Hello, my name is Tiapa Kynos and my story starts in hell.
Let me explain. Every child in our world, when they turn 14, is given a [Starting Job] by Destiny. Each [Starting Job] comes with 2 skills, selected from the beginner's list at random. Most of the Jobs given out are common - Innkeeper, Fisher, Baker, etc. These guide young souls down paths that Destiny provides for them. However, higher rarity classes can be given out at 14, depending on the child. For example, uncommon classes can be Squire, Student, etc. For a few incredibly lucky individuals, truly rare classes are granted: Tamer, Psychopomp, etc.
These [Starting Jobs] aren’t Destiny’s final word, however. Instead, at level 10 you are given the option to [Change Jobs] by visiting certain sacred sites. These sites then give you a choice - [Change Job] or [Accept Job]. At this point you can choose from a list of [Jobs] you qualify for. Otherwise, if you’ve found your true calling, you can choose to accept your current [Job], which freezes the [Job] so that you can’t abandon it or advance it to a higher tier [Job], but opens up the highest levels of advancement. For example, if you become a [Mage] and decide that, instead of specializing in a specific school of magic you want to be a generalist forever, you can [Accept Job], which will allow you to access skills that are only available to the highest tiers of the [Mage], such as [Purify Mana].
At level 20, as long as you haven’t chosen [Accept Job], you can also choose to attempt to advance your [Job] to a [Second Tier Job], such as Mage, Knight, Scribe, etc. Doing so risks losing your current skills, however, and once you choose to advance, there’s no going back. You take the trial and you accept what you get.
I, however, got royally screwed. Rather than get a common job, or an uncommon job, or a rare job, I got a secondary job. While Destiny doesn’t officially designate them as such, these [Jobs] are typically considered useless and are only taken to support the functions of the primary [Job]. As an example, a person shouldn’t take [Trainer] as a primary [Job]. Instead, they take [Soldier] as a primary and then, later, deliberately seek out [Trainer] as a second [Job].
Except for me. Apparently, Destiny hates me. I got [Trainer] when I turned 14.
[Trainer]
Job: Trainer. Trainers pass their skills and experience to the next generation.
Maximum Number of Skills: 40.
But it gets worse. When I was given [Trainer], I got my standard two random beginner [Skills] to help me along. It should be noted that, to advance one’s [Job], one must either advance these two [Skills], gain others related to their [Job] and advance those, or, most likely, both.
I never got that chance. I was given [Grant Skill] as my first beginner skill.
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[Grant Skill]
Sacrifice [Skill Levels] in a chosen skill to grant [Skill Levels] in that skill to another individual. The higher your [Skill level] compared to your target, the higher chance of success. The more [Skill Levels] sacrificed, the higher chance of success and the more potential skill levels gained by the target. Note: Grant Skill cannot drop the user’s [Skill Level] below 1. Warning: [Skill Levels] are sacrificed regardless of the success of [Grant Skill].
Requirements: Trainer job.
Cost: Skill levels, variable.
Advancement: Increased [Skill Levels] increases the success rate of this skill. Increased [Trainer] levels increases the likelihood of the target gaining more than one [Skill Level].
Obviously, this skill is practically useless. How am I supposed to gain levels in my [Job] if I keep giving away my skill points?! It’s useless, right?
Wrong.
It’s just useless to me.
There was no chance to hide it. The Baron’s law says everyone must report their [Starting Job] and [Skills] within 5 days of turning 14. Worse, it was paired with probably the most useful [Trainer] skill.
[Manifest Skill]
Through studied focus, you are granted a chance to gain a [Skill Level] in any skill that is demonstrated for you. The larger the difference between your [Skill Level] and the [Skill Level] of the demonstrator, the larger the chance that you will manifest that [Skill].
Requirements: Trainer job.
Cost: Passive, none.
Advancement: Increased [Skill Levels] increases the chance of gaining a [Skill Level]. Increased [Trainer] levels increases the chance of gaining new [Skills].
[Manifest Skill] just sealed my fate.
I followed the law, registered my [Skills], and was taken as a slave two weeks later. They killed my family to keep them from complaining. All because I could help the rich and powerful advance their [Skills] with little or no effort on their part.
I spent the next 13 years of my life being sold to the highest bidder. I spent almost 2 years learning Alchemy with [Manifest Skill] every day only to grant it back to the [Alchemist] I was observing. He gained a whooping 40-odd skill points that way. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re above 200, every new [Skill Level] is precious beyond measure.
I gained not one skill point. Not a single one. Every time I gained level 8 I was forced to use [Grant Skill] to sacrifice all of my levels, including [Grant Skill] and [Manifest Skill]. This way, I could never advance past level 1 [Trainer], could never be free to [Change Job]. I was a captive of my own abilities.
In the beginning I tried to resist, but pain has a way of breaking down any soul. Eventually I learned it was better to just comply. So I found more passive ways to resist. I worked on freeing myself not today, but sometime in the future. I didn’t resist, but the abuse didn’t stop. They just found other reasons to abuse me.
The brothels were the worst. Did you know there are skills called [Copulation], [Fellatio], [Pleasure Touch], and many, many others? A full 8 of my 40 skills slots, I learned from whores so I could teach whores. I vowed when they sold me on, soiled in body and soul, that I would keep those skills until I was so strong they could never take me back.
Eventually, I got my chance.