Jack reviewed the options for the elite class. From the Warrior side, Mage Knight was a no-no. Berserker was also out, as it specialized in axe weapons. He could not change the type of his Storm Breaker anymore, he was stuck with a longsword. Not to mention also that he was no good at fighting using axe.
So that left only Blade Dancer and Weapon Master. Weapon Master put emphasis on the multiple weapons that could be used, so his Storm Breaker would be undermined. Blade Dancer seemed the best choice but it was a dual-wielding class. He was no stranger to dual-wielding in past games, but if he dual wield swords, he could no longer utilize his Mage class which required him to hold a magic staff.
The magic-user path had even more choices. Although the Elementalist was very tempting, the other paths were also viable. All of them should be able to provide great support for his melee class.
He didn't spend too much time contemplating the choices. It was still some time before he had to make the choice, he would gain more experiences and see more of this world first before deciding.
Jack had been tuning out the auction for a while. Several items had come and gone, but his ears caught attention again when he heard the auctioneer mentioning another technique book. He immediately activated the gadget beside him to check the book's statistics.
It was a technique book for advanced skill exclusive for Warrior class. His interest grew further as he read its description. It was called Shredding Fang. It was a range AOE offensive skill, it hit targets in a fan shape area. Sort of like a combination between Swing and Sword of Light. The bid was similar to Flash Step which started from 3 gold coins with an increment of 1 gold coin. At that moment, the bid had increased to 8 gold coins.
Jack waited a bit longer for the bid to start slowing down. When the auctioneer started counting with his hammer at 13 gold coins, Jack threw out a bid of 16 gold coins. The auctioneer started counting again, when he almost reached three, another NPC made a counter bid of 17 gold coins. Jack sent another bid at 20 gold coins without waiting for the auctioneer to count. He finally won the technique book.
"I thought for a moment there that your auctioning special combo method didn't work," he said to Dylan.
"Don't just go and give a weird name to people's method," Dylan complained. "And they are not exact science. In the end, as you said, it still comes down to who has the bigger stash of coins. If the other side is willing to spend, no method will be useful. But that counterbid you made shortly after you were countered, that was good. That gave the other side the impression that you still have the coins and not afraid to bid higher."
"Is it so? I simply was just very eager to get that book," Jack replied.
The next bid was a super rare grade flower vase. It allowed alchemists to boost the growth of any medicinal plant if using the vase. Jack soon lost interest again, his mind went back to converse with Peniel.
'Tell me about the elite paths of the other classes.'
"Why? It's not like you can choose from them," Peniel said.
'I still would like to know. I won't be in a fluster if I have to fight against one of them in the future,' Jack replied.
"All right. I will just start from the melee then. The Knight class will branch out to Sentinel, Paladin, Avenger, and Dragoon. All of them can wear heavy armor and utilize a shield, but the focus on shield is more heavily on Sentinel and Paladin classes, which possessed skills that can be used in conjunction with their shield. While Avenger and Dragoon can choose to use a shield as well, but they will be more effective if using two-handed weapons. In short, Sentinel and Paladin are heavy melee classes focusing on pure defense, while Avenger and Dragoon are heavy melee classes that are more inclined to offense."
'What's the specialty between each class?' Jack probed further.
"Between Sentinel and Paladin, Sentinel is the better tank as it can use tower shield, the largest shield type there is. While Paladin is supported by the availability of holy magic and healing spells. Avenger is a fighter that will get stronger the more hits they received. Dragoon is mobile heavy melee whose skills favor spear weapon."
'Ah, that Dragoon is the class that you asked me to suggest to Jeanny!' Jack said as he remembered his past conversation with the Wicked Witches' girl.
"Yes," Peniel replied. "For the Rogue class, it will branches out to Assassin and Battle Monk, which I mentioned before, and the other two more are Bard and Technocraft."
'Those bunches sound colorful,' Jack commented.
