"Each bearer must become the first bearer all over again."
The words appeared alone before me.
Then they faded. I didn't understand the meaning.
The rest of the window unfolded beneath where they had been.
Class Selected
Fated Swordsman
Tier IV — Epic
A forgotten path from an age now lost.
The System cannot teach what history no longer remembers.
Walk your own road.
"What is it?" Hodger asked, leaning forward.
"It..." I swallowed.
"It says the class is Epic."
The old mage closed his eyes. I heard three sharp intakes of breath.
"I thought so."
The Duke frowned.
"Epic?"
"There are six recognized tiers, my lord," Hodger replied without taking his eyes off me. "Common... Uncommon... Rare... Epic... Legendary... Mythic."
The Count looked back toward me.
"And yours is epic!"
"Yes sir."
No one spoke for several moments.
Finally the Duke gestured.
"Continue."
I nodded and read on aloud.
Class Benefits
Attribute Points per Level: 8
Skill Points per Level: 2
Passive Ability Granted
Bearer of Fate
Passive Ability Granted
Natural Authority
Hodger's quill was already racing across the page.
"The abilities?" he asked eagerly.
"It... doesn't explain them all."
"What does it say?"
I looked again.
"'Bearer of Fate.'"
I read carefully.
"'The System recognizes your actions as carrying greater historical significance. Future decisions may unlock unique opportunities.'"
The old mage stopped writing.
"...Interesting."
I continued.
"'Natural Authority.'"
"When you accept responsibility for others, those who recognize your authority find it easier to remain steady under your direction. This ability does not create loyalty or compel obedience. "
The Duke slowly smiled.
"A wise limitation."
The Count nodded.
"A ruler who could compel loyalty would soon become a tyrant."
Hodger resumed writing.
"What else?"
I frowned.
"There are..."
I blinked.
"...two trees?"
"Trees?" the Duke repeated.
"I think..."
I shook my head.
"It calls them progression branches."
I began reading again.
"'Leadership Branch.'"
"'Combat Branch.'"
"They're... separate."
Hodger looked positively delighted.
"They're what?"
"It says..."
I looked closer.
"'A Fated Swordsman may become a legendary warrior while remaining an ordinary commander... or become a great commander while remaining merely competent with the blade.'"
Silence.
The Duke leaned back.
"So."
"The System itself distinguishes leadership from swordsmanship."
"It appears so, my lord," Hodger whispered.
I kept reading.
"There are..."
I frowned again.
"...locked abilities."
"How many?"
"Four that I can see."
"Can you read them?"
"'Stand Alone.'"
"'The King's Burden.'"
"'Last Banner.'"
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"'Sword of the Fallen.'"
The words beneath each title were identical.
"'Requirements Unknown.'"
Hodger actually laughed.
"It truly is a forgotten class."
"What now?" the Duke asked.
The Duke slowly rubbed his beard.
"So even the System intends to surprise you."
"I think so, sir."
"What else?"
I scrolled farther.
My eyes widened.
"It says..."
"'No surviving instructional archive exists.'"
"'Each bearer must become the first bearer all over again.'"
No one spoke.
Not even Hodger.
Finally...
The old mage quietly laid down his quill.
"I have spent forty years studying the System."
He looked at me.
"And for the first time in my life..."
He smiled.
"I know less than the boy sitting across from me."
I had scarcely finished reading the final line before the words dissolved into motes of pale blue light.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then another window forced itself open.
Initializing Class...
Fated Swordsman
Synchronization Complete
Reviewing Prior Life Record...
I blinked.
"What..."
The words changed before I could finish.
Deferred Experience Detected
Bearer awakened after qualifying actions were completed.
Reviewing archived records...
"My lords..." I whispered.
"I don't think it's finished."
Hodger was already on his feet.
"What does it say?"
I swallowed.
"It says it's... reviewing my life."
The old mage's quill stopped moving.
"Reviewing..."
He echoed the words as though afraid to breathe.
"...your life?"
The Duke frowned.
"I was under the impression awakening began one's record."
"So was I," Hodger admitted.
The screen continued scrolling.
Stable Duties
268 Experience
Confirmed
I blinked.
"It..."
I looked up.
"It counted feeding horses."
No one answered.
Another line appeared.
Household Responsibilities
312 Experience
Confirmed
I stared.
"It..."
My throat tightened.
"It counted looking after my brothers and sister."
The Count slowly sat back.
"The System rewarded..."
He looked toward Hodger.
"...responsibility?"
"So it would seem."
The old mage's voice had become almost reverent.
More lines appeared.
Guild Contracts Completed
441 Experience
Animal Husbandry
179 Experience
Combat Engagement
Goblin Raid
7 Confirmed Kills
2,100 Experience
Hodger's eyes widened.
"It keeps records..."
He whispered the words more to himself than anyone else.
"...even before awakening."
The Duke's expression had become unreadable.
"Continue."
I nodded.
