Ruventha was taken aback at Zivany's exclamation. "How did you predict that? If anything, shifting away from a combat class like [Guardian] could have triggered an Advancement Quest to reach Level 31 more easily, like you said."

Zivany smiled smugly. "It's his class description. It is broody, but there isn't anything mentioned about shifting his path. When uncle Borlis, May's dad, upgraded from his mining focused class to his current farming focused one, our grandpa didn't accept it very gracefully. My mum finally got him to realise that there was no use wishing for things to be different by quoting part of his new class description. 'From breaking the bedrock to gently nurturing the soil, this being's path reflects his species' step forward. Merely taking what they need cannot compare to sustaining the cycle of life.' She still loves bringing that up when grandpa is winning in arguments."

Mayli frowned. "How come I haven't heard of any of this? Dad and grandpa get along well enough as far as I know."

Zivany silently apologised to Ruventha for yet again diverting the conversation. The latter didn't mind all that much. Her own cousins didn't live close and she only saw them on special occasions. She wouldn't begrudge these two for their closeness. They were basically sisters, and even counted herself as a chosen third sister. "You know how grandpa stays with either of our parents alternatively? He likes to complain about your dad to my mum when he's at our place. I guess he wanted his firstborn to follow in his path."

Mayli caught her cousin's look and quickly postponed the topic for later. "Okay, so Zivany thinks he couldn't have been a [Guardian] variant in his Level 20s, otherwise his Strength or Endurance would have been the high stats. I guess I agree. But, whoa, what's with the same symbol in front of the Attribute names? Are those approximate?"

Neither Ruventha nor Zivany had seen something like that before. Ruventha offered her theory. "You know how other cultures from far away might see the nature of the attributes differently? We learnt that spiritual screens do some hidden translation to ease communication. It could be something to do with that. I know that his mother was born and raised here in Sarasoor, but she moved to her husband's settlement because it's a proper [Sanctuary]."

Mayli shrugged. "That's something you must remember to follow up later. That 'Realised Potential' has something to do with maximum possible stats right?"

Ruventha nodded. "Everyone is supposed to have a maximum total attribute limit based on their tier. No one is ever close to hitting their limits, though. Even proper class upgrades are easier to get."

Zivany agreed. "Spiritborn [Child] and [Teenager] classes get lots of attribute points every level up because they are physically growing. Eating, studying and playing is pretty much enough to keep their potential above 85% or so. I think a fitness obsessed Level 1 [Adult] can have their potential at 70%, but practically no one is able to maintain that, let alone improve it, as they rise in tiers."

Mayli chipped in "I don't know how good 42% is at his tier. How do I get my current potential evaluated? Something like that would be nice to brag about."

Ruventha offered. "I think someone with a [Healer] type class might be able to evaluate you? Don't quote me on that, though."

Zivany brought them back on track. "We'll research it later. His stats look good, though. Obviously no one in the Level 30s have good numbers in the Third Column stats. Those are mystical in nature. I'm surprised that he has Mid range Resilience."

Ruventha had a flash of inspiration. "Bottom Row indicates resistance, right? Some people think mystical can be interpreted as esoteric or even soul related. His family has traditional ideas on the superiority of [Guardian], [Explorer] and other such classes that aid in the spread of Mana to the wilds. But he didn't go for those kind of classes. Does this mean you can get points in Resilience by not bowing to family pressures?"

Mayli gasped. "By the spirits! You may have hit upon a nice training method." She piped down after she thought more on the possibilities. "It would really suck to manufacture those sort of situations. I'm sorry, Ruvi, I don't think that's going to be a popular idea."

Ruventha snorted. "I'll survive with this failure somehow, so don't worry about it. Okay, let's get to the heart of the matter." She then activated the privacy feature that made the booth opaque and soundproof from the outside. PoteSpot needed that feature to let people experience immersions without disturbing the other customers, but it served well enough for their purposes.

Having finished their drinks by now, the three glasses were banished to the Arena's Storage. The table went next, opening a space at the center of the circular sofa. The Azurecoral Infogem's Mana went down to 75. Summoning an Avatar or any sort of three dimensional image from an item was an involved process, though simple for the item user to execute. First, Ruventha placed the Infogem on the floor, roughly equidistant from the three observers. She then indicated the other two as additional viewers with a quick look combined with a flex of will. Next, the item itself sent out a pulse only she could feel. A cylindrical space obtained a slight bluish tint that was generally thought of as the default spirit colour, which faded once the volume was tagged. In a moment, the solid-looking three dimensional image of a man appeared.

Ruventha's first though was 'Intense'. Nykosh had a tall but lean build, with the same dusky brown skin and black hair common to this region of the Preserved Band. His hair was cut in a generic close-cropped style most guys preferred to deal with the prevalent heat and humidity. He had a well proportioned oval face, with flat eyebrows complimenting deep black eyes slightly on the smaller side. His straight nose and bow shaped lips were styled with a pyramid moustache and a light chin-dusting beard that she found quite pleasing to the eyes.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She turned to see Zivany politely clearing her throat. "I see that most of our analysts just got thrown out. He's not a bad looking guy, but you look positively enthralled."

Mayli smirked."It must be the moustache. Nice and triangular."

Ruventha sighed. "Suddenly the looming threat of marriage doesn't feel so threatening. He's even wearing a properly formal outfit. So unfair."

Zivany laughed. "Oh yeah! Our modern little village girl has a weakness for crisp city style shirts and pants. You are a walking stereotype."

