System Change

“What are you thinking about?” Alanah asked Derek, who was still lost in thought.

“Huh?” Derek came to and shook the thoughts out of his head. All this system bullshit is future Derek’s problem. Present me should focus on making the most out of whatever time Alanah has left here. “Oh… nothing really. Just about the ascension and stuff. I wonder how close Marrick is to completing both of those requirements.”

“There is no telling,” Alanah replied. “But surely he has gotten all of his class skills to max level and received the one requirement.”

“Yeah,” Derek said with a nod. “That is if that is the requirement, and it’s not something else that you just happened to do at the same time.”

“That is true,” Alanah agreed.

“However,” Derek started. “If it is one of the requirements, and Marrick does already have it completed, then that means that he’s only lacking in the stats department.” He could certainly see how hard it would be for someone other than himself, Alanah, or some others who had access to Void Beast meals to gain the required amount of stats points to get four stats to 1,500 points each. It was something that very few people would be able to obtain.

Even if someone began with a legendary class—which Derek didn’t even know if it was possible—one would still barely have enough stat points to get four stats to that level. And all that was assuming that the person received free stat points after each level, and none were automatically assigned. On top of all of that, the person would have to completely ignore the other two stats to do so.

That meant that for a legendary class, the user would have to be either all physical or all magical. The two stats that would have to be ignored would have to be either strength and dexterity, or intelligence and wisdom. There was no way—that Derek could see—that a person would be able to get by in a system world without having any vitality or endurance. They simply wouldn’t be able to survive long enough to get all the levels. Well… maybe a noble that was completely spoon fed or a crafter like Brandi. But I can’t see anybody who is spoon fed like that unlocking a legendary class to begin with. Would you even be able to survive all the breakthroughs without those two stats?

Even Brandi—who had increased her class tier pretty much at the same speed as Derek had—wouldn’t be able to reach the required points in those four stats without the assistance of Void Beast meals. It would be a different story if the girl received all the stats as free points, but her class didn’t do that—instead, it divides the stat points that she earns out for her. Looking at it, she’ll have all stats at over 1,000 points by the time she hits level 250, but none will be at 1,500. Luckily, Brandi had Derek and his ability to collect Void Beasts to give her a boost.

The same was true for Thomas. His class was one that wouldn’t be able to ignore any stats. He would need to build himself up in a balanced way. He needed strength and speed for his spears and close range attacking, but he also needed intelligence and wisdom for many of his spear skills. And to top all of that off—since he was a close-range fighter—he absolutely had to invest in endurance and vitality so he could last long enough and survive a few hits in the process.

No, getting those four stats up to the right level would not be an easy task. After doing some thinking, Derek was almost certain that Marrick wouldn’t have that requirement completed. In fact, Derek wanted to travel to the old man that instant and stuff some Void Beast meals down his throat. But that probably wouldn’t work either, since it takes time for one’s body to process all the essence from the meal.

“I’m afraid that even if that is the case, that old man would not be able to reach the required stats in time. It is truly unfortunate. He certainly seems like a decent man.” Alanah echoed Derek’s own thoughts with her words. “I suspect that the same is true for Edwin, as well. He was never the strongest, and though he has eaten his fair share of Void Beast meals, he has never had a class rarity high enough to support the meals with its own stat points.”

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Derek replied. “It may not be something that we can help the past generation with, but the current generation and future generation are different.”

“Mhm.” Alanah nodded in agreement. “Avery and Stella already have great foundations for building their stats up. They will only need to work on their skills and continue a Void Beast meal regimen. I do hope you can help them with that.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Derek said. “I need to level that skill up—especially if it is what is needed for one of the requirements. It is harder to level than Greater Meditation, so I suspect I will be awhile if that is the case. By the time I am finished, Void Beast materials will be considered common material. There should be more than enough to support my people and yours. There should even be enough for those two kids that Avery speaks so highly of.”

“Then I am in your debt,” Alanah said seriously.

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“It’s nothing,” Derek said and waved her off. “Avery and I are scheduled to go Void Beast hunting later, anyway. And Silvi is going to need a lot of Void Beasts to practice her cooking with.” She also has that new Void Beast cooking recipe that Dave gave her. I can’t help but wonder how much better it is than the one that Alanah has used for all these years.

“That’s great,” Alanah said. “It really is. It puts my mind at ease that you will be able to support them while you are still here once I leave.”

“And even after… if we can catch enough Void Beasts to last,” Derek said.

“I can only hope,” Alanah replied with a smile. “Now…” she said, and her eyes went distant once again before coming back to. “It seems like there is still some time before we can go back into the dungeon properly. My plan is taking longer than expected. There seems to be something holding it up.”

