CHAPTER 11 — “Festival of Fools”
I wake up to the smell of something burning.
Not the dangerous kind of burning—not “the cottage is on fire” burning. The “someone is attempting to cook and it’s going poorly” kind of burning. Which, in its own way, is almost as alarming.
I crack one eye open.
Sunlight streams through the window. Late morning, judging by the angle. I’ve slept for—I do the math—about fourteen hours. My body feels like it’s been used as a punching bag by something with too many fists, but my HP has regenerated to full and my mana is back to comfortable levels.
Small victories.
You’re awake, Johnson observes from somewhere near my feet. Finally. I was beginning to think you’d died and no one bothered to tell me.
“How long have you been watching me sleep?”
Long enough to confirm that you drool. Extensively.
“I don’t drool.”
The wet spot on your pillow disagrees.
I sit up, ignoring the protest from muscles that have apparently forgotten how to muscle. The cottage is warm, fire crackling in the hearth, and there’s movement in the small kitchen area that suggests Mariella is responsible for both the heat and the burning smell.
“What’s she cooking?”
I believe the technical term is ‘attempting to cook.’ The actual result is closer to ‘cremating vegetables.’
“That bad?”
I’ve seen funeral pyres that were less thorough.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and take stock of myself. The wounds from yesterday have mostly healed—accelerated regeneration from the level-up, probably—but there are new scars joining the collection. My body is becoming a map of near-death experiences.
Very aesthetic. Very concerning.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ CURRENT STATUS ││ Velthar (Arcane Apothecary, Level 15) │├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ HP: 260/260 │ MP: 130/130 ││ STR: 28 │ AGI: 30 ││ INT: 40 │ WIS: 42 ││ DEX: 31 │ LCK: 13 ││ ││ Status Effects: None (finally) ││ Rest Quality: Excellent (14 hours) ││ Hunger: Moderate (should probably eat) ││ ││ REMINDER: Class evolution available ││ Options pending review ││ ││ "You slept like the dead.
Appropriate, ││ given your history." │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Right. The class evolution.
I should probably deal with that before anything else happens. Knowing my luck, another crisis will emerge the moment I try to do something important, and I’ll be stuck at Arcane Apothecary forever.
“Mariella?”
She turns from the stove, and there’s a smudge of something black on her cheek that suggests the vegetables weren’t the only casualties. “You’re awake! Good. I was trying to make breakfast, but—”
“The pan caught fire?”
“The pan is fine. It’s what was in the pan that…” She trails off, gesturing helplessly at a pot that’s currently emitting smoke signals. “I’m better at construction than cooking. In my defense, royal children don’t typically learn kitchen skills.”
“I appreciate the effort.”
“You might not appreciate the results.” She sets down the spatula—which also appears to be slightly singed—and crosses to where I’m sitting. “How do you feel?”
“Like I was run over by a cart. Then the cart backed up. Then it ran me over again for good measure.”
“So, normal post-dungeon condition?”
“Pretty much.”
She examines me with the critical eye of someone who’s learned to assess injuries. “Your color’s better. And you’re not bleeding anywhere visible, which is an improvement over last night.”
“The bar is very low.”
“The bar is in a hole in the ground. You keep tripping over it anyway.”
I like her, Johnson comments. She understands the fundamental nature of your existence: constant near-disaster.
I ignore him and pull up the class evolution menu. Time to see what kind of choices the System has generated this time.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│ CLASS EVOLUTION AVAILABLE ││ Arcane Apothecary (Rare) → ?
?? │├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤│ Current Class: Arcane Apothecary (Rare-Unique) ││ Current Level: 15 (Evolution threshold) ││ ││ EVOLUTION OPTIONS: ││ ││ 1.
\[Master Alchemist\] (Epic) ││ --- Pinnacle of alchemical crafting ││ --- Can create legendary-tier potions ││ --- New skill tree: Grand Synthesis ││ --- New passive: \[Philosopher's Touch\] ││ --- "You become really, really good at making ││ potions.
That's... that's the whole thing." ││ ││ 2.
\[Battle Apothecary\] (Epic) ││ --- Combat-focused evolution ││ --- Potions become instant-use abilities ││ --- Enhanced physical stats ││ --- New skill tree: War Chemistry ││ --- New passive: \[Toxin Immunity\] ││ --- "Healing and hurting, all in one package.
