Misfit’s Journey

Once the battle concluded and both Awoken lay dead, Veraxia and I retreated to a quieter corner, distancing ourselves from the aftermath of bloodshed to recuperate. We delayed our march for now, since I had finally hit level 50, and thus finally unlocked my class advancement. 

Following a brief discussion with Veraxia, we agreed that proceeding with the advancement first was the wiser choice, since it would not only lift the level limit, but it would also allow me to get accustomed to the new class before the fight with the Queen. And while the list was long and offered many choices, I noted several recurring classes, most of which I would not need to take a look at to know that I was not going to pick them. 

Sitting at the very top of the list, was a class that fit said description, but also evoked a certain repulse and disgust in me. The Novice Barbarian had once again been offered to me by the system, as if it did not acknowledge my genuine hatred for this class. It reminded me of the Wen, and brought forth a familiar urge for revenge, which almost exploded before rationality gripped me and reminded me of what I should be focusing on right now. 

The class right beneath the Novice Barbarian on the other hand was one with a familiar resonance, and by name alone promised that it was worth the consideration.

[Apprentice Witch]

Unlike the Novice, who search to find themselves, the Apprentice has started to slowly uncover themselves and walk their path in the way of witches. They are proficient in a Witch’s basic spells and curses, which opens their way to dabble in intermediate magics. As an Apprentice, Skills of the Novice are improved and enhanced. Furthermore, new spells will be added to her repertoire and she gains the ability to learn basic-level spells on her own. 

Stat Points per Level: +5 to INT and WIL, +2 to PER and AGI. +2 Free Stat Points

This class, for some reason, shared a similar name to my current one, but seemed to just be a better version of it. An assumption that was proven true once I had read the description the system offered. Knowing all of that, this class was already my favorite, even if there were still more to follow. 

Of course I shared the details with Veraxia, hoping that she could provide further insight into the matter. She was a walking repository of knowledge, so the only smart thing to do was to use her.

“I am not an expert on classes, but from what I picked up over the years, some are divided by rank. It would seem ‘Novice’ is the lowest of those ranks, which would place ‘Apprentice’ probably right above it. If you want to improve what you have and keep the same course for your growth, this one might be the best choice.” 

Taking note of her opinion, I proceeded to the next class for now. The witch class was tempting already, but before making my choice, I should at least check whether or not there was another class that might suit my needs more. That being said, the other classes would need extraordinary arguments to convince me.  

And as for said next class, the name already had me curious.

[Pest Exterminator]

The reason was simple enough. It was true that a lot of the classes I could choose from had ‘Novice’ in front of them, yet this particular one did not. There was no ranking to indicate its quality. And while that already raised some questions, I did not wait to take a look at the description.

Masters of combating the creepy, crawling pests of the underground. From small worms to giant centipedes, the Pest Exterminator is an expert in eradicating all manners of pests and creatures that plague the underground world. Armed with specialized knowledge, traps and arrays of tools, they venture into the deepest and darkest corner to cleanse the lands from insect-, critter-, and vermin-type creatures. 

Stat Points per Level: +5 to STR and VIT, +3 to AGI and PER, +5 Free Stat Points. 

Right from the start, I could easily tell why the class was here and available for choice, as it aligned perfectly with my current circumstances. It seemed to be the ideal solution for upcoming challenges and enemies. Undoubtedly, to exterminate the Exapoda, this would be the class to go with.

“I don’t think you should go with it,” was the very first thing Veraxia said after listening to my explanation. Surprising, considering the problems the Exapoda were bringing her. 

It was not like I disagreed strongly with the sentiment, but I still asked for her reasons, since she might have a more convincing reason than me. 

“In our present situation, this class would be undeniably helpful, but you should think further ahead. Beyond our small insect problem, what are you going to do with a class that solely specializes in facing a certain type of enemy? Did you not plan to take revenge on humans?”

I nodded along with her explanation, slightly confused why she would talk me out of this. Sure, for me personally, it would be a demetrial choice, but for her, it might as well be a life saver. Her points, however, were more than convincing and just confirming what I had already on my mind. Even if it would mean to make the fight with the Queen harder, I could not pick a class that was harmful to me in the long run. 

“Guess I will pass on that one,” I said before directing my attention to the next class in the list. 

This one shared similarities with the Pest Exterminator in that it also did not have a rank. However, the name was something that already carried a lot of appeal with it.

[Revenger]

Driven by a personal vendetta and an unsatiated desire for revenge, the Revenger seeks only to fulfill their goal of retribution. Revengers channel their anger into honing their skills and abilities. A Revenger can designate one target each 10 levels. The target needs to have harmed the Revenger in any kind of way to be validated. When in the presence of a target, the Revenger’s stats doubled. A Revenger’s skills are weakened against any non-targets. 

