When she was sure the imps had given up their chase, she stumbled to a stop in the middle of the dusty road. Leaning forward, she rested her hands on her knees and drew in a ragged breath. Her legs felt leaden, and she doubted she could take another step without rest.
Why wasn’t this place more like the spirit realm? She’d expected an experience like Ethel’s, where she’d baked all day with a friendly guide. Instead, she was being chased by homicidal imps while her uncaring beanpole of a guide gazed at her with scorn.
This place seriously sucked.
Glancing over at Astaroth, who was floating next to her, she scowled at him. “You know, you’re not a very good guide.”
“My duty does not involve protecting mortal souls in the Infernal Realm.”
“Well, it should,” she shot back. With another deep breath, she looked around. Strangely, the castle perched on the dragon looked no closer than before, though she knew she had travelled at least a few kilometres toward it.
Now that her life wasn’t in imminent danger, she could take the time to orient herself to this new world. But first, she needed to heal herself. The dagger wound from the Wasteland Imp still burned on her hip, and every step sent jolts of pain through her leg.
Glancing over at her mana, she was pleased to see it had reached 6/10. Based on the time that had passed, she assumed Mana Regeneration meant how many mana points she’d regenerate in an hour. Since it felt like a bit more than thirty minutes had passed, she’d regained slightly more than half of her mana.
At least I can heal myself.
She braced herself and activated [Demonic Blood]. Almost immediately, a burning sensation spread through her hip and chest. When it faded, the wounds had disappeared completely. And once again, she was out of mana.
Piper still wasn’t quite sure how she knew to activate her skills. It was almost as if the knowledge had been shoved into her brain the moment she awakened. But regardless of how it had happened, she was glad she knew how to do it. Otherwise, she might not have survived her encounter with the imp.
Since she had a bit of breathing room, she decided to level up her race. She brought up her character sheet and examined it.
Piper Ashcroft
Race: Shadeling, Level 2
Class: None selected
Attributes
Strength – 2
Dexterity – 2
Stamina - 3
Vitality – 4
Perception – 3
Swiftness - 2
Magic - 2
Mana - 10
Mana Regeneration – 10
Free Attribute Points - 10
Racial Skills (3/10)
- Demonic Blood, Level 2
- Demonic Intellect, Level 4
- Quick Claw, Level 2
- Tail Strike, Level 5
Skills (9/10)
- Ambush Detection, Level 2
- Animal Caretaking, Level 1
- Baking, Level 1
- Cooking, Level 1
- Gardening, Level 1
- Mucking, Level 1
- Running, Level 1
- Stick Wielding, Level 1
- Subterfuge, Level 1
Class Skills and Spells (0/10)
- None
Piper hesitated when she reached her free attributes. One part of her wanted to save the points until she received her class. But another part knew she needed to do whatever it took to stay alive here. The imps had been low level, but she was almost certain there would be deadlier demons out there.
Straightening up, she turned toward Astaroth. “Where do you think I should put my free attribute points?”
“Do you think I’d deign to answer such a mundane question?”
Piper shrugged in response. She hadn’t really expected him to give her an answer, but it didn’t hurt to ask. Since her guide wasn’t going to help, she looked over her attributes trying to decide which ones to focus on.
Assuming she’d receive an illusionist class—which wasn’t a sure thing now—she should focus on Magic, Mana, and Mana Regeneration. Both Mana and Mana Regeneration would have the added benefit of helping her to stay alive in this world as it would allow her to use [Demonic Blood] more often.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
However, all the healing in the world wouldn’t help if she couldn’t defeat the low-level demons of this world. The imp she’d fought had been half her size and only level 3. And it had come way too close to killing her. If it had had a bit more power behind its thrust when it stabbed her chest, she might not be standing here right now.
Piper tapped her foot against the ground as she tried to decide. Finally, she dumped 4 points into Strength, 2 points into Dexterity, 2 points into Vitality, and 2 into Mana. While the physical attributes were probably wrong for her future class, it shouldn’t hurt her progression too much. Regular people often reached level 200 or higher, so a single level’s worth of free attribute points wouldn’t ruin her future build.
Her task was interrupted as the ground began to tremble like a miniature earthquake. She looked up from her character sheet to see a monstrous demon tromping by in the distance. It stood taller than a 10-storey building and had an oversized head with long black horns like a bull. Its skin was the color of burnt umber, and its long arms dragged on the ground behind it, leaving deep furrows in the earth. Swarming around it were hundreds, or possibly even thousands of lesser demons.
“I’m guessing I should stay away from him?”
“How astute,” Astaroth said. “Are you a noted scholar on your world?”
“There’s no reason to be mean,” she replied, scowling at him.
“I did not realize stating facts was considered mean by your kind.”
Piper fought down a sigh before setting a path away from the monstrous demon and the dragon with the castle on its back. Angling across the land, she found a new dirt road and followed it as Astaroth floated at her side.
After a few kilometres, she slowed her pace and turned toward her guide. “So, how do I choose my class? Are you finally going to do your job and help me?”
Astaroth folded his hands. “What do you desire in a class?”
