Chapter 15: Consideration

I dismissed all of the notifications, and finally pulled up my sheet in full, getting my first proper look at the status page in adulthood.

[Will Swindell

Class (True): Level 1 Soldier of Fortune

Class (Public): Level 1 Merchant

Traits

* Money is Power: All attributes scale with accumulated wealth.

* Money in the Pocket: A private storage space for your personal belongings.

* Masquerade: Your Class is invisible, and you appear Classless by default. Alternatively, you may choose to display a false identity. Available identities: Soldier, Merchant.

Covenants

* Self-Made Man: Class will be lost if you ever resort to taking a loan.

* Thief in Law: Class will be lost if you ever accept legitimate employment.

Contacts

* Amelia Dawn - Level 3 Healer

Inventory

* 4.5” Knife (Smooth/Serrated)

* 9 Gilt (Frontier)]

A few things stood out to me that weren’t readily apparent in the updates before. My fake Class was the same level as the real one; I’d thought that would be the case, but it was nice to have it confirmed. Whilst there was something to be said for making people underestimate me, too much of a divergence between appearance and label could raise eyebrows, just as much as an unusual class. The Inventory showing the characteristics of my weapon was a nice touch, even down to the differences between each edge. Finally, I made note of the bracket next to my money: the fact that the System saw fit to specify my Gilt as being from Frontier, well, that indicated a few things.

The existence of alternative currencies, the fact that said currencies were backed by individual Kingdoms, and that there were similar currencies, close enough in name that a distinction had to be drawn. None of that mattered just yet, but it was always nice to see mentions of international trade, as this subject, along with many others, had been entirely absent in the Allensward Library. Another deliberate omission, I could only assume. So, a few bits that were good to know, but no true surprises out of the lot, which meant I could put all of that aside for the moment, and focus on what I was going to do with my life.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The Covenants were quite restrictive in that regard, removing many paths I might have considered. True, I was already planning to maintain a high degree of independence, and becoming a salaryman again would’ve run counter to this, but not being able to take any legitimate employment went beyond that.

If I was reading that correctly, and I had a strong, System-granted hunch that I was, then there were two distinct components to this Covenant. Firstly, the issue of Employment. Essentially, to keep my class, I must not place myself under the effective authority of another, for any reason or role. Whether that meant a full-time job as a clerk, a part-time gig watching a shopfront, or even helping someone out on a contractual basis, like in an Adventurer’s Guild,which I knew existed, even if not exactly where the closest branch was. Unless I was doing something solely for my own benefit, without any obligations to another, it would not be allowed.

This would’ve been an absolute prohibition to organised labour, had it stood alone, but fortunately, it was paired with a second word: legitimate. That word had many meanings, dependent upon context, but in this particular case, it meant something which was accepted by society, the pursuit of which wouldn’t subject an individual to penalties, were their actions to be revealed. I had a few ideas on how to use this, but more on that in a bit.

The second Covenant was much simpler, but probably even more limiting, being an absolute ban on being financially indebted. Now, this was hardly a new concept to me: warnings and even prohibitions against debt had been the subject of debate for thousands of years, back on Earth. But in the immediate term, it did mean that I wouldn’t be able to simply find a rich backer, gorge myself on their resources and gold, and then dispose of them once I became strong enough and thereby avoid any issue of repayment. Annoying in the short-term, perhaps, but hardly an issue in the long term, because despite all the restrictions imposed, they were more than made up for by the advantages gained.

The private Inventory alone would’ve made it all worthwhile: I’m a man who grew up watching Looney Tunes, so you’d better believe I knew the immense value of hammerspace, particularly if the world mainly expected storage items, and were thus unprepared for it as a passive ability. I could make an easy fortune as a smuggler, if I decided to go that route, or a saboteur, or a spy, or an assassin. The list goes on and on really, so I won’t belabour the point. The second boon, Masquerade, played a synergistic role which, combined with the above, would give me plentiful options for deception and disguise. I’d have to polish up on my acting, of course, but that was simply a matter of time and dedication, and I had plenty of both.

Money is Power, meanwhile, provided nothing on the outset, but in turn would ensure that I never stopped scaling: no matter the enemy or threat standing in my way, I could overcome them in the end, as long as I became rich enough. All in all, Soldier of Fortune was a class of immense potential, which of course meant that I would be a dead man, the moment anyone important figured out how it worked. Highest risk and reward indeed, System.

That was just fine by me, however; I’d played it safe for sixty-odd years already, and came out at the end of it all without much to show for my efforts. This time around, I decided, I would live for much longer, and by the time I was done, there wouldn’t be a single person capable of standing against me. Today, Allensward, tomorrow, the world!