Balance

Ayla shifted her gaze from the sky to him and gave a nod. "Indeed, I am, hero." She returned her eyes upward.

"I see…" Marius fell silent, his mind consumed by thoughts, once again, about the significance of the goddess being gifted to him in this game-like world.

At first, he thought she would manipulate or pressure him into becoming a hero, but she hadn't been too forceful about it.

Marius was uncertain—he wasn't ready to fully trust her. Not until he took off that damn collar around her neck. Even then, he still would have doubts about fully trusting her.

"Do all divine beings have the ability to see souls?" He was curious to learn more about these beings, what power they hold, and how they might be connected to "IT".

With a slight shake of her head, Ayla replied, "I'm sorry, but I cannot speak about that."

Marius guessed as much. He had already concluded that she was controlled by "IT," but not in the sense of being manipulated like a puppet, rather more like being confined in some manner.

He glanced over at the goddess and into her golden eyes, which were devoid of any sparkle, lifeless.

The way she looked at the sky, for some reason, gave the impression that she was genuinely imprisoned, just like being in a cage.

In hindsight, Marius came to the realization that he wouldn't get any responses on the subject. As a result, he chose to change his focus and ask about the classes of those three individuals.

"We still have a considerable distance to cover before we arrive in Aetheria. I'm interested to know more about the classes they possess."

Upon being attacked, Marius regarded them as enemies, people who were blocking his path home, firmly believing they wouldn't simply vanish.

It would be incredibly foolish to believe they would never come back. It was only a question of when.

Marius shifted his focus back to the trail ahead, while waiting for the goddess to speak. 

Ayla remained quiet for a few moments, but soon, she shifted her gaze from the birds she was looking at and looked at the man beside her.

With a slight lean, she settled into the wooden structure that was equipped with a small pillow before opening her mouth.

"Barrierist — Venomer — Teleblade," Ayla said, perfectly remembering their classes and such. She continued speaking:

"The giant possessed Barrierist. The small one possessed Venomer. The thin one possessed Teleblade."

Upon hearing the word "Teleblade", Marius's eyes shot open. It came crashing down on him like a ton of bricks.

'That's why I couldn't keep up with the movement of the blade.' He thought to himself. He understood the importance of being careful around someone until he learned their class.

Fortunately, Marius knew he could simply ask the goddess who was able to provide him with this information.

"Can you tell me the description of their classes?" He asked. For obvious reasons, he wanted to know about this.

Just like before, when discussing dungeon grades, Ayla suddenly began speaking in a completely robotic manner, as if she were reciting lines from a script:

"Barriest: Specializes in creating and manipulating barriers to protect allies and control the battlefield. They can conjure physical, magical, and energy barriers to block attacks, trap enemies, and alter the environment to their advantage."

"Among his skills were: Prismatic Shield — Sound Barrier — Barrier Prison."

"Teleblade: Master of teleporting weapons, capable of summoning and controlling blades from a distance. They can strike from unexpected angles, recall weapons to their hands instantly, and unleash devastating flurries of attacks."

"The skills he had: Blink Strike — Phantom Blades — Blade Recall."

"Venomer: Wields potent poisons to weaken and incapacitate their foes. They can coat their weapons with deadly toxins, create poisonous clouds, and brew potions that enhance their abilities or debilitate enemies."

"His skills were: Toxic Slash — Noxious Cloud — Paralytic Brew."

Once she finished speaking, Marius, who had been silently listening, inquired, "do you know their levels?" Names? Their status?"

If she did, that would be beyond helpful to him. He could be smart about whom to avoid and who to engage.

In reality, Marius knew he wasn't in some usual cultivation novel trope, where the main character effortlessly overpowers a seasoned cultivator.

Having access to knowing people's classes would enable him to better adapt to the world and reduce his feelings of paranoia.

Unfortunately for him. It seemed as if Ayla burst the balloon when she replied, "If I were still watching over this world. Yes. However, since I'm not, I have to adhere to the principle of balance."

"So you have access to view their classes and skills, but not their levels, names, etc?" Marius wanted to clarify.

To double-check, as he was feeling pretty discouraged about that right now.

"Yes. All beings must follow the balance," Ayla responded. 

Marius sighed. Regardless, he knew that he would still experience paranoia if he engaged in a fight with someone, something he would prefer to avoid if possible, especially if he didn't know their class.

He wasn't some battle maniac. If it were within his power, he would choose to be invisible in this world and mind his own business while making his way back to Earth.

For some unknown reason, this topic they were on made Marius ponder about the guards and merchants and why they didn't use their skills.

"Why didn't they?" He muttered, perplexed.

Were they braindead?

Plot armor?

"Hmm?" Ayla cocked her head, straining to catch his words.

Snapping out of his own thoughts, Marius looked to his side at the goddess.

"Nothing. I was just wondering about why the guards or merchant didn't use their skills, even if they were blinded."

"That's because they didn't have a class." Ayla casually dropped that bomb without flinching.

"Hold up, not everybody has a class?" Marius found it hard to believe that in this game-like world, not everyone had class. Even if it was a bad one, they should at least have something.

"Yeah, certain individuals don't possess a class. It's all about balance," Ayla uttered.

Marius couldn't help but notice that she kept mentioning the word "balance," so he decided to ask her about it. "Why do you keep mentioning the concept of balance?"

Ayla's ears perked up at that question. Her eyes briefly lit up with a glimmer, only to fade away a moment later, as if it had never existed.

Something Marius caught, but before he could say anything, she spoke:

"Balance is the foundation of our existence. It's the principle that governs everything—every power, every creature, and every action has a counterbalance."