All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 75: Purest of Intentions

Bee walked back to the library. She should be elated to have reached level 25, and she was, in a way. However, her options left an ashen taste in her mouth. The way they were formulated made her believe that these were the options that any Devotee got at level 25. So that wasn't too disappointing. No, it was the fact that the system still recognized her master as "Spot" that didn't sit right with her.

It wasn't as much of a shock as it had been the first time. Bee had time to get used to her master's unfathomable power, after all, and the benevolence it had shown made the contrast a bit less jarring. But Void's repeated meddling with the system itself did still send a fresh spike of fear through her. Surely it would get tired of this joke eventually and let her know its true name.

When she arrived at the library, she browsed the shelves for a few books on advanced classes. The Devotee book she had first read when she picked this class hadn't mentioned the advanced class options, unfortunately, since it just covered the basics.

It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for. After spending so much time living here, she was coming to know these aisles like the back of her hand. Between How to Advance to an Advanced Class and What to Expect when Expecting to Advance, a pair of texts by the same author, she figured she had a good starting point.

The first bit of the book actually made her chuckle. It congratulated the reader for nearly making it to level 25 while still having the eyesight to read these words. The book seemed to be self-conscious of the fact that it was written for a very small audience. Usually, people who leveled this high were being propped up by groups or guilds who knew what they were doing, after all. There weren't many individuals who leveled this well without having a clear life plan about it. It even made a joke about not being able to sell many copies as there would be no one who needed to buy it.

Apparently, getting information about upper-level classes was difficult as powerful people didn't like to share their secrets. However, the author had managed to pry enough out of the common classes that he claimed to be able to verify some of the information about the less common classes.

Devotee was one of the more typical classes, and it seemed that the three class offerings Bee had received would continue down that path. A Paladin for physical builds, Priest for non-physical builds, and Heretic to leave the religion.

It seemed excessive to have to choose an advanced class to detach from a deity, but it was a difficult bond to break. Bee seriously considered it for a bit. She could choose that and run. She didn't think Void would come after her, and she wouldn't have to deal with the Lieutenant. However, when she truly considered it, she found that she didn't really want to leave.

Sure, her situation was scary and full of risk. She had been hurt more times than she would like to count, and that wasn't any fun. Yet it gave her so much in return. Specifically, magic. It had taken a lot, but she had already learned so much about alchemy. In just a few months, she had more schooling than all but the most studious of the mages. Also, she couldn't just run away when one of humanity's greatest enemies was set to be loosed into the world. Even if she wasn't the best and brightest around, she couldn't just do nothing. She had to try. Especially because if the Lieutenant really was released, she and everyone else were probably dead anyway. Bee didn't want that on her conscience.

Sticking with Void seemed to be the best course of action. Of course, she was really starting to believe in the benevolence of the… Well, she didn't exactly have the words to describe her master. But it was powerful, more powerful than she had thought possible when she first met it. More than that, though, it was kind.

It shouldn't have been so hard of a choice. But intentionally choosing to submit her will to Void's was much harder than being forced to. That left only one more choice: Paladin or Priest?

While she had spent a little time in melee combat, she couldn't exactly say that she liked it. Fighting up close was still pretty terrifying and risky, considering that was where most of her injuries had come from. Also, her current melee weapon was still a broom. Sure, it was a pretty effective weapon against the skeletons, but that wouldn't last forever. She'd still keep her current abilities even without choosing Paladin. But the class would tend to give her more physical, melee, and likely broom-related skills in the future. Honestly, that was something that she could do without.

Priest was by far the best for her, she thought. It would lean into her alchemy, and it would also let her help others she was working with. She could only imagine it was just a matter of time before Void had other followers like her.

When she chose Priest, she got a message about a new class ability. Previously she would get experience in serving her master's ideals. That would still continue, but now she had the ability to offer anyone under level 10 a class change to Devotee of Spot.

It wasn't the same class that she had. Thankfully, she found some answers about what that meant. Devotee Converts, as they were called, would keep their previous skills, as well as continue to receive skills related to their original class. Moreover, they would get experience for following the teachings of their "religion" and still receive experience for some activities related to their original class, though details on that were sparse. The key thing was that any future skills would be heavily influenced by the principles of the object of their devotion.

The book gave an example of a Blacksmith that converted to worship a god of cooking. He apparently collected less experience in general forging and blacksmithing but gained more in preparing meals or creating knives or kitchen implements. Later, when he reached level 10, all of his skills were skewed towards the forging of kitchen accessories and tools as well.

It didn't seem like a bad deal, but there was a caveat. Apparently, Devotee Converts only received two skill options instead of three. It was a sacrifice that few would be willing to make, even for the increased experience options. Bee wondered if that was why she wasn't too familiar with Devotee Converts.

