“Remember what I said. We’ll try something different this time.

Now take this money and go.

Well, then… you. Aanya. Come here, you’re next.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Come here and wait until-

Ah, done already? Great. Level 17 [Scout] was it, yes?” Magda turned her attention away from the classless woman and back towards the man she had just ordered towards the orb-removal device, and who was now tightly grasping the thus extracted orb in front of his chest; just like everyone else who had come before him had done. But unlike during those previous tests, the man wasn’t permitted to immediately reabsorb the orb himself.

“Now hand it over to her, will you?” Magda said, to the man’s great shock.

“Hand it over?” The face of the man who had been a [Scout] just a few moments prior became white as a sheet. As did his knuckles as his grasp on the crystal became even tighter.

“Me?!” The woman called Aanya also repeated herself in disbelief, apprehension, but also a hint of excitement.

“With us being so shorthanded and that thing so heavily restricting our access, we have to start switching things up at some point if we want to make any progress. It’s about time to figure out what happens if we actually let someone else absorb those things.

After all, that’s what it will ultimately be used for, no? People selling and trading, or simply replacing their orbs. So, of course, that’s the one thing we have to test before anything else.”

“But…”

“But, I’m the highest, and-”

Both man and woman started to object, though one of them clearly had more urgency in their voice than the other.

Magda was having none of it.

“It is exactly because you are higher level than the others that you get to hand it over to Aanya. Her being classless means she has a spare activation to use. Understand? You’ll have it back in just a minute. Now stop complaining and get a move on. Both of you.”

“Yes!”

“Of course.”

Both finally complied, but the man, despite Magda’s assurance, looked to be in visible pain as he handed over his treasured crystal orb. “Careful,” he instructed Aanya as she received it.

“Good. Now concentrate on it. And push. With both hands, as strong as you can. As if you were trying to push it right through your hands. Or if you were trying to flatten it. And keep concentra-

Ha! That’s it. Good job. I guess that stuff comes naturally. Now, how is it?”

Aanya was at a loss for words and didn’t reply momentarily. But when she did, her excitement slurred her voice.

“It’s amazing! I-I can feel everyone in this room. It’s as if… as if I-”

“As if you got another sense?”

“Yes! Exactly! It’s so strange. But also… it feels so natural.”

“Haha, that’s right. That’s one of the [Scout’s] signature skills. But enough of that, is there anything else? What about your level? Again, just concentrate to-”

Again, Aanya was already a step ahead and interrupted, this time confused,

“One? I’m only level one.”

“What?!” Various people immediately and all at once called out. Amongst them Mylana, who had been closely observing everything that was happening with great interest, Magda, of course, and a handful of her subordinates.

Loudest of them, one particularly invested person, “No! That can’t be. Giv- give it back! Let me see. What have you done?”

Magda gave the man an admonishing look, which he promptly ignored. Right now, he couldn’t give a damn about anything else.

Knowing arguing would be meaningless whilst also quite interested herself in this turn of events, she soon ordered the woman to do as the distraught ex-[Scout] said.

But she did so with an almost pained smile on her face.

She understood the man wasn’t the only one deserving of sympathy in this situation.

Asking someone who, after years of longing and dreaming of an opportunity like this, finally got to experience what it felt to be a classbearer, just to immediately be asked to give it all up again, had to be similarly painful.

And yet, this was all part of the job, and Aanya wasn’t the orb’s rightful owner, and so Magda could only offer her a few words of encouragement as the dejected woman dutifully approached the extraction device,

”You are already four years with the Society, aren’t you, Aanya? So don’t worry. Only one more until you can apply for your own orb,” Magda tried to cheer up her subordinate. “Of course, nothing is guaranteed, but don’t forget that a branch’s performance plays a huge part during these kinds of considerations. And with this, which other branch could hope to compete with us in the long run?”

Amusingly, it was Severin who reacted first to those words and displayed a, if largely unnoticed, smug grin.

Still, the words achieved at least some effect by the looks of Aanya’s mollified expression; when the orb was soon snatched back from her, her hands trembled only slightly.

Not a moment later-not even wasting time to inspect the orb’s tooltip for any possible changes-and an elated [Scout] proclaimed with relief,

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“17! The divines be praised. I’m still level 17. It’s still there. All of it.”

“Good for you!”

“And really no changes? None at all? What about your experience?”

“Still the same as before!” the [Scout] answered.

“Hmm. So what does that mean?”

“Isn’t that obvious? It means level don’t carry over between people. And that it remembers its previous owners.” Several of the Society’s people started to speculate and discuss.

“You might be right. But I don’t think it’s all that clear-cut. Plenty of other possible explanations. Until we have further investigated the matter, that is.”

