"This says that your last appraisal was four months ago," the Ordinate said as she flipped through Alarion's previous dossier.

Like most of her ilk, the young woman sitting across from Alarion was gaunt and hairless, her body reshaped by whatever process the Vitrians used to train their Ordinates. Her eyes were an unsettling grey-blue, as if even the telltale sign of her ethnicity had been drained from her.

Those same eyes were filled with skepticism.

"That is correct," Alarion told her.

"You are aware it is a punishable offense to lie during an official appraisal?"

"I am," he nodded. "I have a high Aptitude."

The woman looked ready to continue the argument, but stopped short as her eyes spotted the number in question. Her hairless brows raised sharply, and she looked into the empty space beside his head as she cross-referenced her appraisal.

"Two-thirty-eight," she murmured in surprise and excitement, before composing herself. "My apologies, Master Sergeant Orphan. I was not informed-"

"It is fine," he blushed.

Alarion's newfound celebrity was something he was still getting used to. He'd been a household name, or rather a number, for years in Vitria proper–but the same had not been true in Ashad. While many of his fellow soldiers were aware of his background, to the common Ashadi he had been just another face in the crowd. That had changed the first day he left the hospital. One of the reporters had snapped a photograph of him fleeing the assembled gaggle, and it had been front page news the following day.

Alarion hated the photo. He looked confused and angry, his mouth half open like a dullard. He'd never even seen a camera before, let alone been blinded by its flash or ambushed by a storm of questions. Alarion had fled into the streets, and ever since that day, he'd not known peace.

Not everyone recognized him; the Ordinate hadn't, but it only took one person to start a spiral. Someone would see him and point him out to their friends, or come up to speak to him. Others would notice the commotion, and once they made the connection, it was all over. He'd shaken more hands and kissed more babies in one week than he hoped to for the rest of his life.

He'd hoped that this, at least, would be a more normal interaction. The Ordinates were a famously curmudgeonly sort, not at all the type to get starry-eyed when seated across from a hero.

At least, that was what he'd thought.

"We are honored to make your-"

"I preferred when you were threatening me," Alarion said dryly. "I am just a soldier."

She tilted her head just slightly to one side, slender fingers fidgeting with the sleeves of her gray robes. Then, without further comment, she returned to her task. "To say that these are considerable changes would be an understatement. We shall begin a new dossier from scratch."

As the Ordinate retrieved a fresh file from her desk drawer, Alarion took the opportunity to refamiliarize himself with his most recent notifications in anticipation of her questions.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Stubborn Swordsman Class has advanced to Level MAX! STR +42. AGI +24. VIT +42. INT +18. PER +36. WIL +18.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Unraveller Class has advanced to Level 42! STR +65. AGI +70. VIT +65. INT +80. PER +85. WIL +75. LUK +84.

Level Up! Congratulations, your Orphan Class has advanced to Level 37! STR +65. AGI +60. VIT +55. INT +60. PER +70. WIL +35. LUK +1,152.

Skill level increased. Pig-Headed Resilience is now Level MAX. VIT +12. Skill level increased. Offense is the Best Offense is now Level MAX. STR +16. Skill level increased. Lucky Strike is now Level MAX. LUK +60. Skill level increased. Endure Through the Pain is now Level 8. VIT +40. Skill level increased. Dimensional Evasion is now Level 6. VIT +6. Skill level increased. Ebb and Flow is now Level 7. LUK +16. Skill level increased. Summon Familiar is now Level 5. INT +4. WIL +4. Skill level increased. Dedication is now Level 3. STR +4. AGI +4. VIT +4. INT +4. WIL +4. Skill level increased. Foresight is now Level 3. PER +20. Skill level increased. Mine, Mine, Mine is now Level 4. LUK +90. Skill level increased. Observation is now Level 2. AGI +4. PER +4. Skill level increased. Self-Motivated is now Level MAX. LUK +30.

Skill Grade Up! Self-Motivated (Rare) -> Orphan's Vow (Epic). Skill level increased. Orphan's Vow is now Level 1. LUK +36.

