In the early afternoon of a cold spring day, in a spare bedroom of Baron Marlonson’s estate, there were, in fact, five coherent thoughts made at the same time: “My wife!” “My child!” “My grandchild!” “Ah good, the child is healthy,” and—most surprisingly—“Yes, [Human]!”
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Queenie was back to being [Human]. She was excited as her new family stood around her babbling in a language she didn’t know. Yet.
While she had only been non-humanoid for 1 in 4 lives, that one life had been the longest, if not terribly exciting. But she was almost starting to get a feel for this. It was like riding a horse. Almost. But hey, she could cope. She was the damn smartest baby in a thousand leagues and she was going to milk this life for all its worth. For now, it was the baby regimen: eat, poop, sleep. Maybe coo a bit.
Her first assumption was disproven two months later when her mother took her to the front of the house to meet a guest. The guest was huge! Almost twice as tall as her father. And yet, he looked perfectly [Human]! She hadn’t seen any of the [Giant] races, but she had been under the vague impression that they tended to suffer from hideous deformities. Instead, like her father, the very tall man wore fine noblemen’s clothes and had a refined attitude, though she still couldn’t understand him. Maybe we’re some sort of halfling? she thought. Eh, I can cope.
Her second assumption was disproven four months after that, when she could finally lift her head and get a good look at herself. She had a dingus. Which, in not so many words, is to say that he was a boy.
He had no coherent response to that.
But, like with her [Catkin] days, Queenie got early access to his Status page, which at least answered a few questions.
First, he was a [Brillian] (uncommon), a species of halflings comfortable in the hills and dales of temperate climates, and little else. +1 attribute per level, alternating between CHA and CON; +1 Free per level, and + 1 Skill Point per 3 levels. Pretty standard.
Second, his name was Emil Marlonson. The fact that he had a surname clued him in that he was definitely noble born.
And finally, [Studious] continued to be a complete cheese. He was now receiving +12 INT, +12 WIS from the Trait. Together with his other traits, he now had nearly 50 Attributes Points combined, when most babies had between 6 and 10. He had—somewhat sadly—MP double what he had when she was Amelia—as a Level 12 [Human] teenager.
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Despite their smaller size, [Brillians] tended to follow the [Human] progression of growing up, which was, to say, rather slow. He could only be so physically precocious given his very small physical stats, though when he did try to walk at the tender age of 8 months, he could feel the effects of [Firm Purchase] kick in. The effect was minimal as he already had firm purchase on the floor of the manor: it was the rest of his body which was disagreeable to the concept of walking at his age. Alas, he concluded, I may need to wait a few more months.
At least his high mental stats combined with his high rank in [Learning] meant he quickly picked up the local language, [Eastern Kneet], and brought it to rank 10. He still couldn’t speak—darn infant development!—but at least he could understand most of what was happening around him.
He quickly learned that his father was a Baron, first name Earl (to the confusion of all), and liked to go for long walks around his estate. His father was a true patriot, and although he had a noble title, his actual Class was apparently [Royal Knight], an evolved Class that had very specific requirements to obtain. His service to the local [King] had been so exemplary, that a new barony had been created just for him and he was granted his surname.
His mother was named Eska. She was the third daughter of a baker and had met his father while he was in convalescence following a recent war. He had proposed to her just after he had been ennobled and the rest, as they say, is history.
He also inadvertently found out, while his mother thought he only had [Eastern Kneet] at rank 1 or 2, that his mother was seriously wondering if Emil’s terrible twos started early or whether it was going to get even worse after he reached 24 months. His precociousness was quickly becoming a real and notorious family headache.
Emil had just about eked out 90 XP by his first birthday when he was greeted with a surprise from the System:
Ding!
> Congratulations on making it another year. +100 XP awarded.
A birthday based XP bonus? Maybe too many children were dying young due to low stats? Eek, that’s a scary thought.
The result was that, in addition to a few points increase in his base physical stats from diligent physical therapy/just growing up, he had enough XP to gain his second level at 15 months. With 4s in both DEX and STR, he was finally able to stand up, walk and even run!
It was a trying time for his family. Eska might even have coped, as she told her lady friends, but he was difficult to grab (thanks [Slippery]), he always seemed to know when she snuck up on him (thanks [Skin Sight]) and he always seemed to be able to hide in the oddest places (thanks [Amorphous Body]). And don’t even get her started with how he always got to things out of his reach (thanks [Mage Hands]).
----------------------------------------
Huh. I could get used to doing it standing.
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By three years though, Emil’s mischievousness had finally passed to the relief of his family. And just in time too, for Emil soon found himself standing outside the spare bedroom waiting with his nervous father. After hours of waiting, a wail finally announced the birth of his sister, Emma Marlonson.
The years passed and Emil adored his little sister. Once she could sit up, he would take her out to play in the grand grounds of the estate, where she would be the [Princess] needing to be rescued, while Emil played the [Hero] or the [Knight]. Eventually though, Emma herself began to run, and their play evolved into “stalking” through the “forest” for “goblins” as the heroic duo Archie the [Archer] and Sven the [Swordsman].
After a few years play-acting as a sword-wielding hero, after three lives being a ranged [Mage], Emil really started to wonder whether being male was having that significant of an effect on him. And for that matter, if he did take up the sword, what would he do with his magic? Though, knowing how quickly—relative to him—things seemed to be changing with the System, he wouldn’t be surprised if he found some Class that allowed him to smite his enemies from above with both sword and sorcery.
