The bedroom, as it turned out, was in the Barton city watch barracks. Brivaria’s wounds and injuries had been tended to by a healer from the watch then she’d been sequestered in the bedroom while the rest of her team was interviewed. Watch Captain Hudson had aggressively grilled a couple dozen people from the party about the events of the evening. Nyx complained about having grill marks from the thorough interview.

  Everyone in Brivaria’s team had gone through the process and, once she was awake, it was her turn. At least they’d been nice enough to have a healer look her over one more time before shuffling her into the man’s office. The captain asked if she had a skill or item that let her transform into a demon-looking creature and the angel said she did. That was the first and last question he asked on that subject, much to her surprise. He went over her line of thinking with regards to breaking down the wall of the ballroom, got the rundown of what happened after that, and asked for descriptions of the wasp rider and red man.

  It was a surprisingly polite conversation after the dressing down her team received the last time they were brought before the watch captain. The tension came when Sir Gerard Bantal came up in the discussion. He’d launched an unprovoked attack upon her, nearly killed her, and then gotten into a small fight with Nyx. Calling it a fight was probably a bit much since the catfolk girl had only punched him and it didn’t escalate beyond that.

  As the primary and aggrieved party, Brivaria had a say in how it played out. She could have the man thrown in jail and his team fined. There were standard prices for how much he would have to pay her in recompense. If the lephori did anything but agree to pay the fine levied then things got complicated. When the watch captain started to explain what that would entail, the angel held up a hand and declined all of it.

  She was exhausted, mentally if not physically. Asking her to decide all of this right now was way more than the angel was willing to give. She was certain that Watch Captain Hudson would give her time if she asked but Brivaria didn’t think time would give her the stomach for such things regardless. Also, she liked Baron Sorenson. She wanted her team to stay on his good side. If his speech were to be believed, he and Gerard were old friends. While her team did need the coin to an extent, it wasn’t worth jeopardizing their relationship with the baron.

  She walked out of the watch captain’s office to find Alden and Isolde waiting in the barracks. Alden looked like he’d gotten into a fight with a bear and lost. His once nice outfit was torn in places and his eyes were fighting valiantly to stay open. The angel had only been unconscious for a few hours so it was now sometime after midnight. Everyone looked shades of tired and worn out.

  “I wanted to check on you and return this personally,” Alden said while holding out her sword. Right, she’d loaned it to him. The slim blade was remarkable in that it didn’t bear a single scratch or stain from the fight.

  “Thanks Alden. How is your team? Did everyone…” She looked from Alden to Isolde. Isolde gave the angel a weary smile.

  “Everyone is safe and intact,” Alden replied. “We did some good work and I owe you for my part in it. I don’t have many usable skills without a sword in hand so this made all the difference.” Brivaria gave the swordsman a warm smile.

  “I’m glad. Nyx and Kseniya said it was pretty bad in the ballroom. I’m happy you made it out of there in one piece.”

  There wasn’t much more to say so they went their separate ways a little while later. Watch Captain Hudson returned the rest of Brivaria’s things in a small box and she was truly distressed at the state of her armor, what was left of it. It was unwearable now. It would sit in her inventory alongside her helmet as broken things in desperate need of repair. Until she could get a replacement set of armor, she’d have to fight in her demon form if only for the pseudo-armor provided by the Demon Hide trait. It was no exaggeration to say that trait was entirely responsible for her being alive right now.

  Brivaria was nearly full if not full in health, mana, and stamina by the time they left the guard barracks. According to the captain, there were still adventurers helping the watch clear out pockets of wasps from the castle and she was invited to join them. She declined. The rest of her team was out of resources and she was done for the day herself.

  To their surprise, Candice was still up when they returned to the Siren’s Alcove. Some adventurers had filtered back to the inn so the innkeeper knew, in broad strokes, what had transpired. Candice offered them a mug of something sweet and hot which was wonderful after dealing with the cold night air. The watch captain had been good enough to get them a ride back to their inn, but it was in a wagon rather than a carriage and it was getting ever colder in Velk with each passing week.

