Chapter 20 – We Evolve (Patreon)

Sitting with his back to the cool dark stone, Luke was pleased to find that the earlier class skills he had declined to take were still there.

You have Rogue skills to select.

[Novice Stealth (Common)]

(Rogue Class Skill)

Blend into the environment to hide your presence, reducing the sound of your actions and the chance for other entities to detect you. While under the effects of Stealth, sneak attacking increases your chances of landing a critical hit. Adds a slight bonus to the influence of Perception, Dexterity, and Endurance when using this skill.

[Lockpick (Common)]

(Rogue Class Skill)

Defeating locked chests, barred doors, and trapped rooms is a hallmark of the Rogue. With tools ranging from high-end magical implements to a bent piece of wire, you’ll be able to pass through the most secure locations like a breeze in the night. Adds a slight bonus to the influence of Dexterity and Perception when using this skill.

With his bloodline, he saw no reason to pick up [Stealth]. It seemed not only better and more complete but also just a lot cooler. While he couldn’t use shadows to pick a lock—not that he had an opportunity to try—he didn’t see the utility in picking it up right now, either.

There were two other skills on offer, both of which interested him greatly. Not only because of what the skills could do, but because their rarity was a step above the rest.

[Barrage (Uncommon)]

(Rogue Class Skill)

Rarely given to Rangers and Hunters, this skill has been adapted for your use as a Rogue. When you use a ranged weapon, you can attack multiple times at once, expending additional ammunition as you do so until you miss, or the limit is reached. Adds a small bonus to the influence of Dexterity and Perception when using this skill.

As Luke read the description of the first skill, he couldn’t help but feel as if something was pulling it to him. Like a weaving of chance that seemed to align to make this happen.

The sensation was gone in a flash, but the memory stuck with him. Perhaps his Fate stat was working in his favor for once.

For which he was more than glad. That skill sounded amazing. If he could use it to fire off multiple [Lacerate] enhanced throwing knives, he could stack the bleed effect much faster.

Taking [Barrage] might have helped him to defeat that gigant rat with significantly less issue.

[Puncture (Common)]

(Rogue Class Skill)

Though fast and nimble, Rogues lack the requisite power to punch through armor and defensive hides. Instead, they rely on skill and accuracy to find weaknesses in their opponent’s armor. But what if there are no weaknesses? Puncture combines your accuracy, power, and speed into one devastating armor-piercing attack. Adds a small bonus to the influence of Dexterity, Strength, and Perception when using this skill.

Luke groaned.

“Two good skills?” he asked the System. “Really?” And it’d be another 5 levels until he could pick the one he missed out on this time.

Luke had to agree with the System that so far Rogues were more skill and accuracy than brute force. Having an ability he could fall back on to punch through armor and defenses did seem incredibly handy.

On the other hand… [Barrage] would allow him to apply stacks of bleeding fast. With his enhanced reflexes, reaction time, and speed in darkness, he could kite monsters a lot stronger than himself until they died from blood loss.

Not to mention, [Barrage] was an uncommon-rarity skill as well. While Luke didn’t fully grasp the ranking system of power, he knew enough that uncommon would be stronger than common. How much was anybody’s guess, but better was better. Full stop.

In the end, he chose [Barrage] if only because it might allow him to take on more gigant rats. If the last several hours were any indication, the deeper he went through the bridge’s warren of tunnels and collapsed rooms, the stronger the monsters became.

For the time being, he needed to prioritize his immediate survival.

He was likely to see a lot more gigant rats in the future. Even with his enhanced reflexes, getting hit again was not an option. Better to keep them far away and bleeding slowly.

With that out of the way, Luke turned to his stats, ready to set his free points that he had been saving up.

Then another notification interrupted him, just after the skill gained message when he selected [Barrage].

Your Class is eligible for evolution.

Select evolutions?

Y/N

Luke’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t even know classes could evolve. He immediately confirmed and was met with a list of different evolutions.

Each one offered was dramatically superior to Rogue in stat growth alone. He liked Rogue’s style, but it was just a beginner class. It made sense that it wasn’t meant to be anything more than the first step on the road to power.

It was a good thing he cleared out the nearby area of gigant rats. He needed time to think about his class evolution. There was no way he was going to pass up this opportunity.

[Scout]

The first in and the last out. A Scout has enhanced detection abilities that make them first in their class at spotting traps, enemy ambushes, and plotting the best routes forward. Scout abilities focus on supporting their allies and spotting trouble before trouble spots them, giving them and their allies plenty of time to develop an appropriate response. Class stats awarded per level: +1 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +5 Perception, +1 Free Point.

Luke shook his head. He was a soloer now, whether he liked it or not. There were far too many mentions of “allies” in the description of Scout for him to entertain it seriously.

Besides, he didn’t like being a support. He wanted to be in the thick of things, killing and fighting where his blade could do the most good.