At six years of age, as a noble born child, Emil began to receive private tutoring befitting his station. Having gone through childhood education as Amelia and Masami (at least, to some extent), Emil was not keen to begin again given that he already had [Eastern Kneet] up to 25. He already knew the basics of life as far as he was concerned and wasted hours listening to some old coot or hag drone on was better spent playing.
How wrong he was.
What he didn’t expect was that, as a noble, he would have a far broader education, including in several subjects that would have been considered esoteric in Amelia’s day and age. History and geography were entirely new subjects to him and—after an afternoon studying maps—he concluded that whatever continent he was on, he had not been on before.
Well, probably, he mused.
Economics, politics, and civics were also new subjects which he had almost no prior knowledge of, at least formally. And while he loathed sitting still, the novelty was enough to capture his attention. Not to mention the new perspectives he gained on the world.
Nonetheless, perhaps the most interesting subject was Systemology: the study of the System and its optimization, both on an individual level and an organizational level. He should not have been surprised that the subject existed, but he was. While he had figured out some aspects of the System by living multiple lives, he supposed it made sense that people could take notes, conduct experiments, and gather data to do the same without, you know, dying repeatedly. And while obviously the study had started with individuals, as increasingly complex social structures were created, the broader impact the System could have on such organizations was studied as well. What was the optimal ratio between leader-type classes and those they supervised? To what extent could scribe-type classes improve the functioning of other individuals within an organization? How best could a leader identify promising individuals and push them to greater heights?
While interesting, the most pertinent point Emil learned was that he would receive his initial System access upon achieving total Attributes equal to half of the average of the base attributes for an adult of his species. I.e., the average total base attributes for an adult Brillian was (like most humanoids) 100, and therefore he would unlock his system access at 50. And thanks to the System’s birthday rewards and the base attribute gains attributable to a healthy noble born diet (and [Eating], which helped too, not that the tutor knew) and the stimulating mental exercises of his tutoring (yay?), he would be expected to unlock System access around the age of seven, but no later than eight.
It’s a good thing he didn’t tell anyone he had unlocked System access as an infant.
“Further,” his tutor continued, “given how quickly you have soaked up much of the knowledge I have sought to impart upon you, it seems likely to me that once you do unlock System access, it will show that you have some sort of born Trait that assisted you with this, perhaps one of the tiers of [Precocious].”
“Tiers of [Precocious]?”
“Yes, young master, there are three known tiers of [Precocious]: [Precocious I], [Precocious II], and [Precocious III]. In addition to a small bonus in learning, the Traits provide, respectively, +4, +8 or +16 in both WIS and INT.”
Hmm. Well, guess I’m faking [Precocious III] now.
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When Emil was seven, he was startled awake in the middle of the night by a loud commotion. He slunk over to the open window and looked out towards the front lawn where he saw several fierce looking [Humans] towering over and fighting his father and what looked to be the local guard.
Immediately fearing for his sister, Emil ran out of his room, down the hallway, and barged into his sister’s room. She was, perhaps not unsurprisingly, completely asleep. Emil nudged her and called “Emma. Emma!” but she did not stir. Finally, using his STR, he rolled her up in her blankets, picked her up, and sat both of them on the floor of the wardrobe, closing the door entirely behind him.
As he sat listening to the commotion outside, he heard it begin to move throughout the manor. Doors were being slammed open and wood was breaking. Finally, he heard the door to his sister’s room be kicked open. Sticking just his pinky finger in the crack of the wardrobe door, he willed both [Skinsight] and [Improved Dark Vision] to get him a good look at the person, but other than his [Mage] robes and his [Human] height nearly scraping the halfling-sized ceiling, Emil did not get a good look as the man quickly left again. The doors continued to be slammed open down the hallway until the sounds reached the end, when Emil heard a loud conversation start.
“The kids aren’t here.”
“Well, this shit went sideways almost from the beginning. They probably holed up in a safe room or something.”
“But there ain’t no saferoom in this mansion. Boss confirmed it.”
“That don’t mean they don’t have plans for contingencies just like this. That’s how these noble scum are. Plans within plans. Can’t work an honest day without cheating us poor, simple folk.”
“Fuck. Whatever, we’ve been talking too damn long. What do we do now?”
“…Torch it?”
“Torch it.”
Abruptly, Emil heard the roar of magical fire as the [Mage] began tossing flames into every room in the hallway. When the flames were tossed into his sister’s room, Emil used [Fire Manipulation] to keep them away from the wardrobe they were hiding in, and snapped up [Mage’s Shield] to keep the smoke away from them. But the flames quickly spread to the rest of the room.
For all that Emil’s MP was prodigious (both for his age and absolutely), it was not unlimited and his expenditures were already exceeding his regeneration. He began [Planning] to see if there was anything else he could do.
Leaving was almost certainly a terrible idea. He had no idea what the situation was outside. On the other hand, there was more than enough air within his [Mage’s Shield] to outlast the fire twice over, even if the whole mansion burned down. But only if he could maintain the Skill that long.
