Eridia was nervous, just like all the others who were waiting for the ceremony to start. They would recieve their Class and skills today without knowing what to expect. There were cases of a Mage or Sorcerer with parents who have the Farmer Class, after all.

It didn't matter which lineage someone had or what your ancestors got. If your Class was deemed useless, then you could get thrown out or disinherited. In some cases entire towns ostracized an individual and getting a job became almost impossible.

The small group of Classless was looking forward to being called out by the Priest, wondering which skills they would get while talking about the future and what they wanted to achieve.

There had been a Swordmaster and a Battlemage in the past of Elysthra, the capital city northwest from this small town, causing the young adults to hope for the best or fear the worst.

It had been Eridia's 18th birthday a few days ago and she wasn't the only one, but there were a few of her friends and neighbours who were a year or two older.

The ceremony that unlocked everyones Class happened once per year and if you weren't at least 18 years old or missed it, then you had to wait for the next one. Luckily, there weren't that many who had to wait this time.

One of them just got called out by the priest. Emryc, a cute guy with an androgynous face, fox ears and a bushy tail, stepped forwards only to then stop on top of the dais in the middle of the ceremony hall. He closed his eyes and waited for his Class to be unlocked.

The Priest murmured a few words before a bright glow blinded everyone for about half a minute. When it disappeared, Emryc looked a bit more feminine thanks to his now shoulder long hair and fuller lips. Even his clothes had changed, making him look like an exotic Dancer.

"I'm a Bladedancer?"

He was holding two shortswords in his hands while a sarong hid his crotch from any watchers. For now, it looked slightly see-through while the enchantments would hide his panty clad bulge in the presence of anyone who is too young to participate in the Class ceremony. The newly Classed femboy walked down from the dais to a designated area while the others waited to be called forward by the Priest.

There was an arrogant guy called Georghiz who looked smug after announcing that he had become an Archon, which was considered even higher than Archmage. The wealthy Lupine had been juggling with a ball made out of arcane energy out of boredom.

The Guards were not even thinking of stopping him should he throw the Magic Projectile at anyone. It was known that Georg used connections to aquire skill books and spell scrolls for himself even before unlocking his Class.

Everyone could learn some skills or even spells that weren't tied to a certain Class like a Mage or Witch. The most common one was Mapping, a spell that allowed you to keep track of your suroundings. But you had to either be rich or venture into a dungeon in order to get even one of the cheapest skill books or spell scrolls.

Of course someone without a Class could only dream about being so lucky like Georghiz which was why he sneered at others after discovering that they only got two skills. He boasted to have got five, not counting the passive ones that he bought a few weeks ago.

One after another of the young adults got called by the Priest to step forward. All in all, this small town had a few Farmers, three Chefs, one Baker, a Beast Tamer, two Mages, a Bodyguard, a Bladedancer, an Archon and two Druids.

It was finally Eridia's turn to recieve her Class and see what kind of skills she would get. The young Panthera's tail was wrapped around her waist while her fuzzy ears were lowered out of nervosity.

The older Priest was staring at her curvy body for a bit too long, his gaze lingering on her breasts, hips and ass before moving on to look at her blue hair which was so dark that it almost looked black when the light wasn't making it shimmer faintly.

Eridia grabbed her long tail and hugged it while hoping that this would be over soon. She was a bit self conscious about her looks and wondered if the outline of her nipples could be seen through her dress despite the bandages that she had wrapped around her chest.

When the priest finally finished the ceremony, a quick dazzling flash changed her outfit into blue robes with gold accents as well as a feathered hat. Nobody said anything since they didn't know which Class she got.

Some thought that Eridia had become a Sorceress or Water Magus. There was no weapon or anything else to reveal more about her.

"I'm...a Blue Mage...and my skill is...Copycat?"

She didn't notice that the bandages that she used to hide her genitals had disappeared, showing the outlines of her aerola and nipples. The others were too baffled by the unique Class to say anything at all. 

