~~The following messages are of grave importance, and will be repeated until you consent or reject.~~
My name’s Arthur Paxton. I work at “Placey’s Dirt”. It’s a real ramshackle spot - buried between an unsteady apartment brick and a restaurant that’s been grandly opening for over 6 years. We call it “Placey’s Dirt” on account of the neon sign out front that burnt out. Used to say “Pearl Stacey’s Dirty Palace”. And no, it isn't a brothel. We're a very upstanding garden center.
~~Classes are the bias of the world come manifest. Class-bearers will receive supernatural capabilities for following the rules laid out for them.~~
Well, upstanding is the wrong word. The walls are rotting, the soil shipments often come in pre-ripped, and I'm pretty sure I saw a mushroom growing out of the cash register. P's a control freak - she often says this is her “personal hell”... anyway. What I’m supposed to get across is my normalcy. I graduated high school. I have one cat and no delusions. None. Sure, I can ramble a whole lot about absolutely nothing, but being long-winded isn't the same as being deranged.
~~Should you consent, you shall be selected to receive the only Class allotted to the F-Tier Domain you reside in. Should you reject, this honor shall be passed to a different resident.~~
But the voice isn’t going away. It’s been here all morning. I could even make out its tone. Monotone, neutral, and a plodding speed. It doesn’t ask me to do anything strange... It simply spills forward, like a foreign ocean into long-untouched sand. It’s a force of nature.
Ehh... When I put it like that, I don’t sound very convincingly normal, do I? Sorry.
~~The following messages are of grave importance, and will be repeated until you consent or reject.~~
It’s fine. If this is really some kind of bullshit, I’ll find out when I don’t get the promised "supernatural capabilities". Then I can promptly check myself into some kind of ward. What I mean is- I consent.
~~Consent acknowledged. Opening resident “Arthur Paxton” to Judgement.~~
I barely process what the voice says, because a wave of dread crushes me. The air around me quivers. Adrenaline pumps in my veins. The vast is staring through everything around me, bells clamour in my ears, the sky bulges, something looks at me.
I stay as still as I possibly can.
And like that, it passes.
~~Resident “Arthur Paxton” has been successfully judged. Your class will now be assigned.~~
~~YOUR CLASS: SCION OF THE WORM~~
[Class Feature] Remaining Lifespan: 24h 00m 00s
[Feature L0] 5/5 AU (0/1 CXP)
~~CLASS RULES~~
[Conditional L0 - Resistant] Intake poison or disease.
+ You will receive CXP based on the potency of the malady.
+ If the malady is below 30 AU in potency, cure it.
+ 0/5 CXP
[Class Conditional - Scion's Right] Observe the death of another organism.
+ You will receive a portion of the target’s lifespan.
+ You will receive CXP based on the lifespan acquired.
~~CLASS ACTIONS~~
[Spell L0 - Summon Earthworm] - 1 AU
+ Spawn an earthworm anywhere you are observing.
+ The maximum natural lifespan of the spawned target is 5 hours.
+ This spell can only be used manually. + 0/5 CXP
It takes me a moment to process the chunk of information. I barely understand half of it. Still, there’s one thing that stands out to me. My “Remaining Lifespan”... you’re telling me I only have 24 hours to live?! I hardly want to retreat to the stance that I cannot trust my senses, not after I felt that… incomprehensible something.
As for the purported supernatural powers, these seem... sparse?! You drastically shorten my lifespan, and all I can do is wave my wand and spawn a worm?
Well, on closer inspection, the “CLASS RULES” seem more important. I don’t know how much 30 AU is - presumably some unique unit of measurement - but the first rule seems to exempt me from disease and poison. Which would be nice if I lived long enough to die of natural causes.
I have a pretty clear idea what happens when my Lifespan hits 0. It's a fear imprinted on the very nature of myself. An instinct screams- I'll die instantly! The only question I have is how aging is going to work. Will I age at an accelerated rate with my new lifespan? Will I age at the same rate as before, and die young? Or maybe I’ll turn into a crusty old skeleton the instant I run out of time?