He couldn’t maintain it that long. Ten minutes had already passed and the crackling flames were tearing into the dried wood throughout the mansion. His MP pool was being slowly drained as his expenditures just barely topped over his regeneration. Looking over his Skill list, his eyes settled upon [Meditation]:
> [Meditation 10] (Ra): You may enter a meditative trance. When doing so, your HP Regen and MP Regen are improved by (Rank)%.
Could I use [Meditation] while still maintaining the barrier? Normally your senses are cut off entirely from the outside world. And can I even use another Skill actively while in a trance?
Ultimately, there was only one way to find out.
Whether it was the decades spent as a [Slime] or the urgent need to survive, Emil quickly fell into [Meditation]. As the minutes ticked by, he noticed that even in his sensorially deprived state, he could smell the inside of the wardrobe, but not the smell of any smoke.
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The sun was just rising as Baron Marlonson supervised the final extinguishment of the fires that had engulfed his family home. His wife was inconsolable nearby as no one had been able to locate their two children during the night. Whether that was because those bandits had kidnapped them or whether they perished in the fire, he could not decide which was a worse fate considering the political forces arrayed against him.
“Baron! Baron! Come quickly! Come here!” called his [Steward], who had been going through the burnt out frame of the building.
As the Baron climbed the stairs towards the wing with his children’s rooms, his heart churned in his stomach with dread. But, as he reached the top of the stairs, he was granted the most wondrous of visions. Though the walls of his daughter’s room had all been burnt away, her wardrobe, together with a short section of wall behind it and the floor beneath, were pristine. In this hellish landscape of charcoal and ash, the undamaged wardrobe served an impossible juxtaposition. As he reached out to touch it, lest it be an illusion to deceive him, his fingers rested upon the wood of the door. It’s real, he thought in rising hope. And, with the greatest apprehension, he opened the door. As the rising sun reached through the lingering smoke and into the wardrobe, it fell upon the sight of his sleeping son, barefoot, and his sleeping daughter, wrapped up in bedsheets. The light awoke his daughter, who yawned and stretched and then, upon seeing her father, tilted her head quizzically.
“Daddy???” she asked just before he picked her up in a fierce hug. “Eww, you stink! Go away!”
That day, the Baron’s happiness was pure madness.
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To Emil’s surprise, there were no questions directed his way about what had happened that night. While no one understood what happened, they hadn’t even entertained the possibility that Emil was the cause and the general attitude seemed to be not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
That said, while the estate was being renovated, and their lives were adjusting to a new normal, Emil decided that it was time. And so, one day at breakfast, he told his parents that he had System access. And told them a pared down version of his attributes, Traits, and Skills. They spent a long time that morning discussing the matter, during which Emil expressed his interest in swordplay.
Shortly thereafter, the Baron had a new tutor arrive to begin teaching the rudiments of the Skill. And while Emil’s precociousness meant that he picked up the Skill [One-Handed Swordplay] and early ranks quickly, he still received a number of nicks and cuts lest he get too full of himself. As his mother was binding such a wound, she remarked about how his wounds seemed to heal much slower.
“Well, that’s a Trait for you,” Emil remarked offhandedly.
“What?” she asked as her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Uhh… nothing? Nothing.”
“Emil Marlonson. You will tell me exactly what you meant. What Trait do you have?”
For all that Emil had collectively lived longer than his mother, he still gulped at being scolded. Then, very quietly, “it says that it causes slashing wounds to heal 50% slower.”
“What?!” she shrieked. “Which Trait is this?”
“…[Touched by a Cursed Blade].”
“Cursed?!” Eska cried out, then started dragging him after her. “Earl! Earl! We need to talk.”
Several minutes later, and having repeated everything to his father, the Baron asked his first new question. “Since when have you had this Trait?”
“At least since I received System access.”
“What?! But that was weeks ago. Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
“I, I didn’t want to worry you. And… I was fine, as long as I didn’t get cut.”
“Oh, honey, you don’t need to worry about that. You can come to us for anything,” Eska cooed.
“Besides, it sounds like a fairly minor curse,” his father continued. “The Temples should be able to break it.”
Wait, what? “The Temples can break curses?!”
“Yes, it’s one of the services they provide. Because negative Traits are part of the System, regular magic can’t affect it, and divine intervention is needed. Not terribly common, but it’s a significant portion of their revenue.”
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The next day, Emil and his family went into town. While his father ruled over the town and several surrounding villages, Emil himself had never left the estate grounds. And he soon found out why.
The town was comprised mostly of [Humans]! [Brillian] adults were already small enough compared to adult [Humans] that [Brillian] children—apt to run about as they do—were liable to be squashed. No wonder he was never taken to town before.
Eventually, they reached the local Temple, and were quickly ushered inside where they met with the [Cleric]. After hearing his story, the young [Human] could only sympathize with the child.
“Yes, I’ve heard of that curse. It’s (common) and relatively easy to remove. But its quite curious how you contracted it. Usually you only find it among uncivilized tribes still relying on [Shamans] for magic.”
“He says he’s had it since he received System access,” the Baron replied. “My only thought is that perhaps it was associated with the attack on my residence.”
“Ah yes,” the [Cleric] frowned, “that recent unpleasantness. Well, we might as well get started,” she sighed. “Come here and sit on my lap, Emil.”