Stat Points per Level: +15 Free Stat Points.

Considering the last class was a pass solely because it would force me to delay or give up on my revenge, the Revenger seemed to be the polar opposite. 

This class, by name and description, seemed to embody my thirst for revenge. Whether it was a deliberate acknowledgment by the system or mere coincidence didn't matter; it was a validation nonetheless and its mere presence confirmed that revenge made up a significant part of me. Yet, despite that, after a careful read of its description, I could not say that it held much appeal for a choice. 

My primary concern with it was oddly quite similar to my problem with the Pest Exterminator. ‘A Revenger’s skills are weakened against any non-targets’. This was a class that might be able to make my revenge easier, but with the limitation on targets, the class had a heavy disadvantage in normal combat, especially when unrelated to my revenge, like against the Exapoda Queen. And say I designate her a target, there were still dozens of knights and Awoken around her. It simply wouldn’t make any sense.

The advantages were certainly extreme, but the same thing was true for the demerits. And with all things considered, picking it would be the same as giving up the upcoming fight. What use was the class if I died before even having the chance to enact my revenge?

[Novice Magecrafter]

A Magecrafter is a mage that has specialized in creation of armaments using mana as the foundational material. This highly unconventional method makes them not reliant on ores and metal to create weapons and armors to their will. The Novice Magecrafter can create temporary, simple weapons and grant them minor enchantments, yet, they cannot approach the true art of magecrafting.

Stat Points per Level: +2 WIL and INT, +1 STR and VIT, +1 Free Stat Points. 

The next class was unexpected to see. Essentially, it just seemed like a class that specialized in what I was already doing, hence I found it strange that there was an individual class for it. There seemed no real merit in picking the class with what skills I already had. It was also a Novice class and offered nothing strong enough to make it a worthy consideration.

The last new class in the list was also a Novice class, and while this was already not an option I was going to pick, I still decided to take a look at it out of pure curiosity. 

[Novice Swordsman]

A fledgling warrior specializing in the way of the sword. A Novice Swordsman learns the basics of swordsmanship while fighting opponents head on with quick, yet powerful attacks. 

Stat Points per Level: +2 STR and VIT, +1 WIL and AGI, +1 Free Stat Points

While the class was enough to intrigue me a little, it was not suited for someone like me at all. I did use swords and similar weapons made from my mana, but this class was clearly focused on physical prowess and not of magical nature. If I had been born with a better physique, I might have considered it though. 

 

That summed up all of my new choices, but even with all these choices, there was only one right decision I could make in this situation. Only one decision I should make. And I did. 

Your class [Novice Witch] has advanced into [Apprentice Witch]. 

The Class Skill [Aggravating Touch (Uncommon)] has upgraded into [Curse of Worsen Wound (Rare)].

You have acquired the Class Skill [Magical Damage Resistance (Uncommon)]

You have acquired the Class Skill [Curse of Sickening (Rare)]

You have acquired the Class Skill [Elemental Access: ??? (Common)]. Note that this Class requires you to choose one of the following Elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth.

My status window closed without me willing it to, only to reappear a few seconds later, looking completely different. The new skills were now listed among my Class Skills. But before checking out the new ones, I was curious how Aggravating Touch – now, Curse of Aggravation – changed. 

[Curse of Aggravation(Rare)]

This curse can be applied to a single enemy in your line of sight, causing every wound on their body to slowly degrade and worsen over time. The effectiveness of the curse is decided by the difference in Willpower between the curse-user and the cursed. 

The change was great.. Before, it always required me to get in close with the enemy, which was a great risk to me. Though there was no way of telling how much Willpower affected the effects yet. 

But especially for the upcoming fight against the Queen, this could become a factor to decide the outcome, so with that alone, the choice I made already was well worth it. 

[Magical Damage Resistance (Uncommon)]

A spellcaster yourself, it is only logical that your body adapts to mana’s workings, granting you a reduction of damage received by attacks that contain mana. 

This skill was no doubt good, but Exapoda were not really throwing around magic attacks, so its usefulness in the current situation was rather limited. Well, the last Awoken did use magic, so if the Queen also used it, I might benefit a lot from this skill. It might even become a lifesaver. Additionally, this skill seemed to have a passive effect, which was always a good thing, since it meant there was no additional cost to using it. 

The next skill was a curse by name and a Rare Skill. Those did not seem to be as rare as before, but that was far from a bad thing. 

