Inexorable Chaos

The thing about levels, specifically monster levels, is that they don’t equate properly to class levels. Monsters evolve at every hundred level increment. Not all make it to that point, but those that do tend to make massive jumps in power.

Still, that growth will not make a monster all-powerful. It only means one is much stronger and requires significantly more effort to take down. A good analogy is a tank against a human. The tank is far more likely to win an engagement, but, give the man an anti-tank rocket launcher, and things begin to look more even.

Of course, that depends on the type of tank. Something with enough armor would be able to withstand several rockets, at the cost of speed, traction, and other factors.

That’s getting off topic. Like a tank, a [Conflagration Wyvern] is hard to take down. It is ridiculously strong and capable of spewing enough fire to set entire islands aflame.

But, like a tank, it has a weakness. And that weakness is its undoing. The [Conflagration Wyvern], though resilient, lacks the endurance it needs to withstand being sandwiched by two islands crashing into each other at barely below the speed of sound.

It’s because of this perfect panzerfaust that the [Hero] has a crazed but happy look as he stares at an invisible screen.

Level up X 2

Congratulations, you are now a level 207 [Necromancer]

Stat gains postponed until class [Necromancer] has evolved.

Please visit a system stone to obtain an evolved class.

Level up x 6

Congratulations, you are now a level 99 [BoneLord]

Level up x 9

Congratulations, you are now a level 87 [Magic Bard]

New skill obtained: [Arcane Crescendo]

[Arcane Crescendo][Rare]

At the peak of a musical piece, any single spell cast during that moment will be [Maximized], [Empowered], and [Extended]. The spell cast will have its mana cost reduced by 90% but will be incapable of being used for a week.

Quasi chuckles as he reads his new skill’s description. He imagines all the wonderfully violent and explosive things he can do with it. His musings are interrupted by the system’s ongoing updates.

Level Up x2

Congratulations, you are now a level 101 [Enchanter].

[Enchanter] class has exceeded Level 100.

Class Upgrade Available

Would you like to Upgrade Class [Enchanter]?

Just as the [Hero] is about to answer, the claws of the [Gale Wyvern] holding on his robes release him. He falls three meters before landing roughly on Nyxinia’s back.

“Fuck,” he says with a grimace.

“Master, is it dead? I cannot see, there is too much dust,”the Nyxinia asks him in Draconic.

Quasi takes a moment to survey at the devastation. Two islands had crashed into each other with so much force they both shattered on impact.A great cloud of dust and debris spread out from the destruction. Many of the islands below are shrouded, making them difficult to see.

“Yes, it’s dead.”

“How can you tell?” she asks and the [Hero] rolls his eyes.

“Because I can sense its bones, which are currently flying in several directions in thousands of pieces. If it can survive two islands slapping each other, then I doubt I have anything that could actually kill it. Also, I got a lot of level-ups.”

Nyxina tilts her head. “Then… that is good,” she says before taking in a breath of fresh air and releasing a piercing scream that scares the daylights out of the [Hero]. The scream is heard by all and all the wyverns scream reply. It’s a scream of victory that could probably be used as a weapon itself.

From out the dust soars Zemyna. Her scream resounds, her baritone howl joining her brethrens' chorus and rattling Quasi’s bones.

________________________________

Hours later, Quasi finds himself sitting near a large bonfire. The smell of cooking meat tickles his nostrils, but the [Hero] is focused on the last message, asking him if he would like to upgrade his class.

Would you like to Upgrade Class [Enchanter]?

It was the same question he had received about his [Necromancer] class. At the time, he had said yes and hadn’t considered anything else. Now, the question has left him confused. Jessica had explained to him that most people have at least two available classes to choose from when they reach level one hundred, but Quasi did not get such options.

When Quasi had reached level 100, the system had searched for the most compatible class and then awarded him with it. He had no opportunity to make a selection, his class was chosen for him. He was ignorant before, but now he understands that something is incredibly wrong with that, and the best way to prove it is through a test.

But…

“I really don’t want to,” he says as his eyes move to the [Incinerator Wyvern] that Alba controls. The wyvern looks at the [Hero] expectantly. The saddle is already attached and the only thing slowing them down is the rider.

