Mash’s mana touched the necklace, and it didn’t do anything weird. The mana got absorbed into the necklace, but it didn’t change the object physically. Feeling that the attunement had succeeded, he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like he could avoid getting a new tattoo. Trying to manipulate the connection to the new item, he understood the item’s purpose. It was simple, but useful. Improving the body’s natural regeneration, which would hopefully be boosted by his meditation, would greatly affect his current healing. Even if it didn’t, any healing during a fight would be amazing. It would further improve his ability to outlast opponents, and he eagerly wore it while speaking to Red.

“It’s a necklace that impro- “

Screaming in pain, he cut off his words. The necklace had reacted as soon as he put it on, its effect countering the pain as it activated. As the necklace seared itself into his skin, he found the situation to be humorous, the necklace was healing him, but was also the source of his pain. The attunement wasn’t what caused the effect this time. As he put it on, the necklace began siphoning an insignificant amount of his energy, and the effect kicked in to counteract the few small injuries he had from the previous fight. He didn’t realize that the necklace would provide a numbing effect but was immediately given an example of its usefulness.

The pain passed soon, and he was gifted with another tattoo. Picking up a nearby knife, he used the blade as a small mirror. The necklace had been wooden with the same colorful streaks that adorned his own creations. However, the tattoo was marked with dark black streaks, adopting none of the color from the necklace. Encircling his neck, rested a series of black streaks in a simple pattern. He was certain this would do nothing for his charisma. With the pain now gone, he glanced up to meet a series of faces. Surrounding him, he noticed Red and Luke attempting to heal him. Waving them off, he spoke quickly.

“I’m fine, I’ve gone through this before. Was hoping to avoid it, but it didn’t work. It seems like my body reacts violently when I first use an attuned item.”

“It didn’t work! That’s really all you’re going to say about that. You were gripping your neck like you couldn’t breathe, and none of our healing could do anything. Next time you’re about to try something, I don’t know, give us a notice!”

Red sounded furious as she was yelling at him. Mash looked apologetic but was surprised to hear her words. He didn’t remember gripping his neck. Looking at each face, he grew more aware of the situation. He doubted that he would have reacted any differently if one of them had done this randomly. Apologizing profusely, he asked about the other items, trying to change the subject.

“The necklace improves regeneration, what about you guys?”

They knew what he was doing but moved on anyways. Regaining some enthusiasm, Jill gave him a short response.

“One isn’t an attuned item, and just seems to cut better. The other though, required attunement and produces the same venom that the snakes had.”

She gave him a small demonstration with a flair of the dagger, the venom outlining the edge of the blade. She would have gone on, but was stopped by Luke, who was eager to talk about the axe.

“The axe is perfect; it can grow and shrink to some extent. I think it will be usable even after I transform.”

Nodding along as they spoke, Mash considered the items. The axe was a good fit for Luke, but he thought it was unnecessary. Thinking on it, Mash thought that dagger was better. Jill could easily cut her targets and impart the venom to multiple enemies quickly. She already had high mobility and would be able to do more with her teleportation skill. This room boosted their team’s capabilities significantly, and that was without considering the amount of money they would get.

They kept all the other items, even the non-magical ones. They had checked the abilities on all the items they could and found that most of the magical weapons were basic elemental ones, either lighting on fire or producing lightning. One of the swords grew heavier by feeding it additional mana. The armor and another one of the swords weren’t identifiable since they didn’t require attunement and didn’t have common effects. Jill was ecstatic, and practically cheered as they put the items into the new storage space.

After they finished with the weapons and armors, they searched through the books. Without being able to understand anything, they chose the most complete or professional looking ones. Unlike the one that Mash had taken, which was more of a notebook than a professional journal. It didn’t take long before Luke’s and Red’s storage spaces were full. They left Mash’s space mostly untouched, so that they could store anything else they found. He was eager to decipher the information, but there was one thing he wanted to do first.

Leaving the room quickly, they looked eagerly for the next fight. They found it soon enough, another group of the flying snakes from earlier. There were far fewer snakes now, and they didn’t bother making a formation, wanting to kill the snakes quickly. The fight would be over soon.

Running Mash lashed out at whatever snakes he could. They were all fighting individually, paving paths through the snakes. Red outshone everyone else, her dress of blood was spinning violently killing everything around her. Dancing through the snakes uncaring of their presence, she was leaving dead bodies all around her. The blood adding to her destructive power, increasing her range as the fight went longer.

Mash felt the rush of the level and almost tripped as he hopped a little. Even if he would wait until they finished the dungeon, he had succeeded in getting to his next class. Speeding up, he cut apart the nearest snake. After a few more minutes, Jill and Luke also picked up the pace. They must have leveled as well. The fight didn’t last much longer, and they cleaned up the remaining monsters. Finishing up as quickly as possible, Luke and Jill sat down to advance their class. Mash sulked a little as he started to meditate, he might as well do something.

