Ranthia had her room at the tavern and—at Leoios’ insistence—a full belly. The door was barred. The bed was, well, acceptable. Ranthia rested her head on Hexara’s pillow that she’d retrieved from her chest and breathed in her beloved’s scent. Her mind started to wander and…

  Aaand that was enough mental side-tracking. She had more important things to do than that! Ranthia shook herself off, took a deep breath, and triggered the class up for her second class.

  As always, inside her own existence, she stepped through the door that closed behind her. Her current classes had taken the form of short swords sheathed at her sides. Her guide, a reflection of herself, now closer than ever to her current age (she was what, two, maybe three years older than Ranthia was now?), stood behind the counter. They bowed to one another in greeting, just as Ranthia had always felt most comfortable doing ever since the day she became Ranthia. And then she drew her short sword that represented [Blade Dancer] and set it on the counter. …Only to immediately get distracted by the first substantive difference in the layout of the temple armory within herself that she had ever seen in all of her class-ups.

  There were always small differences. Chaos was an intrinsic part of her, after all. The storage plan for the short swords that represented potential classes she could access changed around every time she classed up. They were always a perplexing storage solution that defied the concept of order (and sometimes the concepts of sense and reason too), but there were practically unlimited permutations for chaos.

  And yet.

  “What in Xaoc’s name is that about?” Ranthia demanded.

  Yet there had never been another door next to the counter. Let alone a massive one. …She was mostly certain, at least. Recollections of the realm within could be strange.

  “That would be the class you will be taking.” Her guide replied.

  Ranthia’s focus had always been narrow. Rather than looking at dozens of classes to decide which to take, she always—always—had a direct focus to aim for. This left her with few, if any, options to choose from since her best path forward was always clear to her—and thus it was to her guide.

  “…Okay? Um?” Ranthia had a brief mental image of trying to shove a massive door into her scabbard.

  “It is a door. You open and step through them.” Her guide deadpanned.

  Ranthia colored slightly and flipped her guide—herself—off while she examined the sign next to the door.

  [She who Dances with Chaos] was engraved on a sheet of jet, the etchings filled in with silver. It had to be the class name (and the jet that represented Void was obvious), but there was nothing that could possibly indicate the color of the class.

  Ranthia glanced at her—impatient—guide and shrugged before she pushed the massive door open. It should have weighed a ton and required significant force (worsened by her lack of her System-imbued stats in the world within), yet the door slid open with ease.

  On the other side of the door was a massive temple. Ranthia’s eyes adjusted in an instant to the dimmer light, yet they were drawn to the center of the temple, where a truly colossal statue of Xaoc towered over everything. The statue hurt to look at directly, and she had a very funny feeling that the damned thing was actually an exact representation of Him, taken from the memories that she was mercifully unable to recall.

  Xaoc damn the [Paladin] that she once was!

  Automatically and reverently, she moved to the statue and knelt to pray. There were eight other representations of herself praying around it in their own ways, but she ignored them for the moment. She closed her eyes and prayed to her god from this temple within own inner self.

  Blatant reminders of old blasphemies aside, she was strangely proud of herself for having such a thing in her world within. It suited her. The world within was a temple, so of course she had a proper altar grander than anything she found even within Ariminum! If only she had the resources to construct such a facility in Pallos…!

  Ranthia concluded her prayers—and her distractions—and opened her eyes to find her guide knelt next to her, still deep in prayer. Ranthia smiled fondly at the woman (herself, whatever) and rose to offer a final bow to the grand statue before she explored the area.

  Everything was so strange, but it was also strangely intuitive. The knowledge of how to use everything that she laid eyes on came to her immediately. The real question was if this was just that the System—or however class-ups worked—provided instructions innately, or if this was the work of her strange chaotic knowledge that she was reborn with.

  Though, somehow, she doubted it was chaos-granted knowledge, especially since she had no idea the System could even do a class up like this. Because… it sure looked like she was getting an opportunity to build and customize her class!?

  There was the great statue of Xaoc, the source of chaotic potential. She had connected herself to it by praying, accidentally accomplishing the first step in the process without even knowing it. This meant that she could absorb chaotic potential from it and redistribute the potential to the smaller statues of Xaoc scattered throughout the… absurdly massive room. Many of them already contained some chaotic potential, the inherited potential from [Blade Dancer], but others felt empty. A few felt dead, as if they were beyond her reach. The other eight representations of herself—not counting her guide—embodied each of her stats for the class. The one with the body builder’s physique was strength, while the one that carefully worked fine tools to make a little carving of Xaoc was dexterity, and so forth.

