"So, you're my... aide?" 

He was near his age, as far as he could tell. A human, dark-haired, and wearing robes similar to Hagan. Though, much less extravagant and more... everything. A medallion of a carved bronze depiction of a sun hung around his neck. Though, of less significance than the king's aide himself.

There was a constipated look about him, with his furrowed brows and thin lips. Dark skinned, thick tangled curly hair, and dark eyes. As far as Jor knew, he looked like a typical human from his city. And he felt pretty happy. His grin must have been obvious. His aide did not look impressed.  

The aide doesn't say anything. He simply looked Jor up and down as if seeing something questionable, and saddled with as if it were a punishment. 

"A happenstance of fortuitous occasion," Jor raised a brow. Who talked like that? "My name is Agis Ballenbrin. I'm to be your aide for the duration of your stay here," He said it with such a clipped tone, it might have cut steel. 

Agis the aide brought out a clipboard, then ticked something off. "Your first business is to the showers. It is ready for your arrival." 

Jor thought, well, it was just the showers. The last thing he expected was to be stripped and blasted with a water spell from some hard-assed soldier that belonged to a grinning orc. Guess which one. Nude, angry, and chilled to the bone, the servants came upon him like silent assassins. Four in all, with two men and women. Elves and humans, respectively. 

They scrubbed and cleaned him so thoroughly, he was surprised his skin had stayed intact. He was helpless and humiliated, and whatever sense of decency he had, his hands clutched onto his crotch to hide away whatever dignity he could spare. 

They dressed him in simple white cotton pants and shirt, along with high-quality leather boots. It all looked so clean Jor felt terrified of just touching it, lest he dirty it. 

Soon, he was marched toward the hall, where he met the king the last time. And there he was, as annoyingly pristine as ever in an ungodly morning. Why he was up this early in the morning, Jor had no idea. He may as well try and reason with a cat, for all the answers he might get. Trouble was all that would follow. 

Jor stood before king Ainmeldiriel, quiet as a shivering fawn before a great predator. The king seemed to be surrounded by a great many papers littered around him in great stacks. He was writing... something. When he finished it, he put the pen away (yes, an actual pen) and turned to face him as if he were addressing a prisoner. 

To be fair, Jor felt like a prisoner, with the guards by either side of him, and his aide scrutinizing him like a meat about to be slaughtered. He... probably was. 

"Before lord Ashton left," The king started, as he steepled his fingers together. "I promised him I would make you strong," 

The king's eyes bored into his own with the weight of a monarch, and all the responsibilities that came with it. "When I make a promise," He softly said, serenely," I intend to make it happen, whatever it takes." 

Jor refused to look intimidated. This was more than just an interview. He just hadn't figured out just what that is.

"You have options," He leaned back against the high-backed armchair. "You will choose a certain future class you wish to attain. We will provide you with a list of what is possible to attain, before your eventual maturity of level five. Before that happens, however, we must know what kind of class you wish to head towards, so that we may move forward with your training," 

The king's aide stepped forward, then. The towering lion-man was more... subdued, in the presence of his king. "There are general classes, such as warrior, healer, druid, wizard, and so on and so forth," 

The aide handed him a small booklet, which was basically a compendium of classes he could choose from.

"However, since this is an unusual situation," Here, the aide gave the king a long look, whereas the king returned with a stony gaze of his own. "You have been given options of choosing the more exotic classes, including the king's own Sun class." The aide gestured toward the booklet. "We've compiled a list of all the classes; rare, exotic, or forbidden, we've managed to covet and study for the last few hundred years," 

Jor spoke up, bursting with curiosity. "I thought the... stats will choose for me, or at least give me options?" 

"It does, certainly." The aide replied. "However, we have specialists that could circumvent such a process to ensure the individual get's what he wants,"

"Specialists?" 

"The Architect is a specialized class, rare and highly sought after. Their ability to manipulate the system is a powerful tool we could not go without, though limited as they are," Answered Hagan. 

"I... see," Jor left it at that. 

The king spoke this time. "We're giving you an opportunity only a few could speak of, child," Jor could already understand the consequences of his failure. "You will have an entire day to consider your option. Choose wisely." 

Seemingly dismissed, the guards led him away.

Jor, stuck in his own thoughts as he contemplated the small book in his hands, that he hadn't realized he was already at his door. His new home. The guards having long left, he was slightly surprised to see his aide still here. 

"Can you advice me?" In a tone that sounded so small, Jor could hear his own terror. 

