Note: This story might look familiar to some of you. I uploaded about 15 chapters onto Royal Road for fun last summer under an alt name. Then, when I realized I wanted to seriously publish it I took it down for edits. Since then, I've been working on it a little bit at a time and am now ready to bring it to you. 

Alice stared down at the golden goose-egg which was most certainly not supposed to be in a puppy whelping box.

She had come to the hound kennels to check on Junebug, the Earl's prize hound dog. Sure enough Junebug now had a brick red New Mother temporary tag floating in red over her head and five squirming puppies nuzzled up to her belly. The intensity of the red tag would fade as the pups grew and were eventually weaned.

However, it seemed Junebug wasn't just prized for her foxhunting skills.

She had somehow generated a class seed. An item that was so rare Alice had only recognized it from stories. It was one of the few ways to voluntarily change one’s class.

Alice reached for the golden egg, which was shoved up against the opposite side of the wooden box away from the puppies. Her fingers hesitated a fraction of an inch from the shell.

No. Skin-on-skin contact would activate it. Then she would never be able to sell it.

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure the Kennel Manager was nowhere near, she pulled the sleeve of her sweater over her hand. She grabbed the egg and shoved it into the front pocket of her apron.

No need to worry about breaking the shell. This wasn't truly an egg. It only looked like one.

Various Scholars and Priests classes debated whether class seeds sprung into the world randomly or out of a moment of need as a gift from the System. They famously generated in war-torn zones as if the System wanted to help soldiers in dire straits. As such, they were hard to destroy.

No sooner had Alice hidden the egg, then she heard footsteps behind her.

Old Roy, the Kennel Manager stomped into view.

"Who's there? Oh, is that you Alice?"

"It's me," she confirmed. "Just checking on Junebug."

He snorted and stomped up to her. "Well? She birthed yet?"

"Five pups so far," Alice said, quashing a spike of irritation.

Roy was the ranked classer here, so he was in charge. But the hounds were so well-leveled that they were intelligent enough to not cause trouble. Roy had been coasting in his duties for years, leaving it up to General Laborers like Alice to take up the slack.

The only hope she had to get a better class of her own was to show aptitude and hope the System would see and reward her. 

What she wouldn't give for a Kennel Worker, Animal Caretaker, or Veterinarian Assistant identification tag.

Alice didn't dare tell anyone this, of course. Nor did she allow any distaste for the smell of alcohol wafting off Roy to cross her face. The man had been in his office drinking again.

"By the way Junebug's panting, there may be a few more puppies coming," she said.

Roy grunted and looked over. "You didn't touch none of the pups, girl?"

She shook her head quickly and backed a step just in case he tried to take a swipe at her.

Roy narrowed his eyes, but either believed her or didn't care enough to push. With a series of grunts and exaggerated grimaces, he maneuvered his large bulk into the straw-lined whelping box and reached to touch the puppies one by one.

As he did, the empty area over the newborn puppies’ heads flashed with a Common Hound tag. That was quite a few ranks lower than Junebug's Prize Hound tag.

From what Roy had claimed, the Kennel Master class gave random bonuses to newborn pups under his care.

Alice suspected that might be a bunch of bunk. She’d never seen a newborn puppy with anything more promising than a Uncommon Hound tag.

"Worthless," Roy muttered, laboriously standing again.

She looked down at the tiny, squirming puppies. "You don't know that. They might earn a better class, once they grow up a little."

"Doubtful. You start as trash, you end as trash." Roy turned, unknowing or uncaring he was speaking to a General Laborer and stomped back to his office, and his drink.

As Alice watched him go, her hand slipped to touch over her apron pocket.

People started with the classes of one of their parents. That meant the families of General Laborers stayed General Laborers. Even noble's bastards only had a 50/50 shot of being a Gentleman or Gentlewoman, which was their starting rank.

If someone worked hard, dedicated themselves to a single task, and the System was feeling generous that day... someone might earn an upgraded class.

Or they could buy a Class Seed. Just like the one Alice had in her pocket. People paid fabulous amounts of money for a chance at greatness. Either way if she kept or sold it, her lift was about to change forever.

"I won't stay trash forever," she muttered, but so quietly it was doubtful Junebug even heard her.

 ****

Through iron will, Alice kept from checking her pocket through the rest of her long day of chores.

No employer of sense wanted to lose General Laborer, which by law could be paid at lower rates than more specialized classes. Even the Gardeners and House Maids had the class skills to earn a higher wage.

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It wasn’t much, but in the stratified world of class hierarchies it meant everything.

By design, Alice's duties were general and varied. A little of this, a little of that so she would have a harder time specializing. Sometimes she'd wash the outside windows or pull weeds in the garden. She’d chop firewood or haul furniture out of the unused rooms for storage.

She tried to take all the time she could in the kennels, but when Roy caught her working too often, she'd be sent to the washing rooms for a few weeks. That diluted her System experience.

With a sigh, she activated her class sheet.

Alice Turner

Age: 19

Class: General Laborer

Level: 20

Rank: 1

Class Skills

Cleaning (Rank 1 25% bonus): 40

General Stamina (Rank 1 30% bonus): 37

General Strength (Rank 1 15% bonus): 35

That short page was the sum total of her life’s work. Her bottom-level, low class meant she was allowed three skills, which had been automatically assigned by the System.

