Chapter 003: Big ass choices
Okay, let's see. Kiki thought, calling up the list with her Class options again.
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Please choose your Class from the following.
Your current state won't end until you made your choice.
Your choice is final!
Options:
[Illusion mage]
[Illusion mage blessed by Shine]
[Light mage]
[Disguise artist]
[Deceiver]
[Deceiver blessed by Dezep]
[Influencer]
[Dancer]
[Manipulator]
[Warrior]
[Warrior blessed by Luxuria]
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Okay, I have eleven total options to choose from. And no clue if that's a lot or not... Since all of the blessed options seem like they are upgraded versions of the 'common' Classes, lets ignore them for now.
So, more than anything, the Influencer Class would probably be perfect for me. Or would it? Hmm... A big part of being a successful influencer is to at least appear genuine and real. If you seem to obviously fake, people simply won't believe or trust you after all.
This might work if I were, like, a salesman or something and met customers that don't know me directly. But with a big social media presence like mine? People will probably try to figure out what my Class is. And unless I can fake having a different Class entirely, people will probably get doubtful wether they know my Class or not.
Hell, I don't think I could trust the opinion of someone who might have some kind of magical superpower that lets them manipulate my opinions...
So... Deceiver, Manipulator, and Influencer are already out. Whether I can return to being an influencer at some point or not, having those kind Classes and abilities sounds like it could come with the kind of social stigma I really don't want to have.
Disguise artist and Illusion mage should still be viable though, since they don't sound like they would directly affect another person's mind, but just what they see.
Then, from here... What do I actually need?
If Elias' words can be believed, and I guess there is some degree of truth to what he said, then the general situation could be anywhere between 'leaving the house gets you mauled by monsters' all the way to 'human civilization is dunzo'.
And that means, while rescue might come at some point, it can't be expected.
Which means I would need something that allows me to defend myself.
Which means...
Warrior stays, it's the obvious one.
Light mage too, since it can probably do lasers and stuff?
Illusions might allow me to become invisible, I guess?
Disguise artist is out then. Even if I could make myself look like a rock or something, and hide from a monster like that, the description directly mentioned the use of physical tools. So without those tools and the time to use them, being a disguise artist would probably be useless.
That leaves Dancer I guess? I mean, there was that Kapo-thing that was some kind of Chinese war dance, right? But it's not like I know how to do that, or ever enjoyed dancing enough to learn more than individual moves for short videos...
So, that leaves the two Mages and the Warrior?
Is there any good reason to take one over the other?
Mages were supposed to do their stuff at a longer range, right? So I guess they would have the advantage of being able to stay out of reach of whatever might try to kill me.
On the other hand, Mages are supposed to be weaker physically, right? So if things go to shit, the warrior would probably increase my chances of running away...
Except if Light magic could let me move at the speed of light, I guess? Could it?
Let's take a closer look then...
Thinking that, Kiki focused on [see more] for each of the three Classes.
Urgh... lets ignore all those numbers for now... here! These 'Skills' should be those superpowers Elias talked about, right? So, all three Classes get two Skills each... And I can only see their names without any description about what they do...
I guess that settles that issue. For all I know the mages are just glorified light bulbs. Better to take the Warrior where I at least know how it works to some degree.
Then all that's left is to choose which Warrior I take... Let's see.
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Warrior [common]
A Warrior fights in close quarters using [cold weapons].
Requirements:
You have trained using a close quarters cold weapon.
Skills:
Enhanced Armor
Enhanced Weapon
[Personal Stats]:
Strength +2
Endurance +2
Vitality +1
Dexterity +2
[Stats] per level:
Strength +1
Endurance +2
Vitality +1
Dexterity +1
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So, two Skills, and a bunch of Stats I have no clue what they do. Let's take a look at the other Class before I look into that.
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Warrior blessed by Luxuria [uncommon]
A [Warrior] that had been blessed by the Goddess Luxuria.
Requirements:
You qualify for the Warrior Class.
You possess and have worn the proper attire.
You have trained and used an appropriate weapon.
We can work on the rest ;)
Skills:
Luxurias Blessing
The Bigger the better
Less is more
Equipment swap
[Personal Stats]:
Strength +1
Endurance +2
Vitality +2
Dexterity +1
Charm +6
Lowest +2
[Stats] per level:
Endurance +1
Vitality +1
Charm +4
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Okay! This is a MUCH bigger difference than I thought. Twice as many Skills... I think twice as many Personal Stats, whatever those are? And... one additional Stat per level...
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Is this the difference between a common and uncommon Class?
Or has this something to do with the Class being 'blessed' by a supposed Goddess?
