Sarasoor was a middling [Town] with just a few thousand people. If someone was civically inclined enough to watch the [Steward of Sarasoor]'s annual growth videolog, they would know that the [Town]'s level growth mostly came from its small scale papermaking, clothing and alloy shaping industries. The total citizen level of 50,000 that was reached last year, touted as a major milestone for completing Sarasoor's Level 6 Town Advancement Quest, was helped along by a mix of more adults becoming spirit touched and more spirit touched babies being born. There was a complicated formula to compare the different tiers of the classes, with spirit touched babies, known simply as spiritborn, counting as overall Level 20 by the time they become Level 1 [Adults]. Adults who became sprit touched and directly got the [Adult] class had a lower overall level in the formula due to not having gone through the [Child] and [Teenager] stages.

The Level 5 [Arena Entrepreneur], Roki, didn't think too much on such heavy issues. He was quite content overseeing the running of his Level 4 [Dream Leisure Arena], known as PoteSpot to its customers. It was a place to experience virtual reality immersions imported from the repositories of a dozen nearby towns, along with some local contributors. He never expected most of his customers to be from the teenage and young adult crowd, but quickly adapted by employing a [Snack Cook] to cater to the ever present demand for fried pastries and fizzy fruit drinks. The evenings always brought quite a few people looking to relax after training or work. Some just found his arena a convenient place to meet up with their friends. 'Maybe I should expand the eatery portion? Less people are going for the immersion booths these days, what with the spirits offering similar extensions to most proper spirit touched buildings as a part of the communication features.'

Ruventha idly waved at Roki as she got into an immersion booth. Today, she wasn't here to try experiencing the Dance of Spiritholme, though she certainly loved the intricate movements that only high level [Dancer] classes could perform. Instead, she was meeting up with her two best friends, Zivany and Mayli. She was primed with info on her latest potential suitor and was bursting with eagerness to get feedback from the other two. Sure enough, after a couple of minutes, a pair of women walked into PoteSpot and moved to her booth after spotting her.

Ruventha impatiently waited for them to choose their drinks, as she'd already decided to go for a mango smoothie. Zivany leaned back into the soft velvet sofa after making her selection. "Hey Ruventha! What's going on? You kinda insisted to meet up in person instead of just live chatting."

Mayli chipped in. "Is it a level up? You know, you still haven't celebrated with us for hitting Level 5 in [Flow Shaper]. Don't skimp out on treating us with a nice dinner."

Ruventha snorted. "Yeah that's never going to happen. I haven't hit it yet and besides, not everyone goes crazy for every level up like you two." Privately, she thought their attitude was fuelled due their unique looks, though she didn't think of them differently. Zivany and Mayli were cousins and shared their light brown hair and fair colouring with their family, who had moved here from far off wilds a few years before Sarasoor became spirit touched. Midnight black hair dusky skin tones like her own was the norm here, and outsiders had been warily held at a distance back when the place had less than a couple of thousand people.

Ruventha continued before the conversation could veer to class related topics. "Anyway, my folks have dropped the latest prospective husband on my head. The guy's family is apparently a big deal."

Mayli put down her apple fizz and leaned forward in excitement. "Oh ho? Is he rich? Maybe you can pass me his info in case you aren't interested."

Zivany played along. "Hey! You're a year younger than me and two levels behind. It's only right that I get the first pick."

Ruventha shook her head in mock despair. "I pity whomever you two set your sights on. I haven't seen him or anyone from his family, but his mother live chatted with my parents and exchanged some details." She then brought out a small gemstone from her Itemspace. It was the size of her thumb and was shaped like a teardrop. Its bright blue surface gleamed with a pearlescent sheen.

Zivany whistled. "That's quite fancy for an Infogem. It isn't at the standard of the filigreed ones used by first settler families, but it is definitely custom made by a good [Jeweler]."

