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Chapter 374 - Interlude: Anna's Birthday Part 2
🕑 Added 2025-09-29 22:06:52 +0000 UTCMonths ago.
Anna
Frostheim
Finally! Finally, she had a Class!
Feeling her selection settle in was probably the best thing she had felt in a long, long while. Finally, after waiting for what felt like ages, she now had a Class and could level up.
She was at the bottom rung on what would be a long ladder, but that didn't dampen her enthusiasm. She was at least on the ladder, finally.
Not being able to do anything like the rest of the family had been killing her. They all got to fight, explore, play with magic, and all the other goodies that came with the Change, while she only got to sit and watch from the sidelines.
Not anymore.
Status.
~~
Name: Annabeth Stevenson
Race: Human(H)
Class: Warrior – Level 1
Profession: None
Faction: Frostheim
Strength- 8
Agility- 11
Perception- 13
Fortitude- 9
Endurance- 10
Vitality - 14
Intelligence- 15
Wisdom- 14
Acumen- 12
Free Points: 0
Laws: None
Skills: None
Coins: 0
Skills Available
~~
According to her parents, her starting stats were a lot better than what they had both started with. Even Uncle Chris hadn't had as many stats as her! They were quick to point out that the difference was mostly negligible.
It would help her for the first rank, while she was still an H-rank Warrior, but they wouldn't do much after that. She had to build upon that lead in order to make it into something worthwhile and game-changing.
That was where training came in.
"Come here, Anna," her Mom said sweetly, "We want to test your affinity."
Anna already had a guess at what her affinity was, but she wasn't certain. She knew that it wouldn't be told to her until after she reached G-rank, but there were ways to test it beforehand.
One way was for someone with the affinity to test her personally, but that only worked if they had the same affinity. With so many people here, it was likely that at least someone had the same affinity as her, but it wasn't one hundred percent.
There was always the chance that she had a rare affinity or a combination of affinities that someone here didn't have.
But that wasn't a problem. Even back when Lily had her Class Day, they had purchased an artifact that could test for affinities. Such artifacts weren't all that popular because many saw them as a waste of money.
The System itself told you your affinity when you reached level 10. What was the point of knowing a few levels early? Luckily, the artifact didn't cost all that much, and her Family was willing to buy one for when all the children finally came of age.
Even though Lily was first to have her Class Day, it wasn't even needed. They had still used it to make sure, but with nearly half the Family having the Water affinity, they were able to tell that Lily had the same affinity as them.
Anna smiled at her Mom's words. If she wanted Anna to get tested, that meant she couldn't tell, and if she couldn't tell, then she didn't have just a Water affinity.
"It's not Earth." Her Father said a little bit sadly. She knew he was hoping for her to have his affinity.
"It feels like Water, but there's something else making it difficult." Her Mom said.
"I sense a touch of Ice, but not fully." Uncle Chris rumbled. Hearing him say that made her smile light up.
If I have Ice, I can be like Uncle Chris!, she thought excitedly. Then she heard the rest of what he said. 'Not fully.' Did that mean that she had Ice mixed with something?
Austin looked a bit upset, "I don't sense any Light or Fire. My protégée goes down in flames before she can even begin!"
Anna stuck her tongue out at him.
Her mom finally placed the artifact on her chest, and it went through a rainbow of colors very quickly. Anna wasn't scared because she knew what was happening. The device was placed above her mana pool, and all of the colors were tested for different affinities.
Lily had undergone the same thing before the artifact flashed a vibrant blue for Water.
She waited excitedly for what her affinity would be.
Red, orange, brown, gold, silver, white, green, brown again, pink, black, the colors went so quickly that it was sometimes hard to tell one color from the next.
After a few moments, the device had cycled through all of its colors, and it was time for it to flash with the one she had.
Her eyes peeled, Anna stared at the device as it lit up a vibrant blue that which she knew was for a Water affinity, but that wasn't all.
Only half the device was the vibrant ocean blue. The other half was a pale, icy blue that she knew was Ice.
Ice and Water. A combination.
"Snow." Her Mom said after the device finished.
A Snow affinity. Anna wasn't sure how to feel. It was unexpected, and that confused her for a moment. She had hoped for Ice, like Chris and Gabe, and technically, she got it, but she also got Water.
She chose to be happy about it. Having both meant she could still have the Ice she wanted, while still also having another affinity. Plus, Water and Ice went well together. Like Ice and Wind.
She wasn't able to dwell on it long because not long after came the congratulations from her family, and something that took her away from pondering on her affinity.
Gifts.
And these gifts were something she had been looking forward to nearly as much as her Class Day itself. She got Skill Shards, weapons, artifacts, and other treasures; there were so many that it was hard to focus on just one thing.
Her face hurt from smiling so much and for so long.
