Oh, hello there! My name’s Leo. Why are you here?...

Ok fine, guess I didn’t need an answer anyway.

I’m just going to assume you’re pretty curious about me. Ah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering, ‘Leo, why don’t you have a class yet?’. Like just about everyone else I meet. Actually no. They’re not. They don’t care.

But you care! You’re here! And since you haven’t said anything yet, I’ll assume that means hearing about every little thought that flys through my head is ok. No, no, I’ll assume you love learning about exactly what I’m thinking about. Always.

Oh yes, I think we are going to get along just fine.

I don’t know if you can see me, but after that thought I’m leaning forward on my old, hard wooden chair, with my hands pressed together by spread fingers, doing my best impression of a maniacal laugh.

Ok, not really. Right now I’m staring off into space, daydreaming (and possibly hallucinating this encounter?). But the point is I would be chuckling like a madman upon realizing I have a captive spectator. That is, if I gave a damn about physically moving to do that. We haven’t even established is you can see yet.

Anyways, back to your question. Or the question I imagined you asked. Everyone’s first question. Leo, you’ve got no class!

So, as you know, you get your first class when you turn ten. Everyone knows this and everyone gets one, except for the people who don’t. Oh, I suppose if people don’t get a class, maybe there are also people that don’t know this common fact? Maybe you are someone who doesn’t know this? Hmm, if that’s the case, just let me know if I skip anything. We can definitely go over all that again later.

Right, choose a class when you are ten, because thats when you hit [Level: 10]. Since everyone hits [Level: 10] on their tenth birthday, obviously. There’s sometimes a ceremony, sometimes a party, then you touch a big stone and a whole list of options pops up. If you’re smart, you spend every minute of the next 24 hours going through every option, looking through records and choosing the best class for you. But if you’re ten, you probably choose the coolest name then immediately go play Knights and Sorcerers with your friends.

Except that’s all wrong! Well, not the party part, or the stone and list, or the dig at ten year olds for being dumb. (Ok that’s getting harsh, even for me.) No what’s wrong is that everyone gets their class when they turn ten. Clearly I’m proof! See, when I turned 10, I was barely at [Level: 5]. Don’t ask, I don’t know why leveling is that much slower for me either. I was quite far from a class and pretty close to becoming one of the “System-less”.

Here’s my theory about it. And trust me, I’ve had plenty of time to think. I’d say it’s not naturally supposed to be exact for everyone, but since people are so set on believing that it’s right on your tenth birthday, the system responds to those thoughts. If you were supposed to be a bit early, you might level slower. A bit late, and those fractions of experience for doing child things add up faster.

And don’t ask me why kids are doing child things instead of running around trying to kill rats, or beetles, or dragons to level up sooner. It’s weird. Especially since adults don’t get experience for existing. Who knows how it started, but now, everyone thinks kids can only level by experiencing life as a kid. That collective belief becomes something that the system enforces, which further proves people who think that correct, which in turn will–. Well, you get the idea. Everyone always getting a level every year within a week of each birthday is a hell of a lot of evidence to convince yourself that it happens that way because it’s supposed to.

So in my infinite (not really) time to ponder the mysteries of the universe, that’s one one of the more important things I’ve picked up on, that the system is malleable. It’s not like I came up with it on my own, no, I’m not some special super genius.

Even in our tiny village (ok it was fully a town, tiny village just sounds better). Even there we were taught how to customize our interfaces. We also all know that achievements, talents and aspirations were what qualify you for certain classes, so obviously you have some influence on that aspect of the system. And with lots training or with special performing feats you can unlock non-class specific skills.

But I recognize it is much more susceptible to change than that, especially if its something you can believe with all of your being. Going against the system is not a new belief, as much as I’d like to take credit. There’s always a some lunatic that claims true power only comes from outside the System’s oppressive shackles or whatever.

But the truth is, the system is really good at making people strong. Like crazy good. Like newly classed ten-year-olds knocking down trees good. So intentionally destroying the custom supportive framework it makes specifically for you (yes, even you!) can be pretty dumb. Not to say it can’t work, just that it’s stupid.

You’re probably wondering, well how on earth is this supposed to relate to our new wonderful, amazing, fantastic friend Leo. To sum up, it really doesn’t mean much for my story. Practically nothing. I mostly just got off on a tangent. Please stop me next time, ok?

I couldn’t really care less about most of that gaining incredible power shit. Frankly, I don’t even wanna externally influence the system at all, if I don’t have to. I can get way more power than I have any reasonable need to have using this incredibly simplistic System myself, thank you very much.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Despite my reluctance, I was still forced to mentally adjust some things. Not that I really wanted to. I just happened to be on the slower side of leveling, which got me thinking of these things in the first place. Being around [Level: 5] when I should’ve been twice that is really one hell of a way to get isolated from your peers. And for someone without a flexible mindset, a great way to break their System. To becoming System-less.

Thankfully I didn’t go too far down rabbit hole of despair. I didn’t get lost in my feelings, which is one of the biggest accelerants for someone becoming System-less. That loss of belief in the system. Well, that’s my personal take on the phenomenon.

