A week passed, and another festival filled the town with merry and joy. Lios and Rose distracted themselves from her upcoming birthday by playing games and enjoying the many confections street vendors were selling, their smells spreading throughout the city streets, the breeze carrying them far beyond the center of town where the majority of festivities were had.

  They chatted about their day to day, keeping their minds off of her upcoming exposure to the Overseer, or rather more specifically, to the system. Of course, she was a bundle of nerves and excitement. Only a few weeks prior, they had heard all about it from Keagan, who was older than both of them. Rose was understandably jittery while the duo bounced from stall to stall.

  Recklessly, perhaps, Lios found a vendor selling magical knickknacks and spent some of his hard-earned coins on a quill that never ran out of ink. It reminded him somewhat of a ballpoint pen, except that it still wrote like a fountain pen. He’d still have to be careful not to break the nib, lest he wish to spend another fifteen whole silver on a new one, but it would be a great convenience while he continued to make notes about runes.

  Around the same time, Rose wandered off, and so Lios picked her out a gift for her birthday as well. She had been talking to him about her dreams throughout their time together, and he knew she wanted to learn more than just the lute. The stringed instrument was one of the most popular in Prioss, the continent where Jorial resided.

  He picked up a nice handcrafted flute and a book of music for it for her. It contained a brief introduction and instructions on how to read the notes as well as how those notes correspond on the flute. The instrument itself was made from a white wood akin to birch, though it was much lighter despite being harder. Wanting to keep it hidden until they were further away from the crowds, Lios hid the flute and his new book in his satchel, having had the foresight to bring one. Currently, it was filled with prizes from the games they played plus unfinished treats wrapped in butcher paper.

  With that small break from activity, he and Rose went back to enjoying the festival until Rose mentioned that a notification had popped up right in front of her. Well, mentioned would be too soft of a word.

  “Oh my gods, oh my gods, sweet Syvinne!” the girl practically shrieked in the midst of a busy thoroughfare. She gasped loudly and grabbed her friend's arm, dragging him hurriedly. “Lios, it’s time, it’s time!”

  Lios hastily dropped the darts he had been preparing to throw for yet another game, letting himself get dragged away much to the amusement of the surrounding people. Dozens of adults along with their kids stared at the quickly vanishing pair. As they were leaving, the excitement having caused the steady din of conversation and activity to lull, an opportunistic game runner called out. “Hey kid, you wanna throw some darts? This set is already paid for, maybe you’ll get yerself a prize, aye?”

  Lios and Rose didn’t hear this as they weaved between adults and kids alike, careful not to bump into too many people. Within mere minutes, they found themselves in the clearing behind Lios’s house. It was a touch too dark to go to the stream where they met, so they would settle. Both were out of breath, though Rose was staring blankly ahead as Lios sat down with his back against the stones of the well.

  “So, you got it? A notification? What does it look like?” According to his parents, the notifications took a different aesthetic depending on the person. What someone saw was based on how they expected or wanted the information to come through. For most people, Lios’s parents included, it appeared as pages of a scroll.

  “I did! I have the system! Oh my gosh, I’m already level eight! I feel faster already. Stronger. I could probably beat you up now, like Keagan!”

  Shortly after he had gained access to the system, Keagan had challenged Lios to a spar, wondering if with stats he stood a better chance. He had, of course, improved since Lios had started sparring with him, but with stats he was a different monster altogether. He won that first match, and now won a solid third of his fights with Lios. Lios certainly felt the difference. The older boy was significantly faster than he had been before, whereas Lios still had to rely only on his skill and technique. Being beaten had lit a new fire under his butt, allowing him to enhance his focus and improve faster despite training the same amount every day.

  “Oh, I don’t know about all that!” Lios protested but smiled, happy for his friend that she had finally made it to an age that gave her powers. He was a touch envious but knew in just a short year and a half he’d have powers himself. “So, what skills are you going to pick? You have to have so many options!”

  It was time for the most exciting part of gaining special powers. It was time for her to select which skills she would get, time to start planning out her class and future. They had already spoken at length about what class she wanted. They had even talked about what skills she would need to achieve it, but like with most families, her parents had insisted that they should each select two skills for her and that together they’d pick two more. This left Rose with a paltry four skills to select for herself.

  This knowledge didn’t seem to upset Rose though, at least not as it had when she told Lios. No, she was excited enough to select her four skills that she didn’t have the mind to complain at having sixty percent of her skills accounted for. Rose stopped her pacing and looked excitedly down at Lios.

  “Okay so we agree then? I should get skills for a bard class, right? I mean, my parents keep telling me I should get different skills, but... I want to keep making music, so I should go for it, right?” She twirled her long auburn hair nervously as she started to second-guess her choices.

