Lament of the Slave

Chapter 15: Frustration

Mr. Sandoval smiled at my eagerness as he stroked his beard. "Other evolutions are more focused. For example, if I take you as an example, [Slave] is a well-known class. Although few of them live to reach the level of a hundred, their evolution is well documented due to their status.

"[Obedient Slave] is a general class that will strengthen the existing one. [Noble Slave] focuses more on the behavior of a slave, their appearance, and from what I know, they mostly serve in the royal courts. The downside is the [Bloody Slave] evolution, into which [Slaves] are forced into by masters who love to torture them.

"I don't want to go into details, but just outline how it is. You have to understand that evolution will change your class, not give you a new one. You won't start again at level one, but continue at level one hundred," the librarian tried to explain to me.

"I see," I nodded. It wasn't hard to understand. I was just rather excited about the possibility of evolution that I didn't have to have the same class until my death. "I just don't like my future options very much."

The librarian shrugged. "It's the way it is. We can influence a few things, but the rest is beyond our reach. As I said, if the system recognizes that you've accomplished something exceptional, it might offer you a class closer to your heart."

But even though I tried, I couldn't remember such an event that could be described as exceptional. I was locked in a cellar for over a year where my only success was killing a rat, which wanted to steal my food, with my bare hands. In those few days of freedom, I didn't have time to do anything worth mentioning except my suicide.

"I still have eight levels left. I still have time," I said with a sigh.

"Yes. You have," the librarian nodded. "Anyway, to go back to what we were talking about. In addition to your class's evolution, the system will also offer you to change it to a completely different one. If we think of evolution as a crossroads, then the new class is like a parallel path.

"You can become [Librarian] like me, or [Butcher] or [Herbalist], but there's a catch. It counts as evolution. You will not lose your stats, the skills you have had so far will remain, and the skills from the new class will be added to them. Even in this case, you will be able to choose eight class skills and ten general skills. You will jump to a new path, but you will not start your journey from the beginning.

"You will have a new class, the one you longed for, but do you see the disadvantage?" Mr. Sandoval asked.

I had to think before I answered him. "Neither skills nor class will evolve. They will not be stronger."

The librarian tapped the book on the table. "Not only that, you'll have a basic class in which if you want to get to the next level, would be extremely difficult."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why? We have to ask why aren't there many [Carpenters] with a level of a hundred or more? Because getting levels is not so easy for them. Each class gains experience in a way that is specific to it. Mentioned carpenters, for example, gain experience by crafting wooden products. The more complex the product is, the better the material used, the more experience they gain. Can you imagine someone who has just started as a [Carpenter], even at the level of one hundred, to be able to make something that an experienced [Carpenter] at the level of seventy can craft?" the librarian asked a rhetorical question.

I knew he wasn't expecting an answer, but at least I shook my head.

"That's why it's rare for someone to do something like that after reaching the level of one hundred. I know you don't like your current class or the options that await you in evolution, miss Grey, but don't jump on a side path if you achieve evolution. You never know what life will bring you," said the librarian in a serious tone, reminding me of my father when he was telling me not to talk to strangers.