Though I guess the Stat distribution looks a bit... weird? Even if it's more overall, it gives actually less physical stats than the common Warrior.
And the Skills have weird names as well.
And what kind of Stat is Charm even supposed to be? I can understand stuff like Strength, but Charm?
Let's see what this System is willing to tell me...
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Stats
There are seven different Stat values:
[Strength]
[Endurance]
[Vitality]
[Dexterity]
[Intelligence]
[Wisdom]
[Charm]
There are a total of six different sources for Stats:
[Personal Stats]
[Base Stats]
[Class Stats]
[Free Stats]
[Achievement Stats]
[Gained Stats]
Your effective Stats are calculated based on all six sources in the following way:
(Base + Class + Free + Achievement + Gained) * Personal/10 + Gained
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Fucking hell... Thirteen more sub menus and a bunch of math... And all of it without being able to take notes. Great. Just GREAT!
Kiki had no way of telling how long it took her. Sure, the individual menus weren't actually all that long, but without being able to take notes, she was constantly forced to go back to ones she checked already, not sure if she remembered correctly what they said.
It was a disorganized mess to work through, but by the end of it, she was reasonably sure she understood what was going on.
So, to summarize. Stats per level have surprisingly little value. I only get five, six for the uncommon Class, per level. Plus three 'free' Stats that I can put wherever I want. But since everyone seems to start with a hundred points in every Stat, for a total of seven hundred, just to double them I would have to get to level one hundred. A bit less with the uncommon Class.
On the other hand, Personal Stats seem to be much harder to get, and serve as a multiplier, making them worth that much more. And not only does the blessed Warrior give twice as many of those, they are also focused on a single Stat instead of spread out, which should result in a much greater effect.
And not only that, but Charm appears to be my strongest Stat already, so it would only be even better. The only issue is...
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Charm
Determines the strength and reach of your presence, the effect of which varies depending on you, the person, and your behavior.
Determines your resistance towards non-physical magical effects.
Partially determines your resistance to mental influences.
Partially improves your ability to perfectly recover from injuries. (Does not let you regenerate missing body parts.)
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Yeah... What does this thing about my presence even mean? Though... Didn't it say somewhere that... Right! Only my Personal Stats affect my appearance.
Since my Charm is my naturally highest Stat,and my good looks have always been my greatest strength, I guess Charm would have to do with that? At least somewhat?
But what would a Warrior even do with that, then? I mean, it should make me a better Warrior in some way, right? Otherwise the Stats wouldn't be focused on it so hard... But then, why does the common Warrior completely ignore it?
Then, I guess it must have something to do with the whole Blessing thing? Or rather that goddess... what was her name? Luxuria? So, it might just make me a rather unconventional Warrior... Which might not actually be a bad thing? It might make me harder to predict at least.
What kind of goddess is that supposed to be anyways? I mean, the other two that showed up appear to be pretty on the nose with their names actually... I mean, Illusions seem to usually be visual tricks, which require light, and light shines. And 'Dezep' is basically the first half of 'deception' with a spelling mistake, isn't it?
So, since this one is supposed to be female, 'Luxuria' sounds kind of like a female version of 'luxurious' right? So, some kind of Goddess of luxury?
I mean, the Skills names would fit at least? A bigger yacht is more luxurious than a smaller one, right? And while flaunting wealth might be fun occasionally, there comes a point where any more is simply gaudy and crass. And a Warrior for a Goddess of Luxury should have enough different equipment that they need a superpower to swap between them quickly.
But could I subscribe myself to a religion based on Luxury? I mean, a Goddess of Luxury might demand some pretty hefty tributes, right? But... It's just a Blessing, right?
Usually, having someone's blessing just means they agree with your actions and support you. They can't REALLY demand anything from you, and at most they can retract the blessing... Which would probably leave me as a normal Warrior if it happens, which would have been the Class I would have otherwise chosen anyways.
But that smiley... Urgh...
I guess, here goes nothing.
'I take the Class Warrior blessed by Luxuria!'
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Congratulations! You gained the Class: Warrior blessed by Luxuria (uncommon)
From now on please note these commands:
[Status]
[Level up]
[Achievements]
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Normalizing Personal Stats.
Strength 11 -1 = 10
Endurance 12 -1 = 11
Vitality 9 -1 = 8
Dexterity 14 -2 = 13
Intelligence 7 -1 = 6
Wisdom 6 -1 = 5
Charm 20 -2 = 18
=====
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Congratulations! You gained 9 [Achievements]!
Personal Strength
Personal Endurance
Personal Vitality
Personal Dexterity *2
Personal Intelligence
Personal Wisdom
Personal Charm *2
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"...think you are doing!" Jack turned to her and screamed, clearly angry.
