Level Up!

Lucen adjusted his coat.

It didn't help.

The moss stains weren't coming off. One sleeve still had a chunk of vine stuck to the cuff. His boots squelched with every step like they'd personally insulted the jungle and gotten payback.

He turned left at the rail divider.

Same sidewalk. Same broken bricks. Same half-lit streetlight above the corner noodle stall.

A guy in a suit was leaning against the wall near the tram stop.

Which didn't fit.

Nobody in a clean suit stood in the West Fleura field zone unless they were lost, stupid, or here to poach talent.

Lucen didn't make eye contact.

He kept walking.

The guy straightened slightly.

Slick haircut. Bright smile. Clipboard under one arm.

"Excuse me," he said.

Lucen kept walking.

"Excuse me. Are you Lucen Ivara?"

Lucen blinked.

Slowed.

Turned his head halfway.

The man smiled wider. "Lucen Ivara. Solo drift runner. Cleared Zone 12 with two sigils on record."

Lucen raised an eyebrow. "Who's asking?"

The guy stepped forward. Not too close.

Badge clipped to his coat.

ASHRIFT HUNTER'S GUILD

TALENT INTAKE OFFICER – RECRUIT UNIT 4

Lucen sighed.

'Of course. I step out with half a jungle on me and someone already wants to sell me to their dungeon startup.'

The man didn't seem fazed.

"If you've got a minute, I'd love to chat. You showed up on our talent-scout watch queue after that pull. Very impressive. We don't often see solo clears from first-time entries."

Lucen blinked slowly.

'Because most people don't walk into a collapsing jungle with unstable spells and a knife that couldn't cut string cheese.'

He shrugged. "I got lucky."

The recruiter smiled like he didn't believe that at all.

"We're very interested in helping new awakened talents find support. Coaching. Gear sponsorships. Protection. Our offer includes a zero-debt starter package and guaranteed party placement within ninety days. No field guild does it better."

Lucen stared at him for a second.

'If I say no, he'll push harder. If I say yes, I'll end up in some ten-man marketing slideshow about youthful ambition.'

He glanced at the badge again.

Ashrift wasn't a bad guild.

Mid-sized. Safe zones. Stable teams. Mostly B to D-tier deployments with the occasional A-class flex for investors.

But they didn't recruit wild cards.

Not unless someone had tipped them off.

Lucen kept his face flat.

"You approach everyone who walks out of a jungle covered in tree guts?"

"Only the ones who walk out alone and smiling."

"I wasn't smiling."

"You are now."

Lucen resisted the urge to flip him off.

Barely.

He rubbed his neck and gave a dry smile.

"Sorry. Not really looking to get adopted this week."

The man nodded like he expected that.

He reached into his jacket, pulled out a thin card.

Held it between two fingers.

"If you change your mind. We've got a desk near the central guild terminal. Walk in anytime."

Lucen took the card.

Didn't look at it.

Slid it into his coat pocket.

"Sure."

The guy backed off with practiced smoothness.

"Have a good evening, Mr. Ivara. Looking forward to hearing from you."

Lucen turned and walked.

Didn't look back.

Just muttered to himself, "Congratulations, you cleared a drift. Now everyone wants to buy your corpse before it cools."

—

Lucen leaned back against the tram wall. The rail above him creaked with every turn.

Outside, Fleura's lower west district rolled by in slow motion. Half-built towers, cracked signage, rusted gate junctions, the whole thing lit by uneven streetlights and old mana tubing that buzzed like it had regrets.

The tram smelled like stale air and burnt energy drinks. Someone at the far end was watching a loud combat highlight with no headphones. The slaps echoed through the car like rhythmically timed judgment.

Lucen opened his system window.

The interface flickered up in front of him, clean as always.

[Level: 1]

[EXP: 110 / 150]

[Mana: 24 / 51]

[Spells: 2 Active]

[Status: Stable]

'Still short. Thought I was closer.'

He scrolled down to the combat log.

There it was. The delayed payout.

[Gravitic Snap – Direct Impact]

[+40 EXP]

The bar shifted.

[LEVEL UP – 150 / 150]

[New Level: 2]

[Stat Points Available: 5]

[Spell Slot Unlocked: Archive Slot #0003]

[Class Tree Access: GRANTED]

Lucen blinked.

Then grinned.

'Finally. Let's see what the system's been hiding.'

He tapped open the Attributes tab first.

It expanded into a full grid.

[Lucen Ivara – Level 2]

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 9

Endurance: 7

Intelligence: 12

Control: 10

Focus: 12

Perception: 8

Luck: 4

Mana: 51

Recovery Rate: 1.2/sec

Unspent Stat Points: 5

Lucen looked at the numbers.

No color-coded hints. No auto-assign suggestions. Just the raw list.

'Alright. So no training wheels. Cool.'

He stared at the spread for a moment.

'Twelve Intelligence and Focus. Not bad. Pretty sure Control is for spell shaping. Focus probably helps me not blow my hands off. Endurance is garbage. Luck looks like a sick joke.'

He tapped the help icon next to Control.

Control affects the structural integrity of designed spells and precision under pressure.

High Control reduces instability and design error.

He nodded.

'Yeah. That tracks. Less chance of accidentally launching myself into a wall.'

Then tapped Perception.

Perception influences enemy detection, trap sensitivity, and advanced mana awareness.

Also affects glyph recognition range and visual targeting speed.

He paused.

'Okay. So I could technically see spell patterns better if I pump this up. That's… mildly terrifying.'

He hovered over Luck, but didn't tap it.

Not out of restraint. Out of fear it might insult him to his face.

Instead, he flipped to the new tab glowing faintly at the bottom.

Class Node Access – Spellcraft Sovereign

The screen shimmered.

Then changed.

No branching skill tree.

No glowing lines or sparkly bonus tiles.

Just a forge.

A literal black-on-gray interface shaped like an old design anvil. Rough outlines of a glyph mold hovered above it.

A prompt appeared.

[Choose One Core Enhancement]

This decision is permanent. Future nodes will build from this choice.

Lucen felt a small flutter in his chest.

He read the options carefully.

1. Mana Thread Compression – Reduces mana cost when spells are cast in rapid sequence.

2. Glyph Layer Retention – Saves modular spell fragments for faster design reuse.

3. Dynamic Loop Split – Allows a single spell to branch into multiple possible outcomes.

He blinked.

'Okay. That last one. That's… that's not legal. That's not even spellwork. That's basically just programming.'

He reread the third option again.

Then again.

'Branching logic from a single glyph? That's not a spell, that's a choose-your-own-death adventure. And I want it.'

He tapped it.

The interface pulsed.

[Node Selected: Dynamic Loop Split]

[Spell Editor Updated]

[Experimental Slot Enabled]

Lucen closed the tab and sat back against the tram wall.

His fingers buzzed faintly. Not pain. Just that low, warm ache of mana threading itself into unfamiliar channels.

His system dimmed slightly and returned to idle.

He smiled.

'Alright. We've got stats. We've got a busted forge interface. We've got enough spell slots to ruin someone's day.'

He paused.

Then added, 'Probably mine. But it still counts.'