“He is exactly right,” Magda agreed with the staff-member. “So let’s continue our work here. We are far from being done. And don’t jump to conclusions just yet.

With that said, it’s your turn now. Jett. Murat.“

“What do you mean!? Why us?”

“Yeah, we’re both classbearers. What’s this about? Shouldn’t you ask one of them instead?”

Immediately, the protests began anew. And this time even more vehemently than before; both men had a bad feeling about this.

A feeling that soon proofed well warranted.

“Enough of this. Time we figure out what exactly is going on here with that thing. People are depending on us. You two will exchange classes.”

Severin couldn’t be happier. The money that device had accrued, both for his personal use, but also in terms of System funds, only during this short investigation already significantly exceeded the amount he had earned in the weeks prior. And now two more cash injections at once were seemingly coming his way.

But neither Murat nor Jett could share Severin’s enthusiasm.

Both being classbearers meant they would be stuck with the other’s class for nearly half a year. Neither of them was accepting this without putting up a fight. One which soon turned more into a quarrel between the two than anything else.

“He’s much lower level than me! How is that fair?”

“Are you stupid? Or have you just not paid any attention? Aanya was still level one!So please explain how level even matters in this situation? It’s all about the class itself. In which case...”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You really are that slow on the uptake, huh? Well then, let me spell it out for you:

If anyone has reason to be upset, it is me. Might as well be classless with your [Notary] class. Wouldn’t be surprised you try to make off with-”

“Can you believe this fucker? That is outrag-”

“Stop it! Both of you! It’s only temporary and you will be well compensated for this. So stop making a fuss. It’s a disgrace.”

“But-”

“No buts!” If the promise of the carrot wasn’t enough to keep them in check, then maybe it was time to remind them of the stick.

“And that’s the last I will hear of it. Unless you want me to invoke article seventy-two of the Society's Charter of Exploration and Investigation.”

To Severin’s surprise, this was all it took to shut the two bickering men up. But before he had the opportunity to inquire what exactly this threat was all about, things were already progressing at a fast rate; not daring to dally any further after the threat had been made, Magda’s two subordinates shared a meaningful look and got moving.

One hundred thousand gold changed hands, and a minute later a similar scene to the one before played out once more.

Just that this time…

“Level five?!”

“Wh-? Me too?! I’m still level five.”

“What’s going on?”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Is it random?” Someone suggested.

“Don’t be silly,” Magda cut through the general confusion, and, following a somewhat more systematic approach, asked, “Tell me again what you guys’ level were? Eight? And five?”

“Yes,” confirmed the two men, Murat and Jett, in unison.

“Well, isn’t it clear what’s happening, then?” Came yet another interjection from the side.

“Oh? And that is?”

“That is, one’s previous level matters just as much as the orb’s.”

“I tend to agree with this hypothesis,” Magda said, “but I’m afraid this still requires some more research.”

“Fascinating. Very fascinating. But why does it sound like you people don’t even realize the implications of what you are suggesting?”

“What?! You disagree?” came an almost hostile response from one of the Society’s staff-members towards the old woman who had observed this the whole time.

“Haha, not at all. In fact, I tend to agree. It’s just as I said: I don’t think you realize the gravity of this situation.”

The same staff-member was about to retort once again, but this time was stopped by Magda herself.

“Please. If you would enlighten us, La-”

“Just Mylana.” the old woman waved off the formalities. “Well, just think about it. We have a class-orb of a certain level. A level other than one-which in itself is already unheard of. And yet upon reabsorption, that level isn’t retained. Then why have a level in the first place?”

“But it is retained. Just not in every case.”

“Exactly! Only if the person had already once exceeded that level themselves they do retain it. Meaning they don’t just level-up beyond the experience they themselves already earned in some capacity.

But the reserve is also true. Your previous level doesn’t matter if the new orb is too low-leveled. Which makes me believe there might be more to this. Some fundamental misunderstanding about level and classes. We always assumed that a person’s level and their class-level were one and the same.

In fact, there never had been any distinction between the two. After all, there never was a reason to.“

“What? What are you saying?!”

“Saying? I’m not saying anything. No, what I do is ask questions.

After all, first and foremost, I have always been a researcher.

And I believe there is nothing more exciting than to research the possibility of every person having their own… character-level, so to speak.

Hahaha, do you understand? Just the idea. Every person having a level. Completely separate from their class-level.

This would be the discovery of life- no, of a century.

I get all jittery just thinking about it, haha.”

Ahem

“So am I right in my assumption you are no longer seeking my employment?”

Hahaha, another hearty laugh, as if she had just heard the funniest thing in years. “No, lad. Quite the contrary,” Mylana said while scanning Severin from head to toe, giving him a scrutinizing look.