About a week after the day I gained Monster Conversion I wake up feeling great. Really great, in fact. When I climb out of bed I go through a random bunch of stretches, paying close attention to how my body moves and the amount of effort I'm putting in. "What's going on here? I feel, stronger?" I quickly throw on a pair of mid thigh length red shorts, a yellow sleeveless shirt, and a white hair ribbon. Then run out into the dining room. "Daaaad!"

I really didn't need to shout, he's currently in front of the stove cooking. He turns to look towards me. "Yeah? . . Huh. You got stronger." He turns back to the stove to focus on cooking. I sit down and tap my foot while waiting till he's free to talk. Eventually Tir comes out of their room and joins me at the table. If I wasn't feeling stronger today, I think he'd be getting close to catching up to me. Still a little hard for me to judge mages though.

Once Dad is done cooking, he serves up breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and toast. I butter a piece of my toast, then poke it into the middle of an egg. I take a bite from that corner, then stare at Dad. "Okay, breakfast started. I can ask about it now, right?" He rolls his eyes, but nods. "Okay, so can people level up before they get their class?"

"Sort of. It's a little different." He tosses a whole strip of bacon into his mouth. "It basically works the same way. When a person kills a monster, they absorb a little bit of the monster's energy to refine their own strength. Monsters can do the same, better even from what I've heard." He pauses to think. "The Class Souls granted by the Goddess make that more efficient. Plus, classes provide a path for growth. It's hard to say what sort of abilities you might get when growing stronger without a class. You must have been fighting more monsters closer to your own strength lately to get this noticeable a boost."

Tir almost chokes on a piece of toast and coughs a few times. "She got stronger?!" He groans and starts eating faster.

Dad huffs, then continues. "I don't know about other gods blessings so much. But with Class Souls you can still increase your 'base power' in a few ways. Changing classes just switches out your class soul, and it leaves behind some of the power in your proper soul. But unless you change to a class with similar abilities, you lose most of the skills used by the class you switch away from. Just keeping the most iconic skills for the class that you've learned. Classing up is a bigger deal though."

He puts an egg on a piece of toast and takes a bite. "If you class up, the class soul of your basic class fuses with your proper soul, making your base power much higher, then putting the class soul of the advanced class on top of that. Essentially, class change makes you weaker, but still stronger than you were before you had the class. Where as classing up keeps your current strength and lets you grow further." He takes another bite. "Or, once you've reached the cap for your current class, you can keep aiming for those 'natural level ups' which take a lot more work."

"Could I get really strong even before I get a class? Oh, guess you already sort of covered that. No idea what skills I'd get that way, and it'd be a lot of work. I mean, I naturally leveled up once during the time Tir leveled up like, three times as a mage?"

Tir finishes his breakfast and speaks up. "Four actually. Just got my second skill, Firebolt. It's pretty much the same as magic missile, but with the fire attribute. Oh, and I had a few other skills I could have picked, but I liked that one."

"Right, well I'll keep trying. I mean, some of the equipment I can make with Monster Conversion is sure to help. If I can get even stronger before I get a class I'm gonna try." I remember my intention to give Dad a bow. "Right, while I'm on the subject. Dad, could you close your eyes for a second?"

He looks down to his mostly eaten breakfast, then piles everything he has left together and shoves it all in his mouth before humoring me. During the last few days, I figured out how to use Monster Conversion without speaking, so I go ahead and make a Treantwood Bow, and hundred Treantwood arrows. Then I place the arrows on the table between us, each set of twenty in its own little leaf quiver, and hold up the bow. "Okay, you can look now."

He opens his eyes and looks down at me. Once his gaze settles on the longbow he smiles slightly, a rare sight. Then he picks it up from my outheld hands to inspect it. "For me? . . What're you after?" I sputter slightly and he chuckles. "Doubt you don't have anything you want."

I groan. "Couldn't have enjoyed the moment for a minute or so first? Haa. Okay, fine. I want to butcher monsters myself. That way I can do more hunting quests while keeping the parts the quests don't need for my skill. The couple knives I've been able to make with Monster Conversion so far are fine for fighting, but I think I need a decent metal carving knife. Plus it could be a solid weapon for when punching and kicking isn't a good idea. . . Or, I could just use weapons from my skill for that. Anyway, I already have about six silvers I can put towards it myself, if that'll help convince you."

He puts his hand atop my head. "Hmm, a steel knife with a coating would cost about twenty silvers. But, I wouldn't be surprised if this bow is worth fourteen or so." His hand ruffles my hair, then pulls away. "So I'll take you to a smith tomorrow, but in exchange, go on an adventure with your brother today. It'll be good for you two to get a feel of each other's abilities."

"I was, gonna go with Mera today." It'd be annoying to bring Tir along when I could just hang out with my best friend.

