Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]

I make my way up the stairs and into the light of the literal stage where I’ll be lecturing this morning. The lights blare down upon me, and I feel tiny before the audience of hundreds. Strange, though. There shouldn’t be this many people here. There were only supposed to be two hundred students in the class, plus another two hundred and fifty more auditing. But already, there’s well over five hundred people gathered, and still more people filling up the auditorium.

“Miss Mortensen?” a very casually-dressed man asks, walking up to me.

“That’s me,” I respond.

“Jeremy,” he says, offering his hand. “One of the IT specialists at the university. I’ll be handling technical support for your lecture. Do you have your lecture notes ready? Whatever you plan to have up on the projector.”

I pull out the USB drive from my [Inventory], handing it to him.

“I’d heard about people who can do that, pulling objects out of thin air like magicians. Still so fascinating to see it for myself.”

“A few more years, and I think you’ll see a lot more people doing so.”

He gives a polite smile. We spend a few minutes going over the technical aspects of the facility, including how the remote control works for the stage lighting and the PowerPoint slideshow. All in all, it’s extremely simple and straightforward, though I nod along through the spiel nonetheless. I’m sure there are plenty of faculty members not nearly so technically inclined, and I’m well aware that technology can be finicky at the worst possible time. Knocking on wood that my mechanical left arm doesn’t decide to give out in the middle of my lecture.

Eight o’clock arrives. My heart starts racing, despite all the deep breathing exercises I’ve been doing for the past ten minutes. Fighting monsters? Easy. Traversing dangerous dungeons and emerging alive? Trivial. But standing in front of an audience now approaching a thousand people? That… That’s a primal fear I won’t soon overcome. But I do have to face it.

Again, I Manifest my [Sound Amplification] spell— the single best noncombat spell I’ve been able to string together over the past few weeks— and call the class to attention, no microphone or speaker system needed.

“We’re going to get started here in about another ninety seconds or so. I know there are a lot of you here today, including several people not formally enrolled in my class. I’ve only prepared six hundred syllabi, so if you have just come to listen, I ask that you please not take one, to make sure there are enough for everyone either enrolled or auditing. If you are in the class and have not picked up a syllabus, please pick one up from one of the preceptors going down the aisles, thank you.”

Instinctively, I reach out to Chloe through our [Angelic Bond], only to get no response. She’s doing just fine; I can tell that much, but we’re outside the telepathic range of our shared Skill. Instead, I imagine her here, standing beside me, cheering me on, serving as my beacon of strength, encouraging me just as she silently did when I was lecturing to the faculty a couple months back. It doesn’t help, but it buys me time until it’s time to begin lecturing.

I sprout my wings— by far my most iconic feature— and begin.

“Good morning, everyone! My name is Seraphina Mortensen, and I’m going to be teaching Introduction to the System… Philosophy 100A, I believe. If you aren’t here for this lecture, then here’s your chance to go ahead and depart before I bore you with my ramblings over the next eighty minutes.”

I get a few chuckles, but no one leaves.

“I imagine a few of you might have heard of me already, but if not, you have now.”

This, in contrast, gets me no small number of groans.

“I want to start off with an apology. Due to the overwhelming number of students in this course, I won’t be able to spend a lot of time with Q&A. I will try to devote at least one or two lectures to answering questions from the students in the class, and I’ll try to stay before and after class if you have any specific questions. Now then, I know it’s early, I know it’s the first day of class, and I know that there’s going to be an adjustment for everyone, especially with it being the first semester since the System arrived. So, a bit of good news. As long as each of you shows up to class each day and pays attention, you’ll get an A.”

This earns me quite a few cheers and applause.

“Let’s start out with the System. What is it? The truth is, we don’t know. Some consider it to be a god. Some consider it to be some incredibly powerful quantum intelligence, working to carry out the goals of whoever or whatever created it. Others consider it to merely be a product of how our minds interface with Ether, rather than a distinct entity in and of itself. These people argue that this is merely the way our brains try to consciously understand and represent the intuitive grasp we all have over our Skills and magic. And there are other opinions as well, including some by well-respected scholars and philosophers. Personally, I lean toward the second of those explanations, though I don’t have any proof of that.

“What I think is worth talking about are levels and classes, which form the backbone of the power we’re each given by the System. A Class is something akin to a job, a profession, a calling, and a foundation. It governs the type of Skills we’ll each be given, as well as how we earn Experience and gain levels. Those of you who have played RPG’s before are probably already familiar with a lot of the common combat-focused classes. [Healer], [Mage], [Wizard], [Fighter], [Archer], and [Ranger], just to name a few.

