SWNOVELS
FIFTEEN: Class Trader, Part Two
Class Trader, Part Two
On Saturday morning, Alden woke up to the trill of his cell phone alarm at the completely uncivilized hour of 4 AM. He crawled out of the cozy sleeping bag hed brought and flicked on the trading rooms fluorescent lights.
It should be afternoon in India and Indonesia. Evening in China.
Time zones were now something he cared about. He needed to be awake when large numbers of his fellow B-ranks were, and this should be a good time to catch any newcomers.
And, hopefully, it would also be a good time to dodge B74. The other selectee had a lot more experience with trading and a better class to work with than Alden did, plus he was almost always online. Alden needed to take advantage of the guy's brief absences.
B74 was located in the Avowed zone in the western half of North Dakota, an hour behind Chicago time. And hed been up until after midnight last night, probably chugging energy drinks and bothering a newcomer with the ID B105, whod popped up on the trading platform with the Shaper of Life class gleaming like a beacon at the top of their listing.
That class was on 74s wanted list. Alden was almost positive 74 had made a pest of himself, because the Shaper had only hung around for an hour or so before going offline entirely. Not even an autotrade option was left behind to mark the fact that they existed.
B74 had set his own autotrade about three minutes later. He still hadnt managed to get Shaper of Life.
Alden, whod been quietly examining the other Bs and tweaking his own listing, had smiled. It was partially schadenfreude. 74 was rude, and Alden didnt want him to have good things.
But the other selectees antagonistic existence also played into his own plans for his new career as a class trader. If 74 was going to go around cursing at people with bad classes and annoying the shit out of people with good ones, then Alden would be the light to his darkness. He'd be the friendly one people could talk to. Maybe, hopefully, someone would be more inclined to trade with him because of that.
His listing was freshly updated to reflect that goal.
[ID: B13 Location: Artonan Consulate 4, USA
Trading: Meister of Cudgel
Wanted: Adjuster (All), Brute (Speedster, Uncommons), Healer (All), Meister (Traps, Wands, Uncommons), Shaper (All), Sway (All), Wright (All), Rares
Notes: Meister of Cudgel seems like a class with potential, if close-range weapons appeal to you. It has novelty value compared to the more common weapons subclasses, and we all know branding is particularly important for B-ranks hoping to pursue hero work. Im happy to chat with anyone even if negotiations arent on the table. Looking forward to meeting you all on Anesidora soon. I might be the guy with the club.
Autotrade: NO]
Obviously, Alden didnt actually want all of the things his wanted list covered. But he needed to give an impression of openness to conversation, and he shouldnt take the risk of missing out on some strange subtype hed never heard of.
He thought mentioning their future as possible neighbors and classmates on the island was a pleasant touch. And a good indicator that unlike some people, he wouldnt bite someones head off if they approached him with a class he didnt like.
Satisfied for the time being, he sat down and logged himself in. He scanned the list, sipping from a cup of water hed poured before crawling into his sleeping bag a few short hours ago.
B74 was still absent.
And, with a thrill, Alden saw that the Life Shaper was back. Their listing wasnt quite as barebones as it had been last night. No doubt theyd finally had time to settle it now that they werent fending off 74.
He read it carefully.
ID: B105 Location: Artonan Consulate 1, France
Trading: Shaper of Life
Wanted: Adjuster (All), Healer (All), Wright (All)
Notes: Im happy with Shaper of Life, but Im interested in seeing what else might be available before I commit to it. I do not want Morph.
Autotrade: NO
Alden was tempted to contact them, if only to tell them the specific mention of 74's Morph was a nice dig. But he didnt. Based on their preferences, they werent going to go for any kind of physical combat class, and they probably had a low tolerance for wasting time after last night.
Instead, his eyes landed on a listing that had appeared less than a minute ago.
ID: B22 Location: Artonan Consulate 1, Poland
Trading: Chainer
Wanted: Brute (Strength), Meister (Knuckles)
Notes: Hello. Im Andrzej. Good to meet you.
Autotrade: YES
Alden read the listing. Then, feeling certain he must have missed something, he read it again.
Andrzej, no, he muttered. Dont trade Chainer for those.
Chainer was one of the rarest classes. Alden had had time to freshen up his knowledge of some of the rares last night.
In general, they werent better than others. They just happened to be the classes that represented less than a percent of the overall pool. Though the errand-runner class, Rabbit, was more like 1.1% according to the latest numbers.
All of the rares were oddballs, but some of them were impractical oddballs, while others had their uses. Like Chainer.
It was a class that gave you access to the most powerful wordchains, reduced their negative effects, and increased their positive ones. The Artonans were funny about sharing the higher level wordchains outside their own species, so it was a unique opportunity.
