I sat in Mr Black’s office, taking in the words he’d spoken. Magical creatures were common in this world, but he believed Gold to be a monster.

“We’ve considered it before.” I admitted.

Gold bobbed his head in agreement with my words and turned his head to face Mr Black. The initial shock of our teacher’s words wore off, and I took a closer look at the animal (or monster) tamer class.

Mr Black stroked his chin and gazed at me pensively and I raised my hand to prevent any questions.

“Gold is very good at making shields, and only shields. This in itself isn’t rare, but he’s extremely good at what he does. Normal animals don’t create complex regents.” I spoke. “But if the only thing separating an ordinary magical animal from a monster is a unique symbol, then of course I considered that Gold might have one.”

Magic creatures came into categories. There were the ones that could use magic skills, and the ones that had symbols within them.

Not all symbol carrying creatures were monsters.

There were plants, and animals, with symbols that roamed the world freely and peacefully. These creatures had ordinary symbols that could be found in everyday regents or items.

For example, I’d always speculated that Gold could have a variation of the common ‘shield’ symbol within him.

Monsters were different. They had unique symbols. Concepts transcribed into reality that had never before existed.

These symbols were powerful. Extremely so. Their uniqueness was the reason why my dad’s job existed. His entire pay revolved around finding their loose connections to other symbols and figuring out what the monster’s symbols could do.

There were other parts to the process, but this was the integral and unchanging principle behind monsters.

“But Gold has no physical changes.” I eyed the puffer. “Unless you count getting fatte- ow!”

That earned me a peck on the arm.

My teacher chuckled and unfurled his arms. I wasn’t against his idea, but I still wasn’t convinced.

“This is the part that stumped me, yet also why I believe nobody has come to the same conclusion as I.” Mr Black admitted.

Gold stared at him, curiosity in the puffer’s gaze. He wanted to hear more.

“Monsters obtain their deformities and mutations because their natural bodies and minds cannot take in the reality of a new and unique concept being engraved into their very being. Their physical forms are simply not designed to contain them and they are forced to change so that they can.” Mr Black faced me. “However, Gold has grown alongside you since you were young. I believe you mentioned your Mark has something to do with his growth in intelligence?”

I nodded. Aside from the battle with Oubliez, my Mark hadn’t activated recently, but when I’d been training, I had let Gold take a portion of the intelligence balls that appeared.

So far, he had only grown in his belly size, or maybe I hadn’t noticed how intelligent he was.

The human average was 8-10 intelligence for an adult without intelligence enhancing skills or classes. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that Gold had reached that number a while ago given how many intelligence stat increases he’d received.

“We could be witnessing the birth of a new skill. Or the discovery of a previously lost skill. One that is only accessible to Marked ones.” Mr Black’s eyes gleamed. “Given time your actions will unlock something. I am sure of it.”

How many Marked ones had constantly fed hard-earned intelligence increases to a single animal? I couldn’t imagine it was that many.

“Don’t Marked ones try their best to avoid their deaths?” I pursed my lips. “Wouldn’t they have found this already?”

“New skills take time to create without knowledge of their existence. Often several lifetimes and with multiple people working in tandem.” Mr Black stated simply. “And doing an action once or twice without intention and dedication will never lead to a new skill forming.”

Mr Black tapped the papers in front of me.

“Hundreds of cases are required to determine the validity and existence of a single skill. At minimum.” Mr Black exhaled. “For this case, I only have access to the records of the church of the Crijik, so we can only use your predecessors as precedent. Before you there have been forty-five Marked ones of the Crijik.”

Forty-five? I did some quick math in my head.

The written histories only went back a thousand years because of the descent of the first divine, Artus, leading to the destruction of all records. According to my history class, the first Marked one of Crijik appeared eight hundred years ago.

I shuddered. On average my fellow Marked ones died well before the age of twenty-five.

It also wasn’t a lot of people. Certainly not enough to come up with conclusive lists of skills created. Especially if they chose not to share their skill information with others.

“I have added the class, and in my professional opinion I would like to keep it as a listed option for you to consider.” Mr Black threw the decision onto me. “It is extremely rare, and often given to those rare few that fight monsters for a living before obtaining their classes.”

I looked at Gold.

“This class was never an option for me.” I shook my head. “Not with the skills it provides.”