“But just as notable, less talked about, and probably more important than those are the classes I’m grouping together as noncombatant classes. Your [Farmers] and [Ranchers] growing and synthesizing food, [Machinists] and [Mechanics] and [Technicians] maintaining our infrastructure, all so we can live lives comparable to those we had before the System arrived. Thanks to their tireless work, we don’t have to worry about starvation. Our heating and air conditioning and plumbing all still work. Our roads keep functioning, and many of us don’t think about it.”

I give everyone a chance to let it sink in before continuing.

“Classes determine what Skills we gain and are more likely to learn through our actions. A [Student] class probably will help you study and learn more effectively, while a [Professor] or [Researcher] class will gain Skills that help them teach and do research. It also determines what trials we will need to overcome in order to gain Experience and advance in levels.

“For me, and others who have combat classes, that means fighting monsters and defeating them. For a [Researcher], that could be proving a new theorem or discovering a new natural law of the world. For those of you listening who have [Student] classes, that might mean studying, acing an exam, passing a difficult course, excelling in practica and all of the other trials en route to getting your degree. In the coming months, I expect our fine institution and others across the world to begin changing policies in order to better align with what Skills and classes allow you all as students— if not with the [Student] class— are now capable of.

“What I don’t think is quite common knowledge, though, is the concept of changing classes.”

I flip to the slide showing the various multiples of 32, with a final marker at 255. Each multiple is listed as a different ascension number, with the seventh and final one at 224. In addition, I highlight in bold the opportunity to take a second class at level 64, and then a third at 128.

This causes murmurs to break out in the crowd, and while I can listen in to the various whispers— including those in the back of the auditorium— I do my best not to focus too strongly on any particular conversation, though I do hear a few common strands of dialogue. Relief from people who initially chose a class they didn’t mesh well with, excitement with people who are wanting to pursue a new path, and joy for those few who felt that no single class did or could encapsulate everything they embodied and wanted to become. Of course, there was the gorilla in the room that more than a few people were asking one another.

“Now, I can hear that some of you are asking how I know that. Sadly, I’m not at liberty to reveal my sources, nor do I think you all would believe me if I told you what they were. What I can say though, is that the first part of this chart is accurate. There absolutely is an ascension at level 32 and a second one at level 64, where you will be able to take two classes. I know this from personal experience, having hit the level 64 threshold personally just a few days ago. If any of you have an [Identify] variant powerful enough to see my level, you have my permission to do so and confirm the truth of my words.”

The crowd goes silent. I see through [Valkyrion’s Perception] the telltale sign of Skills being used by a handful of students. And then the whispers start spreading. Normally, I don’t care much for being talked about behind my back like this, but here, when it’s in regard to my accomplishments rather than my alleged shortcomings or nasty rumors people are spreading? I’m willing to take a few moments to bask in the awe my students have, even if it does make me feel just a bit conceited. I have earned this much, after all.

“With that said,” I say, pausing again to let the chorus of whispers die down once more. “Just as you all can’t decide that you’re going to be a doctor today, and then walk into a clinic and begin practicing medicine tomorrow–” Excluding Chloe, of course, but she’s more of an exception than the rule. “–Those of you here today making plans for when you reach Level 32 will not necessarily be offered the full gamut of possible classes. In fact, the number will likely be in the single or low double digits.

“The classes you will be offered will be based on a number of factors. The actions you take, your cognitive mindset, your interests, and your abilities. But also your current class and the Skills you acquire and use.

“If you spend your time in dungeons, fighting monsters, you can expect to get combat-focused classes. If you spend time in a research lab, doing biochemistry work, expect to get [Chemist] or [Alchemist] classes. Someone who has studied and trained as a medical professional before the System arrived, can probably expect to get the [Doctor] or [Healer] or [Nurse] class. Or perhaps a [Combat Medic] or [Surgeon] class, should they work in those specialties.

“I know that there is only one of me and nearly a thousand of you out here in the audience. I have a feeling at least one of you is livestreaming this lecture as well, and if so, there might be thousands more who will be listening online, either now, or at some later point. With that said, my goal with this class is to give you the knowledge, the skills— System or otherwise— and the guidance you need to make the choices about what Skills, Classes, and path you want to follow. Because that’s ultimately what I think college should be about. Giving you the tools you need to succeed in whatever path you end up following.”