Warband

Chapter 14. A Bit of Class.

Instead of returning to the marketplace and Gritvart’s pitiful excuse for a shop, Silas found himself floating in the void once more. New System information appeared, and it took him a moment to sort through it.

You are now eligible for a class to be assigned to you. As an inductee into the battle for the Pit of Bhalkur, your options are limited to classes that are compatible with this endeavor. Please select one of the following classes.

Forge an empire and rule it under your iron fist. The Warlord allows you to subjugate the various groups living in the pit and conscript champions into your warband. As you build renown, you will grow in power and unlock new and powerful abilities for you and your warband.

The Raider is the master of quick and vicious attacks against your foes. As long as you and your warband are in the thick of battle, your wounds will heal, and you can often glean extra rewards and items from the System for successfully pillaging your foes.

War Wizard. Wield spells to empower your forces and shatter your foes. The War Wizard can turn the tide of battle in an instant but is vulnerable when the fight is brought up close and personal. Empower troops, summon minions, and cast destructive magic as you fight to defeat Bhalkur

Silas could feel that he had to make a choice, but none of the three really seemed to fit him. Each, except for the wizard one, at least reflected some aspect of his history as a soldier.

“Why can’t I be what I was in the Army?” Silas asked into the void. He could feel the System probe his mind, sifting through his experiences in battle. Images of things Silas had tried to forget for years flowed in front of his vision. The bloodshed, lost friends, wounds, privation, and all the horrible aspects of his time in the war were relived in his mind.

The visions settled into a pattern and seemed to focus on a few things. First, he was shown his skill with his weapons. Next, the System seemed to examine his training as Green Beret. Guerrilla warfare, PSYOP, raids, ambushes, sabotage, and his time working with the Montagnard tribes.

Your prior experience is compatible with the demands that the System has put before you. A new class has been crafted to fit your prior experience and the parameters of your current task.

Unique class attained: Special Operations Commander.

This class enables you to seek out, recruit, and train indigenous forces to aid you in the quest to destroy Bhalkur. As you raise your Tier and Rank, you will unlock abilities and skills to make you, your warband, and your allies into a deadly, elite team.

Despite being a leader, recruiter, and trainer, the Special Operations Commander is first and foremost a powerful combatant. Use your prior experience as well as the unique weapons and tactics of your world to defeat Bhalkur and restore order to the pit.

By unlocking a class, you have unlocked stat points. Stat points are a measure of your power in several ways. By gaining higher Tiers and Ranks, your stat points will adjust automatically. The human average for stat points is 10 in every field except for presence where humans average 0. Class adjustments for your stats will be made after you have finished this review. Your current stats and a brief description of their functions are as follows.

Silas Ward

Special Operations Commander.

Tier 0, Rank 1.

Experience/experience needed for next rank: 2/10.

Health: 57%.

Status effects:

Elderly. All stats are reduced by 4. This penalty will increase by 1 for every 5 years you age from this point forward.

Disabled. Your lifetime of prior injuries and ailments limits your current health pool to a maximum of 57%. The penalty to your health pool will increase by 3% for every 5 years you age from this point forward.

Stats:

Strength. Strength is the measure of your overall physical power and endurance. Your current strength before status effects is 12. Strength is a secondary stat for your class and will increase at a rate of one point for every 5 ranks.

Agility. Agility is a measure of your fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Your current agility before any status effects is 14. Agility is a secondary stat for your class and will increase at a rate of 1 point for every 5 ranks.

Constitution. Constitution is a measure of both your overall health, and your ability to withstand damage. Your current constitution before status effects is 14. Constitution is a secondary stat for your class and will increase at the rate of 1 point for every 5 ranks.

Mind. Mind is a measure of your mental acuity and affinity for mana manipulation. Your current mind stat before status effects is 10. This is the primary stat for your class. You will gain 1 mind point at every even numbered rank, and each time you acquire a new tier. Each point in your mind skill expands your mana pool by 5.

Presence. Presence measures your overall ability to either influence, intimidate, or command others. This stat will also affect experience gains for those you are training. Your current presence before any status effects is 5. This is a primary stat for your class, and you will gain 1 point at every odd numbered rank.

