[Book 1 Completed] Industrial Mage: Modernizing a Magical World [Kingdom Building LitRPG]
B2 | Chapter 21 – Class Evolution [1]

Grigor POV

Grigor had always regarded himself as an honest man—at least in the sense that soldiers were honest—and only spoke the truth when it did not jeopardize his financial security or his pride. However, he was now compelled to confess in private that he had misjudged the boy named Theodore.

Grigor had muttered that there were simpler ways to die than offering to be digested while leaning on the haft of his axe, and Theodore had fallen directly into the slime.

Since contempt was better expressed when it was shared, he had spoken it under his breath but loudly enough for the nearby men to hear. They all gave a nervous smile, relieved that the veteran had made their discomfort more bearable with a joke.

Despite his glimmer-and-spark displays, Theodore was still an idiot. Because only an idiot would crawl inside a Rank 3 mana variant slime when he was barely a Rank 2. And Theodore, for all his glimmer-and-spark displays, was still that idiot. A good idiot, maybe but an idiot nonetheless, and Grigor had a long habit of ranking idiots below stone giants on his scale of respect.

Grigor had suffered more than the Slime King, whose aura was a deep tidal rumble that turned the air blue and made untrained stomachs turn. Any worthy [Mage] knew intent could only be focused on a single target, so of course the Slime King should be battering Theodore alone. Though, it was a proof of the Slime King's strength that he felt the aura even as a bistander.

If a splash of baleful intent licked up the wall and brushed Grigor's armor, that was simply collateral spray, nothing more.

Yet even as he finished the thought, the slime began to ripple. Seams tore like parchment as the slimy mass thrust outward like floodwater breaking a river gate. Gouts of slime exploded, and for a single moment, Grigor had the innocent joy of being validated—the youngster was obviously done; nobody could live through that.

He allowed himself the tiniest grin and he entertained a picture of Theodore's bones dissolving into nothing. He told himself that it was just math and not malice. Rank 3s ate up Rank 2s, it was as simple as that, and those who used their comrades as test subjects deserved a thorough cleansing.

Then the smile stopped when he sensed a wave of mana descend over the room, inconceivably thick, cold, and absolute, and all of his instinctual alarms flared red.

He immediately knew whose it was. It wasn't the Slime King, but rather Theodore letting his mana free of his control.

Without requesting permission, his knees gave way.

Something seemed to slip its clawed fingers beneath his ribs, wrenching his intestines and looping them around his lungs, and when the invisible fist squeezed he felt suffocated.

Given that the Slime King should be Theodore's main target, the aura should have been merely a residue, but instead it seemed to have singled him out for execution.

H-how?

How could residue carry this much weight? What was this mana? What flavor of monstrous will radiated out when the real target lay elsewhere?

He made an effort to straighten, but his spine responded grudgingly and slowly.

The others behind him did not fare much better: a dozen lungs struggled for air and armored legs struck stone. One boy retched bile between his fingers and kept retching because reflexes would not believe he was already empty.

If this was residue, then Theodore's direct aura must be a kiln that can melt conscience before flesh, Grigor realized in a moment of irritated clarity.

How could they have felt so much pressure from someone who wasn't even fully Rank 2 yet? He was a Rank 2, just like the majority of the people in this room. But he was above level 10!

The notion unsettled him more than the pressure itself because it refashioned the hierarchy by which he measured threats. There were rules about what power lived in which rank, and the boy was flouting them as casually as a prince kicking mud at peasants.

The mana then drew away as suddenly as a blade retracting into its sheath.

It pinned him one heartbeat, and then it vanished the next, leaving behind only the ringing memory of fear that sounded against his eardrums.

Then, suddenly, everything calmed down.

The Slime King gave one shudder and fell into what now appeared to be a harmless-looking lake.

Pride contended that rising too quickly may be interpreted as relief, and veterans were meant to be above relief, so Grigor remained on one knee. He gazed in disbelief as Theodore came out of the rubble as calmly as though he had passed through a curtain.

The boy's garments were wet but undamaged; [Mana Shield], Grigor made an automatic guess.

A mana stone floated out behind Theodore and drifted after him like an obedient hawk. The boy did not glance back at it; he merely accepted its orbit.

Grigor's shoulders locked. Fight or flight tangled with awe, and awe won, pinning every rebellious snarl in his throat. He got up graduall as a primordial voice warned that a rapid or forceful movement may attract the boy's predatory attention.

The red core in Theodore's right palm had fractured across its equator, and veins of waning light were leaking out of the crack. Pale blue mana threads coiled around that center. Despite the core's attempts to glow brighter, resist, and twitch, Theodore's mana suffocated the Slime King's essence inside its own heart.

How could a mere Rank 2 smother a Rank 3, let alone a mana variant? He asked himself repeatedly, the question refusing to go away.

Theodore's footsteps echoed louder than battle had. When Theodore's gaze finally shifted sideways, it swept across Grigor like a candle flame on iron: swift, hot, leaving no mark but insinuating that given enough time it could melt anything. Even though the look was brief, Grigor felt catalogued, measured, dismissed

He bowed his head by reflex.

