Act II - Zach

Zach jumped toward the back of the final boss. It was a massive bear-like monster, armored and almost completely feral. It walked on two legs, and like its minions that they had encountered on the rest of the floor, it seemed like it was intelligent. It used its two massive claws sheeted in lightning to strike at everyone around. Griss and Edima were keeping its attention easily, while Nyathulla and Xallar attacked from the distance. Zach waited for an opportunity and then attacked. The others had already injured it greatly, all of them had leveled, and their new perks were powerful.

Nyathulla had thrown some kind of arcane plague at its arm, and it had attacked and mangled the fur and the flesh beneath so much that the boss couldn’t even use its limb. Xallar had gained a ranged heal that was something like a dot, an overtime increase of her targets regeneration.

The second run of the dungeon hadn’t been nearly as challenging, even with Zach not leveling. But he had tried to use his dagger as much as possible to offset the loss in Essence since they group was of a greater level. And he had tried to train his skills as much as possible.

Now, as he was flying through the air, the Spirit of Terra’s voices singing in his head, he gripped his dagger in hand. Griss used his new perk and a force pulled one of the boss’ legs forward, making it stumble and drop to its knees. Zach landed on its armored back and found the opening between its helmet and back armor. His hand rose and he stabbed down activating his skill.

|Flurry Strikes| smashed into the boss’ nape, gouging the flesh and spine. A moment later, the monster fell forward and Zach jumped off its back. A chest appeared nearby letting them know that they had killed the boss.

“Well done!” Griss yelled as everyone gathered, with smiles on their faces.

Zach walked over, forcing a smile as well. In reality he was somewhat disappointed. Because they had leveled and because this was their second time on these same floors, their Essence gain was significantly less, and the items that had dropped hadn’t been anything special either. Zach watched them as they congratulated each other, and he smiled as Edima slapped his shoulder. But the only thing that he could think about was how much of a waste this trip had been. He shook his head, trying to dispel those thoughts. He didn’t want to let himself resent the others, they were the only people he was friendly in this world, and he knew by now that they had just grown up in a much different environment than him.

They left the dungeon and headed immediately to Warden Vault to sell the items that they didn’t want. Only a few things were interesting enough for them to roll on, and Zach didn’t win any of them, although it wasn’t like he had even wanted anything really.

They took their Essence from the sale, and quickly went their own way, with a promise to meet up in a few days to celebrate. Zach gave them a false smile and a wave of his hand as he walked away. The second dungeon dive had given him a little over 13,000 GE, plus another 2,000 for his monthly contributions, that put him at around 52,000 GE. If his calculations were correct, that was just about enough to get him to level 120.

He sighed as he headed to the Citadel’s stables and rented a mount, heading down in the city as he tried to think about what he wanted to do. If he spent everything on leveling he would be a bit low for next month, but he could probably survive. He had leveled some of his skills in the dungeon again, using what the spirit of the Earth warrior taught him. His |Enhanced Weakens Sense| had gone up to 5/10 and his sword art up to 5/10 as well. His evade skill had also hit 10/10, giving him a quest that told him that needed to evade 100 attacks by no more than a hairbreadth. A tough quest that he had managed to start on. But again, he was wondering if he could guide the evolution in what direction he wanted. It was worth some thought.

He had been so lost in thought that he didn’t even realize it when he reached the city, by then it was almost nightfall. The trip from the Citadel was a few hours one way, and Zach left his mount at the stable at the gate and headed toward the Warden Station. He had promised Quell that he would come and see her as soon as he was done with the dungeon, both to let her know that he was okay and because they hadn’t seen each other much over the last month as he focused on training. They had only seen each other a handful of times, and had gone on a few walks and twice to dinner together. Zach had found that he quite enjoyed her presence.

They were… dating, at least that was what Zach thought. He wasn’t really sure, and he was almost afraid to ask by this point. They’ve kissed a handful of times, but it hasn’t progressed beyond that. Still, he found a smile fighting its way on his face as he neared the station. Quell was supposed to be nearing the end of her shift and he made his way down there, finding her among the shelves.

“Hey,” Zach said.

“You’re back!” Quell smiled, a touch of relief filling her eyes as she shyly tried to hide it.

“Of course, I told you I would,” Zach said as she walked over and Zach leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

“Dungeon diving is dangerous no matter how strong you are,” Quell said with a serious expression. “If only you knew how many reports I read from wardens that lost half their teams to a monster they didn’t consider a threat…”

Zach nodded his head grimly. He understood that, he had been guilty of the underestimating monsters before, and all it took was one second and even a monster that was half your level could kill you. It was why people didn’t like taking risks, why the other leveled instead of risking more to gain more Essence.

