Chapter 1: 1. The Class Seed

Alice stared down at the golden goose-egg which was most certainly not supposed to be in a puppy whelping box.

She had come to the hound kennels to check on Junebug, the Earl's prize hound dog. Sure enough Junebug now had a [Mother] temporary tag floating in red over her head and five squirming puppies nuzzled up to her belly. The intensity of the red tag would fade as the pups grew and were eventually weened.

However, it seemed Junebug wasn't just prized for her foxhunting skills.

She had somehow generated a class seed. An item that was so rare she’d only recognized it from stories. It was one of the few ways to voluntarily change one’s class.

Alice reached for the golden egg, which was shoved up against the opposite side of the wooden box away from the puppies. Her fingers hesitated a fraction of an inch from the shell.

No. Skin-on-skin contact would activate it. Then she would never be able to sell it.

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure the [Kennel Manager] was nowhere near, she pulled the sleeve of her sweater over her hand. She grabbed the egg and shoved it into the front pocket of her apron.

No need to worry about breaking the shell. This wasn't truly an egg. It only looked like one.

[Scholars] and [Priests] debated whether class seeds sprung into the world randomly or out of a moment of need. They famously generated in war-torn zones as if the System wanted to help soldiers in dire straits. As such, they were hard to destroy.

No sooner had she hidden the egg, then she heard footsteps behind her.

Old Roy, the [Kennel Manager] stomped into view.

"Who's there? Oh, is that you Alice?"

"It's me," she confirmed. "Just checking on Junebug."

He snorted and stomped up to her. "Well? She birthed yet?"

"Five pups so far," Alice said, quashing a spike of irritation.

Roy was the classer here, so he was in charge. But the hounds were so well-leveled that they were intelligent enough to not cause trouble. Roy had been coasting in his duties for years, leaving it up to [General Laborers] like Alice to take up the slack.

The only hope she had to get a true class of her own was to show aptitude and hope the system would see and reward her. What she wouldn't give for a [Kennel Worker], [Animal Caretaker], or [Veterinarian Assistant] tag.

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Alice didn't dare tell anyone this, of course. Nor did she allow any distaste for the smell of alcohol wafting off Roy to cross her face. The man had been in his office drinking again.

"By the way Junebug's panting, there may be a few more puppies coming," she said.

Roy grunted and looked over. "You didn't touch none of the pups, girl?"

She shook her head quickly and backed a step just in case he tried to take a swipe at her.

Roy narrowed his eyes, but either believed her or didn't care enough to push. With a series of grunts and exaggerated grimaces, he maneuvered his large bulk into the straw-lined whelping box and reached to touch the puppies one by one.

As he did, the empty area over the newborn puppies’ heads flashed with a [Common Hound] tag. A few ranks lower than Junebug's [Prize Hound] tag.

From what Roy had claimed, the [Kennel Master] class gave random bonuses to newborn pups under his care.

Alice thought that might be a bunch of bunk. She’d never seen a newborn [Prize Hound].

"Worthless," Roy muttered, laboriously standing again.

She looked down at the tiny, squirming puppies. "You don't know that. They might earn a better class, once they grow up a little."

"Doubtful. You start as trash, you end as trash." Roy turned, unknowing or uncaring he was speaking to a [General Laborer] and stomped back to his office, and his drink.

As Alice watched him go, her hand slipped to touch over her apron pocket.

Most people started with the classes of one of their parents. That meant the families of [General Laborers] stayed [General Laborers]. Even noble's bastards only had a 50/50 shot of being a [Gentleman] or [Gentlewoman].

If someone worked hard, dedicated themselves to a single task, and the system was feeling generous that day... someone might earn an upgraded class.

Or they could buy a Class Seed. Just like the one Alice had in her pocket. People paid fabulous amounts of money. Either way if she kept or sold it, her lift was about to change forever.

"I won't stay trash forever," she muttered, but so quietly it was doubtful Junebug even heard her.

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