The fourth corner.

Jun inspected the semi-transparent shape that rotated in the air.

A three-sided pyramid.

“What? Did you think there were only three directions that determined one’s prowess?”

Acaria folded her arms across her chest as a melodious chuckle echoed into the vast room.

“Tell me child, what might the fourth corner be?”

Jun closed his eyes and envisioned the pyramid in his head.

Power and strength, speed and finesse, magic and creativity. This is taught as the standard, but where did we derive this standard from? Experimentation?

He looked back at the pyramid before him.

Perhaps we never created the standard at all. The triangle was taught to us by the class selection formation, but the formation itself was created by the world spirits.

Shifting his gaze behind the pyramid, he looked at Acaria with squinted eyes.

“World spirits are not like us. Is there a chance that you can perceive more than humans? Perception…”

He frowned while rambling out loud.

“If world spirits can perceive something that we cannot, then how are we to know what it is that we cannot perceive? Unless world spirits themselves tell us. What can world spirits perceive that humans cannot?”

And more importantly, what can I perceive that other humans cannot? If Acaria is suggesting that I choose the fourth corner, which other humans cannot choose.

“That’s correct child, and just what is it that you can perceive? What makes you so different?”

Jun glared at the world spirit with a frown.

“I hate that you keep reading my…”

A wave of shock coursed through him and his eyes went wide.

“My thoughts, how can I hear other thoughts?”

“I think you already know.”

Acaria pointed towards the floor where blue lines continued to systematically flash.

“How does this formation work?”

“It reads the user’s soul…”

Somehow Jun could sense that Acaria was smiling at him. He looked at the world spirit with a serious expression.

“The fourth corner is the soul.”

“Correct!”

“You want me to choose a soul-oriented class?”

Jun gave a wry smile.

“How could that even work? How does a soul-oriented class grow in strength? What does the future of a soul class look like? How is combat decided? Perhaps this makes sense to you, who is a world spirit, but to me… I would be clueless!”

Not to mention that even if those questions are answered, I still wouldn’t be able to seek anyone for guidance! Even a legendary sword master was once an apprentice.

“I can sense your unease in this decision, but perhaps some explanation may soothe your worries.”

Acaria waved her hand, causing the pyramid to disappear.

“Let me ask you this, if we decided that you will be a fighter from this day forth. Could you pick up a bow and shoot an arrow?”

Jun nodded.

“Of course I could, just because I’m a fighter doesn’t mean I can’t shoot a bow. It just means that I’d want the system’s help to progress as a fighter.”

“Is that so? Then what about a wand? Could you still create formations with ease?”

“Without a doubt, unless it was a complex formation of course.”

I wonder what he considers complex?

Acaria cocked her head to the side.

“So you’re saying that even if you were classless, you could still perform with a sword, bow, or wand. Does it make sense then, that one could learn a separate class without the system’s help?”

A brief silence came over the room as Jun ingested her words.

“A swordmaster that chooses to become a scout is still a swordmaster… Just as if I were to choose this soul direction, I could still progress in the other three if I want to. Only, I would do it without the system’s help…”

Acaria nodded her head.

“I accept this soul class. So… what now?”

Acaria clapped her hands together causing a strange hum to reverberate in the air. A moment later, the systems voice called out.

“User Xin Sugo has accepted the Soul Artist class. Rewards and starting resources will be provided by elder world spirit Acaria.”

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A notification appeared on the system display in front of Jun.

Soul Artist, level 1?

He read his class and level listed beneath his username.

“Well? Do you like it?”

Acaria walked closer.

“How can I like it if I don’t even know what it is. Also, what are these rewards that the system talked about?”

Jun once again felt as if Acaria were smiling at him. Not being able to see her face or eyes was somewhat unnerving.

“It is customary that the system gives some starting gifts for new adventurers. Normally this includes a starting weapon suitable for your class as well as a basic skill.”

Jun nodded his head in understanding while Acaria continued speaking.

“A fighter would start with a sword, scout would start with a bow and dagger, and finally, acolytes start with a beginner wand.”

“So what will I start with as a Soul Artist?”

Acaria shook her head.

“The class of Soul Artist will simply be what you make of it and therefore has no starting weapon. However, I will give you one of your choosing from the other three classes.”

“I see… then I will choose a scout’s starting set.”

Acaria tilted her head in thought.

“I had imagined you would have picked a sword or wand. Why a scout?”

Jun did a small flourish, showing off his feminine outfit.

“As you can see by how I’m dressed, I’d prefer to do minimal movement. Additionally, I think that using a bow will allow me to blend in the best for my current environment.”

Acaria snapped her fingers in the air, causing a bow and dagger to appear on the floor in front of Jun.

“As you wish. It is strange for a man to wear such garments. I had thought they were reserved for women… do you perhaps enjoy the company of men?”

Jun’s eyes twitched.

“No. It’s complicated, can we move on?”

Humans are confusing.

Acaria shrugged her shoulders and continued.

“First, about your weapons. Except for certain zones, the system will be able to hold certain equipment for you. Consider it a personal storage dimension that’s bound to your soul core.”

Jun watched as the bow and dagger dematerialized before him, causing his system display to start blinking. He noticed as new selection labeled armory, where his new weapons were stored.

