Seeds of Discordia

Liam stared at her, too stunned to speak after hearing what she said.

After a moment. Liam was finally able to ask, unintelligently, “How? Why?”

“Now I say you can die, but that’s only if you get swallowed up by the effects of your second class,” She explained, understanding why he was confused and stunned. “I believe this is due to your other race and your Zodiac.”

“How does one of my races and Zodiac come into play?” Liam questioned still confused.

“Your race plays a part in your class and class evolution. Same with your Zodiac,” she informed. “There are a lot of factors that play into class evolution. There are your sub-stats, your bloodline, your race or races, types of magical or non magical affinities, and your Zodiac.”

Liam stared at her, taking in what she was saying.

“To help build the best path for your growth these factors are taken into account, so you don’t steer down a class evolution you have no way of using,” she continued. “For example, say you are a Dryad with water and plant affinities and a have the Taurus Zodiac sign. You wouldn’t want a fire type class to appear when you can barely use fire elements. It would be harmful to your growth.”

Liam nodded, understanding what she was saying. He then asked as something she said made him confused, “What are Bloodlines? Also, what do Zodiacs have to do with anything? I can understand that Taurus are Earth signs, but what does the type of Zodiac have to do with anything? Do they give you a better affinity?”

“I swear, they leave out the most important details when they matter most,” the woman grumbled. “First, Bloodlines are rare. I won’t go into many details because it’s just better for you to look it up later.”

Liam didn’t like she didn’t want to tell him much about it and felt she just wanted to be lazy.

“They can change your entire way of skills, abilities, and classes depending on what bloodline you have. Also, you won’t know what kind of bloodline you have until it manifests within you. It can manifest at any given time without knowing when it will. And that’s even if you have one. Not everyone has it.”

Liam was shocked by what she said. Even though she said she wasn’t going to tell him much, she told him enough for him to know that there’s a possibility he could or couldn’t have one.

“Next, Zodiac play a part in your class direction and evolution not because they can give you a better affinity based on it, but rather the ability your Zodiac gives you,” she told him. “You are a Gemini, so it gives you two things.”

Liam realized what she was going to say and softly muttered, “A second class.”

The young woman nodded as she added, “And an ability called Class Fusion which allows you to fuse your two classes for a set amount of time.”

“Class fusion?” Liam questioned. “But I never got that ability.”

“That’s because no one gets their Zodiac ability till after this floor is completed.” She waved a hand in front of her as she added, “Something about not wanting to overload people who aren’t used to their current powers, or something of the sort.”

Liam thought about the information she had given him. Something nagged at the back of his brain as he thought it all over.

“Wait a minute,” Liam started as he remembered what had happened when he asked Nalia about classes. “When I mentioned classes when I first got here, I was told no one had more than one class.”

She looked at him with a serious look before asking, “You haven’t revealed you have two classes, have you?”

Liam shook his head. “No, I played it off as if I misspoken.”

“Good,” she said giving a relieved look.

“Why? If Geminis have dual classes, then there should be more that have two classes out there? Why did she say no one has more than one?”

She stared at Liam.

To Liam it looked like she was contemplating something.

After a moment had passed, she said with a sad look, “I will touch on that later.”

Before Liam could say anything, she restarted, “Now, going back to my question from earlier. If you become my Champion, I can give you the chance to take the seal down for a short time to be able to use your Zodiac ability.”

“But I thought that the class would kill me?” Liam narrowed his eyes.

“Not if you use it for a short amount of time,” she said. “I can set the ability for a short duration that so you’re able to use it, but it will leave you in a weakened state for a bit.”

“Damn checks and balances,” Liam muttered.

“What?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Liam swiftly stated.

She eyed Liam before adding, “You will also get a very special blessing and a few other things along with it. What do you say?”

Liam stared at her. After thinking it over he asked, “Do I need to give you an answer now? I still don’t know anything about you, like your name.” He said that last part with emphasis.

She nodded as she listened to the request. “You have until the last floor of this dungeon to come to a decision. After you leave the Tutorial Area, I won’t be able to give you my Blessing. Before I give you my name though.” She looked at her clothes and frowned. “I want to change out of this stuffy dress.”

Smoke swirled around here. The dress was replaced with a black and red tank top giving her a more tomboyish look. Her shorts, boots, and fishnets were still there.

“Much better,” she said. “I swear, living up to people’s expectations when meeting a damn deity is tiring.”

Liam shook his head as he couldn’t believe that this young woman claiming to be a Goddess was acting like a rebelling teenager. And to be honest, he liked it.

A young woman stuck in her rebellious years can be easier to relate to than a prim and proper young lady who is hard to read.

The young woman sat down in a cross legged position as she looked at him. At this moment she reminded him of Alicia. Not just her body figure, but attitude as well.

“Since you are taking some time to think it over, I’m just going to act like I normally do and not use any formalities. You can call me Eri by the way.”

“Not like you were using them much either,” Liam muttered.