Animal or Monster Subjugation and Animal or Monster Taming.

“Gold is Gold before anything else.” I took out a pen.

I crossed out the class.

“He has never been a pet, or an object that is owned. He is my friend and his own person. I’ll never take that away from him.”

Gold chirped at my words, his chest puffing out.

“If you ever feel like killing all humans, make sure to tell me first.” I told him.

Gold flapped his wings and nodded his head. We were acting nonchalant, but both of us knew we’d keep an eye on this. If Mr Black was right, and I received the class, then that meant Gold was a monster.

I’d need to determine what triggered the change, whether it was the intelligence increase only or something else. And if it could be replicated.

“Very well.” Mr Black’s expression reverted to its normal neutrality. “I believe the other options will be more than acceptable for you.”

I gave Gold a final scratch on the neck before returning to the paper containing my class options.

Divine Conqueror (Rare):

Stat bonus: +6 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +3% to stat of choice. Static +5% to mana.

Mana Bonus: +1000 Mana

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 5 offered].

Guaranteed Skill [Choice of one]: Divine Decree - Enhance one skill of your choosing.

Divine Decree (Offense) - Offensively enhance one skill of your choice.

Enhancer Skills [1 offered]: Offensively enhance one skill of your choosing.

Mixed Skills [1-2 offered]: Mana Shield, Mana Protrusion, Mana intrusion, Mana Providence, Body Enhancement, Manapool Enhancement.

Possible Mixed Skills (based on Celestial Emissary class): Mana Enhancement, Mana Tremor, Mana Disruption, Mana Sanctuary, Body Reconfiguration, Body Transmutation, Divine Presence.

Original Skills [1 offered in rare circumstances]: Celestial Wisdom (Extremely Rare).

Possible Original Skills (based on Celestial Emissary class): Insight [Stat] (Extremely Rare).

This type of class was new to me. It didn’t focus on what I could do, but what I had done through my actions.

It was designed for battle and included options for enhancing my abilities in a way that made them more suitable for fighting.

Were Marked ones supposed to fight often?

I needed to overcome my death, but I wasn’t sure if that meant I had to defeat the Crijik itself. Or if that was even possible.

Then again, I did get into a lot of deadly fights in this world. Back on Earth I’d lived a peaceful life until I died. Here I’d almost died at least three times without trying.

Then I frowned.

If I got the skill that changed my mana such as mana shield or mana protrusion, would that use my gold mana out in the open?

That would reveal my secret to the world. It might also help me convince the church quicker when I had a class that only a Marked one could receive.

Mana’s Friend (Rare):

Stat bonus: +5 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +15% to mana.

Mana Bonus: +2000 Mana

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 5 offered].

Guaranteed Attunement Unlocking [Choice of 1]: Attune to two basic (low-rank) elements of choice, one combined element of choice, or one mid-rank element of choice (limited to enhancing low-rank attunements currently unlocked).

Guaranteed Skill: Manapool Enhancement.

Enhancer Skills [Choice of 1]: Mana Manipulation +4 Ranks Up.

Or

Mana Communication (Enhanced version of Mana Sense).

Mixed Skills [1-2 offered]: Mana Communication (If not chosen previously), Mana Enhancement, Mana Harmony, Mana Vitality, Mana Sanctuary, Mana Providence.

Original Skills [1 offered in rare circumstances]: Mana Affinity.

Strongly possible that there are other skills that are unknown to me.

This class… greatly appealed to me.

I leant back on the chair as I thought over this class and memorised its contents. My greatest defence and one of my closest friends in this world was magic, and its visible manifestation, mana. Mana sense was also one of my most useful and frequently used skills.

There were a couple of things I had seen that were capable of holding back the watcher. My mask regent was one of those items.

The mana around me was another.

It comforted me and provided security. Its very existence aided me in all aspects of my life. I smiled at the idea of strengthening our bond.

Ethereal Elementalist (Rare):

Stat bonus: +6 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +3% to intelligence stat. Static +5% to mana.

Mana Bonus: +1000 Mana

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 5 offered].

Guaranteed Attunement Unlocking: Attune to one basic element of choice (limited to elements the class taker possesses affinities for).

Guaranteed Skill [Choice of one]: Enhance one elemental skill of choice.

Or

Unlock low-grade mixed elemental magic. Possible options will depend on which elements you have attuned to at the time of selecting this class (including the guaranteed attunement unlocking).