Kiki, meanwhile, had basically forgotten about that by this point. And she ignored it to boot. Because she felt...
"Incredible..." she whispered as a pleasant shudder ran all throughout her body. She could feel it, how she changed, grew, became... more on an existential level.
And somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt a sense of confidence, satisfaction and relief, almost as if she knew that someone was cheering her on and telling her that she had done a good job. that her decision had been the right one.
Yeah. I should probably look into that at some point, but I do admit it feels kinda nice...
"Wha... " Elias looks at her and asks. Or at least he tries, as he goes slack jawed in the middle of his word, and the look suddenly turns into a stare.
And looking back to him, she notices that the same happened to Jack.
"Ehmmm..." Kiki was confused, and really not sure what to think about this particular situation.
Wait, is this the effect of my... Presence, was it? My increased Charm?
It was only then that she realized that she was feeling uncomfortably tight around the chest and hips. Just as she brought her hands down to adjust her hotpants, a single sound almost echoed through the currently silent bunker.
RIIIIIIP!
"Kyaah!" Kiki let out an undignified shriek as she suddenly felt a cool breeze where the sun shouldn't shine, ripping the two older men out of their reverie.
"Miss Kindra! What happened!?" Jack exclaimed, pure worry in his voice, his anger completely forgotten.
"My... My pants ripped..."
"Puh! Hahahahaha!" Elias burst out laughing at her answer, quickly followed by both Jack and Kiki, as the previous tension made the situation seem all the more ridiculous.
After a few moments, Kiki finally asked: "Where is the bath? I think the last time I was down here I was like, ten."
"Over there." Jack answered, pointing at a door.
"Thanks," Kiki answered as she walked over, covering her ass with her hands. Just as she slipped into the bathroom she called back at the two men: "And could someone get me some pants?"
Closing the door behind her, the first thing Kiki did was to slip out of her hotpants. Or at least, she tried.
"Urgh! Come! ON!" She groaned, trying her hardest to push the pants down, but she could hardly even get her fingers into her pants. She knew her pants had been tight when she put them on, that was kind of the point, but definitely not like this. She couldn't even get enough slack to get the button open. Really, there were only two answers to the problem, either her pants had shrunk spontaneously, or, well...
Giving up on that for now, she instead went one step higher, loosening her bra a little in the back. But even then, the fit had suddenly become uncomfortable. Almost as if it were a size too small...
"As if. There is no 'almost' to it." At a rough guess, with a single decision, she had gone from a comfortable E to an F. That was actually kinda troublesome. It wasn't easy to find a comfortable bra, and now her entire wardrobe’s worth would no longer fit her properly.
From there, she went another step up, looking at her face in the mirror. It was a small one, the bath being way too small for anything that showed more than her face, but that was enough. Despite wearing heavy make-up for the camera, she could tell that something had changed. Not much, but her practiced eye could immediately tell that it didn't sit quite perfectly any more.
At closer inspection, it seemed like her lips had gotten just a little bit more luscious. Not so much to make her look like one of those sexdolls that called themselves humans, but just enough that she didn't think she would have to cheat with her lipstick anymore in the future.
Then there was the shape of her eyes. They seem to have gotten just a little bit sharper, pushing her natural looks just a little bit more towards cool and sexy instead of cute.
Finally, her eye color was maybe not the biggest change, but definitely the most... disconcerting? Her eyes had always been a beautiful emerald green, with just the smallest bit of brown speckles. Now? The brown had almost entirely disappeared while the green had become brighter and clearer. Almost as if her eyes had become actual gems.
It was... definitely striking...
Even looking at herself in the mirror, she had a hard time averting her eyes as they almost seemed to shine with an inner light. She could understand why the men had so much trouble looking away.
*knock* *knock* *knock*
The knock on the door suddenly ripped her out of her narcissistic reverie. Quickly she turned around and opened the door. Taking the pants out of Jack's hands, she quickly asked: "Could you also give me some scissors?"
"Scissors?" the man asked, confused. "Why?"
"Because..." Kiki trailed off, not quite sure how to explain it. "Just give me the damn scissors!" she finally said, closing the door in front of him while trying to ignore the laughter from deeper in the room.
A few minutes, one chirurgical operation, and a pair of incredibly boring cargo pants later, Kiki stepped back out of the bath.
"So," Elias asked. "What kind of Class did you get?"
"Apparently," Kiki decided on her answer, "the kind that made my ass bigger."
Laughter filled the bunker again, and Kiki noticed even Jack grinning a little. Even if their situation was serious, this felt a lot better than the previous tension.