Lukas stared at the Dagger of the Rogue of Darkness, awestruck by its looks. It was as if there were a hole in reality leading straight into the void. It was slightly disorienting to look at, but he couldn't stop staring. He couldn't wait to use the thing, and not just because of the class, but because it would be nice to use a weapon that wasn't full of nicks and jagged edges.

He reached for the dagger, which was as long as his forearm, with an almost childlike wonder. Amused by his reaction, the goddess spoke, "We'll shove this up in you and then get you out the door."

Lukas stopped, frowning. "What, now?"

"Yes?" the goddess said, with a raised brow, confused by his sudden hesitation.

"But it's like the middle of the night right now, and I can't exactly see in the dark."

Now the goddess frowned, furrowing her brow, "You can tell it's nighttime?"

"Yeah? I thought that was one of the senses I gained when I absorbed the Stone of Rebirth?"

The goddess shook her head, "No, that's not something normal people can sense or feel, it's usually only people with…" She trailed off, piquing Lukas' curiosity with her words, and he wanted to know what she was going to say. But she was deep in thought at that moment, then she held out her free hand. A moment later, the white orb that was the Essence of the Moon flew towards the hand, landing in it. "Here, absorb these at the same time."

With a look of interest, Lukas took both items, both cool to the touch but in different ways. The Essence of the Moon felt like a cool and pleasant summer night, while the Dagger of the Rogue of Darkness felt like a menacing shadow that held the promise of danger. "I can absorb an essence? Also, what exactly is an essence?"

The goddess sighed, "I wanted you to find out on your own or learn it from someone else out in the world, but that's changed. An essence is just magic of a certain attunement that has condensed down. This Essence of the Moon was formed when magic attuned to the moon came together, condensed, and solidified. Some are fairly common, like out in the forest it wouldn't be surprising if you found an Essence of the Trees. They form based on whatever attunement is around, so you'll never find an Essence of the Mountain or something similar in the ocean.

"As for absorbing them, yes you can. When absorbed, an essence can become bound to an ability, whether that be class or racial. It will change them slightly to be more [in line] with the attunement. If you absorb one with something else like this artifact, it will become bound to that other object you absorbed. And before you ask, no, absorbing an essence won't give you an affinity or an attunement, not unless you absorb a lot of the same one and want the affinity."

"So what are you hoping to happen when I absorb them?" Lukas asked.

"Just for a slight shift in the Rogue of Darkness class, turning it into something more… useful to you in the future."

Lukas looked at the goddess suspiciously, "You're holding something back from me, something important."

The goddess did her best to look all cute and innocent, which she did amazingly well, almost as if it were practiced. Giving him a sweet smile, she said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. But if I did, then I imagine I'd say that in case you haven't noticed, I've been doing that since the day we met."

Lukas just grunted, before focusing back on the items in his hands. While he didn't necessarily trust the goddess a whole lot, not having known her for very long, he did feel as though she wouldn't screw him over on purpose. If she had any malicious intent towards Lukas, then she would've just acted on it—it wasn't like he'd be able to do anything to stop it—instead she helped him out. He believed that she was being honest when she said that absorbing both would be beneficial in the future, even if she wouldn't say why.

With a simple mental command, the two items were absorbed. The moon essence glowed brightly for a moment before breaking down into specks of light, similar to how the tome had when he gained his first class. The small motes swirled around Lukas's hand, almost as if they were orbiting it and creating a ring like that around Saturn. Said ring had barely formed before it started getting sucked into his hand, as if it were a black hole, the still-orbiting ring slowly being drawn in. The feeling was odd, but not disconcerting. Lukas' hand just felt cool, as though he had placed it in a basin of water.

The dagger in his other hand was different. Instead of breaking down like the essence, the seemingly impossible darkness leached out of the dagger and onto Lukas. It wrapped around his hand before beginning to crawl up his forearm. The darkness began sinking into his skin, turning it a darker shade. At first, it was almost as if he'd gotten his whole arm from the elbow down tattooed black. But the color rapidly returned to his skin as the darkness faded. The whole process stung slightly, feeling as though his arm had been thrust into freezing-cold water.

Once the absorption was done, Lukas was left holding out both of his hands, one empty while the other held a straight, double-edged dagger. Now that the darkness of the void was gone, what was left was a deep gray metal that almost looked like damascus. The crossguard was simple, with no adorning decoration, obviously for functionality over fashion. The handle was similarly simple and made of a dark, ebony-like wood.

Identifying the dagger, Lukas found that to be quite simple as well, but he couldn't be happier:

[Dagger of the Darkness (Legendary)] - A dagger used by the Rogue of Darkness to bring down their enemies. Enchantments: Sharpness (keeps the dagger sharp), Repairing (Uses ambient magic to repair the dagger if damaged).

