Ranthia was somewhere between over her anger and back in her self-loathing misery by the time the afterparty started. She sampled some of the foods without much appetite, until she suddenly found herself embraced.

  Godsdamnit Statia! Ranthia nearly lashed out before she realized the sudden hug had come from an old friend!

  “Are you okay?” The younger woman asked seriously, before Ranthia could figure out what to say to her.

  “I’m…” Ranthia paused. She had planned to say she was fine, but it was too blatant of a lie. Instead, she said: “I’m here, the rest will come in time.”

  That had to be good enough.

  And then she staggered as someone punched her from behind. [Combat Awareness] had warned her, but with Statia clinging to her she hadn’t been able to react in time.

  Kaesios slipped into view before she managed to pull herself free, with a shit-eating grin.

  “Told you that you were one of the best Rangers they’ve got, I knew you’d be back no matter what!” The man smugly announced while Statia and Ranthia both shot him dirty looks.

  Neither of them asked about the blindfold—they knew she’d have seen a [Healer] if it was an injury. Ranthia had no idea what assumptions either of her friends made, but they made them in silence and didn’t seem to be judging her, at the very least.

  “Shouldn’t you be meeting your team or something?” Ranthia grumbled at the man. She was in no mood to be reminded of the loss of her team. She wanted out of the damned nameless room, but she was obligated to be there.

  “Oh, right. Ahem, my name is Kaesios, the best Adventurer that became a Ranger to date.” The man announced gravely to Statia.

  Statia released Ranthia—finally—and saluted him.

  “Statia, pleased to serve under you, sir!” She replied.

  Ranthia just groaned.

  “Please tell me that they didn’t make him a Team Leader.”

  “Nah, I’m only the third, she’s fourth though. We can’t all luck into jumping an unholy number of levels—and no I’m not asking about it—and end up second-in-command already.” Kaesios replied cheekily.

  “We really should meet the others though. Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Statia looked worriedly back to Ranthia.

  “I won’t, go on and have fun.” Ranthia replied, before she turned back to get more of whatever that spicy messy legume-based food was.

  And, naturally, before she got to touch anything, she heard someone gently call her name. Ranthia bit down the flare of frustration and turned toward the voice.

  At first, she assumed the older woman had green hair, but when she got closer, she realized that it was something more like moss that hung from the woman’s head. Ranger Green, presumably. Not that Ranthia was confident enough in her blind guess to say it out loud.

  “Ah, you must be Ranger Ranthia. May I assume you’re named for the Amaranth herb?” The woman asked, smiling warmly while she approached.

  Ranthia nodded, caught off-guard by that being the first question out of the woman’s mouth.

  “Excellent! Welcome Flower. Shall we and the rest of our garden get introduced?” At least the woman’s second question—once Ranthia realized its intent—made more sense.

  She had more than a bit of dread though over the whole ‘Flower’ and ‘Garden’ thing.

  It was a… strange team, to say the least.

  “I am Green—just Green, changed my name legally when I became a citizen. Level 364 Verdant [Mage], level 326 Forest [Mage]. I will do everything in my power to keep you sweet buds alive, along with our Flower and Shrub here.” The mature woman announced once the eight of them were gathered in a quiet corner of the room—entirely too close to that damned wall.

  The strange woman with wildly unsurprising class archetypes looked to Ranthia expectantly.

  “Ranthia. Level 256 Mirror [Mage], hoping to class up before we leave town. I use it to create mirror images that I can control and I can leave my body behind to inhabit one of the images. Lead class is level 301 as a Void [Warrior]. Think dance-style combat. I expect I’ll be at the front for our engagements.”

  Simple, sweet. She was never going under her restrictions again, so she wanted to be up front with her new team.

  “Memmina Primus Artellus, but for the love of the gods just call me Art. Artellus if you must. Level 280 Fire [Warrior], level 240 Metal [Mage]. My whole trick is making short lived weaponry that’s ideal for any encounter and my hands get hot. Think of me as a frontline support.” A man several years older than Ranthia said.