As Emil settled into her lap, the [Cleric] began chanting. “Oh Myria, goddess of the harvest, I beseech you as your faithful servant to free this child from his curse. May you provide a guiding light to all that seek shelter in your shadow. [Cursebreaker].”
Ding!
> You have lost the Trait [Touched by a Cursed Blade].
“It’s gone,” Emil confirmed absently as he read. “But the notification is weird.”
“Oh, what is strange about it, son?”
“If the Trait is a curse, wouldn’t the notification say ‘cured’ or ‘lifted’? Instead, it says the Trait is ‘lost.’ Why would it say that? What could be gained from such a cursed Trait that you could ‘lose’ it?”
The two adults glanced at each other, then back at the boy. “That’s just the way the System is, son. Sometimes the words are weird.”
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Emil quietly contemplated the nature of the System, Traits, and the gods, as his family headed back to the estate in their carriage. Suddenly, he spoke up,
“Father. I seem to recall a temple-related Class of melee fighters that also use magic?”
“Yes, the [Paladins]. Why do you ask?”
“I think that’s the Class I want…”
“Hmm,” his father replied, rubbing his chin pensively. “That’s a good idea. They are like [Knights] in that they are heavily-armored melee fighters, but they support themselves with both their own magic and by channeling divine power. Continue to think it over, and if you still want to do it when you’re twelve, we’ll arrange for you to receive a blessing and train at the Grand Temple in Ormond.”
“A blessing?”
“Yes, in order to qualify for many of the higher religious Classes, you must have a god’s blessing, which appears as a Trait in your Status.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Huh,” he remarked, continuing to think things over on their way home.
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The years passed, and Emil continued to grow up. While he had always been quick on the uptake, his tutors began to rave at Emil’s renewed dedication and hard work, pushing many of the tutors to the limits of their own knowledge and skill, both mental and physical. But during his time, he always made a point to love and honor his family, especially Emma, who was becoming quite the bright star in their lives.
Finally, at twelve winters of age, it was time. After tear-filled goodbyes, Emil and his father traveled to Ormond on horseback. The trip took three uneventful weeks, and when they arrived, Emil was stunned to be entering his first city since Amelia. Though in truth, to compare Ormond to Kingsheart was a disservice to the former. Compared to Ormond, Kingsheart was just a town which had grown a bit. Ormond was massive—Emil was pretty sure that had nothing to do with his halfling stature—and he could only gawp. First at the city from a distant hill. Then at the tall walls as they passed by the guardhouse. Then at the seemingly innumerable foods and goods being hawked for sale on the street.
The Baron could only grin at that. For all that he loved his son, his son had always possessed a maturity and worldliness about him that a minor rural nobleman’s son should not have at his age. It was nice to trip him up a bit and act as a guiding father.
Too soon, they arrived at their inn and turned in for the night.
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The next morning, they arrived at the Grand Temple, bright and early, dressed in their finest finery and were quickly shown to a senior staff member.
“Welcome Baron Marlonson and young master, welcome. I am [High Cleric] Admondsen. How may I assist you today?” Admondsen was [Human] and, despite his height, managed to avoid towering over them, for the Baron was still a noble.
“Thank you [High Cleric] for your prompt attention,” Baron Earl replied. “My son Emil here has aspired to be a [Paladin] for many years now and has trained both his mind, body, and soul to do so. We are here to see about his receiving a [Blessing] and enrolling in your training program.”
“I see,” Admondsen nodded as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, let’s get some preliminary questions out of the way, then I’ll conduct an interview to ensure your son meet our character qualifications. If we move forward with this, we’ll arrange for the [Blessing] to occur at the next holy day in four days, yes? Yes, that will do.” Then, turning to the young man, “First, how old are you, Emil?”
“Twelve, sir.”
The man chuckled. “I am no ‘sir.’ Simply [High Cleric] will do.”
How is that simpler?!?! Emil groused to himself about his etiquette lessons, but remained silent, offering only a small nod.
“And what is your Race level?”
“Fourteen, [High Cleric].”
“Fourteen! And you have enough XP banked to raise your Class to that as well?”
“Yes, [High Cleric].”
“Ah, very well. And your stats distribution.”
“20-20-16-25-25-20. But I have [Precocious III]!” Emil lied.
“Ah,” Admonsen acknowledged as he ran some calculations. “So, your Class choice won’t trigger until you hit 132 total, which is rather on the high side. Still, your stats are already very impressive for your age… Two hundred HP, and over three hundred MP,” the [High Cleric] muttered as he scratched some math out with a quill. “And you’ll hit your Class choice soon… very soon,” he whispered at the end.
Actually, it would trigger at 140 total, but the [Cleric] couldn’t have known that given Emil was misleading him. And Emil had hit that threshold over a year ago, but was sitting on his Class options without making a selection: [Noble Guard] (uncommon), [Noble] (rare), [Noble Knight] (rare), [Noble Thief] (rare), [Fighter Monk] (rare), [Mage] (very rare).
He really had no idea why he had a [Thief]-adjacent Class; he suspected it had something to do with his Race, but he’d never found any reading material on it nor any good reason to raise it out of the blue with his family. The [Fighter Monk] was an odd option as well, specializing in unarmed combat. It was similar to a [Brawler], but with an emphasis on level-headedness, and Emil suspected that [Meditation] was at play there, though that was a [Mage] Skill. And then there was [Mage] again. He didn’t intend to take it this life, but was glad to see it there all the same.
