Tanya awoke with a start. The first thing she saw was Ian jolting awake too.

They made eye contact, both straight-faced, then the laughter just flooded out.

Tanya walked over, leaning on the edge of the tattoo chair beside him.

"How do you feel, eh?"

Ian sat up on his elbows and winced. "Like I'm sunburnt all over."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Tanya said, her smile growing.

"This amount of pain is normal?!" Ian said in mock horror.

Tanya wrapped a gentle arm around his shoulder, more hovering than touching.

"We made it,' Tanya said. Your errand seemed happy too. You lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as I finished."

Ian looked around. "How long have I been out?"

"I could ask you the same question," Tanya asked.

She could tell it was daytime by the light outside. She guessed probably afternoon by the temperature. It was that period right at the end of winter where the days were warming, but the early morning and evening chilled you to the bone. Not that the cold worried her much nowadays, with her Attributes so high.

"Woah," Ian said.

Tanya turned around. He was looking down at the blurry lines through the Saran Wrap. She knew that panicky feeling all too well. No matter how long she thought about a tattoo or designed it, something was affronting about your skin itself changing in appearance. Ian's would be even more intense; it wasn't just an area of his arm, it was his whole body.

"Would you like to see it?" Tanya asked.

"Can I?"

She helped him slowly out of the chair. Then began the painful art of unwrapping all of the crinkly plastic from his body.

She stepped back, a wad of plastic in her hands. He walked over to the mirror, still only wearing his boxers and a draped blanket. The moment he saw himself, he dropped the blanket to one side.

"Wow…" Ian breathed. There was awe in his voice, but his expression was more one of shock and horror.

She'd never have given someone a tattoo like this before. Not only would it be an insane amount of work, but she took face, neck, and large hand tattoos very seriously. Tanya couldn't imagine going from bare to this in a single step.

The cardboard armour pieces covered his body. It had more been about hiding the contours of his body than accentuating them, so the deep shading gave him a grey look at first glance. Ian followed the lineart with his eyes from the lollypop stick gauntlets all the way up his arm to the egg cartoon pauldrons and cut up box of his chestplate. It was one of those uncanny tattoos that looked strangely three-dimensional from the right angle, just to break if you stared too hard at the edges or if they turned just a tiny bit sideways.

"Superdad," Ian whispered.

"How's your Vitality looking?" Tanya asked, before realising she could look herself.

Ian checked too. "Holy shit!"

The numbers changed before Tanya's eyes as he accepted each and every Notification.

• • •

Information

Name: Ian Barrow Number: 976,856,120 Age: 40 Species: Human Class: Errand Paladin Level: 5

Attributes

Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Vitality: 14 Concentration: 12 Will: 20

Abilities

Strength of Will Level 7

Whilst on an Errand, you are guided by your Will. Your Vitality will be double your Will Attribute for the length of your Errand. At the end of the Errand, your Attribute pools will return to normal.

Achievements

Worthy

You were deemed worthy of The System's care. You have been given a class and access to The Interface.

Extensive Multileveller II

You did what? How? Like few before you, you have levelled more than 3 Class levels and more than 5 Ability levels in a single action. Achievement Boon: You gain a bonus level to both your Class and Ability

Class Modder

You've had your fate rewritten before it even began. Most wait, grow, and adapt to the mould given to them. You, however, accepted a path-changing tool, boon, or boost from another Worthy. The path ahead is yours to walk—may the changes suit you, and may you never come to regret them. Achievement Boon: An extra and Unique Subclass option has been added to your choices at Level 10.

Errands

Errand 1 - COMPLETED

Title: Monster Killer and Retriever Errand Giver: Number 576,876 Reward: Custom Tattoo from Number 10,056 Bonus: Class Unlock

Errand 2 -

Title: Ward Analysis Errand Giver: Number 576,876 Reward: Full guided testing and analysis of Errand Paladin by Number 576,876 Bonus:

Errand 3 - COMPLETED

Title: Tattoo Tester Errand Giver: Number 10056 Reward: Test tattoo plus second tattoo from 10056 Bonus: 7000 XP

• • •

Tanya's mouth was completely open. "Holy fuck. 4 Levels!"

Tanya's Notifications flurried in right after, but she was too busy ogling the Level 5 next to Ian's name.

Mrs Eceer ran in from the street. "You… what?!"

"I have so many options…" Ian whispered.

