Bacon Macleod
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Chapter 118: Long Awaited Destiny pt. 1
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 20:30:01 +0000 UTCKaius gasped, sitting bolt upright like he had been hit by lightning. He whirled his head around, disoriented and confused. A moment ago he had been sitting on the summit of the dwarven city, confirming his class selection. Now, he was…somewhere.
Craning his head back and forth, he gasped as he realised that he was in the Sea. It was unmistakable. The rich scent of earth and pine, the cold wind that rolled off the mountains, and the ever-present warmth of the sun. Jaw slack, he looked up.
Far above him, a green canopy rustled. Branches shifted and swayed in the breeze, sun streaming through the leaves as odd bars of illumination shone through the gaps. Through those, he saw an unmistakable blue.
It was gorgeous.
He sat there, rooted in place, simply drinking in the environs. Letting the soft sounds of wind, trees, and nature suffuse him. Drinking in the warmth of the sun, he realised just how much he had felt confined in the restrictive environments of the Depths. Even with caverns larger than most cities, and underground groves, it was a poor substitute for the world at large.
“Gorgeous isn’t it? I can see why it was chosen for you.” An oddly familiar voice said from behind him.
Kaius started, whipping around as his hand dropped for his sword. His open palm slapped a hip covered in soft cotton. Wherever he was, his armour and blade hadn’t come with him.
Standing behind him was a cowled figure, leaning up against the trunk of a tree. His robe was a deep mottled green, made of a thick woollen weave that did much to obscure all identifying details in its depths.
Kaius launched to his feet, backing up as he raised his arms, ready for a fight. He might not have his weapons, but that didn’t mean he was helpless.
“Who are you?” Kaius called out, his tone hard. “And how did I get here?”
The figure stayed lounging against the base of an oak tree, unperturbed by his readiness for violence. He chuckled softly.
“I am your guide,” they said simply. “And this? This is your class selection.”
The words rushed through Kaius, shock radiating down his spine. He’d known little of what to expect for class selection, only that he would have to pick between a number of options. He’d expected many things, but being plopped down in the Sea with a mysterious figure was not one of them.
He eyed the cowled man warily, his arms slowly lowering to his sides. “Guide? What do you mean?”
The cowled man lifted his arms up, causing Kaius to raise his fists once more.
“Woah there,” The man said, raising a placating hand. “Just taking off my hood.”
Their hands continued upwards, gripping the thick fabric of the cowl that obscured their face. They pulled it back slowly, revealing a thick mop of brown hair streaked in grey. A scarred, strong nose jutted out from rugged features marred by the slightest wrinkles. Piercing eyes magnetised his own. Green, with flecks of gold.
Kaius froze.
“Before you ask, no, I am not you from the future.” Kaius the Elder said with a wry smile. “I am a construct of the system. Your guide, your choosing grounds, are shaped by the system to be in a context you can understand, and feel at ease with.”
Kaius the Elder gave Kaius a long look. “Relatively at ease, that is.”
He simply stared agog at the venerable version of himself, still leaning against the tree.
Kaius the Elder gave him a wry smile. One he had seen before in still water. “Look, I get that it's weird, but it's a lot better than when you just got plopped in a white space with a list of options. Much more likely you pick something suitable. I have your knowledge, but also I have just about everything the system knows locked up here.” The system construct tapped his temple with one finger.
“I can’t share most of it, but I can advise. Are you with me so far?” They asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.
Kaius gave a slow nod, coming to terms with the fact that he was talking to an aged clone in his childhood home. Now that he knew it was all a creation of the system, it did much to put him at ease. What was something like this in the face of a power that had reshaped his world?
“Good!” Kaius the Elder clapped, standing up straight from the tree and walking towards him. “Now, we have a little ground to cover. You’ve been a busy fucking bee, haven’t you?”
Kaius looked at the construct in surprise.
“What? I’m based on you, you swear all the time.” Kaius the Elder said.
“I mean, yeah…but isn’t it a little undignified for an emissary of the system.”
The construct waved him off. “Maybe if this was some grand proclamation, but I am only here to help guide you, and to do that effectively you need to feel at ease. The second I swore you just got a whole lot less tense, didn’t you?” They gave him a cheeky grin.