Actually, it wasn’t even there when he first got the prompt. Surprised given what he knew of the Class, he snuck off to a hidden spot, cast a [Fireball], then checked the list again, only to see it appear. So, it’s not just possessing the Skill, he thought at the time, you have to actually cast it too. But why didn’t my actions during the house fire qualify? An odd deviation, but I’m not sure it really matters.
But those were all digressions. “Yes, [High Cleric],” he affirmed the man’s convenient misunderstandings.
“Alright, let’s discuss Skills next. Do you have ….”
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It took nearly an hour to go over all the skills that Emil was willing to disclose. Then another three hours for the [High Cleric] to conduct the character interview. By the time they were finished, both father and son were famished, and hurried off to a late lunch.
As father and son relaxed at the table after their meal, Emil asked the question silently looming over them. “Do you think they’ll take long to decide, father?”
“Hmm?” Baron Earl raised an eyebrow over the brandy he was sipping. It was early, but even he was a touch nervous. “They’re probably talking about you right now.”
“Oh. Hmm.”
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Sam Admondsen was ecstatic. He was not expecting much this morning when one of the [Acolytes] told him that a Baron was here to see about having his son enrolled in the [Paladin] training program. It was—regretfully—not uncommon for noblemen to dispose of some of the spares through the program. And, while they could refuse some on the grounds of qualifications, too many turn-aways would have been a political nightmare. It was a slow grind, but the standards of the program had noticeably fallen over the last century.
And so Sam’s mood improved several steps when it turned out to be Baron Marlonson. Although Sam had not known him personally, he knew by reputation that Marlonson was newly elevated, loyal to the crown, and wholly incorruptible. And to bring him his firstborn son! What a delight.
Sam had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the ensuing discussion of Emil’s Status and the character interview were beyond reproach. In part, Emil truly was blessed by luck and was determined to use it for the betterment of the people. On the other part, Emil must have been a right tyrant of a student to his tutors in order to raise his attributes that high. The interview had made clear that almost none of his XP had come from monster-hunting, which meant it had come solely from the annual birthday gifts from the System and training. Even so limited, calling Emil merely “prodigious” would be a disservice.
Sam could hardly wait to see how high Emil would rise.
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To no one’s surprise, Emil was promptly accepted and, at the next holy day, received his [Blessing] at the Temple.
Ding!
> You have received a Trait.
>
> [Adonite’s Blessing] (very rare): A blessing from Adonite, God/Goddess of Bread and Steel. Potentially unlocks certain divine-related Traits, Skills and Classes. +10% HP.
Emil checked his Class options and, yes, [Paladin] (very rare) was there. Emil was itching to take it there and then, but decided doing it in public was in poor form. And if he could manage to hold off a few months, doing it after the training program started would be best.
His father stayed another week and then, with some terribly-embarrassing parting words to his son about how to deal with city women, returned to his estate.
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A few months had passed, and Emil was returning to the dormitory room he had been given at the training grounds. The first few months had been heavily physically focused, with an emphasis on melee combat, with a few Classes on the necessarily religious and divine topics needed to fulfill the role of a [Paladin]. (Little in the way of Skills though, he thought). However, unlike the other trainees that entered contemporaneously with him, because of the [High Cleric]’s recognition that he would be Class eligible soon, Emil was further instructed on what to do once he took the Class. That instruction had just concluded the week before and, with just the few days that had passed, Emil was at the limit of his patience. Finally, he had informed his instructors that morning that he was eligible to Class and, when he finally got back to his room, he laid down on his bed to make his selection.
Ding!
> You are now a [Paladin].
>
> [Paladin] (very rare): Blessed by a deity, skilled in both steel and magic, and dedicated to the common people, this Class is formidable against those who would do evil in the world. +1 STR WIS,+4 free / lvl, +1 SKP / lvl.
>
> As a [Paladin] blessed by two deities, you gain an additional Free attribute point per level.
Wait, what? Since when was I blessed by two deities? Emil looked over his Status again, but all he saw was the one blessing from Adonite. Confused, he decided to disregard his good fortune for now, quickly distributed his free attributes, then turned to his Skills.
Based on the instruction received, he immediately selected five Skills: [Divine Channel], which was the necessary magical spell needed to channel divine power from the [Paladin]’s patron god, and as such as a prerequisite to nearly every other [Paladin] Skill; [Divine Smite], for melee; [Divine Lay on Hands] for healing; [Divine Aegis], as a broad protective shield specialized for ranged defense; and [Divine Aura], another prerequisite needed for a variety of higher tier area-based [Paladin] Skills. From the basic [Paladin] Skills, he also grabbed [Charming], which was not recommended by his instructors. However, it gave a flat 5% increase in the CHA attribute—full stop—and so Emil felt justified to his future lives in taking it.
With that, he now turned to the more advanced Skills. From there, he only had one option which had any appeal: [Paladin’s Speed]. Though it was just magic, and did not involve channeling any divine energies, the spell allowed him to use MP to boost his DEX for several minutes. At two Skill points, he bought it and then banked the rest of his [Paladin] Skill points for more advanced skills at a later date.
