"Why not? Doesn't the glow bother your eyes?" Ravenous asked.

"Oh yeah, they're starting to get really dry," Brett said, rubbing at them. He blinked several times, wincing at the blinding light stabbing his eyes.

Alan started laughing. "There are very few notifications that are worth waiting to check. The risk of developing permanent eye problems is just too high." 

Alan was more relaxed than Brett expected as if he was much more comfortable now. He watched as the man carefully placed a card adding to the pattern on the ground.

"What about class offerings? Are they worth waiting for?" he asked, generally curious. What did people normally do?

"Ehhhh, unless it sounds awesome and you don't know anything about it, probably not. Either you want it, or you don't." Ravenous explained. "The more important thing is making sure you can get good skills right after. So when you get one that you want, be in a place that can get you the skills you want."

"Well, I got a class that I thought I should ask about," he said. At their cocked expressions, he elaborated. "It's not the first by far, but one that might be good - Berserker."

Ravenous cocked her head. "I'm surprised, you didn't strike me as a brute. If it really speaks to you…but I would be shocked if you got a class that works for you right away."

"Normally, people from this side train for years before they even consider a class they were offered. They know, if not the exact class, the general type and what type of skills they are looking for. The name of the game is stacking the deck. You can't guarantee anything, but with the right environment, you can generally get something decent." Ravenous said, frowning at the cards in her hand.

"You'll need a lot more experience, both in combat and to show the system. You won't get a class good for you yet." Alan added as he picked up a card. Ravenous winced at the move.

"That is true; a lot of the ones I got were really specifically related to what I was doing at the moment. Or super vague." Brett said.

"Berserker is pretty common, and a lot of the other sides have something like that, so people are familiar with it. A lot of the people I knew who took the class are dead. Maybe a specialization of the class might be a good choice, but I wouldn't recommend it." Ravenous asked.

Alan shifted to the side, making space for Brett to sit against the cave wall. As he sat down, he checked his body. His muscles screamed at him in protest, but the goo had all vanished, though his clothes still had holes from the pincers. Flopping down against the wall, he let out a huge sigh. He was going to be so sore tomorrow.

"So no to the Berserker?" he asked to be sure before he rejected it. 

"We can get you something better just today if you really need a class now," Ravenous said.

"I'm not in any real rush," he said, and Alan let out a soft grunt as he swiped the whole formation of cards toward him.

Dismissing the notification, he checked the next one. "What is a Dungeon Janitor? Is that what it sounds like?"

"They are pretty good at maintaining kept Dungeons. Some of the locals who aren't very well off will take it for the steady job. You probably don't want it, though." Ravenous explained.

He also rejected Bug Stomper, "Okay, how about Downward Fist?"

"Never heard of that one. Were you just punching down a lot?"

***

They were right. Of course, nothing Brett had done yet warranted an epic-sounding class or anything worthwhile. Still, he had a bit of hope for something special. Eventually, he got to the last notification.

Congratulations on completing The Breeding Grounds. Completion score: D, number of enemies killed: 262. Reward: Spiked Leather Gloves

Brett read the line out loud. Alan just grunted. Ravenous shuffled a few cards around before saying, "D, not bad for your first run. Most people start in the F or E. You must have gone for all the waves. That's good, at least."

A few seconds after the notification cleared, Brett blinked. Enjoying the merciful respite from the light, he rested his eyes. Then something landed on his lap. He jumped slightly but soon saw it was a pair of leather gloves with small spikes on the knuckles. The seemed perfect for squashing bugs and breaking through their shells. "Is there anything magical about these?"

This time Ravenous and Alan both snorted. 

"No, they're just leather," Alan said through a subtle smirk.

"Don't expect anything magical till level 30 Dungeons, and then you need to be getting at least a B rating," Ravenous explained. Level 30. He had heard that before. Oh, that was the requirement for the shrine as well.

"What's up with level 30?" he asked.

"Things change at 30. Everything starts to have some magic. Before that, only purely magical classes get to use magic. Afterward, pretty much everyone gets some. It makes running a hybrid really difficult. Not many who try to make it to level 30 survive." Ravenous said, grinning as she played another card.

"I don't get why people even want to run hybrids. After 30, pretty much everyone has magic anyways, and with the pure magic people still using real weapons, everyone is already a hybrid." Alan complained. 

Brett  was glad to get the advice that it didn't really work, or he would have gotten a hybrid class himself. But that brought up another question. "How do people get magic classes if they can't use magic to demonstrate their abilities? I mean, wouldn't you have to before getting the class?"

"Study mostly; it was really boring," Ravenous complained.

"Sorry if it is rude to ask about people's classes. But what are you?" he said. Brett really didn't want to offend, but it felt like he was stumbling in the dark regarding the system and needed answers. 

"Hmm, it's not really rude, but most people just give the capabilities as class names can be a little personal. I don't mind sharing it with you, but don't go spreading it around. I'm a Cat of Fate. A karmic magician." Ravenous said, leaning in and speaking softly.

"I got a personal class name. Pretty much a shadow ninja, assassin, or the like." Alan put in. 

"My guide said something 'bout all classes being equal?" He was pretty sure that was bullshit, but he just wanted to ensure.

"Yeah, that's bullshit," muttered Alan.

Ravenous continued the explanation. "She probably had to say that as a guide. All classes get the same amount of stats, but they are not equal. It matters more later, but for now the important part is the more specific the class, the fewer skills you have the option to learn. That might take you longer to fill up your slots, but it means you don't end up with stuff like [Breathing] or [Walking]."

That made sense. "So it takes a different amount of time to fill up slots depending on how "good" the class is?"

Alan nodded. "Took me a few months."

Brett sighed in relief. That was a weight off his mind. If he got a good enough class, he didn't need to worry about skills as much. Ravenous expanded on the quiet man's answer. "It only took me a couple days, but I had spent a lot of time making sure I knew what I wanted. It is important to get the right skills right away. But I did know someone who got a bad class and ended up with a full skill set in under a minute." She shrugged. "Apparently, Commoners can learn [Sitting]." 

"Alright, that's enough rest. Back you go." Alan said as he pulled Brett to his feet. Brett hadn't even seen him put his cards down and stand up.

Before Brett could ask another question, he was shoved again through the dungeon entrance.