As the dawn’s gentle light filtered through the branches above, I woke from a restless sleep at the base of a large oak. My makeshift shelter of large roots and bark provided little comfort against the cool morning air. Turning to my side, I saw Ryone, her breathing even and calm in deep sleep. The memory of our harrowing escape from Kyrekeep replayed in my mind as I watched over her.

This was not the fantasy city I had imagined. In the stories of my past life, cities were bustling centers of trade and culture, vibrant with the comings and goings of diverse peoples and filled with grand architecture. But Kyrekeep... it was a shadow of those tales. Even through the cover of night, the rundown streets and dilapidated buildings spoke volumes of a harsh, unforgiving world. The people we glimpsed were haggard, their faces etched with the wear of daily survival rather than the lively spark of thriving lives. I was bluntly reminded that this world, while filled with magic and wonder, could also be incredibly cruel and unforgiving.

I stood up, feeling the stiffness in my limbs from the night's events. As I stretched, the tug of the makeshift vine harness around my body became more apparent. In the rush and chaos of our escape, I had completely forgotten to remove it. Stepping outside the shelter, I began to untangle the vines from around my body.

“Hey System, are all the cities around here this run down?”

I decided to ask my trusty system for clarifications. I hadn’t spoken to it in a while, maybe it could have provided more valuable information on the territory. Somehow I wasn’t surprised to get absolutely no answer.

I scoffed and continued to untangle myself.

I still don’t get why System only answers certain questions, like there was a limiter to the information it can provide.

I thought about it for a few moments. What if the System could only answer questions related to the System itself. Maybe it didn’t have information on other subjects.

“System, when can I unlock another class?”

Answer. User’s third class slot will unlock upon reaching certain attribute requirements.

Thanks for the vague answer.

“Can you be more specific on the requirements?”

Once again, I waited for a few moments until I realized I was getting the silent treatment.

I finished removing the harness and the vines fell away. I shook my body, feeling a slight shiver of relief as the last of them hit the ground. The harness had been a clever disguise, but its embrace was tight and unnatural against my scales. It was a minor discomfort in the grand scheme of things, but I relished the feeling of air against my skin.

As I finished removing the harness, I settled down onto a soft patch of grass and opened my status panel.

Name

Juniper

Race

Dragon

Growth

Cub

Body

4

Classes

Level

Reflexes

8

First

Phytomancer

8

Cool

2

Second

Explorer

5

Mind

9

Third

none

-

Mysticism (racial)

3

Fourth

none

-

I remembered that my second class slot unlocked when I reached a total of 10 attribute points. According to System, the only way to unlock my third class slot was to reach another attribute goal.

I’m already past 20 points into my attributes, yet no class slot unlocked… I guess a linear progression would have made it too easy to unlock more classes?

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As I kept pondering on my status panel, the quiet rustle of leaves caught my attention. I turned my head back towards our shelter and saw Ryone stirring from her sleep. The early morning light cast soft shadows across her face, highlighting the traces of exhaustion still evident under her eyes. She blinked slowly, adjusting to the light, and caught my gaze.

She rubbed her eyes, sitting up and stretching her arms, a weak smile crossing her face.

"Morning…"

She glanced around, taking in the peaceful forest scene. As more light shone through her figure I noticed her bruised face and somewhat tattered clothes.

I could not speak, but I wanted to offer her some comfort. I reached within my satchel and picked a dappleberry, holding it out to her.

Ryone's eyes lit up as she took the fruit from my claw, her small hands careful against my large scales. She sat down next to me, sinking into the grass with a sigh of relief. She took a bite, the juice of the berry probably a small, sweet relief after the bitter events we'd fled.

As she ate, Ryone looked up at me, a serious expression replacing her initial weariness. "I'm heading to Gearford next," she said decisively. "And my offer still stands, if you want to come with me, I’d really like that."

She then opened the small leather bag she had clung to through our escape, pulling out a letter sealed with a fancy sigil. "This," she explained as she turned the letter over in her hands, "is a letter of introduction that I got from a traveling merchant in Ulv. It's supposed to get me into the city without trouble. Gearford... it’s supposed to be different, better."

She paused, her gaze shifting back to the letter. "The letter is enchanted, it is very hard to destroy it, and supposedly the authorities in Gearford have a way to prove it’s the real deal.”