Years ago, he had picked up the [Brillian] Skills [Internal Clock] and [Fast Talker]. The former was helpful for telling time, and would be a good long term skill, he thought. The latter paired really well with his high CHA and, he suspected, would be helpful with interpersonal relationships. Nonetheless, he pulled up the Race Skill list again just to be sure.
To his surprise, he saw an upgrade purchase available for one of his non-rankable Skills: [Firm Purchase II]. The original [Firm Purchase] had been a [Slime] skill, but now the [Brillian] store was allowing him to purchase an upgrade? He shook his head at the seeming nonsense out of the System and spent the two points.
Looking over his Trait and Skill list again, Emil was starting to get a headache. With the Class selection, his melee skills had moved from General Skills down to Class Skills. But his list was still getting so long! There were now a combined 50 entries! And what was the difference anyway in the way they were displayed? He had thought that Traits were non-rankable and Skills were rankable, but he had already acquired several apparently non-rankable Skills. And then on top of the ordinary numerical rankable Skills, there appeared to be Skills that could only be purchased through the shop, not trained, but those were numbered using an entirely different numbering system. And why were Class and General Skills separated anyways if they so easily moved about due to a Class selection? He almost wished he had a Skill to reorganize his Traits and Skill list.
Ding!
Wait, what?!?
> You have received a Trait.
>
> [Status Modification] (ultra rare). Your Status is becoming the stuff of myth and legend. And yet you’ve also learned the limitations thereof and realized that it is just a means of displaying information. Organize your Status to suit your purposes.
Emil had acquired a lot of Traits and Skills over his lives. Some from hard work, some from Skill Points, and—particularly with respect to Traits—dumb luck. This was the first time he had received a Trait by complaining.
Honestly, that made him a little uneasy.
Then he started reorganizing his Status. And quickly learned a few things. First, his name had to come first. Second, he could now display his HP Regen and MP Regen. Third, in addition to shuffling around Skills and Traits between the three existing categories of Traits, General Skills, and Class Skills, he found that he could delete the category names and create his own.
When he was done, his Status looked like this:
> Name: Emil Marlonson (L28)
> Others: Queenie, Masami, Amelia
>
> Race: Brillian (L14)
> Class: Paladin (L14)
>
> HP: 1408/1408 (160 / hour)
> MP: 2500/2500 (200 / hour)
>
> CON: 50
> STR: 50
> DEX: 30
> INT: 50
> WIS: 50
> CHA: 29
> Free: 0
>
> Traits: [Adonite’s Blessing] [Charming] [Improved MP II] [Nimble Health] [Reincarnator] [Status Modification] [Studious]
> Bodily Traits: [Amorphous Body] [Calm Stomach] [Firm Purchase II] [Improved Dark Vision] [Skin Sight] [Slippery]
> Life Skills: [Butchering 10] [Cleaning 10] [Cooking 10] [Disguise 15] [Eating 37] [Fast Talker 7] [Fishing 12] [Internal Clock 4] [Learning 42] [Meditation 12] [Natural Leader 14] [Planning 21]
> Languages: [Eastern Kneet 40] [Ostesh 40] [Ucarhi 27] [Ucarhi – Creator of Written Ucarhi]
> General Mage Skills: [Acid Splash 12] [Mage Hands] [Mage’s Shield 12] [Mana Finesse II]
> Fire Mage Skills: [Fire Immunity] [Fire Manipulation 18] [Fire Wall 12] [Fireball 18] [Firebolt 12] [Flamethrower 12] [Flaming Sphere 12]
> Paladin Skills: [Divine Aegis 1] [Divine Aura 1] [Divine Channel 1] [Divine Lay on Hands 1] [Divine Smite 1] [Divine Speed 1]
> Melee Skills: [Archery 4] [Claws 15] [Heavy Armor 8] [One-Handed Sword 12] [Two-Handed Sword 3]
> v. 0.83a
This, he thought, is much better.
----------------------------------------
The next three years of training passed quickly for Emil. He leveled up his Race, Class, and Skills, got extensive familiarity with all of them, and was the most outstanding graduate the program had had in a decade or more.
Of course, it was not all work. Emil hit puberty and, from the other side of the beanpole, he could confirm that it was a radically different, if equally harrowing, experience. There was hair everywhere, he found himself filled with a nervous energy constantly, and his mind played all sorts of dirty tricks on him like acting boastful, being competitive, and, oddly to his mind, thinking about girls and women near constantly. His earlier lives had made the last point rather uncomfortable for him and he would have largely tried to ignored it. But his impressive displays on the training ground and overall general standing within the program led to many young women, halfling and otherwise, expressing some interest in him. And a few years in the city was enough for a few dalliances, finally checking the box (at least on one side) after four lives.
While he had kept a healthy correspondence with his family, it was infeasible for Emil to travel home to them. And, while his father visited the capital on occasion (and left again after providing manly advice), the same could not be true for his mother or little sister. Or, as he found out, his little brother either. Yet, even with the end of his program, there still was no opportunity to return home.
With his training done, he now found himself deployed with a small team in the rural expanses on the west side of the Kingdom. In addition to more mundane issues such as banditry and monsters, the divine-empowered forces of the Temples were increasingly called upon to fight against a new threat which had appeared and been increasing in frequency in the last century: the [Eldritch].
