"So the condition for the Axe Fighter class was..."

  "'Slay 30 Monsters with an Axe type weapon'."

  "Right, okay, so we'll add 'Axe' onto the list of types. Did anyone have a different amount beside '30' for the classes offered to them?"

  Everyone in the group quickly shook their heads, and the one leading the discussion wrote this down on their laptop. Right then, Sam waved over Ashton, who approached the table with a smile.

  "30 should be the usual number for common enemies. There are different scenarios as well, though, like '5 Elite Monsters', which means particularly powerful entities mixed in with a group, or '1 Boss Monster'. I'm sure that term is self-explanatory," Ashton said as he sat down on the spot left open next to Sam. Without hesitation, the person with the laptop started typing it out.

  It was Calibur's lead game designer, Helen. Once she was finished, she looked back up at Ashton. "We've been waiting for you! It would be awesome if you could explain things to us a bit more. Sam said that you know a lot about classes?"

  "I wouldn't exactly say 'a lot'. More than most, I guess," Ashton explained, obviously downplaying how much he actually knew. In the grand scheme of things, like in Lumia, he was probably a little above average in what he knew. He just happened to have investigated a lot of people, and figuring out what their classes were was simply part of that.

  However, on earth... unless someone had awakened some unique ability or had been imparted with knowledge by a constellation that would tell them everything they had to know about classes, Ashton was probably the most knowledgeable person about how classes actually worked.

  But considering how intense these guys were about this process, that was likely to change over the next few months. As long as he stuck around here, he wouldn't fall too far behind, though.

  Everyone curiously looked at Ashton. The story that Sam and him had gone with was that Ashton had awakened to a superpower that gave him special information. It was easy to explain, most people understood the concept of 'superpowers', and in this new world they probably wouldn't question it.

  So, for now, he quickly gave them a rundown of the structure of conditions for different classes. Crafting classes had to use their method of choice to construct something. Magic classes had to use magic that related to the class. And combat classes were required to use their weapon to slay a particular amount of enemies.

  "However, you don't just have to kill for it. It's possible to get combat classes through repeated duels. You can also be actively instructed in how to use the weapon for a while. But usually, you can get your class within a day no matter what route you use," Ashton explained. There were a lot of ways to get your hands on each class, but each one always required you to actually do actions that correlated to said class.

  "And what's the deal with other additions to the classes? Like the different prefixes? None of us got any of those," someone wondered, and Ashton glanced over at Sam. Even he hadn't gotten a class with a prefix, although he had trained in martial arts a ton throughout the years.

  Well, there was a difference between doing something as a sport and actually fighting to the death. Plus, since Sam had done so many different things and never stuck to one for an extended period of time, that might have made it harder for him to meet the requirements.

  "Right, there are prefixed like 'Skilled' for crafting classes and 'Seasoned' for combat classes. That just has something to do with your level of proficiency you had before meeting other requirements of the class. But it requires years and years of experience for something like that." Ashton would have used the 'Staff Fighter' class offered to him as an example, but then he would have had to explain how a 23-year old living in a small town in southern England had that level of proficiency with staffs.

  "Are there differences that come with those prefixes?" Helen asked curiously, and Ashton immediately nodded.

  "Yes, there are. For one, your stat growth rate is higher from the beginning. It already always increases every ten levels, but if you had the 'Seasoned' prefix, it would be like you're starting with the growth rate from level 20 or 30 in some cases," Ashton said, as Helen was practically transcribing what he was saying. "In return, it's a bit harder to level up, and you'll have less growth options."

  At that term, everyone looked at Ashton curiously. "Growth options?"

  "Right, I hadn't gone into much detail about that. Basically, every ten levels, with your class and skills, you will be presented options. Initial classes tend to be a bit 'generic', but they become more unique and personal the more time goes on. Let's take my 'Summoning' skill as an example," Ashton started. "Currently, I have four categories of summon collected within. Construct, Elemental, Fairy, and Spirit. What's likely going to happen is that, when the skill reaches level 10, it's going to give me the option to specialise in one of them. If I specialised in Elemental summoning, their power would be boosted and the offerings I need to give would be lowered, but the power of other types of summons would be lowered and offerings more expensive." Ashton started, waiting briefly to let Helen write it all down before continuing. "But on the other hand, I'll also be able to choose to stay a generalist, and just give all of my summons a smaller boost."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Ah, okay, got it. So at that point, for example, would a swordsman be able to specialise on a specific type of sword?"

