Weapons of Mass Destruction

Chapter 511: Primary class upgrade

It seems like arcane Primary classes are on the menu, and Iʼm here for it. I might have been hoping for something along those lines, but the fact that none of my options are below arcane means... Well, a lot of things, really.

I relay the message through our link and ask Tess to keep an eye on surroundings while I look over my options.

Mana Reforger (Arcane)

An advanced class specializing in augmenting and transforming one’s body and equipment through precise energy manipulation. Mana Reforgers push the boundaries of physical and magical enhancement, all the while forging powerful artifacts and refining themselves into dangerous combatants.

Your dedication to self-improvement is extraordinary. Youʼve modified and strengthened your body beyond your level and crafted multiple mid arcane items. You have modified your body extensively. Acquired Bone Knitting. With Mana Manipulation at level 60 and a mana stat exceeding 1,200, youʼve showcased exceptional skill in enduring and reshaping both yourself and your tools. Your fortified physique alone allows you to withstand attacks that would be fatal to others.

Mindshield Guardian (Arcane)

An advanced class focused on mental fortification and resilience. Mindshield Guardians possess unparalleled mental defenses and are therefore capable of resisting mental manipulation and enduring the strain of powerful abilities and advanced mental calculations.

Your mind is an unbreakable fortress. With passive skills like Mana-Fortified Mind (Low Arcane) and Mental Attunement Loop (Mid Arcane), youʼve strengthened your psyche to withstand any assault. Your level 60 skill [Focus] allows you to wield potent abilities without faltering.

Primordial Kinetic Master (Arcane)

An elite class specializing in the mastery of primordial kinetic energy. Primordial Kinetic Masters harness primordial forces to perform feats that defy conventional magic and physical limitations.

Your journey through the study of primordial energies sets you apart. Under unique teachings, youʼve begun to master primordial kinetic techniques, demonstrating remarkable degrees of control and understanding. With skills like Eclipse and constructs such as Vortex Core, along with your mastery of [Mana Manipulation], youʼve unlocked a set of powers that few can comprehend.

That already makes for a good start, and while they donʼt compare to the latter two, I still like reading the descriptions. Particularly with the system being the way it is, even these small bits of information tend to contain some important clues.

Though it leaves me wondering if itʼs supposed to be this way, lining the offerings up from worst to best to hype me up as I read through the increasingly exciting list of primary classes.

One of these days, the system is going to present me with three offerings and extort me for shards with the promise of more, lest I be forced to wait out a timer. In exactly the sort of vile cliffhanger, this asshole system seems to love.

Anyway.

It’s easy to see how I wound up with Mana Reforger. The system must have really liked my body modifications and crafting experiments. As with every class I’ve been offered thus far, I can’t help but wonder what skills and passives I may be passing up.

Then there’s Mindshield Guardian, which is interesting in its own right. Seemingly an intensely specialized class built around straight-up mental enhancements. I donʼt like the name very much, but the description clearly hints at a powerful mana-based class with extreme mental resistance. That also reminds me that I’ll have to ask the others how many arcane classes, if any, they were offered when they reach level 300. With all the shit I went through to get here, it had better be less than me. Anyway, Mindshield Guardian very nice, but maybe next time.

Primordial Kinetic Master sounds more interesting. Though I’d probably like it more if I were Whitey. Hell, it even sounds interesting to me. Defy conventional magic and physical limitations? What kind of man wouldnʼt be enamored with that description? I want to defy physical limitations.

It would seem I have Whitey to thank for this one. For the system to acknowledge him that much... the guy must have had a truly incredible talent for kinetic energy, and so far, I havenʼt met anyone close to him.

And I still have two to go over. Options I never would have expected to see.

Kinetic Mana Harmonizer (Unique Arcane)

A unique class granted to individuals who have taken their first steps towards harmonizing kinetic energy with the manipulation of mana, enhancing their magical prowess through kinetic augmentation. Kinetic Mana Harmonizers utilize kinetic forces to refine and empower their mana-based skills, achieving feats surpassing conventional applications of magic.

Your body is a lethal weapon. With your exceptional understanding of primordial kinetic energy and mana, you’ve begun to grasp the potential of combining these forces while exploring the many ways kinetic energy can support and amplify mana based techniques and grasping at the vast array of possibilities for elevating your magic. You have acquired at least one unique epic passive allowing you to transform kinetic energy into mana, you’ve used mana and body modification to create a core to store and compress kinetic energy, modified your heart to convert mana into kinetic energy, received teachings and techniques from a powerful kinetic user and received the teachings of an Absolute detailing mana control and manipulation techniques.

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Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)

An unparalleled class for those who have harmonized their mana’s wavelength to achieve ultimate control over its flow. Mana Weavers wield mana with such power that their very presence influences the flow of magic around them.

Your unrestrained power is a sight to behold, and youʼve accomplished feats only witnessed by a select few. You have killed Champions. Have become a Champion Candidate before receiving a primary class upgrade. Have received a unique passive skill. Have studied under an Absolute. Have mana reserves far exceeding your level. Have a second stage, Mana Wavelength Iris. Have mid-arcane passive, allowing you to endure the strain of powerful skills and see mana in a way that few can match. Have reacquired the Mana Manipulation skill multiple times. You have used mana far surpassing your bodyʼs capabilities countless times and survived. Through sheer determination and focus, you reign supreme over your mana.