When someone stops believing in the system, somehow they are able to affect the energy naturally funneled towards that framework, which makes the structure collapses. And what better way to stop believing than to have everything you know be turned upside down. As a ten-year-old no less!

Ok yeah you’re right, I’m probably missing something in that theory. But it’s not for lack of trying! Maybe steady support is more essential up until you get classed? Maybe I need to think about what powers the system more? Who knows?

So, I didn’t let myself go down the ‘I’m destined to lose my system and the world is awful’ route. Being constantly weaker than my peers did lead to a rough childhood, though. Ok not really rough, mostly just lonely. I spent a lot of time preparing for my system, training and thinking about classes. Did a bit of training to raise my attributes, but with no tragic backstory, I had no crazy motivation to grow incredibly strong to slay an evil despot or anything.

But more importantly, I had a plan! No, better than that, I had a dream! Our town is by the sea, but my true love is the sky, and what boy didn’t dream to fly. Wow that’s kinda poetic and rhyme-y, I guess it fits with my big important dreams theme. Ahh Flying. Yeah, flying probably deserves the poetics.

I think it started about the freedom for me. Up off the ground, away from everything. Getting to see the world, the incredible views, thrill of being so high up. Not that I have much real first hand experience with it, besides sitting on ocean cliffs or that one young memory when we were high up in the mountains.

I have undeniable proof that I really would do anything to fly... I learned extra math just to gain a slight edge. Enough math to understand aerodynamics. And to the honest delight and praises of the adults too! Well, until they saw what I was doing with that new knowledge.

I occasionally was good and used my practice time for the standard attributes work, but the bulk of my ‘training’ consisted of flight practice. Jumping off trees, or barns... or cliffs, just to attempt to get satisfy the requirements for a class with a [Skill] to fly. [Flight]. Or [Summon Wings]. Hell, I’d even settle starting with [Wind Walk], which is a pretty consistent one upgrade to true flight.

I sighed, started to get lost thinking about my masterful stunts and thinking about new ways to gain the class. At some point during my musings, I realized my eyes kept tracking a customer wandering around the market. Store. Shop. Small shop. My first customer of the day, quite a cause for celebration.

Oops, I realized my lone customer’s lips were moving, “–aid, do you have any more in the back?”

“Oh sorry what?” I replied to the short man, who I quickly realized was not a man, but a child. A blonde boy wearing a deep brown tunic. Oh wow, who was already right up in my face, on the other side of my counter.

“Those things, can you go look for them?” He asked, with a bit of a nervous expression and an almost comical lack of specification.

Despite sometimes having the attention span of a doorknob, I wasn’t an idiot. Clearly this was just a kid who thought the temp clerk wouldn’t notice a ridiculously lame attempt to shoplift. Apparently my dead eyed stare tracking him around the room was too much pressure to even grab a single... what was this store even selling? Looking around I saw silverware, cookery and other kitchen stuff. An abundance of tables too. Or are those just stands? Well, whatever.

Seeing as his target seemed to be something my side of the counter, I decided to have some fun with it.

“Ah yes of course, those unspecified things over that way,” I said as I turned around and stood on my chair. I even think I saw him flinch at that comment. “Let me just look way up here on this very top shelf.”

“...uh oh thank you,” the boy stammered out.

I glanced at his reflection in a polished bowl about an inch from my nose and definitely caught him grimacing. Probably not so much his awful robbery and more from second hand embarrassment for my absolutely spectacular show.

As his hand darted toward a display on the counter, I hopped off the chair and thumped against the surprisingly sturdy floorboards. Maybe... uh... Beyers was a [Carpenter]?

Even as I tried to recall who I was working for today, I had his small wrist in my hand.

“Oh no, no, no you must have the wrong shop these...” I had to pluck the large engraved glass marble from his hand before realizing what the trinkets were. “Ah, these mana spheres are for sale, not complimentary.”

I made a few exaggerated clicks in mock disapproval and guided him to the door, only then realizing his thick tunic and cloak hid how skinny he actually was. I frowned, and looked at him as he clearly started panicking.

Probably imagined I’d immediately turn him to the guards or something, which was obviously why he wasn’t enjoying this as much as I was. I doubt he was even old enough to be classed yet. And being that skinny and desperate for a trinket, clearly not particularly well off. We reached the door and I let out a sigh.

“Look kid. I don’t know what your life is like right now, but resorting to stealing is almost always gonna make it worse,” I said as I kneeled down in front of him. “So either get better and don’t get caught, or do something good for your life, like training some attributes. Scram.”

With a light shove he stumbled out the doorway and I made my way back to the counter. I heard the door thud shut as I leaned back in my chair, and chuckled as I imagined how confused he was going to be when he finds the sphere in his pocket. I couldn’t believe there’s any way he noticed me slip it in there after I took it from his hand.

While there’s no chance I’d hand out my well earned coin to just anyone, old Beyers certainly won’t be missing a shoddy apprentice’s sphere or two. I just hoped he actually used it to work on his mana attribute than keep it as a memento.

With that thought, I grabbed one of the trinkets myself and began fiddled with it, not that it would actually help me at this point. I watched as I filled it with mana then slowly drained it.

Ahh, I guess it’s going to be a yet another slow day. Might as well think about my latest flying endeavor. And maybe take a nap.