After over a year of stagnation, the progression was startling. Thirteen levels in [Stubborn Swordsman], twenty-five in [Unraveller], and seventeen in [Orphan], not to mention the absurd growth of his skills. The Ordinate was right to be skeptical; no one grew that quickly during peacetime. Not even him. His Aptitude and [Dedication] had helped, but the true cost of his newfound strength was paid in fear, and blood, and the lives of friend and foe alike.

The Ordinate hummed to herself as she worked, an unusual habit. He had met well over a dozen Ordinates during his time in the Auxilia, and not one of them hummed—or did much to distinguish themselves at all, for that matter. With their uniform robes and appearance, he often found it challenging to differentiate one Ordinate from another.

It took her ten minutes to prepare his new dossier. The original dated back to his induction; its faded pages and crossed-out details were a copy of a copy of a copy of a document hastily assembled by an overworked Ordinate. This new file was crisp and clean, well-organized and professional. Written by someone who cared.

Strangely, part of him would miss the old dossier, with all its imperfections. It felt like putting an old, gnarl-toothed mutt out of its misery.

Sometimes Alarion worried he might be a touch odd.

The new master file would be stored in a dimensional space, accessible by any Ordinate with the proper credentials and ritual circle. It would be pulled out four times a year for each new appraisal, or whenever the Auxilia required a copy.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"That should do," she said as she crossed the last of her T's. "Let us begin."

General Information

Name – Alarion Species – Human Sex – Male Age – Seventeen Years HP – 3083/3083 [+0.10706/sec] MP – 2391/2391 [+0.0332/sec] Stamina – 4434/4434 [+7.39/sec] Aptitude – 238% UCL – 158

Attributes (Comparative Growth Since Previous Appraisal)

STR – 501 -> 657 AGI – 396 -> 554 VIT – 588 -> 911 INT – 432 -> 580 PER – 432 -> 664 WIL – 356 -> 567 LUK – 1746 -> 3723

Classes Known

Orphan – Level 37 – Progress – 2% Survivor – Level 1 – Progress – MAX Stubborn Swordsman – Level 50 – Progress – MAX Unraveller – Level 42 – Progress – 11%

General Skills Known

Stealth – Level 9 – Progress – 12% Observation – Level 2 – Progress – 77% Thrown Weapon Mastery – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Oversized Weapon Mastery – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Lock-picking – Level 9 – Progress – 71% Instrument Mastery (Cello) – Level 1 – Progress – 6%

Orphan Skills Known

Survivor's Endurance – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Orphan's Vow – Level 1 – Progress – 0% Lucky Strike – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Mine, Mine, Mine – Level 4 – Progress – 3% [Not Yet Selected] – Orphan 30

Stubborn Swordsman Class Skills

Pig-Headed Resilience – Level 10 – Progress – MAX The Best Offence is a Good Offense – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Endure Through the Pain – Level 8 – Progress – 61% Dimensional Evasion – Level 6 – Progress – 33% Dedication – Level 3 – Progress – 19% Last Stand – Level 1 – Progress – 0%

Unraveller Class Skills

Unraveller's Sense – Level 1 – Progress – 54% Unbound Spellcraft – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Kal-Taran Meditation – Level 10 – Progress – MAX Ebb and Flow – Level 7 – Progress – 81% Summon Familiar – Level 5 – Progress – 8% Foresight – Level 3 – Progress – 47% Sympathetic Manipulation– Level 1 – Progress – 0% Fatebound Curse – Level 1 – Progress – 0%

Traits and Feats of Strength

Avian Bane – Rank I Soulless Bane – Rank II Fiend Bane – Rank II Juvenile Enchanter – Rank I Favor of Lal Viren – Moderate Attribute Mastery (LUK) – Rank II

Flaws

Splintered Mana Circuits – Major Unknown – Moderate Single-Minded – Minor (Focus: Kel-Taran Meditation) Old Wounds – Minor

"Your base attributes have grown tremendously since your last appraisal," she continued. "Your agility continues to lag, as was discussed at your previous appraisal. It is nowhere near a matter for concern, but if the gulf continues to widen, you may wish to consider prioritizing a skill with an agility growth in the future."

