A door that hadn't been there before opened with a soft hiss, and Zane stepped through, boots crunching lightly on the white-glowing floor. His eyes darted around the chamber—bigger than the individual rooms, with a high ceiling and gently pulsing walls that gave off the feeling of being inside a glowing egg.

He was relieved to see Bell already there; she was turning to face the sound of his footsteps. She was also in her basic clothes, with none of her weapons or gear. Once she saw his face, she quickly stepped up to him and gave him a hug.

"Are you okay? You've got a strange look on your face," she mumbled into his chest.

Zane gave a weak chuckle as he hugged her back. "Might've had a moment."

"Define 'moment.'"

"Panicked on the floor for a bit, talked to a wall, rolled the dice like it was cursed."

Bell stepped back and looked into his eyes. "I'm OK. We'll all be OK."

Before he could respond, another door hissed open and Kai walked through, eyes scanning the room. "Well, I did not like that," he said with visible relief as he spotted them.

Bell stepped to Zane's side but kept him in a one-armed hug. They both smiled at Kai as he approached.

"So, that class list was crazy…" Kai began, but he was interrupted by the next door opening with a very loud BANG—Tarni kicked his way in dramatically, arms spread wide.

"BEHOLD!" he bellowed. "The Beer Wizard approaches!"

Bell actually snorted. "You did not get 'Beer Wizard.'"

"Brewmeister!" Tarni corrected, sweeping into a mock bow. "Soon to be master of alcoholic alchemy and bar fights!"

He caught sight of Kai and pointed accusingly. "This is definitely because of that time you mixed Midori with Mountain Dew."

"Wasn't me," Kai muttered. "That was Dad."

Zane raised both hands. "Hey. I'm the guy with no class. Don't drag me into your fizzy drink crimes."

They all stopped.

"…Wait, what?" Bell said.

The room went a little quieter. All eyes turned to him.

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Zane rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling like a teenager who'd forgotten his homework.

"I rolled... Nil Class," he said.

There was a pause.

"Is that even on the list?" Kai asked.

"No buffs. No debuffs," Zane explained. "No title. No path. No class. It's just called 'Nil.' The system told me I have… nothing."

Tarni squinted. "So you're... like, a blank slate?"

Zane shrugged. "Yeah, or a factory reject."

"Oi," Bell said quickly. "You've got us."

Zane gave her a faint smile, but his eyes didn't quite match it.

Another door opened, and Lily stepped through, her eyes wide and hair slightly damp with a mist that hadn't been there before. She looked at all of them and tilted her head.

"Why do you all look like someone farted in a confessional booth?"

Kai pointed at Zane. "He rolled 'Nil.'"

"Ohhh." She stepped closer, inspecting Zane like he'd grown a second head. "Is that… bad?"

"No idea," Zane said honestly.

"Could be rare," Tarni offered. "Might even be legendary. Or it could be a trap class for idiots."

Zane shot him a look. "Thanks for the support."

"Hey, I got assigned to magical beer school. We're all in this clown car together."

Bell slid closer to Zane and bumped her shoulder against his. "I like it. Makes you mysterious. Dangerous."

"Or just ordinary," Zane muttered.

Bell narrowed her eyes. "You walked into this mess first. You took on goblins with nothing but their own spear. And you're the only one thinking five steps ahead. Don't ever call that ordinary."

Zane let the words settle. The quiet lasted a moment too long before Bell spoke again.

"Well, my class is Bravo, and I got a skill that treats a normal attack as a backstab."

Tarni's mouth fell open. "But, but, but, I want that skill!"

Everyone broke out into laughter, Bell needing to step away from Zane so she could put her hands on her knees. It wasn't that funny—but all the built-up tension had to go somewhere.

Lily was the first to compose herself.

"My class is Raindancer, and my first skill lets me add water elemental damage to attacks I make while I'm dancing."

"Is that why your hair is wet and you seemed to be moving more gracefully?" asked Bell.

"Yeah, I was trying to work out what was different about your movements," explained Kai.

Before anybody else could speak, Lily did a pirouette followed by a downward slash of her hand in a karate chopping motion. The side of her hand glowed blue as a thin layer of water shimmered over it.

Tarni let out a low whistle. "Damn, that is cool."

There were appropriate ooohs and aaahs as Lily basked in the attention. Then everybody turned to Kai with expectant looks on their faces.

With a groan, he explained how he'd gotten Paladin, and that his first skill was useless because it was tied to Constitution—and his was the lowest in the party. Kai even activated the skill, which made him glow brightly but didn't seem to do anything else.

After an awkward silence, Lily clapped her hands.

"All right! So we've got a scrappy backstabber, a glow-in-the-dark tin can, a drunken wizard, a water dancer…" She gestured to herself with a cheeky grin, then pointed to Zane. "And a question mark."

"I think the word you're looking for is wildcard," Tarni said with a wink.

Zane looked around at them—his wife, his children, and his friend—and took a breath.

"Alright then. Let's see what the hell this system throws at us next."

It was like the system had been waiting for him to say that. The area around them faded back to the void. Then, in what felt less than one heartbeat, the world materialised around them.

They all appeared in a yellow daisy-filled meadow.

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