Therina and Beatrice stood with Styx as he looked through various types of mana gems of a broad range of attributes. Both of the elves were scantily dressed since getting out of the bath, but the house had a constant supply of heating so it was never cold.
They were in an exceptionally large library in their mansion which had shelves of all kind and shapes covering the walls. Some sections were drawers and stored experimental materials like mana gems, while others were open shelves for storing Styx's books. A ladder hung off the wall on a slider that allowed it to move around the room and help Styx or the girls reach the higher shelves.
Several large dark wooden desks and chairs were in the middle of the library, for Styx or anyone else to read the books in the library. Several white balls of soft light floated about in the center of the room, dancing among one another in response to the people in the room to provide the best light.
Styx could actually just grab a book or drawer with his mana tendrils, and Therina had also learned how to manifest her own mana outside of her body to achieve a similar result.
He was greatly surprised to see her creating her own mana tendrils and using them like hands. or to power and or control arrays from a distance. They were intrinsically different from Styx's though and were incapable of entering somebody else's mana network.
"Show me your attributes again and potential Second Step classes you can choose from."
Styx cupped his chin in thought out of habit as he casually commanded Therina, his actual dungeon core running countless calculations on the most viable future paths and giving them the greatest benefits.
Therina opened up her display first so Styx could see it through her eyes.
⠀
[
Species: Tree Elf
Name: Therina Sel'Ether
Class: Thatcher
Age: 41
⠀
Mana: 2,497/2,497
Exp: 13,572/13,572
Level: 19 (+)
⠀
Str: 25
Dex: 65
End: 27
Vit: 30
Int: 44
Mnd: 27
Lck: 6
⠀
Skills:
Nature Touched (Racial) <Lv. MAX>
• +20% Dex, End, Vit when in forested regions.
• Forest wildlife is less hostile to you.
Weaving <Lv. 16>
• 3-Fold Plat – 1 mana/min
• 5-Fold Plat – 2 mana/min
• 9-Fold Thatch – 3 mana/min
• Wood Weaving – 10 mana/min
• Thread: Auto-Spin – 2 mana/min
• Thread: Mana Restoration – 10 mana/min
Flower Arrangement <Lv. 15>
• Nature Alignment – 15 mana
• Mana Alignment – 30 mana
• Defense Alignment – 40 mana
• Bewildering Alignment – 100 mana
Archery <Lv. 22>
• Twin Shot – 5 mana
• Rapid Fire – 5 mana/shot
Swordsmanship <Lv. 25>
Dagger Arts <Lv. 21>
Blunt Weapons Arts <Lv. 5>
Hidden Weapons <Lv. 16>
Trap Setting <Lv. 11>
Concealment <Lv. 36>
Deception <Lv. 7>
Iron Will <Lv. 19>
Body Reinforcement <Lv. 15>
Pain Resistance <Lv. 9>
Dismantling <Lv. 27>
Taming <Lv. 5>
Detection <Lv. 15>
Mana Sight <Lv. 19>
Mana Manipulation <Lv. 8>
Mana-Health Conversion <Lv. 11>
Enhanced Growth <Lv. 6>
⠀
Titles:
Child of Mana, Mother of Monsters, Natural Mana Controller, Dungeon Touched
]
⠀
[
Potential class evolutions:
• Master Thatcher
• High Seamstress
• Swordsman
• Assassin
• Hunter
• Deceiver
• Tamer
• Mana Controller
• Monster Mother
• Dungeon Mistress
]
⠀
"There are quite a few of them you are capable of choosing for the Class Up process."
Therina leaned on his arm and asked, "Which one do you want me to pick?"
Styx shook his head while selecting several mana crystals.
"None. The whole point of why I made all of you wait was in preparation for calculating the highest benefits."
Beatrice was intrigued by this knowledge and secretly fidgeted with her fingers behind her back and also asked, "Can you explain?"
"Of course, but first, do you have your status and potential evolution classes to show Therina and help me explain it?"
Beatrice shook her head and pulled out a blank piece of paper and ink pot. She quickly scribbled her stats on a page for them to use, not caring that her bottom half was currently only wearing underwear.
⠀
[
Species: Stone Elf (Fire Attribute)
Name: Beatrice Fin'Porte
Class: Seamstress
Age: 52
⠀
Mana: 1,946/1,946
Exp: 13,572/13,572
Level: 19 (+)
⠀
Str: 23
Dex: 59
End: 31
Vit: 30
Int: 47
Mnd: 34
Lck: 6
⠀
Skills:
Darkness Race (Racial) <Lv. MAX>
• +20% Dex, End, Vit when in in dark environments.
• Direct or indirect exposure to sunlight causes damage to your physique.