“In addition to a starting weapon, a skill is to be given. Normally this would be a combat-oriented skill, but I will refrain from giving you such abilities as of now.”

“Why not? How does soul combat work anyway?”

A small pause hung in the air while as the two individuals stared at each other.

“Everything has a soul, even if they aren’t aware of it. So… how do you think? Moving on, I can see that you have already innately developed one skill, although it is merely at an elementary level. Take a look at your system display.”

Jun pulled up the system display and found the skills section.

Well this is new. I must have received a skill when I unlocked Soul Artist. Let’s see, my first skill is Soul Sensing (D).

“Yes, soul sensing. To properly understand how you’re able to perceive other’s thoughts, we have to understand what thoughts truly are. For higher beings, the consciousness resides within the soul. Depending on how well an individual can sense another’s soul will determine how accurately the consciousness can be interpreted.”

Jun frowned as he heard this.

“But the only thoughts I can hear are negative, what does that mean?”

Acaria laughed lightly before replying.

“Hearing thoughts? No, you perceive their consciousness from the soul. Perhaps to you it might seem like hearing, but that’s not the case. You can choose to not perceive someone’s consciousness, but can you choose not to hear a sound?”

Jun thought in retrospect.

Was I perceiving everything when I was younger? So Ana taught me how to be selective in my perception?

While Jun was recounting his past, Acaria’s eyes briefly glowed beneath her hood.

So he is aware of her. Why does he call her Ana?

She shook her head and continued with her lecture.

“Your initial soul sensing was akin to how a newborn is curiously observant of the world. In your current state, you are now able to close your eyes when you wish. As for only hearing negative thoughts, this can be blamed on the origins of your world spirit energy.”

Jun looked at Acaria intently.

“There is a strong negative force within you, which likely heightened your sensitivity towards unsavory soul fluctuations.”

“Perhaps that makes sense… so would I be able to perceive more of someone’s consciousness if I ranked up my soul sensing skill?”

Acaria nodded.

“Now you’re on the right track. This will be the first skill reward.”

“First? There’s another?”

Jun’s eyes lit up in excitement.

“Yes, consider it an apology for all of the hiccups you have experienced on your journey so far.”

The blue lines on the floor pulsed erratically as Jun felt an odd sensation take over him.

“Take a look at your skill list again.”

Jun quickly read through the listing, noting a few changes.

My soul sensing rank changed from D to C. I wonder what the difference in one letter can make? Also there’s a new ability, Soul Illusion (F).

“I will let you discover your new soul sensing later. As for Soul Illusion, at the expense of your soul energy, you may take on a different form in the eyes of others. Whether that is simply changing your facial appearance, or your entire body. Your soul energy will deplete at a rate that is dependent on how drastic of a change you make.”

Jun’s narrowed his eyes in thought.

“Wouldn’t that make this ability the ultimate disguise? Also, how is changing my appearance related to the soul?”

Acaria thought for a moment before mumbling in a low voice.

“Perhaps I should leave this to his future instructor…”

She shook her head.

“Remember, your appearance isn’t truly changing. Soul Illusion is just as it sounds. It’s an illusion cast over the soul, but not your soul—other people’s souls. I will let you experiment with it later.”

With a snap of her fingers, a massive black fissure appeared behind her.

“My time here was always limited. This concludes your class selection. I hope it was able to meet your expectations and I look forward to your future accomplishments should you visit my world. As a final note, please keep your class selection a secret between the two of us. I believe you have the skills to make this happen.”

Before Jun could responded, Acaria slipped inside the crack in space behind her and disappeared entirely.

Visit Acaria’s world? How am I supposed to know which world is hers? And it would definitely be bad if word spread about a Soul Artist class. I don’t even think it’s a real class, she probably made it up on the spot!

Jun let out a soft sigh and shrugged his shoulders. He could only leave their next meeting to fate.

Moments later, a rumble sounded from all directions.

The ground shook briefly and the lights in the room flickered before going pitch black. Once everything was still, Jun called out into the darkness with uncertainty.

“Uhh, system?”

He was met with silence. His only assurance was the hard floor beneath him. It was too dark to even see his hand in front of his face.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long for some sort of activity to happen. Two parallel lines of pulsing blue lights soon created a trail that led from his position to the exit.

“Class selection for user Xin Sugo is now complete. System restart will commence once the user has left the area. Downtime is estimated at five minutes. Thank you.”

Jun began walking along the lighted path. The rest of the enormous room was still pitch black, giving it an ominous feeling.

So the system had shut down or something? Is this because of Acaria? An elder world spirit interfering with the system must have been a big deal.

Jun hummed a simple tune as he approached the shimmering black wall. As soon as he walked through it, he found himself back within a crowd of people that were all exiting the class selection hall.

I’m curious… can people still enter?

He glanced toward the entrance, finding that the line going into the class selection hall was no longer moving.

“Why aren’t we moving anymore?!”

“Hey guys at the front! Go pick your class! Stop holding us up!”

“Stop shoving! Everyone relax!”

Angry shouts and panic rang out from the line. The class selection hall refused all new entrants, causing the current commotion.

I best get out of here.

Jun scurried off into the distance while occasionally looking over his shoulder to observe any further developments.

Whump!

“Finally!”

While taking another glance behind, he had unwittingly walked into the soft embrace of a worried woman.

“Miss Sela?”