Some of his feelings had to have shown up on his face since Quell placed a hand on his upper arm and looked in his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

Zach looked into her dark green eyes, that didn’t look quite human. They did from afar, but up close he could see that her pupil bled into her iris in a kind of star shape, it wasn’t round like in humans. Her horns were small, but still noticeable, and her skin had looked like she was blushing but it was in fact just her natural coloring. She was strange, but beautiful, to him at least. It had taken a bit to get used to some of the differences, but now he kind of liked them.

“It’s nothing,” Zach said.

She gave him a look that made her seem almost unsure if she should try and pry more, and Zach sighed. It wasn’t like he kept any secrets, it was just that it had been a long time since he had someone to talk with. And they had shared some things. He knew that Quell had no family, that they had died long ago in a monster attack outside the city. She knew loss just the same as he did. It was what drew them to each other.

“I didn’t gain as much from the dungeon as I wanted to,” Zach said finally. “The others all leveled, so we gained a lot less than what we could have. They seemed satisfied with that, happy even. What makes me angry is that I understand that. Back when the Framework first arrived, all I wanted was to find safety, to keep those close to me alive. I didn’t want to take risks. But then… I realized that I was one of the strongest people around, and I felt that it was my responsibility to make sure that others were safe. I hunted monsters and fought against those who wanted to hurt others just because they could. I was forced to take risks and grow stronger. In the end it didn’t matter, someone else had taken more risks and done more than I or anyone else could…”

He trailed off not willing to speak more. He had told Quell some things, about him being a Ranker, but nothing in depth. He hadn’t told her about what happened to the Earth of his Iteration.

Quell seemed to understand, she squeezed his hand and then stepped back. “Let me take care of a few things and then we can go for a walk, okay?”

Zach nodded his head and watched her walk away. Inside his head, the only thing he could think of was how Griss and the others were happy with a wasted chance.

“Thank you for listening to me talk about my nonsense,” Zach said. “I know that I shouldn’t, but…”

Quell squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I want to learn more about you,” she smiled up at him, and he couldn’t help but smile in return.

“Maybe you should talk about some of your nonsense so that we are equal,” Zach added.

“If you really want to know about my boring day, then sure,” Quell said and then started telling him how she spent the last week changing the filing order of the old case files in the station from them being sorted by the warden that had been the lead on the case to them being sorted by year.

Zach blinked. “You are right, that was boring.”

Quell chuckled softly, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth and her eyes darting around to see if anyone was looking at her. He found the shy side of her adorable. She would often look around to make sure that no one was paying attention to her. But Zach was glad to find out that she was like that around strangers, once she got to know someone she was much freer.

“Quell,” Zach started and she arched an eyebrow at him. “Was this what you’ve always wanted to do? To be an archivist? Didn’t you ever want to level and get stronger?”

Quell’s expression sobered, and she sighed. “Of course I did, everyone wants that, when they are young at least. My family wanted that for me as well. It is why we were outside the city, why they died.”

Zach felt bad as he saw the sad look on her face. He could see the same expression there that he had seen many times in a mirror on Earth. The weight of loss, and the hurt when you knew that you lost people because you weren’t strong enough. He was starting to feel like he shouldn’t have pried, but then she gave him a weak smile.

“It’s okay, I want to tell you. They took me outside just when I gained the ability to earn Essence. My father wasn’t a wealthy man, but he had some Essence saved up. He leveled me up to level 15, and then we went out. He and mother were in the Guard, and he hoped that we could hunt some monsters to level me to thirty. That is the level where the guard recruited. They wanted me to follow in their footsteps. They bought me the Fighter Class, and we trained a bit.”

She paused, a tear trailing down her cheeks. “It didn’t go well. They died saving me. A higher level monster appeared. It had to have wandered over from another area of the territory since the forest we were in should’ve only had monsters up to level thirty. I don’t even know what level it was, but they killed it, and it killed them. I was left alone.”

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through that Quell,” Zach said as he pulled her closer.

Quell shrugged. “It is the same everywhere in the world. People want you to be strong, but they don’t want you to be too strong. My parents had been level fifty for years, the Essence that they gained from their contribution was just enough to have us all survive. They weren’t brave, they didn’t go out and hunt monsters to gain more Essence and level further. But for me they tried, and so they died. The Guard didn’t help them level, and so they were left on their own.”

“But how did you join the Wardens then?” Zach asked.

“I was angry then, and I wanted to kill monsters. The Wardens accept anyone, and they help them advance. Of course not too far, but just enough that they are useful… once I realized that they wouldn’t let me advance beyond a certain point I switched my focus. Decided that I wanted to be an Archivist, I picked non-combat perks until my level sixty evolution, and did nothing but work in the library. One of my choices of class evolution from fighter was librarian.”

