Wild Era, Ch 5: Class Specialization

As Kelin rested, he set up a small cooking area that was little more than a circle of stones with larger ones at the edges, creating something like a bowl. 

He placed a section of tail from one of the lizards in the middle of the ring, and then he began to evenly heat all of the stones with mana to roast it. 

Monsters were dangerous, but they were a part of the life cycle. 

Most were edible, even delicious if prepared the right way, and they were full of mana and natural energy. Cooking them was the main way that adventurers survived in the wilds and it was a blessing for humanity in lean times. 

Many villages had survived a poor harvest by relying on it.

Minor Elemental Manipulation let humans gather water from the air, harden earth, light fires or heat stones to warm themselves, and a lot more. It was an essential part of their survival skills in a dangerous era.

He’d made many simple fires like this over the years, especially when he was younger. Cooking the lizard tail brought back those memories now, letting him relax as he thought of simpler times.

The smell of the roasting lizard slowly filled the air, making his mouth water. As the outer edges turned golden brown, he ripped bits off the edges and chewed on them.

His stomach was as empty as a drum and monster meat was the best solution, both for that and his malnourished state. It would help to slowly restore his attributes until his body reached its best state. 

Later, he might be able to find some elixirs or alchemical solutions designed to solve the problem, but this would be fine for now. 

As he ate, he reached out to the Path and tried to get its attention again, but he wasn’t surprised when it ignored him. 

He had the feeling it was busy, probably with the Chaos Gates or another part of the war. It happened sometimes.

He understood the Path pretty well, and it was very rare for it to make an error like the one on his status sheet, where it both recognized his former titles and name, but didn’t seem to recognize him.

If it wasn’t the war distracting it, his best guess was that something about reincarnating was causing trouble. Even for the Path, that was probably quite the conundrum.

If that was the case, the best case scenario was that it would get to the attention of one of the Heralds or even the Sovereign of Silver Chaos, but asking a being like that to fix his issues was a bit too much.

He set the problem aside as he went back to cooking the lizard tail. It was a good six feet long and over a foot wide, and it was too bad he didn’t have any spices or a dipping sauce.

He’d have to pick some up in town.

Now that he had Wildfire back, he was more relaxed, so he began to go through the remaining notifications from the battle, as well as his pending class options.

The battle had given him a couple of attribute points as well, 1 Intelligence and 1 Agility, which was good to see. 

He’d stressed his meridians with the Intensify Spell skill, as well as his muscles with that first dodge. 

That brought his Agility to 66 and his Intelligence to 204.

Intelligence went directly into mana calculations, which meant his mana pool was the same at 204.  

As for his mana regeneration, which was based on Wisdom, he determined it was roughly 29% an hour. The Meditation skill added a bit to that, but it wasn’t much. 

He’d unlocked that while he was stuck under the pile of rocks and it had already increased from Basic to Advanced, which was the next tier up, so that was something. 

His eyes were half closed as he continued working on it, forcing the skill to develop. It would take time, like carving channels in stone to create a riverbed, but it would pay off in the future.

He spent about two hours in meditation, which refilled his mana and soul energy, and then he reviewed the notifications.

Seven levels was a bit more than he’d expected from those three lizards. They had been quite a bit higher than him, but it was a little suspicious, even if the early levels were fast.

His thoughts were confirmed a moment later as he checked on Gaius and saw that the elemental was still Level 22.

The elemental had rejected the experience from the fight, sending it all to Kelin.

Equal first. Then split. Gauis’s thoughts came with a sense of stubbornness. Too weak.

He wanted Kelin to reach the same level as him first and then they would split the experience, as normal for a soul bond. 

His language was also becoming more complex as he borrowed knowledge of it from his connection to Kelin.

“Fine,” Kelin said with a chuckle as some fondness touched his heart. “Thank you.”

Welcome. Gaius rumbled in agreement and then went back to resting in his soul chamber. 

He was still actively scanning the area for threats and had found several other monsters roaming the tunnel, but they could deal with those later.

