Rashan sat quietly in his quarters, one leg draped casually over the arm of his chair as he thumbed through another report. Tomorrow, he'd finally see who would step forward to join his ANBU—the very idea of which still amused him privately. He'd plucked the term from distant memories of late-night anime binges in another lifetime; now his father wielded it proudly, boasting to anyone who'd listen about the "demons of the sands" who would leave the Dominion trembling, nightmares trailing after them like smoke from burning cities.
He smirked faintly, imagining the reactions from the volunteers. Cassia and Jalil had recommended a few solid prospects, but the rest had come flooding in from commanders eager to attach themselves to the legend in the making. Rashan didn't mind—reputation was a useful weapon, often sharper than steel. Let them whisper stories and tremble at shadows. If half the rumors reached the Dominion's ears, the enemy would see demons behind every dune, and that suited Rashan perfectly.
Already, he felt the rush building, that intoxicating clarity he always found before battle. Command was a high, a pulse in his veins, sharper and sweeter than wine. He craved it, the way others craved drink or companionship. Nothing else made him feel quite so alive.
Rashan sighed contentedly, leaning his head back, ready to surrender briefly to sleep—
Then he felt it.
A familiar chill rippled down his spine, sharpening every sense, every nerve suddenly ablaze with awareness.
The system was activating.
Rashan leaned forward, eyebrows lifting slightly in surprise as the familiar, neutral voice resonated clearly in his mind.
[Greeting, Host.]
[Congratulations on your command!]
He smiled slightly, relaxing back into his chair. The system's appearances had always meant perks, advantages, things that gave him an edge. Curious, he waited for it to continue, confident in what came next.
[Notice: Due to the fundamental nature and balance of the world, adjustments to your Save and Load perk have become necessary.]
Rashan froze, the smile fading abruptly. Adjustments?
[Your ability to freely save and load each day has been restricted. Such frequent alterations to reality risk causing irreparable damage to the world's fundamental laws. With war unfolding, certain rules must now be enforced.]
He sat up straighter, disbelief creeping across his expression. The perk had always been one of his greatest assets—limitless retries, a safety net unlike any other. A sudden change like this was unprecedented.
[Do not fret. You may still save once per day. Should death occur, you will reload to your last daily save. However, each save will expire after 24 hours; Host must manually save daily.]
The system paused briefly, allowing the new restrictions to sink in.
[Important: If you reload due to death, the Save and Load feature will be locked for one week. During this cooldown, death will become a permanent experience.]
Rashan slowly leaned back, absorbing the unexpected news. The feeling of invulnerability he'd grown used to was suddenly stripped away, leaving him oddly exposed. The system had always given—never taken.
Until now.
Rashan opened his mouth, ready to curse loudly at the sudden nerf, when the system's voice abruptly continued:
[Calculating…]
He paused, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.
[Due to Host's efforts in training himself and two comrades, Host may now select a Class for himself and these two comrades.]
There was a short pause.
[Do I really need to clarify which comrades?] The system's voice seemed oddly conversational. [P.S.—It's Jalil and Cassia.]
Rashan blinked. Was the system…actually being sarcastic?
[Classes come with distinct benefits and drawbacks. Decisions made are final.]
[Upon selection, a specialized potion will be generated for each individual, designed to activate their chosen class.]
Another brief pause, then the voice returned casually:
[Important note: If your comrades reveal that their powers originated from a potion, they might soon discover their insides decorating their outsides. Possibly.]
Rashan stared blankly at the empty space ahead. "What?" he muttered softly. Rashan was caught of guard.
The system ignored him. [Anyway, don't say you weren't warned.]
Rashan didn't quite understand why his system had suddenly grown a personality—or why it had decided to nerf one of his strongest perks—but he shrugged it off. When life gave lemons, he'd make lemon juice.
