Her mother had warned her that the skill [Conceptual Inspection] could be dangerous. Taking a peek into the plumbing of others’ classes meant exposing yourself to them. The skill could be invaluable to learn their concepts and how their classes worked. At the highest levels. This was often the differentiator. Those with higher rarity classes could pull on it and force the world to bend around them.

  Pulling on the very concepts that skills were derived from.

  The problem with using this was that you used it on someone that had truly understood their class.

  Take for example the [Stallmaster Thief]. Had Gamielle tried to do this to her the [Thief] would have run circles around her in her domain. If the [Thief] maneuvered her in a bad position–well then even a memory like Gamielle could get stuck between the jaws of the grinding wheels of time.

  Then the [Stallmaster Thief] could pull on her [Thief] class and start stealing concepts from Gamielle. Given the nature of concepts,

  She just hadn’t expecting Ryan to have so much control over the class that he would notice her. No, it shouldn’t have been possible… yet Gamielle looked in the eyes of the Aura Tyrant and shuddered.

  He looked amused.

  She was not.

  “How the fuck is this possible?”

  Ryan looked around, at the city that had a statue building for him. He made a face, like it was the last thing he wanted. He waved his hand and the statue crumbled to dust. Then looked at his hands in surprise, as if he didn’t expect the world to bend down to his whims.

  He shrugged, uncaring about the threat she posed.

  “Like I said, I’ve been here before.”

  Gamielle’s mind raced ahead. Who could have taught him? Ella, Pinkie and the Manager flashed by her mind as she clenched her fist. Ready to put down this abomination.

  Ryan raised an eyebrow.

  “You look constipated.”

  And just like that the wind was knocked out of her sails.

  “You-”

  “Relax. You look like the time when you found out you were turning into your mother.”

  Ryan laughed, remembering that bit of memory once again. Gamielle was metaphysically sweating. The tyrant was putting her on the backfoot and it was working.

  Then Ryan frowned in genuine concern.

  “You okay? Sorry, did I go too far? I thought we were at the point where we could joke about it.”

  Gamielle blinked. She felt the aura lessen as Ryan stepped back in the conversation and genuinely apologized. Gamielle realized what had happened. She’d been knocked into fight or flight mode and she’d almost chosen to fight Ryan’s class to the death.

  This was no trap and Ryan was no real bastard. She huffed and put her hands on her hips.

  “Do you know where we are? What this even is?”

  “I think it’s a class orb? Feels a little different though.”

  “You don’t just figure it out you idiot! You don’t just randomly embody the class like this!”

  Ryan scratched his head like the dumb human he was.

  “You do when you end up as a [Saboteur] with a [Rebellious] title apparently.”

  “What?!”

  She hadn’t actually checked Ryan’s class. It was completely possible for a [Saboteur] to masquerade as a [Rogue] and escape her notice. The classes were somewhat close enough to link that she wouldn’t be able to differentiate without a closer look.

  “Actually I don’t hear anything like a [Saboteur] in my head. Aren’t I supposed to hear something like a [Tyrant] or a [Rogue] in my head?”

  “I’m going to fucking strangle you if you don’t start making sense.”

  Gamielle was almost ready to start blasting him with [Grand Fireballs] until he explained. Ryan could survive those in here. Though the last thing she needed was for him to figure out that he could fight her in here either.

  “Alright, alright. Calm down. Shit, sorry. Okay shouldn’t tell someone to calm down when they’re mad. Uh, where do I begin? Give me a second.” Then Ryan frowned. “Wait wasn’t I in front of the Obsidian Sect. Whoa, I can kinda see and think about my real body still moving in the Sect. Is this what actual [Parallel Minds] is like?”

  “You doomscrolling generation attention deficit brained moron. Focus!”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  After a stint at the Obsidian Sect, her insult hit the mark. Ryan coughed in embarrassment.

  “Well, this is similar to when I got offered a [Saboteur] class. At that time my [Rebellious] title worked weirdly with the [Saboteur] class preview and I basically got to be myself and witness the [Saboteur] at the same time. I’m assuming this is something like that?”

  Ryan remembered the conversation with the [Saboteur]. That had been the first hint that the Manager didn’t have as much control over The Realm as everyone thought. The other hints were when Gamielle would talk about the Manager’s blasted asshole and how it was an idiot that never succeeded in its task.

  “So why you were so resistant to my mom’s aura. Wait, how did you earn the [Rebellious] title while you were realm zero?”

  “I declined the delivery quest from the Manager. Apparently declining him once was enough. Though it did force me into it in the end. The Manager told me both worlds would face an apocalypse.”

  Gamielle stood in silence as she took in that bit of information.

  “Damn, the Manager really is going all out.”

  “Is it not always like this?”

  “No, it doesn’t normally break decorum like that. Stuff like that has the opposite effect. Unless, of course, it found a new way to achieve its goal or it really needed you in a certain place.”

  “Why would manipulating things have the opposite effect?”