││ Efficient. Violent. Fun." ││ ││ 3. \[Mana Weaver\] (Epic) ││ --- Focus on mana manipulation ││ --- Enhanced recovery and capacity ││ --- Can directly shape raw mana ││ --- New skill tree: Essence Manipulation ││ --- New passive: \[Mana Resonance\] ││ --- "Less about potions, more about power.
││ A step back toward what you used to be.
" ││ ││ \[HIDDEN OPTION DETECTED\] ││ Requirements: ││ --- \[Fragmented Soul\] trait (18%+ recovery) ││ --- \[Architect's Authority\] skill ││ --- \[Soul Echo\] skill ││ --- Cleared 5+ dungeon floors (personal) ││ --- Defeated boss using non-standard methods ││ ││ 4.
\[Archmage Remnant\] (Legendary --- UNIQUE) ││ --- Partial restoration of original class ││ --- Access to degraded Archmage abilities ││ --- Accelerated soul fragment recovery (+100%) ││ --- New skill tree: Echoes of Power ││ --- New skill tree: Architect's Domain ││ --- New passive: \[What Was Lost\] ││ "Occasionally access full Archmage-level ││ abilities for brief periods" ││ --- New passive: \[What Remains\] ││ "Permanent +30% to all mana-based effects" ││ --- "You were an Archmage once.
This class ││ remembers. It won't give everything back--- ││ not yet---but it's a bridge.
A promise. ││ A chance." ││ ││ Note: Hidden option generated based on your ││ unique circumstances.
Selecting this will ││ permanently alter your progression path.
││ Other classes will no longer be available ││ at future evolution points.
││ ││ Choose wisely. Again. │└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
I stare at the options.
The first three are good. Solid. Master Alchemist would make me the best potion-crafter on the continent. Battle Apothecary would turn me into a one-man alchemical army. Mana Weaver would accelerate my recovery, get me closer to my original power.
But the fourth option…
[Archmage Remnant].
A legendary class. Unique—tailored specifically for me, for my situation, for the broken pieces of what I used to be. It won’t give me everything back. But it’ll give me more. Faster. Better.
And that passive—[What Was Lost]. Occasionally accessing full Archmage-level abilities?
That’s insane, Johnson says, clearly reading the options over my shoulder somehow. A legendary class. At Level 15. The System is basically handing you a cheat code.
“It’s not a cheat code. It’s compensation. For having my soul literally torn apart and scattered across five people who murdered me.”
Potato, murderous potato. His ears twitch. You’re going to take it, aren’t you?
“Was there ever any doubt?”
No. But I wanted to watch you pretend to consider the alternatives.
I look at Mariella, who’s watching this exchange with barely concealed curiosity.
“I need to make a choice,” I say. “Class evolution. There’s a hidden option that’s… significant.”
“Significant how?”
“It’s called [Archmage Remnant]. Legendary tier. It’ll accelerate my recovery, give me access to some of my old abilities, fundamentally change my progression path.” I pause. “It’s also irreversible. Once I take it, I can’t evolve into anything else. Ever.”
She considers this for a moment.
“What are the alternatives?”
“Good classes. Useful classes. Classes that would make me powerful in their own right.” I shake my head. “But not powerful enough. Not fast enough. Not for what’s coming.”
“The Empire.”
“The Empire. Anton’s scouts. Dario and his stolen power.” I meet her eyes. “I don’t have time to take the slow path. I need to be ready before they find me.”
“And this class will make you ready?”
“It’ll make me closer to ready. Which is more than I can say for the alternatives.”
Mariella is quiet for a long moment. Then she nods.
“Then take it. Whatever happens, at least you’ll have made the choice that gave you the best chance.”
Practical advice from the runaway princess, Johnson observes. I approve.
I focus on the evolution menu. Find the fourth option. Take a breath.
[SELECT: Archmage Remnant]
The evolution hits different this time.
Last time—when I evolved from Healer to Arcane Apothecary—it was like a wave. Intense but manageable. This time, it’s like someone reached into my soul and started rearranging things.
I feel the fragmented pieces of myself shifting, connecting, forming patterns that were broken two hundred years ago. Knowledge surfaces from depths I didn’t know I had—spell matrices, magical theory, combat techniques I haven’t thought about since before I died.
It hurts.
It also feels like coming home.