Kaius smiled in satisfaction at the Honours he had gained. They’d done well.

  Most were advancements on ones they already knew of — like Deadeye II for long distance kills that Ianmus and Kenva had earned. He’d given that one his best crack, of course, with a VOS-enhanced Nail, but it was too inaccurate over vast distances, even leveraging his control. He just didn’t have the same accuracy-enhancing general Skills that the two of them had.

  They’d found new ones as well. When Kenva had discovered an Honour for channeling seven and a half thousand stamina in under five minutes, they’d branched out. Ianmus and Porkchop had managed to find similar Honours for mana and health respectively. The latter had been particularly brutal — Porkchop had gotten it for surviving a singular attack that took that amount of health to heal.

  Kaius shuddered, remembering that crunching squelch.

  His own had been less torturous — he’d just had to cast fifty spells in five seconds. Very difficult, but not exactly painful.

  They were good Honours — plus fifteen and plus eight-percent to the stats of their relevant Resource. Intelligence and Willpower in the case of him and Ianmus.

  Unfortunately, their discovery had been paired with the fact that every single one of those honours was the second in a chain. Requiring them being in the first tier, it seemed likely they’d missed out on their below-one-hundred equivalents — though, it could have been for unclassed. Still, he and Porkchop had gotten bonuses for theirs. His practically required glyphbinding, and he didn’t think anyone was dumb enough to do what Porkchop had done to get his.

  He and Porkchop had even earned the multi-kill Honour. His had been straight forward — a VOS empowered Stormlash used against a swarm of metal-attuned spirits that had looked like small clouds of iron filings. Porkchop’s had been…questionable. And the same way he had gotten Undying II.

  He’d tried to stop him jumping off that cliff!

  Kaius clenched his teeth as he forced away the memory of broken bones and smushed spiders.

  Ianmus had discovered a new one too — Ghostwind II, for slaying a higher leveled creature without getting touched after fighting for more than two hours, with a bonus for doing it alone.

  Kenva, of course, had immediately managed to do the same, but no matter how much he and Porkchop tried, they weren’t able to manage it. As far as he could tell, you couldn’t simply run down the clock and then overwhelm the Champion with a singular onslaught at the end, like he had tried with his spells — you had to actively be fighting it the whole time. Which, in his case, meant spells bled dry, and he was forced to rely on melee combat, making the ordeal almost impossible. That went doubly for Porkchop, whose abilities were entirely built around surviving hits, rather than avoiding them.

  They truly had secured the best possible start for the second tier.

  Blinking away his status, Kaius tuned back into the conversation around him.

  “If we really do give up on our pretences of secrecy when we return, I wonder how Hensch will react to know that you can talk — or the Guild as a whole, for that matter,” Ianmus said, grinning at Porkchop — who promptly puffed out his chest.

  “I imagine I’ll be quite the talk of the town. As I should be.”

  Kaius laughed. “Well, if you do grow bigger like you said, it’ll be pretty hard for you not to be. If you end up bigger than a dire bear... Good thing you’ll be able to shift it a little, otherwise I doubt you’d fit through any doors.”

  “It is a handy natural magic. Though, from what I’ve heard, it takes a while to get comfortable with keeping it up indefinitely. At the very least, I’ll be able to stay roughly this size. Maybe a little bigger.”

  A handy thing indeed.

  While he doubted they would settle down somewhere metropolitan anytime soon — if ever — it would have put a dent in Porkchop’s plans to see the varied cities of the world. Hard to go sightseeing if you found it difficult to get through the bloody front gate.

  Wolfing down his last few bites of food, Kaius set his plate to the side. “On that note, it’s about time we properly talk through class selection. I know that we’re all largely comfortable with the roles we play, but that could change. At the very least, if we know what everyone intends, we’ll be able to make more informed decisions.”

  Kenva sighed, nodding. “I suppose it is about that time that we stop putting it off.”

  “Bah, can you blame any of us?” Porkchop said. “We’re right on the bloody cusp and it still doesn’t quite feel real.”

  His comment got a round of silent nods. For a moment, it hung there, as if none of them could quite decide, none of them quite wanted to go first. Kaius decided to just jump on it — he’d be a poor excuse for a party leader if he didn’t.

  “Well,” Kaius started, stretching out on the blanket that separated him from the damp ground beneath them, “Ultimately... I am happy with the path that I am on now. Fighting as a skirmisher suits me well, and I enjoy having a broad selection of abilities to choose from. But there are a few areas where I’d like to push my growth, and a few things I will be keeping an eye out for.”

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  “Vos, I imagine?” Porkchop questioned.

  “Vos,” Kaius agreed. “Or conceptual magic in general, I should say. I am not quite sure if I would be ready to upend my entire foundation to focus on it fully, but a god themselves said it was a prime opportunity. I am loath to pick a class that doesn’t at least encourage a small part of its development. Other than that, my current class is introductory and generalist. Some of my general skills are quite broad in their focus — Explorer’s Toolkit, in particular. Now that we have a scout—”

  He nodded to Kenva, who smiled.

  “—it feels stretched thin, torn between stealth, scouting, survivalism, combat, threat analysis, and exploitation. I think a spellblade class that focuses on my fighting style, but also on explosive magical strength backed by martial staying power might push it in a more focused direction.”

  “So in short, something that focuses on your strengths?” Ianmus snorted.

  Kaius grinned.

  “Yes. Hopefully, if it’s available, I can find a suitable class that is tied to the Vesryn Order — I want to further my growing understanding of their runic script. It will be far easier with second tier examples.”