Possible options include:

Lava Mud Fog Smoke

*Choosing this option will also remove your offered enhanced skill listed below.

Enhancer Skills [1 offered]: Enhance one elemental skill of choice. *This includes your elemental creation skill.

Personal List: Metal Manipulation (Rank Up +3 Upon Class Selection, Metal Creation, Metal Sense, Metal Grasp, Metal Spear, Metal Weaponry.

Addendum: This list will be mimicked by the element chosen during the attunement section stage of the class option selection.

Mixed Skills [1-2 offered]: Elemental Shield, Elemental Spear, Element Purification, Element Harmonization, Element Destruction, Metal Golem Creation.

*All elemental skills utilise one or two elements you select.

Original Skills [1 offered in rare circumstances]: Element Possession.

Possible that there are other skills that are unknown to me.

Mr Black had added a lot more notes to this class, and I saw that it offered a variety of magic-related skills and benefits.

The offer of two attunements or one attunement and a guaranteed metal creation skill were tempting, but I wasn’t sure if this class was for me.

I would have to think over it further.

Regent Creator (Rare):

Stat bonus: +6 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +4% to stat of choice.

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 5 offered].

Guaranteed Skill: Regent Creation (Mixed).

Enhancer Skills [1 offered]: Low-Rank Symbol Inscription (upgraded from basic Symbol Inscription).

Mixed Skills [1-2 offered]: Symbol Memorisation, Symbol Catalogue, Symbol Overload, Symbol Carving, Symbol Strengthening, Material Carving, Material Softening, Material Hardening, Material Treatment, Material Inspection, Material Repairing, Material Control, Material Mobility, Material Immobility, Array Inscription, Array Carving, Array Configuring, Array Connection Strengthening, Array Strengthening (Extremely Rare), Regent Inscription, Regent Material Proficiency, Regent Strengthening (Extremely Rare), Regent Repairing (Extremely Rare), Regent Analysis.

Original Skills [1 offered in rare circumstances]: Material Conjuration, Regent Blueprint Generation

Possible that there are other skills that are unknown to me.

Out of all the classes offered to me, this one was the most likely to provide me with an immediately tangible method to tackle all of my problems.

Being a regent creator would give me much needed credentials and reputation to properly dispute the Gesti without worry, and I already knew regents were usable against the watcher, so maybe they could help me survive the ascension.

The only issue was the materials I could use with the limited funds I had.

That was the final rare class.

There were only two left. The legendary class options that Mr Black thought I could be offered. My mind focused entirely on the words on the page.

I wanted to memorise every line so that I could think it over carefully.

Vessel of the Cosmos (Legendary):

Stat bonus: +8 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +10% to stat of choice. Static +10% to mana.

Mana Bonus: +1500 Mana

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 6 offered].

Guaranteed Skills: Mark of the Crijik (Rank Up +5), Divine Decree - Enhance one skill of your choosing.

Enhancer Skills [1 offered]: Enhance one skill of your choosing.

Mixed Skills [2 offered]: Mana Vein Enhancement, Celestial Body.

Original Skills [1 offered]: Celestial Wisdom.

Potentially offered (based on previous class lists): Insight [stat].

Strongly possible that there are other skills that are unknown to me.

The list of skills was a lot smaller than every other class option my teacher had written down.

“Only one of your predecessors was offered and selected this class, so I only have the information of one person to write down.” Mr Black saw my hesitation. “She believed surviving her ascension was only possible if it was embraced and prepared for properly.”

I frowned.

Clearly, it hadn’t worked.

The skills disturbed me. They were all improvements geared towards making me a better host for a divine.

This was the second piece of actual proof I had that the Crijik was preparing my body for something. The first being the Mark itself and its activation.

Did I really want to give in to that path?

Transcriber of Reality (Legendary):

Stat bonus: +10 free stats per level.

Stat percentage bonus: static +8% to stat of choice. Static +5% to Mana

Mana Bonus: +500 Mana

Skills offered upon class selection (Potential)[Maximum 6 offered].

Guaranteed Skills: Summon Inscriber Box (One per 10 levels, a minimum of 1 inscriber box upon obtaining the class), Scriber’s Library (Unlock one basic or low-ranked scriber skill of choice).