Focusing back on the glowing class list, he realized they resembled the familiar classes from Morrowind, though each came with a unique flair tailored to his reality:
Class Selection
Warrior
Skill Affinity:
High: One-Handed, Two-Handed, Block, Heavy Armor, Archery, Smithing
Low: Light Armor, Sneak, Speech
Perks:
Health is twice as effective
Stamina is twice as effective
Loses ability to use Magicka
Mage
Skill Affinity:
High: Destruction, Alteration, Conjuration, Restoration, Illusion, Enchanting
Low: Alchemy, Speech, Lockpicking
Perks:
Magicka is twice as effective
Vitality is 50 percent as effective
Can only use Stamina to sprint and run
Thief
Skill Affinity:
High: Sneak, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Light Armor, Speech, Alchemy
Low: Archery, One-Handed, Illusion
Perks:
Agility and reflexes are twice as effective
Movement is twice as silent
Vitality is half as effective
Spellsword
Skill Affinity:
High: One-Handed, Destruction, Alteration, Light Armor
Low: Restoration, Enchanting, Block
Perks:
Magicka regeneration in combat is twice as effective
Spell potency when channeled through weapons is twice as effective
Armor effectiveness is 75 percent as effective
Battle mage
Skill Affinity:
High: Heavy Armor, Destruction, Conjuration, Restoration
Low: One-Handed, Alteration, Enchanting
Perks:
Spellcasting while armored is twice as effective
Magical resistance is twice as effective
Stamina recovery rate is 75 percent as effective
Nightblade
Skill Affinity:
High: Sneak, Illusion, One-Handed, Light Armor
Low: Alteration, Lockpicking, Archery
Perks:
Illusion spell effectiveness is twice as effective
Stealth effectiveness in darkness is twice as effective
Vitality is 75 percent as effective
Crusader
Skill Affinity:
High: Heavy Armor, One-Handed, Restoration, Block
Low: Speech, Smithing, Alteration
Perks:
Restoration spells are twice as effective
Resistance to poison and disease is twice as effective
Ranged and stealth combat effectiveness are 75 percent as effective
Rogue
Skill Affinity:
High: Speech, One-Handed, Light Armor, Sneak
Low: Alchemy, Pickpocket, Lockpicking
Perks:
Persuasion and deception effectiveness are twice as effective
Critical strike damage is twice as effective
Magicka regeneration is half as effective
Agent
Skill Affinity:
High: Speech, Sneak, Illusion, Lockpicking
Low: Pickpocket, Alchemy, Light Armor
Perks:
Illusion and persuasion effectiveness are twice as effective
Stealth effectiveness in social scenarios is twice as effective
Vitality is 75 percent as effective
Assassin
Skill Affinity:
High: Sneak, One-Handed, Archery, Alchemy
Low: Light Armor, Lockpicking, Pickpocket
Perks:
Stealth attack damage is twice as effective
Agility and reflexes are twice as effective
Vitality is 75 percent as effective
Barbarian
Skill Affinity:
High: Two-Handed, Light Armor, Block, Smithing
Low: One-Handed, Archery, Heavy Armor
Perks:
Strength and stamina in prolonged combat are twice as effective
Resistance to physical damage is twice as effective
Loses ability to use Magicka
Archer
Skill Affinity:
High: Archery, Light Armor, Sneak, One-Handed
Low: Smithing, Alchemy, Speech
Perks:
Bow accuracy and lethality are twice as effective
Stamina regeneration is twice as effective
Vitality recovery rate is 75 percent as effective
Sorcerer
Skill Affinity:
High: Conjuration, Alteration, Enchanting, Illusion
Low: Destruction, Restoration, Alchemy
Perks:
Summoned creatures and enchantments are twice as effective
Magicka regeneration is twice as effective
Vitality is half as effective
Healer
Skill Affinity:
High: Restoration, Alchemy, Speech, Alteration
Low: Illusion, Enchanting, One-Handed
Perks:
Healing spells and potions are twice as effective
Protective magic is twice as effective
Vitality is 75 percent as effective
Monk
Skill Affinity:
High: Unarmed (Hand-to-Hand), Alteration, Restoration, Light Armor
Low: Sneak, Block, Illusion
Perks:
Unarmed damage is twice as effective
Agility and speed are twice as effective
Effectiveness of armor and weapons is half as effective
Note:
High affinity: Greatly increases comprehension of related skills.