"That's fine. You can fight up front, she can guard him, and he can focus on attacking with magic. Sounds like a solid start to a party set up. Though the dynamic could change when you and Mera get your classes." When was it decided that we'd be a party with him?! Despite my feelings on the matter, I don't really feel like I have the right to object.

Having determined that the discussion was over, Dad stands up, gathers the arrows, and walks over to compare the new bow to his old one. I continue eating while sulking a little. I hear him mutter something about the draw weight, and hear a clattering as he fills his old quiver with the new arrows. After that he heads out. I finish up my breakfast, and look over to Tir who has been done a while.

He looks pleased about the situation, whether he recognizes my irritation or not. I sigh, and take care of the dishes quickly. He brings more water in to replace what I used. Then we head out together. On the way out we come across a huge black bird with a pair of horns upon its head. A demon crow, and not a lesser one like we saw the other day.

It's strong enough that I would hesitate to fight it on my own. I'd probably win now, but a few days ago it would've been hard. I bet, Dad left this on purpose to test us. It caws at us and hops forward, taking a peck at Tir since we were walking side by side, and he seems like more of a threat because he's so much bigger than me. I backhand the bird's beak away from Tir. "Gah!" Its beak left a decent scratch on my hand even though I hit the side instead of the point. "I'll get you some distance, shoot it."

I tackle the bird as it squawks indignantly. "R-right!" After a bit of a tumble, I break away before it can really attack with its talons or beak. It's focused on me and seems plenty dangerous in the moment. "Firebolt!" A small ball of fire strikes the bird in the side. The fire quickly spreads across its feathers leaving it shrieking and flailing around.

I kick the side of the bird that isn't burning hard enough to knock it to the ground. It continues to thrash around but seems to be in too much pain to right itself properly. "Not what I had in mind. But that works for killing it, I guess." Once the flames have smoldered out, I stomp on the giant crow's head to finish it off. "I suppose you don't mind if I just use monster conversion here, do you? You ruined most of the feathers anyway."

Tir shakes his head, looking a little downcast. I nod, and the crow vanishes. [20 units of Demon Crow material obtained] [Recipes unlocked; Curse Vial 10 units any demon material, Demon Sorcerer Wand 10 units any tree monster material and 20 units any demon material, Demon Feather Shroud 100 units Demon Crow material]

"Hey Tir." He hums in response. "Mages use wands and stuff, right?" He nods, but doesn't seem to get where I'm going. "Right, in that case. Catch." I convert the wand and toss it to him. He fumbles a bit, but manages to take hold of it. A black rod about a foot long with a clear stone of some sort on one end.

"You made a wand. From the demon crow?" He takes a closer look at the wand. "What does it do?"

"Oh. I didn't think to check first." [Demon Sorcerer Wand: A wand that uses a mysterious power to apply the dark element to spells.] "It says it adds the dark element to spells. Beyond that, I guess you'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Whaa?! What if it was something weird? Check things before you make them idiot!" I stare at him blankly. He backs down first. "Right. Uhm, thank you for the wand. I'll do my best to make use of it."

"Glad to hear it, and you're welcome. Now let's get going. You can test it out on whatever we encounter next." On the way to town, we encounter a few more weak monsters that Tir tests his spells out on. His aim seems better with the wand. Between his two spells, Magic Missile seems to have changed more from the wand. It is now a black sphere that clings to whatever it hits for several seconds, seeming to eat into the target until it exhausts its energy. Firebolt acts the same, but now has a purplish tint to the flames.

When we get to Mera's house, Tir knocks on the door. When Mera herself answers he smiles at her and waves as if drawing attention to himself. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out with- gah!" I cut him off by elbowing him in the ribs, holding back a fair bit, of course.

"What my brother means to say, is that Dad wants us to party up for the day in exchange for him helping me buy a hunting knife tomorrow." Mera brushes past Tir, who is still holding his side to grab my hands.

A moment later she holds my right hand higher to look at it. "You've got blood on you." She pulls a handkerchief out to wipe the blood away, then hums slightly. "Okay, as long as you're there, I suppose it's fine!" She pulls my hands up to her shoulders, then leans in for a hug.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Mera puts me between the two of them as we walk to the Guild, causing Tir to sulk most of the way. Though he does end up a little smug for some reason while we're looking over the request board. Eventually he points to a sheet on the board. "How about this one?"

An Acid Slime extermination quest, definitely him playing to his strengths, since fighting one of those in melee combat is a terrible idea. More to the point. "Thats an E rank quest? . . Oh, I suppose even you would have had enough accomplishments to rank up right away when you came of age."

"Heey! Couldn't you have phrased that a bit nicer? Anyway, it'd be a good one for you, right? Since it's extermination and all." That's a good point. It's annoying to rely on his rank, and take a quest that I'm not suited to, but I suppose. I huff, then glance at Mera, a moment later, we both nod. "Alright, let's take it to the counter!"

