The day before system day, Aiden called his daughter down for what he termed 'a very important talk'.

Lexie knew what that meant. He was going to try to soothe her fears about what was coming, and tell her that even if she didn't get the exact pre-affixation she wanted, there were still options open for her. He was also going to encourage her to keep an open mind regarding whatever pre-affixation the system offered her.

"There's a reason these things happen," he would tell her like he did one night a few months ago. "The system hardly makes mistakes when it comes to things like this, and usually, you're exactly who you're supposed to be. But if you utterly hate your affixation, there are ways to change it. You have options."

Lexie had nodded because it was true. She did have options.

And it was exactly these options that Lexie had been working on and banking on for the whole almost year. She'd calculated all the hero points and research points she'd accumulated through the months, and though she'd accidentally earned some additional hero points here and there (one of them during shooting practice with Uncle Max), she still overwhelmingly had far more Research points. Mostly because she'd stopped doing things like saving old ladies on the side of the road, or being excessively charming. She did her best not to earn any bravery, chivalry, or even Charisma points. Instead, she'd focused on ingenuity, discovery, and other such points.

For almost an entire year, she'd worked hard to change her pre-affixation from [Hero] to [Researcher].

Hopefully, it would be enough.

As they sat down with cups of Muan tea, Aiden finally smiled at her. "So. Here we are again."

Lexie nodded, palming her mug. Nerves had stolen her appetite throughout most of dinner and Aiden had noticed. Hence his attempt at a lighthearted comment.

"Here we are again," Lexie noted, attempting a smile that didn't quite make it all the way there. She was too anxious for that.

Aiden reached across the table and took her hand. "Lexie, I just want to let you know that it's not the end of the world."

"Ha. I knew you would say that."

"And if you don't get the exact pre-affixation you want, there are more options available to you."

"I knew you would say that too."

"Lexie-"

"Dad," Lexie said before he could say anything else. "There's something I want to tell you."

Guilt knotted in her stomach adding to the nerves. She suddenly felt stupid for holding onto the secret this long. She probably should have told him earlier, but the whole breaking ISTS rules thing scared her. And she'd thought she'd given enough hints for him to somewhat understand that she had received a pre-affixation she didn't want.

But she didn't tell him which one it was.

Maybe if she had, he would have given her more specific details on how to get rid of it. She'd asked him several times if there was anything else one needed to do to change a pre-affixation, and he'd always assured her that he'd told her everything she needed. But now she felt doubt. And also, guilty because he would definitely feel bad that she'd kept this secret from him.

She hated making her dad feel bad.

Lexie took a deep breath, and then finally admitted. "I already got my pre-affixation."

His eyebrows raised into his forehead, but he didn't look as surprised as one might expect. Instead, he offered her a weak smile in return.

"I thought something like that might be the case," he said.

Lexie wasn't shocked either but she still said, "You did?"

"Of course. I'm not slow, Lex. You asked enough questions about changing a pre-affixation and about having a pre-affixation appear before system day, that I wondered. It seemed to bother you a lot. Also, the fact that you took so quickly to cards made it even more suspicious. Despite its advantages, cards aren't typically the first thing that most pre-awakened kids gravitate to."

Of course. If Lexie had never been pre-affixed, she probably would not have considered even using the so-called 'weakest' magic type. She would have tried out spells or maybe tried to learn the basics of unbound arts. While pre-awakened people couldn't use unbound magic except for Elementals, there were apparently lessons that could help you get pre-affixed in unbound magic. Veronica was taking those lessons right now and would brag about them every day.

But Lexie didn't have that kind of time or interest and since she was already a pre-affixed card mage, she'd picked the path of least resistance. Cards.

She nodded. "Yeah. So...that's what happened."

Aiden's smile turned softer, kinder. "So, that was your pre-affixation? A card-user?"

She shook her head. "Not just that. It has me down as a [Card User Hero]?"

Confusion finally rippled across his face. "What?"

"Exactly." Lexie recalled Aiden explaining to her before that there had never been a [Card-User Hero] to his knowledge, because cards were considered an impossible powerset for [heroes]. They were not very powerful, required exceptional mana control and they were typically terrible in a pinch. Even as hard as she'd worked, Lexie only managed to get her card activation time to a little under five seconds which meant if her enemy had superspeed, or was even just slightly faster than normal, he could maim her before she even got her cards activated.

Or kill her.

Or otherwise, incapacitate her.

There was so much that could happen in that time frame. So fighting [Villains] with cards was generally not a smart move. She also wasn't sure how well cards would work in a rescue situation since most of them could only stay active for twenty seconds or so and she couldn't–or at least she wasn't supposed to–buff them or activate more than one card at once.

She couldn't fight and she couldn't save. So what other heroics was she supposed to do with card magic?

"I thought the system was broken," Lexie continued. "Or maybe something made a mistake somewhere when it pre-affixed me."

Aiden shook his head slowly. "No. If it gave you that pre-affixation, there must have a way for you to pull it off. I'm just not sure how." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe you playing around with the cards was part of the plan."