She pressed her lips together before answering. Would the Infernal Realms offer similar classes to the Spirit Realm? She supposed there was only one way to find out. “I want to take an illusionist class to hide that I’m a demon.”
The towering guide raised his brow, which looked odd without having eyes or eyebrows. “Why would you wish to hide something that you are not?”
“Because I’m a demon!” she replied hotly. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“I suppose there are a few options,” he replied after a minute. “The closest one to what you seek is the deceiver class. It cloaks you in illusions to launch ambushes on your enemies.”
“What else does it do?”
“The class comes with many amusing spells,” Astaroth said. “With time, you will learn to turn others into puppets for short periods of time or horrify them with visions of their worst fears.”
“Is that a combat class?” she asked, remembering Alfred’s warning. She didn’t want to bring the Crimson Guard down on her new family.
“Demons are powerful beings who rule over the lower realms,” Astaroth scoffed. “Do you think any are offered non-combat classes?”
“There aren’t any? Not even one?” she asked incredulously. “Don’t you have demonic smiths or anything like that?”
Astaroth shook his head. “That is slave work.”
Frowning at his words, she decided to try another tack. “Are there any classes that can create portals to other worlds? Maybe to Earth specifically?”
“Yes, there are a few,” he replied. “Though none that you can take at your low level. However, in the future I can guide you down such a path. Know that doing so will bring you into direct conflict with the most powerful demons in the realm. Few can survive their displeasure.”
Regardless of the warning that followed it, the thought of seeing her parents again lifted her spirits. Maybe she couldn’t see them right now, but she knew there was a way in the future. She’d have to figure out a way to explain her new appearance, though.
“What other classes can I take?”
“There are several,” Astaroth replied. “Would you like to see a list of them?”
Piper nodded her head.
Astaroth lifted his finger, and his hand was briefly wreathed in dark flames. Then she felt searing agony in her head as writing appeared in her vision. Once the pain had faded, she began to read over the options while shooting dirty looks at her guide. He could have at least warned her before making it feel like her head would explode.
Available Classes
Infernal Nun (Mythic)
Battling at the forefront of demonic armies, the infernal nun fights with fists, claws, and tail to defeat her opponents. She can deliver lightning-fast strikes and then retreat before an opponent can even respond. Her link with the Infernal Realm allows her to summon hordes of demonic reinforcements to fight at her side.
+12 free attribute points per level.
Deceiver (Epic)
The deceiver is feared throughout the Infernal Realms for her ability to warp other’s perception. The spells she casts can be as innocuous as hiding her class and level, or they can be used to bombard a foe with horrifying visions and whispers to drive them insane.
+10 free attribute points per level.
Trickster Duelist (Uncommon)
A master of illusion, the trickster duelist is an infuriating opponent to fight against. She is never where she appears and can often strike unseen from the shadows. Even the ground becomes unreliable as she can hide the terrain under layers of illusions, making her opponents question if anything is real.
+ 4 free attribute points per level.
Stick Reaper (Common)
A class only taken by the weakest demons dwelling in the forsaken forests of the Infernal Realm, the stick reaper uses the only weapon available to her to fight. While a stick can do little against most demons, she has few other options for combat.
+2 free attribute points per level.
Piper read over her options, regularly glancing up to make sure no demons were sneaking up on her. While her skill [Ambush Detection] should provide her with a bit of warning, she didn’t want to rely on it completely.
As she finished reading each class, she realized they had been drawn from her experiences in the real world. She had defeated the ooze using a combination of stick fighting and her tail. That must have granted her the stick reaper and infernal nun classes. It had probably influenced the trickster duelist class as well.
Meanwhile, the deceiver class had obviously come from her work with Beatrice. All the illusions she’d watched the woman cast must have given her the deeds for an epic class. And it came with pretty good attributes per level as well.
But as much as she wanted the deceiver class, she had to admit that Infernal nun was tempting as well. Not only did it offer more attributes thanks to its higher rarity, but something about fighting like that called to her.
Still, it would paint a giant target on her back, and it wouldn’t let her live a normal life. She just wanted to look like a normal girl again.
Piper turned to Astaroth. “Which class do you think is best?”
“For a woman of your prowess?” He gave her a thin smile. “I believe you might be able to handle the stick reaper class.”
Rolling her eyes, she reread her class options. The choice was obvious if she wanted to continue living on the farm—she had to choose the deceiver class. Though she hoped she was offered the infernal nun one again when she unlocked her second class.
Her decision made, she mentally tried to select her class. Nothing happened. She tried again, furrowing her brow. Why wouldn’t it let her select the class?
“I want to become the Deceiver,” she said to Astaroth. “How does that work?”
“Did you honestly believe the only requirement to achieve a demonic class was to choose it? How wonderfully na?ve.”
“Well, how do I take it then?”
Astaroth gave Piper a creepy smile, showing off his pointed shark-like teeth. “In order to take the class, you must defeat a shadeling demon. Come along, I will take you to one of their lairs.”
Piper’s eyes widened as she realized she was going to have to fight another demon. Not for the first time, she wished she had gone to the spirit realm. Baking bread sounded pretty good to her at the moment.