Whispers of a Dead Empire

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The Class Milestone system may be reworked. But that is to be determined.

I went back to my menu and looked through the options that I had. I could change how I looked if I so pleased. But I was okay with the way I was—no need to change anything. I confirmed the option and then stared at the title screen for a moment. Now it was my turn to go through this process. It made me kind of nervous because it would forever affect the path of this domain. Would I have done anything notable as an Empress? Or would I have done something unforgivable to save my failing empire?

After thinking it over, I decided that doing something unforgivable would be the better option here. But how did I do it? Through some form of forbidden or now lost magic? That seems plausible, and I just wanted something heart-wrenching for it, at least for those entering this domain intending to explore all facets of it, outside of just battling bosses. I stared at my title screen for a few moments longer. I wanted something far more profound than just Empress. That was so bland and felt anti-climatic. How about The Soul Empress?

An empress who had to resort to wretched means to save all that she held dear? Choosing to use now forgotten magic to keep her people alive. The title was a bit cringy, but it would work; again, I would grow into it. Besides, it should give me a killer class as well. I confirmed the choice, and instead of a class menu, I got a different one.

I read over the classifications, and my jaw dropped. I had to stop myself from clicking the World Boss classification almost instantly. I could do that and become stronger than I could ever hope to imagine. But I had to be smart about this. Let me ask my companion some questions real quick and then go from there.

“So, Kharon, I’m trying to classify myself and get my class so that I can get stronger. However, I have a few questions. Are the stat percent bonuses additive or multiplicative?” I cast him a sideways glance as I was trying to reel myself in; I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

“Each bonus stacks with each other. When you level up, it is applied again, which in theory results in rapidly developing power. However, each tier of boss has its drawbacks. However, this will be quite lengthy to explain, and I know you like taking notes, so would you like to get your notebook before we begin?” Awe, he remembered, how sweet of him. I had Alessia fetch my notebook to jot down a list of what he was about to say.

“Alright, I’m ready.” I readied my pen to write down the additional information quickly.

“So, As you can probably tell, you get free levels and classes with each tier of boss, but you lose the amount of essence you gain or how the rest of the world calls it, experience. Let’s take Alessia, for example. You gave her ten free levels before she ascended to being a primary boss. Therefore, she achieved that stat bonus eleven times since it’s retroactive. However, in doing so, the cost of pushing her up to boss hood increased by a certain amount.” I nodded my head as I quickly jotted down the information, and a sliver of understanding pushed its way through my mind.

“So, how does that compare to something like a world boss?” I asked as I tore my gaze from the paper to look at him.

“A world boss is a powerful being. It gets access to seven class milestones at its base. However, the system heavily restricts it. You will receive only the smallest of a percentage of essence from killing. Not only that, you essentially bottleneck right from the start if you choose that option.” I nodded my head, jotted that down, brought the pen up to my lips, and chewed on the end as I prepared my next question.

“Alright then, what are class milestones?” He gazed at me with his piercing scarlet eyes for a moment before he answered.

“Class milestones occur when you reach certain levels. You get your first at level 10, then 25, 50, 100, 150, 250, 375, 450. Obviously, the amount of exp needed for each level goes up, so anything past the two hundred and fifty levels is insanely difficult to get. Even getting to two-fifty is difficult for most people. Though, milestones vary with your class. Some classes have fewer milestones simply due to how strong they are.” I quickly jotted that down, thankful for the flow of knowledge coming in my direction.

“So, choosing a classification with a high-class milestone would mean that when I reach the first milestone, nothing will happen?” I had a feeling that it would work like that; I just wanted to make sure.

“You would be correct, mistress.” I knew it. Oh well, that completely takes off the last half of the classifications. But it led to more questions.

“What is Cp? I saw it earlier in the templates and didn’t think about what it meant.” I jotted down his last statement as I asked my new question.

“Combat Potential is just the aggregated difficulty of said creature. It determines your rank or how strong you should be. Keep in mind that having a low CP score doesn’t mean much. It could be very misleading. However, that is a stat that only high-ranking adventures can see or domain gods. The domain’s total CP is usually every mob in the dungeon combined, though adventures can only really see total aggregated difficulty rating of said dungeon.” All of that would make sense. If I am too high, then I risk attracting unwanted attention. It would probably be best to grow with the mob classification. Going with the bosses would be beneficial now but would only hurt me later.

“Thank you, Kharon; I think I have made my choice. I will go with the mob classification and work my way up in strength.” I closed my notebook and put a cap on my pen.

“That would be wise mistress,” Kharon told me. A small glimmer in his eye revealed he liked that choice. Being all-powerful first seemed okay, but what good was power if you didn’t have experience with it. I know I was missing out on a wonderful opportunity by going with the mob classification, but I will climb the ladder and get strong on my own, no matter what. I confirmed my choice and new screens appeared before me.

The classes were a bit of a letdown. They all looked pretty good, so I couldn’t complain about that. I just wanted something a little cooler, but I guess that is what I get with the mob classification. But it was too late to lament, and now it was time to decide.

I instantly crossed off Necromancer from the list. I mean, isn’t that what I am now? I literally just hosted a fight club of undead in my office; if that wasn’t necromancy enough for you, then I don’t know what is. I was hoping for other magic-like classes, but I will take what I can get. Pugilist looked like a decent option; I mean, judging by the class I gave Aaron, you get access to ki, which is like magic, right? I kept that option on the list and scrolled through the others. The Soldier class and Swordswoman class were equally balanced classes that left a lot of wiggle room. The noble class would fit the theme but not really help me protect myself. Besides, who needs more productivity? They are undead; they don’t need rest, or food, or anything.

, the first-class seemed really interesting, and I am assuming I got it because of the title I gave myself. Let’s get an opinion from my companion. “Kharon, what do you know of the soul catalyzation class?”

He froze when he heard that and stared at me. His vibrant scarlet eyes dimmed for a moment and turned into a set f charred husks. A few tense heartbeats later, his eyes lit up again. “From the limited knowledge that the system gave me of all of your classes, that is a potent class. But to be fair, all the classes you got were potent, but that’s because of your status as a domain god. It is the weakest starting class on the list, but it can stand toe to toe with the strongest later down the line.”

I nodded my head and read over the choices once more. I mean, I was already working my way up the ladder, so what was another thing keeping me down? I selected that option mostly because it would fit the theme and because I wanted to be the best I could be.

I glanced at Kharon and raised an eyebrow, “and I assume you will be my mentor.”