Speaking of Tris switching to the Strider class, I bet a bunch of you are wondering about the class system, right? And those level 1 skills that tag along, plus skill points and upgrades?
Let's take a quick detour to talk about classes and skills… before we jump back to Tris's adventure.
This world, as you've seen, has a status system, a class system, and a ton of other stuff like titles, powers, races, conditions, blessings, and who-knows-what-else. But let's stick to the class system for now.
In this world, everyone's born with a default class like Villager, Commoner, or Noble's Child—kinda weird how it just knows, right? It shows up when you check your status. Once you register with a guild or a city/kingdom office, the system auto-assigns your class without much explanation. Sometimes, it even upgrades your starter class for you! These classes come with random starter skills at Skill LV.1, totally free.
Changing classes? If you've trained in a certain way and have a clear goal, you can switch classes, usually at a guild. For standard classes, you can pick one yourself. But for unique or specialized classes, you've gotta seek out specific institutes or class hubs. Or you can roll the dice and let the system randomly assign a class based on your training and intent. Each class change comes with random free starter skills tailored to the class. (Pro tip: random class rolls tend to give more skills, while switching at a class hub or crowded guild might snag you some really good free skills.)
Then there's the wild stuff—like begging mysterious entities for a class change. Think asking a goddess for a class and power, pleading with an overpowered being, using a special item, or even negotiating with other races or monsters. A lot of this hasn't been fully explored. (I've tried most of it, though, except begging goddesses—too scared they'll peek into my soul! But let's skip that; it's a bit beyond "normal" folk.)
Of course, you can learn extra skills that match your class's conditions, but you start at Skill LV.0, and they're a bit harder to level up. (Random free skills take 45 points to go from LV.1 to LV.10, but learned skills take 55 points from LV.0 to LV.10.)
You can also learn skills from related classes if they fit the conditions, but it costs an initial point investment, and leveling them costs double the points. Nobody bothers with that—they'd rather train hard to unlock a second or third class instead.
At SLV.41+, you can train for a second class, though you might get fewer random skills. At SLV.100, you get a bigger skill haul (some lucky folks even unlock their next class early). A third class requires SLV.101+, a fourth needs SLV.181+, and you can pick the same class again to fish for rare skills. (This world is a total RNG fest!) A fifth class at SLV.281+ boosts your rare skill odds, and a sixth at SLV.401+… and so on.
Someone who skips leveling their starter or first/second class skills, saves up, and goes for rare skills at their fourth class? They'd be a god… if they can stand being weak that long. And what if they roll trash? Rare skills from a fourth class need 5 points to go from LV.1 to LV.2, cap at LV.5, and cost 50 points total. (Plus, you've spent half your life grinding, only to get a dud skill. No game resets in real life, folks!)
Alright, enough about skills for now…
Back to what we saw: Tris (me) went the basic route. At 12, she registered at the guild to get a class and requested a standard class change. No fancy institutes or associations—just a regular switch. She rolled a random class based on her training and intent, hoping for some sweet skills. Ended up with Strider… but the skills? Total trash! The one skill she was hyped about, [Tireless Movement], was a letdown. Honestly, it's better for ditching gear and bolting than anything else…
Oh, and that's how I ran into Nerim, Waan, and Rejeen. They were looking for a mobile storage unit—er, I mean, a porter—and an extra attacker. So, that's how it went down!
End of Chapter 49
A Quick Dive into Classes and Skills Before Tris's Story Continues