Chapter 80: Talks with Kayafe

"What are the other requirements?" Kayafe repeats my question back at me. It is the day after we got back from the dungeon and I have come back to Temple Island to ask Kayafe about the requirement to unlock a second class.

"Well, first you need at least one skill capped, with at least ten breakthroughs. That skill then becomes eligible to be the seed from which the second class is grown. The class will be based on that skill, and it will be incorporated as a class skill. Alternatively, if you want a Bond class, you need to choose a Bond skill or just the Bond as a whole, however the Bond must be at least level three hundred and the Bond skill must be an evolved versions to be the seed of another class. It's a bit of a hidden thing, but once you do have a skill capped, you'll have a feeling that the skill can become more"

"Just like how much [Sense Mana] feels like it could become greater?" I ask quietly, mostly to myself, as I sink into thought.

What skill would I want to base another class on? [Acting]? It's an excellent skill that works well with my multiple minds and might also bring [Graceful Movements] along with it. Or should I base it on [Twin Minds], which has the potential to free up some more general skills by bringing all my other mental skills into a class with it? However, basing my Ultimate Class on [Manipulate Mana] would also have a strong chance to bring over [Twin Minds]. The possibility of having two ultimate skills in an Ultimate Class would be hugely beneficial. The biggest issue is, of course, getting the Ultimate Class, as well as purifying [Mana Manipulation].

There is a strong possibility that I'll never unlock the Ultimate Class, and doing so would require good second and third classes. So let's look at things in a different light: what is best for me right now. [Acting] has a possibility to incorporate [Graceful Movements] and maybe [Musician] as well, freeing up some skills, and that's not even getting into the many possibilities of a class based on a skill that’s already so versatile.

On the other hand, a class based on [Twin Minds] will probably get me more minds and has a strong probability to bring over four other general skills, whereas [Acting] is more of a coin toss on its associated skills. Having a good mind-based class will likely result in a mind mage class of some sort, and I know from experience how potent those can be. It might help make my illusions more powerful or I may gain some passive ability to help make me unnoticeable. No doubt this will also help my clones immensely, possibly giving out pseudo minds, but do I need that if I have enough minds to begin with?

Speaking of clones, I can use [Create Twin] to form a Bond class which may incorporate [Twin Minds], however it may not bring over my other mental skills. It'll fit my build more but probably won't free up as many skills… and it’d mean I’d have two Bond classes, although I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing really.

[Acting], if combined with [Graceful Movements], could also help my clones in a much more tangible way. It will likely give me better close-quarter combat, which I may need, and each of my clones can take an individual role. Making the skill imitation better would mean I can become much more versatile and it may even give my clones the ability to mimic people, thus making them appear real to more advanced sensing skills.

This is a hard choice to make, both skills being great possibilities for a second class; there's just one more issue to consider. [Twin Minds] is much harder to level and almost requires me to let myself be taken advantage of by mind mages, which I can only find in the dungeon. I may be in a situation where I can't form a second class around it. With [Twin Minds] out it'd be [Create Twin] versus [Acting]: continue my build or try for a jack of all trades class. Now that I think about it, I should continue my build; I shouldn't need to have a generalist class.

"What would you recommend for me?” I’m pretty sure I’ve made my choice, but maybe Kayafe has some ideas. “Which of my skills would be good for a second class?"

"It's up to what you want more. There are no bad options, just what fits you best, and only you can answer that." Kayafe forces a neutral tone, but there’s a definite undercurrent of ‘that was a stupid question’.

Right, Kayafe doesn't know much about me and my style, so obviously, she is the wrong person to ask.

I move the discussion to another subject. "Has anyone died because you didn't do enough?" I ask, sorrow filling my voice.

"Too many times to count. You certainly don't act nor sound like any ten-year-old I know. For starters, most wouldn't blame themselves or even comprehend the situation enough to attribute blame onto themselves. Hindsight is always our greatest vision. Looking back, we can always see the obvious answer. However, if you shift perspectives back to how you were then and look at it from that point, you'll realize that, while you could have done things a little better, I assume you acted efficiently. Most often, we try to save time, which may lead to worse outcomes. While it's easy to look back and say that we should have taken longer, it doesn't make sense when you look at it from an efficiency point of view" Kayafe pauses to let her words sink in.

"You can spend a lot of time preparing a perfect encounter, but there is a cost to everything; think about it long term. Getting stronger, even at the cost of a few lives now, may mean that you save more people later. The mistakes you make now may mean more lives saved later. Imagine if no one had died; you would still be making the same mistakes only now it's reinforced by previous successes. One day you may make the same action but involve more people or do it against a more powerful foe. It's the mistakes that make us who we are, not our success."

"I still don't like it.” I reply, more sharply than I intended to. “My choices were complacent and lazy, and that is never an excuse,"

Kayafe doesn't reply for a minute.

"That... is an interesting choice of words, Alysara. A sentiment often shared by one with a full lifetime of experience, the sentiment of those who look back on their lives and realize they've gone nowhere. I do not think you lied when you said you unlocked your class a few months ago, so that leaves only one option. Are you a Legacy soul?"

Cat's out of the bag. The Guardian knew, and someone with as much experience as Kayafe would have found out sooner or later.

"Yes, you've heard of people like me?"

"A human companion of mine was one; I knew him since childhood. It makes a lot of sense now, why you are the way you are, why you are so strong for your age. Even if your memories haven't returned, the regrets are more or less etched into your soul. The experiences and maturity you've obtained in your previous life are imprinted on your soul somehow. Dhwol says the soul has a component to store memories, so that is likely the cause. Tell me, does this Mana Arc have the Legacy tier?"

"It does," I say. Then I realize what Kayafe is getting at. "What does it mean? If my soul counts as Legacy, then what does that do?"

