Sarah's Story Chapter 009 - Consultation

They sat down with Sarah at the head of the table, and her parents on either side facing each other. Sarah instinctively recognized the pincer formation, and that her parents had her boxed in away from the exits…

Helen giggled, the first happy sound Sarah had heard from her in… how long had it been?

Probably since before James was kidnapped.

Stephen groaned. “Helen…”

“Oh dear,” Sarah’s mother covered her grin with a hand, “I’m just happy to see our daughter taking to her Brawler class like a fish to water.”

Stephen sighed, and Sarah rolled her eyes, pushing the instincts of her class down to the back of her mind as she focused on the conversation to come. She scooped up a bite of scrambled eggs – delicious – and chewed as her mother schooled her expression.

“Sarah,” Helen began, “thank you, thank you so much for keeping your promise and choosing a Brawler class.”

“Mhm.” Sarah nodded, her mouth full of breakfast.

“Now, what specialization did you choose?”

“Was there a specialization for finding people?” her father added on.

Sarah swallowed and shook her head. “No, I looked and there wasn’t one. I chose the general class for Brawler rather than specializing…”

Sarah explained what had happened, and her reasoning for choosing the general class, and her parents nodded knowingly.

“That was wise,” Stephen said. “Quick-learning Brawler is interesting, but you’re already growing rapidly. What level is your [Danger Sense] at already, two?”

“Three.” Sarah replied.

“Oh my!” her mother exclaimed with a smile.

Sarah was hyper aware that her mother had one hand below the table, out of sight.

“Helen!” Stephen scolded her. “Stop teasing Sarah, we need to hurry.”

Hurry? Why? Sarah wondered.

“Sorry.” Helen made an expression of contrition and brought her hand back into view, placing a spoon back onto the table next to her own meal.

“Okay, let’s move along then. Sarah.” Helen turned her full attention to Sarah, the weight almost physically pressing on her. “Tell me about your other class options. There wasn’t a Brawler specialization for finding people, but was there anything close in your second class options?”

Sarah explained about the other classes, mainly Martial Artist and classes that could be found in the village. “And there was also… an Avenger class.”

Both her parents shot to their feet.

“I didn’t pick it!” Sarah cried, startled. “It knew I wanted Brawler and disappeared!”

Her parents remained standing, tense.

“Sarah,” her father said, slowly. “Tell me exactly what happened with the Avenger class, everything you can remember.”

And Sarah did so.

Her parents sat back down with shaky breaths.

“The only other option…” Helen muttered, and Stephen’s gaze snapped to her.

“Helen, no. Absolutely not.” Helen pouted back at him. “But-”

“No.” Stephen raised his voice, not quite a shout but close.

Helen’s gaze fell. “Yes dear.”

Sarah was confused. “Huh? What’s going on?”

Stephen turned to her directly. “Sarah… listen to me until I finish before you do anything hasty, okay? It’s likely, no, almost certain that if you were to take the Avenger class, that it would help you find James.”

The urge in the back of her mind grew almost overwhelming in an instant. With a supreme effort, she gulped, scooped up another bite of eggs, and brought it to her mouth with smooth movements, letting her father continue.

“But,” he continued, “you must absolutely not choose the Avenger class. Even though, from what it sounds like, none of the other classes will help you find James.”

Brawler Class Skill [Danger Sense] has reached level 4.

Sarah could feel her parents watching her as she carefully chewed, swallowed, nodded, and scooped another bite of food into her mouth. She could no longer taste it.

Her father continued with agonizing slowness, even as he spoke at a normal pace. “The Avenger class exists to help the person who takes it get revenge or right wrongs. In your case, it’s likely that it will help you find your brother, who was wrongfully taken from you.”

Helen’s jaw clenched.

“But the Avenger class is about sacrificing to gain the power to right those wrongs. The first sacrifice is your class.”

Sarah chewed. The class?

“The Avenger class is focused on the past, not on the future. Classes are…” Stephen paused, trying to choose the right words. “Classes are a way for you to grow in the future, to reach your full potential. But the Avenger class trades your future potential for power in the present, and for most, this means trading your life for power.”