Low affinity: Slightly increases comprehension of related skills.
Skills not listed remain unaffected; no negative skill affinities exist.
Rashan hummed thoughtfully as he considered the available classes. Jalil's selection was obvious—Warrior practically defined him. The boy had trained tirelessly, forging himself into an unyielding force with raw strength and unwavering resolve. Enhanced health and stamina suited Jalil perfectly, ensuring he could withstand anything thrown his way.
Cassia was equally straightforward—Nightblade was practically tailored to her style. Quiet, precise, and deadly; her skill with stealth, blades, and illusion magic was already frighteningly efficient. Doubling down on those talents would elevate her into something truly formidable, turning shadows themselves into weapons.
Yet when Rashan turned his thoughts inward, his own choice felt far less certain. His strengths were varied, his tactics flexible. He relied heavily on martial skills, true, but what he truly desired now was deeper comprehension of magic—something that would open new doors, allowing him to leverage spells as efficiently as he did blades and strategy.
His eyes lingered on the classes suited to mages, spellswords, and battlemages, carefully considering each option and weighing the costs.
This decision, after all, would define not only his growth but the future of their team as well.
Rashan leaned back thoughtfully, eyes lingering over the various classes that shimmered before him. Jalil and Cassia had been easy enough—Warrior and Nightblade practically had their names written on them from the start. But his own choice was far less obvious.
His gaze first lingered over the Spellsword. It seemed attractive at first glance—melding blades with potent magic—but as he studied it closely, the emphasis on Destruction magic felt distinctly incompatible with his own nature. Rashan had never relied heavily on destructive spells; flashy explosions and streams of fire had never matched his preference for subtlety and precision. The class felt like a misalignment rather than an enhancement.
The Battlemage was next, an intriguing blend of martial prowess and raw magical force. Yet it came with a condition Rashan immediately disliked: heavy armor. He'd deliberately chosen light armor for decades, prioritizing mobility and stealth over brute force. He knew intimately the advantage of silence and agility, having used it to infiltrate, ambush, and evade countless times. The idea of swapping his trusted leather for restrictive steel was simply unacceptable—too limiting, too cumbersome.
He briefly glanced at Nightblade, acknowledging its formidable strengths. But it was Cassia's territory already. There was no need for redundancy, especially when his team relied heavily on balanced specialization. His eyes drifted past it quickly, the decision already clear.
But when Rashan looked at Healer, something clicked deeply inside him. At first, it seemed counterintuitive—he was not merely a battlefield medic, after all. But the more he thought about it, the more the choice resonated. It wasn't merely the practical advantages—powerful protective magic, potent healing, unmatched alchemical mastery—though those alone were tempting enough. What genuinely drew him was something deeper: comprehension.
He'd always been hungry for knowledge. Rashan was never satisfied with simply knowing how to do something—he needed to understand it fully, intimately. True comprehension meant innovation, improvisation, and growth. It meant going beyond standard spells and formulas, pushing the boundaries of what others thought possible.
Enhanced comprehension of Restoration would allow him to innovate entirely new protective strategies, enabling him to defend not just allies, but himself, in ways no mere armor ever could. Greater mastery of Alchemy would open doors to creations beyond even his incendiaries and sabotage potions, turning ordinary substances into extraordinary weapons and lifesaving tools. The possibilities felt limitless.
And yes, while the class came with some trade-offs, the idea of slightly reduced Vitality hardly mattered when protective magic itself would be twice as potent. The strategic benefit far outweighed any minor inconvenience—he was already cautious, calculated, and careful in battle. A protective layer of potent magic would more than compensate, possibly even surpass, his current physical resilience.
He smiled faintly, confidence settling over him. The path felt undeniably right. His choice wasn't just pragmatic; it resonated deeply with who he had become—a commander, a protector, a strategist whose true power lay in his mind and the depth of his understanding.
Rashan nodded firmly. He had made his decision.
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