Classless King: I Absorb Anything I Kill

Chapter 5

Three days of silence.

The Swore family stayed at their inn. They should have left immediately. But Enzo wanted to file a formal complaint with the Awakening Officials. Demand an explanation. A re-test.

"There must be an error," he insisted. "The stone malfunctioned."

Helena agreed. "Our son can't be Classless. That's not even a real classification."

But Aleric knew the truth.

He spent those three days studying his new status window. The one only he could see.

[NAME: ALERIC SWORE]

[AGE: 15 YEARS]

[CLASS: CLASSLESS]

[LEVEL: 0]

[HP: 50/50]

[MP: 10/10]

[STRENGTH: 4]

[AGILITY: 5]

[ENDURANCE: 6]

[INTELLIGENCE: 18]

[WISDOM: 20]

[LUCK: ??? ]

[ABILITIES: NONE]

[SPECIAL SKILL: ABSORPTION (LOCKED)]

[NOTE: ABSORPTION UNLOCKS UPON FIRST COMBAT VICTORY]

[YOU MUST DEFEAT AN ENEMY TO STEAL THEIR ABILITY]

Everything was at the bottom. His physical stats were pathetic. A normal 15-year-old awakened with stats around 10. Aleric was half that.

But his mental stats were high. Intelligence and Wisdom both above average.

"So I'm physically weak but mentally strong," he thought. "Great. That's exactly how I died last time."

On the fourth day, a messenger arrived.

"Lord Enzo Swore?" The man wore official palace livery. "I bring word from the Royal Mage Council."

Enzo took the sealed letter. Read it. His face went white.

"What is it?" Helena asked.

"They... they've revoked Aleric's noble status."

Silence.

"What?" Aleric said slowly.

Enzo kept reading, his voice hollow. "It says here that Classless individuals cannot hold noble titles. It's an ancient law, apparently. Since Aleric has no classification, he cannot inherit the Swore name or estate."

"That's ridiculous!" Helena grabbed the letter. "You earned that title! You served the kingdom for twenty years!"

"The title is mine," Enzo said quietly. "Not his. When I die, the estate returns to the crown unless my heir has at least 2nd Class status."

The implications sank in.

Aleric would have nothing. No inheritance. No title. No future.

"However," Enzo continued, "there is... an option."

He looked at Aleric. His eyes filled with something between hope and dread.

"The Frontier Training Grounds. It's a military installation on the edge of the kingdom. They accept anyone, regardless of class. If you train there for one year and can prove significant improvement, the kingdom will grant you temporary citizenship. And..." He swallowed. "And you could re-test. Try awakening again."

"Is that even possible?" Helena asked. "Can someone awaken twice?"

"Normally, no. But there are rumors. Stories of late bloomers who developed later. It's rare, but..." He looked at Aleric. "It's a chance."

Aleric read between the lines.

They were sending him away. To a place where failures and rejects went. A place where most people died.

But they were framing it as an opportunity.

"When do I leave?" Aleric asked.

"Son, you don't have to—"

"When?"

Enzo's shoulders slumped. "In two days. A supply caravan heads that direction."

The packing took an hour.

Aleric didn't have much. Clothes. His training sword. A few books. His father gave him a real sword. Steel, not wood. Well-made but not enchanted.

"This was my first sword," Enzo said. "It's not magical. Doesn't have any special abilities. But it's reliable. Keep it sharp. Keep it close."

"Thank you."

Helena gave him a pack of food. Enough for a week, carefully rationed. And a small leather pouch of silver coins. "It's not much, but—"

"It's perfect, Mom."

She hugged him. Didn't let go for a long time.

"My baby boy. My sweet baby boy."

Aleric felt something crack inside his chest. He'd worked so hard to be strong. To not care. But his mother's tears broke through every defense.

"I'll be back," he whispered. "I promise. I'll get strong and I'll come back."

She nodded against his shoulder. Didn't believe him. He could feel it.

---

The caravan consisted of three wagons. Two carried supplies for the Frontier base. The third carried people.

Seventeen of them. All young. All rejects.

Aleric recognized a few from the Awakening Ceremony. Other Classless? No. These were 1st Class awakeners. Servants. Laborers. The bottom tier.