______________________________________________________________________________

Luke P.O.V

Shaking as he sat down, Luke couldn’t contain his excitement. He imagined that this feeling would never get old. Focusing his perception on his soul, he felt the process start. He floated in darkness, staring at three distinct pillars of light. The first was a deep blue and felt like a cold flame. As he moved closer to it, he shivered feeling like it was affecting his soul. Honestly, he felt terrified, but reached towards it anyways.

Burning Soul Shaman: One with your soul, you have gone beyond the demands of druids. Use your soul to strengthen your body, mind, and magic.

This class would be risky. Power would come from almost any soul related class, but soul burning classes were unnecessarily dangerous. A person’s soul was finite and using this class would be far to dangerous. That was unless he was willing to start stealing the souls of others. Doing that would name him as a necromancer though, and he wouldn’t do that. Getting the scorpion soul when he first manifested his class was already suspicious enough.

He moved to the next pillar, which shone with a pale-yellow sheen. It felt strange, like a second sun it warmed him. Rather it pushed back the effect of the previous pillar, and that made it the favorite of the options. His soul felt strengthened, empowered by the radiant light. Reaching to it eagerly, he relished in the information.

Soul Strengthened War Cleric: Splitting from the dark paths, you use your magic to empower and change yourself. Dominating battlefields with your radiant soul.

This was perfect. The class sounded like it would diverge him from the necromancy path. Thinking on it, it sounded like it would make his healing abilities and buffs significantly better as well. Strengthening his role was really tempting, and the radiant aspect would hopefully give him some new attacks. Also, he thought that becoming radiant sounded cool. Finally, it would let him show off his class without fear. Still, he would check the last pillar.

This pillar was pitch black, and he didn’t even want to look at it. Pushing through his apprehension, he grabbed at the final pillar. It felt like death incarnate and he prepared for the information.

Soul Shaping Necromancer: A master of the soul, shape and alter the souls around you. Turn your dead foes into powerful allies, conquering the very essence of others.

Expecting something like that, he didn’t overreact. Instead, he ignored the class and went back to the previous one. This class would never be picked, no matter how many times it was offered to him. The cleric fit him better, and without spending another second by the class, chose the yellow pillar. Power filled his body as he awoke.

______________________________________________________________________________

Jill P.O.V

The fight had grown boring, the snakes stopped feeling dangerous with Red around. Her new class had made her a lot stronger. Once Jill felt the level up, she tried to end the fight as fast as possible. It didn’t take long but felt like an eternity. Not wanting to waste another minute, she sat down to advance.

Focusing inwards, she felt herself travel into her being. Within the darkness of her mind, she stared at three very different pillars. She reached, not for the closest one but the purple one in the middle. It was her favorite color, and she was most eager to see what the class would be.

Interplanar Assassin: Without warning and without trace you kill in a single strike. Nothing can hide from you no matter where they run.

The class was interesting, and the implication of more powerful attacks was great. She lacked in fire power, relying mostly on her enhanced body to kill monsters. While she managed, she was still the weakest of the group. It bothered her, and she was hoping for a class that boosted her damage output. This class sounded like it would work.

The interplanar part was alluding to her teleportation skills if she had to guess. Improving her own teleportation would be a huge benefit and would make her better at handling ranged opponents. She doubted the other classes would be better but checked the next class.

She reached for the next pillar, as it shown before her. It was pure white, and she was curious to see what the class would be. It gave her strange impression, but she couldn’t identify it. She weirdly smelled apples too and grew more confused. What in the world was this class?

Enhanced Psuedo-Pixie: You fight unlike man, instead in a mock imitation of the fey. Even in imitation, you are strengthened by your connection to a more powerful species.

Well, she got her answer, even if it was unexpected. She read of the fey before, but that was from children’s books. They weren’t supposed to exist, but then again classes could be based on legends. Based on those books, she expected this class would be more focused on magic. Probably spatial magic and was tempting as it sounded capable.

If she could teleport around while casting hard hitting spells, she would certainly be able to compete with the others. Also, it would be another option for ranged opponents. The “enhanced” phrase would mean that her buffs would improve too. It was an all-around good class, and she grew conflicted with her decision. Hoping that the last class would be wildly better than these two, she reached for the last pillar.

This pillar was a bright green, and she could feel wind coming off it. Also, there was a growing feeling of freedom within her as she moved closer to it. That made her grow more hopeful, and she was ready for the information.

Wind Running Monk: You have seen the path of the monk and are inspired by its abilities. Master the wind to control the turbulence of both yourself and the fight.

That was a pass for her. She may have wanted something like Mash’s class before, but after seeing Red’s advancement was more interested in a class like hers. Also, the main advantage of her class was her teleportation, and this class seemed to ignore it completely. Sure, the bonus to fighting up close would be useful, and it could offer her the ability to fly, but neither was valuable enough for her to make her pick the class. Even though she could eliminate this class from her list, there were still two others for her to decide between.