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[The Distinguished Mr. Rose] Chapter 4: In Which the Party Chooses Their Class
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 16:06:58 +0000 UTC“Now then,” Lucius began. “Have you all chosen a class yet?”
He was quite interested to see what this mysterious system picked out for the others. It seemed to take account of the persons’ traits, their background and specialty, so he had a general idea of their possible options. However, in the end it was up to the individual to decide which path they would take. Just like how Lucius forego those drab, ominous sounding titles, perhaps his new companions would surprise him.
Mili was the first to raise her hand, and she excitedly played a quick tune on her guitar, exploding to life with a wicked sick pose. “You betcha. Feast your eyes upon… the Guitarist of the Thunder God!”
BLAM!
Little streaks of electricity flew out and surrounded her body in a barrier of static discharge: sparking, colliding, filling the air with a searing charge. The others had to back away lest they be exposed to a harsh zap.
“Damn!” Jack exclaimed, covering his mouth in awe. “Now that looks powerful.”
“Hehe, figured I’d pick what sounded coolest.”
Marco let out a curious “Huh” and crossed his arms. He still looked a little apprehensive about following the system’s commands, but his curiosity slowly started to win over. The draw of power was ever alluring.
“What’s it like, suddenly being all magical?” he asked.
Mili tilted her head and pondered for a bit, before replying rather simply. “It’s kinda weird, but I don’t really feel all that different. When I picked the class everything suddenly became natural: I knew how to do this, how to activate that, what my limits were and stuff. It’s as if I’ve had these powers my entire life.”
“That so?” Marco sighed and muttered something indecipherable. He paced around, clicked his tongue, and shook his head a few times as if he were engaging in some grand debate with himself. But eventually, he stopped, and looked back towards his companions. “Fine, I’ll bite the bullet. Let’s see here… how about this one?”
The moment he stopped speaking, something changed. It was hard to put a finger on it, but Marco’s figure seemed sharper: more finely honed. His posture shifted into a more well-balanced stance, and his already menacing gaze only increased in ferocity.
“You were right,” he said, slowly clenching his fist and cracking his knuckles. “It’s like nothing changed. Hell, this feels so normal it’s almost unsettling. I don’t like this one bit, being treated like some hapless oaf, but if it helps with survivin’ then I’ll just have to grit my teeth and bear it.”
“No need to be so grim, Mister Bernardi,” Lucius said, cheering him up. “We still know not of our captor’s true motive. Let us think of the positives.”
Mili slowly nodded along, donning the air of a wise old sage. “When the world goes crazy, you just gotta go with the flow. But what did you choose, big guy? I’m guessing something to do with busting skulls.”
Marco snorted and ruffled Mili’s hair, much to her dismay. “It’s not as flashy as yours, but I figured it’s the one that suits me best: The Unrelenting Brawler. Nothing fancy—just makes me punch harder, faster, and my body a little tougher.”
“A classic fighter type,” Jack said. “Simple but important. With this we’re pretty well balanced all things considering: We’ve got a lightning mage, a frontline attacker, and… um, Lucius as support I guess.”
“And what of yourself, Mister Thames?” Lucius said. “I’m very curious about the class you chose.”
“Oh, I’m not going to pick one. Not yet, at least.”
Hm?
Lucius blinked. And then blinked again. Surely, he… must have heard wrong.
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to save it for later, just in case.”
Oh dear.
“Were you not the one so adamant about its importance?” Lucius questioned. For all the man’s fuss mere moments ago, it utterly baffled Lucius that he would now choose to… well, not choose. The others were just as surprised.
Despite their doubt, however, Jack was the very picture of confidence. “Now, I know how it looks, but this is actually the smart thing to do. We’ve already got a strong enough party; think of me as the wild card. You never know what we just might encounter. Who knows? Putting my class off might just save us in the future.”
Lucius vaguely understood his intentions. If one were to somehow delude themself very, very, very deeply, and to throw all semblance of logic and reasoning and simple self preservation out the metaphorical window, then perhaps yes such a decision would seem to be correct.
“Mister Thames, do forgive me if I speak out of line, but I do not believe that to be the wisest decision.”
