Chapter 554 Gift Of The World
A person's Class is tied to their identity—in essence, their role in the world.
Commoners were hardly worth anything; collateral who were meant to fill up the space in a large world. In essence, they were Extras by default.
The higher the Tier of one's Class, the higher the value attributed to them. … And with this value comes Privileges.
These Privileges are not innate abilities, but special treatment granted to the person by the World. Just as billionaires back on earth were granted some special authority and benefits by governments and the people around them—all due to the legal tenders in their possession—this world of H'Trae rewards those it deems to be worthy.
It isn't something you can reject or change. For powers like [Limit Transcension], a choice can be made to use this power or not. But, for characteristics that the Class provides, there is no way to evade it.
It was simply the free gift of the World.
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"So… I'm stuck with this?" Rey asked as he raised his brow, looking at Ater who shrugged and sighed at the same time.
"Pretty much."
Just as Rey could not change the number of Stats he would be getting from every Level Up, he couldn't alter the properties of his other Privileges.
That included the one he dreaded most:
~Immunity to Curses or all Ailments and Negative Status Conditions in the world.~
"On the bright side, Master is pretty much protected from all kinds of harm, but the downside is that you'll stop being yourself…"
"Then there's no bright side!"
"..." Ater rubbed his chin, almost as if thinking about what to say, but a smile radiated from his face as he finally responded.
"Let's try to be optimistic, okay?"
"Y-you…!"
Before Rey could get upset, his feelings were suppressed again. He was already getting used to the constant shift in his emotional state—almost as if his current self was acclimating to what the System was doing.
It wouldn't be long until he was completely desensitized to it.
"The good news is that the System should already have a threshold and a standard for what it deems to be a Negative Status Condition. As a result, you should try your best not to go over that limit." Ater responded.
Indeed, Rey also noticed that his more basic emotions were still intact. It was only when he felt something sudden or intense that the suppression kicked in.
"I guess I'll actively do my best to keep my body and mind under check so the System doesn't do it for me." "Precisely. That should slow down the erosion." Ater's choice of words should have been quite frightening for Rey. After all, this meant he was slowly losing himself due to the System's interference, but… "Calm. Gotta stay calm." Rey told himself.
Worrying about things would only make matters worse. He had to stay under the radar while also trying his best to use his logic and emotions to figure out a solution.
"Is there a solution?"
"Maybe get another Class. Though, I reckon some kind of control will still be placed on you if the Class is somewhat similar to this or better."
Rey felt a frown forming on his face.
"Does that mean that Adonis' Hero Class is also—?!"
"Not really. That is a special case indeed…" Ater said with a dismissive smile on his face. Upon hearing this, Rey smiled in relief.
'So that means Adonis didn't have to deal with this. That's good to know.' Feeling this good sensation wash over him, Rey didn't feel any suppression take place. He realized that the System probably didn't see relief as something Negative.
'As long as my mind isn't in distress, it won't kick in, huh? That's both bad and good.'
If he could feel good sensations but not bad ones, that meant his emotional perspective would be somewhat skewed. But, the good side was that he hadn't completely lost his feeling of empathy.
'At least I can still enjoy some good things in life…' The issue now was figuring out how to get rid of this current Class of his and get something that would allow him to become a much more complete person.
Yes, Rey appreciated the power that came with having an S-Tier, but the consequences were too great.
He couldn't bear it.
"Do you have any idea how to get a new Class that has good Privileges but doesn't control me like this?" In the end, he had only Ater to turn to for help.
Once again, Ater placed a palm on his chin, deep in thought about the question proffered to him.
"I'm not sure of the conditions necessary, so it's hard to say. The people that design these things make it quite difficult for an accurate guess to be made about stuff like this…"
"H-hold on… the people that designed these things? You mean Seraph and the whole Domain of God thing?"
"Seraph? Pfft… no, not her."
"E-eh?"
"My memory is a bit foggy on the details, but I know it's best to simply go with the flow for now. Your mission is to save this world, right?"
Rey nodded his head very slowly.
"Then let's focus on that for now. One task at a time, right?"
"Y-yeah…"
"You should be able to see and understand more after that is complete. I don't know much either, and I am not sure if I can trust these memories of mine all that well."
All of Ater's words rang true within Rey, so the latter knew he wasn't lying to him.
"I understand." Rey smiled and nodded. "Let's take it one step at a time."
A portal opened in front of Rey, leading back to the room where he woke up in. As the purple distortions shone brightly and reflected on Rey's body, Ater stepped forward with a question.
"So, what is the first order of business?"
His entire emotions were in check, so Rey's stoic face turned to meet Ater—his single eye brilliantly shining with light.
"Well, it's been nearly three months since I went to sleep…" There was a lot to unpack, and if this was how much his own body had changed, Rey knew there was no way everything could have remained the same.
"... I'd like to hear all about everything I've missed."