Mrs Eceer squealed—or Tanya thought it was a squeal. She didn't know the elder lady was capable of it. On a normal day, that would be the craziest thing to have happened—but today was far from a normal day.

"Do not pick a single thing before talking to me," Mrs Eceer demanded. She was already staring off into space, her finger and eyes moving as quick as a whip through his Interface.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

"Wait, you ran in so fast. Where were you?" Tanya asked.

"I was at the wards. I began jogging when I heard you both awake."

"You—That's like a mile. How far can you hear?!" Tanya exclaimed.

Mrs Eceer furrowed her brows. "It's significantly less than a mile."

"I—nevermind."

"This is remarkable progress," Mrs Eceer said, shaking her head.

"I'm so fuckin' happy for you, mate," Tanya said to Ian.

"Not just him," Mrs Eceer said.

"Oh, fuck. Right." Tanya opened up her own Interface.

• • •

Alert!

Through your efforts, you have increased the following Attributes:

Dexterity +1

Vitality +3

Will +2

Concentration +3

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up Passing the Mark to Level 2

• • •

Congratulations!

You have unlocked a new Boon Type from A Blink of an Eye.

Minor Boon– Situation of slight risk. You may be hiding from a threat, placating a foe, or surrounded by manageable enemies.

Moderate Boon – Situation of considerable risk. You may be in the midst of a battle, saving yourself or another from possible death, or at risk of losing the upper hand.

Greater Boon– Situation of certain loss. You may be losing a battle, saving another or yourself from near-certain death, or about to lose a limb, ally, or bodily control.

???

• • •

Subclass Creator

You've rewritten someone's fate before it even began. A tool, boon, or boost from you has changed how a Worthy will grow, creating a new Subclass in the process. That path is now tied to your mark.

Achievement Boon: You will receive a reward whenever a Worthy takes this Unique Subclass. The stronger they become, the greater your share.

Note: This Achievement is ineligible for Major Ability Crossroads. Instead you gain the Ability if Boon prerequisites are met.

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up The Magic Touch to Level 5

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up Mnemonic Etching to Level 4

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up Mnemonic Etching to Level 5

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up Mnemonic Etching to Level 6

Mnemonic Etching has received a Minor Ability Boon.

Mnemonic Etching

Level 3

You, your tattoos, and those being tattooed can store a single memory within a tattoo. When activated or during creation, it imprints that memory onto both the Wielder's and your mind—whether it's a tactical lesson, an emotional moment, or even a warning from the past.

This can be utilised during creation to shape the tattoo itself. In return for less control over the result and more risk, the tattoo will have more power and deeper synergy.

• • •

Congratulations!

You have leveled multiple Abilities twice with one action.

You may choose to give this extra experience to any level you wish, or split it between multiple.

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled Tattoo Summoner to Level 8

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled Tattoo Summoner to Level 9

Congratulations!

You have unlocked a Major Ability Crossroads. These are Abilities you choose rather than just unlock. This may impact future choices you are given.

Would you like to see your choices?

• • •

Tanya baulked.

She stared at the list of new upgrades. Between the synergy with Assistant and the synergy with Mrs Eceer's Wards, this had been mammoth.

She hadn't seen Attributes growing this much since the early levels—and another Achievement too? That gave her 4 different options for this Major Ability Crossroads. She struggled to comprehend it.

Passing the Mark? When did I…?

She remembered the transfer with Marcy, struggling to believe that she did that right before all of this with Ian.

"How's Marcy?" Tanya asked Mrs Eceer.

"Ah, yes. She awoke whilst you were tattooing. She came back a couple of days later, but you were asleep. The tattoo works well, nothing groundbreaking from what she said, but she's been enjoying using the two tattoos together."

Tanya let herself relax.

"Oh, look, I got a couple of levels too," Mrs Eceer remarked. She stopped. "I unlocked my Subclass." She backed toward the chair, and when it hit the back of her legs, she slowly sat down, mouth agape.

"This is so fuckin' cool!" Tanya declared.

Tanya immediately pivoted to looking at Mrs Eceer's Interface.

"I can't see it anywhere. What are the options?" Tanya asked.

Mrs Eceer opened her mouth to talk, but it didn't sound like she was speaking any language Tanya had heard before.

"Wait what?" Tanya asked.

Mrs Eceer tried again. "Can you not hear me?"

"Am I going crazy?" Tanya asked.

