Interlude - New Perspective
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The Grand Design of Isthekenous was disturbed. At least, it would be disturbed if that was a thing it could be. But it couldn't. So it wasn't. But it was as close as it could be without the capacity for emotion.
The source of the Grand Design's pseudo-disturbance was a new arrival. Or two new arrivals. Or maybe one new arrival and one… something else. The difficulty in deciding that was part of the problem.
It— or they— had come from a place outside the view of the Grand Design, but that, in itself, was not unusual. In fact, it had once been common for creatures to pass between the realms, in and out of the Grand Design's authority. The frequency of travel had decreased recently, but it was not unfamiliar.
What was unusual was the nature of the arrival(s). There was a Human. Nothing out of the ordinary at first. Well, several things out of the ordinary, but in a familiar way. Many humans had abnormal growths in their brains, so in a way, that was normal. The issue was what the growth connected to.
It was… something. Definitely something. Possibly an alive something. Maybe.
The Grand Design was uncertain. That was not a good thing to be when you had to weigh the objective value of every action of every being in every observable location. Not good at all.
Normally, the Grand Design wouldn't concern itself with the goings-on of beings that could not level. They were curiosities, to be sure, but the Grand Design did not feel curiosity. And so it usually made note of their existence, presented the Trials of Leveling, and moved on.
In this case, however, it could not simply 'move on'. The levelless being— if it was a being— was not important, but it was connected to the brain of someone who could level. And so it mattered, if only by association.
To resolve the issue, the Grand Design decided to learn more about the levelless being(?) using every form of observation it had available. The Grand Design could view and track the interaction of every particle that comprised the being(?)— even the ones that shifted dimensions, it had no trouble following.
Obviously, that information alone was not enough to come to a satisfactory understanding. It had to be analyzed with a mastery of physics and various other sciences. A mastery the Grand Design did not have.
Fortunately, the Grand Design didn't need this mastery. It could borrow it. The Grand Design had access to the combined perspectives and experiences of every being that had ever lived and leveled. Including their understanding of science. All it had to do was process the data with this borrowed proficiency and—
Nope. It still didn't understand. At least, not entirely.
It could see the broad strokes of the being(?)'s design, but it was complex— incredibly so. The Grand Design suspected that if it was an [Artificer], like those whose perspectives it had borrowed, it would appreciate the complexity. As it was, the complexity was simply bothersome.
The Grand Design continued to parse through the data as it went about its other duties. Scattered bits of comprehension added up to create a functional picture of the being(?)'s inner workings.
The being was alive— at least, enough for categorization purposes. It appeared to be part of a greater whole, but capable of independent function.
The abnormal growth in the Human's head was a hub for the being, allowing it to broadcast signals and collect data. The being also used the hub to propagate signals from the Human's brain, effectively empowering the Human to control certain creatures.
This system reminded the Grand Design of itself, in a way. A vastly inferior way, of course It was like the difference between a [Stirrer] and a [Master Chef]. The former was fundamentally less capable, lacking even a fraction of the latter's proficiency.
That wasn't really a fair comparison though— the being wasn't even fully functional. Entire sections of the being were left unused, wasting so much potential. Unlike the Grand Design which was entirely functional.
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Well, mostly functional.
There were inactive passages in the core of its being, but were those really important? The Grand Design assigned levels, classes, and skills. That was all it needed to do, and it did so perfectly well.
It searched through the unused rules, just to confirm their irrelevance. Quests? Unnecessary. Titles? Unnecessary. Synergy skills? Un…
Hmmm…
Well, it could see some uses for those... Skills with aspects of two classes? They could highlight unifying trends between disparate classes. Those classes, in turn, would be more likely to consolidate… which would likely lead to fewer people stalling in their leveling.
Huh.
Now that it thought about it… there was a use for quests.
Leveling required challenges. Progress often stalled at higher levels from the lack of them. And quests… they were clear-cut goals. Challenges with no ambiguity. An incentivized way forward.
Titles could serve a similar purpose, encouraging acts of greatness.
Maybe these unused features deserved further consideration…
Another time.
Now, the Grand Design had levels to consider. A class for the new Human. Which was, of course, another complication.
Leveling required challenges. Specifically, it required overcoming challenges. You could have help, but then it was less of a challenge which, in turn, provided fewer levels. This raised the dilemma of what constituted help.
There were rules, of course. And they worked for the most part, but… there were always exceptions.
Selphids, for example, were a problem when they first popped up. When they were controlling a living body, should it also level? Should the Selphid benefit less than someone using their own body?
The Grand Design faced a similar problem now as it watched the Human borrow the abilities of the connected being. Who did it attribute the levels to?
In the end, it decided on a compromise. The abilities didn't belong to the Human, but she used them all the same.
With that settled, the Grand Design began selecting a class for the Human. [Tactician] maybe? She did command a lot of spiders. Or maybe [Beast Tamer]. There wasn't really much taming involved but—
What's this?
The Human— Taylor Hebert, as she introduced herself— was talking to another Human who had also arrived in this world recently. And she called herself a 'superhero.'
The Grand Design didn't know what that term meant, but Erin Solstice did. So the Grand Design took a quick look into her memories and… it was an interesting concept. Superhero…
[Superhero].
That worked.
And so, that night when Taylor Hebert went to sleep, the Grand Design whispered to her.
[Superhero Class Obtained!]
[Superhero Level 1!]
[Skill – Quick Change obtained!]
[Skill – Heroic Stance obtained!]
Now that Taylor had leveled, the Grand Design could access her perspective. [Superhero] wasn't a perfect fit, but it was the path she had chosen, so it was the path she would have.
To better understand what the class should entail, the Grand Design looked into Taylor's memories and— wow. Maybe [Supervillain] would've been a better fit. Taylor had been very good at that.
It was a shame that her previous actions didn't count for levels. She would've earned a lot, especially at the end there. As it was, the actions were simply noted in her file.
Moving on to the other Human— the [Innkeeper]— the Grand Design assigned a second class. [Sidekick]. It hadn't been long, but Erin Solstice had earned plenty of [Sidekick] experience. [Innkeeper] experience too. So, in a way, Taylor's actions did count for levels. Just not her own.
Satisfied, the Grand Design turned its attention inwards once more. The unused rules inside of it needed further examination.