They didn't take it well.
Jas' mother was inconsolable. She wailed louder than Jas had ever heard in his entire life before she ran out of the kitchen and back to his parents' bedroom. Jas flinched at the sound of the door slamming.
Jas' father was so quiet that at first Jas thought that he was silent, hands covering his face. But as the echo of the door slamming faded and with his mother's wailing muffled, Jas realized his father was sobbing quietly. Tears dripped from beneath his large, calloused hands to fall to the table.
Jas was stunned. He'd never seen his father cry, not like this.
Jas – naïve, foolish Jas – didn't understand what he had done in choosing his classes. But his parents did, and they imdiately mourned for him, their fourth child, for they knew that his life would be short and full of pain. Jas had been too sheltered from the brutal truth of the world, living in a peaceful village under the protection of his parents.
There was a smashing sound from his parents' bedroom, making Jas flinch. The sound also roused Jas' father, who sniffed loudly and ordered Jas to return to his room and stay there until he ca to get him. "Under absolutely no circumstances are you to leave that room on your own, understand?" he said. Jas had never heard this tone from his father before.
His father… sounded afraid.
"Yes, father." Jas said and returned to his room. The sun was high in the sky before his father opened the door. "Co along Jas, your mother and I need to talk to you about what happens next." They returned to the kitchen, where his mother was already seated at the table. Upon seeing Jas she let out a choked sob, then imdiately slapped her cheeks, hard. She sniffed and sat up straight in her chair. Jas' father sat next to her, and gestured to the seat at the opposite side of the table.
Jas sat down, nervous.
"W-what do you an, what happens next?" Jas asked.
Jas' father answered. "Jas, before we talk about that, you must promise and your mother. You have to swear, not just on your life, but on our lives, that you will never tell anyone that you chose the Enchanter class."
Jas trembled. "But, why-"
But he was cut off by his mother's scream. "By the gods Jas, swear it! Please!"
She didn't sound angry. She sounded desperate.
Jas jolted at his mother's shout. "I, I swear. I won't tell anyone."
"On your life, Jas. And ours." his father insisted, a serious look on his face. His mother held her breath waiting for his response.
"I swear on my life, I won't-"
This ti it was his father who cut him off.
"AND. OURS." his father roared.
Jas flinched again. He was trembling and couldn't stop. He'd never felt this much intensity from his parents before.
"I swear, on my life, and, and… and on my mother and father's lives, that I won't tell anyone I chose Enchanter." he managed to squeak out.
Jas father, who had been watching him like a hawk, now broke eye contact and looked at Jas' mother. She was trembling, too. Jas' father put an arm around her shoulder, reassuring her, before turning back to Jas.
"You swore, Jas. On your own life, and on ours. By the gods I wish that would be enough to protect you, but it won't." Jas' father continued quietly. "Everyone gets two classes, and they can never be changed. Now that you've chosen, for the rest of your life, you'll be a Smith and an Enchanter. Even if you never enchant a thing, and spend the rest of your life training to fight, you'll never be able to compare to soone who has a combat class. Even the weakest Fighter who never trained a day in their life will be able to beat you in a fair fight.
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"So, you must never get in a fight. Not just never get in a fair fight, but in any fight. Ever. The mont you get in a fight, even just jokingly or for fun, it's over. Once even one other person knows you don't have a combat class, once that information spreads beyond the three of us here, there will be nothing anyone can do. You're already in trendous danger, Jas, though you clearly don't realize it."
At this, Jas' father paused.
"But… why? What's so bad about not having a combat class? If it's so bad, then what about yesterday, when I didn't have any classes…?"
Jas mother sniffed. "Jas… nobody would be such a fool as to harm a child before they choose their classes. When you were choosing, did you see the Avenger class?" She asked gently.
"Avenger? No…" Jas said.
"Good." his mother responded. "Only children who have been truly hard or wronged can choose that class. It's a class to aid those in seeking revenge. It's rarely seen, but incredibly powerful. Children who are abused, or kidnapped, or otherwise hard or preyed upon, can take the class and get revenge on their abuser."