Wordchains were inherently balanced, which made the idea of using powerful ones a little scary. Sure, you could use a high level luck chain and have the best day ever in Vegas, but was it really a net win if the payback was dying in a car accident a few weeks later?
The Chainer class made it more likely that the car crash would only severely injure you instead.
Alden didnt think it was a class he particularly wanted for himself. But if he were forced to choose right now this second, hed probably take it over Meister of Cudgel. And Andrzej could absolutely get something more unique than super-strength for it.
Alden couldnt remember exactly how often Chainer occurred, but it was an ultra rare. And some people were really into wordchains. A few superheroes even had them tattooed all over their bodies.
Just to be sure he wasnt completely off the mark, he looked up Andrzejs second choice, Meister of Knuckles, on his laptop. Hed assumed it was a class that specialized in fist weapons, and he was right. It was pretty uncommon.
Unless Andrzej had just committed a series of terribly unlucky typos, then the only thing he could possibly want was to punch things. Hard.
He didnt even list Healer or Adjuster or anything else.
Well, some people wanted to be strong. It wasnt like that was a negative thing. It probably felt wonderful, just on a day-to-day basis, to be bursting with physical power.
Chainer is probably a difficult class to use, too. There was something to be said for the simplicity of smashing bad guys with your fists as opposed to pausing for a meditation break while you made alterations to your own mental state and fate through cross-dimensional barter.
It just hurt Aldens soul a little bit to see one of the rarest classes being casually traded for the most common.
It wouldnt be long. There wasnt a strength Brute trading at B-rank right now, but there were bound to be a few before Andrzejs grace period was up.
Alden scanned the other IDs. There was an agility-type Brute in Bangladesh. And of course there was B74 with Morphbut if the new guy really only wanted strength Brute or Knuckles?
Mines the closest of anything online right now. I guess I should at least try to start a negotiation?
Alden wanted to think about it longer, but he couldnt. Physically strong fighter types were a dime a dozen. Competition would come. Or 74 would wake up and throw his hat into the ring.
I know Chainer will be easier to trade than Meister of Cudgel. I have to go for it.
He clicked on Andrzejs ID before he could second guess himself.
[INITIATE LIVE TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH B22?]
Yes, Alden said aloud.
He expected to come face to face with the Polish teen right away, but apparently Andrzej wasnt operating on the same frantic schedule as B74.
He could be reading up on my class first. Or maybe I have to wait until hes finished talking to someone else?
Whatever the case, Alden had time to straighten the worst of the wrinkles out of his t-shirt and finger-comb his hair. Then he started skimming through a few websites hed bookmarked yesterday, trying to find reliable information about Chainer.
An A-rank Chainer named Keiko Velra had been active as a superhero for the past fifteen years in Japan, but she had never given out a lot of info on her own skills, spells, or wordchains. Many Avowed preferred to keep their powers private, and she was apparently one of them.
For the more common classes you could find encyclopedias worth of information, right down to the specifics the System usually offered beginners of every rank. But for the ultra rares there was no guarantee. Since it was Chainer, people might not even be allowed to be too forthcoming with the details.
But the fact that at least one person only a rank above Alden was managing to do hero work with the class was encouraging. It made Chainer seem more viable, and therefore more valuable.
This Andrezj person probably knew that, too.
When he tells me to get lost, Ill head upstairs for a bathroom break. Maybe when I get back Ill try to say hi to that longsight whose grace period is ending in a couple of days.
Theyre going to be stuck with that. And theyve probably been sitting around in a room just this drab for the past three months with nobody willing to talk to them.
Alden was starting to feel claustrophobic, and he hadnt even been a selectee for a full day yet.
Nearly thirty minutes after hed asked to negotiate, his System interface finally brightened.
[B22 has accepted your invitation. B22 has been vouched for by an authorized witness. You have been vouched for by an authorized witness. Negotiations are approved.]
Alden had been resting his head on his arms, but he sat up straight just in time to see Andrzej appear across the table from him.
The other teen was short and pudgy, with dark blonde hair and narrow brown eyes. He had a friendly smile, and he waved at Alden cheerfully with the hand he wasnt using to maintain contact with the table. On a plate in front of him was a boiled egg and a half-eaten doughnut full of dark red jam.
Dzie dobry! he said.
>
The words appeared in the lower half of Aldens vision, centered on the other teens chest like subtitles from a foreign-language film.
Morning, said Alden, trying to strike a balance between reading the words and making good eye contact. I didnt know how the translation thing would work. This is pretty great.
