- Soured Meal

Frizz helped himself to the roasted chicken, deciding to eat it after his stomach grumbled and seeing the futility of trying to break the barrier. Nathaniel observed his eating habits, personally noting that it was rather lacking.

"You could use some table manners, but I am more focused on you enjoying my cooking," Nathaniel said with a gentle smile. He'd put about fifty percent more effort into preparing the meal, hoping to impress.

"I had difficulties looking for the right spice; I think impressing people with your cooking is a good first impression."

"Would you agree?"

Frizz turned to his captor, confused and slightly cringing about the dialogue.

(Who talks like that? What kind of dialogue was that?) He mused, slightly shivering.

"Yes, the chicken is good. Thank you." Frizz thanked him for the meal; the roasted chicken was delicious. The spices used were expensive, and it showed; the aroma was titillating, and each bite was savory. He often drank the broth.

"I can tell that you're angry," Nathaniel coyly added, glaring. "Even when she held back, you were still outclassed and overpowered."

Frizz paused his enjoyment, wiping his mouth with the tissue, dropping the utensils, and glaring at Nathaniel. "What's your point?"

"Just pointing out that we're not your enemies, and we can help you grow."

Nathaniel put his hands up in a gesture of openness, crossing his heart.

"Says the one who locked me inside a barrier and whose friend choked me until I was knocked out," Frizz countered, scoffing.

Nathaniel snickered, hiding a smile, trying not to offend the 'guest.'

"Well, considering the fact that you got your ass handed to you by my friend and then suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar building, you'll instinctively leave ASAP."

Frizz stood up, shaking his head and fed up with listening to his talkative captor, and instead went back to the uncomfortable bed.

"Man, you second rates are really quite rude, huh?" Nathaniel remarked, slightly annoyed at the unfinished meal he poured his effort into.

There it was again, the word 'second-rate.'. Earlier, during the spar with Divine, she had referred to him as a second-rate leveler, and he never quite understood why.

"Is that an insult? Second-rate?"

"No, no. It's a compliment. Trust me."

"Divine and I are third-rate; you're a second-rate. That means you are a tier above us," Nathaniel explained, smiling as he finally piqued his interest. "I can explain more if you want."

Seeing no other option, Frizz sighed and picked up a chair, positioning it in front of Nathaniel, separated between the durable and invisible barrier.

"Well, there are three tiers of systems, you see. First-rate systems are the rarest; a person has a one in a hundred million chance of being bestowed with it and an even rarer chance of succeeding with it."

"You!" Nathaniel pointed. "You are a second-rate leveler; your system is a one in a ten million, while Divine and I are third rates. We appear like one in a three hundred thousand."

"By far, you are the third second-rate leveler that I have ever met in my whole life and the first that I've ever met that's actually weak."

Frizz raised a brow, disliking what Nathaniel had commented about him.

"Currently weak," Nathaniel corrected.

"First rates have the level cap of two hundred, second rates have one hundred, and we third rates have fifty," Nathaniel enthusiastically explained, eyes glimmering. "That means you can level up twice as much, and you even have more benefits when it comes to your system."

Nathaniel paused, envy creeping up in his glare. "You get a perk every time you level up, right? You even have that daily quest thing that gives free experience and perks. Second rates even have the luxury to mix perks with no cost."

"If you wanted it, you could even have up to ten classes and have at most six subclasses. Whereas we third rates get only two classes and two subclasses," Nathaniel added, sighing.

"Speaking of subclasses, how do you acquire one?" Frizz interjected, confused about the requirements.

"Well, you usually have to meet a condition. You have that White Knight subclass, right? It's kind of weak, but it gets the job done, I guess," Nathaniel answered. "It's not uncommon to see a leveler with no subclass or an inefficient one."

"You probably got yours because you helped those coworkers of yours or have indirectly saved a lot of people. That's what a white knight does."

Frizz saw a stack of cement sacks behind Nathaniel. An idea slowly formed.

(Is this barrier strong on the inside but weak on the outside? There are barriers like that, I think.)

(It's worth finding out, but he's a high level. Even if I break this barrier, he can still stop me.) He mused, rubbing his chin.

"I have a Tank subclass, not flashy, but it sorta works," Nathaniel continued.

(Those sacks are full of cement; they can be a decent enough distraction.)

Frizz decided to telekinetically reposition the sacks of cement...but they didn't move. He tried budging them again, but nothing...

