NOVEL WEB Movin' on Up
My everything hurts.
I fought my eyelids to get them to open, and saw an exhausted otter sitting next to me, sleeping slumped in a chair. I tried to speak, but instead of words coming out, coughs and blood did. That woke Corby up.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at me. “You really have to stop doing this to me, Nym. You can’t give me shit for putting myself at risk and then run at something a pair of A Ranks were struggling with.”
I absolutely can. In fact, I already did.
I wiggled my eyebrows defiantly, and Corby grimaced, then sighed.
“Let me go find the healer and let them know you’re awake.”
While he was gone, I decided to check my status.
Name: Nymia
Age: 18
Species: Rabbitfolk Lv. 50 (max)
Class 1: Bard Lv. 25 (max)
Class 2: Locked
Stats:
Bonk: 88+7
Zoom: 201
Sturdy: 76+7
Senses: 198
Brain: 85
Mana: 110
Willpower: 177+89
Free points remaining: 0
Class Skills
Sound magic Lv. 25
Soundproof Lv. 25
Story Time Lv. 16
Good at Word Stuff Lv. 25
Find stuff Lv. 20
General Skills
Blades Lv 50
Dodge! Lv 50
Barefoot Lv 50
Sneaky Lv 50
Stubbornness Lv 50
Species Skills
Rabbit’s Foot
Enhanced Senses
Forage
Burrow
Cuddles
Oh dang, I hit the level caps for both at the same time. I had forgotten where the benchmarks were.
Probably shouldn’t admit that to Corby.
My Best Stat was really starting to get crazy with the boosting skill. I should probably wait until the doc comes back before I pass out to do System stuff.
But waiting is so booooooooooring.
I checked my mana, and saw it was full.
Alright, time to pay up. Ready when you are, Crayon.
Two thirds of my mana poofed away, and my headache got worse.
It’s been a while since I saw someone get smushed by a human projectile. You sure are entertaining to watch.
Glad I could give someone a laugh. Corb is gonna be on my ass over this for ages. Oop, looks like they’re back. Talk to you later, buddy.
The doctor was an unnaturally tall human. He was mostly just legs with a torso the same size as Corby’s. It was a little distracting.
“Good to see ya up. Do ya know how long you were out for?”
I blinked a couple times, and Corby picked up the meaning. “She doesn’t have a clue.”
“A full week before ya woke up. An’ you can see we ain’t nearly done yet. You had more injured parts than healthy ones when they brought you in.” He thought for a moment. “I was told you were a healer, but don’t even think about tryna fix yourself. This is gonna take a lot of careful work and you don’t have the levels or the know-how to not make it worse.”
I blinked slowly, and Corby passed along that I understood. The doctor left not long after.
Corby started filling me in on what happened. Davie rejoined Fred after smashing into me and killed the big guy, and then they swept through the rest of the undead almost all by themselves. Mustache healed me enough that I could survive being moved, and they carried me here. Corbin also mentioned that Fred had come by to visit a couple times.
“I’m going to go tell Bea that you woke up. She wanted to stay up here with you, but the professor and I talked her down,” Corby said before heading out. I could see the hesitance to leave me, but he eventually let it go.
Well, might as well get cracking on those juicy upgrades!
I opened my eyes to find myself back in my soul space, still filled with cinnamon buns as far as the eyes could see. I’d be drooling if I could in this place.
Stop focusing on imaginary food. Let’s get started.
“Any options for species evolution?”
[Rabbitfolk Senior. +3 to Zoom and Sense. +2 Free Points.]
“Is that it? Really?”
[…]
“Fine. Just saying it’s not the most inspired option you guys could’ve given.”
[Your species has evolved. You can now choose your second Class.]
Awesome!
“Let’s do the bard upgrade first. I want to stay on this path, so what are the options that stay on this path with sound magic and no hands?
Magic Storyteller: You have honed your talents and tell tales far and wide. Now infuse your stories with vivid images and broadcast them for all to see and hear. +2 Sense and Mana
Pass. Stories are fun, but I’d rather be living them than telling them.
Occult Storyweaver: You have learned to harness the magic of the world to tell your tales. Now dive deeper into the realm of magic as you learn to read the language of magic. +2 Brain and Mana
Well that’s definitely promising! I love magic, and it’s definitely the most useful thing I have to improve. The class does feel like it’s drifting away from being bard-y, though. Is that a downside?
