Ethan could recall two people the others referred to as benefactors. They were both roughly the same height with similarly tall and lean builds. The only differentiator between them was that one wore a black cloak, and the other wore a red one. This was the one in red who had pushed his hood back to reveal a collage of storybook features. He had shoulder-length blonde hair with a powerful jaw and bright blue eyes. His smile felt like it could illuminate even the darkest places. Ethan shook his head to pull himself out of his thoughts.

  The way people reacted to the man in the red cloak made the scribe expect something different. The smiling visage of a handsome elf wasn’t anything close to the image he had in his mind. He categorized the benefactors. The one in the red cloak was nice, while the one in the black cloak was cold. Easy enough.

  “The Grand System is funny that way, isn’t it? It throws you into problems and expects you to fix them without much in the way of instructions.” The benefactor led the way through the streets of Feyhammer House, weaving a well-traveled path and avoiding all the pitfalls. “I don’t know if we’ll be working directly together, but there’s got to be a reason my father pulled you from Earth. Unfortunately, he didn’t exactly keep records. Can you think of any reason why he would want you here?”

  “Absolutely none.” And that was the truth. Ethan couldn’t think of a single reason why anybody would want him here. He might be able to say it was because of his skills, but there had to be better people on Earth for the job. That meant it was likely coincidence or convenience.

  “Where are my manners?” The benefactor stopped, placing his hand on his chest and shaking his head. “My name is Armel Batteux, son of Leon Batteux, and once first in the line of succession of the Kingdom of Perisart, now the benefactor of this fair world. It is a title bestowed upon me by the locals, not one that I picked.”

  “I’m Ethan. I don’t think I have any titles.”

  “Sure you do. System Scribe to start with. That’s a class and system I haven’t seen before. Anyway, come along. There’s a cafe just around the corner.”

  Armel said nothing else as they marched through the streets. Eventually, they turned the corner, finding the cafe nestled between two businesses. It had an impressive glass front, showing all the tables and chairs within. A display with freshly baked goods sat in the front and Ethan could smell each delicious pastry before they had even entered. The benefactor ordered for them before finding a seat near the back.

  “I didn’t really know what to think of you at first. I’ve seen other classes come to this world before, and they all seemed promising to my specific problem, but I’m thinking you might actually be one that can help.”

  Ethan wanted to measure his response. Firstly, he knew that, as the benefactor of this world, Armel could have dug him out of the situation with the headmaster at any moment. Everyone seemed to grovel whenever either benefactor was around. Secondly, he didn’t know what to think about trusting powerful people. Perhaps this guy had an ulterior motive that he simply wouldn’t share. There was too much to consider to jump into the deep end so readily.

  “Hesitation. Now, that’s a quality I wish more of my inner circle had more of.” Armel leaned back in his chair, taking on a far more casual posture than Ethan had expected. “I’m used to rushing into battle, springing up at the first sign of trouble, and acting. Perhaps if I had been so vigilant... No, this isn’t the time to talk about that.”

  “And what exactly are we here to talk about?” Ethan asked. “I know you didn’t bring me here to have coffee and some croissants.”

  Armel’s smile widened as he looked up at the scribe. “But you do like coffee and croissants, don’t you?”

  “Well, yes, but that’s not my point,” Ethan said.

  Armel looked as though he was about to speak when the server came over with their food. It was coffee and croissants, as the scribe had predicted. After the server disappeared, Ethan took a sip of the coffee, finding it far too sweet for his taste. But at least the croissant was flaky and buttery. He bit into it and smiled with approval.

  “How about I start with a bit of history? Don’t worry, you don’t have a choice. You must listen.” Armel smiled to himself, adding more sugar to his coffee and stirring it with a spoon. Ethan pushed his cup away, but snacked on the croissant. “It all started 400 and something years ago. Honestly, I’ve lost track of the time. Forging a new world is difficult. Creating one with a purpose as grand as this one is even more difficult. My father, Leon Batteux, created this world as a buffer and a conduit. He wanted to unite the local sectors against incursions. That’s when distant worlds attempt to invade others, in case you didn’t know.”

  Ethan nodded and Armel continued.

  “But there are problems when worlds are created so hastily. Indeed, it shouldn’t even be possible within the Grand System for an individual to create a world. How my father managed to do it is beyond me, but he did it. And here we are today. He had condensed so much power and put so much effort into making this place. And yet in his haste, he made it wrong. The Anomalous Materials Group was created to help contain these problems. First, it started with the most skilled among us. They created the base of knowledge that the class now uses. Yet one thing was certain from the start: they could never fix the problems. They could only ever contain them. That’s when the Anomalous Materials Group became a class, and students took over. They contained the most dangerous of the anomalies and ignored those they couldn’t contain, freeing those who were stuck siphoning mana up to go out into the wider universe and fight.”