"What?"

"Think about it," he said. "You're working to reduce the activation time of the cards, maintain the lowest cool-off times I've ever seen, and are also triggering abilities regarding activating more than one card at once. Not that I advise those things, but with your control, you've managed not to damage any of the cards or harm yourself. That's pretty impressive. And that means that the two biggest limitations of card use in high-pressure situations don't apply to you."

Lexie nodded. "Yes but still. The system won't let me have a deck with high-powered cards and card magic only stays active for a short time."

Aiden sighed. "Yes. That's a problem." He was silent for some time and then said, "Maybe it's time for you to explore other decks than Party Planner's."

"I already have. None of them would be great for hero work."

"Not as they are, maybe," Aiden said. "But if you could do to them what you've done to your current deck...they just might be."

Lexie blinked at him, shocked. "Are you serious?"

He gave her a bemused look. "I think so?"

"So...this is you giving me permission to continue my experimentation with combining cards? Even the high-powered ones?"

He chuckled. "Well, it's not like you weren't already tweaking your current cards. This is just a step above that. You seem to have the control to pull it off. Just, as always, be careful."

"Always," she said. "But I'm still not confident cards will ever be good for pure hero work. And I'm not even sure I want to be a hero."

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Aiden nodded sagely. "Well, if it's a question of desire, we can just keep working to change your affixation."

"That's what I've been doing already. But I'm not sure if it will work."

Aiden cocked his head. "There's about a fifty-percent chance. I'm sorry I can't give you more assurance than that, honeybee."

"It's fine." Lexie sighed. "I just don't understand why this would happen, why me of all people would get that pre-affixation. I mean the cards I get, but I'm not particularly heroic."

"I wouldn't say that," Aiden said. "You woke up from a coma and, on the same night, saved me from a ghoul. You also managed to keep your cool and help me out during the Mouse attack, and during the Hechtl attack too." His gaze grew thoughtful too. "Perhaps the system means for you to use your powers as the ultimate hero support."

"Hero support? Like those assistants who came to interrogate you that one time?" Lexie made a face. That idea was even less appealing than being a hero.

Aiden laughed. "Not quite. At least not all hero support is like that. It's complicated to explain but we can get into it tomorrow, depending on how it goes. Is that okay?"

Lexie sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that's okay."

***

The next day nerves were killer and sharing it with the rest of the kids in her class made everything even worse. Everyone looked like they hadn't slept all night. Xena had prominent eye bags that she'd only managed to hide with some concealer. Dewie's bowtie was crooked and he was more somber than usual. Even Veronica had managed not to curl her hair today.

"You're lucky, Lexie," Abernathy had told Lexie during lunchtime. He, Chris, and Doyle sat with Lexie and Dewie, while Xena had gone somewhere to take pictures. "You don't have to worry about being mundane at least."

"Yeah, I guess," Lexie said and for some reason, she felt the need to apologize. She knew she was privileged in the sense that at least she was assuredly ranked in something and chances were that she was going to be a high ranker. And though she'd worked hard, her results were mostly based on circumstances of birth and luck. She hadn't done much to earn her pre-affixation in the first place, and some people who had done the same as her probably would never get to where she was going to be.

But instead of bursting into an apologetic diatribe that probably no one would appreciate, she glanced down at her meal, pushing around the mashed potatoes and gravy. It was usually her favorite school lunch, but today she had no interest in it.

"Well, it's easier if you don't think about it." Doyle broke the awkward silence with his usual carelessness. "See, both my parents are mundane so I'm probably going to be mundane too. But it's not so bad. I'll just work in my dad's shop. Maybe one day we'll be rich enough to afford mech and I can start fighting in circuits like Kane the Mundane."

"Yeah and maybe I'll win a lottery," Abernathy responded sarcastically. Lexie knew Abernathy's mother was a scholar of some kind but Lexie didn't know about his dad. Probably a mundane, considering how anxious Abernathy seemed. In his mind, he had at least a fifty percent chance of being mundane and it was eating him up. Poor kid.

Chris was silent too, but seemed more relaxed than the other boys. Both of his parents were physical types so he was pretty sure he would get some physical ranking.

Still, nothing was certain And until the clock struck three no one would be sure.

They tried to continue their conversations but it was all forced. The air felt tighter, the jokes got louder and more obnoxious. The boys got snappier. The bell rang and they went back to class where Mrs. P droned on and on, and no one even pretended to pay attention. Everyone just kept their systems screens open, trembling in anticipation, waiting for the notification.

"I bet I'll be a Knight," Chris whispered from behind Lexie to which Doyle responded.

"Knight of what? Greed?"

"Yeah," Abernathy pointed out. "You like money way too much to be a Knight. No way you'll pass their ethics and chivalry testing."

"You don't know that," Chris said with an evil smile. "I have an aunt that's the meanest witch I've ever met, and she's a Knight. She taught me a trick to pass the testing."

"What's the trick?"

"Why would I tell any of you?"

"Three of you. Quiet." Lexie murmured under her breath because Mrs. P was starting to give them intermittent but pretty fierce glares.