Zach nodded his head. He had read in the guides that the class evolutions could be described as a three way fork in the road. Depending on your choices, where those forks go differs. One will always go straight ahead, a direct evolution of your Class. The second will be based on your perks and other factors that weren’t exactly clear to Zach, a parallel road to the first one. And the third could be something the same, another parallel road, or it could be a road that leads to an entirely different branch of roads.

Quell sighed. “I took the Class, there was no point in risking my life anymore.”

“What do you mean that they wouldn’t let you advance? There is free information in the library,” Zach said.

Quell chuckled and looked at him. “Did you notice that there were only tomes on the first few evolutions? They make it look good, like they are giving you all the information that you might need. And that is true for the most part. The Classes that they offer, the advice, it is good. But not good enough that you could survive what you need to do if you want to level beyond the guides in those tomes. In order to get stronger than what the guides offer, you need to fight stronger and stronger monsters, to work harder and put yourself in danger. Most die before they are able to achieve that. Those that by luck survive are the fortunate ones and very small in number, one for every ten or a hundred thousand. The only way for you to get stronger beyond what the guides say is to get a mentor. And that is unlikely for most people. You have to be exceptional, the best of the best. And again, I read enough reports that I can see the pattern.”

“What kind of a pattern?”

Quell glanced at him. “The stronger you get, the more missions you are sent on, the more you are being controlled. And if you are… not as aligned with the Citadel rules and laws, you might get sent to a mission that ends up going badly for you.”

Zach blinked, he hadn’t even thought that something like that was likely.

Quell sighed. “I’m sorry, I am exaggerating. It isn’t as bad as that, not in the Wardens at least. In the Guards it is, although I haven’t had access to a lot of their files. But having strong people who are not completely loyal or aligned with your beliefs, people that might attain immortality? It is better to prevent them from reaching that level than to have someone immortal running around making trouble for you. There are many records in the library about feuds between sects or factions that end becoming full-fledged wars. All because the two feuding are immortal and are unwilling to forget and forgive. The Wardens, for the most part help people get stronger. It is a slower climb, but safer. But there had been instances where promising wardens died on missions under strange circumstances. I don’t know if that is a conspiracy or reality, but I just felt like I couldn’t hope to reach my dream. You on the other hand, are different. You are a Ranker, and nothing like others, I can see it. And the Warden Commander can see it, I’m sure that is why she gave you access to the dungeon. Not just anyone gets that.”

Zach didn’t know what to say. The part about the feuds struck dangerously close, but he ignored it, pushing the thought aside.

“I guess that I can see why you would think that,” Zach said. He wasn’t sure if he agreed. From what he had seen, the people were just unwilling to take risks.

Quell gave him a knowing smile, as if she had seen right through him and his thoughts, but she didn’t speak again.

The rest of their walk, they spent in silence, just walking aimlessly. Somehow Zach was sure that Quell knew that he needed some time to think, and he was thankful that she was content to walk next to him in silence. Zach spent a lot of their walk trying to think about what he should do. For the past month or so he had been feeling strange. As if he was being suffocated. His arrival in the Infinite Realm had been a confusing time for him. He had failed in his task, he had arrived in a strange new land with completely different rules, and one filled with people that knew nothing of the struggle on Earth.

And he had relaxed, he knew that. He took the time for the first time in a decade to just live aimlessly. But his choice to join the wardens had been made with his ultimate goal in mind. And he had hoped that they would be able to help him in that goal. He had gained knowledge, a group that could help him grow. But now… he was starting to feel like his decision might’ve been a mistake. Other wardens weren’t like him, and he had found nothing that could point him toward finding Ryun. There were no sightings of the other Seventh Iteration Ranker, nothing. Zach knew that this world was infinite, and that the territory that was settled was larger than Earth, that it was a massive amount of territory and people. That it could be years before he heard anything, and years more before he was certain.

And if what Quell had told him was true…

He knew that he couldn’t go at the pace of the people born in this world. He wasn’t like Griss and the others, he wasn’t comfortable with just surviving. Because he had seen what happened if one didn’t have enough power to protect what they cared about. And he needed to acquire power quickly, he needed to be strong enough so that nothing like what happened on Earth would happen here.

Zach startled as he realized that they had come to a stop, standing in front of Quell’s home. It was a building made out of gray stone, looking the same as all those around it. Two stories high, with two apartments in it, one on the ground floor and one above it. Stairs made out of stone were attached to it, leading up to Quell’s home.

“Do you want to come in?” Quell asked, her eyes looking at him intently.

