WHAM!
The energy released from my fist sent the middle of the punching bag flying, sand scattering in the direction of the punch, and the edges of the hole that was made sizzled with embers. I gasp, my eyes widening. I can understand a slight power increase from [Health Strike], but I forgot about the effects from [Pain Train] and [Overload]. Plus, I probably should've taken into consideration how much I healed. I was only trying to show Kia a little of my capabilities so that she wouldn't freak out, but maybe that was a little too much?
I turned to Kia, and just as I expected, she was blown away. Figuratively and literally. Her hair was pushed back from the shockwave I exerted, and her back was against the wall. Eyes wide open, she looked back and forth from me and the decimated punching bag. The two of us remain shocked, but the silence was suddenly interrupted by Kia.
"THAT WAS SICK!" She says, a huge smile on her face forming as she runs up to the punching bag to inspect it.
As she does so, one of the other people in a different room steps inside ours. "What's all this noise...? Who did this?" It was a man with black hair styled into a middle part. I don't think he seemed to recognize me, thank the goddess.
"Oh!" Kia perked up. "It was-!" I quickly cover her mouth and hold her back. "Her!" I shout out. "Kia did this!"
The other warrior scratched his head and raised an eyebrow. "Well... Keep up the good work, then. I'll ask the coaches to replace the bag." He shrugged and left our room, closing the door behind him. I let Kia go and sighed.
I can't take credit for that. It's not that something bad would happen to me if it did get out, I don't think so at least, but it would be better if I kept this to myself and Kia for now. Adding onto that, this is going to be the best way I'll get that quest done. For all I know, Elijah and Jaelyne still think I'm just a support. If it's that easy to get in trouble, like what happened in the elevator, then it should be easy to provoke them and start something. If everyone knew about my class, then they would probably stay away from me, especially if news got out that I absolutely demolished that punching bag.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Kia exclaims, jabbing my arm, not holding back the force of it. Now that I'm a support, she probably thinks she can hit me as hard as she wants, which is true and all, but I just hope she doesn't get too used to it. I quietly heal it and roll my eyes.
"It's nothing. Just don't tell anyone else about this, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. By the way, you wanted tips on how to manage your hybrid class, right?" That's why I felt like I was forgetting something. I did mention it earlier when I told her about my class, but we got too caught up with other parts of the conversation.
Kia explained hybrid classes to me in pretty simple terms, which is surprising considering how she is. Each class has its own skill tree filled with abilities they can use in terms of combat. It's sort of like a video game if you think about it. The stronger you get, the more your roots grow. Once your roots reach certain points, you can unlock different skills at the corresponding length. With hybrid classes, it's a little bit different. The skill tree of hybrid classes is a fusion of their separate classes. Each hybrid class has their combination of skill trees. For instance, you can have the left side of a mage skill tree and the right side of a warrior skill tree, but someone else could have the top right half of a ranger skill tree while having the bottom left corner of a tank skill tree. Everyone has their own combinations and depending on what halves a person own can greatly affect their performance.
The second example I gave earlier is a pretty good way to explain this. Since they have the top right half of the ranger skill tree, most of the skills they learn early on are ranger-based ones. Their other side, being the bottom left half, means that most of the skills they achieve later on in their career are tank-focused. Kia has an even split between her trees, with a slight slant towards her warrior roots. This means that the warrior part of her class is somewhat stronger early, but her mage part gets even more powerful the stronger she gets.
Of course, it works differently with full-blood classes. As you would expect, normal classes gain access to the entirety of their skill tree, not leaving out any sort of strength increases or skill unlocks. There are strengths and weaknesses to normal classes and hybrid classes, but hybrids gain access to a strange phenomenon called "Overlapping."
Overlapping is what happens when two of a hybrid's skill trees go over each other's space, which is somewhat rare, only happening to 33% or so of hybrid Venators. When this happens, the merged area can create special skills exclusive to that Venator. Of course, people can have the same overlapped skills, but the chance of that happening is super rare. The amount of space each class overlaps the other is also completely random, with some trees having a sliver of one half being overlapped, making it virtually useless, while others can have a fourth of their roots being overlapped.
Think of it like a pie chart. First, there's the section of the circle that's one class, with another being the second class. Just those two sections make up the standard hybrid. With overlapping classes, it's around the same thing as well. Along with those first two parts of the chart, there are either one or two extras. One of those extra ones is the first initial section going over the second initial one. The other one is the same thing but in reverse.
All in all, skill trees are a sort of thing that adds onto the "Venator Lottery." That's why many pure class Venators are more successful, since it's easier to understand, and because they only have one class, they can focus on what they do best. It can't be denied that hybrid Venators have incredible potential, though.
Still, I shouldn't get too caught up in statistics and other stuff. Right now, I have to focus on getting stronger, and all I have to do is find out what my tree looks like.
"It's pretty easy! All you have to do is say 'Open Skill Tree' and it'll show a little diagram for you." Kia says.
"Seriously? There really should be instructions to the system... Open Skill Tree"
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Error 146: Failure to execute command "Open Skill Tree."
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I guess I probably should've expected that. It's probably not used to merging my two classes. That's what I thought at least.
A golden window appeared in front of the initial one.
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Overridden. Opening Skill Tree...
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Both of those windows disappeared and were replaced with a large gold one. My eyes widen.
"What? What is it?' Kia asked.
"My trees are overlapping each other by 35% each."