On one hand knowing one's [classes] and [skills] is like breathing. The system behind the skills made that easy for even the eldest dementia ridden creature with levels. But the hangover wasn't making this easy... Ok he was a level 15 [priest of lust] and a level 4 [survivalist] the survivalist skills were easy, [Robust Stomach] and [Edibility Intuition], the priest skills were slightly more numerous... [Restoration of Beauty], [Cure Wounds], [Eroia's Seductiveness, negligible], [Basic Prayer], [Horny Prayer], and [Minor Stamina].
Now he gained 23 levels in a single night... and Rick could feel that the class gave him more than skills but insights into his class. What he was using for his Miracles were a mixture of devotion, conviction, and faith... it's not that he didn't have emotions when drained it's just... It was hard to feel any without ANY conviction or devotion... and he just wasn't attached to his goddess or faith or whatever. That took time, attachment, and well... faith which he didn't have much of. Either way time for him to go down the list of skills he got...
Miracle [Restore Fertility], [Aura of the Flock], Miracle [Bolster Confidence]... The next two felt... wrong to Rick like there was some corruption to them... [Force Submissiveness] and [Conscript into the Flock]... then he had [Enhanced Charisma] as [Minor Stamina] changed to [Enhance Stamina] and [Eroia's Seductiveness] got rid of the negligible part. Then a few others [Flock: Enhanced Virility], [Flock: Natural healing], [Strength: United in one]
Then finally there were 2 more that shown more brightly to him... one's for his 20th and 30th level. [Faith of the Flock] and [I am the Flock]... Rick felt a stomach ache coming... was he becoming the brain of some hivemind? Those two... skills that felt wrong [Forced Submissiveness] and [Conscript into the Flock] felt like they could easily strip agency from someone. As if he could say "You don't have a choice, Join my flock"
Rina asked "Are you ok Rick?"
Rick said "...I need to eat something..."
Going back down into the inn Rick saw a lot of people who looked more lively and... well sexier... and he could sense... they were all part of the Flock and by extension... a part of himself. he concentrated and could feel his flock throughout the city that were more dispersed as you went farther from the inn. He could have the waitress put the next meal of fried meat and gravy in front of him, and the person he stole the meal from wouldn't be that angry and happy to wait. The song the musicians were playing shifted to one he preferred and now that he thought of it Rina was part of the flock why not make her... Alright the waitress was easy to manipulated, the talented musicians were a bit harder... Trying to make Rina do anything was trying to push a mountain.
Rina chuckled "So cute... I've pledged my love and devotion to you, but I haven't pledged my will or soul. I'll let you off with a warning, but try to force me to do anything like all the low levels here and I'll debate on what... punishment... you'll need." Now that Rick remembered Rina was VERY high level, had gone through enough fights where she was almost entirely scar tissue, and was someone who could probably kill him with a mere slap. That sobered Rick up a bit. He had gained tremendous power exceptionally quickly, but there were plenty of people who could probably kill him if given the motive. Rick was thinking in contemplation... so Rina asked "Is there something wrong?"
Rick said "I've leveled too quickly... and here and now I'm on the precipice of something... I want to see the world and yet I think I may be a threat to the will of so many... Perhaps I should adventure a bit as someone who can support the team. I doubt I can handle much of the hacking and slashing, but I also dont think I need to be physically here to support my flock. I just need to... Do some soul searching or something..." Rick could feel his [Survivalist] class calling him in a sense. It was one untainted by lust or by some guiding hand from a goddess, and it felt like one he'd need. On his way out he dictated someone to be the head [priest] while he was gone. That he'd guide their hands through faith... Which wasn't that far off, as he'd be guiding them through a skill from a faith based class.
In the adventurer's guild the Lithe man was nursing some water to take the edge off of a hangover... Joseph was his name, and from what he heard through a rumor or two... Had he lost Rina? The door to the guild opened and Joseph saw... Rick and... Joseph's mind broke a little. He'd heard outworlders leveled up pretty quickly as a response to adversities of being thrust into a new world, and some sorta multiplier they got... but Rick had gone from lowish level to pretty high from what? A single night orgy in an inn? Just staring at who he presumed was Rina... Was that a new skill or spell from levels or was his healing just that potent with added levels? Joseph had seen Rina when she started out in her twenties... She had already been in a few brawls, but the girl he saw before him was a GIRL... Did what he do reverse the aging process? Rick noticed Joseph and walked over.
"You still want a party? I'll join you and Rina." Rick's voice was forceful as in demanding to be let in. While Joseph did want Rina to stay... and had several questions...
"No... I'll join an existing party or make an entirely new one but I don't trust you."
"Perfect, I don't trust myself either..." Joseph blinked a few times at Rick's statement as he continued "I leveled a bit too quickly, and I'm worried I'll lost myself and unleash something I don't understand. I want to be out of this city for awhile, and get my [survivalist] level up." Joseph's class was a bit tricky and more on the rogueish side [Discern Falsehoods] was one of his older ones, but it was SCREAMING at him that Rick wasn't lying or trying to be deceitful in anyway. Rina also did the blinking code he taught her that told him she thought he was being truthful as well, and [Discern Falsehoods] wasn't picking up anything from her either... "Let me suggest our first adventure. We'll go and loot the temple I left. It'll take a long while but all we've got to deal with are the monsters in the wilds."
Joseph said "We still need some sort of spell caster, there's only so much we can do with just physical classes."
Rick flexed his Charisma, Bolstered Confidence, and Seductiveness as he said "Any spellcasters of sufficient level available? I'll pay a thousand gold up front and a cut of the loot" This was probably the wrong Adventurer's guild to be offering a mere 1k gold as a signing bonus to. It was on the only real city on the edge of civilization and the rest of that edge were either small towns or settlements trying to survive or untamed wilderness with who knows what horrors waiting at any corner. A proper signing bonus would be more on the scale of 10k. Still Rick had made a small name for himself as a curiosity, and Joseph was a known name alongside his team which had been wiped? If Rina had been wearing her armor that would've synched the deal for most, but out came a single spellcaster type who looked "Newly leveled" possibly after a group ending nightmare. Someone who gained a lot of levels through a ton of strife and didn't quite know what to do with all the [skills]. Rick glanced to Joseph who saw the glance and then took a good look at the new kid. Joseph nodded to Rick.
"Alright your hired... We'll go in... a day?" Rick guessed glanced around to the group.
Joseph sighed "We'll go in three hours. Our provisions were easier to get than I thought and I imagine Rick here can take care of most of our fatigue. Right Rina?" He emphasized the last part as people started taking notice... I mean how could that girl be Rina, the high level warrior known for being scarred everywhere and usually kept her armor on all the time for vanity's sake. There was going to be a lot of talk in town for awhile as this little cobbled together adventuring group would steal all of Eroia's treasure."