“You say you chose to be Classless and weren’t given a class?” asked the panther.

“Can you explain that for me? Where I’m from, we do not choose classes, nor have magic or have walking skeletons that try to kill you.”

The goat laughed with a bit of a bleat at the end. “You must have come from far, far across the seas then. Maybe your gods do not favor your kind.”

“The Classless draw their power from the world’s Energy by killing monsters and absorbing their cores through meditation. I’ve also heard legends saying they can cultivate the world’s Energy from the air itself.

Around here, classes are given to every child as they reach adulthood. The system decides and gives the best class for each individual. Those not offered a class are called Classless or Cultivators in other lands. They are frighteningly weak for many years, or even decades before they can grow in strength,” explained the panther.

“So compared to you both?” I asked, pointing at the panther, then the goat, “I’m weak?” They both nodded.

“When our young are gifted their class, hunting parties gather and help them gain strength so they may level as fast as possible. When they level up, they can choose the path they wish to grow in. Hunters follow the path of agility, warriors the path of strength. Porcu here follows the paths of intelligence and wisdom as the village’s shaman,” said the panther as she pointed to the goat.

I jumped to my feet and bowed to both of them. “I’m terribly sorry! I never introduced myself. I am Zeallendric, but you may call me Zeal. It is an honor to meet and speak with you, Porcu, and yourself.” I said, nodding towards the panther.

The panther lady seemed to grow embarrassed by my formality. The goat just bleated out a short laugh. “Nothing to be sorry about. You may call this one, Kiszo.” the panther said, motioning to herself.

Sitting back down, I asked, “So everyone in the village has a class. How many different classes are there?”

“There are an unknown number of classes. Some are simple variants of one another, such as a hunter and ranger. While some are strange even to my understandings,” replied Porcu.

“I see. So how does one get stronger by following a path? Their agility, strength, wisdom, and intelligence, as you said?”

“When I gain enough experience from slaying monsters or pulling experience from a core, I grow in level. Once I reach this milestone, I may place five points into any of my paths. I have heard that many classes may have other paths they may choose, such as luck, resistance, or willpower. I usually divide my points between agility and dexterity. When I do, I find myself slightly faster and can move with more precision,” answered Kiszo.

“I believe I follow. How much do you know about the Classless?”

“Not much, I’m afraid. Those chosen to follow your path are very rare in this part of the world. They need to be sheltered and nurtured to live to see adulthood. Even those in the East shun your kind as weak and useless as you don't gain experience from killing a monster, only thought cultivating their cores.

The system does not grant you strength from a kill like the two before you. You must absorb the world’s Energy from the cores of living things,” answered Porcu as he began looking through a burlap bag to his side.

He snorted and tossed me a small green gem a few moments later. “These are cores, and they are sometimes found inside when you kill a monster or creature. Various crafting professions use them, but you’ll have to find them to become stronger.

They come in various colors. White or Bone Cores are most common and come from the weakest creatures. Next comes the green-colored called Jade Cores. Azure Cores are blue in color and are very rare around these parts. The older and more powerful the animal becomes, the higher grade core you can obtain. I’ve heard of other colors as well but have never seen them myself.”

“May I?”

Porcu nodded, and I tossed the core into my mouth. I watched as they both looked at me in shock and surprise. “I found I needed to eat them to gain their Energy.”

[ System Notification ]

Rank D Jade Core has given 12 Energy

Sensory System: 16/100

“Thank you. The core gave me twelve Energy. The system shows I am now sixteen out of a hundred on completing my Sensory System.”

“You can just eat the core to gain its energy? What is a Sensory System?” Porcu asked.

“Yes. I’ve never done it any other way. It’s the system that contains the organs in your body that can sense its surroundings. Your eyes and ears for an example.”

“Ah, those are interesting names. I believe I understand what you speak of. Has the system explained why you are placing energy into this system instead of a path?” asked Porcu.

“I have no idea. It gave me a choice of multiple systems within the body. I need to give a hundred energy to each. After that, I haven’t a clue.”

The three of us continued to talk well into the night. I tried to get as much knowledge of this new world as possible that I still didn’t understand. During our conversation, Kiszo said she would take me into a low-level dungeon the following day to help me level. When the sun began to set, I gave Porcu my farewell, and Kiszo and I left.

She led me to a large longhouse at the village’s center. She said I would be safe as I slept for the night. I found to my dismay, the longhouse was the equivalent to the kids’ table and housed the village youth.

After an hour of questions, poking, and prodding, one of the guards came in and yipped twice. The message to the younglings was apparent as they jumped up and left me to find their beds.

“Sorry, the young are always so inquisitive. Most haven’t seen someone from outside our race before,” said the pig-headed guard before he left.

I found an empty bunk and bedded down. I wanted to meditate and go through my experiences from the day but found sleep came over me far quicker than I would have liked.

I was awakened in the middle of the night by a low rumbling sound that came in waves. I jumped out of bed, noticing the young ones still snoring away in their beds. I ran out the door and was immediately grabbed by the back of my shirt by one of the guards.

“What’s going on? What’s that sound?” I asked.

“It’s the horn for combat at the wall. The hive likes to send out probing attacks every few days. The rangers take them out before they even touch the palisade. Go back to bed. You’ll learn to sleep through it like the younglings,” the guard replied.

“Thanks, but I’m awake now, so I’ll go see myself.”

The guard let me go and shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said before pointing me towards the southern wall.