...Anyway, I don’t think I can waste my precious time being anxious about death. There’s another “Class Conditional” that may save me... though it’s morbid. That’s right. I saw it, but I didn’t want to think about it. My second rule. By watching someone die, I can absorb their lifespan.
Wait, it says “organism”? Does this mean that even animals or plants are fair game? I’m uncomfortable with the implications, but now I have an opportunity that’s far too good to pass up. An opportunity in the form of my seemingly useless power - a spell to spawn worms!
Excited to have finally figured a way out, my eyes shoot open and I pull myself upright. I’m in the apartment’s first bedroom right now, lying above the covers. Flanking the bedside are two dresser drawers, one covered in obvious coffee stains. On the other is the ancient radio I get all my local news from. I can listen later; right now I stand up. The carpet is coated in dishes and clothes, so I have to step carefully on my way out. This bedroom is connected to the ill-conceived communal space. It’s an unfortunate hybrid of a kitchen and living room - the shag carpet here is covered in crumbs, most of them practically glued in.
I ignore the lost cause and check the overhead cupboards. Sounds of rummaging come and pass as I retrieve a tupperware container with a far more victorious look on my face than tupperware warrants. Finally, I tear up some bread from the fridge - do worms like bread? - and deposit the crumbs in the plastic container. My master plan has finally come to fruition!
...How do I cast a spell?
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
--- 23h 57m 13s. ---
I start out by shouting the spell’s name. I probably look rather ridiculous, posing and screaming ‘SUMMON EARTHWORM!’ behind paper-thin walls. When that doesn't work, I calm down a little bit and try speaking it in a normal voice. After that, I just try thinking about it…
I thought that it was worth a shot. Spellcasting in media is typically obscure to learn but relatively simple beyond that, right? Like, wizards only need the words and a wand? Or alchemists just needing formulae? Following this perspective, all I need to do is figure out the activation condition for my spell. Maybe it’s like class conditionals… super specific, I mean.
There’s also the chance that the spell’s trigger is purely emotional. Maybe I have to get really fired up about spawning worms? I really hope it’s not this one. I’ll think about it later.
It could even be a physical feeling, like acquiring a new limb that you’re not sure how to move yet. This one sounds the coolest, but would probably be the hardest to figure out. Worse than the emotional method? Probably less volatile, but harder to do on the first try.
I dedicate an hour to experimenting with vocal triggers, three hours to experimenting with emotions, and the rest of my life to the worst-case scenario.
--- 22h 44m 48s ---
My first major discovery is that I could coax the details of my Class to repeat by speaking the word "Class" without inflection. I can do the same if I think the word in monotone. It felt like pushing into a heavy wind, or sticking a shovel into the dirt. Working against something until you have enough leverage to weaken the resistance, you know?
"Class Actions", I say.
~~CLASS ACTIONS~~
[Spell L0 - Summon Earthworm] - 1 AU
+ Spawn an earthworm anywhere you are observing.
+ The maximum natural lifespan of the spawned target is 5 hours.
+ This spell can only be used manually.
+ 0/5 CXP
"Spell L0 - Summon Earthworm.", I say. This time there's no response at all. It's beginning to look like the worst scenario to me - my words only seem able to call up information from that blurry place. My emotions do nothing at all.
Whenever I try focusing on where that information came from, I'm overcome with an abrupt image of grey fog hanging still over a beach. The water lapped gently at the sand, but could not sink in at all. Inviolable, dusty, barren… that's how I'd describe the coast here. I called it "that blurry place" because the stagnant gray air seemed to turn into something else the farther away I focused.
In the sand, someone had left a small pit. It looked like one wave could fill it entirely, but it was much too far from the licking tide. I hypothesized that to be the spell.
Back in the real world, I sigh. I need a short break from observing. Only then can I figure out how to react. I stagger to the kitchen. I swing the fridge open and wrinkle my nose at the options.
