Sins of the Forefathers: A LitRPG Fantasy Isekai

For the next maybe quarter-hour, we ate our breakfasts in awkward silence. Well, awkward for me at least. In a casual setting like this, I didn’t know how to speak to Elysael. What kind of chit-chat did you have with literal royalty? I didn’t know. I was aware of how awkward I was, and I’m sure I was making a fool of myself somehow. Elysael didn’t indicate in any way that she noticed, though. She just ate her meal with a quiet poise, seemingly unbothered by the silence.

God, Azarus, did you have to leave me alone here?

Once the two of us were finished, Elysael folded her napkin over her cleared plate. I stiffly tried to emulate her as best I as I could. Once I was done, a more tangible awkward silence descended over the two of us.

Uncomfortable, I cleared my throat. I at least did have one thing I wanted to speak about. “Ah, er, your High-Elysael,” I corrected myself. “I’d like to apologize for what happened to your office last night. I, uh, I had no idea something like that was going to happen.”

Raising an eyebrow, Elysael shook her head. “Think nothing of it. Last night’s…” She paused, visibly searching for the word. “Phenomenon, was completely out of my experience as well. Truthfully, I would have been surprised if you had expected it, considering your unfamiliarity with the System. Such a thing is unheard of, in circumstances such as those.”

My eyebrows shot up. Leaning forward, I forgot some of my awkwardness in my curiosity. “That almost sounds like you know what happened.”

Elysael smiled slightly. “That would be because I do. I was curious, so I spent some time researching the matter before bed. It is an exceedingly rare event, but not an unheard-of one. What occurred last night is colloquially known as System Judgment. As the words imply, whatever happened when you accepted Artistry from me directly called the attention of the System itself. In rare occasions, such as whatever happened to you, it is known that the System must step in, in order to…facilitate whatever Status changes are taking place at the time.”

I furrowed my brow. “Really? But I thought that the System was almost entirely automated for use?” I asked confusedly.

Elysael hummed. “Not entirely.” She said after a moment’s thought. Directing her gaze to meet mine, she asked a question. “When you were Awakened, I assume that whoever did so explained some aspects of the System to you?”

Tilting my head, I nodded at her question. “Yeah, Grey explained some things.”

“Did Headmaster Greycton perhaps mention how the System is…flawed?” She asked leadingly.

“Yeah, he-” I paused and then narrowed my eyes at her suspiciously. “‘Headmaster Greycton’, huh?”

Elysael was visibly taken aback. “Yes?”

“I’ve only known him as ‘Grey’,” I said, frowning. “Exactly what is he Headmaster of?”

“Ah…” Elysael grimaced. “I appear to have overstepped. If…Grey has chosen not to speak of himself to you so far, it is not my place to gainsay him.”

I nodded slowly. “All right, I guess.”

Whatever, I’ll just badger Azarus about it.

“In any case, we were speaking about the System and its flaws, were we not?” Elysael said pointedly. I held up my hands in surrender. “What has he mentioned?”

“Uh.” I took a moment to think. “He told me about how some Awakenings can get corrupted? And…something about the System being inefficient?”

“Truly, that’s all?” Elysael said in surprise.

I shrugged at her. “We’ve been kinda busy.”

She shook her head. “Very well, then. System Judgements are one of those inefficiencies that he told you about. The System is imperfect. Very rarely does it impart power in and of itself. Rather, it is an…automated guide stone on how to refine Aether safely, resulting in ‘levels’. It may interest you in knowing that soul refinement before the advent of the System did, in fact, exist.”

“Huh,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I swear Grey said something about not much being known about from before ‘System Initialization’.”

“Not much, is not nothing,” Elysael said knowingly. “In the before times, it was known as the ‘Thousand Steps of Divinity’. Very ancient records indicate that it was uncommon, to a startling degree, especially compared to how ubiquitous the System is today. The ‘steps’ of the old method, could be roughly equated to our modern ‘levels’. Of course, the old method did not possess the advantages that the System does. There were no Skills nor Talents, Racial or otherwise. No Professions, in order to impart Impact.”

“What did it have then?” I asked, curiously.

“Virtues. Records tell us that the Soul masters only truly had the refinement of their Virtues. And it was an intensive process indeed. They could not spare the time to learn anything else, such as Magic or Cultivation, where the majority of a modern classer’s strength lies.” Elysael told me passionately, leaning forward, eyes bright. It was interesting, actually. This was by far the most animated that I had seen her. “They were apparently formidable warriors in their own right, however. Where ancient Magi could call upon the elements to smite you, and ancient Cultivators could cut you down, swift as the wind, they were different. The ancient Soul Masters could instead touch upon the otherworldly, and battle that which was eldritch. Primalists, they were called.” Elysael must have caught sight of the amused expression that I was wearing, because she leaned back in her chair visibly fighting a blush.

“So, is that what you’re into then? History?” I asked her, genuinely curious.

“Ah,” Elysael answered, visibly embarrassed. “Apologies, that wasn’t relevant. Getting back to the topic at hand, it’s a widely held belief that the System is, somehow, unfinished. Modern scholars believe that the System is an attempt at formalizing and combining all three methods of self-improvement into one, coherent whole. However, it has very obviously failed at this task, as it only ever managed to assimilate one of them. Primalism. The refinement of the Soul.”

“Yeah, Grey told me about that some. The System is apparently using raw Aether to do it, and that results in levels, right?” I said, nodding along.