Zach blinked at her, his mind immediately going into overdrive. He didn’t want to look deeper into it, but he had no idea what inviting someone you were dating to your home meant in the Infinite Realm, and he didn’t want to assume.

He also didn’t want to ask. He looked into Quell’s eyes, seeing her studying him shyly, making him remember their first meeting, when he startled her.

He took a deep breath and spoke.

“Yes,” Zach said and took her hand as they walked up the stairs to her home.

A while later, Zach laid in a large and soft bed. Looking at Quell as she slept. The night had been… incredible. She had been incredible. He hadn’t even realized how he had needed that, to feel so close to someone again. To feel like they were the only thing that mattered, that he mattered to someone. He had to admit that he had been a bit scared, worried that things would be different with someone from another species. And they had been different, not everything was exactly the same as it was with humans, but not in a bad way. And the things she had done with her tail… He forced himself to think of something else, he had enough excitement for the night.

Instead he just watched her in the pale light coming from a small array lamp in the corner of the room. His mind was clear of all thoughts, and somehow he felt relaxed, free in a way. He knew the dangers of starting to feel for someone, of caring, but at that moment he wasn’t worried. In that moment he was just happy.

And then the past decided that he shouldn’t have happiness, that he wasn’t worthy of having it. Memories flashed before his eyes, a small room and people walking in, one by one. Him, listening to their stories, him making each of them a promise before pushing a knife in their chest.

Zach sat up, his breathing quickening as his heart twisted.

“Zach?” He heard a sleepy voice say, and then Quell sat up next to him putting her hands around him.

He couldn’t speak, he felt like he was suffocating. He had made a promise, and he had done almost nothing to fulfill it in the past several months. Instead, he had relaxed, he had made friends, he had trained, had met Quell. Had started to forget, and just a little while ago he had felt happy. I don’t deserve to be happy. Not when others sacrificed everything for me.

“I almost forgot,” Zach managed to say slowly. “I almost thought that it was okay, to be happy, to be free. But it isn’t, not for me.”

“Zach, tell me what is it?” Quell whispered, compassionately, softly.

Zach closed his eyes. He should be telling her, he knew. She didn’t deserve to deal with all of his shit. But he was so tired. Years of fighting, and losing constantly, watching people getting eaten by monsters in front of his eyes because he was too weak to stop it. Following a trail and finding cities in ruins, filled with corpses of the people who were slaughtered. Men, women, the young and the old, innocents, butchered like monsters that infested everything. There had been years where he couldn’t close his eyes without seeing bodies with their bones crushed to dust, mangled bodies that were more bludgeoned paste than something that used to be a person.

Children were the worse. Ryun spared none, little boys and girls with their heads crushed in, with their bodies cleaved in half. Rayleigh… He had almost forgotten how he found them, Linda and Rey, broken in the ruins. He still remembered how Ryun defended himself, how he justified the horrors that he had unleashed.

“It is a mercy,” Ryun shrugged. “Better that I end them quickly than for them to suffer what this world has turned into. They are too weak to thrive, this world was not meant for those who are like them. They are here only as fertilizer for the rest of us. To die in front of us, to sever us from the old world and teach us what true pain and horror is, to teach us how to hate. To make us stronger, so that we can rise and survive.”

The hardest thing was that there was a truth in Ryun’s words. People had been too weak to survive, that was why Zach had wanted to protect them. But Ryun had taken away from them the choice, the chance to grow and survive.

He shouldn’t be telling Quell anything, she didn’t deserve it. He had spoken with the Warden Commander, told her some things. But she was a stranger that didn’t care about him or his pain. A superior who didn’t even find the horror that he had lived through worth mention. To her it was normal, and that was what had broken Zach’s heart. To come here and learn that Ryun’s values had been the right ones? That power was the only thing that mattered in the end? It made him want to forget, and ever since then he had tried to forget. But he needed to speak to someone who did care for him, who could listen. He needed to remember, otherwise he felt like nothing in the world mattered.

“I told you that by the end of my time on Earth, there were only two of us left,” Zach started in a whisper, as Quell got close to him, her hand gently making circles on his back. “He was my best friend, long ago. And he lost someone, went insane and started slaughtering everyone around him, innocent and the guilty alike. He ended my world. And now he was here. I… I did horrible things, all so that I could catch up. I killed people, and even though they gave themselves willingly, it doesn’t hurt any less. I made them a promise that I would make their sacrifice mean something, that I would kill the monster that had destroyed their lives. And I failed. Yet here I am, feeling happy, when I don’t deserve it.”