  None of them danced, which bothered her for some reason.

  The great statue of Xaoc also held a hilariously tiny little hammer in one hand and a strangely hollow and see-through short sword in another. That would be her class, once she finished.

  “Okay, let’s get started.” Ranthia whispered to herself, not wanting to disrupt her guide’s prayers.

  Each of the smaller statues in the chamber, some larger than others, represented possible skills. She started with the ones she sensed little, if any, chaotic energy from.

  [The Song of Chaos]: You will begin to hear the great beat of chaos. You will be able to turn your body over to this beat and it will operate automatically until its work is done.

  “…Wait, so this ability would take control of my body from me and act according to some rhythm?” Ranthia asked.

  “Yes.” Her guide replied.

  Godsdamnit! Ranthia glared balefully at the woman after she recovered from her fright at the guide’s sudden appearance at her side.

  She hadn’t even heard her approach!

  Ranthia hesitated once she recovered, then ripped the trace amounts of chaotic potential from the statue. Admittedly, she did sometimes embrace a rhythm while she fought when she needed to free herself to think, but there was a stark difference between giving herself over to a complex pattern of her own design and throwing herself to the mercy of some sort of music only she would be able to hear… and possibly unable to fully tune out.

  “Feels orderly to move to a song anyway.” Ranthia grumbled and dismissed the statue from the room.

  “Ah, but does it feel orderly only because of your disinterest in it?” Her guide asked.

  Ranthia flipped off her guide—herself—and moved on. She had no interest in getting into a philosophical debate. …Especially since she would inevitably lose.

  [Critical Strike]’s statue barely had more chaos than the first statue. No wonder it had been so lackluster. She would give more to it, she promised herself. If it stayed.

  Oddly, only five statues seemed to represent her current eight skills.

  [Void Affinity]’s statue was a small one—practically a standard altar that could be found at numerous temples—but she sensed she would need great swaths of chaotic potential to upgrade it. That was fine, she had no urgent need to add more. There was already some potential for its natural growth into [Void Authority]. She left that alone.

  The statue for [The Flow of Battle] was the same statue that held [A Void Dance] and [Steps into the Void]. They were each represented on three different aspects to the same statue. Which meant there was the potential for them to be unified into a single skill she couldn’t quite make out the name of.

  [Void Edge] had its own statue, of course. One that was sharp and angular.

  She spent a moment confused until she realized [Cross Strike] was also in [Critical Strike]’s statue, just bizarrely from the opposite side of the statue. But that meant they too could be merged.

  The statue for [Strengthen Blade] was there too, but with a sigh she decided to pull the chaotic potential out of it. There had been quite a bit, but it needed a substantial amount more to give her weaponry any real resilience to her Void. It was nowhere near worth the expenditure just to give her the ability to keep the same knives. Unfortunately, it was easy enough to go through them in bulk. She dismissed the statue once she was done.

  Two statues removed. Many more to examine.

  [Hands of the Void], the skill she had rejected in the Academy, was a part of a statue meant to expand the weaponry she could apply her void energy and skills to. Spears, swords, and even bows were buried within that potential. She shrugged with disinterest and ripped the bit of chaotic potential out of that statue and dismissed it. Her Mirror class gave her what she needed to make knives viable, in the long run. She had never truly put much thought into switching to a different weapon, but at some point she had realized that she didn’t want to. With the potential stifled, all of her weapon-dependent skills would truly apply to knives and only knives.

  Another statue promised to give her a [Costume of the Void], a defense that she could activate to cover her torso in void energy. It would devastate whatever she was wearing but…

  “Oh, wait, this would kill me in a heartbeat. No [Void Resistance].” Ranthia realized.

  “There is a statue for that skill as well over there.” Her guide pointed out.

  No chaotic potential resided in either. Ranthia dismissed both.

  “No reason to waste potential developing skills outside what I use the class for.” She reasoned.

  Instead, Ranthia moved between statues until she found what she was looking for. [Void-Kissed Wrappings] was the name of it, a skill with only scant traces of chaos. An armor skill. Gleefully, Ranthia bowed before it and began to transfer chaotic potential into it.

  The chaos built within the statue.