  “Lysia! Level 191 Mantle [Warrior], level 128 Metal [Warrior]. Also hoping to class up before we leave, been waiting to be a real Ranger! I might be short but I’m basically impossible to knock down, so with my big shield—Shelly here—I can hold a line like no one else!” A remarkably tiny, excitable woman roughly around Ranthia’s age called out.

  “Abillo, and no I don’t know where my dad got the name from, don’t ask me. Level 169 Mist [Mage], level 158 Ice [Mage]. I’m the cloud that perforates your enemies.” Another woman about Ranthia’s age noted in monotone.

  “Hyrria Tertia Sinna, and yes of the Hyrria family. Charmed, I’m sure. Level 246 Gale [Warrior], level 200 Spatial [Mage]. Give me a good, well-made spear and I can throw it through a stone wall. Then call it back into my hand and do it again.” A cosmetic-covered young woman a couple of years Ranthia’s senior smiled.

  “Juvenae. [Mage]. Level 201 Metal, level 150 Pyronox. Obvious what I do with it.” A quiet woman slightly older than Tertia muttered.

  “Pyra here! Level 150 Inferno, level 150 Pyronox! Been friends with Juvenae my whole life! Oh, I’m also a [Mage]. Gotta get in close though. Then fwooooosh! Oh, I got really good at the Academy about controlling my spillage though, so don’t worry. I will definitely not burn any of you! …Except Lysia, I guess, ‘cause I kinda burned her a lot in the Academy. Sorry again!” The youngest woman visibly tried to guide her train of thought.

  Ranthia twitched, internally. What Xaoc-cursed sort of team was this? Three experienced Rangers and five fresh-faced Academy graduates? Also, seven women, six of them young, with one man felt like they were just asking for harassment incidents!

  Green called for the group to dismiss and have fun, and promised they could gather again at the end of the party. Ranthia was determined to do her best to remember names this time around. But first she wanted to check something.

  “Hey, um… Ark?” She guessed.

  So much for her determination to learn names.

  “Art. What can I do for you, Subleader?” The man replied, with an awkward smile.

  “Ugh, look there’s no way for me to say this without coming off like an asshole and I’m sorry but… Is it going to be a problem, with you in an otherwise all female Ranger team?” Ranthia asked with a stiff expression, even as she hated herself anew.

  Why did she convince herself that she needed to deal with this herself?

  “No? I mean, women or men I’m fine with taking orders and fighting alongside you?” He was confused. Godsdamnit, he was honestly confused at what she was getting at!

  Ranthia muttered a curse under her breath. She should be condemned for what she would have to say.

  “No, I mean… Ugh, look, I’m just trying to make sure there’s no problems with harassment.” Ranthia forced herself to say the words.

  “Hara-…Oh! Oh, no! No reason to worry about that at all. I mean, I like women well enough—men too—but I’m not really the type to do stuff like that. Can’t stand men like that and I don’t think you have to worry about me ever being like them. I’m not really…” The man replied, though he trailed off looking self-conscious.

  Of course he was self-conscious! Ranthia clenched her fists in self-directed frustration, while she struggled against the self-loathing that threatened to swallow her again. It was all too easy to give in, but she needed to make things right.

  “Oh Xaoc, I am so sorry, I just… I wanted to make sure the team would be okay.” Ranthia tried to reassure the man

  She would have been okay with divine judgment striking her down at that moment. This was so godsdamned awful!

  “Hey, no worries. You’re worried about the newbies, I’m not gonna fuss about that! And it’s not like you had any way to know.” He offered, proving he was a better person than Ranthia was.

  “Okay. But I am sorry.” Ranthia offered.

  “Ugh, I think my dad’s looking for me over there. If he sees me even speak to a woman, he’s going to make assumptions and get his hopes up for grandkids again. Makes having friends such a… Well, I’ll see you around, Subleader!”

  He gave her a quick salute and then melted into the crowds.

