Forged Legacy

Chapter 163 - Father's Sacrifice

“You know what, Adrian? So are you,” Harvey chuckled. “You know, for an angel.”

The tall, blonde man who could’ve easily been on the cover of Men’s Health magazine just like any of the other annoyingly attractive angels smirked back at him. “I’ll report back to Celeste and let her know the operation was successful. If we don’t manage to break through tomorrow, I expect we’ll meet again. Unless you want to do it, Cash.”

“That’s alright. I have no idea why she put me in charge,” Cash waved him off.

That was a lie, and they all knew it, but nobody said anything. She did it so the angels wouldn’t be taking orders from a gilded. Something that seemed a lot more important a few hours ago, but Harvey guessed that attitude might be starting to change.

“Alright,” Adrian smiled before turning to the rest of the angels. “We’re done here. Great job, everyone! Get some rest and get ready for tomorrow. We killed a lot, but we all know there’s a lot more waiting for us.”

With that, the group split. A few of the angels stuck around to chat with old friends they weren’t normally assigned to work with, but most headed straight for the teleporters. It was getting late, and Adrian wasn’t lying when he said the worst was yet to come.

“Ack,” Tyler grunted as his weave glowed once again. The System’s timing was funny like that, almost waiting for the mission to end before granting their reward. It made it seem even more like an omnipotent god, which he guessed was probably an apt description since it watched over the Tapestry that recorded all existence.

“Gol-lee,” Steve swore. “Do you ever get used to this?”

Harvey felt the sting of gaining a few levels of his own, but managed to hold back any outbursts. Just like their last raid, he’d gained 2 more Class levels and felt close to a third.

Your class, Forgefire Arsenalist, has reached Level 51. +4 Vitality, +4 Endurance, +16 Wisdom, +6 Willpower, +6 Free Points

Your Race, Gilded, has reached Level 48. +5 Vitality, +5 Endurance, +2 Wisdom, +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +3 Willpower

He took a moment to add his free points to Vitality. He’d almost instinctively dumped them straight into Dexterity, but he reminded himself to spend a few on his body now that his speed was closer to his strength.

Cash just chuckled. “It gets easier with time. I’ve heard G-Grade is particularly rough since the System has to make up for all that time you spent without a weave.”

“Good thing we’re about to evolve, then,” Steve started through gritted teeth, groaning with relief when the light finally receded.

“That reminds me,” Harvey noted. “I’ve been thinking about your Professions.”

“What about them?” Tyler asked, taking off his helmet and absently scratching his neck.

“I can’t figure out when you’ll have time to level them. At this pace, both your Classes could be ready in a matter of days, but it could take weeks to get those last six Profession levels if Mom’s leveling speed is anything to go by. You might need to evolve without them,” Harvey said.

“Is that even possible?” Steve asked, looking to Cash for answers despite Harvey having firsthand experience.

Cash nodded, “Yes. In fact, most people do, but we generally like to hide that fact until people have had a chance to fight. You can’t expect everyone to turn into a soldier the second they get some essence, but life is long with the System, and we don’t want people to talk themselves out of the opportunity to expand their path while the integration is still fresh in their minds. Usually, we’ve made it back to the planet by the time the faithful are ready to start leveling their Classes”

Suddenly, a question that had been plaguing Harvey and that he never quite knew how to ask had been answered. “Wait. Does that mean the wildlife back home will be weak enough for people to fight?”

Harvey hadn’t had much time to wonder about the state back home lately, but he’d thought about it a lot towards the end of his own trial. He and Hannah had talked about what to expect once they made it through the portal, and both had been worried about what would happen to someone like Elena, who only focused on her profession, if the System sent them back to the place they died instead of spitting them all out together.

“For the most part, but that won’t last long. Part of the reason these trials are all held off-world is so the planet itself can go through the same transformation you guys do. It usually doesn’t take as long as most trials, giving the beasts a head start. But the stats from 25 Profession levels are usually enough for the Faithful to do well in the new world.”

“That’s good to know,” Harvey muttered, lost in thought. At first, he’d railed against the injustice of his own trial not having a group like the angels – or even the demons – to help guide and protect them while they figured things out. They’d lost so many people in those early days. Some were completely due to ignorance, starving to death out in the woods, not knowing that a hot meal and clean water were dirt cheap at any Outpost.

He couldn’t do anything for them now, but at least the survivors were in pole position now that they were back home.

“Can we get back to us, please?” Tyler asked, clearly concerned about this new revelation. “What happens if we evolve without a Profession?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. You trade the ability to have a Profession for double the stats from your Class,” Harvey said.

“It’s not quite that simple. Functionally, yes, Harvey is right, but there are a few other things to consider. You’ll get half as many skills, but most people agree that the skills you do create are better overall,” Cash explained.

“Why? Just because?” Steve frowned. “I don’t know if I like the idea of handicapping myself.”