He waited for her to tell him that it was okay, that everyone deserved to be happy, but she didn’t. Instead, she held him close in silence, letting him calm down. He didn’t quite remember the next few minutes, he was sure that he cried, releasing the pain he had kept guarded inside so close.

Finally Quell spoke. “Promises are important,” she told him. “But just because you want to fulfill it, doesn’t mean that you will ever be able to.”

Zach winced, and turned to look at her, seeing her gazing at him intently.

“I promised on my family’s graves that I would become strong, that I would be powerful enough that I would never lose anyone that cared about, and I failed in fulfilling that promise. There is nothing that you can do to change that. Maybe someday you will become strong enough to fulfill that promise, maybe not. Maybe you will find and kill him. Maybe he is already dead. Or maybe you will die before you meet find him again. Maybe you will do more horrible things in order to gain strength, or maybe you will decide that enough is enough, and stop trying. Just because you have a goal, it doesn’t mean that you should stop living your life. That you don’t deserve to feel happiness.”

Zach sunk into her embrace as she pulled him closer. He didn’t say anything, it was too hard to get the words out. But she knew what to do, she kissed him, and then made him feel better. By the time morning came, he had felt much better.

He said his goodbye with a soft kiss that had been much more intimate than any of their previous ones. They had talked, shared their past with one another, and Zach felt real feelings starting to build between them. They had known each other for a relatively short time, a few months. But he felt something real building. And he didn’t try to run away, he didn’t try to distance himself. He wanted to get strong, to achieve power enough that he could keep the innocents safe. And even if he had to play by this world’s rules, he was going to do it. And he would fulfill his promise.

A day later, Zach sat in the library, guides and tomes open in front of him in the small private reading room. In front of him were guides for Class evolutions. He had taken a day to look over more of the material available in the library. And he had seen some of what Quell had spoken about, and that made him feel… wary about following the guides. But he could see how people could be controlled through the guides. The most viable builds were known, and that made people go for them more often than not. But that also limited them from finding something new, something more powerful.

Zach wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he had studied a bit more. He had the tomes on most Class types relating to the sword that were known and that he could expect. But of course, one of his choices was more likely than not to be something never seen before. He only hoped that it wasn’t something so weird that he couldn’t really estimate its power in comparison to other guides.

He took a deep breath and started leveling, he hit level 105 and gained a new perk choice. He steeled his mind and looked over the choices.

Wind Shield (Class Perk)	Five times per combat you may summon a shield of wind to deflect any attacks sent in your direction. The strength of the effect depends on your dexterity stat.
Blade Dance (Class Perk)	Twice per combat you may activate this perk to spin around and lash out at all around you. The duration and strength of the attacks depend on your strength stat.
Old Heritage (Class Perk)	Once per combat you may activate this perk to borrow the power of all of your ancestors, increasing all of your total stats by 100% for five seconds. Duration of effect depends on your highest stat.

Zach blinked at his choices, the first two were among the list of the possible choices he could’ve gotten, and they were both solid choices. The last one, however… It was another perk that he was sure was unique to Rankers. He glanced to his tomes, finding one worn out tome about Ranker perks. He flipped through it, looking for anything similar. And then he found it, a minotaur Ranker of the Fifth Iteration had the perk. He had been among the Wardens for only a couple of years before he died, but there was a description of the perk.

He read through what was written and his eyes widened. The perk seemed like a very good choice. Mainly because it increased his total stats by 100%, the same as his Last Heir of Terra did. That meant that the two perks could stack. And that was an incredible boon. All the guides said that having just two perks that could stack like that even if they only increased base stats was incredible. He glanced back to his choices. The other two were solid combat choices, things that could help him in a battle. But the Old Heritage could do the same, it could give him a burst of power in a battle, and if he already had Last Heir of Terra active…

It was the clear choice in his mind. The only problem he saw was that by choosing that perk he would almost guarantee that he would get a choice of a Class that wasn’t listed anywhere. He had looked, and there were only a few unique Ranker Classes in the library, and none were really detailed. But he was sure that he wasn’t going to get any of them since most of them were caster based Classes.

His Blade Master class could evolve in many different ways. It wasn’t a class strictly focused on just a sword, it was one that encompassed all bladed weapons. But since he had mainly used a sword, he would probably get one choice that was going to be about the sword, if what he had read was correct.

Zach sighed and picked Old Heritage, and then he put in more Essence and leveled. He spent in total 49,100 Greater Essence to reach level 120, leaving him with only 1,568 GE. He looked at his new screen and the Classes he had to choose from.