She got way more than just four or five Skill Shards, and there was no way her Spirit was going to be able to hold them all when she was still G-rank. At first, she had fretted over which to choose.
[Power Strike] and [Piercing Strike] were also available through the Skill Orbs her Family had, so there were two more to consider outside of the Skill Shards she was gifted.
Then there were the many different Proficiency Skills she was given. [Spear Proficiency], [Sword Proficiency], [Shield Proficiency], [Axe Proficiency], [Polearm Proficiency], [Hammer Proficiency].
The Spear and Hammer Proficiency were from Austin and Chris, as those were their weapons of choice, while the others were there to give her options.
It wasn't like the Shards would go to waste. The ones she didn't use could be sold or given to her brother when he finally came of age.
Anna was glad she didn't have to decide on the spot, because there were way too many choices. She also wasn't sure how many she would be able to pick.
They were told that only four or five skills outside Class Skills were possible, but that was on average. Theoretically, she could have had anywhere from one to nine before evolving.
Long after the party was over and she was sitting with her parents back home, the table was filled with the Skill Shards she was given.
Three Skills already sat inside her Spirit, as she had chosen them already.
Skills: [Power Strike], [Piercing Strike], [Identify]
Everyone had told her that those three would be her best choice, and that she could focus her Class skills on things they hadn't been able to choose the first time around.
Anna thought that they were good skills to start with as well. [Power Strike] and [Piercing Strike] would help her kill Dungeon Monsters, while [Identify] would be able to tell her what she was fighting.
Now, she had to choose which skills would come next.
Tentatively, she picked up [Shield Proficiency]. Both her parents agreed that starting with a proficiency skill would help her grow it quicker than if she waited. It would also help with everything else that came with fighting, without having to pay for it.
Her Wisdom was a lot higher than theirs, back when they were level one, but she also didn't have infinite mana to use for more attacking skills. They had also said she needed a defensive skill, and [Shield Proficiency] fit the bill.
Closing her eyes, she clutched the shard and felt it crumble in her hands. She felt something happen in her Spirit, and she knew that a fourth skill matrix was added.
But she also felt something better.
Her Spirit didn't feel full. She could add another skill.
She picked up [Sword Proficiency] and the shard crumbled just as quickly as the last one had.
Her Spirit still didn't feel full.
With an excited smile, she picked up [Ice Bolt]. It was one of the skills she wanted most, but her parents had talked her out of it. They didn't say no, just that the other skills were more important.
Now that she could have six skills, she finally got to choose it.
The shard crumbled, and she finally let out a disappointed sigh. Her Spirit felt full, and she wouldn't be able to choose any more Skill Shards until she evolved.
"Oh, honey, don't be so down. You still have your level 1 Skill to choose." Her mom consoled her after seeing her sigh.
Anna smiled, as she had forgotten about that. She had deliberated on the various Skill Shards for hours, and the thought of choosing one from reaching level 1 had fled her mind.
With a smile, she pulled up the list the System had available to her. It didn't take her long to find the skill she wanted.
[Shield Bash].
Now, in less than a few hours, she had gone from being a regular human to being a level 1 Warrior with seven skills!
Seven!
Not even Chris had that many at level 1.
She grinned and brought up her Status.
~~
Name: Annabeth Stevenson
Race: Human(H)
Class: Warrior – Level 1
Profession: None
Faction: Frostheim
Strength- 8
Agility- 11
Perception- 13
Fortitude- 9
Endurance- 10
Vitality - 14
Intelligence- 15
Wisdom- 14
Acumen- 12
Free Points: 0
Laws: None
Skills: [Power Strike], [Piercing Strike], [Identify], [Shield Proficiency], [Sword Proficiency], [Ice Bolt], [Shield Bash].
Coins: 0
~~
The only thing she was missing was an armor skill, but that was a problem she could but off. Armor Proficiency helped with movement and positioning while wearing armor, which wasn't as important in the earliest levels.
She would have to pick one up eventually, but it wasn't something she had to do right away. She could train and leverage her training and higher stats to rise through H-rank without too much trouble, or so she hoped.
The main reason she didn't pick one up was that she wasn't sure what kind of armor she wanted to wear. She could use plate armor like Chris and her Dad, but that would make her slow and heavy. She could use leather like Austin and Mitchell, but that wouldn't give her as much protection.
There was chain or half plate, but no one in her family wore that. They either went all in on plate, or wore leather instead.
She still had time to figure out what kind of armor she wanted to use. She wanted to be the best, and that meant staying at level 10 until she got a Class evolution that was perfect.
No matter how long it took, she wasn't going to pick until a Rare option was there.
Oh, and pick a Profession.
Comments
Blackwell Z
Hey I just want to say this is the rewrite been great I'm glad you took the time to do this I love your story
Buck
Good chapter. TFTC!