When we approach the counter, the red haired secretary perks up. "Oh Tir, you're partying up with those trouble makers, erm I mean, nice young ladies? . . Is Tir your older brother Aradain?" I grumble, but nod. "Wow, never would have figured that if you didn't come in together. Who'd have thought a reliable boy like Tir was related to you." She clears her throat. "Sorry, not very professional of me, what can I help you with today?"

"I apologize for any trouble my sister has caused you Miss Fluria. Ha ha, eh. We're here to practice fighting together, and I thought this quest would work." He passes the quest sheet over to her. After a moment of looking it over she quirks an eyebrow.

"Are you sure Tir? It would be good practice for a mage, but those two might have trouble. Could you at least get them shields to shove the acid slimes away?" After a moment, I nod. "You've already got something in mind? Well, alright."

She hands the slip back after noting the quest in her ledger, and we head out. The destination is in the farmlands to the east. Once we follow the road out of town Tir decides to speak once nobody is close to us in the moment. "By the way, you want a knife to butcher monsters, but why not just hunt monsters independently? I mean, extermination quests are fine. But hunting on your own seems better than picking up quests where you need to bring parts back if your unique skill is your focus."

"Well, I need to make money somehow, and I can't always count on extermination quests right? . . Uhh, no. I guess I could just sell the normal items I make with monster conversion? Lesser healing potions are pretty common, and I think a couple others would be normal enough to sell. Meraaaa, there's a good reason for me to stick with the guild, right?"

"Of course there is." She leans against me as we walk, which is a tiny bit awkward. "You might get quests for monsters you'd have a hard time finding otherwise." She laughs. "So, do the all the extermination and hunting quests you can, since most other quests won't help with your skill at all, and use those to raise your rank to aim for higher quests with rarer and stronger monsters. Plus if you sell things made with your skill, even if you stick to normal items, people might ask where you got them." I nod and hum slightly. "Also, having a good reputation as a strong adventurer can't hurt."

The conversation trails off. When there's nobody in sight I craft a pair of Slime Resin Bucklers and hand one over to Mera. They're small shields, but they should be plenty for bashing slimes around. After around an hour of walking we reach a small farm village in the middle of a group of fields.

When we ask about their acid slime problem, they point us to a trail between two fields leading north, and say that the slimes have been picking off crops in the north east field. We head that way while keeping an eye on the fields. Eventually we spot a group of six slimes, five of them are bright green, and the sixth is colorless and almost completely clear. Never seen that kind of slime before.

The acid slimes all feel a bit stronger than Mera, the last one has that same sort of feeling I've been getting from Tir lately to it, and seems about as strong as him. "I should attack first from here. Though I can't use fire near the field, so I'll need you two to stall while my Magic Missile is on cooldown." Neither of us object, so he casts the spell at the nearest slime. The black ball sinks into the slime and it stops moving.

The clear slime fires a normal magic missile back at him. Tir stares in shock as I step forward to stop the spell with my shield. The impact is enough to numb my hand a little even through the shield. After that, the remaining acid slimes start hopping towards us. I run forward to knock one back with the shield, Mera hangs back by Tir as a secondary defender. Once the acid slimes are after me, I dodge around trying to keep their attention and warding them off with the shield when I need to. I also kite them towards the clear slime as I avoid them. After ten seconds Tir is ready to cast again and shouts. "Get clear!"

I bait the acid slimes into lunging at me all at once, then jump over them and get a little distance. Once Tir casts magic missile and takes out another one, I lunge towards the clear slime and smash its core with one punch before getting back close to the acid slimes. As I continue to kite them around Tir takes them down one by one. Once we're done, I look around. "What, uh. What do we bring back as proof?"

"From what I've heard, they don't insist on that with acid slimes. Most slimes you'd bring back the cores, but well." He gestures to the bubbling acid puddles. "So I guess, just use all of them? We'll report the job as done, and they should accept it."

I nod, then go for the clear slime first. [20 units of Slime Material obtained] [Slime variant: Magic Slime, converted. Recipes Unlocked; Small Lesser Mana Potion 20 slime material, Slime Polymer Robe 60 units slime material] "Oh, variants give the same material, but unlock new recipes? Neat." Then I convert the acid slimes. [34 units of Slime Material obtained] [Slime variant: Acid Slime, converted. Recipes Unlocked; Acid vial 10 slime material, Acidproof gloves 40 slime material]

I check over my shield. It looks a little worn away from the acid slimes, but not as bad as I expected. Then we head back to the farm village to tell them, then head back to town, done for the day.

Chaos_Sinner777

For some reason I don't feel like getting too into stat types and values in this story. My writing speed on this is gonna drop. Already had the first chapter written before I started posting it, and the other three were all written during a three day weekend off work. During which writing was the main thing I was doing. Might still focus on it when I write for a while though. Probably until I've finished part one.