Theodore didn't spare him another glance as the footsteps went by, toward Roland, who stood watching the crumbled exit, scratching his chin as though he was thinking deeply.

Grigor's lungs remembered to breathe as soon as Theodore passed; he took a deep breath till his ribs hurt, let it out gently, and then raised his eyes.

One rueful chuckle escaped his lips.

Cocky bastard, he thought, but the curse lacked venom.

***

Theodore POV

[Elemental Mastery] has leveled up! – Lvl 2 > Lvl 3!

[Mana Shield] has leveled up! - Lvl 14 > Lvl 16!

[Arcane Awareness] has leveled up! – Lvl 7 > Lvl 8!

Your race, [Human], has leveled up – Lvl 13 > Lvl 14!

Your race, [Human], has leveled up – Lvl 14 > Lvl 15!

Requirements for a [Body Familiar] have been met!

"Congratulations," Roland said, smiling, "you're starting to look like someone who might survive a Rank 4. Though it seems unlikely."

Theodore smiled back at him.

"Feels odd," Theodore confessed. "I'm on the cusp of class evolution. There are choices to make, and choices can damn a man as quickly as they make him—how did you choose your first path?"

"First evolution reflects the sum of what you've actually practiced, not what you daydream after midnight; the system reads your strongest skills and spits back classes that harmonize with them, so if you have spent thirty hours swinging a sword and none casting a spell, you won't see a [Mage] class, you'll see something that wants blood and iron."

"So I should choose the class whose bones match the skills I have," Theodore mused aloud.

"Choose wisely, yes, but remember that evolution opens doors within the doors; every subclass later will echo your first leap, so think of the afternoon you want to live ten years from now, not only the fight you survived this morning."

"Got it. Oh, and by the way. I got a spell?" Theodore said, and explained what had happened.

Roland nodded in understanding.

"Oh, that happens once you evolve a skill or a class; the architecture shifts, upgrades older rungs, and any magic-related skill sprouts a hierarchy where spells live."

"So in the battle, the system suddenly registered a spell where before it only ever listed skills,"

"Exactly. Evolved skills breed complexity; what did you pick when you evolved [Elemental Spells]?"

"I chose [Elemental Mastery]," Theodore answered.

Roland nodded. "That's a magic skill, so now spells will catalog beneath it. They won't level like other entries, but you'll temper them—iterate, sharpen efficiency, reduce cost—until you can make the spell the best it can be, or evolve it even."

"Okay. Anyhow, guard me," he said, lowering onto folded legs, and Roland stepped forward.

Would you like to assign [Mana Slime] as your [Body Familiar]?

YES | NO

Before second-guessing could take a breath, he clicked "yes." An odd calm followed because choice was finished, and dread only grows on futures not yet settled.

The universe folded into one burning point as pain blossomed, consuming thought, sight, and time. He had no idea how long he had been in that state, but when he became conscious again, his awareness returned in fragments.

When Theodore was at last completely recovered, he muttered.

"That was worse than the Constellation ceremony. Actually, no. This was not that bad. I'm being dramatic."

Roland rolled his eyes.

Theodore exhaled and looked at the notifications he'd gotten.

Congratulations! You have assigned [Mana Slime] as your Body Familiar!

Congratulations! You have met the requirements for Class Evolution!

Theodore looked through his available options:

[Battle Mage]

Function: Hybrid Front-line Caster

Prerequisite: Mage Basics + Weapon Proficiency

Description: A direct [Mage] evolution. A [Mage] who marries martial skill with spellwork, capable of reinforcing body and blade with mana, casting mid-swing, and able to strike and shield in the thick of combat.

Specialization Paths: [Spellblade], [Warcaster], [Aegis Knight], (click to expand)

[Elemental Mage]

Function: Versatile Elemental Manipulator

Prerequisite: [Elemental Mastery]

Description: Channels elemental magic in balanced measure, adapting damage and utility to any environment.

Specialization Paths: [Tempest Sage], [Geomancer], [Frostcaller], (click to expand)

[Runic Mage]

Function: Rune-Based [Mage]

Prerequisite: [Basic Magic Script], [Basic Rune Creation], [Elemental Mastery]

Description: A direct [Mage] evolution. A [Mage] that is not just a [Mage] but also capable of creating, destroying, inscribing, storing, usurping, and triggering arcane runes. Inscribe runes on self, others, and objects.

Specialization Paths: [Sigil Architect], [Wardsmith], [Rune Engineer], (click to expand)

[Flame Weaver]

Function: Fire-Focused Artillery

Prerequisite: Elemental Affinity—Fire

Description: Channel and weave raw thermal energy.

Specialization Paths: [Inferno Savant], [Ember Binder], [Ashlord], (click to expand)

[Arcane Duelist]

Function: Close-Quarters Spell-Fencer

Prerequisite: [Swordsmanship], [Arcane Awareness], [Elemental Mastery], [Mana Reinforcement]

Description: Employs rapid-cast spells and blade work to outmaneuver single foes in high-speed magical skirmishes.

Specialization Paths: [Mirror Duelist], [Spellbreaker], (click to expand)

***

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