"Hm, Class Advancements? Well that's pretty well known, isn't it? Or it should be at least." Elderbeards voice rang clearly through the grove.

Kace stared intently at the confused look on Elderbeard's face. The Treant had an expression of not really caring about the matter. As if he could find the answers by asking any random monster on the streets. However, the only monster he had ever come across that seemed to have solid knowledge about it was Sonja. Which was why he thought to ask Elderbeard about the matter. Like it was something only old monsters would know about.

"I'm afraid that I can't think of anyone else who gives me this knowledge Lord Elderbeard," Kace replied while performing a respectful bow.

"Hm, that is strange. Has the world really changed so much?" Elderbeard put on a pensive look while he stared into an empty space. "Hm, very well. So what exactly do you want to know?"

"That depends. How much is it going to cost me?" Kace raised an inquisitive look towards Elderbeard.

The Treant burst into laughter when he heard this. His laughter seemed to contain traces of magic since a few flowers suddenly sprouted from the soil and began to bloom. Kace stared at the phenomena with an interested gaze. It took Elderbeard a few minutes to gain his composure, before cracking a wide, friendly smile.

"Why, nothing of course! It is basic knowledge. Something that every monster should know. So I won't ask for payment for this information. So feel free to ask anything you want!" Elderbeard was threatening to burst into laughter again as he gave his reply.

It was needless to say, but Kace was shocked! He had already prepared himself to give up on the knowledge if he asked about Sylvan. However, it turned out the old treant was actually quite generous! Now all he had to do was decide on what the most pressing concerns were about it!

"Do you know what the requirements are to advance the Hexblade class?" There was a hint of trepidation in Kace's voice when he asked this question. Everything was going too well, so he completely expected for something to fuck it all up.

"Naturally! But why would you want that?" Elderbeard responded with an undignified snort.

"Well, I'm a Hexblade. So isn't it natural to want to know how to upgrade my class?" Kace was even more surprised by Elderbeards reaction to his class than anything else.

"Hexblade you say?" Elderbeard bent down to take a better look at him. "Hm, it's clearly unsuitable for you."

Kace was momentarily stunned when those words left the Treants mouth. 'Unsuitable? What is that supposed to mean?' Kace eyed the ancient being warily as he tried to decide if there was some kind of trap hidden behind his words. Elderbeard noticed the confusion on Kace's face and decided to elaborate.

"The Hexblade class is not natural. It is a perversion of a class that the heroes use. The vampire queen, Sonja should be its first wielder if I remember correctly." Elderbeard groaned with disdain as he said that. "Whereas you, well, you're a natural entity of this world. Unlike vampires and heroes. So you would gain greater benefits from using a monster class."

'What the fuck! Sonja never mentioned this at all!' Kace thought back to all of his interactions with her, and he knew he was right. She had deliberately kept this from him! Probably just so that she could get an apprentice in her own class! Kace moaned internally when he realised how he had been played for a fool yet again! 'I swear if she's still alive and I get my hands on her!'

"So. Do you have any idea what class you would like to change to?" Elderbeard quickly interrupted Kace's thoughts when he felt the anger slowly seeping from his mind into the surrounding area.

"I have options?" Kace gasped.

"Naturally! You can pretty much choose any one you want from amongst the different bloodlines you have."

Kace thought about it for a moment, before telling Elderbeard about the different DNA Strands that made up his being. Hoping to gain some insights from the vast amount of knowledge that Elderbeard clearly held.

"Hm, I see. You seem to be lacking in more powerful bloodlines. Clearly, the Hexblade was presented to you because of your mixed monster and human DNA status. Why don't you take the chance to add something stronger then? After that, you can make your choice."

Kace thought about these words for a bit before deciding to come clean about his problem. Elderbeard's eyes went wide when he realised that Kace was having difficulties in absorbing new DNA strands. However, the ancient Treant had a solution for this as well.

"Some luck is indeed needed, but it's much simpler than that. You just have too many for your capacity right now. You should be able to purge one of those bloodlines, which will make room for a new one to take its place!" Elderbeard sounded confident in the answer, which only led to more questions for Kace.

"If it's that simple then how do I purge one?"

Elderbeard finally did not have a reply for him. However, he was adamant that it should be possible somehow. He closed his eyes to try and sort through his thoughts without any interruptions. His leaves shook in the breeze as he once again resembled any normal tree. Kace waited patiently for the answer he would come up with.

'If it is possible then I don't even know which one I should get rid of! Would I lose the skills that go along with it? Or would I get to keep them? This isn't a simple matter. I can't rush recklessly into it.' Kace was having his own doubts about the whole thing. However, the idea of adding a stronger bloodline with new abilities was too tempting to ignore. 'I'll need to find out what I can get my hands on around here.'

A glint crossed his eyes as he thought the new possibilities..