They looked at Aleric with contempt.

"Great," one boy muttered. "They're sending Classless trash too now?"

"Classless isn't even 1st Class," a girl added. "He's below us."

"Probably won't last a week," someone else said.

Aleric ignored them. Found a spot in the corner of the wagon. Sat down. Closed his eyes.

The journey took a week.

They traveled through farmland at first. Then the roads got worse. Trees pressed closer. The sky seemed dimmer.

By the fifth day, they entered the frontier region.

The land here was wild. Untamed. Forests so thick you couldn't see ten feet into them. Strange sounds at night. Howls and shrieks that didn't sound human.

The other trainees grew quieter. More nervous.

On the seventh day, they saw it.

The Frontier Training Grounds.

Wooden walls thirty feet high. Guard towers at the corners. A massive iron gate reinforced with metal bands. Beyond the walls, nothing but wilderness.

"Doesn't look like much," someone said nervously.

The lead wagon driver laughed. "That's because you're looking at the walls. You should be looking past them. At what they're keeping out."

Everyone looked.

In the distance, barely visible through the trees, something moved. Large. Massive. Its shadow darkened the ground.

"What is that?" someone whispered.

"That," the driver said, "is why half of you will die."

---

The gates opened. The caravan rolled inside.

The interior was a dirt courtyard. Barracks lined the walls. A training yard off to one side. A command building at the center.

Guards watched them enter. Hard-faced men and women with scars and missing fingers. Veterans.

"New meat!" one guard called. "Fresh blood for the grinder!"

Laughter from the other guards. Not friendly laughter. The kind that said they'd seen this before. Watched countless young idiots march in thinking they'd be heroes.

"Line up!" A voice bellowed.

A man emerged from the command building. Tall, broad, missing his left eye. The socket was just empty, a puckered scar where the eye should be. His remaining eye was sharp. Calculating.

"I'm Captain Brock," he said. Didn't shout, but his voice carried. "I run this installation. While you're here, my word is law. You eat when I say eat. Sleep when I say sleep. Fight when I say fight. Clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The group responded. Mostly.

Aleric stayed silent, watched and analyzed.

Brock's gaze swept over them. Stopped on Aleric.

"You. Classless boy. Step forward."

Aleric moved. Stood in front of the captain.

Brock studied him. "Interesting. First Classless I've seen in fifteen years. The last one lasted three days. How long do you think you'll last?"

"Longer than three days."

"Confidence. I like that." Brock smiled. It wasn't reassuring. "Tell you what. Since you're special, you get special treatment. Tomorrow morning, first dungeon dive. You're in the vanguard."

Murmurs from the other trainees. Vanguard meant front line. First to encounter monsters. Highest casualty rate.

"Yes, sir," Aleric said calmly.

Brock raised an eyebrow. "No questions? No complaints?"

"Would it change anything?"

"No."

"Then there's no point."

Brock laughed. A genuine sound. "I take it back. You might last four days. Dismissed! Sergeant Hale will show you to your barracks!"

The barracks was a long wooden building with twenty bunks. First come, first served.

By the time Aleric entered, all the good spots were taken. He got the bunk nearest the door. The mattress was thin. Straw poking through. The blanket was scratchy.

He didn't care.

He lay down. Stared at the ceiling. Waited.

Night fell. The others talked quietly. Made alliances. Formed groups.

No one talked to Aleric.

He was fine with that.

Around midnight, when everyone was asleep, the blue text appeared.

[FRONTIER TRAINING GROUNDS]

[MONSTER DENSITY: HIGH]

[AVERAGE TRAINEE SURVIVAL RATE: 52%]

[CLASSLESS SURVIVAL RATE: 0%]

[FIRST DUNGEON DIVE: 8 HOURS]

[RECOMMENDED ACTION: DON'T DIE]

Aleric almost laughed.

"Don't die," he thought. "Great advice."

But underneath the sarcasm, something else stirred. Anticipation. Excitement.

Because tomorrow, for the first time since awakening, he'd face real combat. Real danger.

Tomorrow, he'd either unlock his Absorption ability.

Or he'd die trying.

"Bring it on," he whispered.