Class Evolution Available
CLASS	DESCRIPTION	ATTUNEMENT
Wind Blade	You call the wind and it answers, telling you to be free. The Wind Blade is a warrior focused on melding the power of the wind along with that of a blade. Relying on speed and short bursts of incredible power, a Wind Blade shines brightly when operating alone, using the wind to distract and cut down their opponents.	Wind: All wind based powers are 10% more effective and their cooldowns are reduced by 10% of base value. Gain +10% to strength and dexterity. !Gain one of the following: -Wind Shear combat ability: The wind twists around your target, generating a force that pulls anything caught in its way backward and then creates a small cyclone of air that will suck in and then throw out anything caught in it. -Wind Step movement ability: Turn into the wind and move five steps in any direction. -Might and Deftness: Gain plus 10% to base strength and 10% to base dexterity.
Sword Master	You feel your weapon, to know the sword is all that matters. The Sword Master is a warrior focusing solely on the use of a sword.  A Sword Master seeks to broaden the understanding of the sword to the exclusion of all else, excelling in melee duels.	Sword: All sword based powers are 10% more effective. All sword based skills level at double the speed. Gain +20% to dexterity. !Gain one of the following: -Sword Stance support ability: Gain +30% to speed when parrying or blocking with your sword, all powers involving a parry or block are 20% more effective for the duration of the ability. -Sidestep movement ability: Step to the side in an instant. -Finesse: Gain plus 20% to base dexterity.
Ethereal Warrior	You start building the bridge between the incorporeal and the real. The Ethereal Warrior has a close connection to the spirits, souls, and the Ethereal plane. An Ethereal Warrior seeks to develop a deeper connection and understanding of the Ethereal, letting them commune with the spirits and souls on the Ethereal plane. And allowing them to learn from those who have long since passed and borrow their martial power.	Ethereal: All Ethereal based powers are 10% more effective. All special attacks deal 0.5% of the total damage dealt as soul damage. Gain +10% to strength and wisdom. !Gain one of the following: -Soul Armor support ability: Create a protective incorporeal armor around you. It protects you from all attacks, and will handle damage equal to twice your endurance. Five percent of any soul damage dealing attacks done to the armor is directly transferred to your soul. -Ethereal Sight support ability: Allows you to see the Ethereal Plane and commune with the spirits residing there. Range 10 meters. -Insight: Gain plus 20% to base wisdom.

Zach leaned back as he finished reading through all of his choices. He had expected the first two, they were common evolutions based on his build, nothing special. But the third one… he wasn’t sure why he got it. Was it just because of his Last Heir of Terra? Because he had managed to isolate one of the spirits residing in the perk? It seemed like that was the only explanation. He looked around his tomes and guides, looking for anything similar, but he hadn’t expected anything like that. Finally, when he found nothing he stood up and went in search for new material. He asked the librarians for material based on Ethereal and soul damage, and was pointed to a small shelf on the fifth floor.

There wasn’t much there, but he took what he found. And then he started to read. The sun dimmed, and he was forced to turn on the light array in the corner. By the time the moon manifested he finished reading through four books, two guides that were old and incomplete, and two tomes on soul wounds and abilities.

The two guides had been for caster type classes, so not all that similar to his, although the choice of the abilities was the same. But he could see that the evolution would not be in the same vein. The Ethereal Classes communed with spirits and took their power. One of the guides seemed to be for a Class that was something like a shaman, only instead of summoning spirits or making contracts or something with them, the class devoured them and took their powers. It seemed like something really powerful, and it told him that there were many ways that a Class like this could be developed in. Sadly the guide stopped at level 144, as it looked like the person who had the class died.

The other Class was more like a pure caster, it didn’t deal with spirits at all, and instead just focused on dealing soul damage. And that was where the other two books came into play. They were two short tomes dedicated to soul wounds. Apparently, soul damage was something real, and there were abilities and techniques that could deal damage directly to the soul. Dealing pure soul damage wouldn’t do much outwardly, it wouldn’t even hurt the person against whom it was used physically, not unless their entire soul was destroyed. So it wasn’t a smart way of attacking, if the person doesn’t die before their soul was destroyed, they could just kill you, since the only thing they would feel was slight fatigue.

But, if someone used real world damage in concert with soul damage it would get much different results. Wounds inflicted with attacks that also dealt soul damage in the same area healed slower than what the person's vitality was, and depending on the intensity of soul damage might not heal at all naturally. Although from what Zach had read, it was extremely hard to damage, let alone destroy a soul inside a body enough to kill someone. But from what he could see, the soul would naturally regenerate over time, although the regeneration time varied depended on the amount of damage. Some wounds might take years to heal, and there had been cases of people dying before their soul could regenerate enough. Healing potions could close the wounds in the body, but they weren’t quite right, they healed wrong and could cripple the person who was healed in that manner if the soul damage was great enough.

