Hensch’s Inn. It was exactly as he remembered it.

  The Dusty Stables had always been an inviting place — carved wood furnishings with a roaring fire. The common room was the exact right mix: open enough to create a lively atmosphere, but private, and with enough nooks that it was easy to feel like you had your own space.

  The System, in all its infinite power, had even managed to replicate the yeasty smell of brewing beer and rising bread, sitting underneath the scent of roasting meat. They mingled with the roaring crackle of the fire and the clatter of activity from the kitchen that was out of view.

  After so long apart from it, Kaius was surprised at how instantly he felt at ease. It felt like stepping into a home — one he’d never had, like he was within his own living room.

  He relaxed, the knot of tension leaving his spine — he hadn’t even realized it was there, but it must have been since his capture months ago.

  Across from him, his guide — really, the System itself, wearing his own aged face as a disguise — gave him a wide smile, lopsided and teasing.

  “I told you last time, Kaius, you need to be relaxed for a good Class selection. There’s no point feeling tense when you don’t need to. Sure, out there you’re in the Depths, with your friends watching over your body; but we have all the time in the world in here. You’ve experienced it for yourself now — compression. I can ramp it up and down as needed. There’s no rush.”

  Kaius raised an eyebrow at his guide. On some level, he knew it was as close as he would ever come to directly interfacing with the System — the highest power he knew of. At the same time, it felt like talking to an old friend.

  “That’s a little on the nose don’t you think? No mystery for how things work? Also, if you’re compressing time, why not make it almost instantaneous?”

  His guide laughed. Leaning back in his overstuffed chair, he took a long drink of his tankard.

  “I don’t know about that,” his guide replied, setting his drink back down. “It’s hardly a secret worth keeping — one you’ve already been exposed to. I’m a little more deft at it than Xenanra was, so there’s much less of that dream-like fugue. I’m sure you would have put it together either way.”

  Kaius snorted. “I suppose that’s true.” It had popped into his mind when it appeared — his last class selection had felt like it had taken a full day, but according to Porkchop, he’d only been out for half an hour at most.

  “Still, why not make it only take moments? I’m sure you could.”

  His guide drummed his fingers on the side of his tankard, before kicking his feet up on the table.

  “Same reason I stop people from sharing details of selections with people who haven’t reached the same point — it helps people make better decisions. I used to have a bit of a problem with people classing up mid-battle. Invariably, if things were dire, people would tend to pick things that helped them immediately — even if they didn’t need to, and it hurt their long-term odds.”

  Kaius nodded slowly — he supposed that made sense. Still, it left people vulnerable — it had to have led to deaths.

  “Trust me, it leads to less in the grand scheme of things. People can be remarkably stupid when they think they’ve got cards hidden up their sleeve.” his guide answered his unspoked question grimly.

  They fell quiet for a moment, and Kaius took a drink. He supposed they were — even he was guilty of that on occasion.

  He was eager to jump into things, but remembered his guide’s wisdom — that he had all the time he needed; that it was best to approach these things while relaxed. Taking another long drink, he focused on tasting the earthy notes of a wheat beer.

  He sighed in satisfaction. It had been too long since he’d had a proper drink. The one Xenanra had offered him was nice, but it was hard to beat a good draught.

  “So,” he started, “what have I got to look forward to? I assume it’s different from last time — there’s some sort of… metamorphosis? I’d always assumed it was the case, based on the strength I felt from everyone else I met in the second tier — even before Xenanra confirmed it.”

  “Oh yes, changes aplenty. It’ll mostly be the same as picking your first class — some of your general skills evolve, and you get to select the evolution of your first class skill. There will be new things, however. You remember the experience of your class being built within you?”

  How could he forget? That iridescent power he now recognized as some refined cousin to essence, seeping deep into his soul, building a decagrammic net around his soul and infusing it with power.

  “Well,” his guide continued, “this time, it is a bit more interesting. Xenanra told you that the Path you have stepped onto is old — and that is true. What was not her place to say was that I built the classes and the tiers to mirror it. It’s an accessible alternative available to all — Yet part of that is something deeper and more qualitative than can be reflected with my constructs alone.”

  Kaius tuned in, focused. Deep secrets — he wondered how he’d never heard them before. Even if it was rare on Vaastivar, plenty of people had reached the second tier. For it not to be common knowledge, something must be preventing its spread.

  “You’re right, of course,” his guide said with a nod. “I am preventing it. Much like I prevent information on class selection from reaching the ears of those who’ve yet to pass it. You’ll be receiving an explanation a bit more full than those of your predecessors, simply due to the second stage having progressed.”

  His guide kicked his legs off the table, shifting forward to replace them with his elbow.

  “In essence, with each tier you rise, the transformative power involved in remodelling your class construct is suffused through your body, mind, and soul. A rebirth, in a sense. My best attempt at recreating the progressive apotheosis of ascendancy — and smoothing it out for those who walk the Path. Of course, it is a flawed thing — there is only so much that can be done with external aids. But… for those such as yourself, who walk the path in tandem, there is an opportunity to potentiate the transformation.”

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  “Xenanra mentioned that,” Kaius replied. “She said that having all of our aspects ignited would strengthen it — and both embodiment and cycling let you push it further.”

  “Just so,” his guide confirmed. “Every ignited aspect increases the ‘surface area’ I can suffuse. Every degree of embodiment enables us to leverage more of your will and bring it into alignment with the transformation. Conscious control — as with cycling — allows polish, perfectionism.”

  It sounded fascinating. He still remembered the feeling of that electric energy — the iridescence that had suffused him with the system had first built his class. Seizing some of that for himself? Well, he wanted as much as he could get.

  “How many manage to fully gain the benefits?”