  “That makes sense,” Porkchop said. “My wishes are simple. As long as I am strong and tough, I will be happy. Though, if anything is of interest, I would like a little more development in my Strength and Dexterity, and I will have an eye out for anything more directly related to me fighting armoured. Even if it comes with an affinity change — though I think perhaps it is more likely that I will simply move on to something more suitable than Sacred Jade.”

  “What do you mean?” Ianmus asked.

  Porkchop shifted, fiddling with a strap of his under armour.

  “Well, for one — I don’t know if I’ve heard of any greater beast who wears a suit of heavy plate like I do. Armour in general, really. I think it is quite likely that my bloodline will evolve to centre on that more, considering its uniqueness. As for Sacred Jade — it is known to the dens. Even if it’s mildly magic-resistant and incredibly tough, it’s still fundamentally a tier one material. And also heavy. Even if I have the strength to bear it and maintain my crystal affinity, I expect an armour-focused bloodline would use something different — perhaps one of the more directly related tier two crystals.”

  Through their bond, Kaius could feel the excitement within Porkchop. He understood it. His brother was breaking new ground, and for someone whose animus formed around a core of curiosity, it was unsurprising that he would enjoy that.

  “Hell-bent on wiping out half your den with shock when you return for a visit, eh?” Kaius teased.

  “Half? I won’t be satisfied unless it’s four-fifths.”

  “I suppose that means I’m next then,” Ianmus said from his place next to Porkchop. “There are a few ways my class could go. It’s an interesting one, being split between sorcery and free-classing. But now that I have formed keyseals, I am eager to delve into them as far as they go. Not to the point of forgoing everything else utterly — what most interests me is a class with them as the main focus, supported by my freecasting. Or I suppose vice-versa — I know so little about it that it’s hard to say what is what until I get the chance to discuss it with my guide.”

  “And of your role?” Kenva asked. “Are you happy with being our resident ballista and healer?”

  “I am. Though I’m open as well to classes utilising affinities other than Solar. At this stage I think it’s unlikely that I’ll get anything too divergent — perhaps Light or Nature or Celestial. Life also would not be a surprise. It would be an adjustment considering most of my formal education is focused on the teachings of Sunspire, but much of my magecraft is focused on intent. Free casting is nothing if not adaptable, and it would be a fun challenge.”

  “Do you think you might get offered a class that uses more than one affinity?” Kaius asked. It happened at higher tiers, most commonly in spellcasters, and was often mightily convenient for delving, considering that each affinity had its weaknesses.

  “It’s uncommon, but I think I have a far better chance than most, considering the sort of classes I am likely to be offered. However, I’m not overly worried about if I will or will not — as long as I can still achieve what I want to achieve.”

  Kaius nodded — a reasonable standpoint, and one that all of them resonated with.

  “I suppose that leaves me,” Kenva said.

  “I suppose it does,” Ianmus said teasingly.

  Kenva rolled her eyes,“Regardless, at this point I can comfortably say that I am looking forward to journeying with the three of you wherever it may take us in the future.”

  Kaius smiled, he'd made something of an assumption that she would, but it was still nice to hear her say it so concretely. She wasn’t just a valuable member of their team, he enjoyed her company

  “Initially, I picked my class for its self-sufficiency. I was somewhat determined to explore the world by myself. I likely would have if some asshole hadn’t ended the world.”

  She shot Kaius a glare, though she smiled while she did it.

  “While I think as a ranger there will always still be elements of that, I’d like to take what I have and make it a bit more focused — a large focus on strength and dexterity so I can move swiftly, and ideally bend myself a little more towards being an archer rather than a scout. Of course, the ability to move silently and see far is important — but rather than being a hunter who stalks prey for days to set up a single lethal shot, I’d prefer to have a bit more staying power. Something with some snap, so that I can assist from the back and handle my own a bit more up close.”

  She frowned, rubbing her back again.

  “As our most recent fight has proven, I won’t always have that luxury. And if something gets through you and Porkchop, I’ll be the only thing stopping them from getting to Ianmus.”

  It was, perhaps, not all too different from what she did now — but Kaius supposed that was the point. She wanted a class that fit who she was and what she did, not who she had once been and once wanted.

  The very air seemed to fizz between them as their conversation petered out. A looming weight of potential that seemed to build until it was ready to burst.

  “We should probably take turns,” Kaius said, shifting in his seat. “While I’ve never exactly seen a depthsborn enter a Guardian arena after we’ve slain one, it would be silly for all of us to be defenseless.”

  “Volunteering to go first, then?” Porkchop asked, nudging him.

  Kaius grinned. “Only if you insist.”

  “Get on with it, then. No point burning daylight.” Kenva replied with a roll of her eyes.

  He laughed and pulled up his waiting prompt, feeling the burbling anticipation grow stronger within him.

  **Ding! Classes Available! Undergo Class Selection?**

  Everything went black.

  …

  Kaius blinked and found himself in a common room — a familiar one. The Dusty Stables.

  There was the roaring fire, with the same comfy collection of cushioned chairs and wooden tables; even the stuffed trophies on the wall were the same.

  He was sitting at a table tucked away in a corner. Across from him sat a familiar face, with two flagons between them. Himself — but middle-aged and covered in scars. There were new ones that he didn’t remember from the first time they’d met.

  “Well then,” his guide said, “quite the eventful year you’ve had, haven’t you?”