Ruventha was taken aback. "Are Infogems available in luxury versions? I only thought that they are basic items made to store information in a way that is verifiable as coming from the spirits. So that people can trust the contents to be truthful."

Zivany nodded. "My family were into mining before they got here and unlocked Mana. We've branched out a bit after classes and levels made all that hard labour much easier. I'd say this one would cost around 50 gems here. Definitely not something to be passed out unless someone's trying to make an impression."

Mayli interrupted. "Enough about that! Show us the juicy details, Ruvi!"

Ruventha quickly brought up the screen linked to the Infogem.

Azurecoral Infogem Mana: 83/100 Owner: Nykosh Status: Pristine View Being Class (limited) - 2 Mana View Being Attributes (limited) - 1 Mana Glimpse - Hidden Bind - Hidden Transform - Hidden Summon Being Avatar - 5 Mana / 1 Hour

Ruventha had waited to examine the Infogem with her friends for a reason. The whole courting process felt different to her this time. She couldn't explain why it felt so in words, but even at this early stage, the other family's overture was more formal than what she'd previously experienced. There was a heavier expectation of proceeding to full on marriage. She wanted the opinion of her friends as a counterbalance and to reaffirm her expectations.

Mayli exclaimed. "Well? What are you waiting for? Pull up his avatar! Let's take a good look." She rubbed her hands together gleefully like a kid waiting to be served their favourite sweet.

Zivany shushed her cousin. "Hush! There's a process to this! We have to see his class and stats first. No allowing the looks to distract us before evaluating his potential."

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Ruventha would have preferred to see the guy first, but she decided to trust Zivany's process. "We'll see the class stuff first, then? My mum was telling me his family has [Gaurdian] classes in their ancestry. She was really stoked about it."

Being Class Information (limited) Class name: ~ [Weaponsmith] Class Level (integrated): ~ 36

Class description:

Every society has risks and dangers, internal and external. There will always be a group that chooses to take up the duty of protecting the rest from the darkness of the world. So too will people be needed to ensure that these brave Guardians have all the tools they need to fulfil their sacred purpose.

This being has put himself on such a path. For those who will bear the burden of fighting, he will, in his turn, bear the burden of creating that which further separates his patrons from those they keep safe.

The table was silent for a moment. Ruventha remarked. "This... It's grimmer than I expected. Is this Nykosh trying to impress girls or put them off?"

Mayli frowned. "Yeah. Also, what's with that symbol in front of the class name and level?"

Zivany demonstrated her family knowledge once more. "That indicates that you're not seeing the same thing the originator, in this case Nykosh himself, would see in his status. It's still true, but it is somewhat approximate. Wait, haven't either of you seen this sort of thing before? When you gave your details to your workplace?"

Mayli shrugged. "I'm working with my father. I just shared my status screen. He then inscribed the Infogem for the shop records. I don't know what that contains."

"Hmmm, I guess that safety wasn't an issue in your case, but if you saw that Infogem, you'll realise uncle hasn't put down the exact details. What about you, Ruventha? Didn't you have to provide your class details and stuff to the papermakers?"

Ruventha thought back to when she'd gotten her job. "I remember recording my class info with the [Town Administration] building as part of my Job Quest. I was a Level 3 [Adult] then, I think. The 'Potential employer found' part was completed in a few days and then I went to the [Whitecloud Papermakers] to start my training. I answered some questions about what I knew of the whole paper making process and learned to equip and use the various Job Skills as required. But now that I think about it, I'm not sure exactly how much of my information is available at my workplace."

Mayli asked. "What happened after you got your [Flow Shaper] class transition? Dad asked me to share my screen after I got [Earthen Nurser] to update the records."

