Callum stayed up late into the night and eagerly counted down the hours for his quest to complete. He was simply too excited to sleep, though he tried to several times. In the end, he passed the time doing minor things around his caves.
He had already completed a dungeon run for the day, and all that was left was for the new day to begin. Immediately after midnight, the long awaited notification finally popped up.
He had never opened a notification as fast as he did right then. A purple notification window promptly appeared in his vision.
'Hidden World Quest Completed
XP earned : 46,143 | Bonus XP awarded: 461,430 | Total XP: 507,573
Skills Grown: Spear Mastery, Axe Mastery, Trapping, Construction, Battle Flow, Dodging . . .
New Prestige Class Unlocked: Druimborn Warrior
New Classes Unlocked: Ranger, Druid, Barbarian, Berserker, Woodland Hunter, and Trapper
Please make your level up selection (Time Remaining: 14:59 minutes)
Animal Bond Available (Confirm: Y/N; 14:59 minutes for selection)
Prerequisites Met: (5/7)
- You have battled alongside an animal [Dire Wolf] multiple times (10x)
- Hidden (not met)
- It has saved your life (2x)
- You saved its life (1x)
- Hidden (not met)
- You have shared food (9x)
- You have hunted together (7x)
Callum collapsed to the ground when he read how much XP he had gained during the quest. Over half a million XP! In his entire life he only had gained 346,420 XP, and he had gained that and much more in one month.
And he did it against low level goblins as well. Callum quickly realized why so many higher leveled individuals constantly sought out these kinds of quests. He could only imagine what higher leveled monsters or clearing a dungeon could award someone.
He felt punch drunk as he feverishly examined the XP time and time again. He struggled to wrap his mind around it.
He rapidly scanned the multiple skills he had used during the past month. The growth of the various skills weren't as dramatic as his experience bonus, but they were still significant. He glanced at the pot by the fire, and could tell immediately how to improve it.
He didn't know what a Druimborn Warrior was, but that wasn't too unusual given his previous occupation. He dismissed the other classes almost immediately, prestige classes were too good to pass up. Callum had low intelligence, but he still wasn't stupid enough to look at the other classes.
His shock continued as he read the last part of the notification; he was beginning an animal bond with a Dire Wolf! He immediately confirmed it without an iota of hesitation. He had already seen what the wolf could do, and animal bonds were special.
Only certain classes were able to grant an animal bond; classes like Beast Master, Druid, or Tamer. And now he, Callum, a lowly farmer, could bond with a Dire Wolf of all animals. To add to his consternation, he was offered the bond outside of a class.
A portion of his consciousness reached out and touched an unfamiliar mind. It sleepily responded to the nascent connection, and shortly afterwards Callum was aware of the Dire Wolf's general location and condition.
Callum could tell that it had just been roused from its slumber and was now following the connection back to Callum. He staggered over to his door and left it open, confident that he would soon have a new resident in his cave.
While he waited for his new companion to join him, he sat back down and studied his level up options. Callum quickly saw that he could dual class as a Farmer and Druimborn Warrior, and keep his current abilities.
His other option was to reclass completely and lose his current level and Farmer class; he would only be refunded 20% of his current XP. But that XP plus his quest reward would be applied towards leveling up as a Druimborn Warrior.
If he dual classed, he could reach level 25. A growth of six levels was impressive when the 25th level needed over 85,000 XP by itself. He could choose a new class ability every six levels, so he would be able to choose a Druimborn Warrior Ability right away.
If he reset though, he could only reach level 23. However, he effectively got three extra attributes per level in Druimborn Warrior, because the Farmer class handicapped his Intelligence, Willpower, and Charisma attributes.
Because he was currently at level 19, he could gain almost another 60 free attribute points if he reset. Additionally, he could choose three Druimborn Warrior abilities; abilities he could use while trying to survive out in the wilderness.
