Charlie kicked at a stray piece of litter. Even the litter was weird. This new world was unbelievably rich and soft. She fingered her new clothes for the umpteenth time. The weave was fine and even. They were easily the most expensive garments she had ever worn. And that was counting the time before that she didn’t even let herself think about. She cursed quietly to herself. The strangest things could set off unwelcome memories of loss. Ah well, she had started over again before. This was nothing new. She could do this. She was a blessëd SSS+ ranked [Class] not a clueless child.
But despite her bravado, she couldn’t fully suppress the deep seated shiver. What on [Kentron] had happened? Why had the [System] granted her this absurd class?
She ceased her somewhat aimless wander through the park and took a seat on a simple timber slab of a bench. It overlooked a contorting path that wound around itself through strangely shaped grounds. A [Pump Track]. It was bizarre. She couldn’t see any [Pumps] at all. Perhaps they were buried under the mounds of sculpted earth? The strangeness was just one of many and just served to reinforce that she was not on [Kentron] any more. Adrift in completely uncharted waters she was at a loose end. And the locals called their world [Earth]. She chuckled to herself. How unimaginative. They thought it was the only human planet too. At least [Kentron] knew there were other worlds. It was simply the centre of the universe. Of course everything revolved around [Kentron]. Here they thought everything revolved around their [Sun]. But she was getting sidetracked. It was a coping mechanism. Letting herself being distracted with minutiae. With an effort she refocused. Why had the [System] granted her such massive boons? If there was one thing she had learned it was that nothing was free. And anything that pretended otherwise was exceeding dangerous.
And these clothes were free, her [Hospital] stay too. She savoured the unfamiliar word. Free healing. It was unbelievable. There had to be a catch. Someone had to have paid for it. And now she was beholden. Healing, clothes, food even. It had been given freely. She fingered her [Discharge Papers]. She had been released. She was apparently free to go. Though if she had been even slightly younger she would have been made a [Ward of the State] and sent to a [Children’s Home]. It sounded both wonderful and frightening at the same time. Having someone look after her after so long was alluring but also somehow crippling. This world was soft. Soft and padded. Everything needed paperwork. Padded with paperwork, as if that would make it safer. But her lack of paperwork was a problem. She needed a paper to prove she was born. A paper to prove she was who she was. One so she could ride in the metal capsules that whizzed all over the place. A paper to work. To live, to have a place to sleep. It was weird. They didn’t use the [System] directly for anything. And any enquiry about it was met with blank stares and then a convoluted explanation of all their systems, all with little s’s. There was a disconnect here that she didn’t understand.
Anyway, she had an appointment this afternoon. To get her [ID Card]. It sounded like a paper version of her [PSI]. Apart from her previous [Discharge Papers] she had a small [Tote Bag] with some more exotic goods, a change of underthings and an address of a [Backpackers] where she could stay for a week while her identity issue was sorted out. But none of this explained why the [System] had made her an [Arbiter].
Once again she pulled up her [PSI] and opened the notification regarding her [Class] yet again. Perhaps she could extract some understanding of what had happened if she went over it again. It was so overpowered she was filled with dread. Nothing came for free. What was expected of her? This went against everything she had ever been taught about obtaining a [Class]. With such an OP [Class] the expectations would be massive. She had over 60,000 free points for Pele’s sake.
She opened up the first of her [Class] notifications.
CLASS ASSIGNED: [MODERATOR]
Grade S
Provides oversight and moderation to [System] operations.
50 [Open Skill Slots] available
2430 [Free Points] per Level
Assign class?
Yes
Yes
This was wrong on just so many levels. Firstly everything she had been taught was that the [System] would offer a [Class] based on your actions. She had never heard of a [Class] being arbitrarily assigned. There wasn’t even an option to reject it]. And she had done nothing that would justify such a [Class] even being offered. This was totally against what she understood were immutable [System] principles. She still didn’t really understand what a [Moderator] did. In response the [System] provided a new blue screen.
[MODERATOR]
Moderators are responsible for the review, guidance and facilitation of any and all [System] functions and related interactions.
Well, that was more words that described a whole lot of nothing. She felt none the wiser really. Surely there was a list of [Skills] that would give her a better idea of what the [Class] entailed.
[KEY MODERATOR SKILLS AVAILABLE]
Inspect
Issue Quest
Restrain
Rebalance
Charlie’s eyes opened wide as the [Skill] list populated. These were all powerful skills. The only one she had previously heard of was [Inspect]. It was a highly desirable [Skill] that, by all accounts, required a high level of investment in [Mind Attributes] to obtain. Her [Attributes] were all still at base level. There was no way this [Skill] would be available at Level 1 with any normal [Class]. In fact normally you didn’t earn your [Class] until you reached the Level 10 milestone and entered the [Bronze Tier].
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She moved on to the next [Skill]. This was another impossibility. [Quests] were as rare as [Dragon Teeth] and just as highly sought. A [Class] that could issue quests was simply broken. Her whole world view was being upended. And then there was [Restrain] and [Rebalance]. She had no idea what these were.
SKILL AVAILABLE: [RESTRAIN]
Grade A
Temporarily lock or place limits on any lower ranked [Skill] or [Class].
Assign skill?
Yes
No
SKILL AVAILABLE: [REBALANCE]
Grade A
Temporarily adjust [Attributes] of any lower levelled [User].