"You'll have to lose a ton of weight in Knight school." Doyle threw in the jab at the end, in an attempt to lighten the air, but once again, the laughter was strained.

Class ended early today in anticipation of system day. But before anyone could get their things together to leave, it finally happened.

The only warning they got was a loud gasp.

Then system screen automatically triggered and an alert was announced in the center. It read:

HAPPY SYSTEM DAY! YOU HAVE AWAKENED!

OPEN FULL STATS MENU NOW.

"Oh my God I'm going to throw up," Mya said. Lexie wasn't too worried, even though she was in the barf radius. Mya always said she would vomit but she never did.

Xena might though. She looked more than a little ill.

"We'll be fine guys," Lexie tried to instill them both with a confidence she didn't entirely feel even as the class started getting filled with sounds of excitement or despair. "It will be fine."

She met Xena's eyes and gave her a confident nod. Xena nodded back.

Lexie clicked to open her screen and it repeated:

CONGRATULATIONS, LEXIE SPARROWFOOT. YOU HAVE RECEIVED A RANKING IN TWO DISCIPLINES- MANA AND MENTAL. OPEN TO VIEW NOW.

Oh, thank God. At least I got a Mental Ranking. Okay, now, let's see what it says.

Name: Lexi Sparrowfoot

Race: Human

Age: 11

Mana: C-Rank (Open to View More)

Intelligence: S-Rank (Open to View More)

Physical: Unranked

Mana

Class: C Rank Mage

Subclass: Undeclared

Level: 7

Optimal Mana Range: 400-600

Affinity: Bound Magic - Cards

Sub Affinity: N/A

Mana Cap: 600/600

Lexie felt her stomach sink.

Well, that was a little disappointing. She'd thought, and was actually kind of hoping, that she would be an S-Rank mage like her dad. That way she had more options and could use unbound magic too. And if that didn't happen, she thought she would at least be a B rank just because she didn't want to be last on the leaderboard. C-Rank basically meant that you almost weren't a mage which was crazy considering how much work she'd put in with the cards and how her father was an S-Rank Mage and all.

Then again, she was warned that Cards were for low-capacity magic so maybe the system had purposefully restricted her capacity so that it wouldn't interfere with her use of card magic. Also, her mother had no mana ranking so C was essentially the average of both her parents. Which made sense. Still, it was kind of a bummer. Maybe she could have boosted her mana capacity by using potions like Veronica did, but she doubted it would have mattered in the end. She continued reading:

Mental

Class: Undeclared (Choose from options now)

Secondary Class: Undeclared (Cannot be declared until Optimum Level in Primary Class is Achieved).

Affinity: Bound Magic-Cards

Level: 7

Breakdown

IQ: 120

Wisdom: 85%

Memorization: 90%

Creativity: 89%

EQ: 80%

Talent: 83%

Thinking Speed: 90%

Perception: 69%

Belief: 68%

Mental Strength: 97%

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RECEIVED A PRE-AFFIXATION. OPEN NOW TO VIEW:

Okay. Moment of truth. Lexie took a deep breath.

!ERROR! ERROR!

YOU HAVE BEEN PRE-AFFIXED AS A [CARD USER HERO]

Points assigned:

Charisma: +5

Bravery: +3

Chivalry: +2

Special System Points: +10

ERROR! ERROR!

YOU HAVE BEEN PRE-AFFIXED AS A [CARD RESEARCHER]

Points assigned:

Ingenuity: +5

Discovery: +6

Creativity: +6

Perception: +3

You are preaffixed as a [Card User Hero]. Open to receive a rundown of your skills and to choose Starter Deck.

You are preaffixed as a [Card Researcher]. Open to receive preliminary scholar ID, and receive a list of training academies/individuals.

Lexie stopped reading there, blinking at her screen thoroughly confused.

What the hell just happened?

Did she actually receive two role pre-affixations? It looked like she did.

But how? Aiden said that was impossible.

She'd thought that she would maybe have received a scholar class thanks to her intelligence ranking, but not a role. One person could not have two roles. That was what Aiden had told her.

So how come it showed that she did? She was both [Hero] and [Researcher]

What was she supposed to do now? What did it mean?

Lexie had no clue. But she needed to talk to Aiden as soon as possible.

Lexie was suddenly distracted by Xena's sharp intake of breath. The other girl no longer looked sick. She looked shocked like someone had struck her, and her lips shook a little. Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and there was almost rage flickering in their depths.

Shit. Lexie thought. She didn't get a mana score, did she? Did she get a physical or mental score? Is she mundane?

Lexie knew that was a possibility even as she'd encouraged Xena and gave her some pathway lessons. Lexie knew there was a chance that even with that, Xena might be mundane. She'd even practiced what to say for this exact moment but right now her mind went blank.

So much for 80% EQ.

"It's okay," she finally managed to say, quite lamely. "It's okay if you can't be a healer. We'll figure something–"

But Xena didn't even sound like she heard her. She simply bolted to her feet and ran out of the classroom.

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