“Scared?” Jessica asks, noticing Quasi’s hesitation.

The [Hero] shakes his head, “Scared, not really. I’m more annoyed. I really don’t like sweating up a storm.”

Jessica shrugs.

“Then you can wait a few days or we can head further east without your class upgrade. It’s your choice.”

Quasi groans at the injustice of it all. Dungeon stones need to be connected to the dungeon’s infrastructure to function. The islands are unfortunately floating, and thus don’t have any. So, only two options are available to him if he wants to use a dungeon stone. Either he can travel near the walls of the dungeon and find a dungeon stone sticking out, or he can travel down to the floor and find a stone sticking out of the extremely hot lava.

Option one would probably take several days, while option two can be done within hours.

“Fine!” the [Hero] shouts. He finally stands up. In two quick motions, he unties his robe and discards his shirt. Thorous blushes and Alba licks her lips, but Quasi ignores them as he walks to the [Incinerator Wyvern] and climbs onto its back.

“I’ll be back soon,” he says before smacking the side of the [Incinerator Wyverns] neck.

The [Incinerator Wyvern] gets to its feet, spreads its wings, and jumps into the air.

It flaps thrice before gliding off the island. Then it dips its head down and begins a vertical dive that has the [Hero] cursing up a storm.

____________________________

I have recently come to the conclusion that wyverns make for poor human mounts. Actually, no. They’re bad mounts for everyone. The problem does not lie in a lack of mobility, but because they’re way too mobile. The G forces could literally kill a man, but I don’t believe they’re even bothered by it. It might have something to do with their scales or their stats, which are generally much higher than a human’s.

Normal humans wouldn’t be able to stay conscious from the negative g forces unless they had outstanding endurance.

“Okay, please, please don-”

Just as we near the lava, the [Incinerator Wyvern] instantly shifts to horizontal flight and the deceleration crushes me. I black out for a moment before waking up as pain wracks my body.

“Ughhh, stupid goddamn overgrown pigeon,” I groan in Draconic. The [Incinerator Wyvern] chuckles.

“Weak,” it says and I reply with a glare. It doesn’t have a name, nor does it talk much, but it is very cocky.

Kinda reminds me of me, if I was significantly less awesome and had scaly wings.

I look around, finding mostly lava. The heat is near unbearable and I can already feel the sweat trickling down my forehead. I will not be able to survive in this kind of environment for too long.

“Alright, find a stone, and fly faster and higher. We don't need to be a meter from the lava.”

The [Incinerator Wyvern] complies. It rises up in the air, enough so that I can breathe with some relative normalcy. Then it accelerates, searching for a dungeon stone.

It takes a good half hour to find it, a crystal jutting five meters out of the lava. The whole thing looks red and very, very hot.

“Alright, get near the crystal and hover near it. I’m going to begin.”

The wyvern latches onto the rock, its claws and tail wrap around the stone and secure its position.

“Alright, that works too.”

I rise off the seat, climb up to its shoulder, and place my hand on the crystal. Pain shoots up my arm as my hand sizzles like a steak on the grill, but I ignore it as system messages pop up.

Class upgrades for [Enchanter] are available. Please select one of the following classes.

[Grand Enchanter]

[Bone Enchanter]

[Arcane Enchanter]

[Elemental Enchanter]

[Divine Enchanter]

[Flesh Enchanter]

[Ink Enchanter]

[Armor Enchanter]

[Blade Enchanter]

[Staff Enchanter]

....

...

“Holy crap,” I whisper in surprise. Hundreds of classes scroll through my vision, each available to me as an upgrade.

“It’s fucking broken. This doesn’t make sense.”

I continue reading, looking at the classes and their descriptions. So many are available and each have positives and negatives. From what I can see, most of the classes are specialties that dramatically increase the potential of a specific type of [Enchanting], whether that’s a specific thing I’m enchanting or a type of enchantment. But, not all classes are created equal, and some are just outright inferior.

For example, [Bone Enchanter] and [Flesh Enchanter] are two different classes that do similar things, but one of them is clearly better.