Leave the scouting to somebody who wanted to stay out of the fray.

[Thief]

Masters of the covert, a Thief will always look for the perfect opportunity to attack where they can cause the most damage with the least amount of effort. Thieves possess great survivability, but lack some of the heavier hitting attacks of other Rogue evolutions. However, their iconic abilities allow them to gain treasure from unexpected places, allowing them to upgrade their gear without ever visiting a shop. Class stats awarded per level: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

That class evolution quickly caught Luke’s interest.

Now Thief sounds more my style, Luke thought. His growing excitement reminded him of when he fought a monster and leveled up for the first time.

It was hard not to whistle at Thief’s perks. While it didn’t say explicitly what it could do, being able to find more loot was always a bonus.

Even more important now that he was on his own.

The description for his longsword seemed to suggest that there was loot lying around in the ruins, waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, he was leaving the ruins behind.

That left the forest and all its mysteries hidden beneath its green canopy. Anything that would give him an edge with regards to loot would be immensely valuable since he’d be far away from ruins and the core area where most people seemed to be centered.

And its enhanced survivability was more than welcome.

While Luke had been able to repurpose equipment from Marcy’s henchmen, most of those items were originally discovered in the ruins and nearby areas. So far, he hadn’t been able to find much in the way of gear upgrades without grabbing it from a fallen enemy.

As a result, he was far from fully equipped. His cloak was showing wear, with various torn holes and rents.

Looking down, Luke inspected his clothing. He still had his dress clothes from the office, which hadn’t fared much better than the cloak. In fact, despite being beneath the cloak, his clothes were in a far worse state.

One of the pant legs was completely gone below his left knee. Clearly, whatever the cloak was created out of was made of stronger stuff than Earth’s materials.

I could definitely make use of Thief’s treasure hunting ability, and survivability has always been part of Rogue’s weaknesses, Luke thought, recalling when he was first presented the Rogue class by the System.This class never gave me anything directly defensive or restorative in nature.

Altogether, Thief felt like a direct upgrade to Rogue. It had greater survivability, perks for finding loot, and still was focused on swift damage.

Thief’s only real downside in Luke’s opinion was that it wouldn’t manifest as powerful hitting skills as other evolutions.

Still, he looked over the next evolution, just in case it was even better than Thief being offered.

[Marksman]

The Marksman is a blend of patience and cunning, staying at range at all times and possessing supernatural accuracy no matter the conditions. Trading survivability and melee capacity for ranged death dealing, a Marksman is most in their element within a group or safely out of range of an opponent’s reprisal. You’ve shown great aptitude with ranged weapons, granting you the opportunity to switch to another class branch. Your current incompatible skills will morph into those befitting the Archer starter class and you will be able to select new Archer skills. Class stats awarded per level: +4 Strength, +4 Dexterity, +4 Perception, +1 Willpower, +1 Free Point.

In Luke’s mind, the choices were between Marksman and Thief. Thief kept him on the Rogue path he had been following but amplified all its abilities while covering some weaknesses with its survivability.

The addition of loot finding had the potential to be amazing, but since he knew so little about the System, he wasn’t about to believe it at face value.

That would change if he could see the skills the class had access to. Though it was possible it didn’t come with any, and he had to wait until he was level 15.

Thief offered the highest stats of all 3 classes. A total of 16 versus Scout’s 12 and Marksman’s 14. That, more than anything, made this life-changing decision easier.

Not to mention that Marksman would change all of his abilities to Archer ones. That was a severe downside to Luke.

If I wanted to be an Archer, I would have picked it to begin with, he thought to himself with a frown.

Though the fact that the System was giving him the chance was enlightening. It meant that, if he pushed himself in a particular direction, the System might try to help him along by allowing him to switch starter branches.

His recent reliance on throwing knives had clearly influenced the choice.

This didn’t turn out to be a tougher decision than choosing between [Barrage] and [Puncture], but it was still vitally important. Scout was already out of the question, but he had to admit that Marksman was tempting despite the lower stats.

If the System was trying to tell him that his fighting style was more akin to an Archer, who was he to ignore the free advice?

His choice here would influence what skills he could earn in the future, what stat points he would gain per level, and possibly even additional class evolutions down the line.

He hoped there would eventually be even more advanced classes to pick from, provided he leveled up enough.

He found himself wondering what Thief might end up evolving into. Some kind of skirmisher, maybe? Considering Archer was a beginner class, he wondered what Marksman would turn into as well.

Maybe the classes would become progressively more sophisticated versions of themselves.

Luke struggled to narrow down his choices. He had decided against Scout almost as soon as he read its description. His bloodline was able to cover what the class offered, with its heightened awareness and extrasensory prowess.

People tended to ambush from places of darkness, but shadows held no secrets for Luke. Which was a bit ironic, considering that seemed to largely contribute to his eligibility status for Scout.

Leaning his head back against the cool stone, Luke ruminated over his decision.