Rob X Punzel ~ One!

Becca walked into the headmistress’s office, her face set in the carefully neutral expression she had long since learned to wear at all times. Though there were clear signs of hard living and malnutrition on her face, the girl had luxurious, shoulder-length golden hair. She knew perfectly well how eye-catching her hair was and used the brief moment when the hard-edged, matronly woman was staring at its luster to try and suss out the meaning of this meeting.

No one in the orphanage was called to speak with the matrons unless there was a very good reason for it, and then the conversation usually involved being called out for crimes or other violations. Yet, Becca wasn’t aware of anything she had done which should get her in enough trouble to be pulled into a meeting with the top of the food chain of the entire institution. Sketching a careful curtsy, the nine-year-old shifted her eyes downward so the headmistress wouldn't think she was attempting to challenge her authority. “Schule-tyrant.”

Though the older woman was easily in her mid-fifties or later, clear muscle definition showed on her otherwise wiry frame—a consequence of the Brute Kingdom’s shift in policies more than a decade previous. The ‘school’s tyrant’ was a title the lady had earned by taking over the orphanage by force then demanding an extreme amount of discipline for every occupant—staff and wayward child both. As far as Becca knew, no one was sure of her true name.

“Do you have any idea why you’re here, Rebecca?” The headmistress didn't bother to stand, a clear statement that she felt the child wasn’t a threat worth acknowledging. “Never mind, I can see by the blank look in your eyes you're as clueless as the rest of your batch. Be seated.”

Now Becca was starting to become truly worried: no one was invited to sit down in the headmistress’s office. The woman was known for her power plays and often went out of her way to see how long someone would last before breaking down and asking for things. Then, based on her mood, she could deny them or ‘generously’ allow whatever it was they needed—anything from food to blankets to a set of clothes which fit their ever-growing frames. 

Hesitantly taking the offered seat, Becca stole a glance at the tyrant’s face and blinked in shock as she saw the older woman rolling her eyes.

“You’re not in trouble. Quite the opposite. My skills give me an impeccable knowledge of timing, and the system is telling me you are just about to turn ten.” She raised an eyebrow and lightly scoffed, “Properly this time, not like the debacle from last year.” 

Becca winced at the memory. When she’d woken up the morning of what had turned out to be her ninth birthday, her raven-black hair had completely vanished, replaced with the practically shining golden hair she currently sported. There’d been an uproar among the staff, as they assumed she had awakened her Basic Class. Everyone did so at ten years old, so they assumed she was lying and was simply refusing to allow them to see what it was. 

But no matter how she had followed their instructions, Becca couldn't manage to get the list of her class or skills to appear. That had landed her in this very office, only for the tyrant to make her wait in a corner for several hours before glancing at her a single time and sending her away—easily able to tell she hadn't reached the first milestone with a system. It was her first real experience with the petty power plays that were the norm in the Brute Kingdom.

“Looks like it's going to happen right… now.”

As the words passed through the lips of the headmistress, Becca’s eyes went wide. A strange tingling sensation tickled across her skin, like rolling around too much under scratchy wool blankets only to get zapped afterward. She tried to blink it away as the feeling coalesced around her eyes, only for the world to open up in front of her for a brief moment and show her a grand vision of words and energy… 

…a glimpse at the system underpinning the universe itself. 

Codex Arcane Ledger access requested.

C.A.L. is assessing… Age verification: 10 years. 0 months, 0 days. Requirements for initialization have been fulfilled!

Scanning bloodlines for basic information.

Scanning brain waves to account for knowledge and desires in Basic Class selection process. Requirements met for: 7 Basic Classes. 

Determination made.

Basic Class Unlocked!

Basic Class: Shear-ing Shifter.

Basic Skill: Bearly Outta Time.

As a representation of a proud lineage, Bearly adla*1#@@!!

Error! Outside influence detected! Class determination altered! Skills adjusted. Reassigning… congratulations! 

You have earned a system merit: Born a Legend, not a Myth. Myth anyway. 

You have earned a system merit: Post-birth, Pre-initialization Altered Bloodline.

You can use this merit by [error_information_hidden_by_outside_influence].

Basic Class: Golden Locks

Basic Skill: Hair Helper: Level 1/10.

Hair Helper is a continuous passive skill which enhances the hair growing from the crown of the user's head. The user will always have beautiful and healthy hair which requires no external care, as knots and tangles will be [Minimally] smoothed and removed, imbuing the hair with a [Minimal] shine. This skill continuously applies a [Minimal] rejuvenation effect; keeping the hair strong, healthy, and resilient, no matter what the condition of the user otherwise is. The hair will grow [3*skill level] inches per day, and will [Minimally] yet automatically remove dirt and impurities, as well as [Minimally] drying itself when wet. 

Requirement to advance: When in the presence of at least 10 children, don’t allow anyone to touch your hair for three consecutive hours.

As the class and skill settled into her mind and body, leaving behind an intrinsic understanding of what they were and what they did, Becca sagged in her seat, barely able to keep from falling to the ground as vertigo assailed her. Even then, she would’ve fallen if the headmistress hadn't reached a hand across her desk and grabbed Becca's left arm, pulling her forward to read over the glowing information written out there just as it vanished.

“Cease this pointless flailing. I’m only after seeing your status, child.” Surprisingly enough, there was no true excitement, nor was there even a hint of malice in her voice. “Come on, follow my voice. Most people are asleep when the system first opens up to them; it can be quite disorienting. Now, show me what you were given.”