>
I was chosen yesterday, said Alden. So were both new at this. My names Alden, by the way.
Andrzej ate a bite of his doughnut. He took his time chewing and swallowing, then he said, >
Alden scratched the back of his neck. Yeah. Im pretty sure I would. But I know I dont have exactly the class you want. And Im not loaded, so I cant add on a monetary bonus like some people seem to.
The Polish boy brushed crumbs off his hands onto the plate.
>
Alden had been taking a sip of water. He barely got it down without choking. Youyou want it?
>
For Chainer?
Andrzej gave him a slight frown. >
No, no! Alden said hastily. I just
Dont want to take advantage of you?
He didnt consider himself to be much of a negotiator, but he knew that wasnt the right thing to say when you were trying to convince someone to give you what they had.
Im just surprised youre interested, he explained. I thought you must be very selective with your class preference. Since you only listed two on your wanted list and they were both specific subclasses.
> Andrezj sighed. >
It was only then that Alden realized the other boy really had spent the past half hour researching the cudgel class while Alden waited.
And he wanted it.
Alden felt off-footed by that for some reason.
A paranoid little part of him hissed, No. Dont give it to him. If he wants it, then it must be better than what he has!
But that was just nerves talking. Wasnt it? Andrzej clearly had his own plans for his future as one of the Avowed. Just like Alden did.
I dont know why youd want a specific strength minimum, though?
Maybe Andrzej was one of those guys who really did the math, and there was some hard floor on the strength stat for whatever he wanted his career to be?
What are you going to do with it? Alden blurted. With the cudgel class, I mean?
It wasnt like he needed to know to make the trade, but he wanted to understand what his fellow B-rank was thinking. If it was wildly different from his own perspective on things, he should at least take the time to examine it.
Andrzej smiled, but he shook his head. >
Come on, man, Alden groaned. I know I dont want the class for myself. Ill give it to you for Chainer. I just
The Polish boy raised his eyebrows at Alden. >
Aldens heart rate picked up. He tightened his grip on the milky crystal surface of the table. Be smart, he ordered himself. Is there some trick here Im not seeing?
Only it was hard to be smart with just three hours of sleep under his belt and not enough information about one of the classes involved. And he couldnt just ask for more time to think. Andrzej might give Chainer to someone else.
Of course he wont tell me what he wants Meister of Cudgel for. He doesnt want me to decide his ideal superhero build is better than mine and snatch it away from him.
That doesnt mean his ideal is better than mine. Only that its different. Its fine. Theres no nasty trick here. Most likely. The fact that its happening so quickly and easily doesnt mean Im being an idiot.
Probably.
One of Aldens hands slipped a little against the table. He was actually sweating.
Yeah, lets trade, he said, hoping he didnt sound as nervous as he felt.
Across the table, Andrzej had finished his doughnut, and he was peeling the white off his boiled egg.
>
On the bottom right corner of Aldens System overlay were the words Confirm Class Trade.
Confirm class trade, he said.
At exactly the same time, Andrzej was prodding at the air in front of his own face.
A second later, new words appeared.
[TRADE MEISTER OF CUDGEL CLASS FOR CHAINER CLASS?]
YES/NO
Yes, Alden said.
[B22 has requested a trade. You have requested a trade. Both selectees have been vouched for by authorized witnesses. Please wait. Your class is being re-assigned.]
Alden held his breath.
And then he had to stop doing that so he wouldnt pass out.
> Andrzej noted.
Right? Does some kind of signal have to travel from here to Artona and back again?
>
Yeah. I take classes here at the consulate with an instructor teaching from Artona, and theres no lag. As far as I can tell.
Andrzej brightened. >
Yes.
>
Oh, so he definitely wanted to do superhero work. From what Alden had heard, you couldnt graduate from any of the advanced training programs on Anesidora without being fluent in at least one of the worlds five most-spoken languages.
As a B-rank it would be even more important to be multilingual, to increase your odds of getting job offers.
I need to learn Mandarin, Alden mused. He was just thinking out loud, but Andrzejs smile grew even more excited.
>
Yes. If I can get the right class, I want to go into
He was interrupted by a flare of light as his interface shifted.
[CLASS TRADE APPROVED]
Pre-affixed Selectee: Samuel Alden Thorn
Divergence Rank: B contemporary romance
Assigned Class: Chainer
Samuel Alden Thorn, do you willingly accept your duties as one of Earths Avowed, thereby satisfying a portion of your planets debt to Artona?
YES/NO
2145 h: 20 m: 08 s
>
Mines finished, too. Congrats on your new class.
>
Wow. You really are sure about what you want.
>
Ouch, dude. Dont pull your punches or anything.