  …And yet the skill remained beyond her reach.

  More and more chaos was taken, until at last the skill became acquirable.

  [Void-Kissed Wrappings]: Your armor and clothing has been touched by the Void and is now entwined with you. 1% of your current vitality is extended to anything you wear, but weaponry is excluded. 0.005% additional current vitality is added per level.

  Ranthia stared at it in utter disgust.

  “Why?!” She snarled at the statue.

  “This isn’t something the class wants to do, it’s something you want it to do. The System acknowledges this, but it’s not going to make things smooth or easy. You’ll need to use a lot of potential to force the skill into existence now.” Her guide answered.

  Ranthia was about to rip the chaotic potential out of the statue when she paused, considering.

  “So, you’re saying the skill might exist someday, if I leave the seeds in place? But I can only force an inferior version at the moment?” It made a certain amount of sense.

  Her guide nodded.

  Ranthia pulled out most of the chaotic potential she had imbued into the skill. It still had far more than it had started with, but the skill had dimmed beyond her immediate use. She hoped that would provide a fertile foundation for it to grow from—and hopefully make it suck significantly less.

  Many of the statues were of no interest. There was even a bizarre statue for adding Void energy into her blood for some unholy reason. She couldn’t even think of a valid use case for that. It wouldn’t be powerful enough to destroy anything that stabbed her or anything. It would only really be damaging if someone tried to hold a large amount of her blood for a long time or if she felt like bleeding herself to force-feed someone her own blood like a poison. Plus, of course, there was the fact that the Void would eat through her own body. Let alone the added logistical problems to certain other monthly issues. Strong pass.

  One of the dead statues hurt to see. [The Hand of Chaos] would have made her a [Paladin] in function, if not in name. It wouldn’t have made the class a divine class, but it would have been the next best thing. Unfortunately, Xaoc’s rejection of her as a [Paladin] was so absolute it seemed to have rendered this potential inert as well.

  Ranthia reminded herself that she was a tool for Him if He needed her. If He ever had a task for her, all He had to do was ask. She would always serve. She didn’t need to be [The Hand of Chaos] or a [Paladin] to bring chaos to Pallos or serve Him.

  One by one statues disappeared. Some had been interesting, until she remembered her build. [Blade Dancer] hadn’t been a tool, it had been a passion. Skills that had utility but defied her wish to dance were easy to reject.

  At length she was in a somewhat smaller temple with only the statues that she was considering. She hadn’t even noticed that the room shrank each time she removed a statue, not until she stepped back and reviewed everything again. Now instead of a grand temple it felt more like a holy tower.

  She moved to the first of the ‘new’ statues that had little to no chaotic potential. It was one that her guide seemed shocked that she kept. But not only would it help out a ton while she was unable to make full use of her Mirror class, it promised to be a boon to have when she dealt with large crowds of foes.

  [Sustained Chaos]. Currently [Void Edge], [Cross Strike], and (somehow) to a certain extent [Critical Strike] ceased to affect a knife from the instant it left her hand. This skill would allow her to bind her skills to the knives. Or, put more plainly, it would let her throw knives and still imbue them with her skills.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  She was pretty sure she would keep it, no matter how surprised her guide was. It didn’t have much chaotic potential in it, but it didn’t require a sea of it like the armor skill had.

  [Vision of the Void] was something she hadn’t expected but had fallen in love with when she saw it. The skill would allow her to see through certain obstacles. At first it would only help her see through smoke or mists, but as it leveled she would be able to see through clothing or even walls. …She didn’t want the skill for lurid reasons, of course; she wanted it to find concealed weaponry on potential threats and see dangers that she might otherwise miss. She would be able to see ambushes before they happened: it would help keep her alive! She could even envision a future where it might absorb or merge with [Combat Awareness] too. Also, with a bit more chaotic potential it could be upgraded to give her night vision, which was always useful.

  It wasn’t something she would for certain keep, but she felt inexorably drawn to the potential it represented.

  [Repulse the Unworthy] was another interesting option. It would allow her to generate a brief-lived ‘flash’ of Void energy that she could use to drive things back to get space to dance or evade. With enough chaotic potential it could even become a barrier skill that she could use to catch ranged attacks that she was unable to avoid otherwise.

  Admittedly, it was more on the “would be nice to have” end of the spectrum. The use cases were strong, but it didn’t feel like an essential component of her build. Still, it was worth keeping around as an option.

