Simon crouched at the edge of his salvage pile, fingers brushing over a dull gray shard etched with worn circuit lines. The sun had barely cleared the trees, yet his breath had already begun to fog in the cold morning air.
He didn't mind the chill. Not today.
Today, he had one goal.
---
EXP Bank: 56 / 2,000
Production Class Slots: 8 (Unused: 8)
Unlock Cost – Runeforged Salvager: 100 EXP
Remaining Required: 44 EXP
---
He lifted the shard to eye level and turned it slowly, watching the faint lines catch the sunlight. Some of the rune paths were intact—others fractured. But one edge curled into a familiar pattern he'd seen yesterday on a different plate.
He grabbed that plate now, placed the shard against it, and rotated it until they aligned.
A soft click. No power. But the pieces joined as if they belonged.
---
Skill Leveled: [Pattern Recognition VIII] → +8 EXP
EXP Bank: 64 / 2,000
---
He moved on. Picked through the pile. Paired fragments. Checked grooves. Pressed cracked plates into recovered sockets and discarded the ones that didn't lock. No wasted motion. No noise.
It was like meditation—if meditation had sharp metal edges and the risk of wasting a day's effort.
---
Skill Leveled: [Material Appraisal III] → +4 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Item Handling VI] → +1 EXP
EXP Bank: 69 / 2,000
---
Still short.
He shifted gears. Opened his [Mental Mapping] skill and began sketching runes with a sharpened twig in the dirt, testing layout flow. When he transitioned to breathing techniques mid-task, the system acknowledged it.
---
Skill Leveled: [Controlled Breathing VI] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Mental Mapping V] → +4 EXP
EXP Bank: 74 / 2,000
---
Twenty-six more.
He picked up the half-stabilized crystal core and socketed it into a cracked housing. Nothing ignited, but the pressure fit was close. He tried reinforcing it with a broken band clamp, pressing the seams gently.
The crystal pulsed faintly. Just once.
---
Skill Leveled: [Item Handling VII] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Material Appraisal IV] → +4 EXP
EXP Bank: 79 / 2,000
---
It wasn't enough. He needed one more push. Something different.
He stepped back from the salvage and breathed slowly, grounding himself. Then he began disassembling one of the failed assemblies—removing each piece carefully, as if rewinding time.
Every reversed cut taught him something new.
---
Skill Leveled: [Self-Analysis VII] → +4 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Pattern Recognition IX] → +8 EXP
EXP Bank: 91 / 2,000
---
Nine to go.
He sat down, stared at the remaining fragments, and tried something simple. A cracked glyph plate and a metal bracket, both clearly unrelated—until he rotated the bracket and spotted a ridge that mirrored the glyph's fault line.
Just enough to seat one inside the other.
He pressed them together.
The interface pinged softly.
---
Skill Leveled: [Material Appraisal V] → +4 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Item Handling VIII] → +1 EXP
EXP Bank: 96 / 2,000
---
He looked up. The light was shifting—late morning now. Time was moving.
He focused, closed his eyes, visualized the alignment from memory, and exhaled with perfect control.
---
Skill Leveled: [Controlled Breathing VII] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Self-Analysis VIII] → +4 EXP
EXP Bank: 101 / 2,000
---
That was it.
He opened the class list.
---
Production Class Available: [Runeforged Salvager] (Trash)
Scavenges system-tagged ruins. Allows basic reassembly and partial restoration.
Requirements Met
Base Unlock Cost: 100 EXP
Use 100 EXP from EXP Bank?
---
He confirmed.
---
Class Unlocked: [Runeforged Salvager]
Production Class Slot 1 of 8 activated
EXP Bank: 1 / 3,000
Runeforged Salvager Class Level: 1 (0 EXP assigned)
Passive Gained: [System Trace Instinct I]
---
Simon opened his eyes.
Something had changed—not visibly, not physically—but mentally. Like a sixth sense that didn't speak in words. When he looked at his salvage pile now, he knew what pieces didn't belong. His eyes were drawn to potential fracture seams, to natural connection points, to symmetry.
It wasn't intelligence. It was intuition.
[System Trace Instinct] didn't think for him. It just sharpened his instincts.
He grabbed the same two pieces from earlier—the cracked core, the fused band—and tried again.
This time, he didn't hesitate. He pressed. Rotated. Locked.
Click.
The whole thing shivered once in his hands.
---
Item Created: [Basic Core Relay – F+ Grade]
Stability: 22%
Function: Energy transmission component (low efficiency)
+5 EXP added to EXP Bank
Note: No EXP automatically assigned to Runeforged Salvager
---
Simon looked at the result, expression unreadable.
He set it aside, carefully, and brought up his class screen.
---
Runeforged Salvager – Level 1
EXP: 0 / 1,000
(Level 2 cost: 1,000 + (2 × 100) = 1,200)
EXP Bank: 6 / 3,000
---
He nodded. It made sense.
Unlocking the class didn't level it. All EXP still went to the bank. If he wanted to push it to level 2, he'd need to choose to spend EXP on it.
Every point spent was a decision. A direction.
There was no auto-progression. No shortcuts.
He glanced at his salvage pile.
Still more to learn. Still more to build.
He brought up his full status for the first time that day.
---
SIMON GRAYE
Combat Class: Forest Hunter Path – Lv. 1
Production Class: Runeforged Salvager – Lv. 1
EXP Bank: 6 / 3,000
Tracked Skills:
[Item Handling VIII]
[Material Appraisal V]
[Pattern Recognition IX]
[Self-Analysis VIII]
[Controlled Breathing VII]
[Mental Mapping V]
[Flora Recognition V]
[Silent Step V]
[Observe Environment V]
Passives:
[Hunter's Poise I]
[System Trace Instinct I]
---
He sat back, palms resting on his knees, and stared into the quiet ruins.
No voices. No destiny.
Just numbers, logic… and a little momentum.