  Lios stood up then and reached up to clasp his hands on her shoulders, interrupting her minor spiral. The sudden contact shocked her into looking down into Lios’s eyes. He put on a calming smile and nodded concisely. “Rose, what’s the point of having access to an unbelievable magic system if you don’t use it to follow your dreams? You want to make music. Let’s get you making music!”

  She took a deep breath, calming herself. “You’re right, but my parents... they really think I’m wasting my time with this path. Do you think I’m wasting my time?”

  “Not at all. Think of all the joy people feel watching the performers at the festivals. Hells, think of the performers. They travel all over the country with merchant troupes and make people forget about their mundane lives with stories and songs! It’s important. How boring each year would be if we didn’t have at least that to look forward to. Plus, you’re amazing at it. You can’t stop now in the name of responsibilities.”

  “Okay. Oaky I guess I should pick a few skills then.” A nervous giggle escaped her. The two stepped back from each other as she started to pace again. “Okay, here goes. Oh my gods I picked one! [Singing]!” She laughed out loud as she selected the skill.

  Without waiting for a response from Lios, she started to sing. She didn’t sound much different from before, but minor changes could be noticed by those who had heard her sing as much as Lios had. The skill seemed to be micro-adjusting minor imperfections as she fell into an easy falsetto.

  Just as abruptly as she started, she stopped, dimples appearing with a grin. “It leveled up already! It’s a bit weird, like the skill is helping me find vocal imperfections before I make them and helping me correct them!”

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  “That’s amazing! I could pick up some differences from before you got the skill. I bet it’ll level like crazy when you start singing seriously!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m sold. [Lute Proficiency] next?”

  Lios nodded and watched as his friend took the skill. She didn’t have her lute with her, having left it at home, but he knew he’d hear her play many times after she picked up the skill. After that one, she took the [Performance] skill. It was odd in that it didn’t offer corrections, but rather insights into what the audience would most like. It allowed her to gauge her listeners’ interests and which songs or stories in particular they would enjoy. Upon taking it, she furrowed her brow a bit.

  “What should I take for the last one?” She asked dejectedly, debating between a half dozen skills. While he didn’t want to make her decision any more difficult, Lios smiled and had her close her eyes while he pulled out the ivory-esque wooden flute.

  “Okay, now open your eyes. I didn’t have time to wrap this, so...” He was silenced as she timidly took the flute from his hands. It wasn’t a magical apparatus and hadn’t cost all that much, but combined with the book it was a gift he knew she would cherish.

  “This... this is for me?” Rose looked from the flute to the boy who had given it to her. Gifts for birthdays weren’t a widely celebrated tradition in Jorial. Some milestone birthdays, particularly the tenth, sometimes inspired folks to give gifts, but normally that was a behavior limited to the closest of friends or family members. That Lios had given her one let her know he considered her a close friend, which didn’t come as much of a surprise but still warmed her heart.

  “Yes, of course! Happy birthday! And you don’t have to take a flute skill; I just knew you wanted to expand your musical knowledge so... I thought a new instrument would help!” Lios fidgeted a bit at Rose’s wide eyes, unsure if he had maybe misread their relationship or overstepped in some way.

  “I’ll have to practice a bit, but a flute skill will be amazing!” She intoned with all the intensity a ten-year-old could muster. She didn’t even bother to wait, sitting down with Lios with the fading sunlight being just enough for her to open her book and get started.

  __________________________________________

  Months again passed in a flash. Around the time that Lios turned nine, his friend Ento turned ten. More often than not, being the only ones save for Rose with skills, he and Keagan sparred. Occasionally they would still spar with Lios, who still offered tips and minor corrections to their form. The two were growing rapidly, their sword skills and movement skills providing feedback in real time and even more precisely than Lios could. With that said, though, they lost to Lios about one in three times.

  It was after one such training session, just before lunch and before Lios would depart to work at the barracks, that the group gathered beneath the blooming trees and soft spring sun. Elaine had provided them each a glass of cool, fresh-squeezed juice to rehydrate and refresh. Rose and Keagan were chatting with Ento listening in about what they discovered about the System.

  Before turning ten, parents and priests would give their children a good rundown of what the System could do. Some parents, like Alexilios’s, would give in and tell their children at an earlier age. In fact, most nobles or lords would teach their children about it as early as possible while simultaneously trying to direct their training to give them a class befitting their stature. Most common folk waited until their children were nine, and likely didn’t have all the information in opening their kids up to experiences like this where friends would compare notes.

  As they were chatting, Maya, Ralphy and Lios simply basked in the sun. In only a few months, it would be overbearing once again, burning their skin as they stood under it day in and day out. For now though, it was just warm enough.

