After they saw the notification and realized they were in trouble, Selene, Thalia, and Liora rushed back toward camp.
Liora went ahead as the messenger because she was both faster and capable of flying.
Yet by the time she returned, she saw several strange things in quick succession.
The first was Aiden sitting in the dirt, covered in sweat and mumbling something about being so close to dying.
Jax was beside him, trying to console him, but he was also covered in dirt like he had been rolling around.
Even Beatris was standing there, looking lost and confused, like she was not sure what to do.
By the time Selene and Thalia caught up, Jax had already briefed Liora on what had happened and spread the good news that everyone was now ready for their class evolutions.
"Well," Thalia said, giving a small nervous shrug, "at least something good came out of it... right?"
Five sets of very unfriendly gazes turned toward her.
There was movement.
The five of them came to a silent agreement.
Then they dove to tackle Thalia.
By the time they were done, the sun had fully set, and they had a nice, simple camping spot set up.
Three logs sat around the fire, giving everyone a place to sit. The firewood the others had gathered burned nicely in the calm, warm night.
And on a nearby tree, Thalia struggled against the over two hundred feet of rope they had used to tie her upside down to its trunk.
"Guys... Guys... Cut me down already."
She kicked her feet.
"Hey, I know you can hear me, Jax! Don't you ignore me, damn it. The blood is rushing to my head here."
Thalia's yells, combined with her kicking feet and her height, made the scene oddly reminiscent of a child being disciplined by being put in time out.
Minus the upside-down part.
"Well, next time don't summon Frankenstein's fucked up horse, and we won't have to tie you up," Beatris barked back as she chewed on the jerky from her ration.
The others were in agreement as they continued to eat in silence, letting Thalia stew against the tree for a few more minutes before she was finally released and allowed to join everyone around the fire.
"O-Okay," Selene said, looking around to make sure everyone was following, "so just to clarify, the Hand Horse has agreed to leave us alone for at least three months, or until Aiden is forced to use his gift from the Observer?"
Jax nodded.
"That about sums it up," he said. "Also, it was able to practically ragdoll me despite my best efforts, so we're not ready to fight that thing right now."
"Hey," Liora said, "don't cut us so short. We have class evolutions waiting to be selected here."
She could practically feel greed bouncing around in her head as she read over her evolution choices again.
The anticipation of the last day had practically been torture in itself.
They ended up going around the group, learning what class evolution choices everyone had gotten.
Aiden had Catalyst Crafter, which seemed to be about refining alchemical ingredients.
Toxicologist, which was more focused on poisons.
And Ancient Physician, which was a whopping B-rank evolution and seemed to be about making forgotten potions.
Jax had Dash Striker, which was about hit-and-run tactics.
Watcher of Ruin, which apparently had something to do with something called the Beast of Ruin.
And Way of the Laughing Fang, which seemed to be all about further abusing his already fraying mentality.
Selene had Gianthide, which was all about growing big and becoming more durable for it.
Adaptation Warden, which apparently specialized in defensive mutations.
And Monster from the Mist, the second B-rank evolution of the group, and apparently tied to that weird thing she did when she fought the crab guy.
Beatris had Holy Contracted, which was more stuff for her angels.
Ordained Singer, which was apparently able to turn singing into power, a concept that clearly confused her.
And Sanctifier, where she could bless water, weapons, and other things.
Thalia, much to Liora's annoyance, had the third B-rank evolution.
Loom Matron, which had ties to something called Arachnae.
Bond Keeper, which would apparently make her pet Sir Hams-a-Lot, or whatever he was called, able to actually fight.
And Director, which would help her move people around in a fight.
Lastly, Liora had Sigilwright, which was all about glyphs.
Enchantment Engineer, which was enchanting and making items magical.
And Jetstream, which seemed to enhance her ability to fly.
Of them, the only one the party collectively vetoed was Way of the Laughing Fang.
Jax had tried to protest, but everyone pointed at Aiden's chest, where Jax had broken his ribs last time, and he relented.
As such, Aiden was taking Ancient Physician.
Jax was choosing Watcher of Ruin.
Thalia was taking Loom Matron.
And Beatris was taking Holy Contracted.
That just left Liora and Selene, who were being indecisive.
Selene wanted to take the evolution that would give her more power in Monster from the Mist, but she was hesitant due to her whole thing of not wanting to be a monster.
And it was kind of in the name.
Liora's hesitation stemmed more from her curiosity about glyphs.
So far, she had been using the system as a bit of a crutch in order to cast her spells, so having a deeper understanding could not hurt.
On the other hand, the ability to fly super well sounded like a lot of fun.
And the ability to enchant items would never not be useful.
She was indeed plagued by too many good choices.
Yet as she thought back, her choice became a bit clearer.
Liora selected her evolution.
Your class has evolved.
Wind Mage → Jetstream (C).
Your HP and Mana capacities have grown.
HP: 46 → 75.
MP: 206 → 400.
You have obtained a new skill.
Your Soaring Rhythm (D) skill has evolved into Soaring Jetstream (D).
Will of the Wind (D)
??? Mana
Your connection to the wind makes it a close friend.
It responds to your commands.
Depending on how much wind you want to command, you will spend extra mana.
Soaring Jetstream (D)
Passive
You gain the ability to fly without expending mana.
You can spend extra mana to increase the speed at which you fly.