"I can't hear it either," Ian added.

"Nooo!" Tanya cried, placing her forehead against the wall. "Agh! It's the goddamn redacted bullshit again."

Ian blinked. "The what?"

"Ah." Mrs Eceer sighed and turned to Ian. "The System redacts information in specific cases. So far, we've had it talking about Classes to those non-Worthy in too much detail, and after the Tutorial at Level 5. It seems that Subclasses fall under that purview."

"So fuckin' annoyin'. I thought that when one of us got it, we could all learn about it," Tanya said.

"Seems like this is a decision I will make alone," Mrs Eceer said.

If it had been anyone else, Tanya might have suggested waiting for someone to be high enough level that they could decide together. However, with it being Mrs Eceer, there likely wasn't anyone more qualified to research and choose in the entire area.

"Wait for me before choosing, hm?" Mrs Eceer said to Ian. It was a request rather than a command, but he'd have been stupid not to listen.

He nodded eagerly.

"Let's go sit," Tanya said, walking through to the sofa. She flopped down in her favourite armchair, legs dangling over one of the arms. The others followed, all of them deep in their interfaces in a shared silence.

As the adrenaline of Iann surviving and of the crazy level-ups wore off, Tanya could feel the ache of the multiple days of intense tattooing. It was that subtle weight and nausea of a hangover.

She guessed her Attributes had dipped into the negative. Looking at her Attributes, she noticed her Vitality was exactly 0. Her other Attributes were much higher, although none were on full.

Start easy, Tanya.

She had points to spread out. Getting closer to her Level 10 Subclass was tempting, as was adding more power to Mnemonic Etching, but with 4 new Abilities to choose from already, and a new Boon to Mnemonic Etching, it felt like she had enough to adapt to.

She analysed her other Abilities.

A Blink of an Eye didn't feel like the best option because she hadn't been using it much recently. She hadn't even thought of the situation with Ian possibly triggering it. Overall, her aim was working away from that danger rather than towards it.

Passing the Mark could be a good thing to boost for general customer care. She hoped it would make the impact less overwhelming on those whom she transferred to. Tanya settled on Passing the Mark. It was a low-level Ability, but one she planned to lean on heavily in the near future.

She confirmed her choice, and a new Notification appeared.

• • •

Level Up!

You have leveled up Passing the Mark to Level 3

Passing the Mark has received a Minor Ability Boon.

Passing the Mark Level 3 Unlocked from Achievement: Not Your Vessel You may permanently transfer a tattoo from your own body onto another living being—ally or otherwise. The transferred tattoo retains its current state, but may behave differently depending on the host. Information about the ease of the Transfer is now available in the Design Overlay.

• • •

Tanya wasn't very sure what that meant yet, but she hoped it would help her make it easier on her transfer clients.

She let out a breath, her smile growing. It was time to look at her final Major Ability Crossroad options—well, the final one she knew of. She wasn't sure how levelling worked post Subclass, but she bet that Mrs Eceer wouldn't be able to tell her until she got there.

Let's go.

• • •

Clientele Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Magical Entrepreneur

Your tattoos can be "leased" to willing customers for a limited time, functioning at reduced strength. Once the lease ends, the tattoo returns to you. Customers who carry your marks for extended periods develop an unconscious affinity toward you, making them more likely to trust, assist, or trade favourably.

Brand of Conquest

Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Spoils of War

You may engrave the essence of a defeated enemy into a tattoo, carrying a fragment of their instinct, magic, or fighting style. These "war brand" tattoos grant situational bonuses when facing similar enemies, but risk eroding your own identity the more you carry.

Legacy Etching Level 1 Unlocked from Achievement: Life Changing Magic

When a wielder with one of your tattoos dies, you may choose to transfer their Class imprint into the tattoo itself. Any future bearer of that tattoo will gain fragments of the fallen's Class knowledge—granting bonus proficiencies, partial skill memories, or unique techniques that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Harmonized Summons Level 1

Unlocked from Achievement: Complete Synergy

Two or more summons bearing compatible tattoos may now "link" into a single composite summon. This fusion inherits the strengths and weaknesses of both, but also develops new instincts that may not align perfectly with your control.

• • •

"Holy fuck," Tanya said, staring at the list.

"I will never get tired of getting to choose level-ups," Ian breathed as he studied his own.

"Indeed," said Mrs Eceer.

Tanya grinned. "Major fuckin' agree."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.