Kaius frowned, rolling his attention across his mental state. His guide was…right. He was feeling less guarded.
“See? Told ya.” The construct clapped him on the shoulder, before they walked past him deeper into the forest. Kaius hurried to follow.
“Now, you’ve got some really good options here, and a whole bloody lot of them. That's what you get for being the first unclassed to get Honours in your cohort, and some really bloody good ones at that. Now, are you interested in seeing anything not tied to glyph-binding? I promise you there are some really good options in that camp.” Kaius the Elder said, waggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous attempt at convincing him.
Kaius laughed, striding forwards to keep pace with his strangely aged reflection. “No, and make sure to narrow it to classes that make the best use of my general skills, and involve swordplay.” He said resolutely. Mixing magic and blade had been his goal since he was a child. There was no way he was ever going to give it up, not even if the gods themselves descended and offered him an Epic class.
“Are you sure? That will reduce your available options by more than you could ever imagine.” Kaius the Elder said, fixing him with a deadly serious look. “Think about it. Some of your feats are… immense. Even with discovering glyph-binding for your cohort, most of your skills and combat style lends itself towards direct confrontation. You have some strong achievements in that vein too. It goes the same with pure glyph-binding. It is powerful magic, one never before seen, and you will miss some of the deepest depths of it without a focused class.”
Kaius paused, considering the construct’s words as he stepped over a particularly thick root that snaked its way through the leaf litter that crunched with his every step.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Kaius the elder sighed in relief. “Good, you’re not an idiot.”
The construct took the lead once more as they weaved through the dense life of the Sea. Kaius the Elder was silent, though Kaius thought that was more to give him time to collect his thoughts than any need on the construct's end to ponder its words. Birds chirped softly in the distance, bringing a light smile to his face. Even if this place was fake, a simple mirage woven by the system to placate him, it knew its stuff. He felt more relaxed by the second.
The construct broke the silence. “Generalists suffer in some fashion, always. Even when the positives handedly out weigh them, you must consider the drawbacks. Glyph-binding is one of the few routes, and the most complete, though which one can utilise the arcane in close combat. Yet, splitting your focus like that has downsides. It is highly likely that the grandest workings will be out of reach, and it is even more likely that most of your spells will come from divine insight from the system, and you will have less of the base required to customise and derive new ones as needed. This is one of glyph-bindings greatest strengths, and you will be sacrificing it to use a sword.”
Kaius the Elder turned his head, watching him closely as they led their way forwards with confidence. “You won't be sacrificing power, and you are still likely to develop a number of spells per skill and tier through the system’s aid- far more than most magi on your planet. Yet, this is still a sacrifice. I know you think you might be able to do it yourself anyway, you won't. Not for a long, long time.”
Kaius bristled, staring at the construct. “How could I not? I already have a glyph, see?” He raised his arm, showing off the runic construct that wrapped around the back of his hand and wrist.
The construct shook its head gently. “Kaius, I say this with confidence. Your father was perhaps the most dedicated, successful, and down right genius runewright of his generation. One of the best, ever. That-” Kaius the Elder jutted one finger at his glyph. “Is a hodge podge piece of shit. Not because your father is bad at what he does, but because glyph-binding is thoroughly divergent from other runic arts, and requires different sacred forms. Your father might have been able to do it with the reference, but you do not have a hundredth of his knowledge. His genius and dedication, maybe, but not his knowledge nor the backing and resources to gain it quickly. Without a dedicated class, you will not be freeform designing your own spells. Not for a long time.”
Kaius paused, digesting the construct’s words. At first he had felt disgruntled at his aged reflection’s disparagement of Father’s work, but as he sat and thought on it, he realised the construct had to be right. If, by the system’s own metric, Father had barely been able to patch something together that half worked, then he had no hope in the hells of devising new spells.
It was a sacrifice, one he couldn't ignore.
Kaius chewed his lip. “Would I be locked into specific spells, if I went that route?”