Eri raised a brow as she said, “Hm?”

“Nothing,” Liam swiftly replied then asked, “If you don’t like wearing that dress then why wear it? And why put on an act and not be yourself.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I like the dress, and don’t wear it often, but I just hate having to wearing something I like for reasons like meeting expectations. You wouldn’t believe the expectations mortals have when meeting a Goddess,” Eri complained. “Mind your manners, stand straight, talk politely, don’t burp, be more lady-like.” Eri gave a scowl at that last one.

Liam stared at her. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She was right about meeting expectations. She was no where near what he thought a Goddess would be, but he liked that.

Liam let out a loud laugh as the Moon Shadow cat moved over to Eri and sat next to her.

Eri gave him a frown as she asked, “What? You find me funny?”

“You are definitely not a proper goddess,” Liam began.

Eri opened her mouth and was about to say something, but stopped as Liam finished, “But that’s perfectly fine by me. If I were to choose between a stuffy uptight Goddess or a rebellious tomboy who whines. I would definitely choose the latter over the former.”

“Hey! I am not whining!” Eri shouted, trying to hide the blush slowly forming on her cheeks.

“Honestly, the you now is much better in my opinion.” Liam added.

“Moving on,” Eri started with a little embarrassment. “Before we finish up here because you don’t have much time left, I wanted to ask, how did you like the challenges?”

Confused by the questioned, Liam responded, “They were fun and challenging. Especially the second and fourth one. I had a lot of fun taking those on. Why do you ask? Did you make them?”

“The fourth one was one of my favorite, but so was the third,” Eri smiled. “I didn’t make them, but I did have a hand at influencing them. I peeked into this planet a few years ago and saw some funny, fun, and interesting things. I took what I saw and influenced them into the last three challenges because I thought it would be fun and funny, especially that Rick Astley song. It just gives the right kind of humor after struggling with the first three rounds of Simon Says.”

Eri let out a long laugh.

Liam narrowed his eyes at her as she laughed away, not knowing what was going on in his mind.

So, I was right that someone did it on purpose. Liam thought as he frowned. I know I said I would punch the person who did that, but would punching a Goddess be wise? Liam shook his head and let out a sigh before smiling. No, that would not be wise at all. Not only that, but now that I think about it, it was pretty funny.

As Eri started to come down from her laughing fit she said, “That song was a big hit on this planet, you wouldn’t know it, but I think it was called…”

“Earth,” Liam finished for her.

Eri’s eyes widened. “You know the planet?”

“I should, I’m from that planet,” Liam replied.

Eri’s eyes lit up at hearing this. “Then you can appreciate the humor and fun behind the challenges then!”

“Yes, I can. I was surprised at the last two songs you picked for Simon says, but I was even more shocked at the Plants versus Zombies reference you did with the fourth challenge. That one was my favorite.”

“Ooo, I liked that one so much too,” Eri said with a lot of enthusiasm. “Having to take down the zombies before they reached your side looked like so much fun I wanted to see if it could be done in real life.”

“If you ever get the chance to recreate it then I to have a friend do it with me,” Liam said, joining in on her fun.

“Oh? Why’s that?” She asked, curiously.

“I have a friend who has Plant magic,” Liam started. “If we have her partake with her magic then…”

Eri’s eyes widened at what he was hinting at and interrupted him by finishing, “Then we could have an actual Plants versus Zombies! This needs to be a thing!”

Liam gave her a smile. She looked like she was having so much fun just talking about this. As he watched her a thought came to mind. Is she this way because she’s bored? Or is it that lonely being a Goddess?

Eri was interrupted from her musings as the two felines approached her side and let out a few noises that sounded like deep meows and clicks.

“Huh?” Eris asked. “Are you sure? He didn’t defeat you, you know?”

The two cats nodded as they shifted their weight a bit.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked.

Eri let out a sigh as she stood back up.

“These two were just reminding me that time is almost up,” Eri informed. “They also told me what reward they believed you should receive for completely this floor.”

“Reward?” Liam asked. “What reward do they want to give me?”

“They want to give you themselves,” Eri said with a sad expression.

Liam was shocked to hear this. Out of all the things he could possibly get he wasn’t expecting to receive summons or familiars, however they considered it.

“So, they want to be like a summon or a familiar?” Liam asked.

Eri shook her head.

Liam was confused.

“Let me correct what you think. These two gorgeous creatures are not alive. They only took this form because they wanted to test you. However, they ended up liking you right from the start thanks to your races,” Eri explained.

Both the Shadow Moon and Moon Shadow Cats turned to look at Liam on both sides of Eri.

“Their true forms are these...,” Eri started until both cats started glowing brightly with the respected colors of their furs.

After the bright glow started to dim, Liam saw two serrated daggers floating where the cats were.

One dagger was a smooth pitch-black with spots of pure white speckled around it. The other was a pure white one with speckles of pitch black. The blades curved a bit at the top and were smooth all the way till the bottom section close to the hilt. On the back end of the blades, it curved in, giving a sharp spiked look to it.

