Part II: Raising the Stakes
Chapter 259 - (Un) Armed
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LOCATION: SIROVA FAMILY HOME
CITY: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
DATE: OCTOBER 10, 2048 | TIME: 5:00 AM
From a very young age, Kaela and Elena Sirova, two sisters who were born two weeks apart, were inseparable.
Early on, Kaela took on many traits of her mother, Mallory McInnis-Sirova, while Elena took after hers, Vanessa Cho-Sirova.
At the age of five, just as her mother once had, Kaela selected Fighter as her base class, while Elena took Rogue. Both exhibited patience beyond their years, undoubtedly influenced by their father, Darian.
Once the early childhood System skills filled them with energy and basic combat skills, the girls began sparring together.
They were provided with blunted, wooden weapons: Kaela with a sword, Elena with dual daggers.
One day, when they were eight years old, Kaela dropped her weapon in the middle of a particularly energetic sparring match.
“Game over, sis,” Elena said, lunging forward for the ‘killing blow.’
But Kaela had other plans. She moved faster than Elena remembered ever seeing, grabbing Elena’s wrist and twisting it until she dropped one knife.
Then Kaela, to her sister’s surprise, landed the final strike that ended the match.
The System had a sparring program built in, specially programmed to teach children combat skills in a safe environment.
---
Kaela Sirova wins this match.
Congratulations.
---
From that day on, Kaela sparred unarmed.
At the age of ten, sparring matches became part of the school curriculum.
“Choose your weapon and enter the ring,” her teacher said.
Kaela shrugged and walked into the center, holding nothing.
The children laughed.
“You forgot the weapon!”
“You’re going to lose!”
Elena just laughed.
She knew better.
Once they stepped inside the circle, the match was on. There was no turning back. The rules were strict, and the leaderboards were administered by the System to avoid favoritism.
A bell sounded in the padded room, and Kaela’s opponent smirked.
But before she could even make her first move, she was on the floor staring at the ceiling.
“What just happened?”
---
Kaela Sirova wins this match.
Congratulations.
---
The other kids made fun of her for always fighting unarmed, but they always found themselves on the mats when they faced her.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Kaela and Elena rose to the top of the leaderboard month after month, year after year, always vying for first place.
Other children tried claiming it was rigged since all three of their parents were on the Core Council.
But they knew the truth: the two sisters were absolute monsters in combat.
This pattern continued through high school and university. Kaela developed her unarmed fighting style further, while Elena worked on ways to counter it.
Kaela still trained with her sword, of course. It was a necessary part of her Fighter class. But she didn’t use it often.
Then came October 10th, 2048.
Kaela’s 21st birthday. Elena’s was only two weeks behind, but the entire family was excited to see Kaela unveil her Rare class.
Children born and growing up under the System were allowed to select their base class at the age of five. They began gaining levels at age ten, and were capped at Level 20 until their 21st birthday.
Kaela awoke at 5:00 AM and peered out her bedroom window.
Far below their 32nd floor penthouse, starlight reflected off the calm waters of San Francisco Bay. The city was still quiet.
It was Saturday morning, but Kaela couldn’t sleep any longer.
It was time.
She tiptoed down the hallway and knocked lightly on Elena’s door.
No answer.
“Hm,” Kaela whispered. “I figured she’d want to do this with me.”
She shrugged and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee before she addressed the System message already blinking in her vision.
Kaela yawned as she walked. Her soft, loose pajama pants barely made any noise as she padded across the floor.
As she stepped quietly into the kitchen, all the lights flashed on at the same time.
“SURPRISE!”
The whole family was already up and waiting for her.
Kaela laughed.
“You guys are the best.”
Mallory pulled them all into a group hug.
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world. Coffee’s already made. Grab a cup and come sit down. We want to talk to you before you begin.”
Kaela nodded and did just that, joining the others on the oversized couch.
Darian, Vanessa, and Mallory huddled close together, and Elena took a seat to Kaela’s left.
Their father spoke first.
“We are so proud of you girls,” Darian said. “Elena, I know this is your sister’s day, but yours is coming up next. We’ve been looking forward to your class reveals for so long, and we wanted it to be special.”
Mallory smiled.
“Elliot Voss would have been so proud,” she said. A few tears spilled over, and Vanessa joined her in the emotional moment.
“Okay,” Darian said, clapping his hands. “I think it’s time.”
He leaned forward. “Unless you’ve got a speech prepared?”
Kaela and Elena both rolled their eyes, and the whole family laughed.
Kaela brought up the System prompt.
“Here goes…”
She immediately fell back onto the couch, unconscious during the upgrade. Elena caught her and made sure she was comfortable.
---
System Message
Critical path alignment detected for:
Kaela Sirova
Class upgrade in progress…
…
…
Base Class: Fighter
New Class: Phantom Blade (Rare)
The Phantom Blade dominates the battlefield with agility and raw power. The class fights unarmed until the crucial moment, when a Blade can be summoned from the ethereal realm for a single devastating strike.
Stats per level:
+2 Strength
+3 Dexterity
+2 Endurance
+3 Perception
+5 Free Points
New skills unlocked:
Unarmed Defense (Passive):
- While fighting unarmed, the Phantom Blade’s defense is increased by 15%.
- Dodge, Parry and Feint skills are 20% more effective.
- Blows that do land can be shrugged off by sacrificing Stamina rather than Health. This portion of the skill can be toggled on and off.
Phantom Step (Active):
- Phase into the ethereal realm and step through space, returning to the material plane instantaneously and repositioned.
- Limit on usage: once every two hours with a two-hour cooldown. If used more than once in two hours, triggers an extended two-week cooldown.
- Distance traveled scales with Dexterity and Perception.
Ethereal Strike (Active):
- Summon a Phantom Blade from the ethereal realm for a single strike. The strike ignores 50% of all defenses, armor, shields, and other mitigations.
- The blade must recharge in the ethereal realm, requiring this skill to be used sparingly. Repeated usage without sufficient recharge time will reduce the effect of Ethereal Strike.
- Does +25% damage against enemies. If used immediately after Phantom Step, Ethereal Strike’s damage is increased by an additional 15%.
---
“Whoa,” Kaela whispered.
“What is it?” Elena said, pulling on her sister’s arm.
Kaela read the description to her family.
Then she started laughing. She looked at Elena.
“This class is all thanks to you.”
“What do you mean?” Elena asked.
“If you hadn’t disarmed me that day when we were eight years old, I would have never started training in unarmed combat.”
Mallory, Darian and Vanessa stood and pulled the girls into a hug again.
“We’re so proud of you,” Vanessa said. “Are you happy with your new class?”
Kaela smiled.
“I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to test it out!”