“Yes, but it’s meant to do more than that. The System very obviously is supposed to support Magic and Cultivation as well, but it almost…flails about helplessly whenever it attempts to do so. It can only cursorily assist in those matters, and often only in indirect ways. This is where a System Judgement comes in. Can you perhaps guess why?” Elysael asked me encouragingly as if she were a teacher.

I took it in stride, tilting my head back in thought. Could it be…

Looking back at Elysael, I began hesitantly. “Maybe…because my Status tried to do something that verges on Magic or Cultivation?”

Elysael smiled at me. “Close. A System Judgement occurs when an individual attempts to forge a skill that veers off the beaten path and touches upon those disciplines in order to do so. When they attempt something unique. It’s a good sign, truly. It’s rare these days because it’s been millennia since the advent of the System, and most paths are already beaten with our limited access. Which is why I’m terribly curious as to how one was triggered by the acceptance of a Profession of all things.”

Ah.

Shit.

I hadn’t thought of what I would say to her in regard to what I had seen last night. Azarus and I might have told her a ton last night, but he’d been very obvious in not sharing everything.

He hadn’t said a word about escaping anywhere with Grey.

Elysael must have seen the hesitance on my face because her expression visibly cooled. “My apologies if I’ve overreached-”.

I waved my hands frantically. “No, no! It’s fine, really! I just…don’t really understand what it did myself.”

Ah, screw it. Based on the history lesson, she might be as big of a nerd as Grey, and I was still a little anxious over my Professions. She might be my best source of information until I returned to Addersfield. Something told me Azarus would have no idea what was going on with me when I told him about it. Besides, my gut was telling me I could trust her.

Huh, I was really relying on my gut a lot these days.

Probably not a good sign.

I proceeded to tell Elysael about what I had seen on my status last night. About my missing Professions, and the state of my Profession pane. Her expression opened back up as I talked, with open fascination crawling across her face.

“How interesting,” Elysael whispered to herself. Looking back up at me, she shook her head slightly in regret. “Unfortunately, I have not the faintest idea of what could be occurring with your Professions, Nathan.”

I slumped. Well, damn. Never mind then.

“However…” I heard her voice continue. I looked back up at her to see her looking off into space, ponderingly. “However, I do not believe you have anything to worry about. In fact, I believe you should look at your Status again. Sometimes, it can take time for truly momentous changes to bind to it.” She said, looking back at me and nodding.

“Uh, okay,” I said to her, confused. A moment later, Elysael handed me a small, decorative mirror she must have been hiding in a pocket in her dress. Taking it and trying to ignore how warm it was, I focused on bringing up my Status. I knew I could open it without a mirror now, but I didn’t need to show off all of my secrets to her. She hadn’t asked about my other talents at all, other than the one that allowed me to get the other Professions.

Right away, I could see a difference on my Status screen. Barely holding in a gasp, I focused on it. I was actually a little startled when my Status screen changed to focus on the difference I’d seen.

Profession *Locked*

“Is aught amiss, Nathan?” I heard Elysael ask in a concerned tone.

“One sec,” I muttered distractedly, holding up one finger.

I maneuvered around Status some more, bringing up my Profession pane. I couldn’t help but let a confused frown creep onto my face at what I found. Mentally closing my Status, I set the mirror down. “Huh,” I said, absent-mindedly staring at a small figure of a horse behind Elysael. After a moment, I focused back on her. “Yeah, I’m…glad? I did that?” I said still, confused. “There was a change to my Status sheet, but not my Profession pane, since last night. What does it mean to have a locked Profession?”

Both of Elysael’s eyebrows shot up. “Locked? That was the exact wording you saw?”

I nodded back at her. “Yeah.”

“Hmm, well, I believe I know what has happened in that case, as baffling as it is.” Elysael shook her head. “You most assuredly possess some kind of Profession. When something is termed as locked on a Status, it means that you have acquired a Skill that is too powerful for you to attempt to use. It’s one of the few safety measures that the System provides. However, I have never once heard of a Profession, of all things, being too powerful. This 'Aetherial Melding' must be truly exceptional.”

I perked up. “So, how do I unlock it then?”

“Simply grow more powerful, is my guess,” Elysael answered wryly. “You are currently without a class, yes?” At my nod, she continued. “Colloquially, that means you rank as Tier Zero. Once you choose a class at level ten, you are termed as Tier One. It’s possible, even probable, that once you have acquired a class, whatever Profession you have stumbled upon will be unlocked. I highly, highly doubt that the System would deliberately hobble someone by locking a Profession of all things until Tier Two.”

At Elysael’s words, I could feel a knot of tension I wasn’t even aware of begin to unravel inside of me. Despite managing to calm down last night, I’d still been experiencing a low level of anxiety about my Professions. It was good to know that I was probably not completely screwed.

“Okay.” I breathed. “Thanks for your help, then.”

“It was my pleasure,” Elysael told me, smiling. Standing up from her chair, she picked up a small bell that had been sitting on the table and gave it a ring. Immediately, one of the maids shuffled her way into the room and began to collect the plates and cups from our meal, expertly balancing them on a tray. Once the maid was finished, she bowed in the direction of the Prince, still balancing the tray, and scurried out of the room. Elysael paid her little mind, looking at me instead. “Shall we take a walk? I’m interested in continuing our conversation, and I have little to do for the next hour before I must begin my duties.”

“Ah, sure,” I said, startled. I stood up to match her and grabbed my cloak. Settling it around my shoulders, I hurried to catch up with Elysael, who was waiting for me near the door. She opened it as I grew closer and stepped through, without a backward glance.

I followed her.