A class reflects an individual's natural inclination and shapes how they grow, learn, and apply their abilities.
The class is what makes specialization work. It limits growth in certain areas, while making it more efficient in others.
Class selection becomes available at level twenty-five. The choice is influenced by how a person has lived their life. If someone has spent their whole life as a farmer, they will receive a class that makes farming easier and more efficient.
That would be the Farmer Class.
The Farmer Class grants additional attributes in strength and endurance.
After reaching level fifty, the blessing grants skills or spells meant to support the individual. These abilities require no mana or physical cost. How they function remains uncertain. Some believe the goddess herself bears the cost.
Each class has unique skills, but no two individuals receive them in the same way.
For farmers, the skills offered at level fifty depend on their life experience.
Soil Assessment — Grants a deeper understanding of the soil beneath one's feet. The range scales with level. This skill is typically offered to farmers who already own land and have worked it for some time.
Water Detection — Allows the user to locate underground water within a limited area. The range scales with level. This is usually offered to farmers without land, helping them find water-rich soil to cultivate.
There are countless classes. Some are more unique and far rarer than others.
Rare classes grant greater attribute growth per level. The Hero Class is one such example.
Just as life experience influences class selection, so do character and values. The Hero Class is often offered to individuals who are righteous, driven, and possess a strong desire to save others.
But this revealed something unsettling.
The goddess did not judge people by their actions, only by their convictions.
There have been Hero-class adventurers no less cruel than the forces they fought against. Yet, in their own minds, they believed they were acting for the good of humanity.
Adolin chuckled at that. Luc was going to be a hero again.
He continued reading.
The Hero Class also suggested that the goddess made rare classes more common when humanity needed them most.
During the great calamities of history, there had always been a surge in new heroes.
Whenever humanity stood on the brink, heroes appeared in great numbers.
But in times of peace, they became rare.
Every twenty-five levels after level fifty, the blessing grants additional skills, each more powerful than the last.
The class selection at level twenty-five is not the only one that occurs. Additional selections may happen throughout a person's life.
These are not well understood. They vary from individual to individual, and there is not enough evidence to define a clear pattern.
The prevailing theory is that they are triggered by significant change. A change of heart. A breakthrough in one's profession. The discovery of something new. Or achieving something beyond what is considered normal for one's path.
When this happens, the individual is presented with new options.
Depending on the nature of the change, they may be offered a better version of their current class. A class that is similar, but more specialized. A completely different class. Or an evolution of their existing one.
There are several recorded examples.
A hero who lost faith in the world underwent a class change and became a Failed Hero.
A farmer who developed new tools and methods that improved crop yields across multiple regions received the class Pioneer of the Fields.
A mage who created a spell that surpassed the known tier system was granted both the title and class of Archmage. This record dates back to ancient history and is considered verified, though some still question its accuracy.
There are also methods that have been consistently observed.
Crafters, for example, may be offered the Master class after successfully creating an item recognized as Master tier. The same applies to the Grandmaster class.
There are many more examples, but they differ depending on the class. Further information can be found in texts focused on specific professions.
Adolin leaned back slightly, letting the information settle.
This gave him pause.
Would Luc become a Hero first, only to end up as a Failed Hero?
Or would the system skip the middle step entirely?
He had to admit, the class system was interesting.
What would he get?
Would it be Archmage, like in his old world? Or would he start as a Mage?
What would the others get? He had a few guesses.
Then again, he was already an Archmage. Maybe the blessing would skip straight to it. Or something similar. He couldn't wait to reach level twenty-five.
What if he ended up as a farmer?
He chuckled at the thought.
The book did raise quite a few questions in him. But he had to put that aside for now and continued reading. The next section was the author's notes.
The following is based on personal experience and observation.
As per my research, I feel obligated to give a warning.
Not every class evolution is better than the current one. My advice would be to research extensively what classes you may evolve into before making a decision.
Emotional state at the time of class selection may influence the options available. I would suggest giving it a few days of thought before choosing. You may find that some classes disappear once your emotional state returns to normal.
The leading theory suggests that the goddess herself offers classes and oversees the blessing. However, I am not convinced.
There are too many inconsistencies.
Cases such as Hero-class individuals acting against humanity raise questions. If the goddess truly oversaw the process, it is difficult to believe such individuals would be granted a class as noble as Hero.
It is more likely that the system operates independently.
Adolin closed the book and slowly exhaled.
That was a lot.
He hadn't expected a single book to overwhelm him like that. But it had answered many of the questions on his mind. It had also raised even more, but that wasn't something he needed to focus on right now.
Spells. Tiers. Attributes.
There was nothing there worth dwelling on. It didn't change anything.
Classes, on the other hand, were different.
Adolin had already created spells that would likely fall beyond the twelfth tier. At least, he thought so. He hadn't experienced a spell from that tier yet, but based on his mana control alone, he was fairly certain. And there was still much more he could do with it. If he pushed far enough, crossing that threshold didn't seem impossible.
What class did he want?
That was the real question.
He was already an Archmage. Did he even want that class again?
He didn't think so.
He wanted to do something different with this second life. He just wasn't sure what that something was.
Alchemy was another option. He was already good at it. Really good. He wanted to call it Grandmaster tier, but he didn't even know what that meant in this world. There were still too many gaps in his knowledge.
But one thing was certain.
He had fallen in love with the tea-making spell.
Spells like that made life easier. And he valued convenience.
That would be another goal.
In his last life, he had focused on combat. That didn't have to be the case anymore. He already had more than enough of those spells.
What he lacked were convenience spells.
What if he ended up as a Convenient Mage?
He chuckled.
That brought him a few stares from across the library.
