Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

Julia closed the notification as she moved through the forest. She was vaguely aware of the conversation happening behind her, but she ignored it. The adventurers seemed to be swapping stories from the conflict with the Nashiin, and she distinctly heard her name mentioned a few times. However, there were other things that occupied her attention.

The leader of the Nashiin was at the forefront of her thoughts. What exactly was going on in that former dungeon? Was the location significant? Did being a former dungeon do something for the Nashiin or their leader? Was he the one that deactivated the dungeon? How would one even do that?

There were still so many unknowns. She had briefly entertained the idea of squeezing information out of the Wight, but Braden always said torture wasn't good for actionable information (always sucking the fun out of her stories), and even if it were, undead didn't feel pain.

Perhaps allowing the Wight to speak further would have netted some useful information—it seemed rather talkative—but truthfully, it made her mad. Just the sight of it sent flashes through her mind—Jadhariin dying on the wall, crushed beneath swarming bone tentacles. Now that the battle was won, she had no fear left for them—only hatred.

She shook her head briefly—even contemplating how she felt about the Nashiin pissed her off. She shifted to the single thread linking the Nashiin, the battle with the Jadhariin, and Vazreth: Etherium. It was there, she'd felt it. It must have been present in that magical fluid in the ritual circle. Perhaps the Nashiin had crushed Etherium in a powder and dissolved it in water or something.

Julia had no idea if such a thing was possible, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was that the Etherium itself provided the connection to the Nashiin and their leader. That space she'd been in had to be the Ether—what else could it be?

She glanced up at the sun, which was beginning its descent from its zenith. Braden had mentioned the sun was connected to the Ether, right? She summoned Lumenfall from there by connecting her will to it. Somehow, the Etherium in that cavern had transported her mind—her will—into the Ether itself.

That had…unsettling implications. The leader of the Nashiin was there already—seemed to have unfettered access to the space. What would it do with that access?

Well, some of what it would do could be guessed. Cass had mentioned the Adamantine wall around Vazreth wasn't mined or acquired through trade, nor the Orichalcum chains. It wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine the leader being involved with the city somehow and summoning those resources.

Once, Braden had her imagine what she needed most during a summoning ritual, resulting in her acquiring a Fey Heart, which started her on the path of a spirit. Looking at who she was today, that Fey Heart was immensely powerful—or had enormous potential, at least.

And she summoned it as a teenager with some gem dust. With Etherium, though? Walls of Adamantine and chains of Orichalcum didn't seem unreasonable.

Still, it was all just guesswork and speculation at the moment. To really investigate, she'd have to get up to the floating fortress that the chains dangled from. That would be difficult, no doubt.

Whatever mechanism controlled the Shroud was undoubtedly stationed there. The city would not let random foreigners poke around.

Julia sighed: there was still so much to do. And it was all just to catch one…guy? Thing? One enemy.

Still, there was something she could handle right now.

She asked the System to pull up her Subclass options, deciding to filter out any Common or Uncommon Rarity Classes. The System obliged, showing only options of Rare or above.

Julia smiled, her spirit lifted. These all looked great, so she checked each for more information.

Julia pondered each possibility, noting the conspicuous absence of any spirit Classes—the System seemed to have not bothered showing any since they were unavailable as Subclasses.

The fact that it had learned from her last time choosing a Subclass somewhat unsettled Julia. It was disquieting to think that the larger-than-life System that governed much of people's lives was imperfect and learning.

Starting with the Rare and Epic Classes, she began examining their pros and cons.

Etherial Duelist was…intriguing—mostly due to her current focus on Etherium. It reminded her of the Etherblade Class she was offered at Level 50, so this might be an extension or advanced version of it.

She didn't really consider it as an option now for the same reasons she didn't back then: she was a caster, first and foremost. Learning different styles of fighting, even ones potentially lost to time and from different realities, didn't interest her as much as magic.

Runebound Creator sounded like a natural extension of the work she'd done with runes. That said, she now spoke to the World itself—their wills were increasingly intertwined. If Julia were being completely honest, she felt she was beyond runes. Why use a medium to communicate with the World when you can speak to it directly?

Truthseeker seemed weirdly like a callback to her very first Class: Seeker. Though, from the description, it sounded similar in concept to Lumenfall's abilities.

That was a big issue for Julia. It wouldn't do to waste a Subclass selection on likely-overlapping abilities, but there was also scarcely any possibility that the abilities provided by the Class would be stronger than Lumenfall's. This Class represented the concept, while Lumenfall embodied it.

Having given the others due consideration, she moved on to what she was truly enticed by: the Legendary Classes.

Dawnbreaker sounded similar to the description of her Artifact, only more abstract. What exactly did this Class do? Was it focused on Light Magic or…inspiring allies? The idea of dawn breaking was broad.

Chronoblade was similarly vague, but she felt she had a stronger connection to what it entailed simply because it seemed a logical advancement to her current Subclass.

Blade of Eternity had been the unsung hero in her build thus far, with Paradox Step in particular being an essential part of her current kit. She was only just beginning to explore all the possibilities it provided, and having any measure of control over time was incredibly valuable.

She considered each Class another time just to be sure, but in the end, it came down to Dawnbreaker versus Chronoblade. Manipulating time, in the end, was too useful to turn down. Perhaps she could give Dawnbreaker a look when—if—she eventually maxed out Chronoblade.

Julia felt…not much this time. It was a Subclass change, but even with that caveat, she noted how little had changed. Perhaps it was due to being so similar to her existing Subclass?