The training hall was quiet.
Not empty—never empty in a noble estate—but quiet in the way only early mornings could be.
Sunlight filtered through tall arched windows, painting long rectangles across the polished stone floor. Dust drifted lazily in the air. Weapon racks lined the walls, filled with spears, swords, staffs, and training blades that had seen generations of use.
Julien stood alone at the center.
No Helior.
No Alicia.
No instructors.
Just him.
And the pale blue screen floating before his eyes.
He exhaled slowly.
Then focused.
The status screen expanded.
Name: Julien Morvain
Age: 15
Class: Jester
Potential: SS
Unique Trait: Happy Face (1/3)
Unique Skill: Kartenokinesis
Affinity: Wind, Water
Skills:
.Dash
.Barrier
Below the simple list, new lines were forming.
Lines he had not noticed before.
Skill Description: Dash uses surrounding wind currents to propel the user forward. Efficiency increases with movement prediction and balance control. (Mana cost: Low)
Skill Description: Barrier Condenses surrounding water vapor into a defensive layer. Barrier strength depends on environmental humidity and user focus. (Mana cost: Low to Medium)
Trait Description: Happy Face (Passive – Forced Activation Type)
Condition Detected:
–Emotional instability
– Loss of rational judgment
– Extreme stress state
Effect: Automatically activates Forced Emotional Mask.
External expression: Smiling / laughing
Internal state: Calm, rational, accelerated thought process
Additional Effect: Skill proficiency temporarily increased.Mental resistance greatly increased.
Warning:Prolonged use may cause emotional desynchronization.
Julien stared.
For a long time.
"So that's what happened…"
His fingers twitched.
Last night.
The smile.
The calm.
The way panic had simply… vanished.
He had not become fearless.
He had become controlled.
'Forced Emotional Mask…'
He read the line again.
Not something he could turn on.
Not something he could choose.
It activated when he was about to lose himself.
A system-imposed smile.
A system-imposed calm.
He rubbed his face.
"So my own trait doesn't trust me," he muttered.
He looked at the next line.
Prolonged use may cause emotional desynchronization.
'That sounds unhealthy.'
He dismissed the screen with a thought.
The deck of cards appeared in his hand.
Goldfinger's Legacy.
Fifty-two silent witnesses.
He took one card and flicked it lightly into the air.
It floated.
Stable.
He focused.
A thin current of wind wrapped around it.
The card glided forward, smooth and precise, before returning to his palm.
"Dash," he said quietly.
He stepped forward.
The wind answered.
Not explosively.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to push him ahead faster than a normal step.
He crossed ten meters in three strides.
Stopped.
No loss of balance.
No stumble.
"…Convenient."
He tried again.
This time faster.
Wind wrapped around his legs, his back, his sides.
The air itself seemed to guide him.
Not brute force.
Assistance.
He came to a stop.
Breathing steady.
He nodded to himself.
Then he raised his hand.
"Barrier."
He focused on the air.
Not the water.
Not mana.
Just the feeling of humidity in the room.
The faint moisture in the air.
The invisible vapor.
It gathered.
Slowly.
A thin, transparent layer formed in front of him.
Like glass made of mist.
He tapped it with a finger.
It rippled.
Soft.
Flexible.
He pushed harder.
It hardened.
Dense.
A training sword lay nearby.
He picked it up and swung.
The blade struck the barrier.
Clang.
The force dispersed.
The barrier shook, but did not break.
Julien lowered the sword.
"Control-type," he murmured.
Not attack.
Movement and defense.
A class built for survival.
For support.
For misdirection.
Not for domination.
He looked again at the trait.
Happy Face (1/3)
Only one part active.
Which meant—
Two more parts existed.
He did not like that.
He imagined the moment again.
Joshua in danger.
The vampire lunging.
The sudden calm.
The smile that did not belong to him.
'So when I lose control…'
'The system takes control for me.'
A door opened behind him.
Helior entered quietly.
Watched.
Did not interrupt.
Julien noticed him only after finishing another Dash.
He bowed slightly.
"Good morning, Grandfather."
Helior nodded.
"You're reading your status."
"Yes."
"What do you think?"
Julien hesitated.
"It's… efficient."
Helior waited.
"And disturbing," Julien added.
Helior smiled faintly.
"Explain."
Julien turned back to the air.
"My skills don't use my mana directly," he said."They use the environment."
He activated Barrier again.
"Wind and vapor. External resources. Low cost. High control."
He dismissed it.
"And my trait…"
He paused.
"It hijacks my emotions."
Helior walked closer.
"That is not a flaw," he said.
Julien looked at him.
"That is a restraint."
Helior continued.
"Most people lose themselves under stress. Rage. Fear. Panic."
He tapped Julien's chest.
"Your system forces you into rationality."
"But it makes me smile when I'm not smiling," Julien said.
Helior replied calmly.
"A mask is sometimes kinder than madness."
Silence followed.
Julien looked at his hands.
"So when I'm about to break…"
"You become dangerous in the right way," Helior said.
Julien sighed.
"That's not reassuring."
Helior chuckled.
"Training rarely is."
He pointed to the center of the hall.
"First lesson today is simple."
Julien straightened.
"What is it?"
"Activate Dash without thinking."
Julien blinked.
"Without thinking?"
"Yes."
Julien frowned.
Then tried.
He moved.
Too slow.
"Again."
He tried faster.
Lost balance.
"Again."
Again.
Again.
Again.
By the tenth time, his breath was uneven.
By the twentieth, his legs trembled.
By the thirtieth—
The smile appeared.
Not forced.
Not artificial.
Just tired amusement.
"I see," Helior said quietly.
"The trait responds to fatigue as well."
Julien froze.
"You mean—"
At that moment, his thoughts sharpened.
His breathing stabilized.
His exhaustion dulled.
And the world slowed slightly.
He moved.
Perfectly.
Dash activated.
No hesitation.
No imbalance.
Smooth.
Efficient.
He stopped.
The smile remained.
Inside, his mind was frighteningly calm.
'So this is Forced State…'
He looked at Helior.
Helior nodded.
"Good."
Julien exhaled.
"And bad."
Helior replied simply:
"That is the price of control."
The smile slowly faded.
Fatigue rushed back.
Julien nearly fell.
He caught himself.
"…I really did reincarnate into a complicated class."
Helior laughed.
And the first day of true training began—
Not with strength.
But with understanding.