  Candice was friends with the leader of Tooth and Nail so she was obviously concerned about the lephori’s team but it surprised the angel to learn that she’d been worrying over Brivaria and her friends too. The relief in the woman’s face was genuine as they came in. That warmed the winged girl’s heart more than the drink.

  Nyx talked the most, as usual, but the catfolk girl was fading fast. Giselle was still wide awake as though the whole shock of the evening hadn’t worn off while Nyx was dead on her feet and starting to nod off. Brivaria suspected she’d be on the Nyx side of things if she needed to sleep. Kseniya seemed that way too though the sorceress was better at hiding it. She offered to take Nyx upstairs and put the cat to bed. That left Brivaria, Giselle, and Candice sitting at a table in the dimly lit common room.

  “How good is the city watch? Will they catch these men?” Brivaria asked Candice. The innkeeper shrugged.

  “They’re pretty good. Crime in the city is fairly infrequent and the watch catches the people responsible quickly enough. What I can’t get over are those… What did you call them? Nest keepers? How do those just walk into the city with no one noticing? Let alone into the castle?” Candice asked and the angel shrugged. Kseniya had made the same point on the ride back. Brivaria didn’t have an answer then and still didn’t.

  “Has to be magic, right? Big magic for big monsters,” Giselle offered.

  “That kind of stuff is expensive so they’re probably using skills for it. How do you even train a class for that kind of thing?” Candice mused. Giselle replied but the winged girl had stopped listening to the conversation.

  Neither man Brivaria fought had been skilled. The wasp rider had the queen wasp but he did almost nothing beyond giving commands to his mount. The red guy, who was linked to fire ants she’d found out, had also been thoroughly underwhelming in combat. She very much doubted either man had the skills to smuggle behemoths like nest keepers into the city, let alone the castle. What made more sense to her was that they’d used a magic item to do what they’d done. Brivaria had seen first hand how much regular things cost let alone magic things. Neither of the so-called Insect Lords was dressed particularly impressively nor were they using any magical weapons.

  There was something bizarre about the situation but right now wasn’t the time to be mulling it over. Trixie let out a big yawn and Brivaria smiled at the dog. She pet the golden and turned to Candice.

  “Alright, I think our cue to go up too,” the angel said while standing to rise. She stretched her tiny wings and looked to Giselle. “Coming up or staying down here for a little longer.”

  “I’ll come up,” Giselle said. “It was nice talking with you Ms. Candice.”

  “I’m glad to know Gerard and his friends are alright. I think I’ll wait a little longer before I turn in. I’ll regret it tomorrow but so it goes,” Candice replied.

  The three went upstairs. Trixie crawled onto the bed and looked at Brivaria so the angel obliged and laid down next to the dog. The golden was happiest when she was with the angel. She’d sleep on the floor or anywhere else if it meant being near Brivaria. Giselle turned into her tiny deer form and climbed onto the bed. Instead of the pillow, she nestled into a spot between Brivaria and Trixie then requested pets. The angel sighed, more in amusement than sadness, and began stroking the deer’s back. Soon the two were happily snoozing.

  Brivaria thought about getting up but didn’t. She was content to remain on the bed next to the sleeping animals. She was thankful they were both okay, thankful her whole team was okay. There were so many different ways tonight could have gone and, while this wasn’t the best outcome, it was one that she could live with.

  Akashic didn’t appear during the night. Brivaria was pretty certain the demon wouldn’t be at all pleased with the fact that they’d come so close to dying, again. She’d mentally prepared herself to have the demoness snidely lecturing her but there was only silence. She suspected the demoness was still there so she pulled up her class advancement list. Akashic saw what the angel did so if she read them then the demon would too. Whatever the options were, she’d want Akashic’s thoughts on them before making a selection. The first class in the list was always her current class.

  Apprentice Shaper of Flesh

  You have recognized your own weakness and decided to strive for something more. This is the first step upon the path of greatness. Your form is the most important asset you possess and to improve others while neglecting it will only foster weakness. This class will let you acquire the skills necessary to begin honing your form.