  Ranthia returned to the food, still vaguely mortified and frustrated with herself. She fixed up a plate before things could get too picked through, though she regretted the lack of rabbit stew on offer this year. It really had been too long since she last had a bowl, maybe she could hunt a few soon.

  “Hiiii!” A painfully energetic voice called from behind.

  Ranthia turned to find the tiny girl with the giant shield. Shelly. …Wait, no, that was the stupid shield’s name. Why did that stick?

  “Hello.” Ranthia answered, belatedly.

  “Oh no! Did you already forget who I am?! I always worry about that, I’m soooo tiny I bet I don’t stick out much! I’m Lysia! I’m on your team, #2 Ma’am, Sir!” The short girl with curly blonde hair practically seemed to vibrate.

  “Oh, um, I remembered you. Sorry Lysia, did you need something?” Ranthia asked, managing to hold the name for the moment.

  “I just haaaaad to ask! Why are you blind? Er, no, I meant to ask why you wear that when you obviously see!” The girl—she was roughly Ranthia’s age, but her behavior made her seem much younger.

  “…I have a Skill, but it makes my eyes creepy. I can see through the blindfold just fine, so it makes life easier.” Ranthia answered.

  “Ooooh! Show me! Showmeshowmeshowme!” Was a response that wasn’t even slightly surprising.

  “…Maybe later, I don’t want to make a scene at a party.” Ranthia offered with a slight grimace.

  “Aw, okay. But soon! I want to see! I don’t creep out easy! I’ve even petted a snake! …I think pretty much anything is cute, really.” The short girl sounded so proud of herself.

  “That’s a good way to be.” Ranthia decided, a hint of a smile crossing her face. It was kind of hard not to feel a bit fond of her; the girl—woman, technically—had an energy and an enthusiasm that Ranthia wasn’t quite sure she ever possessed.

  Lysia bounced back into the crowds, heading for a different food table with sweets.

  The rest of the party passed without incident. Ranthia had another short conversation with Statia, that was mostly Statia trying to be comforting and supportive. She spoke briefly to several other Adventurers and was introduced to the Adventurers that were among the new graduates of Ranger Academy—a few familiar faces, but none that she knew well. It was good to see that Adventurers were still being well-represented.

  Speaking of representation, Ranthia was more than a little surprised to see two dwarves among the newly graduated Rangers. The duo seemed to not be identifying themselves as such openly, but the frantic whispers among the rest of their team sure suggested that they, at least, were told. It was interesting, but not Ranthia’s business. She could only hope that it was a sign of the Remus to come. Rigira had been forced to mask who and what she was when she explored the city, but perhaps Remus could be better than that.

  The closest thing to an incident that happened during the celebration was one of the Academy graduates got a bit too carried away and made himself violently ill—right next to a senator. It was a fun bit of harmless chaos, at least.

  Near the end of the party, Ranger Team 6 reassembled.

  “Flower, Vibrant Bud, do you both have a safe place to do your class up?” Green asked.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  It seemed to take Ranthia and Lysia a moment to realize that she was referring to them.

  “Oh, yeah. Sentinel Hunting gave me the use of his place while I was in town. I picked up someone for the Ranger Academy; I can get her to watch over me while I class up. I’ve got plans to give her some writing tasks to work on anyhow.” Ranthia answered.

  She might have hated learning to read and write, but Vert was even worse off than she had been. It was time to spread the misery er, help her disciple’s path forward be as well outlined as possible.

  “Oooh, I could use a place! Can I come too!?” Lysia begged.

  “Vibrant Bud, why don’t you come with me? You can class up at my store, I have a very cozy place with lots of sun and comfy cushions you can use. In fact, we can all meet there each morning for breakfast. I would love to feed you all and we can get to know one another. We shall plan to depart in five days. That should give me time to coerce what I can out of that old goat of a quartermaster and get the planting started.” Green offered before Ranthia could reply.

  Plans set, the older woman gave them directions on where to go—and got directions from Ranthia to the villa just in case her class up ran weirdly long. Then they broke for the day.