Little was known about their exact nature, except that both the System and the Pantheon had declared them anathema to all creation. While the creatures supposedly did not have access to the System, which was usually a prerequisite to gaining XP from killing a monster, an exception had been made (though by who, it was never clear) and the System would generously award XP for the deaths of the [Eldritch].
What was known was that the [Eldritch] were horrifyingly ugly and gained access to the world through tears in reality that they ripped open and invaded through. They then sought to kill any entity with System access, harvest their XP, and then return to and flee through the rift they had entered from.
Further, while ordinary adventuring bands could defeat the [Eldritch], the divine skills of Classes such as [Paladin] were known to be extra effective which, given the absolute power of the common [Eldritch], meant that the Temples were in high demand.
And so Emil spent two years touring, acting as a [Paladin] should. Slaying the monstrous monsters; slaying the even more monstrous [Eldritch]; slaying the monstrous cultists insane enough to attempt to intentionally summon [Eldritch]; and wooing young and fair maidens.
As his tour of duty came to an end, he found himself on the trail out of town towards his family estate, with three months off until his next deployment.
As he approached, his worries cropped up about visiting his family. Did they still love him? Would they be glad to see him? How could he avoid any awkward conversations about romance with his father… or mother or sister for that matter?
And yet before he knew it, he found himself standing within the foyer of the estate, being smothered by his crying mother, while he stood there in his shining plate, all 116 centimeters of him. And with a cry of joy, his sister came running down the stairs and launched herself at him as well. And seeing his sister, who had become a fair maiden while he was away, Emil made a solemn vow to himself: Any man who approaches my sister shall first meet my sword.
And then, later that night, as he lay in bed reflecting on the day: Where did that vow come from? Being male is so weird sometimes.
----------------------------------------
The next months were joyous. Emil loved his new brother, Emarcus, and spoiled him with all the boy’s play that the rest of his family simply couldn’t provide. Emil and Emma spent weeks’ worth of afternoons exchanging stories of their times apart. Whereupon Emil would then repeat those same stories in the evening for his mother and she relayed all that had happened while he was gone. Emil and his father rode through all corners of the barony, the latter inspecting it as Baron, with Emil lending his talents as a [Paladin] where due. And, most importantly, his father affirmed Emil’s vow regarding Emma’s future suitors and gave his own.
Bittersweet, his leave came to end, but with his body, mind and soul reinvigorated, Emil set back off to the Grand Temple at the Capital.
----------------------------------------
The first three years of his next tour passed quickly. The bandits and ordinary monsters had become less of a concern—both to the local authorities and the ever-stronger Emil—but the [Eldritch] were coming through with increasing frequency and in larger groups. A decade ago, a Temple party such as Emil’s would—within a year—expect to kill a dozen [Eldritch] in perhaps half that number of encounters. Now, a single [Eldritch] was a rarity, with the most common incidents being a couplet, and groups of five and seven were beginning to appear. Further, the number of annual encounters had doubled over the decade, which, together with the larger groups, meant that such teams were now on average killing over thirty [Eldritch] a year. And each year that number was still increasing several percentage points.
Indeed, twice in the tour, one of Emil’s party members died in encounters with the [Eldritch]. Both times, the party had remained understrength for months while waiting for their correspondence requesting backup to wind its way to Capital or one of the other two major cities of the kingdom, and then waiting for the backup to catch up to them. The central organizations of the Temples were in an uproar working out the logistics of how to keep teams in the field fully manned.
----------------------------------------
At the beginning of their fourth year, Emil’s party found themselves on the road riding various mounts, which, though not war-trained, greatly increased the party’s movement speed between settlements. The party now bore the name Halfling Grace on account of their newest member, a [Human] [Holy Monk] named Grace, and the remaining members of the party—Emil, Tony, Toni, and Henry—all being halflings of various sorts. As Tony and Toni bickered towards the rear of the party, Henry rode up besides Emil, while Grace listened in.
“So, are you going to tell us why you’ve got ants in your pants?”
Emil reflected briefly on how bad it much be if Henry could pick up on his nervousness. “Right… so you know how we’re cutting through the Blueback and Blackback Mountains as a shortcut towards Laurel?”
“Yeah?”
“I… may have failed to mention that my father’s barony lies directly in our path.”
Henry stared at Emil for a long moment, then stared at the sky, checked his horse’s eye, spat at the ground, then yelled back at the rest of the team, “Hey guys! We’re crashing at Emil’s parents’ place! Noble beds!” which was promptly followed by hooting and hollering from Tony and Toni. Grace just looked confused before asking,
“Do your parents have a human-sized bed?”
“Uhh….”
----------------------------------------
The Marlonson estate did indeed have appropriate human-sized guest accommodations, not that Emil knew that despite growing up there for over a decade. In any event, the Marlonsons warmly welcomed Halfling Grace, excited to see their son again and his teammates. Regretfully, the team could not stay long—their services were desperately needed in Laurel—but they did manage to extend it a few days.
Which was long enough for Emil to find out that Emma was being courted by a young [Chef] from the town. After thoroughly beating the suitor with his bare hands, Emil begrudgingly agreed that a [Chef] was not a fighter, and thereafter challenged the young man—Emil still refused to learn his name—to a culinary duel. This seemed like Emil was taking it easy on the poor man. But, to everyone’s surprise (what nobleman picked up the [Cooking] skill?), Emil’s attempt was rather good, if simple fare. However, Emil quickly conceded the competition after he himself groaned in pleasure at Phil’s feast. Thereupon, he teased Emma that clearly the quickest way to a woman’s heart was through her stomach and followed up that, if she did not marry him, he might.