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  This wasn’t exactly new information to Ethan. He didn’t know the exact origin of this world. He didn’t know that a person had created it, but he knew that the Anomalous Materials Group couldn’t fix the anomalies. They simply didn’t have the right class to do it. He also didn’t know that it had originally been led by people who weren’t students. Yet all of this information paled in comparison to the scribe’s personal revelation.

  “I fixed an anomaly.” Ethan pressed his lips into a tight line as he thought. He was the first person in 400-something years who had solved an anomaly rather than containing it. He had uploaded a patch, rendering it mostly harmless.

  Armel clapped his hands together, the bright smile returning to his face. “You’re the silver lining. The number of errors that have accumulated in the world is too numerous for me to even count. Most are harmless. We’ll have one that appears every now and again, like the gravity anomaly you took care of, and threatens the public, but for the most part they’re more like the water crystal you helped with.”

  “Did I just put some kids out of a job?” Ethan asked.

  Armel barked a laugh, gaining the attention of those around them. He slapped his hand on the table, causing their cups to jump. “Not even remotely. As I said, there are many errors. One person can’t handle them all. But now I have someone that can sort the worst of those errors.” Ethan went to talk, but Armel held up a silencing hand. “I know. You’re not strong enough to handle the worst of them. But that doesn’t matter. We have a path forward now, and I am happy.”

  There was something Armel wasn’t telling him. The benefactor was extremely happy to have this new tool, but that tool had a purpose. Ethan wasn’t sure what he thought of being held in that regard, but with the way everyone reacted to Armel and the other guy, it was best to be a good little tool for now. He still couldn’t help but put things together. Where was Leon now? Dead or… Perhaps something else. Best not to bring it up now.

  “I’m happy to do whatever it takes.” Ethan was honest about that. Fixing that anomaly was extremely fun, even if it was the most simple kind he could’ve approached.

  “Really? I’m used to dealing with head-strong people.” Armel produced a dramatic sigh, then a wink. “I think I could get used to this. If you need any alterations to your course load, let me know. I can put you in more complex courses or even one of the combat classes. Have you given much thought to fighting?”

  When thinking about combat, the only thing that came to mind was the way he had proverbially drawn into his shell when the building collapsed on him. He remembered how his barrier spell sprang to life on its own. He didn’t even need to command it to defend himself, but there it was, ready and willing to save his life.

  “I think I might be interested in adapting the defensive spells from the X-13 system into my system magic.”

  “Support magic?” Armel asked. “That’ll turn the tide of battle quickly. I’m guessing you don’t have the stomach for fighting. That’s common. You can become a powerhouse of a Support Mage without ever stepping foot on the field. There was this one time we were defending a breach in my home city, and the support magic allowed us to fight far longer than we should’ve been able to.”

  Ethan would need to understand the limits of his class and system before he committed to anything like that. But if there was something that allowed him to be his little turtle shell self while helping others, he wouldn’t deny it. Mostly, he was interested in increasing his ability with defensive magic so that he could go and find more anomalies. The usefulness of his system barrier spell was obvious. It had literally saved his life. So finding more spells like that made sense. “Would it be possible for me to gain access to more Rank 1 support spells like that? Can I find everything I need in the library?”

  “With the way you adapt the spells, yes. And if you can’t, I can introduce you to the professors who teach those magics. Your first year at the academy is focused on foundations, as you know from the classes you have selected. But don’t be shy about branching out.”

  Ethan realized how weird the meeting was. He had to think about it for a moment to work it out, but this poor guy had fallen into a role on the planet where everybody was too afraid to talk to him like a person. He looked around at those seated nearby and noticed how they weren’t fleeing in terror like the others had. “Why isn’t everybody in here freaking out? Both you and the other guy seemed to cause everybody to panic.”

  Armel laughed. “Through great effort I can suppress that aura. They basically don’t recognize me. And the other guy you’re talking about is my uncle, Silvain.”

  “He seems like a peach,” Ethan muttered. “I thought he was going to kill me the last time I met him.”

  “He has that effect on people. But he’s here to protect the world in the same way that I am. Don’t let his abrasive personality get the better of you.”

  After that, the pair enjoyed their meal. Ethan didn’t like the coffee, but he drank it anyway, enjoying having something to wash the croissant down. Then the benefactor wanted to chat about how classes were going. He wanted to know about the mundane things of the world. Somebody in such a high position probably didn’t get to experience a normal life, considering he had been alive for at least 400-something years. He had to wonder how his perception of things had changed. When they were done, they parted ways in front of the cafe. Armel promised to visit him more often to check on his progress. The Anomalous Materials Group had already been informed and would likely be eager to hold their next class session.

  Standing alone on the streets of Feyhammer House, 1000 coins in debt, Ethan stretched. “Less than I owed on my student loans,” he said to himself.

  For the first time since arriving in this world, Ethan felt as though his future was his own. He felt that Tariat Academy had blossomed like a flower, and he would waste no time flexing what little authority he had been given. No anomaly was safe.

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