  Three out of a sea of potential new skills. With those selected, she turned her attention back to her current skills. It was really easy to get greedy with skills, but after she had a feel for how much chaotic potential she had, she felt like she could reserve enough for about 400 stat points at the very least.

  Ranthia ran back and forth across her temple—er, tower—as she worked. She knelt properly before each altar for their respective statue and actually prayed to Xaoc to transfer some of the chaotic potential. Some statues positively wiggled with chaos, while others flickered more dimly.

  Often Ranthia was forced to remove some from one and transfer it to another, as she reassessed the depths of the available chaos. While the grand statue of Xaoc held truly limitless chaotic potential, she was a single devotee out of countless worshipers; she was only entitled to access a certain share of His chaos. Her piety was doing some serious battling with her greed though.

  Because part of her still daydreamt about what it would be like to fully empower each of her chosen statues and come out with thousands of stats. Quality ranges went all the way up to black, after all! Oh, if only. But sadly, she was still just a single mortal Adventurer—er, Ranger—and she wasn’t allowed to be quite that ridiculous.

  “Why do I get the feeling that if I got to do this with my Mirror class, there would just be one statue?” She mused to herself while she worked.

  “It almost certainly is. It’s doubtful that there would even be other statues, aside from your Spirit skill—which is already as high as it goes, at least as far as we know.” Her guide answered the rhetorical question.

  Ranthia was currently chasing the manifestation of herself that represented her speed stat. It ‘prayed’ by… running around like a lunatic. How that was prayer—how she felt it was prayer—was beyond her; she was pretty sure she’d deck anyone she saw doing that in front of a real altar to Xaoc.

  The world within could be weird, it seemed. Still, she needed to catch it, again.

  “Heh, too bad we’re just mortals. Can you imagine if Xaoc had reincarnated me as an elf? An Immortal that could someday reach even the level 3584 class up…” Ranthia sighed with desire once she finally lunged and snared her speedy self.

  Then she noticed her guide giving her serious side-eye.

  “What?” She asked. It was a valid line of thought!

  “Seriously?” Her guide demanded.

  “For the last time, I’m not trying to cop a feel on myself! She just keeps running unless I pick her up.” Ranthia snapped while she wrestled with the stupid embodiment that was still kicking her legs at a brisk run.

  “You could have just willed them to hold still.”

  Ranthia blinked several times. Her face burned, as the obvious sank into her. She knew without a doubt that her guide was absolutely correct!

  “You could have said that sooner!” Ranthia whined, as she willed the speed stat to stop moving and set it back down.

  Now the older version of herself had nothing to say. Typical.

  “…Anyway, I think I’m done. But I want to go over everything one last time, just to be sure.” Ranthia grumbled.

  “Are you sure about your stat distribution? At this point your Void class probably needs the mana, mana regeneration, and magic control more than your Mirror class does.” Her guide pointed out.

  “Ugh, yes! I know, but I’m pretty sure it’s a safe bet that my [Mage] class will get decent magic stats. It’s not a [Warrior] class like this one, I need to prioritize its needs for the dance at this stage. I’ll be able to class up [Shards of Reflection] once I get more levels in [Blade Da— er, [She who Dances with Chaos].” Ranthia explained.

  Why were class and skill names so easy for her to memorize while people names were almost impossible to get in her head?

  Ranthia walked through the temple while she carefully reviewed her choices and allocations. There was a small temptation to tweak a few things, but she resisted it. She knew that if she did, she would just get stuck in another round of edits until she ultimately just put them back to how they were now. She had repeated that process plenty of times already!

  [Repulse the Unworthy] hadn’t made the cut in the end. She put a little potential into it (very little) to preserve it for future class ups, but in the end… it was hard to justify its relative cost. In theory [Reflections of Reality] handled almost every scenario she’d use [Repulse the Unworthy] in. [Repulse] was more mana efficient—probably—but it felt like a short-term investment at best in its current form.

  Besides, she had found a much better investment hidden within one of her current skill statues. Even if it had forced her to drop her stats and reshuffle things to accommodate its expense.

  Ranthia walked back to the great statue of Xaoc and bowed before it.

  “Xaoc, I thank you with all of my being for this opportunity. ‘I was and forever shall be your Paladin and herald’ as my Covenant swears. Now, I shall be [She who Dances with Chaos] in your name, for your glory. May chaos reign!” Ranthia declared.

