The Arcade Series

I went ahead and opened the subclass selection screen to look at the options I had for my subclass, leaning back in my chair behind my counter as I did.

Available Subclasses for selection:

Elementalist (Ultra Rare): You have used freeform magic to create and control multiple elements at will.

+2 willpower, +3 mana and +1 Free Stat Point, Per level

Shopkeeper (Uncommon): You have engaged in and approved a highly beneficial business deal on behalf of your shop and on behalf of a higher power.

+2 intelligence, +2 willpower and +1 Free Stat Point, Per level

Living Inferno (Legendary): You have killed several dozen monsters in your immediate vicinity with a single fire spell and have come out unharmed.

+3 willpower, +2 mana and +2 Free Stat Points, Per level

“Ok, those are some good options…” I mused to myself with a chuckle, looking them over and thinking.

I didn't expect to get a subclass for business at all, so the Shopkeeper subclass was a bit of a surprise, but I can't say it didn't make any sense once I read over the description of the class. That deal with Henry, the Guild Master, was pretty important for both of us. In fact, I expect that I will be getting some new customers coming in soon because of that deal, so I might need to hurry up. But however interesting or surprising the option was, the subclass was only uncommon so I crossed it off the list. It was probably just not worth it, with the lower number of stat points compared to the other two.

I looked at the Ultra Rare Elementalist option next. I didn't really know what I was expecting for subclass options, but something like this class was about what I thought I could get. An interesting thought I had when I looked over the class however gave me a thought. The fact that it isn't something like sorcerer or mage could suggest that not all magic users use the elemental effects of mana. I don't know what it could be used for other than the elemental effects, but it would be interesting to learn in the future.

The stat points stood out to me a bit when I looked over the class as well. I was sure that the grade of the class gave more stat points then the combined six points that it gave per level, did subclasses give less stat points per level then main classes?

The Elementalist class was definitely an option though.

I looked at the last class on the screen, the Legendary Living Inferno class. I started laughing when I read the description to this class. My new leveling strategy for the first floor has been working out pretty well, but honestly what exactly I was doing didn't really click until I saw this subclass. I really turned into a living inferno when I blasted out my flamethrower spell, and you did not want to be in the same room when I started shooting streams of fire at the rats and spiders of the dungeon.

The subclass was a Legendary as well, so that definitely added to the reasons why this subclass would be good to have. It had one more stat point per level as well, and as a free stat point.

I thought about my decision for a second, looking between the Ultra Rare and the Legendary subclasses for a moment. Then I selected the Living Inferno Legendary class.

I selected the class for several reasons. First was the fact that this class had the higher grade and therefore an extra stat point in this case. Secondly, I thought that it would be useful to develop my specific fire related skills a bit and I was pretty sure that classes were meant to develop things like that. As for why I wanted to focus specifically on fire, I had found the most easy combat spells were fire related and they were also pretty effective on top of that, so I set my sights on it in particular.

I got a notification to confirm my choice, which I confirmed quickly, causing the system screen to fade away.

“Now, there was something else…” I pondered to myself, wracking my mind to figure out what was bugging me. It took a few seconds longer than I thought, but eventually I remembered what I needed to do now. “I got fifty one free stat points.” I remembered dully, and opened up my status screen to take a look at my stats.

Native Universal Leveling System #273 Status

Level: 17

EXP: 127/800

Native Universal Leveling System #273 Skills: Active Mana Transmutation (Uncommon)

Main Class: Combat Sorcerer of the Dungeon (Legendary):

You have used freeform magic in combination with your own hands, using the abilities of a dungeon core to amplify your effectiveness in combat.

+2 intelligence, +1 willpower, +2 mana, +1 strength, +1 dexterity and +3 Free Stat Points, Per level

Secondary Class: Living Inferno (Legendary):

You have killed several dozen monsters in your immediate vicinity with a single fire spell and have come out unharmed.

+3 willpower, +2 mana and +2 Free Stat Points, Per level

Tertiary class: locked until level 50

Stats

Dexterity: 27

Strength: 32

Constitution: 25

Intelligence: 54

Willpower: 42

Mana: 68

Free Stat Points: 51

Right, so let's look at my stats. First off, I need to think about my stat distribution strategy. At first I thought that wouldn't matter much, with the class assigning points in some stats each level up, but clearly with my free stat points that I get definitely stack up enough to do quite a lot. In fact, I have more free stat points than I do in every other section except Intelligence and Mana. Definitely enough to give me a sizable boost. I could double any stat except for Mana and technically Intelligence if I wanted to!

But what do I want my distribution strategy to be? I could just try to have my stat points closer to equal, or I could min-max a bit for a few stats. What would be better… let's think.

If I assign my stat points to bring up the things with less stat points, then I would get an allround increase in power and ability. The stats I would increase in this case would be Constitution, Dexterity and Strength, ending up with around forty points in each one. That would be a huge boost for my precision and strength, and while I hadn't had any increase in my Constitution, I believe that it would probably increase my stamina by quite a bit.

As for my min-maxing options, there was no contest. Mana and Intelligence were by far the most useful stats, at least for casting spells. Though Strength might see some use if I take the time to buy myself a decent weapon. But let's focus on Mana and Intelligence, as that is what I can immediately use. I could bring up Intelligence to eighty and Mana to ninety if I divided them evenly, or I could split them up so I could get an even one hundred on Mana while bringing Intelligence to seventy. As for what those would mean in terms of improvements, I think that I could cast spells a lot faster, maybe be able to think faster and more efficiently alongside the usual increase in memory retention and recollection.