  Ranthia retrieved Vert from the Adventurer’s Guild training yards (apparently, she could have brought Vert to the party as a tagalong, but she hadn’t known that ahead of time) and brought her back to Hunting’s villa—barely catching the gates before they shut for the night. Ranthia recreated some basic reading and writing exercises that she had done so long ago at the Adventurer’s Guild, then the two women settled in to get some sleep. In different rooms, of course. They both fully intended to enjoy what privacy and comfort they could get before it was stripped away.

  The next morning, Ranthia cooked them a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, and spiced gruel—grateful again to Hunting’s incredible housekeeper—and set the young woman on her assignments while Ranthia settled into an oversized cushion and shut her eyes. It was time for her to fall into the world within and class up her Mirror class.

  Ranthia was somewhat disappointed to see the door to the temple wasn’t there. Her guide rolled her eyes behind the counter, keenly aware of Ranthia’s disappointment.

  Still, Ranthia drew the short sword for [Shards of Reflection] and set it down on the counter.

  “It’s been a good class. But time marches on. …Though I guess this will be the last time we’ll see each other for a while. I mean, I’m confident that I’ll reach level 512—no matter how few throughout Remus’ history have. But that will be many, many years off with how slow leveling gets from here.”

  Her guide shrugged.

  “Not like my existence is dependent on your visits. If anything, you just make me work. I’m guessing you want me to go find you your next class now?” The woman—nearly a twin to Ranthia now, after so much time—replied.

  Ranthia chuckled at her guide’s cheekiness and nodded her affirmation.

  “Yessss Mistresssss…” Her guide grumbled, then shuffled back among the racks and stacks of short swords.

  Well, at least without dealing with the temple she would be faster. Making assignments for Vert had proven more time-consuming than she had initially expected; honestly, there was a good chance Vert would be done somewhere around lunch time. If this class up went quickly enough she could get back to her disciple and work with her for the rest of the day!

  …Gods and goddesses, she had gotten boring at some point without noticing.

  On one hand, the delay on Ranger Team 6’s departure was great for more time to help Vert be ready for the Ranger Academy—even if it meant she had to watch her mouth about the hell months for a bit longer. But on the other, it also left Ranthia… unsure what to do with herself. Team breakfast meetings and Vert tutelage didn’t make for a fully booked day, unless she really wanted to get under her disciple’s skin and make the younger woman relieved when she finally left. But Ariminum had nothing for her anymore except pain and discomfort.

  Her guide returned, with three swords. Ranthia quirked an eyebrow and was about to speak, but her guide spoke first.

  “I know you expect me to just pick the class that meets your plan, but from here we don’t exactly have a clear plan anymore. Each of these keeps what our class does, more or less, but specializes in a different way.” The woman explained.

  “So, these are the only three interesting classes?” Ranthia asked.

  “Interesting? No. You want interesting, you have the [Mirror in the Depths] class I left back there. Damn thing is dark blue. Amazing stats. Except it makes you almost entirely useless out of the water. You’d get a skill that gives you gills, but it would need to reach a very high level to be able to breathe air again with them. Much of your kit would only work underwater too. That’s interesting.

  “Then you have a [Ranger Mage] that turns you into a more standard Mirror [Mage]. You would get barriers and blasts, but you’d lose almost everything you can currently do except making static images. Its stats are actually fairly close to these for some reason, despite being a sidegrade. Interesting.

  “But you don’t want interesting. You want viable—something that meets the goals we set. That would be these three.” Her guide replied.

  Fair enough. Ranthia let her guide set out the three short swords. Each hilt was wrapped in green and adorned with pyrite in the pommel.