Eventually through the toil of years she could move those skills to level 100 each. Then she’d gain Rank 2 and be eligible for another skill.

Not all classes were like this. Alice had heard rumors of marvelous benefits, of skills and ranks raining down on the children of those born lucky. 

General Laborer was at the bottom of the bottom, and most found it impossible to dig themselves out.

All of which was the reason why the class-seed she found was so valuable.

Getting a new class would change the course of her life. But she had no way to know what this seed would change her class to until she used it.

There were high end Merchants who could tell her, but she had virtually no status, no powerful friends to protect her, and no one to believe her if someone decided to take the seed for their own.

That made selling it tricky, though not impossible. There were high-end auction houses with supposedly good reputations. She just had to find a way to safely get to one, first.

Or she could use the seed herself. Change her own life. That was a risk, too. But what if she disliked her new change? What if instead of General Laborer, she became something completely unsuited to her, like Musician? 

Alice had always loved animals, working with them, and taking care of them. She found it easier to deal with animal kind than humankind.

Yes, her life would improve if she became a Seamstress, Merchant, or Politician, though none of those would make her happy.

But would it be better than the life I have now? She wondered.

Changing her class would be forever, and she doubted she’d ever find another class-seed. 

Alice struggled with that question all through the day and found she still didn't have an answer when the sun went down at the end of her shift.

Bone tired from a day of work, and mind weary from the weight of her decisions, Alice went back to her room.

All General Laborers received housing as part of their pay. It wasn't much. An old, converted barn with the walls stuffed with straw to make it just warm enough for human beings, and the inside sectioned out into individual cubicles. She shared hers with Dolly, another General Laborer.

Between herself and Dolly, they kept the cubicle clean. The Duke’s House Mage came by to refresh cooling and heating charms on the walls to make the extreme ends of summer and winter bearable. While Alice shared the bathroom facilities with everybody else, she knew she lived better than some General Laborers. 

At least, that’s what she told herself.

Alice's mind still turned over the question of what she was going to do with the class-seed. As such, she missed the warning signs from her roommate as she walked in.

Dolly had half of her clothing spread out across both beds. Unlike Alice, she spent most of her money, and resold gifts her lovers gave her — on expanding her outfits.

Dolly’s face was done up with expensive paints, and her black hair was tied up in curlers.

Alice stopped short, then groaned. "Oh Dolly, I thought we talked about this…"

"Breydon loves me," Dolly sniffed. "And I realized that, while you're coming from a good place, you're also jealous."

Carefully, Alice sat down on the very edge of her own bed, which was the only part not covered with clothing. "Dolly," she said patiently. "Breydon is a son of an Earl —"

"Fourth son. He told me his father won't object to our marriage."

Confrontation made Alice sick to the stomach, but Dolly was being stupid with her future. "I’ve heard he's gotten two of the Chambermaids pregnant this year…"

Dolly whirled on her. She had applied half her blush, making one cheek stand out much redder than the other. "Those girls were lying!"

"Who told you that? Breydon?"

"He’s Sir Breydon to you." The non-painted side of her face had gone red with anger, matching the other. "Besides, if I get pregnant… Well, there’s a chance the baby will have his class…"

Alice couldn’t believe Dolly was being so stupid. "It takes fourteen years to find out anybody's class. Dolly, have you… Has he…"

She couldn't finish, too mortified at the idea. Unwed single mothers who were General Laborers were not treated kindly by society. Their value was in stolid, dependable work. That became difficult with a baby to look after.

"You are such a child." Dolly rolled her eyes and then turned to finish the rest of her makeup.

Alice wanted to talk some sense into her, but it felt like her throat had closed up. She’d never been good with confrontation and she just knew Dolly would lash out at anything she said.

Alice hated herself but kept silent as the grave as Dolly finished getting ready. Judging by the amount of makeup she put on and the low-cut shirt, she planned an evening with Breydon.

Dolly turned back once to look Alice up and down with a critical eye. "You know, you're not going to get anywhere unless you start taking chances. Do you want to be a General Laborer forever?”

“I—"

“Well, think about it. Breydon has other brothers, and I suppose you're pretty enough to catch one’s eye.”

Then she flounced out, brushing past the curtain that functioned as their door.

Tears welled up in Alice's eyes. She quickly brushed them away.

Over the years, she had received some attention from other boys – even looks from noble heirs, but she didn’t want romance. She wanted a better life.

And what had she done to get it? Skulked around the kennels and hoped that the System would someday notice and change her class. She was pathetic.

She had the means to change her life right now, and she had been too afraid to even take it out of her pocket.

Alice liked to live a careful, considerate, quiet life. She knew she shouldn't let Dolly's words get to her, but… the other girl was right, wasn't she? People could work for a lifetime without the System offering a class change. To most, it was a pipe dream.

Meanwhile, if she decided to sell the class-seed and got swindled, instead, or the seed stolen… She would never forgive herself.

Maybe the System has seen me and this is its answer. I can change my life right now, and I don't need anybody else to do it.

I just have to be brave enough to try.

Any other class is better than [General Laborer].

Alice got up, firmly yanked the curtain across the cubicle shut so not a gap showed through, and then pulled out the egg-shaped seed with her bare fingers.

It activated in a flash of light.