'Druimborn Warrior (Basic Prestige Class)
Born and raised among the Swynhaven Mountains, the Druimborn Warriors are fierce defenders against the corruption of the Marsh Witches to their south. They are skilled in both physical and metaphysical combat.
+1 to Strength, Constitution, Willpower every level; +1 free increase of choice every level.
+25% Cold Resistance | +20% Mental Resistance | + 5% Movement in Natural Terrain
+10% Pain Tolerance | +10% Resistance to Curses | +1 Good alignment
+5% Damage Bonus in Forest or Mountains; +10% when in both
May Choose One Favored Enemy Per Week (+10% damage bonus)
+10 Skill Bonus in Axe Mastery, Spear Mastery, and Tracking'
He salivated over all those bonuses, they were very strong. And he was sure that the abilities the class offered would be amazing; picking three of them right away would be a significant increase to his overall strength.
Logic told him to take the reset he was offered.
He hesitated though, because he knew that it would be something he couldn't go back on. Choosing to reset basically amounted to him accepting that the Murray Farm was no more.
It was already true, but he had a hard time accepting that and coming to terms with it. He still had work to do though, his vow to the very gods themselves ensured his path forward would be stepping over the bodies of his enemies.
His mouth twisted into a vicious snarl as he finally closed the book on his future as a farmer. This class would give him the ability to overcome his present circumstances and strike back at his enemies.
'Levels reset; Druimborn Warrior chosen
You have (69) free Attribute points'
Callum quickly pulled up his abilities to see what he had available to choose from. There was no urgency in selecting anything else; the two time sensitive ones had been dealt with. He pored over the options he had available with careful consideration.
"Don't be stupid Callum, apply those attributes first. Get some use out of your new Intelligence!"
Callum suddenly said to himself as he smacked his forehead. He started examining his Attributes and applied all of the points except for 15 of the free points. He kept in reserve to augment any abilities he might choose.
He smiled as he turned around, his mental connection to the wolf clued him in long before he heard its approach. The wolf ran into the cave and pounced on Callum; he was then subjected to very messy Dire Wolf kisses.
The two new companions rolled around on the ground for several minutes. Callum did his best to avoid the worst of the wolf's affections, but the wolf was large and Callum wasn't entirely successful.
Eventually, the two settled into a quiet peace and Callum was finally able to peruse the abilities that he could choose once again. Many abilities were shrouded in darkness, requiring either a higher level or a prerequisite Ability to be unlocked first.
He had never even heard of this class before, so he couldn't foresee what abilities might lay hidden behind other abilities. In the end, he chose three abilities that he thought would best strengthen the areas he was lacking in.
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Druimborn are tenacious in defense and when attacking. Their opponents would soon realize that Druimborn don't know how to give up.
- (+3% regeneration to Health, Stamina, and Mana)
- (Druimborn Heart stacks with normal regeneration)
- (Druimborn Heart isn't affected by combat state)
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Druimborn are often at the heart of any fight. Used to fighting the forces of Darkness, Druimborn often need a strong protection that is equally effective against physical and spiritual attacks.
Range: Self | Duration: 5 minutes | Cost: 300 Mana; double armor strength for 800 Mana | Cooldown: 30 minutes
- (Spirit Armor adds +10 to Druimborn's armor per Spirit Armor level)
- (Spirit Armor doesn't interfere with or negate any worn armor)
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Druimborn are Blessed by Nature and the forces of Good. These forces stand ready to answer the Druimborn's call for aid.
Range: 30ft (9m) | Duration: 10 minutes | Cost: 500 Mana | Cooldown: 24 hours
- (Druimborn cannot pick which spirit answer their call; a random spirit will be summoned)
- (The spirit will be an ally to the Druimborn and their allies)
- (The spirit will be within five levels of the Druimborn)
Callum was happy with his current choices, the <
The <
The wait was painful, but he finally had the combat abilities and passive buffs he had sorely needed over the last month. It was time for him to kick some ass!