"To be the target of an Avenger is one of the worst things that can happen to a person. Well, normally." His father corrected himself. "You must never abuse a child, or anyone who hasn't chosen both their classes, Jas. Especially given the classes you chose. But we're getting away from what's important right now. For now, that's why until yesterday you were never seriously bullied or abused. But now that you've chosen your classes, you can never take the Avenger class. And for that reason, evil people will see you as a target."
"Evil people… you an like bandits?" Jas asked.
"Yes, but not just bandits." his father answered. "The world isn't such a simple place that only bandits would see others as targets."
"A lot of the ti, what keeps the peace is the implicit threat of retaliation." His mother said. "Knowing that soone can defend himself if wronged prevents almost all wrongdoing in the first place."
"Now that you've chosen both your Classes, you won't be able to defend yourself from being wronged." His father said. "And so everyone with evil in their heart will see you as an easy target, and all their pent up evil which normally goes frustrated by the thought of retaliation will be directed at you. There's almost nothing you can do at this point."
"R-really?" Jas was starting to realize that he was in trouble, but he he still didn't understand the full import of what he'd done.
"The first thing you can do is never get in a fight. Never pick a fight, and never attempt to fight back if soone tries to pick one with you." His father said.
"This is already basically impossible." His mother said.
"Yielding quickly when challenged is suspicious, but not unheard of." his father continued. "So people, even with combat classes, simply don't like fighting and will avoid it if at all they can. Never carry more money than you'll need for the day, nor jewelry, nor anything of any real value. Nothing that you wouldn't give up if demanded."
"As a smith, you'll need to have all your custors pick up their orders at your smithy. Never deliver anything to a custor, no matter what. Either make up excuses or refuse the order, or send it through a courier." His mother said.
"The next thing would be to try to run from fights you can't avoid, but I know Smiths don't get any bonuses to their speed." His father continued.
"Bonuses to speed?" Jas asked.
"Most classes will give a boost to your basic attributes." His mother answered. "If I'm rembering right, Smiths get boosts to strength and dexterity, but not to speed. I don't know what boosts – er, your other class gives. What are your boosts, Jas?"
"And be sure to answer quietly." His father urged. "We can never be sure there's not an eavesdropper listening in."
Jas wondered how to even find out what boosts an Enchanter would have, when the information flowed into his mind automatically.
Class: [Smith] Level: 1 Strength Dexterity Endurance
Class: [Enchanter] Level: 1 Dexterity Willpower Intelligence
"Dexterity, Willpower, and Intelligence." Jas whispered. "And I also have an Endurance boost from Smith."
"Three boosts?" His father whispered back. "Never tell anyone that either. I've never heard of anyone getting three boosts from their classes before. It might make soone suspicious."
Neither Jas nor his parents knew that class synergies could result in additional attribute boosts. Those with dual combat classes were aware of the possibility, but most people who chose a class for self-defense and another for their livelihood almost never had such synergy.
"Dexterity, huh? In that case, you should pretend that your second class is Grappler" His father said.
"But who would train him?" his mother interjected. "It'll be suspicious if he can't even fake it. If he pretends to be a Brawler, I can at least give him so training without it looking too strange. And he might learn at least a little about self-defense."
"True." his father conceded. "Okay, Jas, you're going to pretend your second class is Brawler, and your mother will give you so training. But rember, never get in a fight. Never say what your second class really is."
Jas nodded.
"What did you do with those enchantnt designs the Enchanter gave you?" his father asked.
"They're, they're up in my room."
"Go fetch them and bring them back here. We need to burn them."
"Why?!" Jas cried.
"Because if soone finds them, they might realize the truth." his mother hissed. "Keep your voice down."
"Hurry up Jas." his father urged. "Carelessly leaving evidence lying around puts you at more risk than you can know."
Jas' eyes teared up, but he swallowed his complaints and nodded. He got up from the table and went back to his room. He pulled out the bundle of papers and gave them one last look, when-
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