Whatever Agis felt toward Jor, his hard eyes softened. "Of course, it is why I'm here for. I am here to serve," He gestured toward the door. "Shall we?" 

Jor hesitated. He opened the door wide open. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even have a lock, did he? Getting to the matter at hand, his new home wasn't exactly the best place to conduct a discussion about the intricacies of the importance of classes for his future career. The single most important decision of his life. And Jor thought choosing a university was bad... 

"Your breakfast will be ready soon," Agis didn't seem to be uncomfortable with the tiny space. He looked even downright comfortable. "The chefs have been notified of your lack of nourishment. Highly leveled classes of chefs shall be providing you with the best magical ingredients available in the market, necessary for growth, health, and stat increases to help bring you back to nominal levels," 

Jor stared. 

Agis didn't seem to notice. "Since you are simply a human, you will be provided with an alchemical potion. you are expected to drink it every week," Here, Agis brought out a small vial of golden liquid. It looked... well, it looked like a soft drink. There wasn't a glow to it to indicate that it was magical.  

"And that potion is...?" Jor asked, his baffled expression clearly expressive, as he took the small vial. Agis seemed completely oblivious as he inspected the small chair by the bed, and took the seat. Jor even bothered with the slight insult to his... race? No, he wasn't. 

"Longevity potion," 

Jor stared. "... You're kidding." 

"Humanity that has inherited the ability to level has been gifted with potions made from the lesser philosopher stone," Agis nodded toward the potion. "The human race is a short-lived one, even with medicine and magical potions to increase their lifespans by a number of factors," 

Jor shook his head. "I'm guessing having levels is very important to the society?" 

"We live in a dungeon. The danger is constant, and war is inevitable," Agis grimaced. "It's the way of life. A population as large as ours, we produce only a quarter of levelers possible to help defend our fair kingdom against threats that only seems to grow." 

"And human levelers with longer life would be far too useful to let them die of old age, At least, not without a fight," Jor concluded. "I figured living in a dungeon would have produced more people capable of leveling? 

Yes, slowly but surely. The steady population of levelers is rising,  and that can only be a good thing."

"But it's not enough," Jor realized where he was going. "Even without Charlie's recommendation, the king would still have made sure I was helped in the best way possible, to a lesser extent I imagine," 

"Absolutely," Agis directed toward the list Jor had in his hands. "That list contains a compendium of classes accumulated from decades of study and research. Whatever you choose, the king intends to bring out your potential, even should you prove otherwise." 

And indeed, the book did contain quite the detailed report on various classes. General classes were listed, of course. Yet, there were the exotic classes, such as the Sun class, the Elemental Pugilist, and even something as vague as the Hero class. Then, there were the forbidden classes such as the Necromancer, which dances with the dead. The Warlock class who dealt with demons, and even some classes that go into the compelling of the mind. 

"This is... why go such lengths for me?" 

"Because the saint asked the king for help," Agis paused. "A thousand years he has helped preserve our home from utter disaster, external or domestic. Not once he has asked for help. Whatever gifts the city awarded him with, outrageous or extravagant, went utterly untouched."

Jor leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Then, three years later, our savior arrives with a lost child for a simple favour," Agis grinned, perhaps for the first time, Jor had seen him. "The king would have given him the city if it kept his people safe. Instead, you were given to him. And he intends to make you the best of the best, even if it means sacrificing his own resources in making you strong." 

Jor didn't know how to feel about that. 

"I... see." 

Agis took to his feet and pointed to the book. "Take your time. You still have a day to figure out what you want," Just when Agis was about to twist the doorknob, Jor's words stopped him.

"I already know what I want," 

"Oh?" Curiosity glaringly obvious within Agis' eyes. 

"I've been stuck surviving in a floor for too many months, and I learned to survive the best I can with what I had on hand," Jor uncrossed his arms and stared back at him with a determined expression. "A good steel is as good as any other. Swords, axes, hammers, lances, and spears. I've used it all,"

"Ah...," Agis looked about ready to protest, perhaps for himself, or for Jor's decision. "This will be your chance to become something special in a society that views such a phenomenon as something of a miraculous event. Perhaps even the work of the gods. You would be willing to throw it all away, even the Sun class from the king himself, for something so mundane?" 

Jor smiled. He remembered, then, of the dream he had. The bird on fire, ferocious and undeterred. "Yeah, even if it means throwing away an opportunity of a lifetime." 

"Well..., let's get started on your orientation, then," Agis replied with a smile.