Back at Arianna's home, Verena had the young dragon sat down in the living room. She was standing in front of her with a stern expression on her face. Ari looked up at Verena, nervous due to the expression on her face. "Um... Verena? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Marianne just shook her head, smiling ruefully. "Don't bother. She's in teacher mode, now. You can't reason with her."
Verena glanced at the former maid with a disapproving look. "What was that?"
Marianne stiffened. "Nothing! Nothing at all."
Verena smiled coldly. "That's what I thought." Turning back to Arianna, she started speaking.
"Alright, system basics. The most important thing to know is how to read your stat screen and what each item on it means, so we'll go over them in order.
"The first four are simple. Name, Race, Gender, and Age. Those are fundamental aspects of your self. It is important to note, while Race and Age are absolute, being defined by factors wholly outside of a person's control, one's Name and Gender are not the same. Both of those are dependent on the person in-question. The system displays what the person most strongly identifies themselves as. Now, that's not always what the person wants. The system uses what the person most deeply sees themselves as, not what they want to be, most strongly. I can give a perfect example.
"I'm a hermaphrodite. For a long time, I hated that part of myself. The reasons aren't important. I've moved passed it. However, I desperately wanted to not be, for decades. However, as much as I wanted to change that part of myself, I still thought of myself in that way. Because of that, my stat screen still identified me as a hermaphrodite.
"On the other hand, I went to university with a man who was born a girl. He was completely biologically female, and he still considered himself a woman when he first got his system. However, as soon as he came to the conclusion that he felt more comfortable as a man and embraced that identity, his stat screen changed to reflect that. Do you understand?"
Arianna nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but Verena cut her off. "Questions can wait until I’m done with the overview.
"Now, the next thing you'll find on your stat screen is Titles. Titles are essentially accolades granted to you by the system. Most Titles serve little to no practical purpose. The most use you'll get out of them is the ability to share your titles with others as a mark of status, or accomplishment. For example," Verena shared her [Noble Scion] title with Arianna. "This is the only use this title has. It proves I'm nobility, and nothing else.
"The important Titles are the Prestige Titles. Prestige Titles are more akin to passive skills than Titles. Prestige Titles are extremely rare, overall, but they are generally quite powerful. You're a dragon, so you should have received an innate Prestige Title when you unlocked your class. Your [Draconic Affinity]. Is that correct?"
Ari nodded again. "Yes. [Draconic Affinity: Light]."
Verena nodded stiffly. "Good. There are a small number of races and sub races that have an innate Prestige Title, like yours. However, other than those, Prestige Titles are quite rare and almost impossible to acquire intentionally. The conditions for Prestige Titles are generally not the kind of thing you can manufacture.
"That's another thing to note. You can't 'game' the system. You can't set up situations to exploit the nature of the system. Nobody knows exactly how intelligent the system is, but it, or something with control over it, has an undeniable degree of self-awareness. You can 'perform' the exact conditions of a skill or Title, but if it's not genuine, the system just won't give it to you. For example, I received a Prestige Title when I unlocked my Class that was given to me for having my system for over fifty years before finding my Class. It's a powerful effect that I'm sure many people among the longer-lived races would be willing to wait fifty years extra for, but if one were to deliberately do so, intentionally avoiding the pursuit of their class, it would most likely not give them the Title."
Verena locked eyes with Arianna, emphasizing her next words. "Always remember, never try to trick the system. It will always backfire on you." Ari nodded emphatically. "Good. Now, on to the next item.
"After Titles, is Class and Level. Your Class is the core of your entire system. Until you unlock your Class, the system won't even fully initialize. Without a Class, you can't gain Titles, you can't level up, you can't increase your stats, and you can't acquire skills. Each person has a predetermined Class. It's a matter of great debate as to exactly when your Class is determined for you. Everything from the moment of your birth, to the moment you unlock it. Although, most people agree that the latest point it would make sense for it to be determined at is when your system unlocks upon reaching adulthood. After that doesn't really make sense.
"As I'm sure you're aware, each Class has particular conditions that must be met before it unlocks. Before your Class is unlocked, it is impossible to see what it is. Even other people, analyzing your system, will just see an empty space. Once your Class Conditions are met, the system will fully unlock, and you'll be able to start gaining levels.
"On that note, levels. Your level is a representation of your overall strength. I'll note, level is not everything. A much lower level person with better skills and better training can take down people well above their own level. In fact, generally speaking, the higher level you are, the less your level matters. Now, there are two important exceptions to that. Two benchmarks that set people apart.