  Brivaria was certain that another ten levels in the class would be useful so she didn’t rule it out. It wasn’t so bad that she wanted to jump ship immediately but it was the wisdom of her people that it was always better to change classes. The angel knew Nyx was staying in a single class and thought it a bit unwise but it wasn’t her place to tell Nyx what to do. Balthazar would frown at the catfolk’s choices but Nyx always seemed happy with them.

  Animal Tamer

  You have seen the power of nature and witnessed the might of its beasts. Animals can be your friends, your partners, and your companions. With this class, you can allow them to fight alongside you. You will gain skills to tame an animal companion of your choice, empower that companion, and even determine what skills they gain.

  Brivaria had heard about these pet-focused classes. There were a lot of them and sometimes they were melded together with other kinds of classes. That she would be offered one after bonding with Trixie was inevitable. She expected that. What she didn’t expect was how much she’d dislike the one offered to her.

  She didn’t want to tame Trixie and she certainly didn’t want to determine what skills Trixie gained. Brivaria helped Giselle pick skills but they’d done so together. The angel had made suggestions, not forced Giselle to choose anything against her will. This class felt wrong to her. The idea of someone dictating everything another person or creature did was wrong.

  She paused. Where had that come from? She’d gone from relaxed to angry in a flash. She’d never been angry about it before. The heavenly host determined every skill she took from creation to the incident and she’d never been angry about it. Was this another part of her changes thanks to the seed planted within her? Brivaria wasn’t certain. What she was certain of was that she wouldn’t take this class even if Akashic recommended it… not that it was likely. The demoness would probably hate the idea of tying her fate to another. That thought gave the angel a wry smile considering their circumstances.

  Blade Demon

  Swords will break and knives will dull. These weapons will never surpass the craftsmen who created them and they will all fail in time. The only way to gain a weapon that endures, that grows in power rather than dulls, is to forge it from your very flesh and bone. Becoming a Blade Demon will let you craft all manner of edged weapons from your very body whenever or wherever you need them.

  If Animal Tamer came as a result of her time spent with Trixie and Giselle then this was due to her time spent using her demon form and battling with her claws. She refused to admit that she liked them better than her sword but they were incredibly strong and sharp. Her light magic infused into them easily. That was to say nothing of her tail whose use as a weapon felt as natural as breathing.

  Still, the phrasing of this class was odd. Many classes Brivaria had seen referenced themselves in the description. This one didn’t have a line that read “choosing this class” or “this class will.” No, it read “becoming a Blade Demon” and that was a first for Brivaria. While the description was attractive, those four words gave her a great deal of pause.

  Sorceress of Decay

  All things will waste away in time. Structures will crumble, plants will rot, and foes will wither away. Decay comes in many forms and is inevitable for all things. This is why it’s one of the most powerful forces in the hands of a skilled sorceress. Choosing this class will give you the skills and spells to wield decay in its many forms.

  Of Brivaria’s classes so far—Winged Templar, Decaying Lightbrand, Sky Dancer, and Apprentice Shaper of Flesh—it was fairly clear to her that Decaying Lightbrand was doing the heaviest lifting. She was using its abilities in almost every battle and they were the backbone of her skill set. Decay was proving to be an immensely powerful kind of magic. If all Sorceress of Decay did was give her more spells then it would still be fantastic.

  That said, it was a full spellcasting class. There was no physical component in the name or description. She’d never considered herself a mage. Angels had high spirit and below average arcane. While they had a lot of mana, the spirit attribute’s biggest function was making them resistant to hostile magic and spells. As Brivaria was now, arcane was her second highest attribute making her far, far better at magic than any other angel. A dedicated magic class made much more sense for her now than before.

  In her mind, the decision was made. It made her best skills better and would add new tools to her arsenal. It fit with her attributes and didn’t come with the weird wording of Blade Demon. Also saying she was a sorceress would be a lot better than awkwardly talking around a class name like Apprentice Shaper of Flesh or Blade Demon. Even with her mind mostly made up, she looked to the last class.

  Sronyan Valkyrie

  The gates are open and you stand at the precipice of a new world, ready to make it your own. The only things that stand in your path are the inhabitants of this world and you require the power to break them. This class will grant you that power through offensive skills and spells of the unholy affinity.

  Brivaria’s entire world came to a halt. Why was the System offering her this class?