As they say around gaily talking after the competitive meal, Toni suddenly gasped and stiffened up. The family present was confused, but the rest of the party knew what that was: Toni’s [Eldritch Detection] skill had just flared. “It’s nearby,” Toni gasped out, “a few klicks at most. And it’s a big one. I think it’s larger than a seven-header.”
“Baron,” Henry interjected quickly before anyone else could get a word in, “is there an [Eldritch] subjugation force from the Temple in town?”
“Aye, yes. They’ve been stationed here for the last year. Bastion’s Defenders.”
“Halfling Grace,” Henry called out, “suit up. We’re moving in ten and meeting Bastion’s Defenders at the site. They don’t know we’re here and we’ll need all of us to contain this quickly.”
----------------------------------------
Thirty minutes later, and the two groups were exchanging quick greetings and strategizing, while the scouts from both teams quickly moved forward. When they returned, the news was not good.
This was a big incursion, that was for sure. There were only three [Eldritch], but they were several times larger than a normal [Eldritch]—whatever normal meant here—nearly five meters at the shoulder or shoulder-equivalent. Moreover, all three were staying grouped together and heading towards town.
A few minutes of planning later and the combined team—working name, Grace and Friends—was off. They went in hard and fast, overwhelming the first [Eldritch] in the initial attack, but the other two quickly responded and Grace and Friends found themselves pressured as their attention split between the two horrors. It was quickly becoming a battle of attrition however: the team was rapidly consuming MP and was gradually wearing down the two abominations. When their first teammate was knocked out of the fight, Emil knew they were in trouble and started pulling out his secret cards, namely the Skills he had never used in this life nor told his teammates.
Though mundane magic was not as effective in damaging the [Eldritch] as divine skills channeling the gods, the [Eldritch] still feared the flame, and Emil began to liberally use [Flame Wall] to control the field of battle. Emil was beginning to feel good about the battle when the second [Eldritch] ran through the flames to assist the first and, within the span of a few breathes, three more teammates were dead or unconscious. The remaining team quickly poured magical attacks at the first [Eldritch] taking it down, but now they were nearly out of MP. As the six still-standing fighters encircled the [Eldritch], it began flaying its whip-like tentacles at them and soon they were down to five. In a desperate gamble, Emil moved within arm’s reach, and with [Claws], [Firm Purchase], and [Sticky Fingers], quickly scaled the beast to attack its “head,” both attacking a weak point and distracting it from the others. The [Eldritch] made to grab Emil and throw him, but [Slippery] protected him from being grasped until it didn’t, and Emil immediately found himself lying against a boulder with a broken spine, listening to the sound of battle ongoing.
I hope that was enough to protect Emma and the town. Darn it… I think I’m going to miss the wedding.
Ding!
> You died.
----------------------------------------
> Name: Emil Marlonson (L56)
> Others: Queenie, Amelia, Masami
>
> Race: Brillian (L28)
> Class: Paladin (L28)
>
> HP: 0/3226 (244 / hour)
> MP: 240/7225 (340 / hour)
>
> CON: 77
> STR: 75
> DEX: 45
> INT: 85
> WIS: 85
> CHA: 40
> Free: 0
>
> Traits: [Adonite's Blessing] [Charming] [Improved MP II] [Nimble Health] [Reincarnator] [Status Modification] [Studious] [Vital Flexibility]
> Bodily Traits: [Amorphous Body] [Calm Stomach] [Firm Purchase II] [Hair Control] [Improved Dark Vision] [Quick Hands 5] [Skin Sight] [Slippery] [Sticky Fingers 7] [Treasure Hunter 2]
> Life Skills: [Butchering 11] [Cleaning 12] [Cooking 14] [Digestion 8] [Disguise 15] [Eating 39] [Fast Talker 9] [Fishing 12] [Hygiene 5] [Internal Clock 8] [Learning 42] [Meditation 23] [Natural Leader 22] [Planning 26] [Speak Romance 7]
> Languages: [Eastern Kneet 40] [Ostesh 40] [Tyr Trade Tongue 9] [Ucarhi 27] [Ucarhi - Creator of Written Ucarhi] [Western Kneet 12]
> General Mage Skills: [Acid Splash 12] [Mage Hands] [Mage's Shield 12] [Mana Finesse II]
> Fire Mage Skills: [Fire Immunity] [Fire Manipulation 18] [Firewall 13] [Fireball 18] [Firebolt 12] [Flamethrower 12] [Flaming Sphere 12]
> Paladin Skills: [Divine Aegis 19] [Divine Arrow 8] [Divine Aura 18] [Divine Body 4] [Divine Brawn 6] [Divine Channel 21] [Divine Courage 9] [Divine Faith 2] [Divine Fortress 10] [Divine Lay on Hands 18] [Divine Reflection 9] [Divine Smile 5] [Divine Smite 16] [Divine Speed 12] [Divine Thought 6] [Divine Will 4]
> Melee Skills: [Archery 8] [Claws 16] [Heavy Armor 24] [One-Handed Sword 24] [Shield Bash 12] [Two-Handed Sword 5]
> v. 0.83a