Chapter 7:

  The Exodus Part 1

  Allura, Jade, and their crew spent most of the day mountain climbing, having to navigate loose shale terrain, the occasional cliff and outcropping, and even avoid a weak landslide or two. It's not until late in the afternoon, almost sunset, that they managed to find a nice cave to hide themselves in, after Allura took down a bear-like monster lurking inside. Only once everyone's settled were they able to check their System logs, to a couple of nice surprises.

  System Notice: Hidden Quest, destroy a Sydonia work camp, escaping unscathed, completed.

  Allura: You have leveled up to Level 10. Please choose an appropriate profession. Level locked and earned EXP stored until choice is made.

  Available professions: Alchemist, Assassin, Slave Master, Freedom Fighter, Rebel, Hedge Mage, Necromancer.

  Jade: You have leveled up to Level 10. Please choose your desired dungeon perk. Level locked and EXP stored until choice is made.

  Available perks: Mimicry, Landscaping, Sapper, Mechanical Engineer. Biologist, Necromancer.

  Blueprints acquired: Horned bear, all organs and sub-categories.

  “Did any of you get a System Quest notification?”Allura asks only to be met with silence and the shuffling of feet, all the rescued slaves can do is stare at the floor. “Alright, don't need to take out your tents, since we're in a cave, but unpack your bedrolls and get some rest, everyone. Hopefully, tonight we'll get a good night's sleep.”

  Following the instructions laid out, the weary slaves unpack their bedrolls and go to bed, collapsing in exhaustion. Allura, before going to bed herself, speaks with Jade to consider their options.

  “So, who's going to take the first watch?”

  “I'm a dungeon core, I don't need sleep, but you do. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out on everyone.”

  “Oh? And how will you do that?”

  Jade reshapes the rock in a circle, radius roughly one meter around Allura and rolls around in a groove he carved. “I was thinking of something like this.”

  “Oh, now that is clever! Before I go to bed then, let's go through these hidden quest rewards and all that!”

  Quest Info: Though The System can not feel emotions such as hate, its main purpose is to better the world any way it can, specifically opposes any form of tyranny or oppression and will actively give hidden rewards to those who act in the behest of freedom. The oppression this time was orchestrated by an idiot, but his backers are not. As such, the participants were granted generous rewards plus a bonus for escaping with refugees unnoticed (more or less).

  System Info: Available jobs.

  Alchemist: You work with the elements of nature and man to create changes in the environment, living conditions, food preparation, meals, medicines, etc. Unlock conditions. Be trained in and learn several recipes to mimic magical effects with non-magical means. Bonuses to INT and DEX. Profession starts with unlocking all “Life Magic” spells for free. Restrictions: User cannot engage in direct combat as long as Alchemist is the primary profession. If alchemist is a secondary profession, direct combat will be penalized.

  Assassin: Unlock conditions. Kill a squad of enemy soldiers without being noticed, harmed, or leaving behind any conclusive evidence. Profession offers significant boosts to agility, stealth, proficiency with poisons; manufacture, use, identifying, and immunity. Boosts DEX and LUK. Cannot use armor heavier than leather. Weapons are limited to darts, daggers, and crossbows. This profession tends to do poorly in direct combat but is excellent for ambush and setting or disarming traps.

  Slave Master: Unlock conditions. Legally capture and enslave at least one individual, lead a group of slaves owned by the user, without resistance, use of force, or abuse. Profession offers significant boosts to all attributes except LUK. Warning: Profession is deeply hated in countries such as Furcadia, The Holy Kingdom of Elysium, and The Norton Free Republic. Further, abusing slaves in any way outside of internationally recognized discipline suffers severe penalties in EXP, stats, and reputation.

  Freedom Fighter: Unlock conditions. Defeat a great social injustice, whether by internal reform or external reform, even the destruction of a place where people are openly oppressed and abused. Profession is a “jack of all trades, master of none.” No stats are boosted, and user can use talents from most, if not all, other professions, but unable to specialize in any one field. Restrictions: User cannot willingly and knowingly turn a blind eye to injustice and must make an attempt to rescue the oppressed, regardless of personal risk whenever physically possible. Failure to comply results in severe penalties across the board.