  Fueled by her words, the great statue swung its comically tiny hammer down and struck the incomplete short sword. With the small impact, a great boom thundered through the tower.

  Ranthia and her guide dropped to their knees and cupped their hands desperately over their ears in sheer agony.

  Can you go deaf inside your own inner self!?

  An instant later, the noise was gone, as if it never existed. Had it been real, the sound would have continued to echo for far longer.

  The short sword—now complete with a hilt wrapped in the vibrant green that was just a bit too vivid to be a common sight in nature—rose slowly from the hand of the statue of Xaoc, held aloft by an unknowable power. The blade floated through the air until it was directly above Ranthia’s head. Then the power released it, and the blade dropped. Point-first.

  Ranthia sprang to her feet with a twirl and caught the sword by its hilt. In that instant the rhythms of every dance she had ever performed sang through the core of her being. Ranthia followed through and indulged in the urge; she just danced for a time with the sword, reveling in the motions. Her classes and her Skills were beyond her reach while she remained within herself, but she still had extensive practice with the art of dance. The moves were still a core part of her, even without the bolstering effects that the System provided.

  Her guide clapped once she finished, which helped to snap her out of her reverie.

  “I think we’re done.” She smiled, broadly.

  “You’re still not going to upgrade your [Mage] class yet?” Her guide asked.

  “No, I want to wait. I need to get this class leveled higher so I’m not constantly switching which class is in the lead, especially if I ever hope to step beyond Remus’ borders. But thank you for everything, this has been a wonderful experience!” Ranthia was in a genuinely bubbly mood.

  “Please do not try to kiss me.” Her guide replied, deadpan.

  Ranthia just grinned and flipped her guide—still herself—off playfully.

  Then, with a final bow to the grand statue of Xaoc, Ranthia turned for the normal temple armory. Her new blade was sheathed as her second class. And for the first time the blade had more weight than that of her first class.

  Her Mirror [Mage] class would always be precious to her. It was the class that she dreamt up and fought to make real. It was the class that kept her alive when her back was to the wall. And it had clearly been blessed by Xaoc Himself.

  But it felt right for her Void [Warrior] class to shine brightest. It was a celebration of her soul; it embodied her in a way that her first class never could.

  With a smile on her face, Ranthia made her way to the exit.

  [She who Dances with Chaos]. You have danced in the legendary Fausteo’s Musical Theater. You have danced for those you love. You have danced for Xaoc, an emperor, guildmasters, Sentinels, and even the fae. You have danced your way through skirmishes across Remus. And throughout every dance you carried chaos in your heart with absolute devotion. Now become the chaos that dances throughout Pallos. +100 Strength, +100 Dexterity, +100 Vitality, +100 Speed, +8 Mana, +8 Mana Regeneration, +5 Magic Power, +5 Magic Control.

  [*ding!* Congratulations! You’ve upgraded your second class – [She who Dances with Chaos – Void]!]

  [*ding!* Congratulations! [She who Dances with Chaos] has leveled up from 256 to level 260! Per level: +100 Strength, +100 Dexterity, +100 Vitality, +100 Speed, +8 Mana, +8 Mana Regeneration, +5 Magic Power, +5 Magic Control from your class, +1 free stat for being human, +2 Mana from your element.]

  [*ding!* Your skill [Void Affinity] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* Your skills [The Flow of Battle], [A Void Dance], and [Steps into the Void] have evolved into [Rhythmic Grace]!]

  So [The Flow of Battle] evolved and [A Void Dance] and [Steps into the Void] merged in. It was good to see that her tweak to make those three notifications collapse into one had worked.

  [Rhythmic Grace]: Those who fight relying on the stagnation of order can never hope to touch you as you see through their patterns. Those who fight with chaos can never hope to match your own. All that exists creates a certain rhythm, and now you see how to move with the beat. Dance through untouched, unbothered, and possibly even undetected. Use your momentum and your own tempo to bring chaos and cut away the sour rhythms that must be excised from the world. -2560 Mana Regen Rate.

  [*ding!* [Rhythmic Grace] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* [Void Edge] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* Your skill [Critical Strike] has evolved into [Flowing Momentum]!]

  [Flowing Momentum]: Every cut is but a single motion, a single moment found within truly endless momentum. Your grace and your rhythm will guide your blade where it truly needs to go so you may continue to move. -1024 Mana Regen Rate while in combat.

