌̓̒͊͜ͅͅr̶̡̛̫̟̟͔̗̹̼̠̼̰̠̳̃̅̔͆̐̾̌̓̉̆̐̈́̀̍̽͛̽̋̽́̅́̋̐͒̄͌̈͌̄͐͆̉̈́̇̇̂́̚̕͠v̴̨̩̥̘̹̺̭̣̣̬̞̖͇̥͙͙̬̙͖̝͉̟̘͔̪̘̖̝͌̌̉̾̒̂̃͐͐̽̓̀̀̿̔̑̋͂̏́̂̍̓͒̿̓͊̂̊̏̈́̌͂̕̕͘͜͜͠͝͠ͅę̴̨̛̛͓͔͕̫̹͕̙̥̺̮͖͈͓̯̬͎͕̪̘̪͉͚͕̜̺͍͍͎̼͆͆̍̄̅̓͛̀͊͗͋́͗̿͋̊̃̑̏̽̾̅̿̌̿̾̋̾̄͊̊̓́́̾̕͘͝͝͝r̷̨̧̡̨͇͉̭̰̣̩͚̝͕̦̣̣̹̣͍̎̆̊̊̓̓̋̆̾̆͋̔͒̎̇̽͘̚͝"
What was Victor smiled, as it finally opened its eyes, revealing an endless well of stars deeper than the night sky.