The Soul Keeper

Alina didn't look like her real self as much as Samantha. She still had blonde hair and I was able to tell it was her, but she didn't look quite the same. Her skin tone was slightly darker, like she had spent a lot of time under the sun. She had a tattoo under her left eye that looked like a symbol of the sun.

"Alina, looking good!" Samantha hugged her.,

"You look great too, much fitter than in real life!" The other girl shouted. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑤𝑒𝑏𝓃ℴ𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Kai?" It was Vincent. He looked more or less normal. His brown hair was much longer than before and his eye colour had changed into a dark blue, but I could easily tell it was him. Joshua was a bit different though. He had blueish black hair and bright green eyes. He looked much better and well-built than his real self. Compared to his brown-haired old self, it was a bit jarring to see him like this.

Erik was exactly the same as before. He had wavy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and that same, mischievous smile.

"Hey guys," I said sheepishly. I was the weird one in the group again.

"You look cool!" Vincent shouted suddenly. He sprinted towards me only to get his feet tangled up and fall. "Damnit!" He shouted as everyone laughed at his expense.

"Dad did say our Avatars would be created according to some secret parameters but..." Erik shrugged. "I never expected to see you turn into a ghost, Kai."

I paused for a second before we all started laughing. "Damn you Erik!" I shouted between fits of laughter. I was so relieved to see them all here.

"Well, let's pick a class and get started. Remember, we don't have too much time. We're not going to be seeing Kai as much when his wounds heal." Erik declared. "Let's see what everyone can pick." He traced a symbol on the air. As soon as he did, a partially see-through interface window appeared before him.

We all approached to see better.

'To get started, please pick a Class. Keep in mind that Class choices are final and can not be changed once confirmed.' The pale blue letters lingered there as more was written beneath those words.

We watched as he scrolled through the available classes.

"Fighter, Ranger, Priest, Wizard," He mumbled as he read through each class' description. "Oh, rogue and... What's this?" Beneath these classes, another was listed. "Paladin?" He asked, glancing at us. "That's a first."

"Look what is says here!" Samantha chimed in. She read a note written in bold text. "Special Class requirements met. The PALADIN class has been unlocked." She hesitated. "I didn't know there were special classes."

"Neither did I." He mumbled. "Ok, let's check everyone else's classes first."

Vincent was the next to open the interface and scroll through. To his disappointment, he didn't have any special classes.

"Cheater!" He lightly punched Erik.

"I'll go next!" Joshua said. He too was soon met with disappointment. "Damnit." His shoulders dropped. I lightly patted his shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

Samantha went next and, to everyone's surprise, she did have a special class. "Wayfarer?" She mumbled.

I leaned forward to read the descriptive text. "The wayfarer excels at tracking foes through any kind of terrain. They are amazing sharpshooters and later may choose to couple their archery skills with elemental magic." I raised my eyebrows. So, wizards weren't the only ones who could use magic. "Sounds strong."

"It really does." Samantha said with a smile. "I want to pick this one, Erik." She looked at him as if waiting for approval.

"What did the description for paladin say, Erik?" I asked. I hadn't gotten the chance to read it. Instead of reading in out loud, he just summoned the interface and showed it to me.

'The Paladin excels at keeping hordes of foes at bay, while healing and buffing their allies. They take their might from the god they swear an oath to.'

"Sounds fun." He said. I nodded as Alina quickly summoned her interface. She was clearly excited.

"Oh, come on! Unfair!" She shouted. She also didn't have a special class available. "Erik! Why does Samantha have one, but I don't?" She glared at him like a small child who just saw their friend get a better toy.

"I don't know, Vince and Josh don't have one either." Erik shrugged, then stepped back to avoid a punch. "Hey, you know all classes are strong. You don't need to have special class, they're the exception, not the norm."

Aline huffed and folded her arms under her breasts. She was clearly unhappy.

"I'm pretty sure you can unlock them as you progress through the game, right? Like – a Fighter can become a Spellsword or a rogue can become an Assassin or..." Vincent hesitated. "What was the name of that magic-thief class, brother?"

"Uhh... Trickster?" Joshua asked. "I don't remember. Anyways, it's not such a big deal Alina. Just roll with what you have, and you'll get better stuff eventually." He shrugged. His previous outburst was, as I thought, nothing more than a joke.

"I guess I'm up." I mumbled as I mimicked Erik and drew the weird symbol in the air in front of me. Right as I finished, the interface appeared. Now that I could see it properly, it seemed to be more than just a single window, I could see faint traces of outlines, right at the corner of my vision. When I looked more carefully, I noticed there was some very faint text written on those panels.

'CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE'

I wondered what they were for, for a short moment before directing my attention to the Class selection panel. I could feel everyone's gazes focused on me. Under the header, classes were listed just like with everyone else. I scrolled down, unsure of which resonated more with me, until I too stumbled upon a special class.

'Soul Keeper'