  “Very few manage to squeeze every ounce of transformation to the utmost, even if you only consider those who can cycle. It is still hard to say if you will be amongst their number, but at the very least… Someone who has seized cycling so young and so quickly? They have a strong chance to be in the upper echelons.”

  “This rebirth,” Kaius asked, “are there risks? Is it arduous?”

  “Yes and no. I will be guiding you, so there’ll be little chance of injuring yourself or damaging your class. However, if you take the step to consciously aid the process, and your focus slips, your will stumbles… it is possible you will interrupt the process. As it cannot be restarted, you must be sure of your abilities, and not take on more than you can bare..”

  Kaius breathed out slow, taking another deep drink of his beer. “Quite the challenge you’ve placed at my feet.”

  His guide laughed, smile lines warping, his deep scars tightening against his skin. “I’m more than sure you’re up for it.”

  “What does it do?” Kaius asked. “This rebirth, as you put it.”

  “Well,” his guide said, “as I mentioned, it’s an inferior mirror of the path, so you don’t get quite the level of uniqueness that you would see otherwise. For those who have not taken a step on the Path, either due to inability or to missing out, it grants them a sort of authority — one much more passive and inclined to simple defense. For would-be ascendants like yourself, it bolsters the authority you’ve already seized. And for both, it leads to a qualitative increase of your base. You will be longer-lived, healthier, tougher, swifter of mind, and stouter of will.”

  “So that’s why things in the second tier are so hard to kill,” Kaius said. It made sense — he had wondered what was causing it ever since Ro had mentioned it, and especially after his own experiences in a second delve. Earlier on it had been simple: a blade to the head, something died. Often now, that wasn’t enough. Sure, like the Guild Administrator had said, you can still cut off the head — but that was by no means easy in most circumstances.

  “It is indeed,” his guide said. “It is perhaps the most prominent and noticeable of changes — especially in inherently magical creatures. Growing levels of Constitution increase that, of course, but that is nowhere near the full picture. With every tier, your body will rely less and less on mortal biology. It's a similar reason to why your lifespan increases — and the transformation at each tier is greater than the last as well.”

  Kaius’s eyes widened. That was impressive. With the benefits of his Vitality alone, he could already expect to live a pair of centuries. He’d assumed that the stories of ancient third and fourth tiers living for a millennium had just been down to their stat growth, but… there was something else on top of that.

  He struggled to imagine it. All those years — how would he change? Who would he become?

  His guide grinned at him. “Of course you’ll change, everyone does. I do have to say — for those that pursue growth as doggedly as you do, lifespan is rarely the problem. Most either reach the point where it is either endless or functionally so, or they meet their match long before they begin to feel the sapping touch of age.”

  Kaius winced. While that wasn’t exactly surprising, it somewhat mirrored what he knew of the high-tiered already. It was still unpleasant to think about. The System hadn’t exactly said they died young — just that if they didn’t make it, it was long before lifespan became a problem. For all he knew, that could be centuries.

  His guide tilted his head. “Just so. But not all are so lucky. Always keep your wits about you. Regardless, before we reach that point, there is still the matter of your class.”

  His aged reflection paused for a moment, taking a long drink. “And, well, you have quite the wealth of options. Before we peruse through them, would you like to narrow them down at all?”

  The thought of what awaited him wiped away any lingering sense of unease about what might lie in the distant future. He could feel that burbling sense of anticipation in his gut, and he longed to tear through the veil and see everything he had earned. But he knew there was little point — he may as well focus on what he was really here for.

  “I would like to focus on spellsword classes related to glyph binding, of course.”

  “Of course,” his guide agreed.

  Kaius took a sip of his beer, thinking about further refinements he could make.

  “Though, I would be interested in seeing any classes I’ve earned that are related to conceptual magic — and perhaps some focused on true mastery of the glyph binding art, just so I can see what’s out there.”

  “Easily done,” his guide flicked his finger. “More importantly — what of the rarity?”

  Kaius narrowed his eyes, searching his guide’s face as they gave him a teasing grin.

  “Heroic. Unless… I’ve managed to earn something greater? My blade has shown me it’s possible.”

  His guide laughed. “Now that’s the type of gumption I like to see. Unfortunately not. There is an element to the power of that rarity that your body and soul simply could not contain. You come from mortal stock — unlike those of higher peerage, like a living world or a dragon.” Pausing for a moment, his guide took a sip — his eyes crinkling over the tip of his tankard.

  “That does not mean it will necessarily stay that way.”

  “Oh?” Kaius asked, curious. He’d known it was something of a soft limitation, but he didn’t realise it could change for any given individual.

  “I already told you, did I not? Why do you think the limit on rarity is raised as you cross through the tiers? It’s because of the consecutive rebirths you undergo, making you a more suitable vessel for power.”

  A spark of realization raced through his mind.

  “The tiers are a mirror of the path. You’re saying if I walk the steps more completely, the rarity limits might change sooner than otherwise?”

  His guide nodded, a proud smile on his face. “I knew you were a clever one. Just so. It will not, however, be easy or swift. Even the most capable may only do it once or twice during their rise. But… each one is a remarkable advantage.”

  “Well then — I guess I'll just have to struggle and succeed.”

  He did so love being rewarded for his efforts.

  “Let’s keep it to heroic.” he finished

  His guide nodded, “Then let’s go see what’s out back.”

  Standing from the table, his guide walked through the common room, stopping by the bar and a door — a door he could never remember being in the tavern.

  “Are you coming?”

  Kaius shot to his feet.

  so long to write that I had to do 5ch/week for the first month of b4 lmao -- crunchy system notifications are fun, but generally each one takes me almost as long as a chapter by itself, and this arc has a lot of them that are even bigger than normal.

  Wanna churn through it all at once? Check patreon!

  https://discord.gg/NjsqGKHHaY