“Am I going to die?” Rafe couldn't help but ask.

  “What? Of course not. You're just a mental construct after all. We can probably bring you back to life.”

  “I am going back to my body soon though, aren't I?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Noiiiidd,” Rafe growled, trying for menace

  “Hey, don't take that tone with me, I am a god you know.”

  “Then act like one. Aren't gods supposed to be all-knowing?”

  “Well, I am not. I'd reckon even Enith doesn't know this one.”

  The void rumbled, this time not in complaint.

  “Great,” Rafe ground out.

  “I can offer a bit of advice though.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You can't upgrade the skill just yet. You're going to have to find a way to slow its leveling pace as much as possible. It is a basic skill, so it does level faster than most, and with your unusual circumstances…”

  “My unusual circumstances?”

  Noid waved the question away. “Suffice it to say it will be difficult getting the skill not to level, however, you must find a way. A good idea is to not hold a sword as much as possible until you've gained quite a few stats.”

  “Not hold a sword? But my drills? And my hands?!”

  Noid was taken aback by the violence of the last exclamation.

  “What is wrong with your hands?” he asked.

  “They are too soft. They have no calluses. I wondered why I always lost my calluses whenever I died. Could it be, do you think I'm cursed not to have calluses, master?”

  Noid gave him a rather stern look, narrowing his eyes and pressing his lips into a thin line. The old face was going to take some getting used to.

  “No, you are not cursed to not get calluses,” he said slowly, his impatience leaking a little. “You could use a spear for a time, maybe train with a bow or something. You could use your smithing skills.”

  Then he sighed. “Besides, maybe I misspoke. You should avoid using your sword in active combat. You can still do drills and I still wish for you to continue your sword journey as soon as you're able to leave your home planet behind. There is a world out there that is so dedicated to swords, their world's truth is a sword. The sword of Uther, a king among kings. They say he slayed a Dragon or a Krakenn or his sister who was a wit—”

  “You're rambling.”

  Noid coughed.

  “No I'm not! Anyway, you have to go there at some point. It will help with your concept.”

  There was a lot of information in all of Noid's ramblings. He was going back to earth, Noid seemed sure, and he was likely to be stuck there a while. He could still do drills, and apparently, those would level the skill slowly enough that it wouldn't hurt him.

  “Why is it dangerous for me to level the skill further?”

  “Because of the upgrade boy, the upgrade. Even in the best-case scenario, you'll be getting at least a legendary skill. You can't handle an epic skill yet. When will you be able to handle a legendary skill? It will cut your soul to shreds.”

  “Oh, that reminds me, upgradeable skills? What are they?”

  “Again with the questions?! Can't you just be happy with the answers you do have?”

  “And why does it say optional on some of them?”

  Noid sighed. “Shit, let me teach you all about skills now, why don't I? The system gives us skills, we give the system skills, do you understand?”

  “Not even a little bit.”

  Noid inhaled slowly, deeply, let it out, inhaled again.

  “Before the system, you had to learn skills the hard way, through hard work. Just like you earned most of your current skills. Of course, sometimes you'd get lucky, maybe get a skill orb or skill scroll from a dungeon drop. Don't ask about those, by the way, one thing at a time. Very strong people could pass on their skills too, just like now with the system.

  “The system makes learning skills easier. Once you select a basic class, you are eligible for three basic skills connected to the class, and you merely need to choose said skills. The class also makes it easier to learn all basic skills connected to it from say, skill scrolls or the like, or practice, although that's rare. Then you evolve your class, say you go to a common class. You'll be eligible for one common skill and two basic ones connected to that class. You get these skills for free. You evolve to uncommon, get one uncommon skill and one common for free, or one uncommon and three basic depending on whether you'd rather have more skills or stronger ones.”

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  Noid gave himself a few moments to catch his breath.

  “Now, you may ask why the system hands away skills for free the way it does. Well, there is an implicit agreement in its assistance. The system gives you skills for free right up to the point you jump from an epic to an ancient class. It does not normally give out ancient skills. By the time most people are able to use ancient skills and higher, they've opened their spiritual sight, able to interact with their spirits and therefore affect their skills, maybe even create new skill structures if they are talented. These new skills you create? The system learns them. Simplifies them if they are too strong, then passes them on to the next generation.

  “There is no such thing as a totally unique skill. Even your Adamance skill, we suspect, is based on the achievements of the enchantress. We have no idea why the system chose you of all people, but hey.” The god shrugged. “The skill description never changed, you know, all the times the skill evolved. And that last time, it seemed it had jumped right past legendary rank.”

  “Legendary is not the highest rank then?”

  Noid snorted. “Not even close. It's just the highest rank you are likely to see for a long time. Now all these explanations about how you get skills from classes are assuming you don't skip rarities during your class evolutions. Depending on affinity, your starting class can go as high as rare, though no higher, then your second will be epic, and maybe you can keep the class rarity at epic for a few evolutions to keep gaining skills for free. That is useless to you, of course, because you will start with a basic class, work toward a common class, uncommon, then rare, then epic. Slow but steady you'll go.”