Kaius the Elder tilted his head back and forth. “In a sense. It differs by class, and each spell you select will be set in stone, but there is a lot more flexibility than you are probably imagining. At the very least, you will get multiple choices to select from. At best, you will eventually build up a sizable repertoire of examples and references to tweak of your own accord.”
Kaius’s ears pricked up at the construct’s closing words. Accruing hymns that he could learn from on his own time… That was more like it. Plus, it hadn’t said he would never be able to design them unassisted, only that it was a long way’s off…
“Do it.” He said, his spine straightening like steel. “Cull the pure glyph-binding classes.”
Kaius the elder looked at him, green and gold eye’s twinkling. “Good choice, kid. Now, let's talk about rarity. You’ve got quite the selection, do you want to trim any of the lower ranks?”
Kaius hummed. It made sense. He was sure he had done well. Unusual classes for sure, and perhaps if he was lucky a handful of Unique ones. That said, it seemed like a bad idea to ignore the Rare classes just because they were lower. Rarity was incredibly significant, but it wasn’t everything, he might miss something perfectly suited to him.
“Cull everything below Rare.” he said, resolute.
Kaius the Elder only grinned at him and gestured upwards with his thumb. Kaius gapped at the construct. It wanted him to go higher?
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. While his mind rebelled at the idea, he trusted that the construct was there to guide him to a well suited choice. He’d never heard of anyone having something bad happen during class selection. Even if people avoided talking about the experience, that was the sort of thing that would get out.
“Cull everything below Unusual.” He said, chewing on the words.
Kaius the Elder’s smile widened until it was almost manic, and the construct pointed up again. He froze, staring at them in sheer disbelief. It wanted more? That was ridiculous, how many Unique options could he possibly have to make it worthwhile to ignore an Unusual class? This was his first selection! He’d never even heard of anyone getting a Unique class so early, only in bardsong. It was only his legacy and Honours that gave him the confidence to even get one.
Slowing to a stop, Kaius placed one hand on a nearby trunk, feeling the reassuring grit of its bark. Unclenching his jaw, he worked the words out of his mouth. “Cull everything below Unique,” he said in a small voice, looking intently at the construct.
Kaius the Elder looked at him with feral intensity, green and gold eyes burning with ambition. He pointed upwards again.
“Come on kid, let’s see if you’ve got some balls.”
A/N: puts on a pitchfork proof vest and hides under a fireproof blanket
Comments
Kyle Cunnane
Defiance of the fall. It starts out good but gets really tedious. Imo it has turned into predatory slop. Teases advancement just to end on a cliff than spends half the next chapter justifying the cliff, so nothing gets done. First couple books are good though
yohan gu
What’s DoTF? Is it a recommended read ?
yohan gu
Yes, but this is more entertaining
Ihsan Gunay
Might also be due to his injury that prevented him from using his class skills.
BearerOfDoom
Good idea. Might unsub for a month or two. Get some chaps up
Apoca
The guide who has all of the system's knowledge said that "Your father was "... the past tense suggests his father is dead, not just imprisoned
torrey deloach
The blanket might be fireproof. But I didn't see anything about an oxygen mask or heat dispersion. Gonna bake me a writer.
Chris Fox
Fair play, you did warn us, but lordy is this a cliff
Zack Reid
OK conspiracy theorist, take your meds
CF Sapper
You son of a @$#&@$@#&$@$!!!! 🤬😡🫤🤣 You did this on purpose and I both love the troll and hate it!
Robin Richards
It's heading to DoTF levels of cliff hanging. You never end up with a complete thought in a chapter, instead half the chapter is spent paying off the cliff from last chapter and the rest is spent setting up the next cliff hanger. After a while it makes reading the story just unpleasant. It's why for all that I like DoTF quite a lot I don't consistently subscribe it's much more pleasant to read 50 or so chapters at a time.
Tommy
Something that could potentially evolve, but also including runeblade?
Edwin Canarte
. . . I should have waited
Robin Richards
Absolutely his class name is going to include Runeblade, that's a Steve Rogers calling "Avengers Assemble" moment, though just Runeblade feels too simplistic for what may well be an Epic or Legendary class. I imagine his actual class name will include some impressive adjectives indicating he's the first Runeblade in his cohort.
