The new way

"You could have told me what was coming," she groused to her father as they settled into a more private setting, "I might have worked a little harder if I'd realised what the Legion was looking to put me through."

The commander actually laughed. Laughed! She was so befuddled by the rarely heard full-throated chortling of the man who raised her that she couldn't even glare at him properly.

"You've literally been working yourself to the bone since we got here," he eventually stifled his mirth long enough to say. "You haven't taken a break to wash yourself in over a week. You fight like a fury until you conk out and sleep, then get up and do it again. In my eyes, doing any more would be detrimental rather than helpful, so I decided you didn't need to know until now. If you upgrade your Class now, you'll have just enough time to grow used to any new features and Skills you develop by the time the wave ends."

"… and use my increased power to drive my levelling speed even higher during the height of the wave," she added.

"Just so," Titus agreed.

She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out, trying to drive out all the distracting emotions in her head along with it. She repeated this several times, until she felt calm and clear headed before turning to her father.

"What can I expect?"

Upgrading or changing a person's Class was altering the most fundamental part of their existence and how they integrated with the System. It was never something to be done lightly, and just as Titus had said, not taking advantage of his expertise whilst it was available would be a criminal waste. Her current Class was specific to the Legion itself and knowledge of the paths that branched from her current point was strictly contained, even she didn't have access to most of it and she was a member! But her father did… More than that, her own mother had been a Legion Berserker, just as she was now. She had little doubt that Titus had just as detailed a level of information on the berserker Classes as he did his own.

"You're currently an Legionem Abyssi Berserker, level fifty, correct?" He asked, just to confirm.

She nodded and he continued.

"As far as entry level Classes in the Legion go, the Berserker can be considered second tier, one above the basic level of Armoured Legionary. It does a decent job of marrying the strengths of the Berserker and Legion Armoured combat, but it's far from a perfect union."

It was true. She'd lost some of the benefits of her previous Berserker Class when adopting this new one. Most important being the Class Passive which allowed her to turn mana into anger, the fundamental plank of the berserk tree. Without it, she needed to work much harder to channel her own emotions to get anywhere near the level of rage she had experienced before. At first she'd thought it was far too crippling a blow, but over time she had grown used to it, though having it back would be amazing.

In return, she'd gained much, primarily access to the Abyssal Armour Skill which allowed her to wear and mesh better with the incredible Runic Armour the Legion provided. Enchantments in the specially crafted berserker set she wore helped mitigate the loss of Mana Rage, whilst simultaneously driving her stats and defence to a level far exceeding what she possessed before.

"The next step is all about iterating and bringing your two key Skills into a better balance," Titus explained, "and there are several ways you can go about that. Do you want to emphasise the Legionary side and boost the performance of your armour? There are several advanced Skills that are required before you can utilise the best suits we have, and if you ever want to wear one, this is the path you'll need to go down."

She drew a slow breath when she realised what he was talking about, just to calm herself down. Praetorian armour. The legendary equipment worn only by the most elite Legionaries in the most dangerous parts of the Dungeon. She'd never lain eyes on a set, if fact, none of the Legionaries from Liria had, even the veterans. Except perhaps…

Her eyes flicked to her father, but his face was a stern mask once more, unreadable.

She tsked audibly but he didn't react. The full details of Titus' service record were sealed to someone of her rank and he'd never been open about it. His exploits in the upper strata were well known and he was happy to talk about them, but what her parents had done and been before moving to the surface? Barely a word.

"The other way to go is to push further into the Berserker side," he continued, "which won't cut you off from later picking up better armour Skills but will significantly delay them. On the flip side, you'll have more raw power at hand that isn't dependent on your equipment."

Power was always dependant on equipment, every Legionary knew that well. No matter the level of Skills a person accumulated for themselves, there was no chance their skin was going to become more durable than a set of well-made armour reinforced with enchantments. A person could never become as dangerous with their fist as they could with a weapon, though it was possible to go close.

"The third possibility, is that you take a Class that will add something else into the mix, give you access to Skills you will find more valuable as you progress. Whether that be an alternate combat style, leadership Skills or something else you think might be necessary to achieve what your end goal."

"Do you have anything you would recommend on that front?" Morrelia asked.

He shook his head.

"I don't want to influence your decision too strongly. The System is generous when it comes to combining Skills and if you build the foundation of the final Class you envision, then it will almost certainly exist. There are tried and true combinations, but even then the details of the Classes can differ from person to person. Your achievements, circumstances, personality and desires can all come into play when the System offers Classes."

"Don't I want to avoid taking a lower tier Class?" She asked. "I'd be stuck with low stat gain, grinding out another twenty levels, for what?"

"Gaining twenty levels on the third strata during a wave isn't going to take long," he pointed out, waving a hand at the chaos of the third stratum around them, "and if it means you get to take a fourth or fifth tier Class that is more suited to what you envision for yourself, it will definitely be worth it."

Hearing this, she sunk deep into thought as she tried to consider all the possibilities that would be available to her. It had been much easier when she was younger. All she'd had to do when maxing out her Class was choose the next in line, promoting it to a more advanced variant of itself. In this way she went from Warrior to Initiate Berserker to Berserker. She'd dipped sidewise and levelled Novice Ranger and Shallow Delver to get access to Skills that would help her survive in the wilds and Dungeon respectively before returning to the tier four Class Rage Berserker.

Her current Class had been a sideways shift and it was likely the most powerful choice she would have available would be a tier five Class that combined what she currently had with her highest Berserker Class. The other path her father had described, leaning more heavily into the Legionary Skills and armour, would likely be a tier four Class that might see her abandon her Rage Skills entirely, focusing more on becoming heavy infantry. It would mean forty levels of grinding before she would get the chance to Class Up again, but there would be little doubt the fifth tier Class option that merged her Legionary and Berserker Classes would be better.

The third suggestion was even more extreme, in terms of time taken, despite what Titus said. Taking a third path, a weaker, basic Class, then levelling it up would be easy enough to do where they were, but that was only for the initial ranks. If she wanted this third Skillset to meaningfully impact her options at the fifth tier, then she would need to promote that Class through several tiers, not just one. To raise it all the way to tier four would mean almost a hundred levels worth of experience! It was a big ask, and she wasn't even totally sure what sort of third path she might choose…

She'd already been offered leadership style Classes in the past, being in command of her own delving team had more than likely been the catalyst that unlocked them for her, but she'd never taken the option. She was certain both her father and mother had gone down this road at some point, though how far, she had no idea. They were useful Classes, to be sure, and likely a requirement if she wanted to rise far in the ranks of the Legion. At basic levels, these Classes gave access to speech Skills, making the leader more persuasive, but as they advanced, they became much more potent, granting Skills that could increase tactical acumen, or even buff Skills that applied when giving orders in the thick of battle.

The real question was, what did she want? What would she be happy with? Would she be content just being the best Berserker she could be? A deadly killing machine that the Legion could reliably point in whatever direction they wanted and sit back while she went to work? She might have thought so a few years ago, but now? Ever since she had met Anthony and the Colony, she had found this idea more and more distasteful. Her world view had changed and being a mindless warrior of fury no longer appealed to her as it once had. Her life had undergone massive shifts over the past year, so much so that it was sometimes a shock her head wasn't spinning.

Now she was in a place where she needed to decide who she was, and what she wanted to be, and the answers to those questions had changed so much that she didn't have any confidence.