Helen nodded along with her husband’s explanation.

“I don’t mean that figuratively. Almost every single Avenger dies in the act of getting revenge. They trade their future for vengeance, and take down their targets with them. Usually violently. Now for you…”

Sarah shuddered.

“For you, you never saw the kidnappers, and your goal is to find James, right?”

“And bring him home.” Sarah added.

Her father nodded. “Right, so, already being a Brawler, you shouldn’t have any trouble with the rescuing or any fighting, so the only issue is finding him. Your- ahem, the Avenger class will probably just help you find him, and probably very quickly. But if you do that, if you don’t die in the attempt simply from whatever you have to sacrifice to find James, you’ll have to live basically crippled for the rest of your life.”

Sarah noted her mother’s expression was still, but she was gripping her fork so tightly her knuckles were white.

“Not every Avenger dies, but those who survive their own revenge only have one other usable class, if they’re lucky. Sometimes they choose Avenger first and sacrifice both classes for more power. They live cursed lives, constantly driven by the urges of the Avenger class, unable to grow and look towards the future, always dwelling on the past.”

Stephen narrowed his eyes, searching Sarah’s expression.

Sarah swallowed nervously.

“Sarah, even if the Avenger class is the only way to find James, don’t take it.”

Her mother made a choking noise but otherwise remained silent.

“Don’t take it. Don’t sacrifice your potential, your life, for your brother’s sake, for your mother’s sake, for my sake, for anything. You only get one life. But it’s an entire life. It’s so easy to throw that away and not appreciate what you’re giving up; but I’m telling you, don’t do it.”

Sarah could feel the urge in her mind, to choose her second class.

Stephen stared at his daughter, watching her process what he had said.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, anxious about what she might say.

“I…” Sarah started, and trailed off.

Was she willing to trade her life to find James?

She thought about it. Really thought about it. Visualized it.

Was taking the Avenger class really necessary to find James?

She couldn’t see how it was. Even if she had to physically check every house in her village, and every other village, and every other city, all she had to do was check, right?

She could only see Avenger as a shortcut: a way to know right away which door to check to find him. She didn’t need Avenger to rescue James, no matter who was holding him prisoner. She was a Brawler, and even better, she had her Mom on her side. She couldn’t imagine anyone who could stand up to them.

Sarah wasn’t afraid of hard work.

“I… if…” she stuttered, took a deep breath, and met her father’s gaze. “I don’t think I need it. I think I can find James without it, even if it’s harder.”

Stephen smiled. Helen grit her teeth.

But she remained silent.

“Good.” Stephen said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Choose a second class that lets you grow and seek happiness in your own life. If you want to find your brother, that’s fine. If you decide to do something else with your life, that’s fine too.”

He looked at Helen.

“Helen…” he started. Sarah looked at her mother too.

“Mom.” Helen turned to her daughter stiffly. “I am going to find James. I don’t need the Avenger class to do it.”

The confidence in Sarah’s voice melted the tension. Helen took a shuddering breath and let it out slowly.

She nodded. “Of course.”

“Mom.” Sarah said.

“Yes dear?”

“What should I choose for my second class?”

Helen paused for a moment, recalling the options Sarah had described earlier.

She smiled at her daughter. “Choose any you like dear, but don’t bother with Martial Artist. There’s too much overlap with Brawler, and the way they approach hand to hand combat is antithetical to each other.”

Sarah reflected for a moment and understood her mother’s wisdom. Martial Artists were strong, but rigid. Brawlers took a much more fluid approach. There would be hardly any synergy between them.

“Okay.”

“Thank you dear, for keeping your promise.” Helen’s eyes grew misty. “I’m so glad… that my daughter chose Brawler… Now I can rest easy.”

“You don’t need to worry, Mom. I’m going to be stronger than anybody.” Sarah grinned dashingly.

Her mother chuckled. “You’re my daughter; I’ll always worry about you. But yes. Yes– you will be stronger than anybody.” She smiled back.

The family finished their brunch, and Sarah returned to her room, alone this time. She laid down in bed.

[Brawler] Class chosen. 1/2 Classes chosen. Please select a Class.

She closed her eyes and returned to the dream world.