The advice was boilerplate, repeated almost verbatim from his previous appraisal. But that was the point.

The Auxilia's quarterly appraisals served three functions. The first was logistical; officers needed to know the relative strength of the soldiers under their command to make informed decisions, be they tactical or organizational. The second was preventative; certain skills and classes were forbidden by law and treaty. Fiend taming classes, for example, had been internationally outlawed for over a century, along with other forms of necromancy. The threat of regular appraisals kept the Auxilia honest.

Lastly, the appraisals were educational. Few Auxilia had the sort of privileged training that Alarion had enjoyed. Many knew little or nothing about the intricacies of the System, and the appraisals provided an easy opportunity for the Vitrians to provide rudimentary System advice to their conscripts.

For Alarion, of course, this advice was next to useless. Yes, his agility had slipped to become his lowest attribute, but at over five hundred, he was several hundred points ahead of a typical Auxilia of a similar UCL.

Still, it felt nice to be treated like anyone else.

"We see you have a new feat of strength as well," she said, calling attention back to his status.

Attribute Mastery (LUK) [Rank II]

Description: You have reached a level of specialization unheard of among your peers. What better reward than more of the same?

Requirements: Achieve a minimum of 3,000 luck while not exceeding Rank II or UCL 225.

Effects: Increase total luck by 5%.

"It hardly feels fair to even call it that," Alarion admitted. Unlike his [Bane] skills, or even his divine favor, he'd done nothing to earn his supposed mastery of luck. "I was told these usually result from specialization?"

"That is correct," she said. "I believe the capstone for masteries is 1,000 in Rank I under UCL 75, followed by 9,000 in Rank III with UCL 675 and so forth.

Alarion started running numbers in his head. With the way his attributes scaled, he stood a good chance of claiming at least vitality mastery in Rank II, provided he did not rank up Orphan before he managed it. It was a far cry from his early days.

"You have a number of new skills." The Ordinate continued, demanding his attention as she flipped a few pages to reference Alarion's previous appraisal results. "And I see you have one that is unselected?"

"I am waiting to consult my new officer before making the selection."

"You are aware that you must select a skill before your next appraisal, correct?"

"I am," he confirmed.

"Very well. Let us begin with your skills. Then we will move on to your class followed by equipment and any remaining details."

Alarion agreed and pulled up the information on his two most recent upgrades.

Orphan's Vow [Epic]

Description: Though experience has made you keenly aware of the value of life, it has also bestowed an important lesson. Some things just need killing.

Requirements: LUK 1000. Cannot already possess a Quest Skill. Slay an opponent of at least twice your UCL after threatening to do so.

Type: Quest/Passive/Active.

Effects: Once per day, upon uttering a vow to slay or defeat a designated target, a timed quest is assigned. For the duration of this quest, the user gains a minor bonus to all attacks against the designated target and gains a general sense of their relative distance. The target must be able to hear the user's vow for this skill to take effect, but they do not need to comprehend the words. The rewards and duration of this skill vary depending on the target selected.

This skill retains the secondary effect of its precursor skill, [Self-Motivated], as detailed below.

Growths: LUK +30.

Note: Due to the flaw [Single-Minded], this skill can assign quests without user consent. Quests assigned in this fashion do not count toward the once-per-day limit. Quests assigned in this fashion do not count toward the active quest limit.

--

Unraveller's Sense [Rare]

Description: Further specialized to your tastes and circumstances, Unraveller's Sense grants an ongoing sense of ambient mana, easier comprehension of complex magic, and the ability to unwind such spells.

Requirements: Major Flaw - Splintered Mana Circuits.

Type: Passive/Active.

Effects: This skill grants the user a passive mana sense that extends out to 60ft. This sense is substantially less detailed and less accurate than the active use of this skill. When used actively, this skill allows the user to detect and observe the flow and purpose of nearby ambient and structured mana. Following the threads of structured mana will assist the user in attempts at comprehending the purpose and weaknesses of a structured spell.

By channelling mana, this skill allows the user to attempt to unravel an observed spell. The cost and difficulty of such an attempt vary.

Growths: INT +4. PER +2. WIL +4.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.