Yuji landed hard onto what felt like cool stone. The light was blinding. The world around him was warmer, still cool, but more like late spring instead of early spring. He heard his spear clattering to the ground along with the sound of birds and the buzzing of countless flies. The smell was the most upsetting thing in this sudden shift in reality. Like day old awful in the summer sun. Shielding his eyes, he found himself sitting in front of a young Akumajin woman with a surprised look on her face. She didn't seem like a threat so Yuji examined the rest of his surroundings. He instantly regretted it.

Not far to his left, an Akumajin woman lay dead on the cobblestone street. Her clothes were torn and ripped in a way that suggested horrible things. A jagged knife stuck out of her back and a pool of blood had stained the street beneath her. Turning his head, Yuji found another dead Akumajin. This one was a man, his entrails lay across the street and it looked like he had tried to crawl his way to another figure. Said figure turned out to be a young child that looked to have been chewed up and spit out. Yuji could feel his heart start to pound in his chest. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't run. He didn't know where to run. Logically he knew he was starting to panic. He'd felt it before when he had found a man impaled onto his spear after the barbarians from beyond the mountains had charged their lines. Yuji’s eyes flicked around wildly searching for anything he could latch onto. Saito wasn't here to get him to focus. All he could see was dead bodies and destroyed buildings. He had to get out of here. He needed to get as much distance between himself and the…

[Correcting panic response for Entity: Yuji Han]

[Forcing reality of situation onto Entity: Yuji Han]

Yuji blinked, confused. He was sure that he had just been swept down a raging river of panic and now, suddenly, everything seemed fine. Everything was not fine. The world around him still looked like a hellscape. The dead bodies were still revolting and heart wrenching, but the panic was gone. It was almost disturbing. It had taken several days to get over the barbarian charge. Not seconds, and with no one to talk to. Something was seriously wrong here.

He turned his attention to the only other living thing in the area. The Akumajin woman was not an unattractive sort. Her hair was raven black and looked like it was usually straight and long though right now it was a disheveled rat nest of twisted dry fibers that were tangled up in the horns. Her ears were a bit more pointed than the average Akumajin and barren of any adornments. Her face was heart shaped. The pointed chin matched a narrow nose and her eyes had an odd shape to them. Like the eyelids folded incorrectly under a slightly heavier brow. She must have been in her late teens to early twenties with enough weathering to look like she spent plenty of time in the sun. Her odd colored eyes, shiny unvarnished copper, twitched back and forth as if she was reading. Her brow furrowed and lips tightened into an expression of concern. She wore a very plain and somewhat dirty loose tunic. Her equally plain and dirty skirt hung down to her ankles where cute short toes poked out of leather sandals. Apart from her facial features, she looked like any other Akumajin down to the spaded tail. Though Yuji had never seen the color combination of copper eyes and burnished bronze skin. She had two sets of horns. The first was smaller and protruded from her forehead. They curved upward much like an Oni-Kai's, but we're black instead of white. It reminded him of Wei Lin somehow. The second set came out the side of her temple and curved backwards over her pointed ears before gently sloping upward into a stubby point. Focusing on that part of her head caused text to appear above her. It was a bit startling. What magic puts words above a person's head when looked at? It read, “Wren, level 5 Azradai Fledgling Mayor.”

Yuji froze. The floating text was identical to the text on the box that had blocked his vision earlier. Thinking that seemed to summon the damnable semi-transparent box once again.

“Congratulations! You are now Level 1. You have an unspent Perk Point.”

“Congratulations! You are now Level 2. You have unspent Perk Points.”

“Congratulations! You are now Level 3. You have unspent Perk Points.”

“Congratulations! You are now Level 4. You have unspent Perk Points.”

“Congratulations! You are now Level 5. You have unspent Perk Points.”

“Class upgrade is now available. At every five levels a number, up to five, potential classes will become available. The Class choices will reflect past decisions and actions. Would you like to choose your new Class now? Yes/No?”

“What the hell?” Yuji asked no one. And was a bit surprised when he got a response.

“What's wrong?”

It was the first he had heard the Akumajin woman speak. Her voice was soft and husky and seemed to carry a note of apprehension. “This damn box wants me to choose a Class.” He could just barely make out her copper colored eyes staring at him from the other side of the infernal thing.

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“It is safe right now. Best to get that done and over with.”

Frowning at the advice, Yuji returned his attention back to the text and with a resigned sigh, said yes. The world went white. Yuji initially found the sensation terrifying. He was suddenly in a room with five other people. Further examination calmed his nerves. The experience was still weird and fucked up, but he didn't seem to be in any danger. The five men were versions of himself in different clothing. They didn't move, acting more like lifelike mannequins than anything living. As surreal as it was, he could still feel the stone under his ass and the sun on his face. If he focused hard enough, he could even see the real world around him through the white. The girl was moving away. The suspicious and unnerved part of him realized that he was vulnerable and easy to kill. The logical part asked why a person who needed his help would want him dead. Yuji tried to ignore the internal debate and brought his attention to whatever Class Selection was.

