Luck be Damned

4

^^ Treant ^^

— Alice —

The concept of Classes was a curious one. Monsters and humans and elves and dwarves and gnomes were all, supposedly, capable of accessing that system, and it was like a guide to their evolution. For dragon's, choosing between Necromancer or Mage was like choosing between being a Lich Dragon one day or a Draconic Magi; it was a very serious choice, but they generally knew what they wanted beforehand, and were more likely to receive that choice than humans were.

Classes could also evolve, through the acquiring of more skill sets, which was an intriguing development, but there was no system for humans to find out their possible choices, making us effectively waving our hand around in the dark and hoping we grabbed a wall. There was no temple where you could check your stats and such, unfortunately. Consequences of a real world instead of a Game, I supposed.

However, it was made clear that I could influence the choices with my actions and intentions; evidenced by Lena receiving the Rare Paladin Class, and Buri receiving the Rare War-Cleric Class, both of them qualifying for a Knights Academy of sorts that was outside the forest, in the kingdom that apparently owned the forest, but had no real say in what happened here.

I'd hoped that would mean that we would get to go see the Capital, where the Academy was, but instead they were actually retrieved by a pair of Mages, who utilized an incredibly powerful spell to simply appear in the center of the city, and then take Lena and Buri with them. It all took maybe ten minutes, and then they were gone.

While my parents were holding back proud tears, I made a detailed drawing of the scorch marks that were left behind, before it was swept away, and then returned to my studies.

The influencing of the Class Selection was as simple as learning new skills, so I took the time to cultivate most skills I possessed, and especially the Magical, Mathematical, and Chemical Ones, as I was aware of their plethoric uses in any society, much less one such as this.

I wrote full manuscripts on my theories and methods of micro-chemical magic, which I'd already taught to Buri and Lena, and nearly had them published into the Magical Society, but held back; there was something of a competitive market for magical knowledge, and I knew I'd need a bit more information about said society before I went and began changing things up.

More than that, I needed to get a little stronger than I was; Power was Respect, whether you were in a world of magic and warriors, or one of CEO's and Investors. Here, the warriors who used their spirits to fight, -despite their classes being something non-combat-related, such as Hunter or Farmer,- were given credence and precedence in most matters, while those whose spirits had no combat abilities at all were largely disregarded, but not to the point of blatant disrespect.

As such, I made my way into the woods around Ganda's house, and wandered past the electrified lines in the dirt.

The forest beyond the path was thick, almost jungle-like, if not for its decidedly deciduous and coniferous trees. Large vines hung between trees, camouflaged snakes hung loops down in an attempt to snag and snare unwitting animals and constrict or envenom them, gaining themselves a meal with the least amount of effort.

The further I walked, however, the more gnarled and savage the trees became, and the fewer glades and meadows I found. The snakes and even the Prey got bigger, and then I began noticing the homes of the Predators. It was daytime, so most of them were asleep, but I did see several tigers, relaxing in water and beating the pressing heat of the summer day. There was a good amount of shade, obviously, but the claustrophobic closeness of all the trees and plants made the air hotter than it had any right to be.