  Ashton raised a brow. "Yes, actually. Depending on what weapons you use up until that point, you can specialise through your skill. Now, when your class reaches level 10, you'll also be given options, though they tend to be presented a bit more vaguely. Just based on your behaviour, habits, personality, whatever. And the choice there will determine what your next skill is going to be."

  "Are those skills picked from an existing list, or are they completely unique?"

  Ashton thought about it. "There might be some minuscule differences in the skills' specifics, I'm not sure. But as far as I know, there's just a massive selection of possible skills. The thing that makes a class unique to that person is what combination of skills they have, and the way that those skills were grown. That's why, honestly, it's not that big of a deal which class you choose as long as it feels right to you, because it's going to grow to fit you perfectly over time."

  Immediately, the excitement that everyone at the table had grew. They were starting to think about what they could turn their own classes into, though not all of them even had a class yet.

  "What about synergies?" Someone soon asked, and Ashton looked at them with a raised brow.

  "What do you mean with synergies?" Of course, those were a thing, but he wanted to see what exactly he was being asked before he answered.

  "You know, once you get your second class... how do your classes work together? Can you mix skills with each other, or do you have to use it all independently?"

  "Oh, yeah no, you can, and should mix it all as much as you can. Class synergies are an actual part of the 'System'. Depending on how you mix your classes together, you can get a 'Synergy Skill'. But you can only have one less synergy skill than the amount of classes you have. So if you have two classes, one synergy skill. If you have three, you can have two."

  However, that was as much as Ashton could say about that. Synergy skills were a whole other beast that he didn't really know too much about. There were a couple of them that were known about pretty well, and Ashton was sure that they weren't anything like 'unique' skills or anything of the sort, but to people that knew a thing or two about skills and classes, knowing someone's synergy skills could tell them almost everything they had to know.

  In a world where it was normal to not reveal all your cards, that was basically a death sentence if the wrong people found out.

  "Okay, that's great! If you can give us any examples, that would be great."

  Ashton smiled awkwardly. "Sorry, but the system is so expansive that I can't tell you everything I know right off the bat. I'll try to answer all the questions you have for me, though."

  Helen smiled broadly. "Awesome! So, what about classes like, 'Runner', 'Deliverer', 'Writer'... Classes that really don't have any combat capacity at first glance, but don't seem directly useful otherwise, either."

  "Oh? Are there people that unlocked those classes?"

  Sam quickly explained, letting out a long sigh. "Some of them got those offered, but none of them took one. Apparently they actively tried to do whatever they can to get random classes offered to them."

  "Really? That sounds pretty interesting."

  "Interesting? I'd rather they actually choose a proper class already so that I don't have to keep worrying about it," Sam scoffed, smiling at the others at the table.

  But Ashton looked at his friend blankly. "Those are proper classes, though. Yeah, it might be a bit risky to choose a class like that right now, but long-term, they're pretty useful. Runners have skills that let them move faster than almost anyone, which gives a great basis to be combined with a second combat class. It actually works really well with the Deliverer class that was mentioned, which is more focused on endurance and strength to haul things over a long distance, and of course keep the cargo safe in the process. At this point, almost every major transportation route will be unusable because of monsters, and especially in the future, things will pop up that will make using cars or planes or whatever hard. Having runners and deliverers in that process is ridiculously useful."

  "... That's a good point," Sam replied, looking around. "Does anyone feel open to taking one of those?"

  But the table was silent. Ashton laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry, there's going to be people that naturally pick those classes, because they seem most pulled to them. That's just how this stuff works. Hell, we have a gambler sitting downstairs, and a Watchman standing up here on the roof with us."

  "I see!" excitedly, people kept taking notes on their own sheets of paper, trying to plan out what route they should go with their own classes. It was a little calming, but also... terrifying.

  Ashton's stomach was twisting upside down, and he didn't know what to say to this behaviour. He looked up, and saw that he wasn't the only one taken by surprise.

  [[Observer in the Veil] is perplexed at the joy they take out of this situation]

  [[Daughter of the Scarlet Heart] agrees and smiles from excitement]

  [[Executor of the End] laughs and wonders if people in this world do not care for death]

  It was fine for them to try and find something good wherever they could. Ashton did just that all the time back in Lumia.

  He just wanted to make sure that everyone took this seriously.

  After all, compared to what was to come, the state of this world was still laughably peaceful.