I listened, absorbing every word. The thought of such a place stirred something within me too. Ryone had talked about another dragon living within the city walls. I didn’t know why, but the thought of meeting someone else from my species appealed to me more than I could have anticipated.

I looked back at the girl. Ryone was still a mystery to me. Her circumstances were dire to begin with, and more questions piled up by the hour.

If only I could talk with her…

Suddenly, an idea sparked in my mind.

System, is there a way for me to communicate with other species like I do with Tom?

I mentally asked the question, hoping to get an answer from my snarky companion.

Answer. Yes, there are multiple classes that provide abilities that would allow User to communicate with other species.

Nice! Finally a productive answer. System, tell me which classes meet the criteria.

Answer. Here is an exhaustive list of classes sorted by rarity that would allow User to acquire better communicative abilities.

[Common] Scholar, Educator, Diplomat

[Uncommon] /error/, /error/, /error/

[Rare] /error/, /error/, /error/, /error/

[/error/] /error/, /error/

Clarification. Currently, User meets the requirement to acquire [0] of the above classes.

“Are you kidding me with this?!” At the sight of the ridiculous message I had gotten, I couldn’t help but shout out in disbelief. I heard a rustle to my side, noticing Ryone had jumped up in surprise and was scanning the clearing with her gaze.

Right, she probably heard me let out a massive roar just now.

She turned back to me, her eyes clearly seeking an explanation. “What’s going on?”

Uhm, sorry about that.

I tried to convey that everything was alright with an apologetic look, lowering my head and patting on the grass next to me. To her, my attempt probably looked more like an awkward bow or a strange gesture.

I didn’t move from where I was seated, hoping to convey that everything was alright.

Ryone hesitated, her expression shifting from alarm to confusion, then to a cautious amusement as she realized there wasn’t any immediate threat. She rubbed the back of her neck. “Don’t do that! You scared me!”

Sorry, sorry. No more sudden roars.

I nodded with my head as I watched her pick up the dappleberry she had dropped in a panic and sit back down to finish her breakfast.

Focusing back on the system message, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at all the error messages displayed. To top it off, the icing on this stupid message, I met none of the requirements to acquire any of these classes.

Scholar, Educator, Diplomat… I guess it makes sense that I don’t meet the requirements to learn any of these…

Having made no real progress on the communication front, I sighed in disappointment.

If this Gearford is such a great place as Ryone says, maybe I will be able to find out more there.

With Ryone's breakfast finished and our brief rest concluded, she packed away the letter and stood up, brushing herself off with a newfound determination. I stood as well, stretching out my limbs.

She looked at me, a serious yet grateful expression on her face. "So, onwards to Gearford then?” I visually perked up my shoulders and nodded at her words.

I wore my satchel around my neck and got ready to move, but Ryone seemed to have different plans as she walked up to the tree where we had slept, picking up a small branch and gesturing me to approach.

Then she swiftly began drawing something on a small patch of dirt. I watched her curiously as she carved dots and lines onto the soil, until realization hit me.

Is she making a map?

It took her a couple minutes and a few redraws, until finally she nodded satisfied and looked up to me.

“Right, since we ran back into the forest the same way we came from, we are somewhere around here now.” As she talked, she used her branch to carve a small circle onto the dirt.

With my new mental map ability from Trailblazer, I was surprised to notice that her directions were somewhat accurate. We were indeed roughly where she had pointed out, if only slightly more east.

“We need to get to Gearford,” she motioned at the dot in the dirt that was north-east of where we stood, “and this is Ulv, where I ran away from…”

Rough sketch of Ryone's carving on the dirt!

https://i.imgur.com/ODesEdC.png [https://i.imgur.com/ODesEdC.png]

Right, so we need to head north-east from here, that seems easy enough.

I thought, just as Ryone continued, “if we head east from here we should eventually get out of the forest and end back onto the road that leads to Gearford. From there we just follow it north and that should be it.”

I didn’t know how much I liked the prospect of traveling on the road, but for now I decided to go along with her plan. If push came to shove we could always coast alongside the road from within the forest. I was more comfortable cruising through the underbrush, but I could understand how that could become problematic for Ryone. Her clothes had become more ragged after last night’s adventures and her shoes had definitely seen better days.

I looked up from the map and found the girl staring at me, almost like waiting for approval. I vigorously nodded and with a mutual understanding, we set off again. The forest embraced us as we made our way through the trees, the light of a new day guiding our steps towards an uncertain yet hopeful future.