Jamarr
He should just ask what rarity his Top 10 choices are and then go from there. He does not need to play 20 Questions with the construct.
M van Dongen
Ps. MOAR!
Kory Smith
The book is literally called “Rise of the Runeblade” so I would put money on the chosen class being called RuneBlade…
Marc Savage
We've already paid Patreon. You don't have another tier you monster
Gonk
I am punching in the nuclear codes as I speak. I don't know where you live, but surely one will hit you
Cody
Find out next time on Bacon Ball Z
Tommy
Just gotta get through it til we find out the info. This isn’t even enjoyable to read anymore for me tbh
Robin Richards
Not even class names? That's evil.... On the other hand, I was expecting his Class rarity to max out at Heroic and his guide certainly seems to be indicating that Heroic is the minimum he has access to. We know that Class rarity has an impact on stat gain, I also assume it affects the average rarity of Class skills as well as the likelihood and quantity of General Skill evolutions. Given that's the case then as a Hybrid class he certainly should be a worse fighter or glyph binder than a pure class of the same rarity, but his opposition will not be the same rarity. His class skills on average should be better than his opposition, he'll have fewer combat skills even when he completes his class at level 180-200 than a pure fighter and fewer caster skills than a pure shaper or channeler (there are no other glyph binders yet) but the skills he does have in each area should simply be better, either stronger in a narrow focus or broader with equivalent power. To be clear, it is implied most people max out their Class rarity at Unusual, if Kaius manages an Epic class, then he has a three-rarity advantage over anyone he meets. He won't be able to match high level opponents immediately but between his existing Honours, a Superior class, his full legacy with evolutions and whatever benefits Aspects give, he's going to close that gap much faster than people realise.
BearerOfDoom
🤣🤣🤣
Ryan Naquin
Oh no the author that ends every chapter on a clif ended this chapter on a cliff. Who could have seen this comming.
Aristeidis Tsialos
I don't think he should be rejecting options sight unseen. At the very least he should consider everything above Heroic.
Aureus
Almost like he uses a rack to stretch these chapters out to be too long, literally and figuratively. Pitchforks won't do us justice, but lawyers might.
luxrus
Cliff 5 in a row
Tim Judge
Forget the pitchfork. I'm sharpening my chainsaw. nice chapter . Was worth trying but I don't really like the double space paragraphs. Too much like a power point slide. ... Hah that's gotta hurt worse than a pitchfork.
Nim
I mean, he could just ask "what're the rarities on my five rarest options", but I guess that's less tense:)
retrorocket0
I think the idea is that there is so many classes available to him that he could be studying for years if he didn't cull some of them. my guess though is that what we will acually see will be a smaller selection then would be beneficial in reality though.
Robin Richards
Epic then Legendary
PboyÖ02
No way he gets just a heroic class. Time to find out about the next rarities.
David F
🔫 alright hand over the next chapter and no one gets hurt! TYFTC
Brendan Hoffman
A pitchfork proof vest won't save you from our glyphs!
Mackenzie Larson
This is what I get for not heeding your warning about banking this chapter! Awesome chapter though, thanks!!
Lukke Sweet
Do you accept bribes for extra chapters? No need for violence…..
Amelgar
hmm... culling all those options seems unwise. you could probably glean a fair bit of information from all the different paths available.
M van Dongen
HAHAH You forgot to defend yourself from the most obvious danger. That Cliff.......I think you should examine it a bit more *closely*....... /e Hoists Author-san on his own Petard.
Persepolis
*grabs pitchfork proof vest proof pitchfork*
Mimic
Wow, Never seen a class selection so long
Lukke Sweet
Isn’t heroic the only thing about unique?
Rheklr
Oh this is spicy. I wonder if there are ranks above heroic?
BlackMarch
damn.... * puts away torch and pitchfork*
the oldest dream
Thanks for the chapter You can't hit us with this cliffhanger it's straight up evil
Kooooomakimi
Too many cliffs, I'd dump these chapters in a big bundle at royalroad if I were you or else you'd probably piss off a lot of people.
Zion Davis
If I could get my hands on you, I’d strangle you and then bring you back to life you cliffhanging shit. I love you though.