First, Kelin was going to sort out his classes.

It was good that he was still under Level 20, since when he hit that, he would have a chance to upgrade one ability each for his primary class and his subclass.

He didn’t want to waste it.

Eating and some rest had helped to clear his mind. 

Now that he had Wildfire back, he had a touch of ability again, so he forced himself to consider his options in depth as he studied the list that the Path had given him.

The question of his specialization for Elemental Mage and what his subclass should be went hand in hand, since he wanted them to synergize.

Specialization options were based on his affinities, but there were quite a few classes that stemmed from them.

The primary elements that humanity used were Fire, Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Wind, and Lightning. 

There were also some rarer elements for Shadow, Space, and so on.

He was able to choose from any of those and then each affinity had dozens of magic-related classes, if not hundreds.

His own affinities were primarily in Fire, Soul, and Spatial magic. With Gaius, he had gained a high affinity for Earth as well.

He would need to specialize in one of those four, or in a hybrid of them like Wildfire. The decision would shape the future of his Path in this life.

Having a high affinity for an element meant it cost less mana and effort to use them, which was incredibly important at higher levels when spells became complex. It could be the difference between casting a high-tier spell quickly or fumbling it halfway through and getting killed.

Most mages stuck to what they were good at.

As he studied the specializations, a frown crossed his features.

Wildfire Mage was an option, but now that he was looking at it, he could tell that it wouldn’t add much to his skill set. 

It would provide some power and range, but that was it.

Specializations changed your current spells and sometimes added a new ability to your class, but he already had the core spell for Wildfire, which was the culmination of thousands of years of effort in the past. 

He knew how to improve Wildfire. That was what he’d done the first time around.

Abilities were basically engrained spells. They were gifts from the Path, mana forms that became second nature and part of the structure of your magic, but if you had the affinity, you could create a spell manually.

That was true skill. 

If a spell was related to your class, it was easier. You just needed to be able to handle it.

He would take Wildfire Mage if it was the best option, but he turned his attention to the other specializations and considered them more seriously. 

Perhaps there was something that could incorporate both Wildfire and another concept that augmented it?

If there was something that could strengthen his Law or show him new aspects of soul magic that he’d never studied, he might be able to open up a stronger path, even one that transcended Wildfire.

Perhaps it would be the key to the Seventh Evolution.

Wildfire was an extreme offensive ability, but the field of soul magic had more in it, and he’d never explored it as much as he wanted to.

Now that he was thinking of it, there was another issue.

There was the question of how he’d died, as well as his potential enemies.

It was impossible that he’d died in his sleep. 

He didn’t know who or what...but someone or something must have killed him. 

At his level, even getting hit with a mile-wide meteor to the face wouldn’t have done the job without a significant spell behind it.

Joking aside, a meteor would never have been able to reach him. It would have been destroyed by his domain, even if he was asleep. 

A Sixth Evolution Truth gave you the ability to warp reality within your domain. The meteor would have disintegrated before it could touch him.

Whatever had killed him, he hadn’t even seen it. 

That meant either a very specialized assassin or someone at the Seventh Evolution.

And that was a potential problem for his new life.

If he showed up a few hundred years later with the same name and as a Wildfire Mage, it would be obvious that he had survived.

He wasn’t afraid of having enemies, but there was a difference between bravery and stupidity. 

If they had killed him at Level 699, his current Level 16 wasn’t going to last any longer.

“What do you think, Gaius?” he asked quietly. “Charge forward and burn brightly, to live or die?”

Earth endures, the elemental said slowly. It rises into mountains over time. If you stand alone, you fall. If you move when you’re ready, you shake the world. 

The words were accompanied by an image of a single mountain that stood above the plains. It had no support and was slowly eroded by the wind and rain.

The image changed, turning to a younger world, one with shifting tectonic plates riding on waves of magma. The earth trembled as the plates shifted, and when they rose, they shattered entire continents, turning into an expanse of proud mountains that towered over everything.

There were so many of them that they covered the world.