"The Legacy tier is based on the Heirloom tier. It means to be the ‘will’ of something; in your case, you are the will, the legacy of what your previous realm was, the proof of its existence. It's a very powerful tier because of that and grants a three hundred percent bonus. As it's on your soul, that means you are getting a three hundred percent bonus to some things most people do not get; what that is exactly... no one's really sure, it's not based on your stats or mana generation or anything else identifiable. Alexander did mention something about getting skills easily, so we guessed that magic, the system, is easily applied to your soul, but what that actually means no one really knows."

"What about the other Tier? Primordial? What does that mean?"

"Primordial?!" Kayafe nearly shouts, "Do you know what that even means?"

"Umm, is it bad?" I tentatively say.

"No,” Kayafe takes a few moments to calm down, then continues. “No, it's part of another tier system based on age. The first is Historic; to qualify, something merely needs to be one hundred years old plus the normal magic item requirements. Archaic is one thousand, Ancient is ten thousand, for Timeless it's unknown how old something has to be, but it's beyond one hundred thousand. Primordial has one requirement, in addition to qualifying for the previous four tiers, and that is to be the beginning, to have existed at the earliest of times. Could be anything; the first crown of the first-ever king, or the first souls of a realm."

"Or perhaps from one of the first realms? Even if not the first soul of that realm?" I say, continuing for Kayafe.

"Near impossible, but yes... assuming souls can survive that long, although I guess you are an example?"

"Yes, according to Myrou, but I do know my life in that realm was not anywhere near the earliest of times, relatively speaking. But what does Primordial give you?"

"Perpetuity.” Kayafe pauses for a moment to let that sink in, then clarifies, “Not indestructibleness: it allows for change and alterations, damage can be done in the form of altering the shape, like scratching or scarring it, but the fundamental identity cannot be damaged or removed. For example, Primordial Iron can be shaped into a sword, pot or tool, but the Iron itself cannot be eroded by time or utterly destroyed by void spells.

In addition to the regenerative capabilities of the Timeless tier, it means your soul will always reform, no matter the damage. How long that takes? What will happen to your memories if your soul components are destroyed? That's up for debate. It also means that while you can die, your soul cannot be cleansed during reincarnation, as that would remove the identity of your soul."

"Just so I understand,” I say, very slowly, “my soul can still be damaged but not totally destroyed? And any damage I take will be healed slowly?"

"Yes."

This is good news, but in some ways could mean that becoming a cursed being could be worse. What if I get stuck as a cursed being forever? Yes, my soul will reform, but my memories? I could still lose everything that makes me who I am.

It just means I have to be just as, if not more, cautious. In any case, I've learned what I came here for and more.

A sudden thought strikes me… perhaps inspired by the sudden idea of being stuck eternally as something I’m not. I'm sure Kayafe feels lonely and exploited by me only talking with her to get answers to questions. Maybe I should get to know her more, ask about her instead.

"Why..." I pause, not quite sure what to say. "Why did you choose to sacrifice yourself? Surely with your level of power, you didn't need a Mana Arc; you could have held the torrent of mana at bay."

I feel surprise, and then happiness from her, the telepathic link conveying her emotions. "I could have, but for ten thousand years? What if something happened to me? But there was more to it. It was to prove to Safyr my resolve for my people. We had intruded upon her territory where she wanted a quiet place. I may have matched her in battle but fighting her while holding back the mana? No. She asked for proof of my resolve, and this was it. She even offered to protect our people in my stead."

I wonder if the Guardian feels guilty, since she could protect everybody from the water elemental but couldn’t do anything at all about the superstorm.

"I see. The Mana Arc has an ability to inject mana into the surroundings. I assume this helps serve some function, but why fire mana? Wouldn't that have made it uncomfortable for the Runalymo at the time?" It is a question I have been wondering about for a long time now.

"Fire?” Kayafe sounds perplexed. “I had set it for earth mana, to help grow and fertilize the land. If it's fire mana now, then someone must have changed it."

It's possible, nay, likely that someone had gotten high [Mana Toxicity Tolerance] within ten thousand years. They could have changed it; it could have been changed multiple times. Plus, chances are they wouldn't have known about Kayafe in the Mana Arc, or didn't have the means to communicate with her. Still, why change it? We could have much more land if it remained earth mana. What are the chances that no one would have changed the Mana Arc within the last thousand years, since the water elemental?

"Speaking of, what was the nexus like when you first came here?" The nexus would have been very different, and the mana density would have been much higher for hundreds of millions of years, perhaps since creation.

"It was a large island full of mana crystals as far as the eye could see, like a crystal forest. There were even pools of liquid mana when conditions were just right. There was, of course, almost a constant mana storm, but with my abilities, I calmed the area enough for habitation. There was almost no life here; nothing could survive the mana density, not without my help. I take it that it's changed a lot?"

"Yes, it's an archipelago now, lots of small islands. Apparently, a water elemental attacked and flooded the area," I explain.

"That doesn't make sense; why would the area be flooded? Did the water elemental leave? But they like places of high mana density," Kayafe says, sounding more and more contemplative. "Not to mention Safyr would have killed the Elemental. She wouldn't just drive it away..."

"Why wouldn't it make sense? Water elementals bring water, don't they?" I ask, perplexed.

"That they certainly do, but the only way to kill an elemental is to completely remove its element, both mana and matter, meaning the fight with the elemental would result in the complete removal of water."

So how did the water get here? It's freshwater, so it can't have come from the ocean. Unless... The Guardian is a water dragon and has openly said that people being spread apart makes things peaceful, and that things should stay that way. If, after the battle, Safyr flooded the land and changed the mana arc to put fire mana into the land instead of earth, that would make sense, but why fire mana? I think I need to talk to the Guardian.