"Hmmm? My cousins came over and we had a small party at the riverside inn. Then, oh yeah, my uncle Madro who works at the [Town Hall] linked me to his official message carrier. My dad said it saved some hassle with getting stuff updated without going the [Town Hall] itself. A lot of the [Town Scribes] are snobby when recently spirit touched people go there to make use of their services. He was saying they always make a show of meticulously ensuring that no mistakes were made, as though people who directly got the [Adult] class were barely capable of reading and writing." Ruventha had been upset when she'd first realised that people treated her family like lessers for such stupid reasons. Her parents had made sure to teach her that even the spirits couldn't solve all the problems of people. She had gotten 1 Wisdom out of learning that hard truth.

Zivany gently hugged her in commiseration. "Yeah, my grandparents have stories like that too. Okay, let's not go off on a tangent like usual. This class description is basically the sprits' perspective of what the guys is willing to tell others about his class purpose. He comes across as broody. Also, Level 36 confirms he was spiritborn, but how old is he? I became [Adult] one year before you two and I just hit overall Level 29 even after some nice Advancement Quests and two class transitions."

Ruventha replied. "He's twenty six, so he's six years older than me. Does that mean he's gifted or something? I always thought you're ahead of Sarasoor's standards, Zivany. Won't you be able to reach the mid-thirties in five years?"

Zivany smiled. "I knew I liked you better than May for a reason." She ignored the offended "Hey!" from Mayli and continued. "For a noncombat class, maxing out your first tier [Adult] class by the time you are around twenty five is great, at least by the standards outside [Sanctuaries]. But, getting a class upgarde after hitting the max is considered a major bottleneck that you may not ever pass. People at that limit tend to focus on maxing their stats and skill levels, and then try to increase their Mana cap, but that becomes its own trap. Then, of course getting levels is itself tougher the higher you go."

Ruventha asked. "Then how did he do it? I think even my dad is just two tiers higher, having a High Journeyman tier class. He thinks it's not even possible to reach a Low Expert tier class in Sarasoor, since the [Steward] is stuck at the Journeyman peak."

Zivany held up a hand. "Hey I'm just one year older than you. It's not like I hold all the secrets of the sprits. But if I had to guess, I'd say this Nykosh fundamentally changed his life's purpose when maxed his first tier [Adult] class. Gah, I guess it is easier to call it Level 30 like city people do. All this Low-Mid-High Journeyman-Expert-Whatever stuff is a mouthful. Anyway, I think the elders in my family have mentioned that classes are a reflection of how one views their goals and interest. Therefore, they say, finding a higher purpose than what you thought you knew makes the sprits reward you with an Advancement Quest at Level 30. But then, one of my grandmother's sisters insists that advancing by deepening your purpose is inherently superior, somehow validated by how much harder it is by getting an Advancement Quest that way."

Mayli smiled impishly at Ruventha. "Do you think dear Nykosh rejected the [Guardian] path? If so, Ruventha is going to chuck his Infogem straight into the dump. I know you like your guys all brawny and moustachy."

Ruventha pouted. "I'm not that bad! I do appreciate a nice moustache, but I'll have you know that I am perfectly willing to get hitched to a guy who brings in the gems with perfectly safe work while I can focus on getting the best class, like, a [Dancing Swordmistress]."

Zivany chuckled. "Well let's hope he doesn't disappoint. I don't expect much insight from his stats alone, but one thing would be useful to know."

Ruventha used the Infogem's (View Being's Stats) skill, bringing the item's Mana down to 80. Since she didn't own it, she couldn't refill its Mana reservoir from her own or her that of her house. It was probably intended to prevent thieves from endlessly making use of their stolen spirit items, though of course, they would have their own skills to deal with that.

Being Attributes (limited) Name: Nykosh Mana: ~ 800 ~ Strength: ~ Mid ~ Intelligence: ~ High ~ Versatility: ~ Low ~ Agility: ~ Mid ~ Wit: ~ Mid ~ Confidence: ~ Low ~ Endurance: ~ Mid ~ Wisdom: ~ High ~ Resilience: ~ Mid Realised Potential: ~ 42%

Ziivany pumped a fist in victory. "I knew it! His highest stats are Wisdom and Intelligence rather than Strength. He never had a [Guardian] type class."