“So that’s a vote for slow and steady,” Kelin said. “Fair enough.”

He should probably hide his ability with Wildfire and his title for it until he knew how he had died. 

A class name that gave it away wouldn't help.

By the same logic, he should probably avoid classes that were named for Wild Mana, the other aspect of Wildfire that he’d used in the past, and the one that had given him his title as the Archmage of Wild Mana. 

He’d been called that due to a side effect of Wildfire and the fog of soul smoke that it gave off as it burned things. 

Soul magic had a strange effect when it interacted with unfocused mana. It liked to merge with it and create new spell forms, which sometimes acted like they had a will of their own.

When he used Wildfire in a battle, the ethereal smoke from it was capable of filling the sky. It often took on a life of its own, creating thousands of will-o-the-wisps that floated across the battlefield. 

They tended to drift toward people and objects with high mana.

Sometimes it formed other things, like elemental spirits or sentient artifacts, although those were rare. 

It was due to the nature of soul magic, which in its raw form was capable of animating things it touched.

The energy that was released had to go somewhere. If it caught onto something before it dissipated, the results were unpredictable. 

It was almost always harmless, since there wasn’t enough intent combined with it to create something powerful, but the random effects made for a chaotic sight. 

Not that there were many left to see it.

A slight smile crossed his lips. 

He might or might not have played up that aspect of soul magic a few times in order to terrify his enemies, making it look like their fallen soldiers had turned into chaotic souls under his command. 

It wasn’t as important to his skillset as Wildfire, but if he was avoiding one name, he should probably avoid both. 

At least on the surface.

Wildfire was subtle enough to use unless someone knew what they were seeing, and he wasn’t going to hamstring himself by avoiding it. 

He didn’t have any class specializations that primarily focused on healing or utility abilities, since they were too far from his current skill set, but he probably wouldn’t have taken them anyway. 

It was important to have offensive spell enhancements, and those tended to be the core ability of a mage class. Among the ones available, there were some options that were more balanced.

He rubbed his chin as he sorted the list, comparing each class to his understanding of soul magic and future paths to see what might work.

Besides Fire and Soul, there were options for Spatial or Earth affinity specializations, but their abilities wouldn’t directly augment Wildfire. 

He’d studied a lot of Spatial magic in the past, as most people did after the Third Evolution, since it was incredibly useful.

It was critical for teleportation, and it also applied to some defensive shields that displaced your presence or blurred your outline. 

It allowed you to speed up your steps by bending space around you, and worked with dozens of different purposes for storage and warding. 

High-level Spatial Mages could shatter space and create rifts that could cut through almost anything.

It was one of the most important affinities in the galaxy, especially against the Chaos Gates, which could appear almost anywhere.

He’d tried to merge Spatial magic with soul energy once, but they were too different and had refused to combine, no matter what technique he used.

Animating the elements with soul magic was one thing, since they were close to life and had a vitality of their own, but doing it with dimensional energy was out.

At least for him. 

Even if he got it to work, that path would probably create a Void Wraith, a type of soul form that existed on a dimensional plane. He’d seen a few from the Chaos Gates and they were invariably destructive. 

He had no intention of making more.

There were Spatial spells that he could use without a Spatial class, and that would have to be enough, just like in the past. With his high affinity, it wouldn’t be a problem.

He already had Earth Affinity from Gaius, so he didn’t need to worry about that too much either. 

It would be useful to increase his durability and to buffer the backlash from Wildfire while he was encouraging it to grow. Earth naturally resisted heat, so it would help him to endure the more dangerous aspects.

If it had enhancements for Fire and Soul magic, that would be the best, since it would apply to Wildfire too, and there would be a better chance of merging it with the Law of Wildfire when the time came.

There were a few different options, mostly a direct fusion of the two energies. The combination was enough to make all of the classes Legendary in rarity, which was one of the highest tiers possible. 

He ignored the long descriptions and looked at the basic concept for each class.

Soulfire Mage (Legendary).

An offensive-based mage class that channels destructive force. Abilities focus primarily on destructive spells, but it has some defensive magics. 