I made my way through the village, following the small hanging torches that illuminated the path. As I got closer to the wall, I could hear shouting and caught movement from the top of the fortification. I found a make-shift ladder and climbed up top just in time to see a giant ant charging the wall. I watched in fascination as its head turned into mist, and another ant from behind crawled over the dead body and towards its death the next moment.

The archers on the wall never let any of the ants get within thirty meters of the wall. They seemed to be taking turns firing at the upcoming ants in the rhythmic sound of released arrows. One of the archers, an owl beastkin who stepped back from taking out an ant, caught me watching and came over.

“First time seeing a monster wave?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s kinda nerve-wracking. What makes it a monster wave?”

“Every few days, the local hive sends out a wave of these drones. We don’t know if it’s for hunting purposes or expansion of territory. It’s been like this for generations. It’s one of the reasons why our village has prospered out here in the sticks.”

“Why would monster waves be prosperous? Couldn’t they kill the villagers if they got over the walls?

The owl raised his bow, pointing an arrow in the direction of the ants. A moment later, I felt the air around me begin to pull towards him, and then the arrow was launched forward, causing a small ‘crack’ in the air. “They help us level at a near consistent rate. We also trade their parts and cores with the other villages. They never get close to the walls with the number of rangers and hunter classes we have within our village.”

“What did you just do with the arrow? I felt the air move before the arrow was released.”

“That is one of my abilities, ‘Wind’s Embrace.’ It boosts the power of my shot and helps keep my aim true.”

“Fascinating,” I said to myself as I watched ant after ant scurrying towards the wall under cover of twilight.

The archers kept calling out their shots before firing. Movement from the treetops caught my attention, and I could just make out the outline of an ant with mantis arms flying towards the wall. I heard a shout from my right, and then the sky lit up as a large fireball surged towards the creature. The flying ant burst into flame, the wings melting almost immediately, and it came crashing down into the field between the forest and walls.

The ant remained ablaze on the ground and allowed me to see the ants coming towards us in greater detail. I recoiled at the site. Each ant looked like a mangled monstrosity of an ant and some other animal’s parts. No two ants looked alike, and I wondered why the mantis ants looked so consistent.

The Owl Beastkin next to me saw my look of horror and explained. “They started looking like that a little over seven years ago. No one knows why, but some believe it’s their queens’ way of trying to grow the hive stronger. The flying ones with the sword-like arms are new as well, but they haven’t changed much since they first started showing up.”

“What's a year? I’ve heard that term twice now. How much time does that convey? If the queen can control aspects of her brood, she might be pushing evolutionary traits to see what works best.”

He looked at me oddly before replying. “A year is one time around Raohr, our sun. What does evolutionary trait mean?”

“Say you have a hundred ants. The ants that survive longer may have a trait or an advantage over the other ants. It might be a harder carapace or can move faster than their brethren. That trait is then given to the next generation as it helps them survive. The queen may be looking for these traits or changes that help her species survive and then pass them down to the next generation.”

“I believe I follow your explanation. This wave will end soon. They never attack us during the daylight hours. You should get back to your lodging and get some sleep, newcomer,” he said before nodding his head and taking aim towards movement at the forest’s edge.

I watched for a few more moments before making my way down the wooden ladder and back towards the center of the village. Finding the correct longhouse took a bit of time, but the guards out front gave me a hint of where I needed to go. Inside I lay on the cot and stared at the ceiling. I quickly realized I was still wide awake and would not be falling back asleep. Instead, I sat in the corner and began to meditate on everything that had happened in the last few days.

A few hours later, I was disturbed by the insistent poking of a young Beastkin. I found out the name of their race from Porcu last night. I had no reference for an animal she shared her heritage with, but she had the looks of a feline mixed with some type of avian. Getting up, I patted her on the head and headed outside just in time to find Kiszo coming down the town’s main path.

She handed me a small knife with a matching sheath, along with a cord to help me tie it around my waist. She explained we would head out into the forest so she could show me how to hunt. She also wanted to give me some basic survival knowledge to help keep me alive out in the wilderness.

We talked as we left the village. Well, mostly me asking questions anyone from around these parts should easily know. Kiszo didn’t seem to mind answering my many inquiries. I asked her why so many of their village younglings lived in the longhouse when I ran into her back. I was about to ask what the hell when I noticed her ears twitching frantically as she searched the forest around us.

Looking around, I noticed the sounds of the forest had vanished, just like yesterday. I began looking around the treetops for any signs of the flying ants. Moments later, I felt Kiszo grab the back of my shirt before I was sent flying. Frantically I got to my knees and turned around to see the ass-end of a massive armored creature barrelling through the trees away from us.

Then, from what seemed out of nowhere, Kiszo appeared to my right, giving me a helping hand to my feet. “A Slavinting, massive and silent. They charge and gore their prey but are easy to avoid if you watch the forest around you. Hard to take down, even with abilities. They’ll leave you alone if they miss you on their charge. Big scaredy dogs, they are.”

“Thank you for saving me. I thought one of those mantis-ants was attacking from above.”

“Why would you think that? You can hear their buzzing wings from afar.”

“Maybe you can, but I can’t.”

“Oh, that doesn’t bode well for your survival. Can you put energy into your Ear System?

“I don’t believe that was one of the options I have right now.”

“Stick around me for now. I will help you grow stronger,” Kiszo said as she patted my head. Feeling a bit humiliated by the gesture, I wondered if that young feline-avian child had felt the same.