I had thought it was a complete waste for Ronnie Anne to have chosen that skill, but I decided not to interfere. In addition to that skill, she had also chosen 'Physical Strengthening', which increases her physical strength, allowing her to perform tasks that require great strength; 'Fear Resistance', which reduces her vulnerability to fear, helping her to remain calm in frightening situations; 'Pursuit', which improves her ability to follow and track targets efficiently; 'Light Footsteps', which allows her to move silently, reducing noise when moving; and 'Danger Sensor', which provides a "sixth sense" to detect imminent threats, increasing her perception.
As soon as I had given Ronnie Anne her final instructions, I let out a short sigh and turned to face the rest of the group in front of me.
"Now it's your turn."
I whispered those words, letting out a subtle, discreet smile that went unnoticed by everyone.
***
After almost half an hour of hard work and a lot of headaches, all of Lincoln's friends had finally managed to kill the goblins and awaken their systems. Soon afterwards, they chose their particular 'Classes'. However, before that, Lincoln recommended that everyone choose two specific Skills, which were: 'Resistance against fear' and 'Resistance against stress'.
The first to wake up was Zack. Among the various classes that were available in front of him, he opted for the 'detective' class, the one that best matched his conspiratorial personality. Just as had happened with Clyde and Ronnie Anne, some similar skills also came with this class. They were:
'Stealth', which allowed Zack to move silently and go unnoticed by his enemies or the people he was investigating; 'Calm Mind', which helped him stay calm in pressure situations, allowing him to reason clearly and effectively even under stress; 'Sharp eyesight', which allowed Zack to observe details and clues that others might miss, making him an insightful investigator; and 'Stress resistance', which ensured that Zack could deal with tense or dangerous situations without being easily affected emotionally, while maintaining his ability to make rational and logical decisions.
Of all those Skills that Zack had gained with that class, the only new skills he had acquired were these: 'Shared Thinking', which I interpreted as a kind of telepathy, allowing him to share thoughts and information directly with other people, and the second was 'Resistance against Hypnosis', which granted the bearer a greater ability to resist attempts at mental manipulation through hypnosis. Apart from these two abilities, the others he had chosen were basically the same as the others.
After him, the last two to choose their respective classes were Liam and Rusty, who did so briefly.
Liam had chosen 'Class: Farmer' because of his affinity with the farm. As soon as he chose that class, he acquired the following Skills: 'Green Fingers', which gave him the ability to care for and cultivate plants in an exceptional way, increasing the productivity, growth and health of the plants; 'Heat Resistance', which gave him the ability to withstand high temperatures, allowing him to work under the intense sun for longer without suffering damage and exhaustion; and 'Scythe Proficiency', which gave him advanced skill in using the scythe as a weapon or other tools, making him more efficient and precise when harvesting crops and cutting vegetation.
In addition to those Skills already mentioned, he had also chosen: 'Physical Endurance', allowing him to endure prolonged efforts without tiring easily, 'Steady Hands' to deal with tasks requiring manual precision, 'Skinning', a peculiar skill that made him able to remove skins and bark with dexterity, and 'Friend of Plants', reflecting his special connection with nature and plant-related skills such as identification, cultivation and use for various purposes.
And last but not least, Rusty had chosen 'Class: Student', which gave him the following skills: 'Learning', 'Concentration' and 'Vitality'. With the 'Learning' skill, Rusty absorbs new knowledge easily and quickly, making him an efficient learner in many areas. His 'Concentration' allows him to maintain focus and attention on his tasks, dedicating himself intensely without being easily distracted. In addition, his 'Vitality' gives Rusty increased physical and mental stamina, allowing him to face challenges with more energy and determination.
And along with them, he had also chosen some of the same ones as the others. However, he had also chosen five new ones: 'Resistance to pain', 'Maneuver', 'High agility', 'Gluttony' and 'Sharp reflexes'. Pain resistance allowed him to endure great levels of pain without being negatively affected. The ability to maneuver gave him the ability to execute complex or evasive movements with ease. His heightened agility granted him improved speed and dexterity in his movements. The peculiar skill of gluttony, meanwhile, gave him the great ability to turn everything he ate into energy. Finally, his sharp reflexes enabled him to react quickly to unexpected stimuli or situations.
***
After everyone had leveled up, awakened their systems and chosen their specific classes, I ordered everyone to go inside the house and get something they could use as a weapon, since the goblins' daggers, for some reason I can't explain, ended up disappearing with them as soon as they were killed.
"Take something you can use as a weapon."
After I said those words, they were a little confused, but decided not to ask anything and just obeyed me.
As soon as they returned with the knives in hand, I noticed in their expressions that they wanted to ask something, but they remained silent. However, Ronnie Anne decided to break the silence.
"What are we going to do with these knives?"
Ronnie Anne asked, staring at me as if she already knew what they were going to do.
"Since you're still very weak and would barely be able to kill a goblin like that on your own without my help, what do you think about us getting some XP?"
I said that with my hands in my pockets and my usual neutral countenance.
As soon as I said that, I could see the excitement taking over all of them.
"Then let the hunting begin!"
After Lincoln said those words, both Ronnie Anne and the others began to follow him.
If you like the story and want to see more, take a look at my Patreon, where you'll find 12 chapters in front of the public. And you'll also be helping me realize my dream of becoming a full-time writer.
https://www.patreon.com/Natsuki_