"Mm. I'm pretty sure this yogurt is expired."
I have a little chuckle to myself, then. I'm going to die in a little under 23 hours. Why should I be worried about getting food poisoning?
Wait. Poisoning? "Class Rules."
~~CLASS RULES~~
[Conditional L0] Intake poison or become sick.
+ You will receive CXP based on the potency of the malady.
+ If the malady is below 30 AU in potency…
I stop listening, because I already know what I want to do. XP usually stands for experience, right? It's kind of an unknown, considering the C, but it might teach me how to use the ability I acquired. Or it might just fill a bar somewhere. Either way, I have nothing to lose but my lunch. Hardly a price when my life's on the line.
I pull the yogurt pack from the fridge. Upon opening it - yup, it's expired. Power tends to come at a price. If all I have to do is eat congealed yogurt, I must've got off pretty light. Aside from dying in one day. I'm very bitter about that.
I have to stop stalling with quips.
I nearly gag when I put the spoon in my mouth, so I pinch my arm while I swallow to divide the focus. It still sucks. It's hard to ignore such a slimy, sour sensation.
~~CONDITION MET~~
[Conditional L0] Intake poison or become sick.
[This poison has a Potency of 2 AU. Acquired 2 CXP. Cured all negative effects.]
Once it's in my stomach, whatever revulsion remains promptly vanishes. In that blurry place, two drops of water dribbled from the grey fog and landed on the sand, where they did not sink in but rested like dew on a leaf. That must be my CXP.
It's not what I expected. To be sure, I open the Class menu:
~~YOUR CLASS: SCION OF THE WORM~~
[Class Feature] Remaining Lifespan: 23h 55m 20s
[Feature] 5/5 AU (0/1 CXP)
[Feature] 2&2 CXP
I guess I'll need to use it somehow. Let's make sure I can.
Luckily, this part proves eerily intuitive - with only mild focus, the two drops of CXP rolled like marbles to the hole I assumed represents Summon Earthworm. They popped like a bubble and soaked into the sandy walls. I noticed with a start that it finally became damp. That's the first time I've seen the sand absorb moisture. I guess the water can't soak in, but the CXP in the mist can? Whatever. I shelve the information for now.
"Class Actions."
[Spell L0 - Summon Earthworm] - 1 AU
+ Spawn an earthworm anywhere you are observing.
+ The maximum natural lifespan of the spawned target is 5 hours.
+ This spell can only be used manually.
+ 2/5 CXP
I see. There's no helping it. I'll need two more bites of hell.
--- 23h 54m 59s ---
A short time later, I receive 4 CXP. I directed 3 of the dewdrops into that hole, leaving the last one for later.
When the last bubble popped, the walls of the hole started to steam. It's a mildly uncomfortable sensation for me, similar to looking at a lightbulb for too long. When the smoke passed, the hole had become wider, and the steam had mixed into the stagnant cloud in the air.
I check my spell reflexively.
~~CLASS ACTIONS~~
[Spell L1 - Summon Earthworm] - 1 AU
+ Spawn an earthworm anywhere you are observing.
+ The maximum natural lifespan of the spawned target is 6 hours.
+ 0/15 CXP
The part about manual use is gone.I watched as a line of sand burnt away into the sky, leaving a shallow channel from the spell to the sea.
It becomes clear to me then. The spell wasn't unusable. I simply didn't have a route to cast it easily. There's probably some way to fill that hole and use the spell with practice. Unfortunately, I didn't really have the time to figure that out. Once the immediate crisis is gone, I'll find a way to fill it without CXP.
For now, I return to the tupperware. Summon Earthworm. A wave crashed over the shore, flowing into the channel and filling the hole to the brim. As the tide pulled it back, the water took a few grains of sand with it. To my delight, a little worm appears in a flash of light.
It's been a tumultuous morning for me. But this little guy is proof that whatever is going on, I'll handle it. It's just a matter of diligence. For a manual laborer like me, that might as well be a cakewalk.