"Are you trying to use telekinesis?" Nathaniel bluntly asked, causing Frizz's heart to skip a beat.

"I just got a notification that my barrier blocked something." His captor looked behind, noticing the stacked sacks behind him.

"Were you trying to move those sacks or rebars? That won't happen." Nathaniel repeatedly clicked his tongue, like a father disappointed in his children caught in the act.

"See, this barrier is absolute." Nathaniel demonstrated, tapping his left knuckles onto the barrier. "It blocks any kind of interference or signal; if you had a phone right now, it wouldn't have a signal."

"Not only that, it also blocks skills and spells." He added, tutting again.

"While your telekinesis may not be a skill or spell, I'm guessing that there's some sort of psychic signal that you have to use to make things fly."

Nathaniel scoffed, laughing. "Even Divine can't properly fly inside the barrier, and her flying is a talent.

"What I am trying to say is, when you're inside my barrier, you better be nice," Nathaniel declared, the smile fading and face darkening as he softly threatened Frizz to be polite.

Frizz subconsciously stepped back, heart beating fast and increasing his guard.

Nathaniel smirked, then added. "Set your system to turn on skill, spell, talent, and perks interference notifications. I think yours are set to off? That would explain why you tried using powers; you didn't see the conditions."

He suggested, since after being trapped inside his barrier, most levelers would get a notification that their abilities are silenced or disrupted.

"Also, you should turn on your perk activation notifications. We know you have it turned off since you found them annoying. I get it, but it's better to be informed."

"Tell your system to make the notifications smaller and the fonts bigger."

Frizz scoffed at the unsolicited advice but still deeply considered his captor's advice.

(Maybe he has a point.)

"System, activate all perk, skill, talent, and spell notifications when they are disabled or activated. Also, make sure the notifications aren't big and distracting; increase the font sizes too."

[System]

Request acknowledged.

[System]

All skills = Silenced.

All spells = Silenced.

[System]

[Telekinetic Bulwark II] = Disrupted.

[Chameleon] = Disrupted.

[Serene Life] = Disrupted.

[Righteous Fury] = Disrupted.

[Alcoholic Advantage] = Disrupted.

[Mark of Decrepitude] = Disrupted.

[Wind Dash] = Disrupted.

[Unfair Duelist] = Disrupted.

"What the..." Frizz exclaimed, looking at the list of disrupted perks. "Why are some of my perks disrupted? What does that even mean?"

Nathaniel took off his beanie hat, leaning against the wall while spinning the it with his finger.

"Some perks are similar to skills; they need to be activated, and my barrier can interrupt that."

"Perks, spells, skills, and talents have conditionals. However, not all perks and talents can be affected."

"Silenced means it's no longer usable until you stop the source; this is rare. Not a lot of people can do this, but I can," he remarked with pride.

"Disrupted means it's manageable at best or useless at worst; it depends. For example, your Telekinetic Bulwark perk, you still have that force field, but you cannot use telekinesis."

Nathaniel wore his beanie, producing a serious look on his face. "Purged is the scariest; it erases perks and spells; it doesn't affect skills and talents, though."

"You're finally awake," Divine added, appearing behind Nathaniel, causing him to jolt in surprise.

"Ah, what the hell! Since when were you standing behind me!?"

"Just now."

"Hello, Mr. Sadies. How are you feeling?" Divine asked, being polite despite the 'sparring' result earlier.

Frizz's expression soured, interpreting her politeness to be an underestimation or gloating. "Frizz or Jay is fine."

Divine paused, feeling guilty for a moment. "Listen, we're here to help you. You really disturbed the hornet's nest by going around and disrupting criminal businesses."

"How is that a bad thing?" Frizz countered, smacking the barrier.

Divine and Nathaniel looked at each other, shaking their heads in disapproval. "The kingpin behind these illegal businesses in our city and region is a leveler. He's a second-rate like you."

"I am Divine Hesoyam Rosa; sorry for the late proper introduction," she introduced, smiling genuinely.

Frizz's expression soured again. (She'd been eager for a spar earlier. Now, she's acting ladylike.)

"And I am Hei de la Roxas." A voice boomed from above, surprising the three. They all looked up in unison and spotted a large floating eyeball.

"Hei!" Nathaniel shouted in surprise. "You should've told us you were coming."

The floating eye remained silent, staring straight at Frizz.

"Frizz, be part of our organization."