Jack stared at his class and skills list in shock. The words blurred for a second and then came back into focus. “No, this can’t be right. How?”

  [Class Screen-Internal View]

  Class: Novice Archer (0)

  Compatibility: 23%

  Novice Primary Skills

  - Silent Shot (0)

  - True Aim (0)

  - Piercing Arrow (0)

  - Eagle Eye (0)

  - Bowyer’s Craft (0)

  - Fletcher’s Precision (0)

  As expected, he had the standard Novice Archer class and skills, all at level 0. Other secondary archery skills, like [Quick Nock], [Silent Step], [Disarming Shot], would have to be learned and practised over time. Time he didn’t have.

  Sadly, he had a very low Class Compatibility score of only 23%. This would hamper his archery progress in the short term, but with the right sort of training, the percentage would increase.

  He expected to see only archer; that’s what he’d chosen, after all. But what surprised him was that his scribe class and skills were also listed.

  [Class Screen-Internal View]

  Class: Apprentice Scribe (49)

  Compatibility: 70%

  Novice Primary Skills

  - Copy Text (5)

  - Translate Text (5)

  - Draughtsmanship (6)

  - Bind Book (5)

  - Restoration (4)

  Novice Secondary Skills

  - Calligraphy (5)

  - Layout (4)

  - Emboss Text (4)

  - Cartography (4)

  - Cataloguing (5)

  - Wax Sealing (3)

  - Ink Preparation (3)

  - Parchment Preparation (3)

  - Watermarking (3)

  - Contracts (3)

  - Margin Notation (5)

  - Ink Weatherproofing (3)

  - Micro-Script (4)

  - Leather Working (3)

  - Illuminated Script (2)

  - Gold Leaf (2)

  Apprentice Primary Skills

  - Perfect Recall (5)

  - Create Cypher/Decipher (4)

  - Inscribe Spell (5)

  - Scribe’s Ear (3)

  - Glyph of Obfuscation (5)

  Apprentice Secondary Skills

  - Living Margins (2)

  - Lexomancy (3)

  - Seal of Silence (3)

  - Explosive Ink (2)

  - Echo Writing (2)

  - Dream Journaling (3)

  - Astral Notation (2)

  Jack had retained all his Primary and Secondary Scribe Skills and two-plus decades of experience from his first life. He was still a level 49 Apprentice Scribe, just 1 level away from Journeyman Scribe and a new set of skills.

  “Why? I-I’m still a scribe.” Jack whispered. Relief flooded his body as he realised what this meant. “I can still work with Dad.”

  Even his Class Compatibility score had recovered to its original higher percentage. In fact, it was a couple of percentage points higher than his first time around.

  He shook his head in confusion. Nothing makes sense.

  In his first life, the damage to his right hand, one of his eyes, and lungs—and twenty years of alcohol abuse—resulted in his original Class Compatibility score of 68% dropping to 43%. It had been even lower at one point. After reducing the time he spent in taverns to concentrate on training for his revenge, the score recovered partially.

  The Fates had smiled on him. All the disappointment at having to choose a combat class faded away. I’m still a scribe. This changes everything. Jack looked at the marble statue, smiled, and thanked the Goddess Demeter again. “Thank you so much. I-I swear by the Gods I won’t waste this life.”

  He turned away from the Choosing Stone and headed towards the temple exit while enjoying the birdsong. As he walked home through the capital city, he reevaluated his plans. I can work as a scribe while also training as an archer. He smiled at a young couple who walked together hand in hand. I can have a good life as a scribe with Jasmin, and seek justice against the Baron; I can have it all.

  He was already devising multiple plans of action. He planned to send an anonymous letter detailing the blood cult’s activities to the Inquisition.

  If that failed, he’d work as a scribe under his father; however, this time, when Greaves tasked his father to decipher the book of spells on blood magic, he’d convince his dad to take the first few translated pages to either the head of the Royal Library or the Inquisition, bypassing the Baron.

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  Over the next few years, he’d train his archery skills and, if necessary, seek revenge on the Baron.

  There were books dedicated to how to train for a specific class, with charts and tables explaining the relevance of Class Compatibility with hundreds of different skills. Jack recalled a page from a book, Path of the Bow, about archery skills he’d memorised.