  “What?! That seems… counterproductive. Don't higher rarities provide more stats per level?”

  “Yes, but we don't want you to have too high stats in the beginning, for many reasons. One, you're from an Essence Desert. There is going to be a cap somewhere, even with all the work we've done to get you ready for Essence and leveling. Besides, you don't even need high stats in the beginning. Remember your fight with Sam? Remember what you told her? Why wouldn't you sharpen your blade in the midst of a fight for your life? How will you progress if you overpower everyone, if you aren't struggling? Your blade will become dull. No, I believe more stats at the beginning will be detrimental.”

  Noid handed something to him then. Something that looked a lot like paper, although even a mental projection could hold it.

  “This is the list of class evolution paths I want you to follow.”

  Rafe read through it.

  “Basic class: warrior, done. Common class: ideally a tank version, maybe a dodge tank because agility. Uncommon class: rogue, ideally an assassin related class. Rare class: A long-range warrior option, maybe an archer, a trap expert or the like. A hunter. With the Survivalist skill, it will be…”

  Rafe goggled at the list. At least they hadn't suggested he try and learn magic. That would be stupid, and he wouldn't do it. This was still stupid.

  “What's with these class suggestions? And no growth tag on the classes? What does that mean?”

  “It means you are choosing classes that have no set evolution path, like those skills of yours, with the upgradeable skill tag. Upgradeable skills are either new and therefore have no recorded evolution path, or are so common they have millions of evolution paths. Upgradeable means the skill will only be upgraded depending on its user, the direction you wish to take it, or the direction you take it by accident.

  “If its upgrade is optional, it means there is a conventional evolution path, but there are also enough variations the system feels it could be upgraded in another direction. And the system always wants to learn, so it will always encourage you to go for the rarer chances. Anyway, for classes, a growth-tagged class will grow naturally, changing its rarity and giving you new skills at the right thresholds. It would have been good, except it locks you on a specific path prematurely.”

  “And I'm certain this is why I can't level my sword skill, isn't it? I mean, if I got an epic class as my second, wouldn't that mean there is a chance a legendary skill won't injure me?”

  “A good point, but consider you just said there is a chance, not that it's a certainty. Besides, after the rare range class, you'd be allowed to get back to the warrior chain of classes, so it's not all bad. At least you don't have to become a healer or a mage. I mean, I can see why she chose this route, and I wouldn't have been surprised if she wanted to make sure you unlocked your mana early. It does happen sometimes, that a warrior class completely doesn't get mana.”

  “She? You didn't make this training plan?”

  “Enith did, and much as I hate to admit it, she's more qualified to take advantage of the system than I am.”

  Rafe froze at that name, frowning slightly. Hadn't Noid once told him the enchantress created the whole trial? Didn't that mean she created, or recreated, Aeon? Noid's home world. The world Rafe had trained on for decades. That meant she could—

  Rafe shook his head vehemently, trying to drop that train of thought. He took a moment to cool down. All the gods of Skyholm, except for the enchantress were presystem entities. How long had the system even existed in the multiverse?

  “There is a good reason she chose this route though,” Noid said.

  “Why is that?”

  Noid shrugged. “Hidden statistics, class specifications. Once you get them, they'll never go away even if you abandon the class. Remember, the essence always remembers.

  “For example as a warrior, you get defense and offense specifications. Those kind of make it easier and more efficient to use stat-enhancing gear.”

  “Hidden stats?”

  Noid waved the question off. “Oh, yes. Like perception and dexterity and willpower.”

  “Willpower? I have a skill that is supposed to increase with an increase in that, and I don't have the stat. How can something multiply with zero?”

  “Just because it isn't on your status screen doesn't mean you don't have it. I mean, as a level nothing human you had nine agility, six strength. You had never seen a system screen in your life.”

  “Okay? What about this whole paranormal business?”

  “Great. Are you going to ask me about how you should distribute your free stat points next? That would be an interesting discussion.”

  Noid rolled his eyes when his words caused Rafe's eyes to widen in realisation.

  “Nope, not going there. Paranormal. Abnormal effects like magic, luck…

  “And now for your gift, for passing the trial of the blade,” Noid said in a rush.

  “Wait, but you didn't tell me about my circumstances with the skills and all.”

  Noid smirked. “Luckily, I'm not the best person for that job.”

  Noid flicked him on the forehead, and Rafe felt himself rush into the void like a damn meteor.

  ‘Ding’ Congratulations, you have received a blessing from Noid of the Sword.

  Mark: Noid of the Sword. (Blessing) (Growth)You have been blessed by the Sword God. +30 agi, +25 coord, +20 str, +15 end, +10 vit, +5 int whenever you hold a sword during combat. This blessing can be grown through performing acts that please your new patron (‘Just cut everything in your way’ Noid (wink)).