Current Stats:

Strength, 12 (8).

Agility, 14 (10).

Constitution, 14 (10).

Mind, 10 (6).

Presence, 5 (1).

Mana 60/60.

The Special Operations Commander class does not wield magic, instead your mana will instead be used to power your weapons and gear.

Headquarters: You have unlocked the headquarters. This is a gathering place for your party as well as a meeting place for potential allies. The headquarters has been constructed near the control point market and can only be accessed by your party, and those you grant direct permission to.

Weapons Skills:

Bound Weapons. The Special Operations Commander class does not gain individual weapon skills and instead is granted the ability to bind directly with weapons. Bound weapons gain power and abilities as your class climbs in Tier and Rank. You currently have 3 bound weapons based off your prior experience. Additional bound weapons may be unlocked at higher Tiers and Ranks.

Simple weapons outside of your bound weapons, such as daggers and spears, can be used by your class with a basic proficiency. Any ammunition you currently hold that is associated with your ranged bound weapons may be stored without degradation and will be protected when in the headquarters or on your person.

Your bound weapons have been changed by the System and will no longer function in your mana-starved home world. When transitioning back to your home world through a portal, your weapons should be stored inside the armory of your headquarters.

Bound Weapons:

M16A1. This firearm is your primary weapon and will gain power and abilities faster than your other bound weapons. Please note that weapons based on your world’s technology are not normally compatible with mana. As this is a bound weapon, it resists degradation due to continuous mana exposure and will gain resistance to common magic and abilities such as the Fail Weapons spell. This resistance is based on your current Tier and Rank.

Colt 1911. This firearm is your secondary weapon and will gain resistance to mana degradation at a slower rate than your primary weapon.

M67 Fragmentation Grenade. This modern explosive weapon is considered a secondary weapon and will gain resistance to mana degradation at a slower rate than your primary weapon.

Skills and Abilities: These are your current skills and abilities. As you reach higher Tiers and Ranks, new ability slots will unlock, and existing abilities may improve. Typically, your class would only have a total of 3 skills and abilities at this Tier and Rank, but due to your assistance in creating a new class, a 4th ability has been awarded to you.

Linguistic adaptation interface.

Infuse Weapon, Rank 1. The Infuse Weapon ability functions in 2 ways. There is a passive component that will utilize your mana to combat degradation of your bound weapons and resist magic that would damage them. There is also an active component that allows you to infuse mana into your weapons, which will increase damage and help bypass resistances to non-magical damage. This ability allows you to add 1 mana per rank of the ability to empower any attack made by this weapon.

Recruit. The class ability allows you to recruit up to (1) additional party members to join your warband in the task to defeat Bhalkur. When in a warband, your Special Operations Commander class will grant extra experience gains to all party members and improve the rate they gain proficiency with new weapons and skills. This ability will scale with your current Tier and Rank.

You may also recruit local forces into your warband as auxiliaries. The number of these auxiliaries is equal to the number of current party members allowed in your warband. These recruits are limited to their home layer, though other options for their assistance may be unlocked as your Tier and Rank grow.

Ammo Dump. This ability will slowly create fresh ammunition for your current ranged weapon at a rate of one round every five seconds. Ammo Dump requires 10 mana to activate and lasts for one minute. Ammo dump can be used up to 1/day.

As Silas read the information that the System provided, he felt the knowledge of the class he had gained seep into his being. In addition, Silas’ new stats began to take hold in his body, and even with the elderly and disabled status conditions, he felt better and more powerful than he had in decades. Instead of the portal dumping Silas back in the market, another system announcement was made.

A companion beast has developed a limited sapience and has elected to remain at your side during the quest to defeat Bhalkur. The being known as Buster is bound to you and will automatically be summoned whenever you enter a portal. Buster will also be granted a class and abilities, but due to his limited intellectual capacity, you are required to make System required selections on his behalf.

As a bound companion, Buster will not be counted against the maximum size of your warband. Please stand by as class selections are made available for Buster.