Derek couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Alanah’s plan was for helping him level his skills in the dungeon without gaining all the experience points for his levels. The woman was being rather mysterious about it, but he didn’t bother asking—he’d rather be surprised at whatever it was she had planned.

“What about you?” Alanah asked, and Derek raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have to answer if you do not wish, but there is time, so I thought I would ask. I know you are not from here, and from what I’ve gathered, you are not even from any place on this world. It is quite the interesting thought, and on many occasions, I have wondered. Though, I guess I could be wrong.”

“Oh, that…” Derek said. “Well, you’re right. I’m not even from this planet,” he replied.

Alanah just nodded along. It wasn’t anything she didn’t already suspect.

“Let’s see…” Derek muttered. “Where do I start? What exactly would you like to know? Think of me as an open book right now.” He leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the footrest as he stretched.

“How did you grow up?” Alanah finally asked after waiting for some time. “With you class and stats, and just everything about you, you had to have had an intense upbringing before unlocking the system.”

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” Derek said with a smile. “Let me let you in on my biggest secret,” he said conspiratorially. Alanah leaned closer in anticipation. “Not long ago…” According to the age displayed by my current stat sheet, that is, he thought, but didn’t say. “Not long ago… less than a decade even… the planet where I am from had never even heard of a system, other than in things like games and literature.”

“What?!” Alanah asked in shock.

“That’s right,” Derek said. “We were a system-less and magic-less world. All our advancements were in technology and sciences before the system—the Universal System—found us.”

“So you grew up without knowing what a system was? What was that upbringing like?” Alanah asked.

“My upbringing was… ugh… this pains me to say, but… I was a bit like one of your spoiled nobles,” Derek answered. “No, not the kind that looked down and spat on others, just in the fact that I was very lucky and privileged while growing up.”

“How is that?” Alanah asked.

“Well… my parents were very wealthy,” Derek said. “We didn’t have a royalty system or anything like that where I grew up, but money really made the world go round. And the fact that my mother was a contract attorney at a giant law firm, and my father was a doctor—a surgeon, to be precise—meant that we had a lot of it.”

“I see…” Alanah said with a slight smile. “The noble Derek Hunt.”

“Yeah…” Derek said. “It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. I was your typical teenager, always butting heads with my parents. My father was stern, and everything had to be his way—this included my schooling, my friends, and pretty much everything. My mother also agreed with my father on most things. The only thing that really kept me from leaving sooner than I did was my sister.” Derek shook his head and sighed. “I realize now that they just wanted what was best for me. I wish I wasn’t so stubborn back then.”

“When the Universal System… found you…” Alanah started cautiously. “Did your parents… were they…”

“Oh… no…” Derek said. “I was alone well before the system came.” He forced a smile. “You see, back on Earth—which is what we called our planet—we had many… think of them as academies for adults. Schools that helped young adults figure out their paths in lives… and take their money. Both my father and mother went to one of these schools called Duke University. So, obviously, I was expected to do the same. It was only natural—being a legacy and all.”

“I can understand that,” Alanah said. “Your parents went to this academy and their situation seemed to turn out good, so I can understand why they wanted you to do the same.”

“Exactly,” Derek replied. “Well… I was a stubborn asshole at the time, and I always butted heads with my father—who was an even more stubborn asshole with an ego. So, I took the one thing I was good at—which was a sport we played—and when I turned 18, I secretly applied to other schools on the opposite side of the country in hopes of receiving a scholarship.”

“What happened?” Alanah asked, and she seemed to genuinely want to know.

“Well… I got one. A scholarship, that is. What we call a ‘full ride.’ It meant that pretty much all the costs of schooling were taken care of. As soon as I got that letter in the mail, that was it. I was out of there. My father and I had one last huge fight, then I left for greener pastures… in Arizona…” Derek chuckled. “That fight was the last time that I got to talk to my father…” His smile turned into a frown, and it was all he could do to keep tears from forming in his eyes.

“Oh, no…” Alanah muttered.

“Yeah…” Derek shook his head and took a deep breath to keep his voice from cracking. “And that’s not even the worst of it. Those four years in Arizona were some of the best years of my life. And, as it turned out, I was quite good at that sport. See, I was what was called a defensive-end in a sport we called football, and I got to hit people. And damn, did I enjoy hitting people? I racked up some school records, and it looked like I was even going to be able to go professional… even from a university like Arizona State. So, when that became a possibility, my pettiness kicked in. I thought, ‘That will show him that I didn’t need any help from him to become successful.’”

“And did you ‘go professional?’” Alanah asked.

“No…” Derek laughed a defeated laugh. “The entire time I was in school, I only kept in touch with my sister and my mother on occasion. Stace… uhem… Stacy, my sister, she was five years younger than me. She wouldn’t have left me alone even if I wanted her to—which I didn’t. So, we talked weekly, all the way up until the worst day of my life.”