Chapter 40- Draconian Crusader

As I was shocked away I could still faintly hear a woman's giggle, I blinked my eyes a few times and realized I was still looking at the statue. The same statue that was still looking at me but now had a single eyebrow raised in apparent confusion.

I jumped back and fell to my knees in a cold sweat, those eyes were staring right through me. I looked up again only to realize the eyes had closed and the statue returned to normal.

It wasn't until a large hand grasped my shoulder that I became of aware of my shaking.

"You ok kid?" Ivar asked but I still couldn't move not because I was still scared of the statue's eyes but because of my mana.

If before it was a sludge-filled pod now it felt like a raging inferno, it was taking everything I had to keep it contained. What little control I had grasped during my time here was failing fast.

"MOVE!" I yelled a warning mere moments before I exploded. I hoped he got out of the way in time as a white flame surrounded me and rose into a pillar, shooting through the ceiling and surely traveling past the tallest waterfall.

After the initial burst and flinch of pain, I looked around myself in confusion. It wouldn't hurt me?

I don't know how that certainty entered my mind but after it did the flame slowly receded, no it rushed back into me, right above my heart. In mere moments the pillar of flame was gone and I was left shirtless in front of my companions. I just thanked the gods my more durable pants survived the flaming pillar.

Looking towards my companions I noticed two.. No three things. Ivar had a mischievous gleam in his eye and the biggest smile I had seen from him. It was obvious why, he couldn't wait to get his own power.

Seline on the other hand, well she was shaking like a leaf and looking at me in pure fear. Most likely because whatever my class was it was definitely a pyromancer variation. Though I didn't care, I didn't want the possible party killer in the cohort anyway and if this kept her in check I would just thank my lucky stars for it.

And last was my chest, directly in the middle was a symbol. An empty circle surrounded by tribal lined flames, it would've been in a cool tattoo if not for the fact it glowed. Pearl white, just like my flames.

"A child of Surtr" Ivar stage whispered and I vaguely understood he was speaking of a great demon that had fought Odin many times. What do you know? Possibly galaxies away from earth and I was still learning about ancient Norsemen mythology.

"Shit…." As the flames died down, so did my ability to stand, it felt like every ounce of mana I once had was drained with only a small flicker of flame remaining.

As I did my best to catch my breath Ivar stood next to me and observed what a class change had put me through.

"You're leaner, and if I didn't know any better I'd say your hair lightened a decent amount" Ivar commented as he put a palm in front of my face. I nodded as I took the hand and rose to my feet,

"It's your turn now, nervous?" I asked with a smirk as I watched Ivars face contort in a way that caused me to laugh.

"Hardly…." He said as if his pride took a blow from my joke.

"Remember Ivar, you're looking for either a tank or warrior class. Pay attention to the names, anything purple or higher that you feel slightly matches those you gotta pick it." I said as my eyes fell on the sleeping statue. 

"And how would I go about that?" Ivar asked for advice.

"Look for common themes, anything with 'knight', 'shield', 'crusader'. Names like that, and…." I continued as I motioned him to lend me his ear. "If you see anything with the same color as my flames you have to drop everything and pick it, no matter what it says" I gave him the last bit of information I had. He nodded once and let out a sigh.

 A few moments later he was standing in front of the statue. He looked back once as I nodded, confirming I'd watch his back. Then the statue's eyes opened as Ivars palm touched the base.

It seemed there was some funky time dilation going on with the statue, or I should say the process of choosing a class.

I had thousands of options and I was sure I spent multiple days reading them all. That was without even mentioning deciphering their vague names and burning a mental list in my mind of the most 'optimal' choices. Which turned out to be an extreme waste of brain cells as the Sorcerer of Amteras appeared, which was beside the point.

But it seemed on the outside it was less than a few seconds. 

Ivar staggered back and collapsed to a knee as if suddenly overwhelmed. He seemed fine and I grew increasingly interested as a symbol burned itself onto his back. 

A fanged beast, no, a tattoo seemingly derived from a Chinese dragon appeared. In between the straps of his enchanted pauldron, it wrapped around in such a way that it seemed it would take a bite of its own tail.

'An ouroboros?' I thought to myself as I tilted my head at his strange tattoo that covered most of his upper back. 

It was definitely similar except instead of the usual snake it was a mythical reptilian creature. 

Before I could even ask Ivar spoke up after he raised his arm and tightened it into a fist.

"Draconian Crusader….." he whispered to himself, my eyes widened as his hand grew claws and warped. In moments his entire forearm was covered in blue scales.

"Was that an epic class?" I asked curiously as I arrived next to him. A draconian crusader? Obviously, he has traits of a dragon, a possible full transformation ability? Maybe even some kind of breath magic or roar-based magical attacks?

Surely his vitality, strength, and endurance all received a massive boost. He was part dragon now.

"Yeah, it was one of the only three purple names." Ivar answered as he rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving his clawed arm. A mix of wonder and awe tinged in his eyes at his partial transformation ability.

We all lapsed into a silence that only broke a few minutes later as the statue began lowering back into the tower's floor, its task seemingly accomplished.

I cared little for that as with almost every minute that passed so did my mana begin to refill. At a staggering pace as well. If before it took around fifteen minutes now it only lasted a mere three.

And with an actual fuel, I experimented just as Ivar did. 

I started small and just moved the fire around inside my body. Which proved almost as easy as breathing, which was funny as it seemed every time I breathed the mana inside my body surged.

Fire needs fuel and air to burn. My mana was the fuel and my lungs provided the air, so in a funny way. Controlling the energy in my body simply became controlling my breathing. At least compared to before where it felt like a sludge stuck in the lit of my stomach.

My next idea, well I'd try to force that fire out of my body.

I instinctively raised my left arm, as it was what I had always attributed to magic. Looking at the blood-red gauntlet I couldn't help but smile as I dropped it and raised my other hand.

It took me a few tries, but after a minute or so, a pearl-white candle-sized flame burned in my palm.

'Awesome' It felt completely different than using a magic item, as if I had finally stopped cheating and was doing it all with my own power.