There wasn’t much else in there, but such powers were great, but could also be a double edged sword. If the person focused only on the attacks against the soul, they might not be strong enough to actually damage their opponents.

Zach thought about it, if he picked that Class his special attacks would deal soul damage as well. Just a 0.5 percent, but that might be enough if he landed a few attacks in the same place, enough to slow a monster’s healing maybe. And he was sure that future perks and evolutions would give him the option of doing more.

He looked at all three choices again. Each was strong in its own way. The first two had the advantage of being known. He could follow the guides and… He remembered Quell’s words and he grimaced. The two classes were good, but they were… ordinary. Something that Griss or Edima could have. Something for people who were… who weren’t like he was. Zach wanted to grow, to gain more power and be able to protect those he cared about. To have the power to change things.

He took a deep breath and then picked his Class Evolution and picked his bonus.

He felt the surge of power within him, he felt his Class change and evolve. He sighed as the sensation slowly tapered off and then settled. His abilities changed, improving, but he didn’t look at them now. Instead, he looked and at another notification, one about a new perk.

Zach looked at the choices.

Wind Spirit	Once per combat summon a minor Wind Spirit to fight at your side for 30 seconds. It will attack any opponent you focus on. The power of the wind spirit and the duration depend on your wisdom stat.
Ethereal Sword	Summon an Ethereal sword in any shape you desire. It lasts as long as you want, but drains you mentally while it is active. The sword deals 20% of its damage as soul damage and 80% physical damage. As it is Ethereal it can endure only 50% of the force that would break an ordinary blade. The quality of the blade depends on your wisdom stat.
Bind Spirit	You may bind an elemental spirit if your will is stronger. It will be bound to you and you will be able to summon it to do your bidding. Summoning the spirit into the real world will drain you mentally. The power that the spirit can use in the real world and its drain on your mind depend on your wisdom stat.

Zach saw the perks and frowned. He had again gained three choices that were influenced by his previous choices, but now they were influenced by his new Class. The first one was wind themed, the second sword themed, and the last one seemed to be just based on his new Class. He knew that his choices now would guide his further development and next evolution, so he opened the books and tried to find anything that could help him.

A couple of hours later he closed the books and looked back at his choices. If he picked the Wind Spirit, he would continue with his wind theme, perhaps getting better wind choices in the future. But it was also a summoner perk, which meant that he would have a greater likelihood of getting summoning-type perks in the future. The Bind Spirit perk was the same.

But he didn’t want to go the summoner route. Not when he had the Last Heir of Terra, and when he could learn from the sword masters of the past. He figured that there was a chance that he could eventually summon those warriors to this world and have them fight. But he knew that that wouldn’t be as strong, they had no powers and would be just as strong as they had been on Earth. They were great masters, but they didn’t have any innate powers. They could learn from Zach through the perk, but couldn’t actually use his powers. Perhaps he might be able to empower them, but one of the notes he had found about summoners was that it was unlikely that he could pull out a spirit out of his Last Heir of Terra perk with the Bind Spirit. There wasn’t much elaboration, since the Ethereal information was incomplete, but he chose to trust it.

He didn’t want to go that way anyway. Which left only the Ethereal Sword as a choice. He did have Mistral, and he was an amazing weapon. But he was too large for some situations, and Sasaki Kojirō had already suggested that he get a few smaller swords to train and use in other situations.

“You won’t be mad if I pick this perk?” Zach asked his sword. “If I use another sword?”

“No,” Mistral drawled. “More time for me to rest.”

Zach shook his head and chuckled. Then he picked his new perk. Finally, he glanced to his stats and his screens, his eyes widening a bit when he noticed something. His primary and secondary attributes had changed with this evolution, from dexterity/strength to strength/wisdom. He was yet to assign his stats from other levels, and the primary and secondary stats up to level 120 had been assigned according to his old Class. Which wasn’t surprising as those bonuses had applied immediately as he leveled.

He looked at his stats, and then figured that with his Class evolution his wisdom seemed a lot more important. It was a secondary stat, so perhaps not the most important, especially since he planned on keeping his focus on the sword. He allocated his stats, some in wisdom and some in strength and then looked at his screens.