A dagger that would keep itself sharp and in good shape was a massive step up from the sword Lukas had found in the middle of the forest. The dagger might even be a better weapon for him, as the sword had always felt slightly awkward to wield with its length. Then again, that might've just been because of the pitiful state of the sword. No matter how you looked at it, the dagger was a massive upgrade.

Lukas checked out the impressive dagger for a moment longer before some new notifications appeared.

[Dagger of the Rogue of Darkness (Unique)] has been successfully absorbed.

[Essence of the Moon (Legendary)] has been successfully absorbed.

[Essence of the Moon] has become bound to [Dagger of the Rogue of Darkness] changing its effects.

Class [Rogue of Darkness] had been changed to [Rogue of Night]

New class earned: Rogue of Night

Rogue of the Night: As a rogue you are faster and more nimble than the average warrior, savoring the ability to dance across the battlefield leaving carnage in your wake. The shadows are the friends of rogues, but to you they are nothing more than a feeble imitation of true darkness, the night. An as of yet unseen class, it is up to you to pave the path of a Rogue of the Night. Stats per level: +2 agility, +1 endurance, +1 perception, +2 free points.

Lukas read through the hefty list of new notifications with great interest, and seeing the stats provided would cover some of his weak spots. There were still a few that would only get stats because of his race levels, but that could be fixed with free points. He wasn't sure if he wanted a completely well-rounded build or not, though. Lukas didn't exactly have a favorite stat, nor could he be bothered to try and calculate the optimal distribution for his classes. It was something he would figure out later—or not. Thinking about it, he'd probably just dump free points into whatever he needed at any given time.

Interested in seeing his gains, Lukas opened his status menu.

Lukas Hellstrand

Race: Human (Outworlder [unique]) - Level 8 Class 1 - Combat Alchemist - Level 17

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Class 2 - Rogue of Night - Level 0 Health Points: 640/640 Stamina: 337/340 Mana: 538/640

Stats Vitality: 68 Endurance: 42 Intelligence: 55 Wisdom: 68 Agility: 42 Perception: 40 Toughness: 55 Strength: 44 Willpower: 44 Free Points: 5

Titles: Prodigious Dimensional Traveler, Unkillable, True Heart of a Warrior, Indomitable Worm.

Abilities:

Combat Alchemist Abilities: (Amber Eye of the Alchemist [lvl - 0]).

Race abilities: (Dimensional Traveler), (Tribute of the Fallen), (Steel gut), (Tongue of the Multiverse), (Stranger in a Strange Land).

It was good to finally get rid of that "N/A" that had been marking his status. Now that he had a second class, Lukas felt like he was actually getting somewhere, even if that class didn't have any levels yet. His eyes wandered over his stats, happy with their growth, and upon seeing his free points he decided to hold onto them for now. Before, he'd always just tossed them into wisdom for more mana, but now he had plenty to be getting on with and didn't know what to spend them on. Next, his gaze drifted down to his only skill, seeing that it still sat at level 0. It was kind of annoying to see it hadn't budged despite how he used the ability every time he did alchemy, but it was still early days, so he tried not to let it irk him.

Lukas wanted to look over his status a bit more, to see if there was anything else new, but was pulled away from his thoughts by the goddess. She was leaning closer curiously, as though Lukas was holding a paper she was discreetly trying to peer at.

He leaned back and away from the goddess, "What are you doing?"

"Wondering what class you got. I'm curious to know what it's called, but you just kept staring off into space blankly."

"Oh," Lukas grinned sheepishly, "I guess it must look pretty dumb whenever I take a look at my menus."

The goddess just shrugged with a small smile of her own, "You do dumb stuff all the time, and you never seem to notice it either."

"Huh?" Lukas asked. He had always been a rather self-conscious person, to the point that whenever he went to a sports game or something similar and the crowd cheered or got out of their seats, he didn't. He just felt like he'd look like an idiot or something if he joined in, even if he did enjoy watching the game. The thought that he'd been constantly embarrassing himself before the goddess was horrifying.

"What have I been doing!?"

The goddess just waved away his question like it was nothing, "Oh, you know, but that doesn't matter. What's your new class called?"

Realizing the goddess was just messing with him, Lukas huffed, "Why should I tell you?"

"Don't be so huffy!" She laughed, slapping his shoulder playfully, "Now what's it called?"

"Rogue of Night," Lukas relented, "My ability says it's a class that hasn't been seen before and that I need to pave the path for the class."

"Ooh, I like that name. And that's not surprising; there are unique classes all over the place, though a good amount of people take established roads to power. They pretty much follow a guide that leads them to a certain point before they have to figure it out on their own. With a unique class like yours, you get to decide which direction it goes in, and the abilities you get can be more varied or even new."

"That's nice," Lukas said, "But what about my Combat Alchemist class? Is that one with a guided path or whatever?"

The goddess shook her head, "No, not really, it was just one of those popular classes that eventually faded. With you being the only person with that class, it is pretty much a unique one, except the abilities you could get are more well-known."

Lukas nodded for a moment before looking around the half-looted room, "Is there anything else before you kick me out?"

