Within minutes of starting, we proved that elevated Intelligence and Dexterity combined to transform pool into an entirely different game. Sinking 1 ball no longer challenged anyone, so we adapted to seeing who could sink the longest combo.

I played better than I'd ever dreamed possible, but I lost game after game. Steve and Tomas were both really good, but it was the ladies who really shined. Jane might just be subtly using her telekinesis to help sink some impossible shots, but not even she could beat Ruby every time. The red-haired wonder owned the game.

We started betting on the games, but it became clear any bets were just donations to Ruby's mana crystal counts. So we changed to betting snacks. Luckily, while I'd been gone, my convection oven had kept pumping out desserts. We munched through the entire stockpile in record time.

While we played, we discussed and finalized everyone's new level-50 permanent spells and class evolutions. I was tempted to go read the documentation Jeeves had gotten for the store, but most of the choices ended up being pretty straight-forward.

Ruby chose to make her Med Kit spell permanent. She'd used the well-stocked healing kit so many times, she refused to risk losing it. That evolved her class to Forensic Apothecary, a straight evolution of her previous class.

She did lose her SOS tracking spell, but hadn't used that one much anyway. The new class upgraded the effectiveness of all healing spells and potions, making Ruby a truly powerful healer.

She also got plus 5 levels to her custom Battle Bio Morph utility spell, a one-time boost of plus 25% to Constitution and Life Points, and plus 250% to her personal regeneration while healing others.

Her Potion Replicate spell got 3 levels, allowing her to replicate more potions every day, and she got a new Stealth ability starting at level 5.

The other 2 class spells were new. Healing bubble, level 4, created a powerful defensive dome for up to 30 seconds per level that deflected most magical and physical attacks. Inside the dome, natural regeneration increased by 400%, while the effectiveness of healing spells and potions doubled. She could probably get wounded people back into a fight as fast as I could regenerate with the help of my Tesla Coil bracelet.

She also got a new Huntress spell that used a mixture of stealth and her unique battle bio morph to blend into nearly any environment, making it 90% harder for anyone to discover her presence. Her combo healing, hunting class was evolving into something incredibly powerful.

Jane also chose a straight-forward evolution to her psychic build. She permed the class spell Psychic Wall, which was probably her most-used class spell. That evolved her class into Think-tank Mentalist, which seemed more on the nose than many of the weird class names so many people, including myself, ended up with.

She got plus 3 to all mind and psychic abilities and spells, along with a new ability called Bastion of the Mind, level 4. It gave her plus 50% to Mental Resistance and Willpower per level, which vastly increased her pool of psychic power while protecting her from external influences.

Most of her class spells changed too. Her previous Phoenix aura evolved to Phoenix Rise, boosting all stats and mind abilities by 200% for 60 seconds per level, followed by a drop of 70% for half the duration of spell afterward. The description made it sound like it wouldn't affect her emotions so much either.

She also got Mind Flight, a cool spell that allowed her to fly upon an invisible psychic wall that got boosted by another 10% duration and movement speed per level in Psychic Wall. Her last spell, Dominate, seemed both insidious and insanely powerful. At level 3, it gave her a 20% chance per level to implant a single powerful idea or emotion into an enemy's mind.

Both of the girls got 10 stat points per level with the new classes, so about as good as anyone could have hoped for. Not surprising, Tomas had to be the odd man out and make his permanent spell choice a huge deal. He hemmed and hawed and hesitated, and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

"You're still second-guessing your choice because Scott died in the Plateau dungeon." I made it a statement, not a question.

"Kind of," my brother admitted with a grimace. "If I'd made a different choice, could I have saved him?"

"Probably not," Ruby said.

He started to object, but she shook her head and interrupted. "I was there too, remember? I saw how the drake shattered him. He died instantly. He risked going low on Constitution, and it killed him."

"Don't let his death distract you from all our other victories," I added. "Your class is great. You've done amazing things with it."

Tomas sighed and took Jane's hand. She stood nearby, just watching him. They'd talked it through already, so she seemed content to just be there with him.

I wasn't so patient. "Look, Tomas, your build is powerful, and all the components are working well together. You've got synergy and compounding effects. Do you really want to break that?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

His Steel Thumb ability boosted his skills in fabricating and repairing machines, especially for transport or weapons, his Mind Space title gave him a personal pocket dimension to craft for up to a minute while time stopped for everyone else, and his MacGyver permanent spell helped him figure out fast kludge fixes or constructs. With all that, the most logical choice would be to perm his Haphazard Guardian class spell for fast-making constructs and leverage his battlefield mad scientist persona.

When we talked through all that again, he sighed and shrugged. "I know. You're right, but there has to be a way for me to also help people in trouble. I'm still a doctor, and I've realized I still have a need to heal and to help pull others back from the brink."

"Except you don't have a good temporary spell to add into the mix," Jane reminded him.

He seemed to deflate. "I know, it's just . . ."

I couldn't let him break his class, but he was my brother, so I needed to help him explore every option so he'd stop second-guessing himself forever. Hesitating or holding back would get him killed.

