SSS Awakening: I Can Class Change at will

Chapter 202  Those Deemed Worthy

Selene and Moon decided to no longer waste time and headed toward the Rotten Pine Forest now that Mirage had finally woken up.

As they prepared to depart, making final checks of their equipment and saying brief farewells to the Savi warriors, Yara approached them with a serious expression on her face.

“I want to come with you.”

The statement was direct, lacking her usual hesitant uncertainty.

Selene and Moon exchanged a brief glance before Moon turned his full attention to the young Savi maiden.

“Why?”

It wasn’t dismissive. Just a simple question that demanded an honest answer.

Yara’s small hands clenched at her sides for a moment. Then, she released them along with a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“I want to grow stronger,” she said, her voice steady despite the weight of what she was asking. “I also want to leave this world and join you on your journey to the other world.”

She pointed upward, toward the sky that marked the boundary of their realm. “The world outside this place. A world filled with dangers and opportunities. I want to become strong enough that I’ll be able to protect those I care about.”

Moon studied her carefully, searching for doubt or hesitation. But there was none. This wasn’t an impulsive decision born from momentary emotion.

He’d seen Yara when they first spoke about the world outside, she was hesitant, and afraid of change.

But something had changed.

The attack on the Heretics’ settlement. The death of her people at the hands of the heretics had changed Yara greatly. She had become much more proactive in her approach.

Those experiences had transformed hesitation into determination.

Yara wasn’t the same person who’d first guided them across Lunaris Island. She’d been forged by loss and hardship into someone willing to pursue strength, even knowing the dangers that path entailed.

Selene’s expression grew worried, her concern for her friend evident. “Are you sure, Yara? This is a very serious decision.” She paused, her voice taking on a more cautionary tone. “Besides, you aren’t human. When others of our race see you, they’ll attack you thinking you’re an enemy. They won’t stop to ask questions or listen to explanations.”

Yara’s expression didn’t waver.

“And I might ascend soon,” Selene continued, her voice carrying a note of regret. “So I might not be able to stay with you for long. You’d be alone among humans who see you as a monster. It’s… it’s not a kind world for someone like you.”

“That’s okay.”

Yara’s response was unwavering.

“I know the risks,” she continued, meeting Selene’s eyes directly. “I know I’ll face discrimination, violence, maybe even death just for existing where humans don’t expect me. But staying here…” she gestured to the Heretics’ settlement behind them, “staying on this island where I’m ‘safe’… that’s not living. That’s just surviving until something worse happens.”

Her hands clenched again, but this time with determination rather than nervousness.

“Most of my people are dead. And I couldn’t do anything about it. This world limits us, it doesn’t allow us to reach our potential.”

Yara’s voice grew stronger, and more passionate.

“I don’t want to just survive anymore. I want to be strong enough that when danger comes, I can protect the people I care about instead of watching them die.”

She looked directly at Moon, then at Selene.

“You two saved us. Saved me. You fought the strongest creatures and won. You walked into the Rotten Pine Forest—a place that killed everyone who entered—and came back alive. You’re strong. And I want to learn from that strength.”

Silence fell over the group.

Gratis, who’d been standing nearby, stepped forward. His voice carried a mixture of resignation and understanding.

<She’s made up her mind. I’ve known Yara since she was young—once she decides something, truly decides, nothing will change it.>

He placed a hand on Yara’s shoulder, a gesture of support.

<I’ll stay here with our remaining brothers and sisters. Someone needs to rebuild what was lost. But Yara… she deserves the chance to become more than what this island allows.>

Gratis looked at Yara for a moment before smiling, <Just make sure you come back when you are strong enough. We will wait for you.>

Moon was quiet for a long moment, his expression thoughtful as he considered his next words. Finally, he spoke.

“If you come with us, I won’t coddle you. I won’t make things easier because you’re smaller or less experienced. The world outside this realm is brutal—more dangerous than anything you’ve faced here. You’ll need to train constantly, fight battles that terrify you, and make decisions where hesitation means death.”

His eyes met hers directly.

“Are you prepared for that? Not just in words, but in reality?”

“Yes,” Yara said without hesitation. “I am.”

Moon studied her for another moment, then nodded slowly. “Alright. You can come. But on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“You don’t hide your nature. If people attack you for being Savi, you defend yourself. You don’t apologize for existing” Moon’s voice carried absolute conviction. “If you’re going to pursue strength, you do it with your head held high. Understood?”

Yara’s eyes widened slightly, surprise flickering across her face. She’d expected conditions about training, about obedience, about proving herself.

Not… permission to be proud of who she was.

“Understood,” she said quietly, her voice carrying a note of gratitude.

Selene smiled despite her worry. “Then I guess we have a new party member. Welcome to the team, Yara.”

She pulled the smaller woman into a brief hug, which Yara returned with surprising strength.

When they separated, Yara turned to Gratis. The two Savi exchanged a long look.

Finally, Gratis nodded once.

<Go. Become strong. Make our people proud.>

<I will,> Yara replied, her voice carrying steel beneath the emotion.

She turned back to Moon and Selene, her expression set with determination.

“I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Moon gestured toward Mirage, who’d been watching the entire exchange. As Yara approached Mirage—who lowered himself slightly to make mounting easier—Moon caught Selene’s eye.

They both knew this added complexity to their situation. Yara would face prejudice, violence, and constant danger just for existing in the human world.

But they also knew what it meant to want to become stronger. To refuse to accept powerlessness.

Together, the three of them mounted Mirage, Moon in front, Selene in the middle, and Yara behind—and set off toward the Rotten Pine Forest.

Toward whatever inheritance awaited those deemed worthy.

After some time they arrived at the Rotten Pine Forest. They ignored the beasts they encountered along the way—common predators too insignificant to their current goal, not worth the time or mana to engage. When they reached the familiar boundary where normal wilderness gave way to cursed territory, the difference was immediately apparent. The Rotten Pine Forest was no longer the place they’d fought through just days ago. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the canopy, not the occasional scattered beam. The hundreds of trees that Moon and Selene had destroyed in their battle had created massive clearings in the previously dense canopy, allowing light to penetrate where it had been blocked for who knew how many years. And the forest was no longer densely populated. The Rotten Pine Trees and their clones—the ones that had survived the conflagration—had apparently fled or dispersed after their master’s death. Without the druid’s controlling presence, they’d lost whatever unnatural coordination had made them so dangerous. What remained were mostly normal trees.