He stared down at the book, keeping his mouth shut. Still, he could feel the stares burning into him.
This wasn't how one should behave in a library, he chided himself.
There was also the problem of the previous owner of the body.
Dareth.
Would his life experiences count toward the class selection?
If they did, he might be in trouble. He wasn't sure what options that would give him. But they wouldn't be good.
For one, the Mage class would likely be out. Dareth was as far from a mage as one could get. He had no direction in life. He went wherever opportunity took him.
The boy had held more than a dozen jobs before even reaching the capital. Woodworking. Shop clerk. Hunting. Cleaning. Even working as a waiter in the only tavern in his town.
Based on that, Adolin had no idea what would happen during class selection.
Directionless Mage?
He almost chuckled, but held it in.
Well… he wasn't that different right now. He was going with the flow too. No real direction. In that sense, they were similar.
He clicked his tongue silently.
He didn't want to draw attention to himself again.
One thing he realized was that he had never set this many goals for himself at once.
They kept increasing with each passing day.
Return to his former power. Help Lira get rid of her addiction. Heal the Count. Earn enough coin so his life could finally feel like a vacation. Choose a good class. Find or create more convenient spells. Buy a house with both a front and back garden.
Now that he thought about it, he could probably build it himself. It would be a decent project to spend his time on.
And the primary goal.
Enjoy ten years of peace away from his old party. Maybe excluding Aylinth. He didn't mind her presence that much.
There was also the goal of learning more about this world. Something he was already working on.
He felt productive.
Glancing at the window, he saw the sky had already begun to darken. It was time to get his ID from the guild and buy the supplies he needed.
He left the library and headed toward the Adventurer's Guild.
On the way he overheard a few conversations about the church hunting a rogue priest in the slums. He did feel a bit worried, but not overly so. He looked like an addict back then, now he looked like a normal citizen.
Entering the guild, his mood fell instantly.
The place was even more crowded than it had been during the day. There were more adventurers now, and most of them were drinking. His expectations had been completely off. Conversations overlapped so much that none of them made sense on their own. There was quite a large group surrounding the quest board.
He glanced toward the counter.
Hilda was behind it. And no one was waiting in line.
That helped. At least he could get this done quickly.
Adolin walked up to the counter.
"Good day," he said, a small smile on his face.
"It's night," Hilda replied.
"What…"
He was starting to think Hilda didn't like him.
He cleared his throat.
"Good night."
"Are you going to bed?" Hilda asked, her expression completely serious.
That confirmed it. Hilda definitely didn't like him.
Ignoring the question, he said, "Is the ID ready?"
"Yes."
Adolin waited, but Hilda didn't move.
"Could I pick it up?" Adolin asked.
"You could," Hilda said, remaining at her post.
"Now?"
Hilda shook her head. "The door on the right."
Adolin cursed under his breath.
"Did you say something?"
"Thank you," Adolin said, avoiding the question.
He knocked on the door and stepped inside.
"Hey," Adolin said.
He didn't want a repeat of the conversation with Hilda. And he still wasn't sure what greeting to use at night.
"Hey."
The woman replied just as simply.
She was sitting behind a desk in the middle of the room.
As he got closer, he noticed her ears.
Pointed. An elf.
She reminded him of Aylinth. Long blonde hair, sharp features, and that same kind of beauty. She was dressed neatly. Professional.
The room was small.
A single desk stood in the center, covered in neatly stacked papers. Shelves filled the walls behind her, packed with folders and ledgers. Everything was organized.
He got in front of the desk.
"Alea," she introduced herself. "How can I help you?"
"Dareth. I'm here for my ID, and to buy some equipment."
She smiled lightly and nodded.
"Of course."
She opened one of the drawers and took out a small card, placing it on the desk in front of him.
"This is your guild ID."
Adolin picked it up. The material was smooth, a bit heavier than it looked. Cool to the touch.
His name was written clearly on it.
Dareth Wood.
Under it were a few lines of information. Level. Rank. Affiliation.
"It identifies you as a member of the guild," Alea said. "You'll need it to take quests, receive payment, and access certain areas."
Adolin turned the card slightly, studying it.
"It updates automatically as you progress," she continued.
"How?" he asked.
Alea paused for a moment.
"It's connected to the blessing."
That sounded interesting. Something he could study later, once he had enough mana for higher-tier spells.
"Try not to lose it. The replacement is more expensive than the first one."
Adolin nodded. "Thanks for the warning."
"What kind of equipment do you need?"
"The premium package. Number six, I believe."
Alea nodded.
"That will be twelve gold coins."
Adolin took out his coin pouch and counted twelve before placing them on the desk.
Lissandra had given him twenty gold coins. He felt better about that now. She had also suggested which package to take.
Alea stamped a parchment and wrote something on it.
"Take this to Hilda. She'll get you sorted," Alea said, her smile remaining bright.
"Thanks."
Adolin turned and left.
His stomach churned at the thought of dealing with Hilda again.
He returned to the counter and placed the parchment in front of her, offering a small smile.
Hilda didn't react.
She took the paper, glanced at it once, and disappeared through the door behind the counter.
Adolin waited.
The noise of the guild pressed in around him again. Laughter. Shouting. A mug slammed somewhere behind him.
A few minutes passed.
Longer than he liked.
Hilda returned, carrying a large leather bag. She placed it on the counter without a word.
Adolin looked at it.
He picked it up. Heavy, but manageable. Good enough.
"Thanks," he said.
Hilda didn't respond.
He didn't expect her to.
Adolin turned and left the guild.
He felt a small sense of pride at how he handled Hilda. It made him feel better.
Adolin stepped out of the guild.
Then he noticed them.
Three men stood across the street, looking his way.
Priest robes.
Well shit.