Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Class Selection

I moved my hand to the right and the selection of classes started to spin like a carousel around me. I must have moved it too hard because all the options twirled around rapidly, flashing the outfits and stats too fast for me to process them. I stuck one hand out, pausing the roulette. Surprise, surprise. What class does it stop on?

Healer.

The image had me dressed like an ancient priest. I had on white robes that covered me from top to bottom and a big matching hat on top that completely hid my hair. In one hand I held a big book with its pages open. Then I glanced over at the stats. [Mana] and [Spellcasting] were both pretty high with ten and eleven points respectively. And as I looked over the details, I could feel Govessa towering over me.

"Are you interested in the Healer class, Adrien?"

Startled, I turned around and looked up at Govessa. She looked down at me with her usual soft smile, almost like I was her kid, and I was picking out a birthday from the toy aisle. "No," I said. "Not really."

"You stopped the selection on Healer fairly quickly. And I know a little bit about your habits back on Earth."

My habits? My mind paused for a moment. I could feel my heart race again. I'm hoping she doesn't know every single detail about my life. Just what's relevant to the situation at hand. Otherwise, I might have been better off falling from the platform.

Govessa waved her right hand and brought up another screen. This time it had a portrait of me at the top corner along with an extensive list of bullet points. My hair was a bit messy. Black strands dangled in front of my face while the bits at the top of my head were out of line. Looked like I had just gotten out of bed. And the short stubble that dotted my face didn't do me any favors either. "Let's look at your file. Together."

I froze. I had a sudden flashback of being inside my academic counselor's office. Going over grades and what course to pick. It was not a fun experience. At all. And now it seems that I'll be living through it a second time. But instead of an old guy berating me about how I need to get my grades up, now I've got a goddess going to talk down to me about how I need to focus on teamwork or something.

Yeah, I should've walked off the platform when I had the chance.

"Excuse me," I asked while raising my hand, trying to sound as polite as possible. "Is it okay if I ask what kind of information is on that file?"

She brought the floating screen closer to her face. Govessa then flicked a finger upwards and began scrolling through what seemed like a never-ending list. "Oh, every single bit of possible information about your previous life."

I could feel sweat forming on my neck.

"But don't worry, I'm not going to read all of this stuff. I've had my Skill Scouts go through this information ahead of time. I just skim over the relevant bits of information that they put together."

"Relevant?" I asked, rubbing away the beads of moisture on my skin with the palm of my hand.

"Besides the physical attributes? Work ethic. Hobbies. Personality traits. Stuff like that."

"All of that makes sense except for hobbies. How does what I do in my free time relate to me fighting in your war? Wouldn't you be better off plucking soldiers or even accomplished athletes from Earth to help your cause?"

Govessa looked away from her screen and made eye contact with me. Never have I felt so intimidated in my entire life. I really was like a child to her. Her eyes looked right through me. Like she was tired of my incessant questioning.

"Because, sweetheart," she began. Her grin grew bigger. I must have struck a nerve because for once her smile looked forced. Like she was trying to hide her annoyance. Not to mention she used the word 'sweetheart.' I could just barely detect the condescending in her tone. "Sianka doesn't work exactly like Earth. Innate physical aptitude is appreciated, but far from necessary. What's more important is the proper mindset." The goddess tapped the temple of her forehead.

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"Ohhh..." I said in a dragged-out fashion. I slowly nodded my head, hoping to give off the impression that I understood exactly what she was talking about. I really didn't.

"I'm sure you noticed the stats next to each class option. Sianka's system operates closer to a video game than what you would call "reality" back on Earth. Power is gained by a variety of methods. But the most effective way is to defeat foes and gain Attribute Points."

Attribute Points? I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that's the same as "XP" in any RPG.

"From my experience, people familiar with the games that you have spent your time playing tend to fare better in Sianka than those that haven't. They don't need too much explaining to get the basics down and it's much easier for them to wrap their heads around the more complex affairs." Govessa giggled again. "Not to mention that those people actually find it to be... fun. It's much easier to convince someone to do something when they actually enjoy it."

I nodded my head again. Except this time, I actually got it. If I think of this as an MMO, I might actually appreciate my time here. "Okay. I see what you're saying. I just need to get out of my Earthly mindset and try to think as if I'm in one of my video games."

"Yes! That's one way to look at the situation." She took her hand and ruffled my hair, making it look messy like it did in the picture of my file. "Now, let's focus on class selection now, shall we?"

Class selection. Even Govessa just saying the term made me shiver. I cleared my mind of Probability and Statistics courses and focused on all the cool outfits to pick from. I swipe away from the Healer class and start sifting through my choices at a quick pace. Aesthetic comes first. Stats second.

"No healer?" Govessa asked as I continued to skim. "The file says you played that quite a bit back during your time on Earth."

"Only because I was forced into it," I replied. I paused on a hefty set of knight armor. I couldn't see my face because the helmet covered my head completely. Dark blue armor obscured my entire body while my hands held onto a long spear. Knight class looked cool for sure, but I'm not lugging all that weight with me. Didn't even like brining my backpack along on campus. "Everyone else got to do all the damage, leaving me to make sure the party was at full health once all the fun was over."

"Understandable. For the reason you mentioned, Healers are a rare class. They are much revered on Sianka."

"Respectable," I replied, sliding the class wheel to the right once more. "Anyone who spends their life helping others does deserve respect. But I'm getting thrown into a new world to fight a war. I think I'd prefer something where I don't have to depend on others to make it through, you know?" I glanced over my shoulder again and Govessa is still nodding. Seems like the goddess understood the point I made.

I turned back around and I found myself looking at the Marksman class. The hood looked cool, as did the bow. But everything else about it seemed... trite. Lots of belts and a whole lot more brown. Not to mention that half the people in my dorm played ranged damage dealers. If Govessa is really snatching people with experience in MMOs, I have a feeling she's got plenty of archers running around.

My head looked over my left shoulder. I squinted, trying to get a better view of the option in the distance until the realization dawned on me that I could just rotate the wheel. With a quick swipe of my hand, I spun the wheel. I ignored the countless other classes as they whizzed by before halting the movement by extending my hand when I saw the one that grabbed my attention.

I smiled.

The pose was what drew me in. I took a fighter's stance. One leg extended in front. Fists raised to about chest level. Even had a grungy, angered look with the furrowed eyebrows.

"Martial Artist?" Govessa said. I didn't turn around. I was too busy focused on the outfit. The loose pants. The kung-fu shoes. The tattered and opened gi that showed off the lowcut top underneath. I looked like something straight out of a fighting game character select screen. I loved it. But if anyone saw me wearing that back on Earth, I would have ended up on the internet as a meme. "That was my second guess for your preferred class," she continued.

If she really knew about me, she would have known that it would have been my first pick, hands down. I looked over at the stats.