Only Georghiz was snickering before he began to laugh loud enough that it echoed from the walls until it could be heard from outside the ceremony hall.

"Are you serious?! The poor kitty got only one skill. Good luck finding a party that accepts an unknown Class like you!"

He was still laughing and the others were joining in too. Only the Priest was looking at her with pity. Tears welled up in Eridia's eyes before falling down, leaving a trail behind her while she ran home.

Everyone would know about her sooner or later, even in the nearby towns or villages and including the nearby capital city too. Becoming an adventurer would be dificult for her now since you had to do a quick test to prevent any criminals from joining.

She could still venture into dungeons solo or go to a Slaver in one of the big cities to buy someone. The problem was that Eridia couldn't even save up enough money for one cheap skill book or spell scroll.

Hopefully she could find out more about her Class or what she needed to do in order to learn any new skills without spending a single coin on the way while traveling, considering she didn't end up dead or enslaved before reaching the next town.

There were quite a few Classes that allowed you to fight barehanded and not even the Instructor could help her to learn one of the more basic selbst defense skills.

Sure, everyone got a survival set with low-grade potions included on their 18th birthday, but they might not be enough to escape from an encounter with the nearby weak monsters unscathed.

Needless to mention that defeating a small group of goblins wasn't easy without knowing what her one and only skill was capable of.

Nobody had heard about it before, but maybe one of the gods could help her...after she completed a divine trial first, of course. Which was impossible for now. Who in their right mind would even escort her to one of the many temples?

Eridia's parents weren't home when she returned from the ceremony. Her mother, a Herbalist, worked at the pharmacy while her father, a Ranger with a dire wolf as a companion, was out in the woods checking on the traps that he and the others who hunted food for the small town had set up.

It was still quite early since the Class ceremony took place after everyone had finished breakfast. The signal for everyones lunch break wouldn't sound in a few more hours, which meant there was enough time to prepare for when she left on a journey.

Maybe a trip to one of the nearby, easier dungeons that were more beginner friendly could help clear up some things for the new Blue Mage. Sure, she didn't have any weapons and only knew how to use a bow for hunting food.

But who needed a sword or spear when Eridia could use her sharp claws instead? The only problem was that she didn't have a single passive Skill and the self defense techniques that she had learned might not be enough to survive. Even monsters could learn Skills and use spells, after all.

Eridia didn't have much besides the basics to pack which included some rope, a waterskin, three healing potions, a spark stone for starting camp fires, a sleeping bag, a small tent, enough rations for a week, a fishing kit, a pan as well as a pot for cooking, two antidotes, one panacea given to her by her mother, a medkit, sewing utensils, a bow along with a quiver filled with arrows, a small hatchet, a carving knife that could be used for descaling or skinning, a few spices including Herbst and a small money pouch filled with some copper pieces.

There were even five silver that she had saved up from different miscelaneous jobs like deliveries for her mother. Not to forget the warding crystals that use ambient mana to keep monsters away.

That reminded her of the wedge of cheese and two bottles of milk that an enchantment kept fresh. Her father had said something about a surprise for her too so the young Blue Mage waited a bit longer before leaving the town and going to her first dungeon.

In the meantime, she decided to eat some dried fruit before entering the nearby forest to see if some of her traps had caught something. Eridia was still practicing what she had learned from her father about trapping, but there were only a Mist Rabbit and an Ember Fox.

The rabbit tried to escape by creating a smoke screen made out of fog and manipulating the surrounding moisture while the fox was spewing what looked like glowing, hot coals at the enchanted trap in a desperate attempt to flee. 

She unsheathed her dagger, ready to kill the two forest critters so they could be preserved for later by turning both into jerky after dismantling them when something strange happened right before she could deliver the killing blow.

Eridia's Skill activated all of a sudden which caused her to stop for a moment and look at the two blue windows that had appeared in front of her at the same moment she had killed the Mist Rabbit and the Ember Fox.