  [*ding!* [Flowing Momentum] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* Notice – [Strengthen Blade] has been lost.]

  [*ding!* Your skill [Cross Strike] has evolved into [Echoes of Devastation]!]

  [Echoes of Devastation]: Why should a cut only strike once? Your rhythm is greater than that. Each time you strike a blow, allow the echoes left in the wake of your grand dance to strike the same point with a portion of your own momentum. The power of the momentum of your echoes and the number of echoes increase with level.

  [*ding!* [Echoes of Devastation] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Vision of the Void]!]

  [Vision of the Void]: Your eyes have been touched by the blessings of the Void. Your sight is no longer reliant on the narrow band of visible light, instead you shall see all that the Void touches. Gaze through the Void to see past obstacles. The density of what you may see through increases with level. May be able to pierce through certain types of illusions and other veils; the likelihood increases with level. -1611 Mana Regen Rate while your eyes remain open.

  [*ding!* You’ve unlocked the Class Skill [Sustained Chaos]!]

  [Sustained Chaos]: Empower your knives to carry the Skills that you possess within them for a time. Maximum range, duration, and the percentage of your power that they can carry increase with level.

  [*ding!* Your skill [The Art of the Dance] has partially evolved into [True Grace]!]

  [True Grace]: No dancer who has headlined one of the greatest performances ever staged within Fausteo’s Musical Theater can be bested by any being when you perform at your best. Your body’s structure will gradually be modified to idealize your dancing capabilities. Your graceful movements increase the effectiveness of all skills while you dance by 1%. Each level further increases the effectiveness of your skills by an additional 0.01%. -4237 Mana Regen Rate while dancing.

  [*ding!* [Divine-Touched Identify] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* [Ranger’s Lore] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  [*ding!* [Combat Awareness] has leveled from 256 to level 260!]

  Ranthia smiled broadly as she opened her eyes. It. Had. Worked!

  [True Grace] had been a real shot in the dark to see if it would unlock, it was part of [Rhythmic Grace]’s statue where it took the form of a distant divine crown. It had required a ton of chaotic potential to form. She’d been forced to keep the link between [Flowing Momentum] and [Echoes of Devastation] weak, dropped a tier in class quality, and basically murdered [Repulse the Unworthy] to get enough potential. And even then there was a real chance that she wouldn’t get a separate skill for it; neither she nor her guide had been certain she’d get any current benefits from the expenditure. There had been a real chance that she was just paving the way for a future upgrade for [Rhythmic Grace].

  But it had worked! Okay, admittedly losing every last level of [The Art of the Dance] was… less than ideal, and she wasn’t sure why it was only a partial evolution, but levels could be regained.

  [True Grace] was arguably a more important cornerstone skill for [She who Dances with Chaos] than even [Rhythmic Grace]. Which was a bit unfair since they were two sides to the same potential skill (hence the obviously related names), but [True Grace] would shape her future in a huge way.

  The bit about modifying her body’s structure was more than a little freaky and wasn’t quite what she was expecting, but when she looked at her body it seemed normal. [Vision of the Void] clearly wasn’t high enough in level to see through her leather armor, but she thought maybe some of the cloth looked slightly see-through-ish? Which could easily be a trick of her memory.

  She sat up slowly, keenly aware that her stats had spiked again. Oddly though, it didn’t feel quite as devastatingly different as her [Blade Dancer] class-up had been. She suspected that [Rhythmic Grace] and [True Grace] were helping her adapt, though it could have just been the difference in her stat tiers at the time of each class up.

  Her back did pop though when she was finally upright, which made her wince. She was sore. Why did she feel so sore?

  Ranthia partially stuffed the pillow into one of her pouches as best she could and ensured that nothing had fallen out of her belt while it was wrapped around her arm before she put it back on. Once she had it secure and confirmed that her Ranger badge was still in place, she opened the door and went downstairs.

  “Oh, it’s you. You’re still alive, good. A dead Ranger’s bad for business. You’re still paid up so—By all the gods’ asses, if that ain’t the most unnerving sight I’ve ever seen!” The drowsy tavern owner rather abruptly became much, much less drowsy.

  And his face had turned pale.

  “…What?” Ranthia asked, checking herself over again; complete with a quick pat down.

  Had [True Grace] made her an obvious freak in some way?

  “Those damned eyes of yours!”

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  Nozomi Matsuoka.

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