"With this, they'll be ready to take on the challenge." ~Shallies Mythernal

Out of the three trying to get their second Class, it was Grace who had her breakthrough first. She had only made a breakthrough, not acquired the Class. Not yet. But as far as the half-orc was concerned, that part was only a matter of time.

Her concern right now was the awkward situation she had brought herself into. Or rather, Shallies had brought her into it, but that was beside the point. The half-orc didn't know if it was intentional or not, but channeling mana into the cursed seraph, who couldn't even see his own channels, was a lot more difficult than she would have anticipated.

But in some way, that made figuring out her strategy a lot easier.

"It's easier to channel if I hold your hands," Grace had said, reaching out both her arms towards Arun'dul. "Shallies did it to me before. If we can't navigate your mana-channels properly, then I'll just force it through them slowly."

Wordlessly, the seraph had followed her instruction. He had been hesitant, of course. But Grace had simply grabbed his hands and began to meditate. When it had been proven to work, as she channeled her mana into him, the half-orc went into a flow state.

Hold, channel, recover. She repeated this process for hours, until the sun began to set. To Arun'dul's credit, he hadn't moved the entire time. He had ignored all distractions and needs, patiently waiting for her to gain her second Class.

Which was exactly what made it awkward.

Grace, after holding Arun'dul's hands for hours, became hyper-aware of what she was doing. Her mind had become so used to the slow process of channeling trickling amounts of mana, that even just the warm and slightly sweaty feel of their palms together made her hot around the neck.

How's he so calm about this?

When Grace peeked, she immediately found her answer.

Arun'dul was meditating as well. In fact, he was immersed too deeply into it. With the way he was entranced in the process, he didn't even seem to notice that they had been holding hands this entire time.

Somehow that made Grace blush even more. It frustrated her a little as well, for some reason. But the seraph was showing her a great example.

I need to focus.

And so, Grace did just that. Even as she unconsciously tightened her hold on him, her mind was now solely focused on channeling her mana. She realized she had created an undeniably constant loop. Hold, channel, recover. Repeating those steps over and over and over for hours, not losing any energy, not losing any interest. As monotonous as it was, it was perfect.

What had dragged on for hours eventually reached its objective. With a final sigh, Grace channeled what would complete five times her mana capacity. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Arun'dul making his own sigh of relief.

He was brimming with energy. Literally glowing with it, now.

"I can see it," he said. "It's blurry, but as long as you're channeling mana, I can see my own channels."

"What about your core?" Grace asked.

Arun'dul softly shook his head. "Not yet, but this is way more improvement than I could've done on my own. Thank you."

"You helped me out too," the half-orc said in return. "I think I have my second Class now. Right, Stachie?"

[Yes. Congratulations, Grace! You're now a Level 3 Mana Weaver. You have 1 available Skill Point for this Class. Do note that you have 8 available Attribute Points in total now, and don't forget the additional 4 Skill Points you still haven't used for your Spell Sword Class.]

"Wait, Level 3?"

[Correct. Since you've taken the more difficult process of earning your second Class, you've been rewarded with additional levels as well.]

"It wasn't really that difficult, I think."

[If you had lost concentration even for a second, Grace. You would've had to start over.]

"Ah, I see." Grace gave a nod. "In any case, I'll think about how I'll allocate those later. I'll just wait for the others to finish."

"Umm… Grace?" Arun'dul asked. "Are you not letting go of my hand? You're still channeling mana."

The half-orc swallowed a yelp, jerking her hands away. She could feel the heat rising further up her neck and creeping into her head. Moving quicker than she ought to, Grace stood, brushed off the dirt and grass from her shorts, and briskly walked back to the tavern.

"Are we just going to leave Ren out here?" Arun'dul asked as he followed.

Grace didn't dare turn back. She didn't know what to do. So she said the easiest excuse she could think of at the moment.

"I need to use the restroom."

Ren had been worried at first. About multiple things. Even though they were things that he quickly admitted to be trivial.

He was initially worried for Tayin, who had suddenly disappeared, before he realized that Shallies was with her. Then, he was worried about how expensive the Mana Vessel was. But with further inspection, specifically a Scan, he found out that the item was magically enforced.