  True Aim (0)

  Draw and hold a nocked arrow before letting loose a more accurate, faster, and powerful shot.

  6.0 seconds to activate the skill.

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power 5% above the Class Compatibility score.

  Jack smiled. “I still have [Perfect Recall].” He frowned as he calculated how much power a [True Aim] empowered arrow would hold at level 0. “Damn. That’s not good. I only gain twenty-eight per cent compared to before.” He smiled again. I’m still a scribe.

  He’d used the simple formula of adding his Class Compatibility percentage of 23% to the 5% offered by the skill at its base level. He’d need years of training, rune-enchanted arrows, and maybe divine intervention just to land a clean shot. At only 28% accuracy, his archery skills wouldn’t qualify him to consistently hit a training dummy, let alone Greaves, who would be wearing rune-etched protections.

  Pausing by the edge of a fountain, he watched his reflection ripple in the water. For just a moment, he saw both his new and old reflection. On one side, the present, a fresh-faced sixteen-year-old with a bright future ahead of them. On the other side, his scarred visage from his forty-plus-year-old past self. He shook his head, and the image was replaced by his unscarred face.

  If he didn’t shape up, he’d fail to stop Greaves, and his family would die again. He needed his body to grow stronger over the next few years. Fifty per cent Class Compatibility wasn’t the end goal; it was the minimum requirement.

  Jack continued on his way while giving a deep sigh. “Looks like I’ll be doing a lot of exercise.”

  His father’s words came to mind as he walked home: Compatibility’s everything, Son. It encompasses a person’s strength, agility, dexterity, intellect, state of health, and disabilities; everything in a single attribute. A swordsman with bad knees won’t ever match a warrior who was born to fight. Even having a few bad nights of sleep or a bad hangover will temporarily decrease Class Compatibility. He was fourteen at the time, and his mom had added: And that’s why smart boys like you don’t go to taverns, Jack.

  He smiled at the memory. “I should’ve listened to Mom,” he whispered while a feeling of regret washed over him.

  Jack visualised the entire table of the [True Aim] skill from level 0 to level 10 and concentrated on the early levels.

  Level 0

  Time to activate: 6.0 seconds

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power: 5%

  Level 1

  Time to activate: 5.5 seconds

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power: 10%

  Average practice time to reach level: 6 to 7 weeks

  Level 2

  Time to activate: 5.0 seconds

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power: 20%.

  Average practice time to reach level: 34 to 35 weeks

  Level 3

  Time to activate: 4.5 seconds

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power: 30%

  Average practice time to reach level: 2 years and 1 month

  Level 4

  Time to activate: 4.0 seconds

  Accuracy, Speed, and Power: 40%

  Average practice time to reach level: almost 10 years

  …

  Jack chuckled as he remembered the author’s sarcastic footnote: If you’re reading level 10’s requirements, best hope you have elven ancestry. The time required increased based on a complex formula, with each additional level taking longer than the previous one. In theory, it would take over 100 years to reach level 10; in practice, it would take far longer due to the archer suffering from lingering injuries and old age.

  “I can get to level 3 before I have to deal with Greaves,” he muttered to himself as he walked through the city. “Hmm, if I can get Compatibility up to fifty per cent, my accuracy will be over eighty per cent. Sixty per cent Compatibility would be better, though.”

  If the Inquisition did its job, he wouldn’t need to kill Greaves. He imagined Greaves hanging from the gallows along with the other eleven blood mages. Baron Greaves’ high-quality boots dangled a few feet above the cobbled stone, his feet twitching as the life drained out of him.

  As Jack approached his home, he spotted the two inquisitors and their guards exiting a property. “Shit,” he whispered as he had no choice but to carry on walking on the opposite side of the road to them. Don’t notice me. Ignore me. I’m nobody important. His mind spiralled, knowing that if an inquisitor scanned him again, they might see his two classes.

  The male inquisitor glanced across the road at Jack, paused for a few moments, before continuing on his way.

  Jack sped across the road and entered the courtyard to his home. He leaned his back against the closed gate and breathed a sigh of relief.