My conversation with Samantha had been so involved that I hadn’t taken the chance to truly survey the room.

  I walked past the podium and glanced at the three tables in front of me, while Samantha explained what I was looking at.

  

  On the first table, I could see over a dozen leather-bound books. I skimmed through several of the titles: Swordsman, Mage, Magician, Sorcerer, Archer…

   Samantha said, urging me on to the next table.

  At Samantha’s prompting, I moved on to the second table, which, predictably enough, held the E-rank classes. I could sense a faint power, or pressure, from these books. Samantha said, urging me on to the sole book on the third table.

  The third book simply said, Mana Modulator. By looking intensely at the book, I was able to trigger a blue pop-up description:

  Mana Modulator (D-rank class): A Mana Modulator's power comes from the mana flowing in their veins. Grants Internal Mana Affinity (D-rank). Teaches Mana Modulation (D-rank): Allows you to modulate the mana inside your body. Can convert mana directly into temporary stats. Each temporary Stat Point lasts 30 seconds. +2 Mana Pool/level. +1 Mana Regeneration/level.

  I frowned, uncertain about the tradeoff. "Isn't 30 seconds short?" My original, F-rank Mana Modulation lasted twice as long.

  Samantha laughed. "It's long enough to make this a highly sought-after class. Note that the D-ranked Mana Modulation doesn’t have a cooldown, or an upper limit for how much mana you can convert into stats. But if you're not convinced, just keep in mind that none of the F-rank classes offer stat boosts per level. And the E-rank stat boosts don't compare. Even if the Mana Modulation skill were useless, this class would still be better than any other class in the room, because D-rank classes always give better level-up bonuses compared to E-rank or F-rank classes. It’s common sense, really, I shouldn’t have to explain this…"

  I reached out to take the Mana Modulator class.

   Samantha said,

  I glanced down at what I was wearing. Honestly, I was surprised that I was still receiving a stat bonus from my Magician’s Robes. The robes were bloodied and shredded. The left sleeve was completely gone, and there were several holes from where I’d been shot by arrows.

  

  I took the orc armor out of my pouch. The breastplate, helmet, and boots were all too large for me, but it did seem to offer better protection compared to the Magician's Robes that I had been wearing. Fortunately, each piece of new equipment had some kind of cushiony inside that reminded me of what memory foam should be—something that didn’t get in the way when I put it on, but then closed in around me slightly to hold the equipment in place. It would hopefully also serve to redistribute the distribute the impact of any blows that landed on my armor.

  I still felt weighed down by awkwardly large and heavy armor, though.

   Samatha explained.

  After putting on the orc’s helmet, boots, and breastplate, I glanced at my new stat screen.

  “For an A.I, it doesn’t look like you’re very good at optimizing,” I said, glancing at my stats. “These numbers are all over the place.”

  Samantha sniffed.

  I nodded at Samantha’s last point, and I reached out to take the class change book.

  The moment my fingers came into contact with the book, I saw my surroundings shift and suddenly, I was in another world.

  I appeared in a desolate town square. The buildings were 3-4 stories tall, made of stone and mortar. It was clear, from the weeds and cracked stones, that nobody had lived in these buildings for hundreds of years.

  In the middle of the square was an altar, which held my Mana Modulator class book.

  A fully armored elf stood in between me and the altar, sword raised to bar my path.

  

  And let me guess. You conveniently forgot to mention that taking the D-rank class would require another battle.

   Samantha replied, smoothly.

  Part of me was inclined to doubt Samantha, because she'd lied so much to me before. But really, something felt unreal about this world. Although there was plenty of detail around me, I felt like the distant buildings were just a haze--a background--that didn't truly exist.

  I breathed deeply, and I began to follow the combat shadow that had kept me alive so far. I strode forward, faking the confident posture I saw from the outline.

   Samantha said, while I charged forward.

  Once I closed the distance, I swung my sword forcefully at the elf. The elf dodged faster than I could see, and immediately rushed towards me.

  I was already backing off, though. I barely parried the elf’s sword as it flashed at me. I was only able to parry because Samantha somehow knew where the strike would end up.

  I continued backing up on the cobblestone street, and the elf pressed his advantage.

   Samantha explained.

  It was a long 30 seconds. I backed away furiously, and the elf furrowed his brow as he continually failed to harm me. I had no idea what I was doing, completely ignoring the elf in front of me and focusing on following the combat shadow. Fifteen seconds later, the elf picked up pace again, moving in even more of a blur.

  It was impossible now to avoid damage it seemed. Samantha’s combat shadow switched its focused towards damage reduction. I parried the elf’s first strike, but then a second strike fell before I could block, so I raised my left arm and let the sword bite into my bone.

  Fortunately, the elf’s strength wasn’t enough to chop my arm off.

  My own sword strike, aiming for the elf’s head, forced the elf to free his sword quickly and parry.

  The moment the elf started raising his sword, I was already backing away, putting more distance between us.

  The elf quickly closed the distance again and struck. I wasn’t able to parry in time, and the elf’s blade stabbed into my stomach.

  I backed away again.

  The elf pulled his blade out of my gut, and struck again. This time, I was ready. I blocked his blade, as I retreated, and gained another valuable second.

  It wasn’t long before the elf’s attack speed began to falter. It wasn’t hard, at that point, to continually backpedal in circles, looping around the main square.

  Once the elf completely ran out of his Agility boost, I pressed my attack.

   Samantha said. It was the command I had been waiting for. Between my own mana that gave me increased Agility, and Samantha’s abilities to read my opponent, I struck at the weak points in the elf’s armor.

  My first strike sunk into the elf’s armpit. Then, as the elf extracted himself, I spun behind him and struck the back of the elf’s right knee with full force.

  The elf staggered forward slightly, and I drew some blood from the strike.

  As the elf spun, I stabbed directly at where Samantha knew the elf’s eyes would be.

  My sword sunk into the elf’s eyes, and the town around me faded.

  I appeared back in the oh-so-familiar white-walled room, with the Mana Modulator class tome in front of me.

  As I tried to open it, the Atropos Schema prompted,

  Would you like to change your class to Mana Modulator (D-rank)?

  Yes/No.

  I mentally selected yes, and opened up my character sheet.

   Samantha said, as I studied my character sheet.

  

  I called up my Status Window. By mentally selecting my class and each skill, I could read more about it.

  Mana Modulator (D-rank class): A Mana Modulator's power comes from the mana flowing in their veins. Grants Internal Mana Affinity (D-rank). +2 Mana Pool/level. +1 Mana Regeneration/level.

  Mana Modulation (D-rank): Allows you to modulate the mana inside your body. Can convert mana directly into temporary stats. Each temporary Stat Point lasts 30 seconds.

   Samantha said, excitedly.

  
  Why didn’t you tell me that in advance?

  

  That was somewhat surprising to me. I could vaguely follow what Samantha was saying. If I could convert--or modulate--the mana in my Mana Pool into a stat like Agility or Strength, and then replenish my Mana Pool with a potion, and then convert mana again into Agility or Strength...that sounded like such a cheat. If I were a game designer, I wouldn't allow that. But, in the Atropos Schema, that would only count as a C-rank class? What other classes were out there??

  Samantha, meanwhile, continued to explain my stat sheet.

  

  Samantha paused, as if waiting for my response. I just shrugged. Honestly, I was still processing everything. No, I was trying not to process things too much. Things were turning out ok, in the sense that I wasn’t dead. If I had to choose between dying and being temporarily mind-controlled, it seemed like an obvious choice. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

   Samantha continued,

   Samantha continued proudly,