Adam swayed backwards, stunned by the news. Compared to the rest of his life, the portion with the [System] hadn't been long, but it had been more intense than all the rest combined. It had started with that hit of pain, and then being told he couldn't get a class due to his soul being corrupt.

There had been so much stress, so much fear of the future. He had kept hoping that he would find a way to level up and grow stronger. Even while being overpowered compared to his friends, there was always an edge of anxiety as he saw them closing the gap while the margin of difference shrank.

Hope or desperation. It didn't matter which. They had driven him, and if he had done nothing then he would have stayed as he was.

While Adam could acknowledge that his strength and survival had come thanks to the tampering that future Adam had done, and with the support of those around him, Adam had seized the circumstances and made his own path. He had used the abilities that he had been given and maybe now he would be able to level up.

The relief that hit him caused his body to tremble and his legs almost gave out. It weakened him almost as much as running out of soul energy had.

"[By Your Side]," activated Brittney, as she charged to him. Her arms grabbed Adam and prevented him from falling.

"Adam," said Abbey pointedly, "what did you do?"

"I, uh, well, that's kind of a long story." Adam's eyes looked around, checking for other people. "It's not something I should talk about casually."

"Then we'll head home, darling. Do NOT do anything until we can get there," insisted Andrea. "We've had enough of you going off on your own."

Adam sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll wait to check this out until we're home."

Brittney drove his motorcycle while Alissa drove the truck. Adam sat in the open bed of the truck, his head resting in Abbey's lap while Andrea sat against him. He practically fell asleep with the gentle bumping and vibrations.

***

"You did WHAT?!" hollered Alissa.

"I know, right? I'm not sure I expected it to work," he said.

"You could have died!" yelled Brittney, punching him in the shoulder with a significant amount of her strength.

"It does sound poorly thought out," chided Abbey.

"And downright stupid," included Andrea.

Adam let out a sigh.

"I knew that going in. Honestly, I didn't think that it would work, but something inside me needed to try. With the Drathan, Juungii, and even the Scyrric, I couldn't just let them overtake me. I need to take back the Earth!"

"Well, it seems like you've managed to turn things around," said Abbey. Her tone said that this wouldn't be forgiven or forgotten, but that for now there were other things he needed to do. "Just remember that you aren't invincible, no matter how many horrible situations you've walked away from."

"I know we can die at any time," said Brittney, "but I'd like to make it as far from now as possible."

"Enough guilting," directed Alissa, "it's time to figure out the results."

"I haven't checked any of the messages since passing out, so I'll bring them up now to let you can see them," informed Adam.

A display appeared in front of Adam and the girls cuddled in closer to him on the sofa to be able to read it. Fido had his heads in Adam's lap while Adam absentmindedly petted them. The first message was:

Formatting completed. Selection of [Protector] accepted. Class integrating… …Class integration completed. Please select your first skill.

"It feels surreal that you've gotten a class after all this time, darling. Congratulations," said Andrea, "but after all the things you've done, and all we've learned about classes, why did you get such a weak starting class? I have no doubt you should have been offered at least a rare class, if not epic or higher."

"Probably because it was the class I originally selected on the first day of the [System]," explained Adam, remembering the messages and hopelessness from back then.

"The selection was in the queue all this time?" asked Brittney with a disdainful expression. "Lame!"

Adam couldn't disagree. He brought up the options for skills, never having seen this before.

Select a skill:

[Harden Shield]: +5% to shield durability

[Harden Body]: +2% to vitality

[Defensive Awareness]: +2% to surrounding stimuli when in combat

"Ugh, those look rather lackluster," said Adam.

"They're the first options," said Alissa. "I wonder if rarer starter classes actually get something useful."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Which will you take?" asked Andrea excitedly. Adam wasn't the only one looking forward to him having a class.

"I don't use a shield, and even if I did the materials we currently have are strong enough that the durability isn't important. I'll take [Harden Body]. Maybe if I get high enough stats, it'll benefit me."

Skill [Harden Body] accepted.

Even though Adam had a bunch of stored messages waiting for him, selecting the skill must have triggered something, because a new message appeared.

[Body] level increased by one. Two points assigned to Strength. Three points assigned to Vitality.

Two identical displays appeared announcing his [Body] level going up.

"Why did you get two body levels?" asked Abbey in confusion.

"In the beginning, when I couldn't assign a class level, I tried leveling the body twice. It felt wrong at the time, but I guess it was just waiting."

"Darn [System] caching," complained Brittney. "You wasted that XP. Next time you do something suicidal with your soul, clear the cache first."

"Somehow I don't think gaining XP to replace those body levels will be difficult at this point," chuckled Adam. "Let's see what's next."

He opened the next display, but it was a notification about killing a goblin and getting shared XP. Then another. Then a hundred thousand more messages about gained XP. Then messages about losing XP through the wounds in his soul.

"Yeah. Caching," complained Adam, who wiped out all the messages, even though his kill messages had worked before he had a class. "Let's just check my status."

When Adam opened his status, it still had all the black bars on it. The overlap was still in place, so he split it into the three layers and only brought up the status screen for himself.