Ren's next worry was his mana capacity. Out of the three of them in the party, his own was probably the smallest. Even when compared to a Base Class holder like Grace, simply comparing on the basis of Mana-Affinity alone, he knew he couldn't possibly match her.

Of course, another of his worries included whether he was making the right decision or not. Anti Magic, a Hero Class branching out of the Disciple Base Class, was probably one of the most hated out of all the available Classes out there. It utilized Skills and Spells that disrupted other Skills and Spells. And yet, he knew it was perfect for what he wanted to be.

Nigh indestructible.

Regardless, since Shallies didn't recommend for him to take a different Class, he pushed all his worries away and concentrated on the Mana Vessel.

After the first few tries, he quickly realized how slow and excruciating the process would be. It was different from channeling mana, primarily, where he thought it would have been the same in that simply directing his mana to the vessel would suffice. Instead, he needed to treat the object as a mana-core, and store whatever mana he accumulated while meditating.

And that was part of the current issue. Meditating to gather mana was, he would consider, his greatest weakness.

A weakness, true, but not something that was impossible for him to do.

After realizing he would probably take the longest out of all three, he decided to take his time in preparing. He refueled himself with food, took care of other things that needed taking care of, chose a particularly isolated spot away from Grace and Arun'dul, sat on a nice flat rock, and closed his eyes.

He knew he was in it for the entire day, at least. It wasn't even a matter of exercising patience. He had no other choice, after all. Resolute, Ren calmed his breathing and began to meditate.

To consider a foreign object as being his own core was a lot simpler than he had initially anticipated. There was a feel to it, he realized. It might have been the Mana Vessel itself that was making the task easier as well. Ren didn't know. And curious though he was, the Shield Knight chose to focus more on the current task at hand.

Gather, cycle, store, and breathe.

This was Ren's entire mind for the next hours that passed by. His surroundings disappeared. The chirps, the gentle breeze, the swaying of branches and leaves; they all became quiet. The only thing that mattered was the meditation.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Ren felt the Mana Vessel. It was like another body part of him. Like a lung, or a stomach, slowly getting filled. He was halfway now, he realized, catching him by surprise. He was so immersed that he didn't notice how much time he had already spent. But he wasn't going to stop at this point.

Gather, cycle, store, and breathe.

Ren continued his meditation until finally, he couldn't store any mana in the Mana Vessel anymore. When he opened his eyes, night had arrived, and waiting in front of him was a message from Stachie.

[Congratulations, Ren. You're now a Level 3 Disciple. Apple has prepared some dinner for you. You must be tired. Go take some rest.]

Ren questioned how he was already Level 3, and the System Assistant happily gave him an explanation. After that, he took a big stretch on his way back to the Adventurer's Beginning. As he did, he entertained a quick thought that had been bugging him for a while now.

"I wonder how Tayin's doing?"

It took Tayin hours to realize that, for the process of aligning herself with a star, it didn't matter whether it was morning or night. But this place, the Lonely Tower, was perfect for feeling every celestial body within Ysvil's sphere of influence.

Stars were far away. Terribly far. But some of those, for some reason, had taken an interest in this world. How, why, or when, Tayin didn't know. The only thing she knew was that those stars were a pathway to power that this world had somehow integrated with, that its denizens were able to comprehend and grasp whatever gifts they could provide.

They weren't gods. They weren't the Gone Old. She couldn't begin to compare the stars to any of those ancient things. Yet, whether the halfling understood why or not, she knew to revere them nonetheless.

And so, Tayin chose a star. A bright red star.

It had an overwhelming feel to it. And just as she noticed the celestial body, for one reason or another, it had somehow taken an interest in her.

"Give your name, mortal," it whispered to her, like a mother asking her daughter to give herself a name.

"Tayin," said the halfling. "Tayin Laughlap."

The red star pulsed with warm brightness. Only then, did Tayin realize she was face to face with it. Her desire to turn, to confirm whether she was still in Ysvil or not, which had been in the back of her mind the whole time, was overpowered by the admiration of such a wonderful star.

"Provide me with a name, Tayin," it said. Like a child asking her mother who she was.

"Me?" asked the halfling. "Don't you already have a name?"

