The Academy wasn’t just a training ground for would-be players. It was also an information hub for the system itself. The library held hundreds of shelves of books from before the Break, but also literature published about the system, classes, and dungeons. Most students and cadets went on to become swords-for-hire or adventurers in their own right. But many returned to perform research and explore the system itself rather than the dangerous world around them.

To Jinyoung, who’d only ever seen the Academy as a squat structure to house cadets between classes, it was a welcome shock. He’d always hoped that there’d be another path open to his classmates, but he never thought he’d be able to see it first hand.

After the initial shock, Jinyoung decided to go back to the skills menu. Something had bothered him. The skill tree for No Class players only consisted of three skills. But, each of the skills now had a branching line. And that branching line could only mean one of two things.

“Secondary skills or new aspects,” Hana answered.

The two siblings had spent two days catching up. Eventually, Hana realized her own answers about how much the system, and their understanding of it, had evolved weren’t enough. That’s when she brought Jinyoung to the Academy so that they could find the answers Hana didn’t have.

Hana had hundreds of questions, but Jinyoung’s answers were surprisingly dull. Hana’s answers, on the other hand, were vague and nondescript. Questions about Hana’s life over the past 20 years were either brushed aside or answered with an aching lack of detail. In time, Jinyoung realized that whatever it was, she’d have to open up in her own time.

“Dad should be back in a week,” Hana said. “He needed to head south for a friend’s funeral, but he’ll be back after that’s over.”

Now it was Jinyoung’s turn to be evasive. “Tell me more about aspects.”

Secondary skills were abilities that played off a skill that had already been unlocked. For a fire mage, a primary skill was [fireball], a ranged attack that expelled a bolt of fire. One of the Secondary skills was [pyrogenesis] which allowed the caster to create a flame and hold it for use in battle or as a utility.

Aspects, on the other hand, were another thing altogether. Aspects affected the original skill by adding effects or removing hindrances. This could be adding an elemental effect to a charged attack or reducing the mana cost for a spell. This could increase the size of the [fireball] or turn the ability into a rapid-fire machine gun.

“Has there ever been a record of someone unlocking Secondary skill or aspects for the No Class?”

Hana shook her head. “No. I didn’t want to ask around too much because I don’t want to raise any red flags, but there’s no record anywhere of anyone seeing anything like this.”

Red flags?

Some of the things that Hana said were concerning. He’d tried to follow up a few times, but Hana had been evasive. Saying that she’d explain more, but for now he just needed to trust her.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

After confirming his ascension to level 11, Jinyoung had confirmed that (a) he did not have the option to allocate his own stat points and (b) he no longer had skill points. Whatever

And most importantly, there was something that caught his eye. The branching line in his skills aside, there’s a small notification symbol attached to his [scan] skill that had never been there before.

“At this point, Jinyoung, what do you have to lose?”

Jinyoung wanted to laugh. He wanted to argue, but Hana was right.

With a resigned sigh, Jinyoung tapped the [scan] skill.

New (+) ASPECT Unlocked!

[SCAN] is now [SCAN+].

[SCAN+] now gives increased information about environments, items, monsters and PLAYERS. [SCAN+] also provides information on HIDDEN QUESTS.

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow. Whatever he was expecting, this wasn’t it. Until now, there was no way to learn more about a player status unless they specifically shared the information directly. But the biggest surprise was the last line.

“It says I can get information on hidden quests?”

Hana’s jaw dropped slightly. No one knew much about hidden quests and the little information that did exist was tightly guarded. The Society had caught wind that some players were discovering quests outside the normal bounds of hunting and exploration but because players were discovering them on accident, it was difficult if not impossible to re-access hidden quests once they were completed.

“What else is there?”

Jinyoung paused and looked at Hana. His stare held until finally he told her.

“I can use [scan] on players.”

“What does it tell you?”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened. The system displayed Hana’s level and class. It wasn’t much, but it was far more than what most other players saw. At level 52, Hana was further along than others her age. Most players in their thirties were between level 25 and 35. At 36 years old, Hana had progressed further than Jinyoung would’ve ever dreamed.

“Not much. It gives me your level and class,” he mumbled.

Hana grimaced. This was exactly what Seah had warned Hana about. The Society spent all of their wealth and influence on keeping the balance of players by any means necessary. And in one fell swoop with one low-level skill, Jinyoung had completely broken that balance. There had never been a player on record who could find hidden quests. And only high-level players of specific class types had the ability to [scan] other players.

“There’s something else, Hana. [Charge], [dash], and [scan] each have a notification.”

After activating [scan+], he could now see that there were additional notifications on each of the No Class skills.

QUEST: The Path of the WIND (I)

OBJECTIVE: Use [DASH] 1000 times.

REWARD: [DASH+]

QUEST: The Path of the ONION KNIGHT (I)

OBJECTIVE: Reveal and COMPLETE 3 secret SUBQUESTS.

REWARD: New ASPECT

QUEST: The Path of INNER STRENGTH (I)

OBJECTIVE: Deal 10,000 DMG with CHARGED attacks.

REWARD: [CHARGE+]