[Curse of Sickening (Rare)]

You curse your target with a magical disease that will reduce its stats by a fourth of their original value. The Curse of Sickening is a short-lived one, and needs a constant supply of mana to be maintained beyond its initial time period. 

This curse can only affect those with lower Willpower than you. 

The smile that had latched itself onto my face when I began reading vanished as the last sentence resounded in my mind. ‘The curse can only affect those with lower Willpower than you’.

This basically meant that it would be useless, unless of course, the Queen at twice my species level somehow had less Willpower than me. If she did, this skill could make things much easier for us. But only testing it first hand would reveal whether that was the case or not.

The last skill that I had received from my advancement was the one that had the most strange name. 

[Elemental Access: ??? (Common)]

This skill allows your mana to adapt to the chosen element. From that point on, your mana can be transformed into the chosen element and manipulated to a degree decided by your magic proficiency and skills. 

Note that this skill can only activate once you have chosen one of the following elements: Fire, Earth, Water, Air. 

The skill was pretty self-explanatory, but given a choice, I naturally wanted to make the best one possible, and so I consulted Veraxia about it, sharing the details with her and telling her what options I had to pick from. 

“All elements have their ups and downs, it all depends on what you want to take, honestly. For bugs, the two elements that would give them the most struggle would be fire and water. “

The last Awoken had earth magic in some form, so there was a high chance that they had some kind of affinity for it. Also, while the spikes did give me trouble, I just wasn’t a fan of the idea using earth myself. 

The air element on the other hand just sounded useless altogether. It might be a very powerful one in secret, but to me, I simply couldn’t imagine it to be on par with the other three. 

This luckily coincided with the two elements that were or would be effective against the bugs: water and fire. I couldn’t really say I liked fire, since it always reminded me of the clan’s cave, water on the other hand felt nice, calm. 

But if I really wanted to hurt the bugs and defeat their queen, I needed something destructive. Something that I had experienced first hand on my own flesh. And from all the pains I had been put through in my life, there were only a few sensations that were worse than your flesh melting away. 

You have chosen Fire. The skill will now be adjusted. 

You have acquired the Class Skill [Elemental Access: Fire (Common)].

 

What's been going on

TL;DR: Story will end in next 3 to 4 chapters. Rewrite is doing well. Appreciate all of you!

So... time to get a few things out there. 

This story has been forcefully put on hiatus, due to the lack of uploads. Reason for that is the complete absence of motivation and love for this story. Or rather, the story in its current form. Before going further, I would like to clarify that, even if it takes me another year (It will not), I will finish this story. Just... it will take time, and more importantly, I will likely cut it short, so that there is only 3 or 4 more chapters after this one. This was my first writing experience ever, and I started it without much planning, which caused this very monotone 30 chapter arc with MC and Veraxia that I, and it seems a good deal of other people, really dislike. One could call this arc the killer of my motivation.

Now, a year later, I would like to hope that I have somewhat improved, especially in recent months. I wrote this chapter (42) in december 2023, and ever since, I have not touched this story much, or the chapter. Instead, I have taken the time to think about what went wrong with this story and why I do not like it anymore. And I started a rewrite. 

This rewrite, for better or worse, cannot be called a simple rewrite, in my opinion. I will refrain from saying too much about it, but while it still has the same foundation - like main character and her story - it is completely different. This rewrite has been very enjoyable so far, and has, as of right now, 58 chapters. To give a glimpse of the sheer scope of the changes done: Veraxia has a different name, and her arc has been shortened to five chapters. And, yes, the main character actually will have a name this time. (Although that name keeps changing still)

One important thing that I will say, because it might greatly impact your choice of whether you will read the rewrite or not: I have greatly changed the LitRPG aspect of the story. I will be totally honest, I love LitRPG, but writing it the way I did felt wrong to me, and contributed to the death of my motivation. There still will be LitRPG in the rewrite, just changed to fit my preference. 

I do not plan to reveal all of the changes before uploading the first chapter of the rewrite in the far future, but I will answer any question you might have. I just don't wanna make a list right now. And this whole thing was written a bit on the spot, so forgive me typos, or if it feels kinda unorganized. 

To finish things off, I am surprised that there are still new Followers and favs, and I really appreciate all of you! Thanks to the comments and reviews, I was able to work a lot on my writing. Even if some of the reviews just added another stake in this story's heart to kill it (I'm not shitting on the bad reviews, they just helped me figure out why I disliked this story.)  I apologize everyone who might have wanted to see this story go on and finish properly, but myself aside, I think you deserve a story that has my heart in it, and is not a product of forced creativity.