Needling <Lv. 34>
• Beginner stitching – 1 mana/min
• Thread Manipulation – 10 mana/min
• Intermediate Stitching – 4 mana/min
• Thread Reinforcing – 2 mana/m
• Advanced Stitching – 8 mana/min
• Auto-Stitch – 10*(1/2/4) mana/min
• Unravel – 3 mana/min
Fabric Treating <Lv. 15>
• Tear Resistance – 15 mana/m2
• Impact Resistance – 30 mana/m2
• Magic Resistance – 40 mana/m2
Archery <Lv. 7>
Swordsmanship <Lv. 13>
Dagger Arts <Lv. 29>
Hidden Weapons <Lv. 23>
Concealment <Lv. 11>
Iron Will <Lv. 37>
Body Reinforcement <Lv. 15>
Pain Resistance <Lv. 12>
Poison Resistance <Lv. 6>
Dismantling <Lv. 13>
Taming <Lv. 2>
Detection <Lv. 15>
Mana Sight <Lv. 11>
Mana Manipulation <Lv. 2>
Mana-Health Conversion <Lv. 9>
Enhanced Growth <Lv. 8>
⠀
Titles:
Child of Mana, Child of Fire, Mother of Monsters, Researcher, Natural Mana Controller, Dungeon Touched
]
⠀
[
Potential class evolutions:
• High Seamstress
• Swordsman
• Assassin
• Flame Dancer
• Hunter
• Fire Controller
• Fire Mage
• Monster Mother
• Dungeon Mistress
]
⠀⠀
Therina was only partially surprised that they had similar attribute panels as they both did the same training. Even their titles were mostly similar for the same reason. Even their stats were similar as a Thatcher and Seamstress were relatively similar production classes and had mostly the same level up bonus stats.
"As you can see, when I inserted the fire attribute inside of her and her mana adapted to its nature, it has shown up on her species panel and even increased the Class Up opportunities. The question I had at the time though was, 'what if she already had the opportunity to become a Fire Mage, and we then added on the fire attribute to her?'"
"This would create a high level of resonance between the person and the class, and open up more advanced, or at least higher quality, options. By having you all wait and increase the possibilities enough, I can then see and determine what attribute will suit you best."
Therina nodded her head in understanding and asked, "So what is best for me?"
"Going by your potential classes, we can immediately rule out the combat classes. As good as they are, a new class is built on top of any existing ones, and you are currently a Thatcher, which is highly incompatible with a Swordsman, Assassin, or Hunter."
"Master Thatch and High Seamstress are very straightforward options are the standard route. They don't really have any straight forward attributes to match them, but I can design a dual attribute combination to suit them, such as metal and space or something. It is a loose connection, but weaving space could be a possible outcome for a Third Step class in that scenario."
"Deceiver, Mana Controller, Monster Mother, and Dungeon Mistress are the most compatible to you when considering titles, skills, experiences and all other factors. Out of those, you are most compatible with the former two, but Mana Controller is very neutral and holds no attribute connections."
Therina kept bobbing her head like a chicken pecking rice as Styx explained it to her.
"I understand. What attributes would be most compatible with a Deciever?"
Styx picked out several dark violet and black gems and lined them up on the table.
"Dark, Shadow, Illusion, Mind. These four are the most compatible. You are a Tree Elf, which is a species aligning to light so the dark and shadow attributes are in direct conflict. It would have been the exact opposite with one the dark elves though. Of the two remaining, the best, which we will give you, is this – Illusion."
"Then we should hurry up and do it, I also want to Class Up."
Therina giggled and kissed deeply on the lips. Still sitting at the desk and looking over hear status panel and potential classes, Beatrice made up her mind and resolutely stated her desires to Styx.
"I want to be a Dungeon Mistress."
Styx raised a brow and smiled. He leaned over and kissed her too, running his fingers through her long grey hair and playing with the beads woven into it.
"I have been thinking of you too. Whilst it is purely experimental, I want to use this with you."
A draw halfway up the wall slid open and a gem shard with vivid green with tinges of gold in it floated out and into his hand which Beatrice widened her eyes upon seeing.
"The life attribute?"
"Correct, this life crystal converts any mana stored in it into a life attribute, great for plantations and healing arrays alike. Fire is one of the most active things there are, and despite its destructive nature, it has close links with life itself. When an old forest burns down, a new one full of life sprouts from the ground afterwards."
As his current main research assistant, Beatrice was very intelligent in this kind of technical information and understood immediately.
"It will indeed help with giving birth to monsters."
Styx chuckled before massaging the base of her ears with his thumbs and whispering, "As well as any future dark elf children."
Beatrice's ears turned completely red while her emotions were like a storm crossing their bond. She immediately stood up and grabbed Styx's and Therina's hands before basically dragging them to the main throne room where they needed to insert the mana gems into an array to directly insert into his core before they could be 'inserted' into their bodies.