Total [Attribute] allocation cannot be reduced but up to 35% may be [Reserved] as [Unallocated Points]
Assign skill?
Yes
No
”Unbelievable!” Both were Grade A. That was three steps above [Gold]. Charlie was completely flabbergasted. These were impossibly OP nerfing [Skills]. She could destroy someone’s build completely. Well, [Rebalance] was currently useless seeing she was only Level 1, but once her Level was higher… Her thoughts trailed off. It didn’t bear thinking about. She could become a [Tyrant] or even worse.
And this was just the first of her [Classes]. It was inactive despite it being mandatorily assigned. It had been upgraded to [Arbiter]. And while the [Moderator Class] was impressive, as fitting for a Tier S [Class], [Arbiter] was beyond impressive by a magnitude of ten. She opened up the notification again. It hadn’t changed. It was still unreal though.
The [System] had upended her world. If she wasn’t careful this could completely change who she was. It was an unpalatable truth. This much potential power was unimaginable. Even if she hadn’t been [Isekai’d] she still would have been isolated simply due to the [Tier] of her [Class]. It was sobering. She reread it again.
CLASS UPGRADED: [MODERATOR] ⇒ [ARBITER]
Grade S ⇒ Grade SSS+
Wields ultimate authority within and over the [System].
95 [Open Skill Slots] available
65610 [Free Points] per Level
Assign class?
Yes
Yes
If the number of [Free Points] available to the [Moderator] was staggering at over two thousand, the amount allocated to [Arbiter] was inconceivable. Sixty five thousand! Charlie was stalling out. This couldn’t be real. This sort of thing simply did not happen to normal people like her.
She had spent countless hours mulling over her future build. It was a common discussion point with her peers as each championed the advantages of different [Classes] and [Attribute] allocations based on their preferences. That seemed so far away now. A Bronze Tier [Class] only provided five [Skill Slots] and five [Free Points] per Level. Admittedly there would be [Class] dependent points allocated as well, but even the best Bronze [Class] only added up to five predetermined [Points]. Stressing over a maximum of 10 points seemed almost pointless now. Yet previously it had been all consuming.
A sudden call broke her out of her musings.
“Hey babe! Chuck us that frisbee will you?” The caller was a large young man with a shaggy blond haircut. He was grinning at her and pointed to her left. She frowned. ‘Babe?’ She was 17 [System] rot it! He caught her frown. “Whoa! Chill out already.” He started to jog over.
Charlie gave herself a quick shake. She didn’t need to take out her tension on this stranger. Leaning over she snagged the brightly coloured plate the boy had gestured at. It was very light and incredibly smooth. An [Artefact]! Incredible! This world continued to amaze her with its workmanship. First there was impossibly skillful metal work of the altar that she had been somewhat embarrassed to discover was actually a sleeping platform. Then there were the artefacts for teeth washing and the eating [Utensils], not to mention the clothes and then the breastbands. They were so much better than just binding her chest. This plate was just another example of how advanced this world was.
“Heya daydreamer!” The young man was right next to her. He was massive. Probably over six feet. She looked up at him even as she still marvelled over the regularity of the disc. It was perfectly round. She had never seen a plate so perfectly circular. He smiled at her, his face wide and guileless with clear blue eyes and the first hints of a downy beard. He was younger than she had initially supposed given his size. He looked at her with a sort of happy go lucky interest. “You want to join us playing catch, you're welcome” he offered.
“Catch?” What were they chasing? Or was something trying to catch them? Her heart rate sped up. The last game of catch she played was still fresh in her memory. It was no fun being hunted. She needed to allocate her points. Quick before…
”Yes,” he drew her attention back, his ease in complete contrast to her sudden tension. He was oblivious. “Here, I’ll show you if you like?” He reached for the plate but didn’t grab it, just waiting for her to pass it over. His total lack of urgency calmed her as she gave him his [Artefact]. “See over there,” he gestured, “that’s Glen.” Glen waved in response even though he was way too far to hear anything. He lifted his voice, ”Hi Glen! You ready?” Glen waved again. He took that as an affirmative and then with a quick throw sent the plate whizzing through the air. With a leaping jump Glen snatched it one handed and then as he landed sent it looping back.
Oh. Catch the plate. What did he call it again? A fizzbee? It certainly fizzed through the air. He smiled again at her, white teeth gleaming. “Here, you have a go.” He offered her the fizzbee. Tentatively she took it and then hesitantly tried to imitate how he threw it. It was disappointing. There was no fizz. It just wobbled and limply sagged to the ground in totally the wrong direction. Charlie frowned. She could throw better than that. In fact she was pretty good throwing her shivs. He grinned at her. “Yeah there’s a knack to it but you’ll pick it up quick. It’s in the way you grip it like this,” he demonstrated, “and then how you release it while flicking your wrist. Like this.” He sent the plate whizzing through the air again. “See?” He nodded. “Yep, you’ll do great. I can tell already.” He paused, “oh! Opps.” Then with a sheepish smile continued “I’m Jay and that’s Glen!”
Glen waved.
Despite herself Charlie smiled. “Hullo! I Charlie.” She held out a fist. With an even bigger grin he bumped it.
“Cool. Good to meetcha Charlie.”
Then she jumped as he yelled again. “Hey Glen. This is Charlie! She’s cool.”
Glen waved.
Again.
— -O- —//— -O- —
Sarah frowned. She needed to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist. The flashing lights hadn’t gone away and from her quick google it sounded pretty serious.