  “Hey uhm, Lios?” Maya said, breaking the comfortable silence. Lios looked up from where he was lying, turning his head toward her.

  “Yeah? What's up?”

  “I have a question if you are willing to answer it.” She seemed nervous to ask, whipping sweat from her hands onto her trousers.

  “Go ahead. I’m sure I can answer whatever you throw my way.”

  “Well, I was just curious about why you always train so hard. It feels like everyone could just wait until they’re ten and improve five times as fast, especially after seeing them do that.” She pointed to the older kids, who had turned to listen to Maya and Lios.

  “You’re not wrong. I do have a few reasons, but only two that I’ll tell you all I think.”

  “That’s not fair...” Ralphy muttered playfully, though he did look slightly dejected hearing that Lios wouldn’t say it all.

  At this point, everyone was watching the young swordsman, curious to hear what he had to say.

  “Perhaps someday I can tell you the last reason. The first is because... Well, I want the skills I use to be my own. Once I get the system, I think it will be helpful, but still I want to develop my own skills without it. I don’t want to become a slave to the numbers and values the system gives us. Plus, if my opponents in the future are only skilled because of the system's influence, I’ll have an upper hand as my skills are developed by me and then improved on by the system. Does that make sense?” He paused to see if they understood. They each nodded slowly, processing what he said but not necessarily agreeing with it. In particular, Keagan was frowning at the admission. “The second reason is that, honestly, I don’t think I’m talented enough to get anywhere without constant rigorous training. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. I intend to make perfect.”

  “Hmm... then what are you training for? Do you think you’re going to be a guard or something?” Ralphy spoke up this time.

  “Oh no, nothing so honorable. Me, I’m going to travel the world. There are a lot of ways to do that, but I want to be an adventurer proper.”

  “That’s what you train so hard for? To be an adventurer?” Maya asked, a touch confused by the admission.

  “Well, yeah, that’s the majority of it. Though specifically I want to get a class that combines swordplay and magic. A spell sword of some sort.”

  “You know you don’t have to train every day for years to get a class like that though, right?” Ento spoke up for the first time since tuning in.

  “I know, but the better I am at using a sword or casting spells, the better the chance of getting the type of class I want. And besides, it feels good to practice. To feel myself getting better at using a weapon, to feel my body growing stronger day by day.”

  “You aren’t wrong. It does feel good, and it is kind of fun once you get past the boring parts...” Maya mused and tilted her head, unconsciously squeezing her left biceps with her right hand, feeling her growing muscle. “Why an adventurer?”

  “It sounds like the freest profession, doesn’t it? My job would be to wander around and help people by taking on their problems, usually in the shape of monsters and beasts. Plus then all the pretty bard girls will sing songs about me!” A laugh escaped Lios just before a sandal flew through the air, smacking him in the forehead with uncanny accuracy.

  “What was that about pretty bard girls?” Rose stood with her other sandal in her hand, frowning down at her friend.

  “A slip of the tongue!” Lios shouted and raised an anticipatory hand to block what he expected to be a flying shoe. It never came, though Rose did grumble something under her breath that no one caught.

  Before the conversation could continue, a welcome interruption interrupted them. “LiLi, LiLi’s friends, come get some lunch!”

  Without waiting for a reply, the owner of the voice stepped back inside, and the kids all shot to their feet, bolting toward the open door. They continued to talk, now through mouthfuls of fish and salad. They turned their attention to each other, discussing what each of them wanted to do now that they had heard about Lios wanting to be an adventurer. Ento, Ralphy, and Keagan all wanted to join the adventurer’s guild, the Iron Tigers. The guild was finally up and running after spending a year to build it, then another to recruit local would-be adventurers.

  Maya didn’t know what she wanted to do just yet, but would be turning eight in the coming months, so she had some time yet to decide. Like most kids, Ento, Keagan, and Rose were all waiting until they were at least twelve to choose their class, though there was a possibility that their parents would make them wait until they were fourteen instead. Something about giving them more time to decide what they wanted from their future.

  Kids were fickle, after all, and save for a few options their classes would follow them for the entirety of their lives. With each level threshold adding to an individual's life span, those lives could be extremely long, so such a choice was extremely important. Even the most impatient of children had this hammered into their heads, and most did a pretty good job of understanding the importance of this choice.

  Following lunch, the group went their own ways. Keagan, Ento and Ralphy went to continue practicing sword skills. Ralphy, being the youngest of the trio, didn’t have skills yet, so he consistently flagged behind the others, but to his credit, he didn’t mind. He was still growing with every spar, and would only continue to do so.