I had another two days left until my fight against Titus. My progression with the heal spell went splendidly well, it had reached an advanced tier, but reaching the epic and master tier seemed to require more than just devout training. The village was finally built to the point where no one was sleeping outside of the huts. It seems Hati has been busy too. I was training alone and meditating when something occurred to me. The Worgs called the healers shamans... was this a title? I was still ignorant of this world, and growing up in a nameless village there wasn't much I could find out. Even the tattered books we got at the church were most likely outdated. There was only two people in the main hall at the time. One of them was Lucy, and luckily the other was a shaman trying to teach Lucy the basics of Magic. It turns out she has quite the affinity for magic, as she has been meditating all day and night and is starting to produce a slight aura around her. I took note of this while walking towards them. As soon as the Shaman confirmed that I was walking toward them, she stood up and started to make a move for the entrance.
"Ahh, please stay."
The shaman then stopped in her tracks, turned towards me and bowed.
"You were one of the Worgs which healed me when I first arrived. Luna was it?"
"Yes Lord Mikael."
"I am no lord, just Mikael is fine."
"Sorry Lord Mikael, but the one who has saved us shall be addressed as such."
I didn't really mind it, it just seemed a hassle to get used to.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is it that you need my assistance Lord Mikael? I don't believe I can teach you anything as your healing has surpassed even Lady Mahika's."
"Ahh I just had a question regarding you shamans. Is that just a name bestowed upon you for being able to cast spells?"
"I'm not quite sure I understand the question."
"Were you born as a Shaman or did you choose to go down this path?"
Luna then blinked twice. She seemed baffled.
"Does Lord Mikael not know of the classification rituals? I was told Humans undergo such rituals as well when they reach of age."
Yes, that was right. I was ignorant. It would be best to learn as much as I can before I create any real enemies.
"I was raised in a nameless village where knowledge is quite limited. If you could help me with this insight that would be greatly appreciated."
"O- Oh my Lord, you waste such kind words on me!"
She seemed quite flustered. Maybe she thought her comment was insulting? Anyways, I need to know more and that's the truth of the matter.
"Please, elaborate on this classification ritual."
"Yes, of course."
I learned quite a lot about this world as well as the nature of things while speaking to Luna. Our talk lasted until just before sundown. Here were some of the key points.
The status list that I was seeing quite often growing up and in my sleep is accessible at any time. More specifically, you may access your own status at any time. Another living creature's status is not accessible unless they have loyalty to you, or unless the one's they are loyal to, are loyal to you. If I were to describe it, it was like a tree diagram. Since Hati was loyal to me, I could see that status of all of those that are loyal to him. I then learned the meaning of all of the different statuses on the list, as well as some statuses which I didn't know existed. Here are the ones I have seen thus far.
Name - Creature's Name
Age - Creature's Age
Race - Creature's Race (Not race as in white or black, but more like "The Human Race")
Divinity - Either the god to which the creature is devout to, or is blessed by.
Loyalty - Who the creature follows
Latent Ability - Ability which creature is born with. Some aren't born with any, but awaken one later on in life.
Acquired Ability - Abilities acquired through training/studying.
Followers - Who is loyal to the creature
Some additional ones that usually appear later on in a creature's life are Profession as well as Class.
Profession - A skill which does not evolve and can be forever improved. This is usually something like Cooking or Blacksmithing. Along those lines.
Class - The class which a creature chooses. Once it is chosen it cannot be changed. Hence, why most creatures do not choose a class unless they are undoubtedly certain what they want to be.
There are benefits which come from the classification ritual. They allow one to learn abilities of that school at a faster rate. There are also negatives as well. For example, if you become a shaman, then although you learn healing abilities at a faster rate and can cultivate these abilities faster, learning an offensive ability becomes nearly impossible. This made me quite happy that I had this latent ability, [Quick Learner]. With such an ability, classification didn't seem like a necessity. Although I could be proven wrong later on...
Lucy sat for a while to our side meditating and practicing for a little bit, but at the mention of the classification ritual, she stood beside and listened quietly. I didn't really give it much thought considering she is Raphael's sister, but she was actually quite stunning. She had her blonde hair tied in two braids going around her ears and connecting in the back. She was listening diligently and closely paying attention to the conversation at hand. Now that I think about it, she hasn't spoken even once since we have met each other. But I couldn't blame her. So far she has only seen my darker and merciless side. I quickly put away this thought, as those kind of relationships in this line of work can be detrimental...
The classification ritual isn't so much a ritual. It is quite simply a declaration. What you have to do is simply chant some words and declare which deity you will attempt to follow. Although I say deity, they are more like literal gods of this world. They were the first to walk upon the lands. The deities were as follows:
-
Leader - The father figure as well as the one which led all of the others. Following the Leader Class allows you to maintain control of your followers easily.
-
Priestess - The main magic caster of the group. Considered the mother of the lands. Following the Priestess class allows you to learn magic of a desired school at a faster rate.
-
Swordsman - Trusted ally of Leader. The absolute best at combat. Following the Swordsman class allows you to acquire combat abilities at a faster rate.
-
Assassin - Worked in the shadows to preserve order. Following the Assassin class allows you to learn reconnaissance and stealth abilities at a faster rate.
-
The Worg's class, Shaman, is a subset of the Priestess class. Their warriors, the Lycan, are a subset of the swordsman class. There was many more classes, but I would have to learn on the go. It was already sundown, and tomorrow was my last day before my duel with Titus. Just as the conversation was wrapping up, a silent, soft, and elegant voice addressed the conversation.
"Is it possible for me to take upon the classification ritual now?"
Luna and I turned to look at the source of the voice, Lucy. Luna was not shocked as she has been training Lucy for the past week, but this was the first time I heard her speak.
"As long as you have reached adulthood, classification is possible. For humans I believe that is 16 years old. I must reiterate this. Once you take a classification, you may not return to a blank slate. It stays with you until death. Are you absolutely sure?"
I stood there and simply watched as Luna spoke to Lucy.
"Yes. I wish to be as useful to Raphael as I can be. He has endured more than a lifetime's worth of pain and so I wish to follow the Priestess."
"Yo-"
Without any time to respond, light which could only be described as holy enveloped Lucy. It was strange. It was like she was radiating this holy light. And just as quickly as it enveloped her, it disappeared. I quickly checked her status to confirm something.
__________
-Status -
Name: Lucy
Age: 19
Race: Human
Class: [Priestess] Subset: None
Racial Passives: None
Divinity: None
Loyalty: Raphael
Latent Abilities: None
Acquired Abilities:
[First-Aid] Mastery: Adept
Followers: None
__________
..
She had successfully become a priestess right in front of us. So all it took was a strong desire to change as well as a verbal invocation huh..
And with that I felt like I had learned quite enough for the night. I was going to keep in mind all that I learned today, and prepare tomorrow as it was the final day before my duel. I quickly had the dinner which Dakota had been bringing me every night, and went to sleep.