The sun was shining mid-day over a small farming town. Animals were grazing and birds were chirping; it was the perfect image of peaceful. However, not a single person could be seen working the fields, tending the animals, or wandering about their day. There was an air of anxiousness hanging over the town with many people, young and old, far beyond the population that the town's size would suggest crowding around the Church praying for something.
"Next!" a voice called out. Tracing the voice to the source revealed a stout old man with a book and quill standing by a statue of the Goddess. A young man prayed in front of it before a paper materialized from thin air and flitted down. It was quickly snatched by the old man who scribbled down the contents and declared, "Warrior! Next!"
Praying to the Goddess was something all people did when they came up to the age of fifteen. She bestowed a class that would usually dictate how they would spend the rest of their lives, although there were exceptions.
"Merchant! Next!" The boy declared a merchant pumped his fist and left looking excited for his new prospects.
Classes provided perks pertaining to itself such as increased strength and fortitude for a warrior, more mana and learning ability for a mage, and greater profit intuition for merchants. Those perks were shown by the paper provided by the Goddess and recorded by the Scribe. Along with the perks were physical traits that were directly correlated with said perks: Strength, stamina, intelligence, mana, dexterity, and intuition. Although vague, the church had taken to calling them Growth Rates after many years of observation. Going back to the example of the warrior, the perks of increased strength and fortitude would mean the person in question would be able to train and improve their strength and stamina much easier over time and as they grew up. This was how to came to be known as Growth Rates. It was still unknown whether those perks were the result of growth rates or the growth rates were how they were because of the perks.
"Farmer! Next!" The girl declared a farmer looked devastated as she left, probably wondering what she wanted to do with her life.
If you didn't get a class that matched your dream that was that. You could either play to your newfound strengths or take the risk and try to pursue another path, but it was often looked down upon to do so. I know I said the class the Goddess gave you would dictate your life, but it wasn't due to any fault of the goddess herself. Moreso it was the circumstances of other people. After all, why would anyone want to rely on someone who didn't have the skills suited to their job after all?
I found that notion absurd. After all, who cares if you weren't blessed with the right class, I believe it all comes down to Experience. It wasn't like not being a warrior prevented you from building muscle. Sure someone with high strength growth rates could build muscle easier, but train hard enough and the results will show. Likewise, a merchant with high intuition growth rates could predict whether a deal was good or not, but get swindled enough times and someone without that growth rate would be bound to learn how to carry themselves better anyways. In the end, it all came down to getting enough Experience. That's what I believed.
"Archmage! Now that's something to get excited about. Next!" The boy declared an archmage looked up with sparkling eyes and left with some pep in his step.
After a series of people going out looking ecstatic or disappointed, it was my turn. I walked up with confidence and prayed my very hardest for a class that would give me any form of combat ability. It was my dream to become an adventurer and travel the world. I couldn't help but fantasize about all the options having a class would open up to me.
I've been practicing with a sword the most so I was hoping to be a warrior or knight, but I knew it wasn't a guaranteed thing even if I worked towards it.
Being a hunter wouldn't be too bad either. Hunters were special in that they could have split specializations between daggers, but having too high of hopes would always bite you in the back with disappointment so I was fine with an archer or thief also.
Becoming a mage... wouldn't be ideal for me so it would be my last resort. While mages had the most freedom in what they could do, it also came with the caveat that they had to learn magic formulas. I wasn't exactly the most studious person so it would be difficult for me, but it would be cool to supplement my sword skills with magic. A magic knight was also a class, but like I said before, better to work with what you got instead of setting expectations too high and ending up disappointed... That didn't save me from my fantasies though.
At long last, I made it to the statue of the Goddess. This was it. There was an invisible pressure on me now that I was there. It felt like time slowed to a crawl as the statue lit up and a paper came fluttering down. The suspense was almost too much as I struggled to keep my head down praying.
With a quick whip and the sound of a crinkle, the old man snatched the paper out of the air and began writing. He then raised his head and gave me an intense look. I couldn't help but let out an audible gulp, but that didn't stop me from facing him head on, trying to latch on to the next few words he said.
"...."
"...."
"...Scribe! Looks like I'll be getting a colleague pretty soon." The old man flashed a smile at me before going back to his work. "Next!"
I smiled back, but let out a sigh as soon as I entered the next room. A scribe? Really? Me? I could hardly even read or write! Waiting for me there was a priest holding my paper from the Goddess to read and explain the details about the Class to me. Because it was a small farming town, many of the people living there were not literate so the Church dispatched many priests to help the townspeople fit in with their newfound roles.
The perks pertaining to the Scribe Class are to be able to quickly create, copy, and record any texts or spoken language, improved writing neatness, and enhanced memory. Not exactly a skill set suited for adventuring, but it'll have to do.
Well, I had already decided from the start though. Sorry, but the Church wouldn't be getting a new colleague anytime soon. At least not from me. Looks like I would be risking it all and pursuing the path of an adventurer. At least I wasn't completely helpless! I hadn't been alive for fifteen years doing exactly nothing. Dabbling in swordplay had been my favorite pastime to prepare for the adventurer life and I felt I was capable of at least dispatching a wolf. For now, I would have to head back home and begin packing.