Peniel didn't respond to his comment, she continued with her explanation, "answering your earlier question about the elite class from rogue that still uses dagger, that will be the Assassin. They can dish out very high damage with their sudden attack and is proficient in poison. Their survivability is a question though, they mainly relied on their speed to survive due to their low HP pool. Battle Monk is also a speed-based melee fighter like assassin, but they can survive better with their defensive skills. They fought using an unarmed style. Bard is mainly a support class. They can play musical instruments that provides buffs for themselves and their teammates. They are not completely useless in melee though, as they can also learn some fencing skills. Technocraft is a speed-based class that is not particularly good in melee nor range. Their primary advantage comes from their knowledge on using traps and their ability to build a techno golem."
'A what golem?'
"A techno golem," Peniel repeated.
'What is that?'
"An automaton that can be commanded to fight the enemy in place of Technocraft. A technocraft can simply stay behind and lay his traps while his golem does the battle."
'That's… interesting," Jack commented.
"Well, you can't be it. You are not a Rogue."
'I just said it's interesting, doesn't mean I want to be one. How about the elite classes of Archer? I assume they will be all physical range classes then?'
"Most. Archer class will eventually transform into Elite Marksman, Gunner, Hidde…"
'Gunner? There are guns here? I can use guns?' Jack almost blurted out again as he interrupted Peniel.
"You cannot use guns. Only a Gunner can, and you cannot become a Gunner because you are not an Archer," Peniel said slowly, as if talking to a child.
'Forgive me, please continue.'
He could hear Peniel sighing, before she resumed her explanation, "Apart from Elite Marksman and Gunner, Archer can also become Hidden Weapon Specialist and Beastmaster."
Jack had the urge to ask questions again, but he restrained himself and let Peniel went on with her explanation.
"Elite Marksman is ranged melee class that specialized in using bows or crossbows. Gunner is the same type except for their weapon of choice is as their name implies, guns. Hidden Weapon Specialist is a range class who is an expert at using multiple types of small throwing weapons. Beastmaster has no boost in their range capability apart from what they had received from their basic and advanced class. Their strength will be on their pets, and their ability to change into beast form. Once they transformed, they can basically be considered as a melee class instead."
'The Beastmaster class can have pets? Maybe I should have chosen to be a Ranger instead of a Magician,' Jack mused.
"All of them can have pets," Peniel said after hearing his thought. "the ability to have a pet comes from Archer class. The difference is, only Beastmaster can have medium-sized pets, the others are limited to small-sized pets. Furthermore, Beastmaster also has access to skills that can further strengthen their pets."
'Archer can have a pet?' Jack asked.
"Yes, Archer gained the skill Tame Pet once they reached level 20," Peniel answered.
Jack thought of Fierce Flame who was an Archer. Had she reached level 20 as well? Perhaps the next time they met, she would have had a pet already.
'You mentioned it can change into beast form? What kind of beast?'
"Depends on your affinity and your fortune, the most basic ones are cat, wolf, lizard, and bear."
'Wolf? Are you saying a Beastmaster class can transform into a werewolf?!'
"I wouldn't call it werewolves. Werewolves are monsters… But then again, they do look like one if they choose the wolf form."
'Cool,' Jack uttered
"Why are you getting all excited about that kind of rabid dog class? You Outworlders sure are weird."
'The last class, Healer,' Jack asked, ignoring her ridicule.
"Aye, the Healer class can become Priest, Druid, Reaver, and Inquisitor. Priest is the enhanced version of Healer. They can heal allies better and are further equipped with light magic that is especially destructive to undead and evil creatures. Druid is also good at healing allies with a focus on nature magic. Reavers can heal themselves or allies by absorbing the life forces from enemies. Inquisitor is a magic-user class who transitioned into a melee class instead. They gain the ability to wear medium armor and use mace weapons, but they are still provided with healing spells and holy magic in their arsenal."
