Apocalypse respawn

In my former life, I was an engineer. I had always feared death, and certainly a career as a researcher would have made more sense. But I chose a high salary as an engineer: it at least ensured I could receive the best care by investing everything I earned. I wasn't in denial. I was probably going to die. I probably wouldn't invent the cure for aging. So I decided to take as much as possible, to do my utmost to live as long as I could, waiting for someone else to find a cure. I helped by investing, but it still made little sense. Life was the most important thing, so I had to rid myself of short-term thinking. But in reality, I wasn't thinking anymore—I was following a script. I found myself without the freedom to stop thinking. I no longer knew the silence of children. You don't cry, you don't care. Then, the physical and pleasures become king.

This balance was broken by energy, magic, and classes. I still see myself before Hiurs' corpse. I had become far too emotional at that moment, far too close to death, and paradoxically, that was when I felt most alive.

—

Rargnes greeted the aristocrat and returned to Moir. He opened the door to his house.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back." Ava got up from the couch and nodded. "Did you succeed?"

"No, but it doesn't matter... That wasn't the goal. Ideas don't emerge in a day." He took her hand, and she closed it over his. This, in some way, felt strange to him. This woman, taller than he, had been just a political marriage that no longer had any reason to exist after Milton's attack. He had torn her from her homeland to prevent Rargnes from betraying them. Did she even feel any love for him?

He glanced at her. She had closed her eyes.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you... not resent them?"

"For what? Who?"

"I mean... for the class." Rargnes scratched the back of his head.

"Don't scratch it, it's pointless. What can I say? It's their life. It's their achievements, they have the right. They give what they want to give. Isn't that best for a society? At least it was true. At least the king saw their thoughts, and they obeyed him to manage the energy as best as possible."

"Even if it costs you your class upgrade token?"

"You know, a class doesn't interest me. Everyone who takes one becomes strange. But why are you asking me this?"

"Nothing, I'm probably overthinking, as usual."

He sat down on the couch. From the outside, Moir was a medieval town, but its furnishings and interior sometimes seemed more contemporary than some cities. Noble Louis was so strict about firearms because he used them himself.

"It must be work."

Ava raised an eyebrow.

"You seem to view work as torture. But life is work; not for a moment do you stop breathing. There's no other rest than work. But like you can destroy a wall, your work can cost you more than just existing. Not sleeping is doing bad work, just like neglecting relationships, including parental ones."

"Alright, alright, I get it," he said, smiling. "You really don't resent them."

"Everything is done to live, only then can we ensure someone will harbor the king. Resent them? What would be the point?"

"That's why you're smarter than us."

"You say that?" She laughed. "Anyone can harbor the king, even other nobles or invaders. None of their paths are wrong."

"The people here seem much wiser."

"We're all like that. Some are just more or less understanding of this reality. Most seem to forget this wisdom of our noble once they have energy, or worse, a class."

"Are you saying this to please me, or?"

"Really, I find you better without a class. People don't realize its impact on them. I've lost some of my best friends because of these system things."

That evening, they were called to the public square of the area. Laure was on the stage, hundreds of goblins before her, and fewer than a dozen humans. Behind her were five goblins with scrolls.

"What you've all been waiting for! The results!"

The five best productions were recited, the authors cited and fervently applauded by the goblin crowd like robots, and modest prizes were won. The evening ended with a general banquet.