'Anyway, it's good news.'
Anser no longer dwelled on it. His consciousness touched the twenty-sided die, and fragments of memory surfaced in his mind one after another: blasting fish-men, slaughtering a wyvern, surrounding and hunting Kobolds, a fierce battle in the forest, killing an Intellect Devourer…
A moment later, the symbols transformed into two figures standing back to back—one in a long robe holding a staff, the other indistinct and blurred.
Ding—
[You have obtained Adventure Trait: Multiclass]
Multiclass: When one of your ability scores reaches or exceeds the human limit of 20, you may take on a secondary class whose primary ability score is that ability.
An ability score at the pinnacle of humanity allows you to quickly master that class's features and abilities, but you cannot gain the benefits granted by leveling up, such as Hit Points, proficiency bonus, and so on.
This class and your primary class are independent of each other. The experience required to level up is twice that of a normal class. For features or abilities of the same type that increase, their effects do not stack; the stronger effect applies.
'An independent secondary class?' Anser was stunned. This truly caught him off guard.
He had previously considered multiclassing, but he felt that nine-circle spells were more important, so he decided to focus on Sorcerer for the time being.
Traditional multiclassing has no limit on the number of classes; as long as the prerequisites are met, you can multiclass.
Multiclassing allows you to obtain abilities from different classes. It may seem powerful, but it has quite a few drawbacks.
The biggest issue is experience. The experience required to level up is based on your character's total level. For example, a level 7 Sorcerer/level 1 Fighter has a total class level of 8. You must gain enough experience to reach level 9 before you can raise Fighter to level 2 or Sorcerer to level 8.
At that point, your character level is 9, and you possess the Hit Points and proficiency bonus corresponding to that level, but you still cannot master 5th-circle spells.
"Multiclass" is different from traditional multiclassing. It is completely independent, which aligns more closely with common understanding.
The advantages are obvious. Multiclass has its own independent leveling system. Even though the experience required is doubled, you can still rapidly increase the class level and gain new abilities.
For example, a level 7 Sorcerer/level 1 Fighter would only need 600 experience to raise Fighter to level 2 under "Multiclass." The difference in the early stages is very apparent.
But where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. Leveling up under this system is not complete.
In the original class system, each advancement is equivalent to a sublimation of life, whether it is a secondary class or the primary class.
Within "Multiclass," after leveling up a secondary class, there is no "level-up effect." You can master the class abilities and Feats, but attributes such as Hit Points will not increase.
Likewise, with a level 7 Sorcerer/level 2 Fighter, under normal multiclassing the total class level is 9. Under "Multiclass," the total class level is still 7. "Level 2 Fighter" is a nominal level—he only has the Hit Points, proficiency bonus, and so on corresponding to level 7, and his life force is weaker than the former.
'Strong, but not that strong.' For the moment, Anser still couldn't fully sort out the pros and cons of the two.
But he knew that raising multiple classes in parallel was definitely not advisable. Adding the two classes together would mean a ridiculous triple experience requirement—wouldn't it be better to use all that experience to raise the primary class?
The correct way to use it should be: when your level is relatively high and the experience required for advancement is enormous, spend a small amount of experience to raise the secondary class.
Anser opened the blurred figure on the die. Light and shadow exploded outward, and silhouettes representing different classes swirled around him, each striking a different pose, lifelike and vivid.
Most classes were dim and unlit. Only Bard, Paladin, and Warlock were bright—all classes that use Charisma as their primary ability score.
He touched them one by one with his mind. Every other class popped up a prompt: "Ability score not met." Only Cleric produced an additional warning: Unable to sense where the gods dwell!
'Huh?' This message was completely different from the first time he chose a class.
A Cleric's primary ability score is Wisdom. They can reach into the Outer Planes where the gods dwell, draw forth and channel divine magic, and wield that mighty power to bless all living beings and shatter powerful foes.
If they cannot draw power from the gods' realm, then they completely lose the ability to cast spells.
'So before, it was just that I lost contact with the gods, and now I can't even sense the Outer Planes? What on earth happened…'
Unfortunately, he was too weak. He neither had the ability nor the strength to walk the Outer Planes. He could only wait passively for everything to unfold.