The quintessential battle mage.

Soulfire Warden (Legendary).

A balanced magical class that focuses on using soul magic to attack and defend, but its strongest abilities are inclined to defense.

The signature ability of the class, Soulfire Sigil, has an intrinsic healing effect in the area where it is present.

Soulfire Summoner (Legendary).

A class based on forming summoning pacts with elemental and other beings, which can then be called upon in battle. This class has strong abilities to influence the souls of others. 

Soulfire as a name wasn’t that different from Wildfire, but there were only so many options available. 

The Path liked to call things what they were.

There were a few other classes in the galaxy that used soul magic, mostly shamans or priests. While they were rare, a different name should be enough to avoid direct attention.

He dismissed the Soulfire Summoner class, since he was fine with Gaius. 

The weakness of summoning classes was that they were usually not much for individual power. It all came from their bonds. 

More than that, while they were good in battle, they were also crazy. The summons they were connected to influenced them too much.

He didn’t want to go down that path.

That left the choice between Soulfire Mage and Soulfire Warden.

Soulfire Mage was the closest to his old path. He was tempted by it, but he had offensive spells in spades, so he turned to the final one.

Soulfire Warden.

He liked that it had a healing aspect, even if it was minor. He’d always had to use scrolls or healing potions before.

It was the one that was most likely to open up a new path. 

He checked over the list one more time and then he selected it.

The presence of the Path filled the small cavern, building on itself as Kelin’s heart pounded, and its voice echoed in his mind like thunder.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire!

You have chosen a Class Specialization.

A wave of fiery gold energy coalesced in the air around him, appearing from the raw elements of existence. It spiraled, swiftly building in intensity until it was a massive whirlpool that stretched out beyond the cavern.

Its presence was ethereal, something that only he could fully see, but it permeated the stone walls and created a vast ocean of soulfire.

The flames held truths of existence, the core principles of higher laws. He could see how soul energy was merging into the flame, mixing with it to create something new.

It resonated with his spirit and his affinities leapt upward to meet it.

The flames poured into him, sweeping through his meridians and mana pool, remodeling them to match. It was a rush of power that made his veins and muscles crackle, and it left changes in its wake.

The Path spoke again.

The name of your Class has been changed from Elemental Mage to Soulfire Warden.

You have gained a 25% Specialization Focus to the use of Fire and Soul energy. 

This improvement applies to the strength, mana efficiency, range, and duration of your spells.

Some of your Class Abilities have been updated.

Elemental Bolt is now Soulfire Bolt.

[Soulfire is a powerful fusion of Fire and Soul energy. Further exploration of this path may lead to deeper insights into the nature of the energies involved.]

Elemental Ward has gained the additional ability to create a Soul Ward.

[Soul Ward excels in defending against ethereal and spiritual entities, such as wraiths or ghosts. It is also capable of protecting the wielder against soul energy attacks, as well as those that are incorporeal or mental.]

Both Abilities retain the flexibility of the original versions, allowing you to use other elements if needed, but only your Soul and Fire spells benefit from the Specialization focus.

You have gained a Signature Class Ability: Soulfire Sigil.

[When the Soulfire Sigil is present, it bolsters the healing and regenerative aspects for you and your allies. This sigil can be strengthened if it is permanent or semi-permanent, such as being engraved into the local area or onto an artifact.]

There was a pause as the changes settled in and then the Path spoke again.

You have Subclass options available. Do you wish to select one now?

It is recommended that you do so before Level 20.

Kelin let out a breath of air that was filled with wisps of flame, but he didn’t rush to answer the Path.

Instead, he took stock of the changes. 

His meridians and mana pool had been altered by the specialization, partly aligning his body to Fire and Soul energies and making it easier for him to use them.

The mana lattice he’d woven through his body was also colored a fiery gold and stronger than before. He just needed to keep infusing aligned mana and it would continue to improve.

So would his class bonus.

It was a basic change, but he was satisfied with it, so he turned his attention to his subclass.

