Chapter 348 (1/2)

Randidly learned 3 things in the ensuing conversations with Neveah and Lucretia.

Number one, the idea actually seemed real. Upon further discussion, and examination of Lucretia’s Class, because hers was the most easily accessible example, it really seemed like a Class was actually just a larger version of Skills. It was THE Skill, for a person’s body and internal world. While other Skills related to the ability to accomplish certain actions, the Class related to people’s ability to interact with the System.

Which made a bit of sense, but also didn’t make sense. What did that really mean for Skills…? How did they work? Aether was the substance of them, but how did they improve…?

These questions were set aside, however, to deal with the actual relevant information more directly. The inner soul world of most people didn’t grow, like Randidly’s did, due to the lack of fresh Aether to fuel the growth. In terms of its relation to the System, the Aether of the Class itself settled around the soul world, almost like an inner armor, that would grow and spur growth.

It gave shape to the soul world, but also was an extremely dense and intricate construct of Aether, that incorporated images into the very fabric of it. It reminded Randidly of the way that the Creature had spoken words made of Aether against him when it was trying to convince him to found his Soul Skill for it, and included thick images of huge, ancient battlefields rife with death.

Of course, there were drawbacks to the Classes. Although they came from the Villages, there was still only a certain amount of rather impure Aether that they were made of, and only so much Aether flowed along the connection. The Class provided shape, but it was a strain on the Soul World, which they began to suspect was the reason for the additional Class restrictions. Which didn’t necessarily make sense, due to the fact that weaker Classes had fewer slots for additional Skills.

Or at least it didn’t make sense, before Neveah matter of factly suggested that it was because the images were too general, and therefore required more Aether to build. It was much easier to build a specific image of a Class than a general one, that would cover a wide variety of possibilities that would allow an individual to grow.

Spear Witch had a more elegant shape than the Warrior Class. And if the Class had been even more specific than that…

“Is it possible to practice creating a Class by… adjusting mine?” Lucretia asked, a winning smile on her face. Randidly could feel a tickle of discomfort at the prospect, at the same time as feeling that the opportunity would be pretty valuable experience. Especially because the prospect was one that they wouldn’t likely get anyone else to agree to…

But Neveah spoke up. “No. Idea bad. You warp.”

Along with the brief phrase was a string of very specific mental images that arrived at Randidly, involving the way that the specific connections between the huge Aether construct that was a Class and the Soul Space would change and be strained by the change, although her further thoughts clarified that it should be possible.

Which brought Randidly to his 2nd realization; Neveah was a fucking genius.

Her ability to quickly view and intuit Aether was ridiculous, to the point that Randidly wasn’t able to even touch her more unexpected insights. Perhaps it could be explained by her growing up inside of the Aether Crossroads… but it was more than that. The longer he examined her ideas… the more his own comprehensions increased at a rapid clip, and the more he recognized the gulf of differences between them.

Even Lucretia, who at first was extremely dismissive of Neveah based on the way she spoke, was becoming increasingly silent and accepting of Neveah’s pronouncements. Although it was somewhat intimidating, Randidly felt a surge of pride. After all… the two of them were intimately connected to each other.

At first, it was a shock, that she was growing so fast, and that her intellect was monstrous underneath her rather ineffective communication style. He had treated her… well basically like a mount. But she was… so much more than that.

And she was beginning to design him a Class, although they would still need to see how the Stone of Genesis and also Thea’s reward worked, to see the way the constructs of Aether were assembled and changed.

The 3rd thing Randidly realized was perhaps the most perplexing… but also, it was the most useless. And that was simply that… what was experience? It was perhaps more explainable at the Skill version, where it would mean you had improved. But in terms of Class… what were you gathering to advance it….? What was the fuel that drove it forward?

But there was no answer, and they had more important things to focus on at the moment.