After we saw the notification and realized that we were in trouble, Selene, Thalia, and I went rushing back towards camp, with me as the messenger because I was both faster and can fly.
Yet by the time I returned back I saw a few things in quick succession that were strange. The first was Aiden sitting in the dirt covered in sweat, mumbling something about being so close to dying and stuff.
Jax was beside him trying to console him, but he was also covered in dirt like he had been rolling around.
Even Beatrice was standing there looking lost and confused like they wern't sure what to do.
By the time that Selene and Thalia caught up Jax had briefed me on what happened and spread the good news about everyone now being ready to have their class evo.
"Well at least something good came out of it... right?"
Thalia asked, giving a small nervous shrug as 5 sets of not so friendly gazes turned towards her.
There was movement as the 5 of us came to a silent agreement and dove to tackle Thalia.
By the time we were done the sun was fully set, and we had a nice simple camping spot set up. 3 logs sat where people could get a seat around the fire, the firewood the others had gathered burned nicely in the calm warm night, and on a nearby tree Thalia struggled against the over 200ft or rope we had used to tie her upside down to its trunk.
"Guys... GUYS.... Cut me down already.... Hey, I know you can hear me Jax! Don't you ignore me damn it, the blood is rushing to my head here."
Thalia's yells combined with her kicking her feet and her height made the scene oddly reminiscent of a child being disciplined by being put in time out, minus the upside down part.
"Well next time don't summon Frankenstein's fuckup horse and we won't have to tie you up."
Beatrice barked back as she chewed on the jerky from her ration.
The others were in agreement as they continued to eat in silence, letting Thalia stew against the tree for a few more minutes before finally she was released and allowed to join everyone around the fire.
"O-Ok, so just to clarify, the Hand Horse has agreed to leave us alone for at least 3 months or until Aiden is forced to use his gift from the Observer?"
Selene asked, looking around to make sure everyone. Jax nodded.
"That about sums it up, also it was able to practically ragdoll me despite my best efforts, so we're not ready to fight that thing right now."
"Hey, don't cut us so short, we have Class evolutions waiting to be selected here."
I said as I could practically feel the greed bouncing in my head as I read my evolution choices over again, the anticipation of the last day being practically a torture in itself.
We ended up going around the group, learning about what class evolution choices everyone got.
Aiden had the choices Catalyst crafted that seemed to be about refining alchemy ingredients, Toxicologist which was more of a poison focus, and Ancient Physician which was a whopping B rank evo and seemed to be about making forgotten potions.
Jax had dash striker which was about hit and run tactics, Watched of Ruin that apparently had something to do with something called "the beast of ruin", and Way of the Laughing Fang which seemed to be all about further abusing his already fraying mentality.
Selene had Gianthide which was all about growing big and becoming durable for it, Adaptation warden that apparently specialized in defensive mutations, and Monster from the Mist, The second B rank evo of the group, and apparently tied to that weird thing she did when she fought the crab.
Beatrice had Holy contracted which was more stuff for her angels, Ordained Singer which was able to turn singing into power which the very concept of confused her, and Sanctifier where she could bless water, weapons, and other stuff.
Thalia, much to my annoyance had the third B rank evo being Loom Matreon, and has ties to something called arachnae, Bond Keeper that would apparently make her pet Sir Hams a lot or whatever he is called able to actually fight, and Director which would help her move people around in a fight.
Lastly I had Sigilwright which was all about glyphs, Enchantment Engineer which was enchanting and making items magical, and Jetstream that seemed to enhance my ability to fly.
Of them the only one the party collectively vetoed was way of the laughing fang. Jax had tried to protest but everyone had pointed at Aiden's chest where Jax had broken his ribs last time and he relented. As such Aiden was taking the ancient physician evo, Jax was choosing the watched of ruin, Thalia was taking loom matron, and Beatrice was taking Holy contracted.
That just left me and Selene who were being indecisive. Selene because she wanted to take the evolution that would give her more power in monster from the mist, but she was hesitant due to her whole thing of not wanting to be a monster and it kind of being in the name.
My hesitation was more so stemming from my curiosity about glyphs. So far I had been using the system as a bit of a crutch in order to cast my spells, so having a deeper understanding couldn't hurt. On the other hand the ability to fly super well could be a lot of fun, and the ability to enchant items would never not be useful.
I was indeed plagued by too many good choices.
Yet as I thought back, my choice became a bit more clear as I selected my evolution.
Your class has evolved
Wind Mage -> Jetstream(C)
Your HP and Mana capacities have grown
HP 46 -> 75
MP 206 -> 400
You have obtained a new skill
Your Souring Rhythm(D) skill has evolved into Souring Jetstream(D)
Will of the Wind(D)
??? Mana
Your connection to the wind makes it a close friend, it responds to your commands. Depending on how much wind you want to command you will spend extra mana
Souring Jetstream(D)
Passive
You gain the ability to fly without expanding mana. You can spend extra mana to increase the speed at which you fly