Deep in the heart of the Felgrin forest, Gene and Winnie met up with the rest of the team, having located them with his thought detection. The pair were giddy, making the rest of Silvayn wary of what was to come. They ducked down next to them.

  “Ok….,” whispered Kyrie as he looked from them to the target of interest before saying, “We were getting ready to come back but now that you’re here we can press forward. That giant tree up ahead? Looks to be an Elder Wood Elemental but something’s wrong.”

  “It’s been corrupted by the void mana it's been bathing in for god knows how long,” whispered Eonis. “I’ve tried to connect with it but there’s nothing there anymore. We’ll need to hit it fast and hard but if we’re smart, we can take it down.”

  Winnie let out a wicked laugh and stood up, saying, “I’ve got this covered.”

  She looked back to Gene and winked before striding ahead to the shock and horror of the others. Gene chuckled and said, “Relax. Let her work.”

  He raised his hands to his templates and focused, reaching out to Winnie’s mind as he activated Neural Boost. She inhaled deep and exhaled as the world around her seemed to slow down. Her mind began to race as hundreds and then thousands of thoughts bloomed into being and were neatly sorted by her mental partitioning. Through her hypercognition, she knew everything there was to know about the Elder Wood Elemental, could map out the steps it would take in her presence, and how best to stack her spells to eliminate it effectively.

  When she reached approximately 120 feet away from the elemental, it stirred and rose far faster than a creature of its massive stature should have been able to move. It towered over her, a lush colossus, and fist the size of a great oak flew through the air towards her. It was all as she calculated.

  Winnie raised both hands with a flourish and began to dual cast a fireball spell, stacking the effect as she modified variables on the fly until with a satisfied whisper she said, “Plasmaball.”

  A massive globe of lumescent light sprang to being in front of her, compressed into the side of a marble, and rocketed through the air, crashing into the chest of the elemental and annihilating the creature. When the smoke cleared the rays from the sun shone down on the new clearing created from her spell. She turned back to the group and exhaled when Gene stopped concentrating his effect and the both of them ran towards each other and cackled. The other members of Silvayn stood frozen, flabbergasted at what the two of them had created.

  ?

  The rest of their travels to Balora became routine. The dark air around Winnie had dissipated with Gene’s help and they spent the time working together until she acclimated more to the sensation. Amara switched off training with the others, pushing to level 14 after a near deadly clash. When they were close to Balora and Amara had gained enough experience to be near her first level gate, the team gathered together for one final assault on a nest of Gryphons.

  Gene winced at the thought, remembering his fall to New Venturis when he interrupted the flight of a flock of Gryphons. He wondered for a moment if they were the same creatures before shaking the idea out of his head. With focused precision, they attacked the nest, gaining both meat for a feast and the last points of experience Amara needed to gain her subclass.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  They celebrated that night, just outside of the bounds of Balora, dining on stewed Gryphon wings as Amara stood before them. She was nervous, they all were. They treaded on uncharted grounds. For as far back as the current history of New Venturis went, classes and their subclasses had been an empirical fact of life. When you came of age and selected a class, your path was dictated by which subclass you took or if you continued down the path of the paragon. For Amara, her path was unknown and she prepared to take a step on it with guidance from the new friends and family she had found. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them to perform the status ritual.

  Her eyes opened wide at the options unveiled to her and she smiled, letting out the breath she had been holding as she said, “Barrier Warrior, Shieldbearer, and Spatial Mage.”

  Everyone cheered at the announcement, jumping to their feet in applause.

  “Well done, Amara!” exclaimed Winnie.

  “I knew you could do it!” exclaimed Eonis.

  Gene and Kyrie both hooted in support and Kyra walked over to hug the girl as she began to describe the paths before her.

  The Barrier Warrior excelled in combat by shaping their projections into blades and projectiles. The Shieldbearer’s defensive capabilities were next to none and they could produce near indestructible barriers with the power to deflect or redirect projectile and magical attacks. The Spatial Mage was able to open bubbles in space, drawing in exotic energy to produce explosive effects.

  They all marveled at the choices presented to her and Gene asked, “So, which way were you thinking of going?”

  She looked at him and smiled before looking up in thought. Rummaging through her memories, Amara saw herself sitting with the members of Silvayn around the fire as Gene recounted stories of superheroes to her. Back then, she was struck by his descriptions of the woman who was the strongest of the team. The woman had used her powers time and again to save her family from certain danger and Amara wanted to do the same.

  She nodded abruptly and tried to look serious as she said, “This team lacks a defensive component and so I will be your Shieldbearer.”

  The team cheered again and Amara made a tiny curtsy before confirming her selection. She glowed as power and the knowledge of how to use it flowed into her. When the light disappeared, she jumped into the air and made a platform beneath her feet as stable as a stone bridge.

  With that concluded, they turned to the impending task laid before them. Balora was on the horizon and it was time to make a plan. Kyrie pulled out the necklace from Liris and activated the magical item, projecting a map of the fallen city. To Gene, it felt out of time and out of place. It was a futuristic stronghold with towers that stretched into the heavens and floating buildings sprinkled around the mazelike area. Kyrie motioned to two towers, one at the center of the city, and one deeper in the bounds of the stronghold.

  “The central library and the headquarters of the first United Front,” said Kyrie as he pointed to each building. He looked up at Gene and said, “Before their destruction, they were the main force driving back the dark lord’s assault. When their city collapsed, the tide of war shifted and the dark lord was able to gain far more territory.”

  “It’s my hope that if their records remain, we may be able to empower our people and be ready for when the Dark Lord mounts his next offensive,” said Winnie, following up Kyrie’s dictation.

  Eonis groaned slightly and said, “Be on guard. Nature abhors a vacuum and with that massive loss of life and time being bathed in dark energy, there’s no telling what could be left behind.”

  “And that is why we need to be quick,” said Kyrie as he drew the map closed. “We get in and get out in the fastest way possible.”

  Gene’s stomach churned and he said, “Oh god. Please don’t say what I think you’re about to say.”

  Kyrie looked at him and nodded grimly before saying, “We’re going to split the party.”

  What to expect:

  - Real-world stakes

  - Big man with a big hammer

  - Brutal fight scenes

  - Weak to strong MC

  - Animal companion

  - Antagonists of multiple kinds: monsters, world mechanics, and humans