"You think of us as powerful, Tayin," said the star. "I can see it in your heart, but you do not comprehend us completely, yet. I was reborn the moment you tried to look for a star to align with. I was born because of you. I will provide you power, but it will be you who will nurture my growth. So it must be you. You're the only one who can give me a name."

Within that moment, Tayin understood. To a star, aligning was akin to being born or reborn. They were both the brightest things in the cosmos, and were born to a Class holder here on Ysvil. If they were any different to the natural stars in space, the halfling didn't care enough to know for now.

Right now, naming her own star was her priority.

It was like a child to her. Her own child. And she wanted to provide it with the most wondrous name she could think of. But she had never spent the time to stop and think of baby names in the first place. Ren and herself were too focused on their careers as adventurers to even have considered settling down—

Tayin shook her head, forcefully ripping the guy's face out of her mind. This wasn't the time for such a thing.

Still, naming a star, which was akin, in this case, to naming her own child, made the halfling hesitate. She wanted to give it something special. Something unique. But she also had no confidence in her naming sense.

"I trust you, Tayin," said the star, as if it had read her concerns. "Whatever name it is, I shall treasure it."

"Alright. Just give me a bit. I want to give you the best name."

"We have all the time here." The star pulsed with brilliance. "So long as you keep your eyes on me, it'll be as if time stopped."

Tayin thought for a moment about looking away, seeing if it was true, but the process was too important for her to mess up with casual curiosity. Not just her career, but her entire life moving forward was at stake here. She kept her eyes on her star.

"I'll name you Scutia." As Tayin mentioned the name, she felt a surge of confidence. She didn't hesitate anymore. "You will be Scutia Laughlap. My bright, crimson star."

Scutia glowed a brilliant crimson, just as its owner had intended.

"Thank you, Tayin," it said. "From henceforth, I shall be Scutia Laughlap. We are now aligned. I shall guide you and provide you with power. I shall be your light in the darkness. Now, you must return and awaken. Know that you can always find me within your heart."

Just like that, Tayin blinked. The sun was high in the sky. She was back in the Lonely Tower. And a short System Console message was in front of her.

[Congratulations, Tayin. You're now a Level 3 Star Gazer. Please wait here for Shallies, and you'll return home soon.]

After acknowledging Stachie's message, the halfling looked around and saw no one. There was only her and the top of the tower. Seeing that Shallies might take a while to return, Tayin meditated and reached out into her heart.

Immediately, she saw it.

Scutia, rotating and glowing a calm red. Though, for some reason, the celestial body was quiet. Even as she called out, there was no response.

"You can only look at them when you're meditating," Shallies said, blinking into reality.

Tayin wasn't even surprised at this point. She had a question in mind, though. "Do all Star Gazers align with their star when they take their Class?"

"Yep. Star Gazer is one of the few Base Classes that can only be learned as your second Class. One of its requirements, actually, is for you to have at least a Level 50 Base Class."

Shallies retrieved a Food Container from her Class Inventory. She shared a Chicken Sandwich. Tayin realized then how hungry she was.

"When I met Scutia," she started after taking a bite, not even trying to explain that it was her star's name. "It told me to not to turn away my gaze. It told me to only look at it."

"You were traversing the dark cosmos," Shallies explained. "If you had looked away, there was a high chance that you would've seen something that you're not supposed to."

"Like what? The Gone Old?"

"You're not supposed to know either." Shallies smiled. "Not yet, anyway. Your star, Scutia, was doing its best to protect you and your sanity."

Tayin let out a sigh of relief. "I sure am glad I didn't look away."

"Yeah. That would've been problematic."

"Who's your star, by the way?" Tayin asked, not really expecting a reply. She took another bite of her sandwich, trying to act casual.

"I have two stars," Shallies started, taking the halfling by surprise in more ways than one. "One for my Astral Lord Class, another for my Guiding Star.

"My Guiding Star… Err, star's name is Ceti Maya. It's a central star for a planetary system far from here. My Astral Lord star, however…" Shallies pointed up, pointing directly at the sun. "It's that one up there. Arctur Solar."

Tayin felt her jaw slowly drop. "Of course it is!"

But she quickly thought of something that didn't make sense. "I thought aligning with a star birthed them? Or is that just my assumption?"