He checked Warlock and found that some subclasses were affected as well—certain patrons could not be selected.
'The disaster may only just be beginning. Sigh…'
He set aside his worries about the unknown, calmed himself, and carefully weighed the pros and cons.
Warlock was the first to be eliminated. It is an esoteric scholar who draws power from an otherworldly pact—if one day the patron "disconnects," the channel for magical power will be cut off.
Bard is a performer who uses music, dance, and magic to inspire people, known as a "jack-of-all-trades," a "universal tool," but "not obviously strong," with an average spell list.
Multiclassing into Bard would let him learn a few new spells, as well as some not-very-professional melee ability.
Paladin seemed pretty good. After multiclassing, he could wear all kinds of armor, master military weapons, excel in melee, and also learn Paladin-exclusive spells.
Divine magic is very special—ordinary spellcasters cannot master it.
The power of Paladins is plain for all to see, but their numbers are very small. The greatest obstacle lies in the oath.
Perhaps a Paladin swears the oath before a sacred altar under the witness of a priest, or makes a promise to the spirits of nature in a forest sanctuary, or forms a covenant in the face of despair and disaster under the witness of the dead. All of these Paladin oaths are extremely powerful contracts.
It is precisely the power of the oath that transforms a devout warrior into a blessed champion.
Most Paladins worship deities of the good alignment, but they can cast divine magic whether they have faith or not—this power comes from the oath.
There are many types of oaths. The Oath of Devotion, Oath of Glory, Oath of the Ancients, and Oath of Vengeance are the mainstream ones. There are also rarer oaths such as the Oath of the Crown, Oath of Conquest, Oath of Zealotry, and the Oath of the Genie Noble.
Different oaths impose different constraints and have different alignments, but none of them may betray their oath.
Anser looked through them and found that the Oath of the Genie Noble was the easiest to follow, commonly called the "Genie Pal."
Oath of the Genie Noble: Break in order to rebuild, reshape new life; take brilliance as your banner and elegance as your guide; respect the elements and revere their wrath.
"Break in order to rebuild, reshape new life" is the core philosophy of the oath. It acknowledges that destruction is a necessary prerequisite for creation. As for how to interpret it, that is open to individual understanding.
The second clause seems simple but is actually rather difficult. It requires you to pay attention to your bearing and conduct, maintain generosity and composure, and ensure that your actions carry a sense of legend whenever possible—for example, confronting powerful enemies head-on, while avoiding methods such as poisoning or attacking from behind.
The third clause is relatively simple: you must hold reverence for the elements themselves and the power they represent. The elements are your companions, not slaves or dogs.
The Oath of the Genie Noble is a very rare neutral oath. It carries no moral coercion, at most placing some mild constraints on personal conduct.
'That works too. At worst, I'll just shout before launching a sneak attack.'
Anser pondered for a moment, waved his hand to dismiss the class projections, and brought up the character sheet.
His experience had reached 19147/23000, still quite a distance from level 7.
Below it appeared an additional entry: "Experience Pool," with a value of 5147. Calculated out, it was exactly the portion of experience he had saved after reaching level 6.
All classes shared a single experience pool. Raising the secondary class to level 4 required 5400 experience—clearly not enough, and he was reluctant to spend it anyway.
The secondary class absolutely must not affect the leveling progress of the primary class!
But if he raised the secondary class to level 2, it would only require 600 experience. That was simply too cost-effective.
He clicked the blurred figure on the die that represented "Multiclass," and selected the figure representing Paladin.
In the next instant, all the images dispersed at once. Anser's mind jolted, and in a trance-like moment he seemed to enter a strange space filled with magical elements and all kinds of bizarre creatures.
Understanding dawned on him, and he began to recite the oath: break in order to rebuild, reshape new life…
The sonorous voice triggered waves of energy that intertwined and converged, gradually forming a four-colored rhombus-shaped magical mark that branded itself on his forehead before vanishing.
Then his body grew hot, his muscles trembled, and a vast amount of techniques and knowledge projected themselves into his body and mind.
Within his consciousness, "he" had trained in combat techniques year after year, mastering all kinds of weapons and armor, and becoming adept at wielding the power of the oath to unleash magical force.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---