  Ranthia touched the first, the brighter green blade. [Unbroken Mirror]. This class rewarded the restrictions she had operated under. Her mirror images—and her body when she abandoned it—would grow far more robust and would be able to take actual punishment before they broke. There was even a skill that would let them regenerate—using her mana—from damage that merely cracked them without breaking them. On the flip side, she would be restricted to no more than 3 mirror images and [Reflective Motility] would downgrade to [Simple Motions for Mirrors]. She would still be able to shift, but there would be a cooldown. Still, there was a lot to be said for her mirror images becoming better than some barriers, let alone such a major increase to her true body’s safety. 400 stat points, focused on Vitality and Magic Power.

  The next one was a regular green. [Reflections of a Heroine]. This was, ultimately, a straight upgrade of her current [Shards of Reflection] class. Nothing changed dramatically, just steady improvements. The biggest boon came in the form of [Distorted Likeness] getting an evolution that would let her create mirror images of nearly anything she wanted. She wouldn’t be able to shift into anything that was too far removed from her current form like, say, a ladybug’s body. But she would get another option to share senses with her images. She would also be able to make more mirror images than ever. It was an interesting evolution path that reflected how she actually used her class—with swarms of distracting images. Except it would let her, eventually, use them for scouting too. 444 stat points, focused on mana and mana regeneration—two stats she was in desperate need of.

  The last was a slightly darker green. [Diffuse Reflectance]. This class would focus on her existing mirror images. The skill she often considered to be at the top of her list for replacement, [Mirrored Moves], would evolve and her mirror images would be able to attack for real… Albeit at a fixed 1% of her own power, which was less than impressive as she was. [Reflective Motility] would also evolve and allow her to give far more granular and complex commands to the mirror images. But she would be limited to a maximum of fifteen simultaneous mirror images, sixteen counting her true body. She would keep all of her shifting capabilities and the mirror images would ultimately be just as vulnerable as ever. The ability to attack was interesting, but it had a large drawback: when her mirror images attacked with her [Warrior] class’ skills, they would draw just as much mana as if she had attacked herself. 491 stat points, split evenly among the four magic stats with a bit outside of those.

  This was harder than she expected. [Reflections of a Heroine] matched her initial hopes for the class. It was what she expected when she started her class up. [Unbroken Mirror] potentially could save her life though. [Diffuse Reflectance] was a mana hog, but could amplify her power tremendously, if she could find a way to make it work without a Ranger wagon’s full arcanite stores behind her.

  She approached the question from the angle of a dancer. What did each class offer her for her dance? [Unbroken Mirror] would let her use her mirror images to control the steps of the dance. The mirror images would be able to block or adjust her opponents, instead of merely distracting them. She would be able to control the flow of her own dance better than ever, even if her images would never be able to dance alongside her again. [Reflections of a Heroine] on the other hand… didn’t offer anything. Its unique tricks would do nothing to enhance her dance. …Did her default option just end up her worst choice? …Huh, that was kind of unexpected. [Diffuse Reflectance] gave her true backup dancers. She would become a one-woman dancing troupe. …While her mana held out.

  The biggest question, she supposed, was obvious.

  “Does the [Diffuse Reflectance] class skill that lets my images attack count as a Mirror class skill, or would it technically be a Void class skill?” She wondered aloud.

  “Oh, I see, you’re trying to see if [Ranthia’s Covenant with Xaoc] would offset the cost? Let’s see… The relevant portion of the skill states: Reduces mana costs for Mirror class skills by 50%. Further reduces mana costs by an additional 0.01% per level. This skill does not affect the mana regen costs of passive skills.” Her guide offered.

  “I can see arguments…” Ranthia hedged.

  “And which class is activating the skill?” Her guide prompted.

  “[Diffuse Reflectance].” Ranthia answered.

  “Indeed.” Her guide answered with a displeased expression.

  “Mmn, I know you think I’m being silly, but if I use [Void Edge] through it, it’s using Void.” Ranthia countered.

  “It’s using a reflection of [Void Edge], not [Void Edge].” Her guide explained, rolling her eyes openly.

  “Okay, fine. It probably applies. That helps the mana costs, but they’ll still be limiting through the near future.”

  Her guide nodded in response and let Ranthia think through it.