Battle of Black Creek
12 Confirmed Orc Kills
5,500 Experience
The Count let out a low whistle.
"I almost pity the quartermaster who doubted that tally."
The final entry appeared.
Hidden Quest Completed
Protect the Count's Daughter
700 Experience Awarded
Every eye in the room slowly turned toward the Count.
He blinked.
"I..."
Then he laughed.
"It appears even the System believes my family owes you a debt."
Before I could respond, the entire screen shimmered.
The words vanished.
New ones appeared.
Deferred Experience Total
9,500 Experience
A heartbeat later—
Applying Deferred Experience...
The room disappeared in brilliant white light.
I felt something rush through me.
It wasn't warmth.
And it wasn't quite pain.
It was something deeper.
Like every aching muscle I'd ever had suddenly remembered what it was meant to become.
Level Increased
Level 2
The words barely had time to appear before they changed.
Level Increased
Level 3
"Good Lord..." Hodger breathed.
Level Increased
Level 4
The Duke actually stood.
Level Increased
Level 5
The Count looked between me and Hodger.
"Does it always—"
"No."
The old mage answered without taking his eyes off me.
"No..."
Level Increased
Level 6
The light slowly faded.
The final notification settled before me.
Current Level: 6
Current Experience: 9,500 / 11,000
Attribute Points Available: 48
Skill Points Available: 12
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Finally Hodger lowered himself back into his chair.
Hodger lowered himself into his chair.
“Level six,” he murmured. “Upon awakening.”
The Duke looked toward him. “Is that possible?”
“Apparently.”
Hodger's quill froze.
"Repeat that."
"Nine thousand five hundred."
"And your level?"
"Six."
The old mage's brow furrowed.
He didn't look surprised.
He looked...
Confused.
"No..."
He muttered.
"No, that cannot..."
Hodger pulled a fresh sheet of parchment toward himself.
“My own class is Tier Two. My first advancement required one hundred and twenty-five experience. Each threshold thereafter doubled.”
He wrote quickly.
1,000.
2,000.
4,000.
8,000.
“With nine thousand five hundred experience, I would have awakened at the eighth rank.”
He began a second column.
1,000.
2,000.
4,000.
8,000.
Hodger circled the final number.
“Elias reached the sixth. His Epic class requires four times as much experience as mine did.”
The Duke frowned. “So his advancement will be slower.”
“Considerably. The class offers greater rewards, but the System intends for him to earn them.”
He looked back toward me.
"Eight attribute points."
"Two skill points."
"Unique passives."
"Locked abilities."
"Hidden quests."
He smiled.
"But the System intends for every one of those gifts to be earned."
He rested the quill on the table.
"It is balancing power with effort."
The Duke nodded slowly.
"So while another young soldier may reach the tenth rank..."
"...Elias may still be only seventh," Hodger finished.
"Yet those seven ranks may prove worth considerably more."
"Sir..."
The Duke looked over.
"Yes, Elias?"
I hesitated.
It suddenly seemed like the most important question in the world.
"What... does this mean for my conscription?"
Silence.
Even Hodger stopped writing.
The Duke leaned back slowly.
"I wondered when you would ask."
"I..."
I looked down at my hands.
"I was taken to fight."
"I've fought."
"I awakened."
"So..."
I swallowed.
"Am I still just another soldier?"
The Duke didn't answer immediately.
Instead he looked toward the Count.
Then toward Hodger.
Finally he sighed.
"That..." he said, a faint smile touching his lips, "as my soldiers would put it, is a matter for the ones who sit above me."
"Oh..."
The single word escaped before I could stop it.
My shoulders slumped.
"So... I still belong to the army."
"For the moment," the Duke replied gently. "Yes."
He held up a hand before I could say anything else.
"But understand, Elias, this is not because I wish it so."
He leaned forward.
"In three hundred years of recorded awakenings, no one has ever presented an Epic class to a ruling duke during an active military campaign."
The Count nodded once.
"There is no law for this."
"There is precedent for many things," the Duke continued. "There are laws governing conscription, inheritance, noble succession, magical accidents, disputes between guilds, and even the proper ownership of treasure recovered on campaign."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"There is, however, no statute entitled 'What to do when a thirteen-year-old conscript awakens into a forgotten Epic class that no living scholar has ever heard of.'"
Despite everything, I let out a nervous snort.
Even Hodger chuckled. “Not yet, Your Grace.”
"So..." I asked quietly.
"What happens now?"
The Duke's expression became serious once more.
“Now...”
He glanced toward Hodger.
"...the King is informed."
The words settled over the room like a lead blanket.
"The King?" I repeated.
"Yes."
The Duke nodded.
"I do not have the authority to decide your future."
His gaze met mine.
"But I do have the authority..."
He paused.
"...to ensure no one else decides it before His Majesty is given the opportunity."
A faint smile touched his face.
"And until that day comes..."
He folded his hands on the table.
"...I shall see that you are properly trained."