Andrzej laughed.
Anyway, before we were interrupted, I was trying to say that what I really want to do is get a class I can turn into decent battlefield support.
> He looked bemused. >
Well, not necessarily.
>
I do want to do team-ups, though, Alden said. Id work closely with one or two other Avowed so that we all become way more effective than we would be on our own. A pair of B-ranks with complementary specs could be as good as an A-rank, for sure. Maybe as good as an S in some situations.
Andrzej clearly didnt agree with that last bit.
His lips pursed. But he only said, Fairy and Flarey.>>
Alden stared at the subtitles. Fairy and Flarey had been said in English, so hed understood the words just fine. But he had no clue what they meant.
Are those superhero names?
>
And that was how Alden ended up spending the next fifteen minutes of his life watching clips from an animated Australian childrens program while a Polish guy discussed the finer points of the main characters tactical decisions.
Fairy and Flarey were both S-ranks with unique classes. Of course. Because why have a fantasy show if you werent going to make it totally over the top?
Fairy could sparkle like a diamond, and her disco ball routine had the power to hypnotize evildoers into chasing after her.
These distracted villains became easy fodder for Flarey, whose primary skill was being a fire-breathing pink hippo-grizzly.
Flarey was the heavy hitter of the team who did the actual fighting, but his giant hippo-grizzly body was too slow to catch bad guys. Before hed met Fairy, hed been a laughingstock. And before shed met him, she hadnt had the firepower she needed to take down villains on her own.
To Aldens chagrin, it wasnt a terrible analogy for what he wanted to do. It was just socute. And Fairy wasnt very smart.
Yeah, sort of like Fairy, he confessed. But with more nuance and less getting kidnapped? I hope?
>
Andrzej sounded dead serious.
Ill keep that in mind. Alden cleared his throat. Enough about me, though, what are you going to do with Meister of Cudgel?
>
That sounds like a solid plan. I hope you have good luck with it.
>
I really want Adjuster.
Maybe, Alden added mentally. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝓌𝑒𝒷𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝑜𝓂
He still had no idea what Gorgons hint about luggage meant. Hed read lists of every obscure class he could find, and there was nothing bag-related or travel-related as far as he could see. He hoped clarity would strike soon, because by the end of his search last night he was only finding thread-thin connections.
And if that was all he had to work with, he would never have the confidence to actually choose a class that merely might be the one the alien had intended to point him toward.
>
Its history?
Andrzej suddenly looked a little guilty. you wont have to worry about what my relative thinks. So its a victory for both of us.>>
Youre making me a little nervous.
>
No? Alden was interested in prominent superheroes. Not the society of Avowed who lived on the island.
>
This last bit was said with a smile that was a little too encouraging for Aldens liking.
Nobody will be mad at me for trading the class because Im an outsider? What does that mean?
He asked a couple more questions, but Andrzej was apparently unwilling to be any more specific, because he hastily made an excuse, reassured Alden that the class wasnt bad for his needs, and signed off.
Huhthats not concerning at all, Alden thought as the other teen disappeared.
He stretched and checked his listing. It was greyed-out. He updated it with his new class, then re-activated it.
He couldnt immediately think of anything clever to say about Chainer in his notes section, so he just pointed out that it was an ultra rare class that was successfully being used for hero work by at least one other person.
Hed come up with something better after hed done the research and figured out what Andrzej had meant by his cryptic warning. He wanted a break anyway. He needed to brush his teeth.
He was about to log out when he received a new notice
[B74 HAS REQUESTED NEGOTIATION. DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT?]
Alden stared at it in surprise. Really? After that insane monologue he gave me twelve hours ago?
Maybe Chainer was a shinier new toy than hed realized.
Alden tried to think of what the proper payback for 74 was. Nothing too mean. He did have a tiny, wretched fragment of sympathy for his fellow selectee. The guy had barely been sleeping for two straight months. Maybe hed actually had normal human manners before all of this started.
Still. He needed to chill.
Sure, Ill talk to him.
B74 flashed into the room. He was standing at his trashed table, and his mouth was already open to say something, but Alden held up his free hand.
Hey, man! Good to see you again, but I cant talk right now. I have to go brush my teeth. It shouldnt take too long. Unless I decide to head to school for the day. Ive got a biology exam. Maybe I shouldnt miss it? Ill think about it over breakfast. Anyway, Ill be back in a few minutes. Or sometime tonight. Sunday at the absolute latest. See you then!
Before his opponent could respond, Alden lifted his other hand and let the connection drop.
Patience was a virtue. Maybe B74 could acquire it while staring at the System interface, waiting for someone who might or might not reappear in the next two days.