There were a lot of skills that Cain could make for Jen to help her improve into a more offensive combat direction than she was currently capable of, but she had expressed an interest in the explosive attack power of a Berserker.
The basic berserker class also made a good tank, with their ability to heal on hit, so it wasn't too far-fetched. It also didn't force the group to rely on a Summon to tank in situations where it was inconvenient to call for additional bodies.
But her strength was much better than when he had first met her. The constant stream of Quest bonuses that the Disciples were getting was really pushing them up through the levels. So, he should look for second advancement berserker-type Classes and their main skills.
"What is more important? The Berserker aspect, the double ax fighting style, or the pure damage output?" Cain asked Jen, looking to make the appropriate skill choice from the available options.
"Multi-target damage at more than melee range. It doesn't have to be an ax. A flail or a sword would be fine as well." Jen answered without hesitation.
"Well, that narrows it down some. The trick is to find just the right skill that will let you pick a truly amazing new class because it will permanently affect your development direction at this point. So don't settle for anything mediocre if that's all that the first skill I try gets you." Cain directed her.
This time he would be making books, so they would have to be compatible with the class she already had, meaning warrior or cleric books. She wasn't really interested in Cleric's skills, from what Cain could tell, so he was searching through warriors he had recorded in the Southern Continent, which mostly had second advancement classes and some Mythic skills.
After a short search, Cain found what he thought might be just the thing. [Sky Cutter] was a core skill from the Dragon Slayer class, a pure Warrior Class that specialized in large-scale ranged attacks to deal with flying monsters.
Flying Monster was also a decent way of describing stronger Cultivators since they mostly fought in the air for versatility, so development in that direction should help her out. The question was what class she could get with the skill since Dragon Slayer wasn't on the Paladin-type mixed class progression path.
Cain took out the desk and began writing the book for his Disciple, watching her excitement build with every page while he dodged questions about what skill he was making and what class it came from. He could reveal it all at once after he had finished writing.
Jen was normally the strong, silent type and rarely spoke unless she had something valuable to add to the conversation, so seeing her all excited was an unusual experience for Cain.
"Alright, here is a Skill called [Sky Cutter]. It is a wide-area ranged blade technique that you can use with most edged weapons. It comes from the Dragon Slayers, allowing them to strike their targets in the sky, even if they try to dodge. Learn this and then see what you find for new options. Remember to check the classes very carefully and report back on what you would want to change." Cain told her as Jen stared at the book in anticipation.
The book vanished the moment that Jen took it, and her consciousness disappeared into the Class Selection Menu, where even Cain couldn't interfere or contact her.
One minute dragged into two, and then five before Jen came back from the Class Selection.
"Sorry, it gave me a couple of new options, and one of them looks really good. It has a lot of holy attack skills, and it self-heals when hit, which will make things easy for Penny since she is our only real healer and she prefers to fight in wolf form." Jen explained.
She had a point. The group wasn't like the typical adventurer group since they had no dedicated healer, despite having a Druid. But with Luna around and with Jen and Penny both being able to do some healing, it had been more than enough for what they had encountered so far.
That might not be true once they got out into the mountains and began hunting beasts though, so more self-healing for their tank would be a great improvement.
"Is there anything that you wish that class had that it lacks? I can make you another skill, and we can see if it gives you a new option or if we just need to fill the gap with a couple of skills that it doesn't have." Cain asked.
"It doesn't really lack anything. It's more Angry Seraphim than Raging Berserker, but that might fit me better, you know? I get really shy when talking to people." Jen explained.
"If it looks really good to you, then go ahead and take it. Your Class development will likely only get one more option after this, so be very sure that this is the path you want to follow." Cain reminded her, feeling a bit like a broken record.
"I know, Boss. This is the way, I am sure of it." Jen informed him, then went back into the class options to pick her new advancement.
[Holy Avenger] was the class that she had picked, and with all of the extra levels she had gained without changing classes, she should have more than enough points to get the core or even all the skills of the class right away.
Cain waited as she selected the class, then added skill points until she had every skill she could get before speaking again.
"So, what is your new super cool ranged area attack skill that made this the class for you?" he asked the visibly ecstatic girl.
"You will see it once I get to the training arena. I think that at the moment, I might actually be able to solo the Sabbat defense game." Jen replied, then ran out of the tent toward the training grounds.
They were just finishing a game, so Jen stepped into the ring, taking out a canteen for Sabbat, who had spent the last half minute frantically running away and dodging during a failed defense effort.
"Luna, can you make an offense team out of your summons? I want to be able to go all out with these new skills without worrying about hurting anyone." Jen called over to the kitchen area where Luna was taking a break to let her latest concoction cool, then removed herself from the party so that she could actually damage the Summons.
"Sure, what do you want?" Luna asked, eager to see her improvements and come up with new battle tactics for her summons.
"I will leave that to you. If I picked, I would likely say things that would be easier for me." Jen replied cautiously.
"Then we will start with this. Generic Cultivator Guys in white." Luna decided, calling ten [Lesser Golems] into the ring using [Versatility] to bring them to Mythic Quality.
They would be much stronger than the guys they were based off of, thanks to Luna's bonuses as a War Princess buffing their damage and defense, as well as the improved quality, but it should be a task that was possible for a Second Advancement class to deal with.
Sabbat set up behind Jen, who looked back to make sure her friend was ready to begin the game. When the mage nodded, Luna had the Cultivators begin to attack, not giving Jen any extra warning.
Instantly her sword and shield were in her hands, and with a sweep of her sword, bright white light streaked across the arena, taking out a few of the Cultivators and slamming into the shield around the practice ground.
That was [Sky Cutter], and it was devastating against Cultivators in an enclosed area like an arena. With eight members left, four went left while four went right, a situation that usually led to Sabbat spending a lot of time running around, but this time Jen lit up with golden light, and the faint vision of a Seraphim appeared behind her, blanketing Sabbat in a shield of golden light.
Jen hopped on top of it and threw out [Sky Cutter twice more, driving the left flank back before turning to the Cultivators on the right, charging them at incredible speed, but striking at the ground, creating an area of Holy Light to burst up from the sand, burning the Summons and blinding them before Jen cut them down.
The team from the left was at the shield already, hacking away, but it was holding for the moment, and Jen was on her way back. She launched another wide area attack at them, this one more of a wave of light than the sharp blade that was [Sky Cutter]. It crashed into their hastily raised barriers with a hollow bang, then forced them back away from the barrier around Sabbat while Jen charged again.
Her blade flashed a pattern in the air, and a golden rune appeared before bursting into a hundred smaller runes and hitting the attackers, bringing them all to their knees with cries of pain and surrender.
[Holy Rune: Pain] was the final attack, intended to cripple attackers without killing them. According to the spell description that Cain could see when he looked up the new and improved Jen in his Summoning options.
"Flawless victory. Very nice. Even if it was just a simulated bunch of stinky boys, that level of power is impressive. Tell me, where did you learn that shield? Can you use it on yourself and still fight?" The Lotus Blossom Sect Disciples asked as the match ended, and Luna dismissed the Summons.
"Yes, I can use it on myself, but I would be trapped inside the way that Sabbat was and could only attack out without moving. I know a very similar armor skill, though, which should be just as powerful." Jen told them, clearly flustered by all the attention, despite the fact that Cain could sense she was desperate for praise and approval.
"Excellent work. You made an incredible choice." Cain congratulated her with a pat on the head while the Holy Avenger beamed with pride.
