A month passed.
Not that I was keeping track with a calendar, but I didn't need one. Every day blurred into the same exhausting routine: wake up, eat in awkward silence, train until I ached, get ignored by everyone, go to bed. Repeat.
We trained with swords first. Our instructors were knights from the Royal Guard stoic, scarred veterans who could probably slice demons in half while blindfolded.
I couldn't even hold a wooden practice sword properly.
Brian, of course, was a natural. His Sword Saint class practically shone every time he moved. He cut training dummies clean in half by the second day. Aria was precise, calculating. Even the ones with more magic-based classes showed aptitude. The worst of them still managed to land solid strikes.
Me?
I tripped over my own feet. Got bruised. Knocked flat. More than once, the instructor didn't even bother to correct me. Just looked at me like I was some lost stable boy who wandered into the wrong courtyard.
When they moved on to magic, things didn't improve.
The magic instructor, a high elf with glowing eyes and a floating spellbook, guided us through chants and mana circulation techniques. He was stern but fair. Unless you failed. Then he just... skipped you.
I failed.
Again and again.
No matter how much I concentrated, I couldn't feel mana. Couldn't cast even the simplest light spell. Everyone else lit up their palms like glowsticks. I got nothing.
"Try again," the elf said one day, expression unreadable.
I did. Nothing happened.
He moved on without a word.
The whispers started soon after.
"Is he really one of us?" "Maybe the Orb glitched." "What's redacted even mean, anyway?" "They should send him back."
My room stayed the same. Plain. Quiet. The only time I got attention was when someone knocked me over during sparring.
The teacher stopped trying to talk to me after the first week. I think he meant well at first. Asked if I was okay. Tried to cheer me up. But even he gave up eventually. Now he only had eyes for the students who "mattered."
Even the servants barely looked at me.
I became... invisible.
Until this morning.
I was pulled out of morning drills by a guard in black armor.
"His Majesty summons you," he said.
No explanation. No fanfare. Just a long walk through silent halls until we reached the king's private chamber a lavish room filled with maps, weapons, and a fireplace that crackled without wood.
The king sat behind a grand desk, fingers steepled.
"You," he said, not unkindly. "Sit."
I did.
He studied me for a long moment. Not cruel. Not angry. Just... tired.
"You have been here one month."
I nodded.
"In that time, you have shown no progress with sword or spell."
Also true.
"Despite our best efforts, you have no aptitude."
I swallowed.
"We cannot keep a useless hero in the palace," he said flatly.
There it was. Said without venom. Like a business decision. Just facts.
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a coin pouch. It jingled when he set it down.
"You are free to go. The pouch contains enough gold to survive for a few weeks, assuming you are careful."
I didn't say anything. What could I say? Beg? Argue?
He wasn't wrong.
"You may remain in the capital or travel elsewhere," the king continued. "We have fulfilled our obligation to the gods by giving you a chance. What you do now is your own affair."
I stood up. Took the pouch. Bowed slightly.
The guards escorted me out the gates.
No fanfare. No send-off.
Not even the teacher came to say goodbye.
I walked down the cobbled path leading away from the castle. The walls towered behind me, brilliant and golden in the morning sun. It felt too bright. Too warm. Like the world didn't care that my life had just collapsed.
I was out. Alone.
And then
[SYSTEM ALERT: Hidden Class Conditions Fulfilled.]
I froze.
A glowing screen appeared in front of me, hovering in the air.
[CLASS REDACTED ➜ CLASS UPGRADED: GAMER (HIDDEN)]
[New Passive Skill: Gamer's Mind - Grants perfect mental clarity. Immune to emotional manipulation and panic.]
[New Passive Skill: Gamer's Body - Body recovers physical damage as if living in a game world. Sleep restores full HP and status.]
[New System Menu Unlocked. Status, Inventory, Quest Log accessible.]
My mouth dropped open.
What the hell.
A second screen appeared.
[Notification: You have left the Royal Domain. Unique class condition fulfilled. You have chosen your path. You are no longer bound by fate.]
More text scrolled in.
[Skill Gained: Observe Lv.1 – Allows identification of basic information about targets.]
[Skill Gained: Quest Tracking Lv.1]
[Skill Gained: Experience Acquisition Lv.1]
I reached out instinctively and tapped the "Status" tab.
A new window opened:
[Name: ??? | Class: Gamer | Level: 1 | HP: 100 | MP: 50 | STR: 8 | AGI: 10 | INT: 12 | LCK: ???]
I stood there, stunned.
The class... had never been useless. It had been waiting.
Waiting for me to walk away.
Waiting for me to be thrown out.
Now, finally, it had begun.
I looked back once at the distant castle walls.
Then I smiled.
"Fine. Let's play."
And I walked forward.