  Rebel: Nobody tells you what to do! You are the master of your own destiny! Profession offers bonuses to INT and WIS and immunity to all forms or mind control, possession, or compulsion of any kind, including slavery. Unlock conditions. Refuse to obey orders against your will under any conditions, including under a slavery contract, regardless of physical or magical intimidation or injury. Restrictions: Loyalty and subordination to an authority figure must be situational and temporary, at best. Absolute subordination, regardless of reason, is strictly forbidden. This profession will greatly weaken and disappear if these restrictions are not complied with.

  Hedge Mage: Unlock conditions. Use magic or magical effects without training by any other mage or magical profession. Bonuses applied to INT, DEX, and LUK. Profession allows for learning magic by seeing it in action without studying scrolls, texts, books, or a formal educational setting. User also gains significant bonuses to creating unique magics and magical effects. This even applies to magic seen before getting the profession, though time will reduce the benefit. Restrictions: While the user can learn magic from books, scrolls, or a formal setting, the learning speed will be greatly reduced, and the output of spells learned via theory and rote will be greatly weaker than those learned by instinct, practice, or trial and error. This profession is favored by commoners, paupers, freedom fighters, and so on that normally do not have access to traditional magical academies.

  Necromancer: One who works with the dead. Unlock conditions, repeatedly handle, dissect, dismantle, or destroy corpses, or closely assist someone else who does. Contrary to popular opinion, this profession does not create nor control undead and offers no assistance in resurrection by either magical or mundane means. It does grant bonuses in performing autopsies to determine cause of death, time of death, and treating certain illnesses or ailments. Bonuses to WIS and CON. User gains proficiency in identifying toxins, illnesses, and injury via knowledge of anatomy. Combat bonuses are granted when fighting corporeal undead. Increased probability of targeting and affecting a vital point in combat with living beings. Restrictions. Profession is outlawed in the Holy Kingdom or Elysium, punishable by death.

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  Next profession choice at level 30.

  “Well, Alchemist is right out. Sure, it's nifty with its INT and DEX bonuses and the ability to make my own potions is definitely a plus, not to mention starting out with 'Life Magic', but being locked out of direct combat when it's just you and I, and these poor wretches who are so mind-broken that they can't lift a finger in their own defense? Not happening.” says Allura as she starts going through her options. “Assassin. Now that sounds all nice and fancy. Being able to identify, make, and be immune to poison? Definite plus. Excelling in ambush tactics and being able to spot, disarm, and make traps? That would definitely be helpful in the guerrilla warfare we're currently stuck with. The penalty to direct combat is a minus, but we're not in a position where we can take our enemies head-on in the first place. Certainly promising. Keep it on the back-burner for now.

  “Slave Master. Ugh. That's a flat out 'Nope!' it doesn't matter to me how many stat boosts it has or how ethical The System tries to make it, as far as I'm concerned, slavery is the greatest social ill in the world and I want no part of it! If I could set free those wretches we're stuck with, confident they could go their own way without further aid from me, or anyone else, I'd be setting them loose this very second.

  “Freedom Fighter and Rebel. Yeah, they're very tempting, but no dice. Both of them have severe restrictions on my actions, and Rebel's especially bad, since I'm bound to you, Jade, to the point that I can't live without you. That's just a terrible synergy. Freedom Fighter.... While I'd likely try to help the oppressed anyway, ignoring my own safety? Yeah. No.

  “Hedge Mage. Now that's interesting. Being able to learn magic just by watching it in action? That's got all sorts of potential. Not too happy about being penalized for learning magic from scrolls, books or academies, but our situation doesn't exactly lean towards book learning anyway. Shelved.

  “Necromancer. Hmm. While it sounds useful, being put on death row just for having the job is a definite downside, especially as we have to pass through the country that has a death penalty for even knowing the profession. So that's a hard pass. Seems like a toss-up between Assassin and Hedge Mage. What do you think, Jade?”

