"Creator, Savior, and Ghost, thank you for bringing me this far. Tell Dad and Step Mom that I love them. Tell Mom that I wish I could have known her. Please protect and watch over everyone here, and guide me in my new life." Von finished his prayer and knelt to put flowers on three graves, white for his mother, yellow for his stepmother, and a dark purple for his father. The small graveyard was enclosed by a short stone wall in the corner of a field. He stood up and ran a hand through his black hair. Michela had just cut it, so it felt strange. She wanted to shave his goatee, but he had refused.

He walked through the fields towards the road. Mik had already made the farm look better in a few days than Von had in ten years. He waved as he approached his siblings.

"Mik, Michela, Suza, Rune, I'm proud of you all! Selene I'll visit you at your academy!" he said. His siblings would have hugged him, but with their "activated" strength, they would probably hurt him. They all had his Dad's brown skin and his stepmother's blond hair and hazel eyes. He had gotten Dad's black eyes and hair, but he had his Mom's pale skin.

"Get going already!" Mik said.

"Get a good activation!" Michela said.

"I'll miss you bro!" Suza said.

"Don't expect any discounts from me!" Rune said.

"Brother! Bring me presents!" Selene said.

Von laughed and pressed his hands against each of their open palms. The caravan was about to leave, so he waved at them and climbed onto the back of the waiting wagon. The wagon started rolling, and Von waved until his brothers and sisters were out of sight. He climbed to the front over the large, empty tank that was used to deliver holy water. The wagon was pulled by two large, fur-covered animals with large heads, small eyes, and were covered in armor and accessories. A priest took a nap in the back seat, so Von sat in the front with the merchant holding the reigns. Four tough looking adventurers walked beside the wagon, holding spears, swords, and bows. One held a long, knobby wooden staff with a translucent blue stone on the end.

The town guards waved to Von as the wagon passed through the gate to the plains outside the town. Von watched the adventurers casually defeat weak monsters along the road and pick up the materials the monsters left behind after flaking and dissolving away.

Von gestured toward the large animals pulling the cart and said "I'm surprised you have animals pulling your wagon instead of a construct."

The merchant smiled. He was from the Aves tribe, with a pair of small speckled gray wings on his back, and a second much smaller pair on his head. He used a wing to scratch the back of his neck while his hands held the reins. "It's cheaper to use animals," he said, "especially on long trips out to the frontier like this one." The merchant shrugged and said "Well, as long as the route is low risk. If a monster killed the animals, I'd have to pay a fortune to the noble I rented them from. Most constructs are powered by refined mana crystals, but these bison just eat grass and grains that I can get at any town or village. On a holy water delivery, I hire adventurers for guards anyway, so renting animals to pull the wagon just makes sense."

The merchant thought for a moment, then looked embarrassed and said "I'm sorry we ran out of holy water before the priest could do your activation."

Von shrugged and said "I wanted my brothers and sisters to get activated before me. They all got good activations, so I'm pretty happy."

"Congratulations to them. What did they get?" The merchant asked.

Von leaned onto the backrest and counted off on his fingers as he spoke. "Mik got 'farmer,' just like Dad. Michela got 'carpenter,' which we need in Fairplane. Suza got 'guard,' and Rune got 'merchant.'"

The merchant perked up at hearing his class mentioned, and said "Oh, good for him. merchant is the best class."

"Ha! It suits him, at least. He was always restless." Von said and shrugged. "I was worried about Selene, but she got activated to 'healer.'"

"Ooh, lucky!" The merchant exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah. The priest here..." Von said, and gestured to the napping priest, "promised to get Selene a scholarship at a fancy noble's academy, so I don't have much to worry about anymore. They would complain if I didn't get my own life started."

"Hmph, I'll say." The merchant said with a nod. "You are the oldest unactivated I've ever met. Though, I heard of a researcher at the Imperial University who didn't have it done until he was gray in the beard. Turns out his was baker. They built a kitchen for him next to his office."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Von laughed, shook his head, and said "'The One God works all things to the good of those who love him and are called according to His will.'" He looked around at the blue sky and the plains stretching out around them. "I think the One God has something good for me. It is going to be looking up from now on!"

In the early morning light, Von stood at the end of a line of teenagers and children stretching into the distance. The line ended at a tremendous cathedral that Von could barely see in the morning mist. Around him merchant stalls sold food and souvenirs to the parents of the children in line. The sign posted next to him said "Cathedral of the Holy Spring: eight hour wait from this point."