“Don’t think of it as a handicap. Think of it as hyper-specialization. Remember how we talked about Harvey having a hard time anointing his weave because his path uses too many resonances? Foregoing a Class or Profession is the opposite. Nobody really knows whether the skills are better because of an assist from the System or because almost all of your experiences fall under the same umbrella, but they usually are. And, when you evolve to E-Grade, those who specialize are guaranteed 2 extra ascension tokens.”

Both Tyler and Steve stared blank-faced at Cash.

“Ascension tokens let you evolve your lower-grade skills to match your new grade,” Harvey clarified. “The amount you get depends on the rarity of your evolved Class and Profession. My F-Grade Class is Rare, so I was able to evolve two of my G-Grade skills, but I had to leave Flamestrike and Fireball behind.”

“Exactly. He can still use those skills, but they aren’t as strong as if he’d evolved them. Capstone skills, the ones you create upon reaching the level cap for each grade, automatically ascend with you, so if Harvey had chosen to forego his Profession, he would’ve been able to evolve all of his skills.”

“Ok, that doesn’t sound as bad then,” Tyler acknowledged.

“And, something you might not know yet either, Harvey, to ascend to the higher grades, your Legacy needs to be deep enough to sustain the evolution. Meeting that requirement is typically easier for someone with only one or the other,” Cash added.

“Really?” Harvey asked, surprised. “You’re right, I didn’t know that.”

“Shouldn’t really be a problem for you since you’ve already got three Imprints, but it could be an issue if you start slowing down for some reason,” Cash nodded.

“I think I’m going to just stick with my Class,” Tyler said. “I just got two more levels, and I don’t want to wait too long before I evolve.”

“Wel… slow down for a second,” Steve sputtered. “This isn’t the kind of decision to make on a whim.”

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Cash agreed, “Your dad’s right. Like I said, life is long in the multiverse. Leaving a Profession behind might make sense right now, but what about 200 years from now, when you’re tired of fighting monsters day in and day out? Most warriors use their profession as a counterbalance to all the carnage it takes to keep progressing.”

“Life is only long if we survive,” Harvey countered. “I know it’s easy for me to say since I’ve still got both, but we don’t exactly have the luxury to wait until they graduate from angel school.”

“You don’t have to decide right now. Either way, you should both start filling in those Profession skill slots. Even if you forego a Profession at F-Grade, the System isn’t going to take away your G-Grade skills.”

Steve and Tyler both nodded, their father clearly more concerned than Tyler.

“Any suggestions on how to fill those? I need to stop by the Loom anyway to make my next Class skill,” Steve asked.

“You hit Level 20?” Harvey clarified.

“Sure did,” Steve smiled. “Can’t fall too far behind you boys.”

Cash helped them brainstorm while they made the short walk towards the church. The angels usually recommended the faithful wait until they know what their F-Grade Profession will be before creating any skills, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any well-known options for those planning to focus only on their Class. In the end, they settled on a simple prayer skill that would provide a slight stat boost when completing the task they prayed for assistance with and a meditation skill that would help them recover their resources faster after a fight. The old Harvey probably wouldn’t have believed a prayer skill would work, but it actually sounded a lot like Elena’s Living Portrait skill. That would leave both of their third Profession skill slots still vacant, but Cash didn’t want them to rush in case they decided to try and bring their Profession with them into the F-Grade.

Tyler went first, giving Steve a chance to talk over his next Class skill with Harvey and Cash while he waited.

“My friend Julian’s Class was similar to yours. He picked a movement skill and a boosting skill that raised his size and his stats to round out his G-Grade set,” Harvey explained.

“I’m leaning towards movement. I need a way to keep up with Tyler if he’s going to keep getting himself in trouble,” Steve replied.

“One option you might not have considered is a switch teleport skill,” Cash suggested.

Harvey laughed as his father looked back at them with a blank stare.

“You know what that means? Are the two of you even speaking English anymore? How does everyone seem to understand this stuff except for me?” Steve complained.

“Should’ve played more video games,” Harvey chuckled. “And yes, we’re speaking English! Sound it out! Switch. Teleport. Pretty simple concept.”

“I know what the words mean, but I can’t see how something like that would work,” Steve scoffed.

“You have to break your mind free of the old world’s limitations,” Cash chuckled.

“Ok, but aren’t skills built from experiences? News flash, I’ve never teleported before!”

“Sure you have! That portal to Elysium,” Harvey replied.

“If that’s what you think, then you need to break free, too,” Cash said to Harvey. “If you had to do something on your own before you could make a skill, real magic wouldn’t exist. You said you need this skill to help you keep up with Tyler, right? In that moment, would the ability to swap places with him have been helpful?”

“Of course!”

“Okay. Would you be willing to take his place and put yourself in danger just to save him?” Cash pushed.

“What kind of father would I be if I wasn’t?”

“Perfect. That means you have experience where the exact skill you want would’ve been useful. Combine that with your Imprint, and the System will do the rest!”

Steve still looked uncertain, but Tyler finishing up his second Profession skill interrupted any further debate.

“Your turn,” he said, patting Steve’s shoulder.

“What’d you get?” Harvey asked.

“A skill called Simple Prayer and another called Centering Breath. Both Common.”

