Chapter 130: More Smalltalk

POV Eliza

“But I generally advise you to be careful with magic on Master Rank. There are also only a few spells at this rank. Do you have any other questions?” <Luna>

“Do you have any tips for me on which class upgrade I should choose?” <Eliza>

“That depends on what you want. Some upgrades are more powerful than others. The class upgrade itself is simply the name that appears in the status. But of course it gives you an indication of what your strong skills are. The Spy class tells you that this person certainly masters particularly stealthy skills, while the Hunter has not selected any such skills. Instead, he probably has skills that support him in the wild. There is also the more combat-oriented variant compared to the nature-oriented variant. You should therefore choose the skills you want and not look at what your new class is called. Depending on which upgrade you choose, you will also receive a unique bonus. For example, the Spy gets a bonus to Stealth and Listen, while the Hunter gets a bonus to Archery and Trapping.” <Luna>

“Then it's up to selected skills which class I get. And the class determines a unique bonus. Did I understand that correctly?” <Eliza>

“Yes, that's right.” <Luna>

“I see. Then I should choose the one that gives me the most. How do I know which class gets which bonus?” <Eliza>

“Unfortunately, you won't know until later. You can ask someone who knows, or rummage through old records, but you won't be able to see it during the upgrading ritual. But don't worry too much about it, the bonus is only small and almost insignificant in relation to the rest.

Incidentally, the 8 skills you choose are the ones you can increase to master rank. You can also invest development points to unlock more skills, but you have already calculated that your points are limited. But if you complete all the dungeons both in a group and solo, you'll get more than enough of them.

Regardless of whether you can beat the dungeons completely, it's also a question of time. Please bear this in mind when making your choice. You don't have to choose the perfect skills and the perfect class, because you also have your second class. You can use it to compensate for some things and if you improve your class for the second time, there are even more options. This choice is much more important because the bonus is much stronger. Would you like to hear my ideas?” <Luna>

“Gladly. I'm open to a second opinion.” <Eliza>

“They're just suggestions. Please don't take it as a divine edict. I would advise a combat-oriented pick. Likewise, you'll be going into a lot of dungeons, so Disarm Traps and Pick Locks are important, if only to avoid missing out on treasure. Clear Mind is a highly underrated skill, and keeping a cool head in the middle of a fight cannot be rated highly enough for your fighting style.

You are not allowed to choose your most important skills, as they are race-specific.” <Luna>

“I hadn't even thought about the traps. That's a good tip. Which magic is most likely to pay off at Master rank?” <Eliza>

“You only have 3 different magics to choose from at the moment. You've never increased water magic, so that's out. It's also not worth learning a new elemental magic now. However, air magic is a very good choice. Air magic has good support spells and offers many possibilities, especially in the area of movement. If you specialize in agility and speed, you are best served with air. In addition, the spells that have to do with sonic are extremely useful when used creatively. You need Dark Magic for your second class, so you can ignore that for now.” <Luna>

“Hmm, I'll have to get Air Magic and Clear Mind to advanced tier 10 first. That will delay my class improvement a bit. But I'll be able to find a teacher here in the capital.” <Eliza>

“That's no big deal, Eliza. It's only a slight delay.” <Luna>

“I have one more question, Luna. I need 10 development points to level up. What do I do if I don't have them?” <Eliza>

“You can improve a class with just 2 development points, but then you won't have all the benefits of advancement. You only have 2 skills that you can upgrade to Master and you don't get the bonuses to HP, SP and MP. I advise you to always upgrade with development points.” <Luna>

“How big is the bonus to HP, SP and MP?” <Eliza>

“The values that belong directly to the class double with every class improvement.” <Luna>

“The bonus is too powerful to pass up. What about other forms of magic? Are they worth learning or do they have the same disadvantages as the elemental magics?” <Eliza>

“First of all, they are not subject to the same restrictions. So you can learn several of them if you want.

Object magic is especially important for artifact making and golems. In nature magic, you'll find everything to do with plants and animals as well as weather changes. You don't need either of these, as two of your companions will most likely specialize in these areas.

But let's move on to the magics that have the most useful spells when used correctly. Illusion magic does exactly what it says. It creates illusions. You can use it to create confusion and distraction. It starts with illusions for sight, followed by hearing and smell. Touch and taste are the most difficult to deceive and can only confuse the most skilled magicians. With increasing mastery, the illusions change more towards a direct attack on the mind. The advantage is that they can be used in the light. The disadvantage is that skilled light wizards have the ability to dispel the illusions. In the dark, you can create similar effects with shadow magic. However, I would advise against illusions. Shadow magic is sufficient for many effects.

The second is gravity magic. You can use it to influence gravity, both upwards and downwards. Skilled magicians can increase gravity to such an extent that they immobilize the opponent. In the other direction, this magic allows you to levitate and even walk on ceilings. This magic has relatively few spells, but almost all of them are useful. However, the real power comes with the upper ranks. Then you can fold the room and ultimately even teleport. As a master, you can overcome almost any distance as long as you know the mana structure of your target and can see the destination. You can also create other nice effects here later. Gravity Magic is considered difficult to master and is not very common, so it is unpopular.

Familiar Magic is all about familiars. You can use it to bind multiple familiars and improve their stats. It also allows you to use other spells on them. Useful, but you should decide beforehand whether you want to work with familiars or not.

But the most interesting form of magic for you is probably the last one, aura magic, also known as rune magic. This involves painting or tattooing runes on your body that are magically charged. Their advantage is that they are activated in advance and then give you their benefits for the duration of their effect. This allows you to benefit from this magic without having to cast spells in battle. This magic is also virtually impossible to counter, which is another advantage. The disadvantage is that it only affects you, even as a master. It would be great for your fighting style and works in addition to equipment.” <Luna>