Knowing she wasn't going to be getting her arm back until she followed the headmistress’s instructions, Becca lifted the index finger of her right hand and trailed them across the inseam of her left arm. As she did, golden words swirled into existence, displaying the information of her class and skills. 

“Rebecca… Punzel?” The words were considering, as if tasting the flavor of them for a long-lost memory. For a moment the young girl perked up: she was learning her last name at the same time as her guardian. “As far as I know, not a noble name. No luck there, but that's unsurprising. You wouldn't be here if you were some noble brat that just got lost in the shuffle. As for your skill…” 

Becca slumped even further, knowing how terrible of a skill she’d just unlocked. A moment later, her initial impression was confirmed.

“No combat application, all of the beneficial modifiers are self-affecting only, none of them offer any means of strengthening yourself over time. Only your hair, which means you can't even use the skill to start training in a profession as a barber or stylist.” Schule-tyrant gave a slight, dismissive tilt of her head and let out a mirthless chuckle. “I never thought I'd see the day. An utterly useless Mythical skill.”

Becca's eyes went wide as she realized the system had said something about ‘Myth’ as well. “I don't understand what you mean; how is this a ‘Mythical’ skill? It's only… hair care!”

“If you were some pampered princess, I'm sure this is a skill you would adore.” The headmistress sat back, finally releasing Becca's arm. “When I say it’s a Mythical skill… you've done some study on this in your required classes, yes? The number of modifiers in any given skill determines its rarity. Everyone who gets a skill has at least one modifier, which is why having only one is known as having a ‘Common’ skill. From there, each additional modifier increases the rarity of the skill by one. So at two modifiers, Uncommon.”

“I've only heard up to ‘Rare’, as Herr Kahl told us we’d never amount to more than that anyway.” Becca winced as she realized she’d spoken without permission, but the headmistress didn't seem to notice the breach of protocol.

“It continues on to Epic, with five modifiers being considered Legendary.” The woman leaned back in her chair, gently rubbing the tips of her fingers back and forth on her palms consideringly. “You have six modifiers… which is so absolutely absurd. It is considered only a ‘myth’. Hence, Mythical. Therein lies the problem I now face, Rebecca Punzel.”

The golden-haired girl gulped as Schule-tyrant turned her full attention back to her. “Even though your skill is useless, there are people out there who would want to ‘collect’ you for the sheer rarity you represent. You're lucky I'm of strong enough character that I won’t use you to enrich myself. Instead, I'll give you a few pieces of advice. First, I'm the first and only person who ever gets to see your skills, until the day you decide to get a system-witnessed marriage.” 

Shrugging, the headmistress explained the odd requirement, “After that, it won't matter if you tell other people. No one will be able to steal your Mythical modifiers, bolstering their own power by convincing or coercing you into marrying them when you don't want to. I'd like you to swear this to me with the most sacred of oaths, crossing your heart and hoping to die, so no one can force you to speak.”

Holding up a hand, she stopped Becca from responding out of turn. “Not yet. It's not time yet. There's more you have to understand before that. Plus, I'm not going to make you swear to me, it's just an offer. As I was saying, the next piece of advice is how to see an abbreviated version of your skill. I'm sure you don't want to see that entire chunk of text when you're just trying to see if you've leveled up a skill. Move your fingers across your arm in the same pattern as usual, but put a clear intent to only see the effects instead of the flavor.”

“The… flavor?” Becca spoke quizzically, unable to understand the instructions. “Is that-?”

“I'm talking about all the extra fluff the system adds to make reading about your skill more palatable,” the headmistress impatiently interrupted. “Do the motion and intend to see only the effects.” 

Still unsure of herself, but not willing to test the patience of the person who decided if she got to eat that day, Becca focused her thoughts and swiped along her arm.

Basic Class: Golden Locks

Basic Skill: Hair Helper: Level 1/10.

Knots and tangles in your hair will be [Minimally] smoothed and removed. Hair has a [Minimal] shine added, a continuous [Minimal] rejuvenation effect is applied. [Minimally] dries itself when wet, and grows [3] inches per day. A [Minimal] amount of filth is automatically removed.

“Oh,” Becca muttered as the enormous block of information was reduced down to little more than a quick explanation. “That's… quite helpful, actually.”

“I'm all about efficiency.” Schule-tyrant cracked a grin when she saw the immediate results of her orders. “Speaking of, I wanted to leave you with a bit of hope for the future.” 

The wiry woman locked eyes with Becca, a hint of challenge growing until the girl looked away. “Just because your skills are useless right now doesn’t mean they always will be. If you put your full effort into growing this skill, you can unlock better, more impressive ones down the road. You have six methods of improving this skill, doing any of them will offer you interesting, perhaps unexpected methods of fulfilling the leveling requirements. Do not slowly improve ‘Hair Helper’ until it reaches Perfection. Race there. I can't guarantee this, but…”

Schule-tyrant paused and waited until Becca shifted uncomfortably and finally spoke, “What is it, Schule-?”

The headmistress cut her off once more before the young lady could finish her question. “Since you have a Mythical Skill, it should grow faster than any of your peers. Anyone in your entire generation, for that matter. I'll warn you… at the highest levels, you will have the most difficult quests of any of your age group, but the reward should more than make up for the difficulty.”

Leaning in, the headmistress lifted Becca’s chin and locked eyes with her. “If you have the willpower to see it through, someday you might even be able to do amazing things. Now, you are in possession of the facts. It is time to decide if you want to swear to keep the details of your skill secret… or just get out of my office.”