[Bone Enchanter]

An [Enchanter] specialized in enchanting bones. They are able to alter bone and magically enhance it with various abilities.

[Flesh Enchanter]

An [Enchanter] specialized in enchanting bodies. They are able to alter bodies and magically enhance them with various abilities.

[Flesh Enchanters] can also do what [Bone Enchanters] can do, which is strengthening bone with magic. The only exception is that they cannot directly manipulate the bone and change it. For me, it’s a non-issue given my [Necromancer] class.

But, neither class is for me, because the best upgrade, the one that the Kitsune have recommended to me, is [Grand Enchanter].

An [Enchanter] can enchant almost anything naturally, specializing only lowers the mana cost of applying the enchant so as to allow a more powerful enchant. For example, a [Bone Enchanter] might lower the mana cost of enchanting bone by 80%, a significant reduction. It makes sense for normal humans to take it, as they naturally have low amounts of mana; but the kitsune and I have enormous mana reserves that make the argument moot. No, the best class for me is [Grand Enchanter].

I ignore my smoking hand and accept the class.

Class selected.

Commencing class upgrade...

Congratulations.

Your class of [Enchanter] has upgraded to class [Grand Enchanter]

+1 Mana Regeneration

+80 Vitality

+200 Mana

+20 Perception

+10 Stamina

+5 Dexterity

+20 Intelligence

+100 willpower

New skills obtained

[Multi Enchant]

[Stacking Enchantment]

Skill [Disenchant] upgrades to [Grand Disenchant]

Skill [Enchant] upgrades to [Grand Enchant]

I look at the extensive stat bonuses and can only frown in understanding. Crafting classes are hard to level up, but the rewards at high levels are awesome .

I open up the descriptions for my new skills. I already know that the upgraded skills are just better versions of the former.

[Multi Enchant][Rare]

Allows the enchanter to place multiple enchantments on a single item at once, the potency of which decreases with the number of enchantments applied.

[Stacking Enchant][Rare]

Multiple similar enchantments can be utilized without deactivations.

[Multi Enchant] is self-explanatory. It allows me to apply multiple enchantments to a weapon. In other words, I can make a flaming, electrified, freezing sword with one enchant. The effects are weaker, but only because the mana cost is split among the enchantments.

[Stacking Enchant] is the far better of the two. It would allow me to, say, create an enchanted weapon with a [Corrosive Flame] enchantment and a [Hellfire] enchantment. The [Hellfire] enchantment would normally disable the other, but with this skill, both enchants would be active, and stacking would allow me to use my full mana pool on each one.

I remove the charred mess of my hand, wincing a little at the damage. I then take my other hand and place it on the crystal pillar. It burns, but I ignore the pain once more as I check the upgrades for my [Necromancer] class.

Class upgrades for [Necromancer] are available. Please select one of the following classes.

[Necrobard] - Consumes [Necromancer] and [Magic Bard]

[Bone Deathlord] - Consumes [Necromancer] and [Bonelord]

[Grand Bone Necromancer] - Consumes [Necromancer]

[Necrochanter] - Consumes [Necromancer] and [Grand Enchanter]

[Necrotic Mindlord] - Consumes [Necromancer], [Bonelord], and [Mental Overmind] skill.

[Corpse Commander] - Consumes [Necromancer] and [Bonelord]

I frown at the lack of changes. The classes available are still the same, and I really don’t want to choose a class yet. The classes seem impressive, especially the [Necrotic Mindlord], but it would consume my [Mental Overmind] skill… and turn me into a lich. I don’t want to be a lich… but I may need to since the class seems to be the strongest available.

Whatever. I’ll wait for one more level in the [Bonelord] class. Hopefully, that’ll evolve it. That would be great.

I remove my hand and sigh. I climb down and sit back on the saddle. I wipe the sweat off my face, holding back a scream; I forgot that my hands were burned.

“Alright. I’m done. Let’s get back to base.”

The [Incinerator Wyvern] complies. It hops off the crystal and ascends quickly as I hold for dear life with my damaged hands.

The trip up was a very new kind of pain.