Musical Therapist: You have gone above and beyond to heal those around you. Your healing voice has brought comfort, safety, and life to those in need. Now let your songs heal any that can bear you with increased proficiency. +2 Mana and Best Stat.
Oooooh, I do love healing people. This past battle was awful, but healing people just felt so right. I do love fighting, but I feel like healing is just as much a part of me now. Plus, being able to heal Bea and Corby is an absolute win.
But magic power could help me fight better and shift the burden off of them.
“Do I still have access to sound magic and manipulation with the healing class
[Yes.]
I guess that settles it. I’ll take not being a magic powerhouse if I can keep people alive.
[Bard has been upgraded to Musical Therapist.]
[Very Good at Word Stuff has been upgraded to Healing Song.]
[Soothing Voice has been unlocked. Replace an existing class skill?]
Soothing Voice: Your song can help numb pain and soothe tense situations.
Well that’s more useful than the echolocation I can already do on my own.
[Finding Stuff has been replaced with Soothing Voice.]
[Medical Knowledge has been unlocked. Replace an existing class skill?]
Medical Knowledge: increased understanding of anatomy for sentient creatures. Increased understanding the more you heal a particular species.
Well that’s a must get. Guess the story skill has to go. That’s a bummer
[Story Time has been replaced with Medical Knowledge.]
I guess all that’s left is my new class.
“Can you show the options that are geared toward combat that I can still use?”
There were more options than I expected, including one for [Decoy], which I was convinced was some kind of prank. But I knew what I’d pick the instant I saw it.
[Student of the Unorthodox Blade selected..]
Student of the Unorthodox Blade: you are proficient with swords and blades, but refuse to use them in the intended way. Yet this has not stopped you from slaying your foes with unconventional uses. Now focus your talents on improving your unique style and begin a journey towards mastery of the blade. +1 Zoom and Sense.
Class Skills
[
Unorthodox Blades: Increased proficiency with blades when used in ways beyond the standard practices. +.5% per level
A boost by double? Nice!
Stamina Efficiency: Attacks with blades are more efficient, taking less stamina
That helps with my low Beefy.
Observant Student: Improved ability to analyze and mimic fighting styles involving blades. Does not replicate techniques derived from Skills.
I guess that’s useful? I dunno. I’ve never done much studying of styles and techniques. I only ever learned how to bonk things well.
Nimble Fighter: Weapon attacks with blades scale on the Zoom stat, not Bonk.
Oh hell yeah. I was really hoping I would get something like this with how low my Bonk is.
Orthodox Penalty: -10% reduction in power for bladed attacks made through ordinary means. This Skill cannot be removed.
Eating up a whole skill slot for a penalty sucks ass. I mean, the whole class seems perfect for me, so I can’t complain too much, but still.. Bummer. I didn’t even get an attack skill.
I blinked back into reality, since I didn’t see anyone around, I took another look at my Status.
Name: Nymia
Age: 18
Species: Rabbitfolk+ Lv. 55
Class 1: Musical Medic Lv. 30
Class 2: Student of the Unorthodox Blade Lv. 1
Stats:
Bonk: 99+9
Zoom: 228
Sturdy: 87+8
Senses: 225
Brain: 96
Mana: 131
Willpower: 208+114
Free points remaining: 0
Class Skills
Sound magic Lv. 30
Soundproof Lv. 25
Calming Music Lv. 1
Healing Words Lv. 30
Medical Knowledge Lv. 1
General Skills
Dodge! Lv 55
Barefoot Lv 55
Sneaky Lv 50
Stubbornness Lv 55
Species Skills
Rabbit’s Foot
Enhanced Senses
Forage
Burrow
Cuddles
Not too shabby.
My Best Stat was looking mighty good with that stat bonus. But today, the thing I was most excited about was actually having a combat class. I had been struggling for a while to kill anything too beefy for a while.
I also still had a General Skill to replace. Before my new class, I would’ve tried to get something more offensive. But now I had a good balance. So I thought I should get something that would be more of a hobby for me, and that meant running.
Endurance Running: You can run longer using less stamina.
Hopefully, the skill could combine with my other running skill somewhere down the line. If not, it would still help shore up my weak Beefy stats.
Unfortunately, it looked like it would be a while before I got the chance to test most of this new stuff out. The real question was how to stave off the boredom of being trapped in a doctor’s bed. Again.