“Good! Sounds like what we expected,” Cash added.

“I still don’t…” Steve began.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Harvey interrupted. “It’s a solid plan. Just trust that Cash and I would never lead you astray.”

His father sighed and walked towards the Loom. Harvey could tell by the memories that he was creating his Profession skills first. He knew prayer was a big part of his dad’s life, but seeing these visions really put it into perspective. He saw one of their countless nightly prayers where the whole family gathered in the living room. He saw him say another prayer with his mother before they climbed into bed. At church. At work. Lost in the woods during one of their camping trips back when Harvey was in high school.

Everywhere.

The visions melded into the Loom, and black and tan thread weaved into the shape of two hands clasped in reverence. Harvey expected them to be wreathed in some sort of divine radiance, proof that his prayers were being answered, but they weren’t. No, it was just two, masculine hands that looked exactly like his father’s.

Without stopping to show them the results, Steve got to work on his second skill. Instead of including memories of reflection, as Tyler had, Steve chose to use visions of reading the scriptures. Harvey didn’t exactly know the angels' stance on the Bible or any other religious records, and he wasn’t inclined to ask. All he knew was that the god his family worshipped was an S-Grade being whose legacy managed to pierce the shroud hiding Earth from the multiverse long before the integration. Still, this approach made sense for his father. Studying the word of god had always been important to him, and Harvey assumed using that time as a method of active meditation would yield a better result than Tyler’s common skill.

This time, a sigil depicting the Bible floated off the Loom and towards his heart. Steve grimaced as the skill integrated with his weave, then looked towards his children for reassurance.

“You’ve got this, Dad! Just have a little faith,” Harvey winked.

For the last time, Steve placed his hands on the pedestal and was enveloped in rainbow smoke. As planned, his Imprint was joined by the image of him chasing Tyler into the storm of brimfiends raining flames down on their heads. He didn’t hesitate, charging right in even when the road ahead looked nothing short of apocalyptic.

[You’re lucky. You know that, right? Julian’s dad was pretty great too, but you’re lucky,] Julius remarked.

I know, Harvey smiled.

He started to worry when Steve seemed to hesitate, but relaxed when he saw more memories join the budding skill. Harvey couldn’t see the intensity of the glow that indicated the power of the combination, but at least he knew it was there to make sure his dad couldn’t accidentally mess things up.

The next memory to make the cut showed a vision Harvey was too young to remember. He knew his parents were poor when he was a baby, but he was surprised to see his parents sitting at the kitchen table. His mother was eating a bowl of cereal, Harvey was eating a jar of baby food, and his dad was eating…nothing.

Such a simple sight felt like a punch in the gut. It made him think of all the times he’d ignored his father. Saw him as some goofball who paid the bills. He’d never considered that his dad had gone hungry for him.

“You two are very lucky to have a dad like him,” Cash remarked.

“I know, alright! I already said that,” Harvey exclaimed, laughing as he wiped a single tear from his cheek.

“What?” Cash asked, surprised.

[He can’t hear us,] Julius explained.

“Sorry, I was just already thinking the same thing,” Harvey added.

Next, Steve added a memory where he held a sobbing teenage Eleanor. Harvey had no idea what the problem was, but he could see just how badly his father wanted to take the pain away from his sister. The method might be a little different than literally switching places with someone, but the concept was the same.

His father spent a few minutes testing other combinations, but eventually settled on those four components. The Loom spun to life, weaving an image of his father cradling a faceless infant, a bloody knife sticking out of his back. The sigil embedded itself in the same spot the knife would be on his real body. Without saying a word, Harvey felt his father’s aura begin pulling on his own. He could fight it if he wanted, but chose to let himself be engulfed in his father’s presence. In the blink of an eye, he was the one standing in front of the Loom, looking back at his father standing between Cash and Tyler.

“It worked!” Steve cheered, pulling up three screens for all to see. Harvey dashed back over, eager to see the descriptions.

Profession Skill: True Faith | G-Grade | Rare:

There are many who pray in life’s darkest moments, but few with the faith to ask for heavenly help with all of life’s pursuits. Your deep faith in the power of prayer has built an even stronger bond with the Lord’s divine power, allowing you to borrow more of his strength when tackling life’s daily challenges. Offer a short, specific prayer to receive a small stat boost while completing the task you prayed for assistance with. The power and duration of the boost scale with your holy resonance.

Profession Skill: Daily Bread | G-Grade | Rare:

When weary in body and spirit, few remember to look towards Heaven. Through studying the word of God, anyone can receive their daily bread. While pondering the Lord’s teachings, you receive a boost to your body and weave’s regeneration speed, helping you heal and replenish spent essence faster. Regeneration speed scales with your holy resonance.

Class Skill: Father’s Sacrifice | G-Grade | Epic:

The hardest part of fatherhood is letting your children roam free in a world full of hurt. You can’t protect them from everything, but you can step in when they need you most. Establish a connection with a willing ascendant within your aura range, allowing you to switch places with them. The cost and activation speed scale with Willpower and the distance traveled, and can be impeded by aura suppression.