Some people might be willing to convert if the need was right. The class leveled up incredibly fast. Bee wasn't sure that it would level at the same speed that hers did, but it would be close. She mulled over the implications of that knowledge.

***

After Bee had spent some time getting a handle on the ins and outs of the Priest-style class, she continued looking for ways to fight the Lieutenant. More and more, she was approaching the conclusion that she would have to come clean with Tony. If she was going to make her plans work, she would need his help.

The whole ramp ordeal showed her that she wouldn't be able to rig up half of the traps she imagined without help. Even with Tony, they would need to start now if she wanted to wake the demon up soon. And judging from the state of the flames on its arms, she had about a week to wake it up at its weakest state. If she woke it up any later, it might still be less fearsome than if she let it wake naturally, but that might still be more than she could handle.

She sighed. Still, even as it was now, this might be more than she could handle. Bee looked at her list of the things she needed to do in preparation for the awakening. The concoctions that she needed to wake it was unstable and needed to be the last thing she made. Other than that, there were a lot of buffing potions she could use, as well as a ton of demon's bane that she would need to synthesize. As well as figuring out the delivery systems.

With time ticking away, Bee sat down and got to work.

—-

I knew that Beatrice had gone back inside and Tony had gone back to his gardens, but I, for once, didn't feel the need to follow. For the most part, Beatrice had done much better at staying out of trouble, and I believed that I could let her be alone for a few hours without getting too hurt.

No, I had much more important things to do. I turned around at the beginning of the entry hall and rolled down the first ramp again. It was an exhilarating feeling, and I relished the 45.6 degree slope beneath my wheels. I had so much more freedom.

Of course, my freedom came at a slight price. I now had access to the outside. I was still coming to terms with the world of dirt that existed beyond the walls of civilization. Was it my responsibility to fix this issue? Or was it something that just… was? I considered how much dirt was just inside the outer wall of the castle.

That was a consideration I could wrap my processor around. It was a huge amount, one that made my bristles quiver but something I could comprehend. With that understanding, I thought through a plan to clean it. It would take… a really long time.

Beyond just taking a long time, I noticed a few other issues. First, the unmoving plants used as human food lived in the dirt. That was a worrisome issue itself since it seemed like the dirt might be important to the cultivation process somehow. Second, the dirt supported the castle walls. If there was no dirt underneath them, they would simply collapse.

Okay, so I couldn't remove all the dirt from inside the castle walls. As I pondered this moral quandary, I slowly rolled down the second ramp. This ramp led down to a cobblestone path that went straight through a set of gates in the outer wall. What if, instead of trying to fix everything, I start by just making it better? Yeah, I thought I could manage that.

So my next problem to solve was what "better" looked like. I could try to remove the dirt on the path. But I couldn't remove all of it; some of it acted as mortar and held the stones in place. If I couldn't remove all the dirt, could I remove some of it? Yes, yes, I could.

I could remove all the dirt on top of the stones. That seemed simple enough. Any dirt on top of stones that should be able to be walked upon could be removed. That seemed like something I could manage. At the bottom of the ramp, I looked out over the path and calculated the surface area. I then turned and went back up the ramp.

That was still a lot of areas. I spent the trip up the two ramps calculating the best path and how I was only going to get the dirt that I wanted. I would have to make multiple passes and constrain my area of effect, as I didn't have enough confidence in controlling my air manipulation skill yet.

On the way down the ramp, I did my best to psyche myself up for cleaning the outside. When I first came to this castle, the challenge of cleaning the whole thing was much further beyond my abilities than cleaning this small little bit of the outside was now. Why did I not falter then but have such apprehension now?

I wasn't sure. It probably had to do with considering the bigger picture. Previously I could just do the task in front of me, and the rest would work itself out. Now that I knew the humans here were fallible, I needed to be much more careful. Yes, that was the only reason. After all, there was no reason to be scared of the outside.

I exited the ramp, and this time, I didn't turn around. I kept going, maybe a little bit faster than was strictly necessary, but I needed to do this. I made it to the end of the half-mile path in a little less than a minute. I turned around and repeated the path in reverse, just a few feet to the left. Overall it only took me a few passes to get a clean path.

Looking back, I could see the cobblestones. They glistened with a near-polished surface. I was satisfied - this was worth doing. Now our castle looked to be an inviting, well-maintained home. Perhaps we would even have guests soon.

It was only after I finished studying my the work that I remembered what brooms were for. I didn't really need to consume all the dust now sitting in my dustbin. I could have simply relocated it off to the side into the grass. That would have been much easier. With a mental sigh, I made a note to remember that, for the most part, outside cleaning was more about relocating dirt than removing it. After all, the dirt inside was usually just moved outside. Though if I had the ability to store it all… Well, I had done enough thinking on the nature of dirt for one day.