There were a lot of options that would boost his effectiveness with Soul or Fire energy, but now that he had Soulfire Sigil, he needed one that would allow him to engrave it.

The choice of a subclass was critical.

The first time you accepted a subclass, it was almost like getting a second class, with three or four abilities, but in the future it only gave you additional abilities once for every Evolution, at Levels 100, and 200, and so on.

You had to be careful what you chose. 

Even if you changed your subclass later, you would only get a single ability for the new one. You couldn’t redo the originals, at least not without shattering your class and resetting your entire path. 

That process wasn’t simple and left scars.

That was why Kelin was very glad his younger self hadn’t picked a Mining subclass.

Eventually he selected one that fit.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire.

You have gained the Subclass: Arcane Artisan.

You have gained the Class Abilities: Artisan's Sight, Runic Engraving, Arcane Refinement, and Affinity Focus. 

Artisan's Sight:

[An Artisan needs to see the mana of the world, as well as to determine the quality of the objects he encounters. This ability enhances your perception, boosting your awareness of magical artifacts and the flows of mana. At the Basic tier, your perception is enhanced by 10%.]

Runic Engraving:

[Runic Engraving allows you to shape your mana into a tool and engrave runes on objects. The complexity of the runes is based on your level and understanding. This ability grants bonuses to the runes you engrave, starting at 10% at the Basic tier.]

Arcane Refinement:

[Arcane Refinement allows you to improve what you work on. With your Sight as the foundation, this ability allows you to use your mana to refine and repair magical items. At the Basic tier, it is limited to items smaller than your hand and no higher than Level 30.]

Affinity Focus: 

[Affinity Focus allows you to harness sources of natural mana and to imbue them into the items you craft, as well as to enhance your creations with specific affinities or bonuses, as long as you have the matching affinity. At the Basic tier, you are able to add a 5% bonus to items, such as 5% Improved Mana Regeneration or Fire Efficiency.]

The power of the Path swept through Kelin’s body again, this time focusing on his eyes and hands, as well as his mana pool. 

Natural laws enhanced his vision and the dexterity of his mana manipulation, and then linked his natural affinities more deeply into his mana pool, so that they would be easier to call on.

He blinked as the flows of mana across the cavern leapt into his vision, each of them glowing a bright red. There were different types, everything from faint impressions of heat radiating from certain locations to condensed lines of force cutting across the area. 

After a moment, his vision adjusted, and the intensity of their presence became part of the background, something that he was always aware of but that didn’t demand attention.

It was like having part of his old senses back.

As an archmage, he’d been able to see the currents of power in everything, especially with mana. 

He’d done a significant amount of crafting in the past, primarily on his personal artifacts, but this was the first time he’d had a basic crafting class.

He’d chosen it to augment Soulfire Sigil, but that wasn’t the only reason. 

Some people thought crafting classes would limit your combat ability, but he knew better.

The bonuses you could get from a crafting class tended to be global, and sometimes even better than those you could get from a combat class.

With Artisan's Sight, the enhancement to his perception was a global 10%. It would help him to see an enemy building strength for a strike, a quick swing of a sword, or complex forms of mana manipulation, as much as the energy of a rune.

The other three abilities would help with carving Soulfire Sigil, but they would also give him a way to make small enchanted objects for sale, as well as to create and repair his own gear.

It was definitely worth taking as a subclass.

He flexed his hands as he appreciated the increased dexterity of his mana flow. It would make it easier to shape spells as much as carving runes. 

It was a good start to a new life.

Once he got back to town, it would also give him more options. 

He nodded in thanks to the Path, which had already disappeared.

It was ironic that it kept calling him by his title as the Lord of Wildfire and yet didn’t seem to recognize his reincarnation, but that was apparently just how it was.

At any rate, now that his classes were settled, it was time to clean up a few more monsters in this area and get back to town.

He needed a few more levels and then to check on those kids.

As he thought of them, he glanced at the lizard tail that was still roasting on the campfire. 

He’d take some food back for them while he was at it.