Name: Adam Clemens Age: 18 Race: Human Class: Protector [0] Body: [2]

Strength: 295 Agility: 295 Vitality: 291 Intelligence: 290 Wisdom: 291

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Brittney. "That's a lot of stats for a level 0! What were they before you had a class."

Adam laughed nervously and flushed in embarrassment.

"Uh, my stats were mostly 4s and 5s," he admitted.

Alissa and Andrea burst out laughing at that.

"So weak!" said Alissa.

"That's what I said when I saw it," grumbled Adam petulantly.

"At least you can admit it," giggled Andrea.

"Where did the stats come from?" asked Abbey. "Did they come from the other status sheets?"

"I don't think so. The stats I inherit from Gregor don't show on my person status, even though I get the benefit of a basic amount of them. It isn't until I use [Soul and Body Shaping] that they appear. Maybe these are the stats from conquering rifts. Let's check the Titles Tab."

TITLES:

Planetary Protector

You have given your all to protect your planet, even before knowing the threats in store. For this you will receive +5% to all stats. Once assigned, no one else on your planet may receive this title.

Invasion Conqueror (143)

For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.

Total stats: 286

Skill Crafter

You have created a new skill, something very few have done in the history of the [System]. Your understanding of how skills work has increased, and you are now 10% more likely to create another skill in the future. This title is cumulative and will continue to improve each time a new skill is created.

Unique Skill Crafter

You are one of a handful of people within the [System] to create a skill entirely separate from the [System]. This skill is shaped to your own soul and experiences. It cannot be replicated or used by another without them going through the same process as you. This title gives a 20% increase to the power of all skills.

Sovereign

Allies, enemies, and the [System] view you as an important leader of your race. You have accumulated physical, military, and political might to protect your people, loyalty from your followers, and territory to govern. Your importance is undeniable.

You may now assign or remove titles of significance to your most loyal followers.

You can know the direction and distance of your titled followers, to help them better to serve you. Skill [Find Follower] gained.

You gain 10% to all stats while you remain a sovereign.

Losing your might, loyalty, or territory will remove this title.

Pledging allegiance to another individual or force will remove this title.

"The bonuses from Invasion Conqueror seems to be the bulk of my stats," noticed Adam.

"True, but the 10% for being a sovereign is nothing to sneeze at," said Brittney with an impressed whistle.

"I bet all your stats are still higher than mine. You all have the same conqueror titles there," said Adam.

"That's true, but you're still a level 0," laughed Andrea. "We're in Tier 3. You'll gain stats rather quickly."

"Not to mention all the stat increases you get from being angry. How much is that again?" asked Alissa.

"If I remember right, from using 20% of the Gregor stats I gain 416 strength, 166 agility, and 274 vitality," Adam said, trying to remember the exact numbers.

"See, those numbers are still strong," encouraged Abbey. "But why only 20%?"

"That's because my body couldn't handle more than that. If I went higher, then the power destroyed me. But wait! That was because of my base stats. Now that I have a class I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" asked Andrea.

"Maybe now that I have 291 vitality instead of 4, will I be able to use more of the power?"

Adam transferred Fido's heads into Abbey's lap and then stood up. He moved to the center of the room, giving himself space from the girls. Then he thought angry thoughts to get the river running. Once his power was circulating, he triggered [Soul and Body Shaping]. He put it up to 20% and watched his stats rise on his status.

Strength: 711 Agility: 461 Vitality: 565

Even at 20%, Adam's body felt a lot more solid, handling the power easier than before.

"That feels nice," he said. "Let's try higher."

He drew in more of the power through his skill. Muscles bulged within their space and warmed. Adam gripped his skin and squeezed, testing both his durability and strength. The amount of power rose from 20% to 25%, then to 30%. He kept going until he hit 40%. There was still no burning on his skin.

"By this point I usually had set my skin and hair on fire," he admitted.

The stats had also increased on his status.

Strength: 1127 Agility: 627 Vitality: 839

Seeing his altered stats, Brittney let out an impressed whistle.

"Now those are nice stats!"

"Yeah, and 40% feels fine now. I haven't combusted or anything," bragged Adam about not setting himself on fire. "Let's see how high I can get now!"

"Adam, is that a good idea?" asked Abbey, trying to get him to calm down. Adam waved his hands in dismissal, not really paying attention.

He continued to increase the power. A bit above halfway, at about 60%, Adam smelled flesh cooking. Fido's heads whipped around as his mouths drooled at the smell. Adam sighed and cut the flow of power.

"I guess 40% is the safest amount. At 50% I felt out of control and 60% set me on fire," he said as Abbey rushed to him and began healing his cooked skin and muscles.

The rest of the girls were looking at how high the numbers on his status had reached when he turned it off.

Strength: 1543 Agility: 793 Vitality: 1113

"With strength and vitality that high, you should be able to kill the Drathan more easily now," said Brittney.

"True," said Adam as he thought. "I'll need a strong enough weapon. A sword will dull too quickly, and a hammer will take too long. Maybe something with a spike for penetration."

Then Adam laughed.

"Of course, I can always use [Power Through]. It might make me dumb as a brick, but it packs quite a punch."

"At least until your level rises," said Alissa.

Adam smiled widely, showing pure joy.

"That's right! I can level now!"

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