"The first is level fifty. At level fifty, people go through what is known as a Bloodline Awakening, and they have a chance to receive a latent Racial Feature. Racial Features are rare, much more so than Prestige Titles. Although, like Prestige Titles, some races have an innate feature that they will, with absolute certainty, gain upon reaching level fifty. These races are what are generally referred to as True Form Races. A perfect example is, once again, yourself." Verena gestures to Ari. "As a dragon, you have a true form, that of a large, winged reptile with an appearance matching your current tail and wings. However, as with other True Form Races, you can't take that shape until you reach level fifty.
"Now, the innate feature of a True Form Race does not mean you can't get another Racial Feature. Any individual can only get up to one Racial Feature, but innate features don't count towards that limit. So, you can still gain another Racial Feature, such as [Dragon's Strength], or [Greater Draconic Affinity].
"The second, and much more significant benchmark is level one hundred. At level one hundred, you achieve what is known as a Limit Break. A Limit Break is an unlocking of potential. Nobody is completely sure why, but the system naturally restricts people's strength. When you reach level one hundred, those restrictions loosen, essentially making every stat point you have more meaningful. If a level ninety-nine person with a Strength of fifty were to go against a level one hundred person with a Strength of thirty, the second person would still easily overpower the first in raw physical power.
"Beyond those benchmarks, each level gives you the chance to further strengthen yourself. Each even-numbered level gives you two stat points, which you can use to increase your stats in whatever way you wish. Each odd-numbered level gives you one skill point which you can use to gain a new skill from your available list.
"Gaining levels can happen in a number of ways. The most obvious one is combat. When you slay other creatures, a part of their strength is imparted on you. When you gain enough of that power, your level increases. However, their are other ways to increase your level. Generally, this is done by performing actions related to your class. If you have a class related to farming, for example, your level will increase when you do enough farming." Ari nodded, understanding what Verena was saying.
"Good." Verena continued, "Now, the next thing you'll see is your eight primary stats. Each one has a noticeable affect on you, increasing your overall capabilities as they go up. First, you have the four physical stats: Strength, Dexterity, Agility, and Vitality.
"Strength is your overall raw physical limits. A higher Strength means you can hit harder, take on heavier limits, and it's one of the stats that affects your overall stamina and endurance.
"Dexterity is your reflexes and precision. A higher Dexterity means you can hit more accurately, react better, and you are overall more alert. It's a key stat for any physical fighter, often even more so than Strength.
"Agility is your physical speed and maneuverability. A higher Agility makes you faster, more flexible, and it impacts your speed of thought, as well.
"Vitality is a representation of your lifeforce and overall healthiness. A higher Vitality makes you more resilient to physical damage, it's the other stat that impacts your stamina and endurance, and it's one of the primary factors in determining your lifespan. A higher vitality makes it overall harder for you to die.
"After that, we have the four internal stats: Intelligence, Will, Charisma, and Arcane. They're known as the internal stats because they have little to no impact on your body, but instead affect your mind, and how your being instinctively interacts with the world around you.
"Intelligence is your general mental acuity. A higher Intelligence means better information retention and recall, less mental strain from using psychic or magical abilities, and it's the main impact on your speed of thought.
"Will is your mental and emotional resilience. A higher Will increases how resistant you are to psychic effects, your resilience against emotional manipulation, and your overall determination and internal drive." Verena pauses for a moment before speaking a bit more softly. "A low Will stat can be debilitating..."
She shakes her head, clearing her mind before continuing. "Anyway, Charisma. Charisma is your social and emotional intelligence. A higher Charisma gives you a better ability to read people, a better grasp on social situations, and a greater skill on convincing and influencing people's thoughts and beliefs, through both mundane and magical methods.
"Finally, Arcane. Your Arcane is a representation of how well your body, mind, and soul interact with the magic around you. A higher Arcane means you have a greater affinity for spellcasting, a greater resistance to the less physical varieties of magic, and it also has an impact on your lifespan, though less than that of your Vitality."
She pauses, giving Arianna a moment to process. "Does that all make sense?" Ari nodded, and she smiled warmly. "Good. Now, the last thing on the list is skills, but that's a whole beast, in and of itself. The important things to know are that your available skills are primarily determined by three things: First, your Class. Second, your stat scores. Third, your actions. Skills tend to drift towards what you're already doing, so it's best to choose your specialty and concentrate on it. Branching out isn't bad, but doing so too much just leaves you spread thin."
Verena took a step back, smiling warmly. "Alright, that's the basics of the stat sheet and what it all means. Now, you can ask any questions you might have."
Ari looked up hesitantly. The only thing that really caught her attention was when Verena was talking about the Gender field. "Um... you have a penis?"
Verena looked at her with a nonplused expression for a moment. Then, she just started laughing.