Five versions of himself stood in a white room with no discernable walls, exits, or light source. The first two were in greyscale, completely lacking all color. The next two were shaded, as if standing in shadow. The final mannequin looked just as he did now. It stood tall. Spear in one hand braced against the floor and shield held in the other. It was even wearing the same coat. This version of himself was standing somewhat at attention and looked fairly confident, but there was nothing special about it. Yuji rotated his attention back to the first figure.

This version of himself stood in a similar pose. A hole took the place of his spear and a garden trowel took the place of the shield. He wore Yuji's normal tunic and though the image was a bit dirty, he had a look of contentment on his face. A box of text appeared above the figure's head.

“Gardener: Unlike a Farmer who focuses on growing a few staple crops over large areas, the Gardener focuses on growing a wide variety in a small area. The Gardener's Skill Tree is similar to a Farmer's, but is altered to fit the Gardener's focus. Note: This Class has been Restricted by the System as it is incompatible with the reason you have been Summoned to this world.”

If Yuji understood the text boxes correctly, then this “Class” was being offered to him because of his single year of gardening and possibly the expansion of the Yin twins’ garden. His garden had produced a respectable amount of fresh vegetables, but had been nothing in comparison to the amounts produced by either the Yin or Xiao household’s.

The next grayscale-ed figure once again showed Yuji in his normal clothes. Though this time he wasn't holding anything. His hands did seem more calloused than usual.

“Laborer: The Laborer is the natural progression for any Commoner with no specializations. The Laborer Skill Tree focuses on Stamina, Efficiency, and Productivity. Note: This Class has been Restricted by the System as it is incompatible with the reason you have been Summoned to this world.”

Was Commoner this world's word for a peasant? It made sense that Laborer would be offered. He'd been a Laborer for most of his working life. If Yuji had a superpower, it was working hard. On an unrelated note, what the hell was a Skill Tree? His attention moved on to the next figure?

The man standing before him was his own childish idea of himself as some legendary hero. A confident look graced a thick and well muscled version of Yuji. The shield was of better quality. So was the spear. He wore chain armor interspaced with plate in a way that was vaguely reminiscent of Samurai armor, but far enough removed to not be disgusting. On his belt were a short sword, mace, and dagger.

“Warrior: The Warrior is a base combat Class with countless specialization potential. Skill Tree focuses on increasing physical attributes, combat styles, and weapon Proficiencies. Note: The System has forcefully added this Class to your selections due to the reason you have been Summoned to this world.”

As badass as the warrior version of Yuji looked, he was not a warrior. For a moment, he regretted that he wasn't allowed to choose Gardener. One of the most glaring issues of the Warrior was that he was presumably being tasked with defending a town. Warrior just sounded like he had to do it by himself.

Warrior and most likely the other shadowed figure seemed to be the opposite of the two grayscale mannequins. The Gardener and Laborer were both Classes that he qualified for, but that this “System” thing wouldn't let him use. On the other side of that coin, the Warrior and the next one were Classes he didn't qualify for, but he was being presented the option of. He turned his attention to the next in line. This one was bulkier like the Warrior, but certainly less so. A blue coat was hung over a metal chest plate. The shield was on the man's back. He had a stern look on his face and was lacking the spear.

“Town Guard: The Town Guard is a combat class that shares many traits with the Warrior, but focuses on the protection of a specific place and its people. The Town Guard Skill Tree focuses on personal and social abilities.”

So far the Town Guard was the highest on Yuji’s choice list. Only because Gardener was restricted. Returning his attention to the last figure in line, he wondered what "Class” he could possibly have been offered that didn't change his look, wasn't restricted, and wasn't forced upon him by “The System”. In some ways, it was a surprise.

“Militia Leader: The Militia Leader is equal parts combatant, administrator, and Commoner. Skill Tree has a minor focus on personal combat as well as focuses on unit training and efficiencies.”

“So, Wu's job?” His first thought was that he had zero experience running a Militia. The second thought countered his mental argument. The mere act of being trained and participating in the Militia was probably enough. Yuji considered his options. It was between the Town Guard and the Militia Leader. There was really only one option. Unfortunately the Town Guard suffered from the main problem common to the Warrior. It left the defense of an entire town to a single person. Militia Leader was the only real choice. As much as Yuji would prefer Gardener, he mentally selected Militia Leader. If he was going to be in charge of a Militia, he would do better. No more of the not knowing what they were doing bullshit. No more being a pawn in some Samurai Lord's hunting scheme. Yuji admitted to himself that he may not always have a choice in the matter, but he could at least try to do better.

“Are you sure you wish to choose, Militia Leader as your Class? Yes/No?”

The white room faded leaving Yuji back in the ruins of a town sitting on his ass. Then another fucking box blocked his vision… Again.