Von made a wry smile, looked up to the sky, and said "Apparently you think I need patience and endurance. I'll accept that." Von tightened the straps on his backpack and took a sip of water from a wooden bottle as he waited in line.

In front of a line of small pools an acolyte directed people to the next available pool. "You, station three, you, station twelve. You, station eight." he said.

Von nodded at the organization and efficiency of it. Whenever a priest dipped someone into the glowing blue holy water, there was a bright flash, the holy water turned into regular, clear water, and was drained from the pool, which quickly filled again with glowing blue holy water from the spring underneath the cathedral. Acolytes rushed around helping people into and out of the pools and directing them to an exit in the back.

The acolyte pointed to Von and said, "You, station seven."

Von walked forward to "station seven" and put his backpack onto the shelf at the side of the pool. In the circular pool, a young woman wiped water from her eyes, and the soaked priest gave the newly-activated teenager her status card.

"Tailor, very nice." the priest told her as she climbed out of the pool. "May the One God bless you in your future."

The clear water quickly drained from the pool and was refilled with the gently glowing holy water. Looking at Von, the priest said "Come, my son, enter."

Von walked down the stone stairs into the pool. With his arms folded in front of him and the priest supporting his back, the priest asked "My son, have you placed your trust in the sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior provided by the Creator, by the guidance of the Ghost?

"Yes, I have."Von said.

The priest nodded and asked "Are you choosing to accept the protection and aid of the Creator, Savior, and Ghost?"

"I am." Von said.

"Then in the name of the One God, I bestow upon you your activation." The priest said, and with surprising strength submerged Von in the holy water. A bright flash filled Von's eyes and a warmth spread through his body, then Von was back up and breathing, wiping the water from his eyes.

"Thief, combat class." the priest said, holding a card in his hand. "Not the strongest, but you can make good money. May the One God bless you in..." The priest stopped and looked at the card again.

"Acolyte Sebastian!" the priest shouted. A young man in a plain white robe ran up to the priest. "Take this man to the abbot. Now." the priest said and handed Von's status card to Sebastian. He looked at Von and said "Remember, the One God is with you. Do not lose faith. May the blessing and protection of the One God be with you."

Von followed Acolyte Sebastian through a maze of doors and hallways. Sebastian knocked on a plain wooden door. When he didn't hear a response, Sebastian opened the door to look inside, then waved Von over with a smile. "Go ahead and wait in here. I'll go find the abbot." he said.

When Von entered the abbot's office, he found himself reaching out to take things from the abbot's shelves, but he grabbed his own hands and held them close to his body. Eventually, Von sat on his twitching hands. "So this is the 'impulse'? I really want to steal something." he said.

As Von looked around the office, he found he could understand the approximate value of things just by looking at them. He was surprised to see that a weapon, a plain looking mace hanging on the wall, was the most valuable object in the room.

After waiting a little while, Von heard voices outside the door. "Sebastian, you left him in there alone? You know he is a... never mind." The abbot opened the door and walked in. He had graying hair and wrinkles at the corner of his eyes, and he wore a white robe covered in silver embroidery. "Greetings, my son..." The abbot said, then stopped when he saw Von sitting on his hands. The wrinkles around his eyes crinkled deeper as he smiled, and he said "I congratulate you on your self control. We will get you to the beginner fields to work that 'impulse' out of your system."

Von smiled. "It isn't quite the same as carpenter or baker."

The abbot nodded, then handed Von his status card and said "This is a first since the Savior gifted us activation." He pulled a chair close to Von and sat down.

Von looked at his status card for the first time.

Von Thief Level 0 HEALTH: 0/0 SPECIAL: No Leveling MANA: 0/0 STR 0  SKILLS: [steal] [appraise] DEF 0 AGI 0 SPT 0 INT 0

"That... that doesn't look good" Von said. He was starting to feel a bit sick. His hands trembled a little as he held his status card.

The abbot put a hand on Von's shoulder and said "I do not understand it, but the One God works in mysterious ways." He pointed at Von's card. "I used my 'insight' skill to get the meaning of your special, 'No Leveling.' The full meaning is 'Cannot gain levels. Is not bound by level restrictions.' It may also be why you have a starting level of zero and no starting attributes."

The abbot stood up and said "I am sure the One God has a purpose for this, so please do not be discouraged. I will have Sebastian lead you to the beginner fields to work out that 'steal' impulse in a proper environment. Remember, the One God is with you."