  “Hmm. What's your Max MP again?”

  “Oh?! Good question. I'd forgotten all about that, due to my MP being locked as a slave. Haven't even looked yet,” she blushes furiously “STATUS.”

  STATUS

  Name: Allura Level: 10 Exp to next level: 0/1000 (Temporarily locked)

  Job: Dungeon Boss/TBD

  Race: Rabbit-kin Were-Giant-Vampire Bat

  HP: 100/100

  MP: 50/50

  STR: 25/25

  CON: 25/25

  DEX: 20/20

  INT: 20/20

  WIS: 20/20

  CHA: 18/18

  LUK: 100

  System Information: TBD. To Be Determined. Awaiting Profession choice at level 10. Stats may be changed due to profession, level will be unlocked.

  “Huh?! 50 MP max isn't too bad, a bit below average at level 10, especially with an INT of 20, and my stats max have pretty much gone up across the board, but why the hell has my max CHA gone down?! It used to be a max of 20, but now it's a max of 18?! I know it's only two points, but ARRGGHHH!!”

  “Perhaps it's the difference between being cute and being sexy? Anyway... I'd say go with Assassin first and then it will be a toss-up between Alchemist and Hedge Mage for the second profession choice. After all, if your Max MP is below average, even with such impressive stats, perhaps magic isn't your calling.”

  (Still blushing)”Oh, okay, I guess. System, Assassin please.”

  Assassin Class unlocked. You have learned [Hide in Shadows], [Silent Steps], [Target Vitals], [Shadow Teleport], [Master Poisoner], [Perfect Disarm], [Sapper], [Dagger Mastery], [Dart Mastery], [Crossbow Mastery].

  DEX increased to 25/25

  LUK increased to 125

  MP increased to 75/75

  CHA increased to 20/20.

  System Information:

  [Hide in Shadows] allows the user to become almost entirely invisible in any shadow, provided they do not attempt to blend into shadows while being directly observed. Cost: None

  [Silent Steps] makes the user's footfalls considerably harder to hear while the skill is active. Cost 5/minute.

  [Target Vitals] allows the user to directly attack a vital organ or critical weakness in their target, has a chance of bypassing armor, mundane or magical. Chance calculated by (INT+DEX+STR+LUK)/4 percent. Damage upon successful strike multiplied by 4, if the attack goes completely unnoticed, the target will be instantly slain. Cost 10 MP

  [Shadow Teleport] allows the user to teleport from one shadow to another, either in line of sight or where the user has been before. Cost 1 MP/ meter between shadows.

  [Master Poisoner] is a passive skill that allows immunity to all normal poisons and increased resistance to magical poisons, automatic identification of poisons, venom, and poisonous or venomous materials, and creating poisons by normal or magical means. Creating poison by magical means costs 10 MP per poison and the poison lasts 20 seconds.

  [Perfect Disarm] allows the user to disarm traps or remove them for later use. The former will always succeed. The latter has a chance of failure based on the complexity of the trap and other environmental factors.

  [Sapper] allows the user to identify any traps within line of sight, and to devise/build traps with any or all available materials.

  All weapon mastery skills are self-explanatory. The user will use the specified weapon as if they were born knowing how to use them and will need no further instruction in its use.

  Warning: While the user can carry any weapon except daggers, darts, and crossbows, attempting to it them will cause the user to drop the weapon and have it fly out of reach.

  “Oh! Wow! That's awesome! Yeah! Now, the only issue is getting my hands on a crossbow, dagger, and darts! The only blueprints you got from those soldiers were swords and bows, right?”

  “Uh. Yeah. Though I suppose the simplest dagger is just a very small sword, so it shouldn't be too hard to make one for you...”

  As Jade tries doing so, making a “sword” that is about 30 cm rather than one meter, he gets a System message.

  Blueprint acquired: Simple dagger.

  “And there we go! A simple dagger for you!”

  “Hehe! And now, we've got to pick out your perk, don't we?”