Which would be best overall? In the short term, an increase in spells and thinking would be better because I am focusing on spellcasting and fighting with magic. For the future however, an improved physical condition would really help when I eventually turn to combining my magic with physical fighting techniques and dungeon core abilities. The thing is though, that I will need to start training to fight with weapons and my body soon or I will have to stick with magic abilities when the town is attacked instead of the combined abilities that would improve my combat ability. So realistically, the benefits aren't just long term and are pretty short term as well.

“Even stat strategy it is then.” I decided out loud, and started assigning the stat points into the three stats and bringing them all up into an even fourty, and leaving me with fifteen free points left that I placed into Willpower as an afterthought and bringing it to fifty seven.

I took one more look on the screen as I felt the effects of my points take place.

Stats

Dexterity: 40

Strength: 40

Constitution: 40

Intelligence: 54

Willpower: 57

Mana: 68

Free Stat Points: 0

Wow, I could feel those points. My muscles started burning for a second before I felt them settle and tighten. My body movements seemed to almost become more clearly focused in my mind. I could feel my skin become a little heavier almost, like it was tightening around my form and it felt tougher, more rigid. At the same time, the world around me became a little clearer to my senses, more focused and I felt my mind calm as I sat back in my chair.

Wow, that felt good. It's like the world was opened to me in a second, unlike when I leveled up normally when the points slowly increased as I killed the monsters inside the dungeon.

As I started stretching my body a bit to get a hang of the changes that my body had just went through, I heard the sound of a system notification causing me to look to the screen that had previously shown my status but now started showing writing.

You have unlocked the Class Evolution Program by gaining a subclass. The option to sacrifice your subclasses to either evolve or merge your main class has been gained as a result. To sacrifice your subclass, select your subclass on the status screen and confirm your choice on the Class Evolution Program screen.

“I unlocked something new, huh? Class Evolution Program… So, I can upgrade what my class gets me or something, by sacrificing my subclass?” I asked myself, reading over the notification with a frown. “I wish I could get an explanation on what the system does and how it works before I have to try and risk something like this…” I murmured to myself, ready to exit the notification screen and try to sacrifice my subclass to figure out what it would do. Then the system screen in front of me shifts and a new notification popped up.

“Would you like to undergo the Arcade System tutorial for Native Universal Leveling System #273?” The system screen read out to me, also making me realize something interesting. The Leveling System never read out its notifications, but the Arcade System did. I guess it's a way to tell which system is telling me things I guess? Not particularly useful, but it is slightly interesting to see the differences.

“There is a tutorial for the system?! I should have asked sooner! If I had known… Who knows if I messed something up by not doing the tutorial!” I cursed myself and leaned my head on the counter before shaking my head in defeat. There was no way of knowing, and what was done was done. “Yes, I want to undergo the tutorial.” I told the system screen in front of me and sighed, leaning back on my chair once more to get comfortable.

The system screen disappeared from my sight, revealing the Arcade to my sight again to a bit of confusion on my part. But then before I could do anything, I got hit by a headache. It was pretty mild compared to some headaches and I was generally pretty tolerant to pain anyway, but it wast the pain that caught me off guard in this case. It was the sensation of something entering my mind. I assumed it was the system as some information started to fill my head, but it was a bit muddled so I decided to use one of my underused abilities and I closed my eyes to meditate.

My senses expanded as my mind was projected into The Mind Space, and I inspected myself. It was odd looking at yourself from another perspective, but even more so through another layer of reality. I couldn't exactly describe what people looked like inside the Mind Space, but what I could see through my seventh sense was akin to a huge nervous system stretching across my body and the bright light of my mind shining through my head.

For a second, I couldn't see how the Arcade System was giving me the raw information directly in my mind, until I concentrated and studied my mind enough for a concerning and weird sight to make itself known and shining with a slightly different light and unique color, different than my mind. Thousands upon thousands of strings wove around into my mind through the bigger strings that made up the connections my mind had with my body and into a particular spot in my chest where they all connected and wove together to form a tiny structure that was similar to something else. My mind.

“God…” I whispered, unsure how to take in the sight before me. I knew that the Arcade System had basically invaded my soul and made some connections inside my mind to let me see the system screens, but it was a whole other thing to see the mind of the system weaving itself inside my very being.

I stared at it some more before shaking off the odd feelings that the sight gave me, about to return my mind's awareness to my body when I felt an odd shift in the flow of information that the system had been streaming through the tendrils that it had extended. My head started to feel better than before and suddenly the raw information that I had been given started to sort itself out into memory and knowledge I could access. I ignored it for now however, because of the sight that was happening at the same time. The Arcade System seemed to retract its tendrils into itself again as the process finished.

I realized a few seconds later that there was only one small tendril left in my mind by the time the process had stopped. I suppose that it normally has limited access to my mind, unless I tell it to do something? It's definitely too early to say for sure though. While I was not the most suspicious of people… the Arcade System could easily be biding its time to kill me for some reason after I do something. There were definitely higher beings throughout existence, and I would not put it past some being to arrange a system to raise up souls to grow powerful only to be harvested to be used by said beings. God… I shouldn't have thought of that… Is it actually possible..?

I shook my head, bringing it out from my thoughts and the Mind Space in one move. If I started going down that route, then I would always be suspicious and scared of everything. I would just have to hope for the best and plan for what I could. Like the up and coming necromancer invasion. Or right this second, reviewing the new information I got on the Leveling System.