Enhancer Skills [1 offered]: Symbol Inscription (Mid-Rank).

Mixed Skills [2 offered]: Elemental Symbol Inscription (Mid-Rank), Elemental Material Inscription, Magic Enhancement Inscription, Multi-Array Aligning, Regent Enhancement, Elemental Array Blueprint Creation.

Original Skills [1 offered]: Material Conjuration, Regent Blueprint Generation, Multi-Regent Alignment, Regent Cloning.

Strongly possible that there are other skills that are unknown to me.

I recognised this one.

This was the class my grandfather used to have.

My dad had only mentioned it once, when I had asked him about the origins of the inscriber box he used in his inscribing process.

He’d stated that the boxes had been created by his grandfather, and keyed to specific people in the family. That meant that only my dad and his sister could use them.

It was one of the main reasons that my grandma’s side of the family was considered the main branch. When my grandpa had been alive, that fact was undisputed.

If I chose this class, I would immediately solidify that future for ourselves. I could even create a scriber household of my own if I had time.

I’d always wanted an inscriber box of my own. I’d seen how easy they made things for my dad.

He didn’t have mana, but he could still create regents at speeds that others would be envious of.

Would these two legendary classes be enough to give me leverage over the Gesti family’s politics without resorting to my Marked status?

That was something I had to take into consideration.

“This is a lot to take in.” My lips parted into a grin the more I read

My head was starting to ache from the possibilities. This was more than I had imagined.

Any one of the rare options would guarantee me a job and comfortable status for life. The legendary options provided me the chance to go one step further up. I could become a powerhouse that had his own scriber household, or I could lean further into divinity.

Years of effort would be shaved off with a single choice.

Some of these skills couldn’t be earned in a lifetime, or ever.

I had to play this carefully and make my choice after carefully investigating each option. Luckily, the best resource was right in front of me.

“Which do you think will suit me more?” I asked.

Mr Black smiled, a swift twitch of his facial muscles that disappeared after a moment.

“Power is a given. Riches too. All your classes will provide you benefits that other people would kill to possess. However, the type of power bestowed by each class is different.” His eyes rose to meet mine. “There is one important thing I want you to consider.”

I saw a flash of genuine curiosity in his eyes.

“Do you want to survive your ascension?”

“I do.” I answered without hesitation.

I intended to live a good and fulfilling life during the twenty-two years I had left, but I also didn’t want to give up trying to extend that time limit.

“Then I suggest you take the Vessel of the Cosmos class.” Mr Black spoke. “It is the only class that appears to be geared directly towards improving your ascension chances, or at minimum your body. Just because your predecessor did not succeed, does not mean that you cannot.”

My heart churned at his words, and I fell silent. Diving deeper into the intricacies of the Mark and the machinations of the Crijik was a terrifying thought.

It had already changed so much of my life; I couldn’t be sure that the changes that the class brought me would be positive.

“You do not have to make your selection now.” Mr Black’s voice turned soft. “Talk it over with your fellow Marked one, and the church can also aid you.”

“Is there a time limit?” I asked.

My progress was quick, even for a Marked one, and I knew that had been taken into consideration by Mr Black.

“I wouldn’t wait more than a semester if you wish for those legendary classes to be guaranteed.” Mr Black tapped the table and the papers glowed with magic. “There is a reason only two of your predecessors were given that legendary Marked class to choose. One did not take it, and now you have the choice they faced.”

I left his office with thoughts swimming through my mind. Gold chirped curiously as he thought over the classes as well.

My class could be selected at any time, and I intended to do it earlier rather than later.

First, I wanted to talk with Gerial.

I sent him a text with my regent as I walked down the tower stairs. I almost walked out of Koshima academy when I stopped and smiled sheepishly.

I’d forgotten that I had an arena session with Amanda.

Gold and I made our way through the garden and quickly found ourselves inside the dome.

I paused outside the arena door, straightening my blazer, and then pushed it open, striding through confidently

“Alright Amanda I’m ready to win agai- Who are these people?”

My shoes hooked into the dirt and stopped my momentum as I found myself looking at a meditating Amanda.

She was surrounded by three other meditating students. Each one looked older than us, and I didn’t recognise any of them.

Amanda opened her eyes and blinked.

“Hey Andross.”

She smiled and waved at me.

“These guys are trying to chase me out of the academy.”