Name	Zacharia Gardner
Race	Human (Earth—Iteration 7)
Titles	First Kill, First to Ten, Adventurer, Hero of Promise, Chief, Leader, One Against Many, First to Sixty, Class Evolution
Essence	1,568 (Greater)

Titles
First Kill	Kill the first monster in the Framework run world	5000 Essence
First to Ten	First person in the world to reach level Ten	+10% to all stats, 10 000 Essence
Adventurer	Hunted more than 100 monsters	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Essence
Hero of Promise	Save more than 10 people with a single action	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Essence
Chief	Create an outpost	+3 all stats, 1 000 Essence
Leader	Upgraded outpost to a town	+3 all stats, 2 000 Essence
One Against Many	Fight against more than 10 opponents alone and win	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Essence
First to Sixty	First to Evolve their class in the world	+10% to all stats, 100 000 Essence
Class Evolution	Evolved your class for the second time.	+5 to all stats, 50 Greater Essence

Perks
Riposte (Class Perk)	Once per combat, gain the ability to execute a lightning fast attack after being damaged. Speed of returning strike equals double dexterity stat.
Wind’s Child (Class Perk)	During combat, every strike with your weapon sends a short gust of wind. Strength of effect depends on dexterity stat.
Wind Lord (Class Perk)	In combat, wind swirls around you, always blowing gently in your back. Strength of effect depends on dexterity stat.
Consequence (Class Perk)	Every kinetic attack you block, stores a part of its energy. Once per combat unleash all the stored kinetic energy. Amount stored depends strength stat.
Second Chance (Class Perk)	Once taking damage that would kill you, heal it instead. Once per combat. Healing speed depends on vitality stat.
Lightning Body (Path Perk)	Your body’s reflexes are enhanced, able to utilize max dexterity at a moment’s notice. Strength of effect dependent on dexterity stat.
Lightning Qi (Aspect Perk)	When using techniques, your Qi passively enhances you. Gain plus +30% to dexterity while any technique is active.
Forged Conduits of Qi (Path Perk)	Your Qi channels are reforged. Qi channels regenerate faster and are able to handle greater strains. Increases the speed at which techniques are used. Strength of effect depends on Qi aspect.
Last Heir of Terra (Class Perk)	Once per week, you may call upon the Spirit of Terra, which grants you the combined knowledge, talent, and expertise of all the sword masters that had ever lived on your Earth. The Spirit of Terra imbues you with heightened senses, doubling your total stats for the duration and lowers the stamina requirements and cooldowns of your abilities by 20%. All sword-based skills level five times faster. Upon Spirit of Terra’s ending you will be unable to use abilities for one hour. Duration and cooldown depend on your highest stat.
Formless Core (Path Perk)	Your Qi core loses its shape, instead of containing your Qi it now lets it move freely through your body. You can now use your techniques at 50% faster rate. You gain +10% to wisdom and your Qi passively enhances your body based on your lightning aspect, giving you +10% to dexterity. You are no longer able to enforce your core or upgrade this perk.
Wind’s Favorite (Bond Perk)	Allows the bond holder to manipulate wind in their immediate surroundings. All wind based powers are 20% more powerful. The wind passively carries nearby sounds to your ears. Strength of effect depends on the depth of the bond with the awakened object.
Old Heritage (Class Perk)	Once per combat you may activate this perk to borrow the power of all of your ancestors, increasing all of your total stats by 100% for five seconds. Duration of effect depends on your highest stat.
Ethereal Sword (Class Perk)	Summon an Ethereal sword in any shape you desire. It lasts as long as you want, but drains you mentally while it is active. The sword deals 20% of its damage as soul damage and 80% physical damage. As it is Ethereal it can endure only 50% of the force that would break an ordinary blade. The quality of the blade depends on your wisdom stat.

Class	Ethereal Warrior (E)
Level	120 (0/3000 Greater Essence)
Combat Ability	Ethereal Wing Dash
Movement Ability	Ethereal Winged Leap
Support Ability	Ethereal Chains
Support Ability	Ethereal Sight

EVOLUTION ATTUNEMENT BONUS:
Ethereal	All Ethereal based powers are 10% more effective. All special attacks deal 0.5% of the total damage dealt as soul damage. Gain +10% to strength and wisdom.

Cultivation	The Path of the Lightning Blade (R)
Stage	Peak Foundation (0/3,000 Greater Essence)
Aspect	Lightning
Base technique	Calm Before the Storm
Branch technique	Charged Focus
Fruit technique	Lightning Strike

Passive Skills	Active Skills
Combat Mastery (10/10) >> Sword Mastery (10/10) >> Sword Art (5/10)	Strike (10/10) >> Greater Strike (10/10)>> Flurry Strikes (5/10)
Weakness Sense (10/10) >> Enhanced Weakness Sense (5/10)	Evade (10/10) >> Greater Evade (10/10)
	Sealing Slash (9/10)

Strength	354
Dexterity	419
Vitality	149
Endurance	150
Intelligence	136
Wisdom	198

He leaned back and sighed, feeling something inside of him settle. Finally he had made a first step to real power. Now, he just had to continue climbing.