"Jeeves?"

My tuxedoed butler appeared beside me in a blink and I asked, "Will you check with Sy`thrak, review Tomas's current build, and request any good temporary spells we could purchase that might assist Tomas in adding a better healing component to his class?"

"Right away, sir." Jeeves disappeared. How was I going to survive after we defeated Queen Marisara and returned to Earth? I needed to make sure I got to bring my castle and my butler home with me.

"That's a good idea," Ruby said, although Steve looked like he wanted to point out we were probably just wasting time.

Tomas added, "I scanned the list of temporary spells last time I visited the store, but I didn't see anything great. I appreciate all the help, Lucas. I know I'm just being difficult, and I should get on with making Haphazard Guardian permanent."

"Maybe, but let's play a final game before you decide."

So we did, and Ruby won. Again.

We'd eaten our way through all of the cookies, donuts, and muffins Jeeves had on hand. Ruby's inventory had to be bursting with her sugary winnings. This time I had to pony up one of the tier-1 desserts I'd gotten from the Grindstone dungeon in Velexis's lair.

Jeeves appeared as everyone was sampling the 16-layer dessert. It looked kind of like a colorful brick and felt as hard as cement, but as I chewed the first bite, it melted in my mouth and unleashed a torrent of flavors that catapulted my taste buds to tier-3 nirvana.

"Wow, that's . . . I can't even describe it," Ruby said, her cheeks flushed as she chewed.

"You're welcome."

Jeeves said, "Sir, Sythrak has found a rare temporary spell that might indeed suffice for Master Tomas's needs."

"Rare, meaning expensive," Steve commented as Jeeves shared the description.

"Auto-Surgeon's Blessing. Spell. Rare. Generate an ethereal field surgery unit staffed with invisible mechanical hands connected to your mind like an array of clones. See holographic blueprints of your patient's internal systems, along with inspiration for augmented reconstructive techniques. Your thoughts will accelerate up to 300%, allowing you to perform life-saving surgery in seconds by reinforcing the body with internal biomechanical supports."

"Typical doctor-speak," Steve said as Tomas was still re-reading the description with a wide smile on his lips. "Longest spell description I've ever seen."

"This is perfect," Tomas exclaimed.

"Hold on," I interrupted. "Jeeves, how confident is Sythrak that this spell is compatible with Tomas's existing build?"

"Absolutely confident," Jeeves answered. "He stated that documentation shows this as an existing, if rare evolution to the Scrap-Heap Surgeon class, and promises a full refund should any unforseen complications arise."

Jane actually snorted. "Tomas would still have a broken class."

"But he'd be a much richer cripple," Steve pointed out.

Tomas chuckled. "I'd pick this one even without the extra assurance. With it, it's a done deal."

He completed the purchase, drawing deep from his mana crystal reserves, but never hesitated. As soon as he received the spell scroll, he read it, then made the new spell permanent. We all held our collective breaths as we waited for the outcome.

"Yes!" Tomas shouted, pumping his fist into the air in triumph, then pulling Jane into a deep kiss.

"I take it you got a good class evolution," I guessed.

I hadn't actually believed we'd find anything to combine his current class with healing abilities, but that spell did sound fantastic. It was like a mobile trauma unit, perfect for Tomas. How would that combine with his previous class, though?

"New class is Pawn Shop Tinkerer," Tomas said, then explained his new class spells and abilities.

A new Bio-mancer ability vastly improved his skill crafting, forging, and creating metallic components used for healing and enhancing the durability of his patients. He also got a Cyborg ability that allowed him to enhance his own Strength, Constitution, and Health Points by creating and applying mechanical components to his own body.

Those abilities alone sounded cool, and they tied in well with his new class spell, Deus Ex Machina. The rare spell allowed him to flesh-forge a wounded ally's body with pre-fabricated power armor components to temporarily transform them into a powerful bio-mechanical warrior.

Apparently, he could boost their strength and constitution while accelerating the healing process. The armored bio-mechanical components would absorb all incoming damage until either destroyed or the healing process completed. There was a good chance one bio-mechanical component would remain as a permanent upgrade from each healing.

"So you can make like cyborgs out of people temporarily?" Ruby asked.

"I can't wait to see it in action," Steve added.

Me too. Tomas's already-cool build now added a cybernetics component to his fast-crafting of guardian constructs, and he could now heal people while restoring damaged armor or weapons. He was turning into an all-around surgeon.

The class name, Pawn Shop Tinkerer, did suggest he could take in lots of random stuff and produce useful things, but it didn't really give a sense of the immense scope his class might be able to encompass as he learned to master it.

"This is even better than I'd imagined," Tomas said, a distant look in his eyes as he studied new menus.

Jane laughed and gave him another passionate kiss. "We have to test out your new abilities."

"And I've got some things to help you get started," I added.

I transferred 2 entire pallets of those rare metals I got from the Colossus over to Tomas to work with, plus half of the clockwork gears and cores and pipes and brass and stuff I'd collected from all the insects.

"Thanks, bro! That's enough to do a lot of good."

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