"Actually there is something else, and I definitely don't want to forget it. It's another gift, one that will help the both of us immensely."

"Oh?" Lukas asked, "What is it?"

Instead of answering, the goddess extended an arm and poked his forehead lightly, seemingly uncaring of the fact that he was still wearing his mask. The sensation was just like when he'd accidentally brushed her finger with his; a tingling feeling spread through his entire being as her vastly more powerful body came into contact with his. Then a split second later there was something else, another feeling he recognized, one that meant he'd gained stats.

Before the goddess's finger had even left his forehead, a new notification appeared.

Blessing earned: Hierophant of the Risen Goddess

Title earned: [Hierophant of the Risen Goddess] - The gods are a fact of life in this new world, and you find yourself in the favor of one. As the Hierophant of the Risen Goddess you are her mortal hand, her mouthpiece, prophet. You stand at the top of her order and her church, and are her most trusted mortal and confidant. Others will look to you for her guidance and teachings. Lead them well. +5% to all stats.

Lukas read the notifications as the goddess pulled her finger away, and was immediately struck with a ton of questions. One was answered thanks to the description of the title, but that only led to more questions.

"Uhm, multiple things," Lukas said, slightly concerned. "One, blessing? Two, Risen Goddess? Three, you have an order and church?"

The goddess's eyebrows raised, "I knew your ability would give you some kind of prompt, but I didn't know it'd call me that. And before you freak out, I just gave you the highest tier blessing possible so that you could get the most benefits. I don't have an order or church. At least I don't think so? If there are weirdos out there worshiping me, they're totally justified because I'm amazing, but I'm not affiliated. Also, a blessing is just something that gods can give out to make you mortals feel special and all warm and fuzzy."

Lukas' mouth opened and closed several times as his mind turned over what she had said. The goddess had gotten good at answering his incessant questions just by spit-firing answers, and Lukas found that most of his concerns were quashed. Before he decided to say anything, he wanted to check his updated stats and pulled them up.

Stats Vitality: 71 Endurance: 43 Intelligence: 57 Wisdom: 71 Agility: 43 Perception: 42 Toughness: 57 Strength: 46 Willpower: 46 Free Points: 5

It was a pretty good jump in all his stats, like he'd gained a level in both his race and class. It wasn't much though, and honestly seemed a bit low if it really was the highest level of blessing. Still, free stats were free stats. That didn't mean he wouldn't complain about it, though—what kind of blessing only gave a five percent increase? But first, there was something else that grabbed Lukas' attention.

"But 'Risen Goddess,' what's that about?" Lukas asked.

"It's your ability," she shrugged, "You tell me. I do want to know what you got out of that blessing though. I know what I get out of it, and kind of understand what the recipient gets, but it's vague."

Glancing back at the notification, Lukas said, "It only gives a five percent increase to all stats, which seems kind of low if it's the highest form of blessing. What do you get out of it?"

"God stuff," the goddess waved, expertly dodging the question, "And what do you mean only five percent? That's huge, isn't it? At a higher level that would grant an insane amount of stats if I understand how that system of yours works."

"I already get a twenty percent increase thanks to other titles I have," Lukas said nonchalantly.

"What!" the goddess yelled in surprise, "No wonder why you're so strong at your level. What are those titles?" Lukas told the goddess about his titles and what each one did, making her frown. "That makes sense. Now that I think about it, I think something like that has always been a thing. The people who struggle and fight through tough battles the most are always the strongest. It would make sense if there was something like the boost you describe. It also makes sense that you got such large bonuses for what you accomplished—killing a level ten at level zero."

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure. Actually, I'm pretty sure that was one of the last beasts I killed while still affected by the Amor Lily."

"Oh?" the goddess smiled, "And what did you do with the body?"

Lukas mimed vomiting and gagging, "Gross."

The goddess snickered, "I think it's time for you to go now."

Grinning, Lukas nodded and turned towards the two old wooden double doors. He reached his hand out to touch the doors and be teleported out, but stopped just before he made contact. Turning back to the goddess, Lukas said, "I can't believe I haven't asked this, and I'm almost too embarrassed to, but what's your name?"

The goddess stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Holding out her hand for Lukas to shake, she said, "Seraphina, but you can call me Sera. You?"

Taking her warm and tingly hand, Lukas shook, "Lukas. And what kind of goddess is named Sera?"

"Like you're one to talk," she grinned, "An interdimensional man of mystery soon to be the desire of every girl on the planet named Lukas. That's hardly better than Steve or Gary."

Lukas chuckled and turned back to the door, "I don't know about that. I could always go by Luke. That sounds like a dashing name fitting of an interdimensional man of mystery, right? See you around, Sera."

The goddess gave him her signature look of amusement and a smile as she waved. Reaching out a hand to the door, Lukas' hand made contact with the old wood this time. In an instant, everything went black and Lukas left the cave and the place he'd called home for well over a month. ​

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