Soulbound

Damn, that was fun.

Due to my wielder's emotional instability, I was able to not only connect with her but even take control and possess her. We finally could talk a little, and from those few interactions, I can, for now, say that we should be able to get along just fine. I also had a lot of fun not only fighting a little bit but also during bullshit. Honestly, seeing Ainz getting shocked and possibly scared even when he can't really show any expressions was interesting. He is very expressive for a faceless skeleton.

I think that such a 'possession' should only be possible with her permission and for a limited time. It is putting a strain on both her body and me, so it's not wise to overuse it.

Other than that, I got a shit ton of souls from the whole Clementine and cemetery fiasco. I even have skeletal dragons here. Somehow, they didn't get scrapped and got here. I am kinda excited. Who wouldn't want a cool skeleton dragon as a mount?

I wonder what will happen due to the not-so-covert actions of my wielder. Without a doubt, amount of worshippers will increase. I am gonna be reminded about this until the end of time.

But for now, let's check the status.

   

True name: Yasuragi

Name: Tareal Illitris

Souls: 720 (500)

Current class: Warrior (50/50)

Str: 105

Vit:      155

Agl: 55

Int: 5

Wis: 5

Finally! I maxed out my class. True name? Is that my zanpakuto name? Does it mean I finally got a shikai form? I will check it later.

Now, let's see what classes are available next. Maybe something interesting will appear.

As always, the system was reading my thoughts, and a screen with a list of available classes presented itself.

   

Name Tier

Mage 1

Rogue 1

Soldier 2

Mercenary 2

Thief 2

Archer 2

Warlock* 2

Cleric 2

There is no warrior on the list, which means that I should be able to take another tier 1 class. For now, tho, I don't think that it's a good idea, to be honest. There are many classes to choose from, to be fair, it seems to be two classes per old one. Like warrior in tier 2 is Soldier and Mercenary.

"System. Can you explain the difference between each new class?"

I didn't get any response. It seems I need to figure it out on my own through sheer deduction based on typical RPG games.

I want to take a mage-type class now, but what are those '*' symbols next to a class name.

It means that the class is a growth type. Normally, when the host reaches the max level, then the growth of skills stops, but with those classes, it's different. For example, the user, until level 50 of the warrior class, was getting better with basic swordsmanship. On the max level, it stops, and the host can only become better at it through practice or higher tier class. Growth classes will always upgrade some ability even after they are maxed; they are not common to appear, but they certainly are powerful.

That's so broken, making it basically impossible to choose any other option. Of course, I will take warlock even if I am concerned about what it entails. I mean, warlocks differ greatly between each work of fiction, making it hard to predict what it might be about. But I think that possible boons from choosing it far outweigh those concerns.

I chose warlock class, and instantly, a piece of basic knowledge about dark magic and its application went into my head. It seems that warlocks are just offensive mages with some knowledge about curses. Now that I think about it, a warlock is an offensive mage, while a cleric is most likely defensive or supportive. Two sides of a coin.

Going with that pattern, the rest should be the same, with thief and archer being close-quarter and ranged combat, respectively. Maybe melee is distinguished in the same way, and that soldier is more of a tank and mercenary a damage dealer? I think I got it right.

True name: Yasuragi

Name: Tareal Illitris

Souls: 720 (820)

Current class: Warlock (2/50)

Str: 109

Vit: 161

Agl: 57

Int: 21

Wis: 29

Second level from the get-go, nice. But the number of souls required is much higher than in the previous class. But most of all, holy shit, with those stats increase. If I counted it right, it would be 8 intelligence and 12 wisdom per level. I knew the higher-tiered classes were giving more stats and requiring additional souls when compared to the lower-tiered ones, but the difference was way bigger than I thought.

While I think that, suddenly, the whole realm starts shaking. After around half a minute, a blinding light encapsulated everything, which thankfully disappeared a moment later. When I regained my vision, I saw that the realm was no longer empty. I sit on a throne inside a throneroom right now. The chandelier above me was an intricate web of iron and crystal, its light casting sharp, angular shadows that danced across the room. Each crystal seemed to pulse faintly, as if imbued with a life of its own, casting a ghostly glow that illuminated the throne room in a pale, otherworldly light. The air was heavy with the scent of aged stone and something else, something ancient and metallic, like blood that had long since dried.

Massive stone pillars flanked the throne, each one intricately carved with scenes that told stories I couldn't quite comprehend. Twisted figures and scenes of battle spiralled up their lengths. Their faces were frozen in expressions of agony or triumph as though they had been carved by hands that knew both suffering and glory intimately. The carvings seemed to shift when I wasn't looking directly at them, a subtle movement that sent a shiver down my spine.

The room was devoid of windows, its walls a solid expanse of dark, weathered stone that absorbed rather than reflected the light. The only break in the oppressive walls was the pair of massive double doors at the far end, their surface covered in ornate patterns. After that, I notice that there seem to be a few meters of another room in the same style, but it ends as if cut cleanly.

There is no doubt that this happened because I finished the class. Most likely more will appear every time I max a class. Maybe tier 2 or 3 will make the rest of this structure to appear.

All right. I will marvel at this later. Now, I need to contact my wielder. What was her name? Ah, Atsune. I got a name, so she should be able to learn shikai, right?

Convinced that this will work I touched the connection to her and used it to reach her consciousness. After a few dozen seconds it worked. It seems that she is meditating which makes it easier. This time however instead of me going to her I pulled her to myself.

She slowly materialized in front of me, looking shocked, most likely not expecting this. She looked around and noticed me standing near the throne.

"You!"

She said, pointing a finger at me.

"Yes, me."

And now it's quiet. I wasn't expecting that response, huh?

Seeing me doing this on purpose, she just sighed.

"Ok. Good to see you face to face. What do you want from me?"

I felt the connection becoming unstable. It appears that she cannot stay here for long, at least not at this moment.

"We will talk again. For now, my name is Yasuragi."

And she disappeared. I hope she was able to hear me, or that would have been awkward.