The hilt on both daggers had the head of the cats with their mouths open where the blade came out. The black bladed dagger had a smooth white leather look to it while the white blade had a pitch-black leather look to it.

Liam assessed both daggers.

 

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“Shadow Blade of the Lunarian Shadow Cat. Item Rarity – Epic. Item Quality – Above Average. Item Type – Growth. Material used – Shadow Steel. Description – This is a set item. When equipped with its twin, this dagger gives a + 7.5% bonus to Shadow magic damage. Double damage is caused to creatures with a weakness to the Shadow element. This dagger has the soul of a Shadow Moon Cat placed within it.”

“Moon Blade of the Lunarian Shadow Cat. Item Rarity – Epic. Item Quality – Above Average. Item Type – Growth. Material used – Lunar Steel. Description – This is a set item. When equipped with its twin, this dagger gives a + 7.5% bonus to Lunar magic damage. Double damage is caused to creatures with a weakness to the Lunar element. This dagger has the soul of a Moon Shadow Cat placed within it.”

---

 

Liam’s eyes widened at what he had read. Not only were these Epic rarity and Above Average quality, but they were growth items!

“The Shadow Moon and Moon Shadow cats belong to a species known as Lunarian Shadows. They are a species that are born in twos, twins if you would call it. If you find one, you will find the other close by. Never separate. They specialize in both Shadow magic and Lunar magic, which are very hard areas to get. The only way you can get them is if you have some sort of affinity and even that is rare.”

“These are…amazing,” Liam said, almost in a whisper as if saying it any louder would scare the daggers away.

“Those two creatures felt something in you. Since you did not attack them and instead decided to show no hostility to them, they decided to reward you with their very souls. Please help them grow,” Eri stated.

“How do I help them grow? I know it said growth type, but there is no knowledge provided to help me increase their growth,” Liam said, confused on the topic.

“Many growth items have different ways to grow them. I do not know how to grow a lot of growth weapons, but these two just need you to take care of them and kill many enemies. Especially those with polar opposite elements or affinities,” Eri explained.

Liam walked up and gently grabbed the daggers. As he did so, sheathes specifically tailored to them appeared over the blades.

“I’ll have to get you guys situated later,” Liam whispered as he opened his inventory and placed them inside, adding, “I promise to help you both grow.”

Eri gave him a smile as she watched him do this. “I too would like to give you a couple of things. First is this book.”

A thick book appeared in front of Liam. Half of it was black as night while the other half reminded him of the color of the moon. The cover read, Beginner of the Moon and Shadow.

“What’s this?” Liam asked as he looked back at her.

“This book contains Knowledge Theories on both Shadow and Lunar magic,” Eri started to explain.

Liam frowned at her and said, “But I don’t have Shadow or Lunar magic though.”

“I was just about to explain. Geez, a bit impatient aren’t we,” Eri said with a smirk.

Liam gave her an apologetic smile.

“There are many ways to unlock Fields of Study and their magic. One such way is at the Mage Towers,” Eri explained. “Another is through one’s race. The last is through Knowledge Theories.”

Liam’s eyes widened at what she had just said. “You mean?”

“Some magic and their fields of study are restricted to one’s race which means not everyone can get it. Others are just so rare you need both an affinity for it and the knowledge to receive it,” Eri continued. “You will unlock the Field of the Shadows once when you step out thanks to your race. However, Field of the Lunar you’ll need to study it and get an understanding to the point it is giving to you.”

Liam looked back at the book, both excited and surprised at the revelation he was just been told.

There’s more than one way to unlock Fields of Studies. Mercer is going to want to know this for sure! Liam thought.

“I have to warn you now though,” Eri stated with a strict tone of voice. “Do not reveal that book to anyone you do not trust as well as using the Lunar magic out in the open where anyone can see it.”

“Why is that?” Liam asked confused.

“Lunar magic is super rare, especially for one around your level,” Eri stated. “If someone you don’t know or trust sees you using that, they will become suspicious of you and try to get this book. I especially do not want someone who I did not give permission to, to have it. It is a one of a kind book, that I made to help you as a reward.”

Liam stared at her. He understood what she was saying. He felt appreciative that she was giving him this. Now, could she have given him this to try and suede him into becoming her Champion or whatever, sure. However, he felt that she wasn’t doing that.

He saw how she looked at the two cat creatures. It was almost like she loved them, like they were her friends. Maybe she did this because of them.

Either way, he was grateful for the help.

“Thank you,” Liam said with a grateful smile while putting the book away.

“Study up as much as you can so you can both gain new abilities, and use them as effectively as you can,” Eri explained. She then let out a sigh that gave Liam a bad feeling as she continued, “My last reward is information. Two kinds in fact. One has to do with your Second class and the other…has to do with why you should not divulge that you are a Gemini.”