  “In essence, [Unbroken Mirror] makes me a better dancer and more likely to survive right now. [Diffuse Reflectance] is a class I will need to grow into to get full use out of.”

  Ranthia began to pace.

  “Wait, I’m being stupid.” She realized.

  She turned back to the short swords and picked up both [Unbroken Mirror] and [Diffuse Reflectance]. [Unbroken Mirror] limited her to 3 mirror images, and they were tougher. [Diffuse Reflectance] had a far more generous hard limit. It would never fill a battlefield like the class she already dismissed could have, but Ranthia rarely did that anyway. It was too hard to control more than a dozen or so mirror images as was, and they tended to get destroyed rapidly when she wasn’t able to make much use of them. Also, she was focusing on the current version of [Diffuse Reflectance]. If she limited herself a bit and factored in her [Covenant], the mana requirements were more manageable. She would still use more mana than ever, but literally everyone that classed up dealt with that.

  She set down [Unbroken Mirror].

  “We always have gambled on the highest class pay-off, why should we stop now?” Her guide noted with a smirk.

  “Yeah, sorry for taking so long to see the obvious best option.” Ranthia answered with a smile.

  “Oh, I would have had something pithy and wise to say to make you feel better about your choice had you picked one of the others. …Might have had more trouble if you decided to go for [Mirror in the Depths], but I’m sure I could have come up with something.” Her guide sassed.

  Ranthia giggled and shook her head.

  “I will see you again.” She promised.

  “Just don’t die first, that would ruin my plans.” Her guide answered with a completely straight face.

  Ranthia sheathed her newest short sword, then turned and made her exit.

  [Diffuse Reflectance]. Your mirror images have been used for many purposes. They have been distractions. They have been obstacles. They have allowed you to hide among them. They have danced at your side. They are your backup dancers, they are your safety net, they are your most reliable supporters, and now they are your comrades-in-arms. +5 Free Stats, +3 Dexterity, +3 Vitality, +120 Mana, +120 Mana Regeneration, +120 Magic Power, +120 Magic Control.

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You have upgraded your first class – [Diffuse Reflectance – Mirror]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [Diffuse Reflectance] has leveled from 256 to level 280! Per level: +5 Free Stats, +3 Dexterity, +3 Vitality, +120 Mana, +120 Mana Regeneration, +120 Magic Power, +120 Magic Control from your class, +1 free stat for being human, +1 Mana Regeneration and +1 Magic Power from your element.]

  [*ding!* [Mirror Spirit] has leveled from 256 to level 280!]

  [*ding!* [Scattered Reflections] has leveled from 256 to level 280!]

  [*ding!* Your skill [Reflective Motility] has evolved into [Pure Reflections]!]

  [Pure Reflections]: Control every aspect of your mirror images. Command them, down to the finest details. The greater the focus provided on commands, the more pure the response.

  [*ding!* [Pure Reflections] has leveled from 256 to level 280!]

  [*ding!* [Persistent Imagery] has leveled from 256 to level 280!]

  [*ding!* Your skill [Mirrored Moves] has evolved into [Ideal Reflectance]!]

  [Ideal Reflectance]: Your mirror images created by [Scattered Reflections] are no longer just images. Now they can attack, at a small mana cost per strike performed. In addition, you may use this skill to activate reflections of your true techniques from your other classes, at the same mana cost they would normally have. All attacks carried out by your mirror images will be at 1% of the power and strength that would have applied had you carried out the attack yourself. Slightly increased mana efficiency with level.

  “Oh, this will be fun!” Ranthia shouted.

  Vert yelped in surprise; she had been so focused on her reading assignments that she failed to notice that the glowing lights—the System’s idiotic quirk around class ups that served to illustrate when a powerful classer was most vulnerable—around Ranthia had receded.

  Ranthia could apologize later, for the time being she was focused on her new gains—and her newly solved mana woes.

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  Nozomi Matsuoka.

  Sarah "Neila" Elkins.