"Technically, it's both ways," Shallies replied. "Your gaze doesn't really cause another star to be born. It's simply a coincidence that can reliably happen due to the infinite possibilities of the dark cosmos. Arctur was already present when I turned my gaze to it. I simply gave it its name to align. Ceti was born when I took Star Gazer for the second time."

Tayin clutched her head. "It didn't even register to me that you had to take the Class multiple times."

"I'll save you the semantics of that one."

Shallies finished her sandwich and reached out a hand. Tayin followed suit. But before she held the Godkiller's hand, she remembered another thing to ask.

"Who did you visit down there?"

When Tayin saw Shallies simply smile, she knew she wouldn't be getting an answer. The halfling simply sighed and took the Godkiller's hand. Two Sight Steps after, they were back home.

A few hours earlier…

Shallies stepped into her old office. Due to the natural make of the Lonely Tower, even after having left this place abandoned for millennia, it still looked sparklingly clean. She had filled bookshelves, a large table, a beautiful chair, mementoes, drapes, the works. All these, however, she relatively only gave a glance before entering a teleporter.

Not a Door, but a short-distance teleporter that took her below the tower. There, she found a real, mundane door.

The room on the other side was relatively cool. It had a more homey and simple feel, giving almost the exact same impression as her tavern. It looked lived in, with signs of recent activity. Shallies entered and made herself comfortable.

"Two millennia, and it took you another student just to pay me a visit," said a female voice from a corner, which, if memory served, would've been the kitchen. "Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee," Shallies replied, taking a seat in the living room. It had multiple System Console screens opened, monitoring her current students. "How are you doing, Stachie?"

"Entertained." The System Assistant emerged from the corner with two cups of coffee on a tray.

She was wearing her favorite pajamas, not even bothering to comb her extremely long, brown hair, which had grown to the point of dragging on the floor. Her teal eyes looked tired, but that had always been the case, ever since the beginning. She took the seat opposite Shallies, again, not even bothering with her hair. As expected, it didn't look like she pulled it with the motion.

The two took a sip in silence, taking their time before starting their conversation in earnest.

"You seem as comfortable as ever," Shallies noted.

"God perks," Stachie said, shrugging. "Loneliness and Isolation don't take that much Divine Authority to control. Gives me a lot of time to help you out."

"I noticed you ran out of mana a few weeks ago," Shallies said. "Did something happen?"

"No, not really. I was just preparing for your new students that time."

"Ah, I see."

"What about you?" Stachie asked. "You're not feeling stretched out, are you?"

"I'm managing, thanks to you," Shallies said.

"The visions have been becoming constant."

"Yeah, but there's really no other way of knowing what we're dealing with until that storm shows up."

Stachie smiled. "You know, we shouldn't be talking about stuff like that. You rarely visit me, after all."

"Should we play a game, then?"

Stachie opened her Class Inventory and pulled a chessboard. "You're on!"

Hours passed, and different board games after, Stachie's System Console made an alert, indicating Grace successfully earning her second Class. The System Assistant made a quick message, and that signaled the end of their play time.

"Are you sure you still want to stay here, Stachie?" Shallies asked.

"Yep," she replied without even a hint of hesitation. "I'm your simulacrum, Shallies. Serving you is my ultimate joy. I even became a goddess for you. I really don't mind staying here and helping you out. I have all the entertainment I need. Besides, I do go out from time to time."

"Alright." Shallies didn't even need to check if her simulacrum was lying or acting tough. The connection, something akin to that of a Soul Confidant, had already expressed Stachie's honest and genuine thoughts.

Not long after, Ren and Tayin successfully earned their second Class. That meant Shallies had to go. Before she could, however, Stachie opened up her arms.

"If I am you," she started. "Isn't hugging yourself a bit narcissistic?"

Despite the question, Shallies still embraced Stachie as tightly as she would a dear friend. Her System Assistant, after all, was like her best friend.

"I'm too humble," Shallies started. "I can afford a little narcissism."

"Alright, calm down there, ma'am."

"I'm just kidding." As Shallies stood on the teleporter, she waved Stachie goodbye. "I'll visit more often. Take care of yourself now."

"Hopefully not too often," Stachie said. "Have fun out there."

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