Chapter 152 - 152

For once, someone got a normal class upgrade. Cain's class only finished basic setup at level 100, Kone got Beast Lord which reset and replaced all her skills, but Dark Apostle is a classic Advanced Class, adding on to and taking over from your old class. So Misha has every bit of her skills as a level 99 Cleric, plus all these new ones, as most transfers would expect of their class advancement. 

She is way too happy about that Holy Fire though. Even their Guild's Pyromancer isn't that enthusiastic about setting things on fire.

Speaking of whom, she's been mostly absent lately, rekindling her affection for the man she thought abandoned her, but who really just got captured here in Montauk, the Exit City.

The contracts the old guild forced on the transfers removed them from their Guild and cleared their friends list, preventing them from even contacting anyone they left behind. Then the enchanted collars kept them from running away. 

They progress smoothly through the remainder of the dungeon, Misha gleefully setting everything she possibly could on fire to celebrate her newfound ability to deal damage. She's still not a dps class, but the Holy Flames are pretty respectable in output, though they don't get a bonus against demons like normal holy flames would, probably something to do with the Dark Apostle Class itself. It does have that 'I serve the evil gods' sort of feel to it. 

Much of that is due to the aesthetic though. No longer are the Robes she was wearing pure white, now they're the same dark blue of her fire, with pink and orange flickering flames appearing at random like an illusions on their surface. They're also no longer the stuffy almost cassock style robe of a base cleric, they're more form fitting now and ornate, with a hint of cleavage showing and her gloves becoming black silk and elbow length with gold embroidery while the simple white hooded cloak she wore for so long is now a blue so dark it's almost black with more gold trim that seems to flicker pink and orange in the light of the dungeon. 

They'll have to see what appearance it takes on in normal light to determine exactly what the outfit looks like. 

The most notable change though, has to be her staff. It was a plain wooden thing before, with a few gems in it, now it's an engraved ebony shaft topped with a black floating horned skull that is producing a flickering blue flame from the eye sockets. It would almost look like a Mage's staff if not for the Demonic Symbology all over the staff itself. Maybe something a warlock would use? 

Cain is a big fan of the slightly more feminine look to the outfit though. The old cleric Robes were pretty boring. These at least give an impression of her well formed physique while still looking vaguely Religious with the short stole hanging down her front, the dark colored, hooded cloak and gold rope cincture dangling down from her waist. 

They've finished the run and are going through the loot when Misha notices something odd. Armor is no longer locked out from her options. She's wearing cloth, but the interface says everything from leather to plate is also a valid option. To test the theory, she equips a plate chest piece and Pauldrons, which turn into warped black parodies of a warriors armor. But the clergy robe look still remains, draped over and under the armor pieces, as if they were ornamental and not functional. 

Which, upon further inspection is exactly the truth. Her armor didn't increase to match the plate pieces she put on, instead they became mostly decorative bits of her outfit. Her listed bonuses changed to match the pieces though, so she really can use them, she just doesn't get an armor bonus from them. 

They will have to experiment with her look later, but for now the equipment she was originally using is a good look on her, without the extra Demonic accents that the plate armor added. It did give a rather nice view of her cleavage though, so Cain has some hope for the future of Dark Apostle fashion. 

They exit the dungeon, headed for the market to grab a celebratory cake before heading home. Sam and Sam, the local trouble makers are there with their parents, holding sacks of shopping and looking depressed until they catch sight of Misha. She's put her staff away as it's hardly necessary in town, but the two boys spot her almost instantly.

"Mum, can we go talk to the Dark Apostle? We just want to know how she got to that class. She's only level 100 so she might have just got it. Please? " The light haired boy asks. 

His brother runs up and sees Cain along with the girl he's talking about and a large group of other women of various species.

"As long as she doesn't mind, you can. But don't you set down those bags, you're still being punished." Their mother agrees without letting the boys off the hook for their pranks. 

"Hello Miss Misha. We're Sam and Sam, your friendly neighborhood Warlocks. We just wanted to know what path you followed to get Dark Apostle as a class choice." The dark haired Sam asks politely. 

"Well, I was a Cleric before, but I got a Quest in the Demon Raid, the multicolored one with the Record Keeper at the door. Once you complete it, the class becomes available." Misha explains. 

"So it starts as a Cleric and moves towards Warlock after a quest. We thought it might be the other way around, we've only met one before and they got it from the Random Character Generator." Sam says thoughtfully. 

"Are they still around? It might be helpful to know more about the new skills of the class if I can." Misha says hopefully. 

"He is, but he's been hiding since you guys got here. He was with team four and got pretty heavily injured before deserting and going into hiding. He doesn't believe us when we tell him it's safe to come out." Sam informs her. 

"Well, if we can talk to him, we can help. Either to come out and live again, or get to safety if the people here are all still mad at him. Was he well liked?" Misha asks with a smile at the two boys who are discreetly trying to set the shopping down without their mom noticing. 

"On your feet, not the ground, the bags are white, she'll notice the dirt if they touch the ground." Misha whispers and they smile back. 

"He is pretty weird, but he ran an herbalists shop that everyone liked. It's closed right now, but he's hiding inside." Sam says quietly. 

"Thanks boys, I'll talk to your mom and see if she can lighten your punishment." Cain says a bit louder than usual and their dad chuckles. Maybe winning over the strict mom won't be that easy. 

Laura is the first to notice the odd nature of Misha's robe. Like her scales, it changes color as it moves. But unlike her scales, the effect isn't that of shimmering Opal, but of shifting reality, like the garment itself is actually changing color slightly. It's certainly unique and distinctive anyhow. 

They reach the house and Misha heads to her room in Sunnybrook to shower, the extra spell casting having worked up a sweat, while Kone and Cain use their own ensuite showers here. Likely Misha has clothes in the closet there that she wanted to try on with her new class, but doesn't usually keep in her limited inventory space. 

Cain sends out the celebration notification to the rest of the Guild, letting them know Misha has hit level 100 and picked an advanced class and everyone starts planning their evening. The cooks plan a menu, the members prepare gifts, mostly sweets, given the short notice, and Gramps heads to the Hall in Graska to get Misha a copy of the Dark Apostle skill chart. The Dwarves have both warlocks and Clerics, so he's fairly sure they should have a copy of the full skill tree. Or at least most of it. 

They've gotten a fine collection of foods made by the Guild's in house Chefs, and the cake is waiting for them to be ready when Misha returns, looking very different than usual. She's wearing a black crop top with an odd flaming eye symbol in it and cargo pants with chain mail hanging from the belt, tucked into combat boots. A black and pink zippered hoodie with many patches on it, is worn open, with her dark brown hair tied up in French braids with pink ribbons. 

The look shocks everyone, they're used to Misha being in white cleric robes all the time, not this emo punk meets goth style. It almost looks like something Lickity would pick out, in fact, the Succubus Sorceress is giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

"My fashion options took a very drastic turn. Never fear though, I've still got a fine collection of dresses and Cleric Robes, but in blacks blues and pinks.." Misha laughs, sitting down next to Cain at the table.