Mayli gestured for Ruventha to step up to the Avatar. "All that's left is for you to stand next to him. Go on, there's no use delaying it now."

Ruventha honestly felt her heart beating a little faster as she complied. The Avatar didn't simulate that mixture of warmth and scents that marked a real person, despite exhibiting breathing and other small movements. She already knew what to expect, but couldn't hold in her little gasp. "He's a full head taller than me."

It was more correct to say that the fact of his height was more of a relief than an actual preference. Ruventha's [Child] and [Teenager] class levels had steadily granted her enough height to be one of the tallest people around, but she had suddenly beat out both her parents and all of her family after getting to Level 1 [Adult].

Afterwards, furtive glances at guys her age were more often met with eyes that would shy away in embarrassment after needing to glance up to meet hers. That was still better than the ones who'd abuse that fact to stare... Elsewhere.

Her musing on the simple nature of men was interrupted by Mayli. "Okay, turn around. I want to see how you two match."

Ruventha acquiesced, making sure to keep a respectable distance, in case... Just as she'd expected, Mayli blinked in a slow and deliberate fashion which gave away to anyone in the know that her eyes' image was being picturised. That whirring click designed to mimic the operation of the original Untethered camera was obvious in purpose.

Ruventha groaned. "Oh come on! Did you really need a picture of that?"

Mayli grinned. "If you end up with this guy, with that not being a big if, I think he'd like to see how badly you've fallen for him." The gentle teasing stepped up from that point, and Ruventha had no choice but to endure.

Some time later, the three had discussed everything from Ruventha's impression of her future mother in law to what weird hoops she might have to jump through in the name of tradition. When Ruventha went back home, she was feeling excitement rather than trepidation at the idea of getting hitched.

That night, dinnertime at Ruventha's house was the usual quiet affair. She found herself looking at everything around her with new perspective. The familiar rooms filled with picture frames and the sturdy but well used rosewood furniture suddenly looked like a jumble of antique and contemporary that any visitor would find strange. The lack of a proper dining table felt like the house had a glaring hole.

Her mum had detected her turmoil. "You look anxious, Ruvi. Did the meetup with your friends not go well?" Jalia was a steadfast and opinionated woman who had quickly moved on from an initial [Tailor] class by focusing on home management skills. Ruventha sometimes wondered if her mother had an actual Skill to suss out her mental state.

"No no it went well. I finally saw the guy's details. He's okay, I guess." Ruventha sneaked a look at her father as she said it. Rousikan was a calm and soft spoken man who had largely let his wife handle the child rearing duties. He was focused on his [Alloywork Manager] path and bringing in the gems to support his family.

Her parents exchanged a silent look before her father spoke up. "So, you're okay with us arranging a proper meeting, then?"

Ruventha passed the Azurecoral Infogem to her father. "You've seen this, right? What do you think about him?"

Her father looked pensive."He seems like a good prospect. Well educated, good class and levels, good family and all that. Of course, I'll be travelling with Madro to see the boy and verify his details in person before we invite his family to visit us. His mother has been informed and she's given her go ahead."

Ruventha responded. "I see. He's working in Erinthee, right? I think I've heard of the place." She prudently didn't mention that Erinthee was known among her friends and colleagues for its many fighting arenas.

Her mother offered her thoughts. "It's a Level 7 [Border City], so there are lots of opportunities for people in the business of expanding the reach of Mana. We've been informed that there's a good chance of him settling down in the city itself if his career goes well. I know you've always wanted to settle in a big city."

Ruventha rolled her eyes. "You don't have to still sell marriage to me. I hope you aren't too devastated that he isn't a [Sentinel] himself."

Her mother narrowed her eyes at her cheek. "Well, [Weaponsmith] is quite respectable. I'm just glad you had the sense to understand that life won't wait forever for you to be ready to commit."

Rousikan took his wife's arm to stave off the argument. His daughter had inherited his wife's strong character, which led to them clashing on some matters of opinion. "Let's not talk as if everything is set in stone. Their family seems serious in their approach, but things could still fall through."

Jalia smoothed her expression. "Yes. You're quite right. Ruvi, is there anything you'd like your father to look out for when he goes to Erinthee?"

Ruventha perked up. "I heard there's this really delicious wine made with grapes from a levelled vineyard sold over there."

Her mother smacked her over the head. "I meant things about Nykosh, which I know that you knew as what I meant. Don't be impertinent."

Ruventha grumbled about the unfairness of it all before switching tracks. "Actually, there is something. Dad, you don't record the exact class details of the people working under you at the factory, right? Isn't there a symbol to indicate approximation?"

Rousikan nodded. "Yes. Since these kinds of records need to be properly spirit linked for truthfulness, there is a balance between the preserving the privacy of people while ensuring any organisation has enough information to ensure smooth operation. Minimising the Mana reserved to maintain the whole thing also goes into it."

Ruventha continued. "So my friends and I found it weird that his Attribute names had that approximation symbol in front of them. Neither of them had seen anything like it."

Rousikan frowned after checking the Infogem himself. "I can't say that I've seen this before. I'll make sure to ask about it. It can't be false information, but maybe there's some nuance we're missing."

The discussion then switched to the various preparations needed. By the time Ruventha went to bed, she hadn't convinced her parents that an upgrade to her spirit bubble was necessary, but she'd made some progress in other areas. Her parents would be letting her get a new dress for the when the time came to meet the in laws.