Jack grumbled and crossed his arms. “Come on, I’ll be fine. Don’t think I’ll hold everyone back just because I won’t have any skills—a weapon like a spear is more than enough to deal with some trash mobs. Not a sword, though. It’s a common trap in the genre for the protagonist to pick a sword as their starter weapon even though realistically it’s inferior in all ways to polearms and bows due to its shorter reach and difficulty to master—”
“I do not doubt your physical prowess, Mister Thames.” Lucius did, in fact, doubt his physical prowess. “But think of your own growth. If we did encounter such a scenario, you would be potentially forced into choosing a class that may not suit your strengths. Sure, it may be of aid at the moment, but what of later? Can you be certain it will still be of use after the peril has passed?”
Jack froze up at his words, grumbling and attempting his best to come up with a rebuttal. He failed. “Um…”
“Think of it like this: Imagine we were to suddenly encounter, oh I don’t know, a crocodile living in some manner of marsh. It was a fearsome foe, and amidst our struggle you chose to pick an aquatic-related class. Now that was very well and good, and thanks to your aid the beast was slain without problem, but would you look at that? Now we’d been transported to a hot, broiling desert, and your abilities unfortunately served of little aid there.
“That’s very specific conjecture to be sure, but the point remains: Rather than a highly specialized class catered for the specific moment, something you are familiar with and can be used in any scenario would be a much more worthwhile option.”
Lucius was quite proud of his example—oh it was just so fun to conjure up in his head! And the message itself seemed to be conveyed very clearly to the young Jack.
His face drooped, and his body sunk. Twice was the number he had been bested this day. Lucius almost felt sorry for the poor fellow - almost. Oh, who was he fooling! No, he was not whatsoever even close to feeling sorry for him. What a laugh to have even thought of such a thing.
“I think it would be better,” Lucius began, towering above him with a wide grin. “For you to choose now. Pick a class you can be confident in, and the rest of us will be able to work around you since we’ll have a better understanding of your capabilities. Let’s see… you are a data analyst, correct? How about something along the lines of that?”
Jack raised his head and reluctantly nodded. Bit by bit, his self esteem was being dashed away. “Uh, sure. Yeah, on second thought that makes sense. Guess there was a reason why the webnovels I read always had people complaining… haha…”
He cleared his throat and perused his panel for the odd moment. Jack was deep in concentration, staring so hard the veins in his eyes could practically be seen, but eventually he made his choice.
“Alright, I’ve got it,” he said.
The others leaned in expectantly, waiting for his grand reveal.
“I choose… Warrior!”
They waited for him to continue. He did not.
Marco, Mili, and Lucius alike—the group all fell silent.
“... Is that all?” Mili said, squinting her eyes. “Huh, figured you’d pick something, I dunno, more nerdy?”
“Yeah, sorry kid, but I don’t really get ‘Warrior’ when lookin’ at ya,” Marco added.
To that, Jack raised his hand in faux indignation and scolded them. “Wow guys, thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m more active than I look, alright? I go to the gym every now and then.”
So he said, but Lucius didn’t buy it. He had a hard time believing the so-called gamemaster would offer such a choice to the twig-like build that was Jack.
His behavior was also a bit off. He avoided making eye contact with anyone, head perpetually tilted down, and he had to constantly wipe away at his sweaty, red face.
Jack was hiding something.
But before Lucius could inquire any further, a new message window appeared before them.
>[Your Orientation will now begin. To prepare and adjust for the Tutorial, all players must attend a series of three preliminary screenings before they can proceed]<
Suddenly, the stone walls of the room gave way to reveal an ominous red door.
>[Attendance is mandatory. Failure to pass the screenings will result in death. Please, proceed through the door]<
The party gave each other a wary look, but there was no other path left except forward.
They grouped close together, steadied their hearts and hardened their faces, and stepped through the doorway.
But what they saw next was something they couldn’t have possibly expected—a girl.
There was a little girl, no older than ten, gagged, blindfolded, and strapped to a chair.
>[Orientation Part 1: Eliminate All Enemies]<