  Gamielle sat in silence, conflict strewn on her face. The person she was talking to was Ryan but it was also a tyrant. There was a sky high risk here. She had thought her plan was going along well but… this was not someone she could entrust The Realm to.

  “Ryan. You’re right, this is sort of like a class orb. The reason why there’s no voice or thought is because this isn’t a system class you grow into. You forged this class, there isn’t a Trial concept of a tyrant here because you are the tyrant”

  “Huh, neat.”

  “”

  Ryan backed away from the sudden real hostility from Gamielle. She knew Ryan didn’t understand what she was saying. She looked down at the broken statue and the world that kept changing to his whims. A full class she would be scared of, but a fraction of a class? Even if it was an Epic tier? She could break that.

  “What’s wrong with being a tyrant?”

  Despite her preparation she couldn’t let that stupid statement go.

  “Listen to yourself you moron! The Trial System isn’t defining a tyrant like the seven Tyrants. It’s old, it’s defining you as a ruthless ruler that would bend the world to his whims. I’m not going to let that go, not when I declared you as my student.”

  “But Gamielle. You know me. I’m not the kind of person to do that, look at everything I’ve done. Do you really think–”

  “Yes, Ryan. You would. Rebelling at every turn, against my mother, against the Manager. Trying to form a world around your childish fantasies about adventurers–”

  Gamielle just hadn’t seen it in that way before. Ryan would get the full class offered even if she were to cut it off here.

  Ryan gave her a sad smile.

  “Everyone tries to change the world, does that really make me so terrible?”

  “No, no they do not. Those that try will hit a wall. A point where they will stop and rest and reevaluate. Even find peace. The Seven Tyrants did so. A class means you won’t ever stop until it’s fulfilled. Even when you hit a wall you’ll force your ideal on the world. Until you or the world breaks first. Do you see my issue with that?”

  “I do… but if that’s the case then isn’t it already too late? Aren’t I already a tyrant? Even if you do something here, are you going to kill me out there too?”

  Gamielle’s hands flickered.

  “This is my mistake. I can get you to stop being an idiot and grow up before your class upgrade.”

  Ryan made that infuriating amused expression again, like he seemed to think he knew better than she did. He put his hand up, trying to placate her.

  “Before you do whatever it is with that mana of yours, can I at least show you what I’ve been trying to do? Afterwards I promise you I won’t resist.”

  His words implied many things. Mainly that he that he could fight her here. Gamielle had revealed far too much by being afraid, and Ryan would be the first person to recognize true fear and hesitation.

  “Fine.”

  If it was a [Witch] then those words could have been used to bind. A tyrant unfortunately didn’t have such rules. Ryan waved his hand and the world heeded his call. It followed his orders. Gamielle did not like that at all, she knew how to beat ruler classes, but a tyrant? One that just believed the world should move to its beck and call? The only idea she had was to use overwhelming force.

  “I’m not sure what I was doing before you arrived, but I do have an image of what I want.”

  Then she laughed.

  His image of a perfect world?

  It was The Realm.

  The people lived in a strong healthy community. United and thriving. Adventuring was a job that special people took but . They lived in the community themselves, sometimes celebrities, sometimes loud drunks, sometimes depressed at the loss of a team member. But when it all came together they’d come along and be part of the community. Superhumans and ordinary folk, living together.

  When they wanted to be something more? Then the Trials awaited.

  She understood then what he was imagining when she’d first entered. He was trying desperately to figure out how to keep things the same. With everything that would come. Ryan believed that The Realm was perfect the way it was.

  Sometimes she forgot that Ryan was a naive idiot.

  …

  Afterwards he told her of his class descriptions.

  To her utter shock, Ryan described how he created his arm in full, a grin on his face as he even explained his bonuses and weaknesses. Her first thought was that Ryan was lying to her to throw her off. Then she realized he wasn’t lying,

  She palmed her face.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “You, just bragging about your most important ability to me instead of keeping it a secret. I know you’re not that stupid.”

  Ryan grinned.

  “I’m trying hard not to keep secrets from friends, though it’s harder with you with your mom being able to replay your memories. I’d tell you more of what I’m trying to do but… you know.”

  Gamielle nodded her head in confirmation.

  “Thats fair enough. Well, while you’re here I recommend you experiment a little. Don’t expect too much at your current realm but understanding how your class functions is a core component of high tier fighting. Especially those with well suited Epic classes.”

  Then Gamielle left, leaving Ryan alone.

  …

  The tyrant sat there looking at the idea of his perfect world. He wondered if she was fooled, or maybe he was fooling himself. This space didn’t move exactly the way he wanted. He couldn’t fake it, for that was not what he was, for a tyrant shouldn’t need to fake anything.

  He looked up at the sky.

  It was not the sky of The Realm.

  –

  As the sun started to set in The Realm, as the smoke started to clear from the cities that had been attacked, an adventurer and a cultivator faced each other in a courtyard. The rest had been sent away after Ryan had recharged his arm. Not that he needed it in the end. Gamielle’s fear had been enough to top it off and then some.

  Ryan stood across from Larix, only two other people watching.

  Now it was time to test out the capability of his arm.

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