Unique.

Rarely does the system use this word. The last time I saw it was when I combined two upper epic passives, creating a skill that, in certain situations, is the equal of an arcane skill. Which I’m finally seeing confirmed in the description of Kinetic Mana Harmonizer.

Unique means it was made for me, a new thing, modified, changed, or created based on my performance and stats. At least that’s what’s been implied.

The same goes for these two Primary Classes. They’re probably modified forms of more basic arcane classes, unique to me, and the related skills and passives will probably be the same.

I think it was Lissandra who once told me the system doesnʼt like to give you options to cover your weaknesses. No, the system strengthens and builds upon what you’ve accomplished.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about the two starting skills I got: [Focus] and [Mana Manipulation]. Itʼs almost as if the system pulled them out of us rather than giving them to us, and we’ve been building on them with the system’s help ever since.

Each of these skills feels important and telling and often reveals a lot about us. The twins, constantly seeking some form of [Connection], Tess gaining [Farsight] because of the way she liked to watch that group of friends play, Lily, gaining a healing skill despite all the anger she carries with her, twisting her wrath into [Disintegration].

And me, acquiring [Focus], allowing me to ignore my emotions to a greater degree than I ever did before.

Even now, almost two years into the tutorial, there is so much I donʼt know. How the system came into being. Who made the tutorial, which even seems to predate the Rulers who learned how to influence it slightly. What is the First Dungeon, and why did the Rulers build Beyond over it? Why did they connect Beyond to the tutorial and the real world?

Why, why, why, why?

”Nat. We need to move. There is a group of twenty heading our way,” Tess says, tapping my shoulder and pointing off into the distance.

Obviously, I donʼt see anything, but I believe her.

”Need me to slow them down?”

”There is no need for the moment, but be ready to defend, they seem to have long-range attackers as well.”

So we move, running as quickly as we can.

Sophie leaves behind some of her webs to make us more difficult to track and does something to the air around us, making it more challenging to establish visual contact.

I use [Eclipse], expanding its reach beyond our small group and dissipating the mana we leave behind.

We donʼt head back; no, we delve deeper, and the moment I go to reread the descriptions, Tess shouts a warning.

Screaming through the air over our heads, a bone javelin two times the length of my body passes by with a red light glowing inside. The incredible amount of mana packed within begins to expand as cracks spread across its surface.

A quick teleport brings me in range, and I grab it with my outstretched hand. The colors of the world fade around me as the red light shines ever so much brighter. But even that light starts to dwindle, pulling back and dying off as my [Eclipse] surrounds and suffocates it, as my Mana Wavelength Iris observes the whole process.

When I finally let go, the javelin crumbles, mana potent enough to equal my tricolored orb explosions fading to nothing.

My kinetic energy surrounds me, and another javelin slows to a crawl. I fly towards it, grabbing it, surrounding it in [Eclipse] once more, as the mana within fights back, threatening to destabilize around me, but in the end, even that dissipates into a mist of fine particles.

When I grab the third one, the light simply blinks, slowly changing and beginning to glow a pale shade of blue. The javelin becomes mine, and I throw it into the air, boosting it further with kinetic energy.

It only takes a few seconds for me to see the explosion rippling out from the place the javelin came from.

Resonance Flow expands even further as I fly just behind our group, covering a wide area around us, slowing six more of the bone javelins slowing to a halt in mid air.

More and more mana funnels its way into [Eclipse], and my eyes move to read the wavelengths of each incoming weapon. I modify my frequency, adapting to theirs, and then I take over, overriding the enemy’s control and making them my own.

Ley Lines connect to each of the weapons, pumping each one with an increasing flood of mana as I return them to sender, severing my connection in the process.

Six more explosions ring out, still miles away, but this time, I can feel the vibrations of the explosions even without the kinetic senses.

[You have defeated Reanimated Marauder - lvl 306]

[You have defeated Reanimated Marauder - lvl 301]

Seeing no more javelins heading our way, I boost myself in the direction of the others, catching up to the group after taking a moment to deploy some traps triggered by mana threads, along some extremely dense mana threads to cut through the weaker monsters while snaring the stronger ones for a bit. Landing near Tess, I boost my body with kinetic energy and break into a run at her side.

”There’s another group to our left and a smaller one ahead of us,” she warns.

”Is something attracting them like it was in the previous zone, or is this normal?”

”I already asked Sophie, Luna, and Leticia to look into it, but they couldn’t find anything, and Leticia said there shouldnʼt be anything attracting monsters like we attract lurkers. It seems like they have scouts tracking us and sending them our way.”

Then, she speaks through our link to keep the others from overhearing. (Are you going to upgrade your class?)

(To be honest, Iʼm already starting to get impatient. I already have my choice all lined up. But I donʼt know if it wonʼt give me some stuff that could make me unconscious in the process, and I donʼt need a new class to deal with these guys.)

(So yes?)

Damn it.

(Yes.)