Jered collapsed onto the grass, chest rising and falling like he'd run through fire.
"You're a monster, you know that?" he said between gulps of air.
Kaelen was seated cross-legged nearby, calm as still water.
"I know right, I'm too powerful, don't be so jealous."
"No, no, no I'm serious," Jered wheezed, raising a hand like he was filing a complaint with the gods.
"You kept up with me and Neal. Do you realize how insane that is? The rest of our class is still working on basic channeling control. And you? you're dancing around Neal's Solar flame wrecking ball like it's your bedtime routine."
Neal stood a few paces away, arms folded, skin still faintly glowing from the lingering heat of his light-forged aura.
"He's not wrong," he muttered. "You're level five, and you're useful. Most people at level five won't be able to handle a blow from me and are still trying not to set their shoes on fire when casting."
Kaelen didn't answer. But he held his head up high feeling very proud of himself.
"Shameless".
Neal raises a brow " Will this guy ever be humbled?".
"We shall know once we beat the shit out of him" Jered replied.
"Oh try me if you dare" Kaelen said with a grin but was ready to run.
Then.
From behind them, a voice interjected.
"That won't help. His nervous system is already optimized for suppression. Fear response is minimal and focus levels are enhanced by System interface."
Tashi walked toward them, his steps light but purposeful, robes fluttering slightly in the wind.
His silver-streaked hair was tied loosely, and his ever-present walking staff gleamed with embedded mana gems.
The three of them straightened up instinctively.
"What are you doing here?" Jered asked in surprise.
"I figured you'd be watching," Kaelen said.
"Of course," Tashi replied. "You three are dangerous without supervision."
Jered opened his mouth, but Tashi raised his hand.
"Before you ask, yes, Kaelen is a monster. But not in the way you think."
"No not that, I was going to ask about our agreement" Jered said with a face full of doubts.
"Ah now that you mentioned it, what's going to happen to the XPs you promised us?" Kaelen questioned Tashi with a glare.
"Yeah, pay up."
"Chill kids chill you will get your promised XPs but not now not here" Tashi denied the kids.
Then changing the topic.
"Are you not interested in Kaelen's actual power level? Geez take a sit will you"
He gestured for them to sit. Then, with a smooth motion, conjured a circular platform of soft light under them all and sat cross-legged himself.
His tone shifted to that of a teacher preparing to unveil a difficult lesson.
"You're confused because numbers don't seem to matter anymore. Jered, you're level 20. Neal, 22. Kaelen's level 5. Yet here he is, keeping pace. Let me explain why."
He conjured a simple floating chart in the air, a translucent model, flickering with tiers and multipliers.
"Stat Multipliers by Class Tier," the heading read.
Tashi tapped it with a fingertip.
"Most people think level is everything. But that's only half the story. Your Class determines how much your stats scale per level."
He pointed to the chart.
Bronze Class: baseline. 1x.
Silver: 1.5x.
Gold: 2x.
Epic: 4x.
Legendary: 5x.
"This means," he continued, "every stat point earned by a Legendary class is worth five times more than a Bronze. So even though Kaelen is only level five, he's operating at a much higher baseline than students of lower-class tiers."
Jered blinked. "So you're saying… Kaelen's base agility stat is worth five times more than, say, Vashti the dual-blade girl?"
"If she's Bronze, yes. Multiply five levels by five. That's effectively twenty-five points of Bronze-level agility.You're Epic, Jered, so your stats scale at 4x. Neal, you're Legendary. You get the full five."
Neal frowned. "So Kaelen is… right behind us in scaling already."
"No he's not behind us, he's behind you and above me" Jered was so disheartened then he screamed with envy "This is not fair at all, we started profiting the class benefits after level 20, but he's naturally awakened with a legendary class"
"He's behind in levels, but his scaling makes him relevant. And the kicker?" Tashi said, smiling now,
"He hasn't even begun tapping into his Divine Cleric abilities. Right now, he's just using raw instinct and borrowed techniques."
"What do you mean?" Jered asked in confusion. " Are you trying my patience old man?"
Tashi with a chuckle continued.
"You see, Neal can empower anything he touched with that white starfire given by his Class Solari Imperials other than his 200% stats in combat form."
He paused and with a cough he continued "And you, the braver you are the greater your healing becomes with several other benefits. Just like that Kaelen is not limited to just his 500% buffs amplification."
Both Neal's and Jered's mouth were wide open in shock.
Kaelen's brow furrowed. "Then teach me."
"I will," Tashi said, then clapped his hands. "But not here. The real lesson begins tomorrow."
Jered on his knees " The world is so unfair, both of you have legendary class while I only have an epic class and a yellow system."
Tashi with an awkward smile slip away saying he had business to attend to.
Jered then turned to Kaelen and hugged him "Atleast you're not handsome".
Another round of bout occured between the boys.
The announcement came later that day, broadcast through the academy's internal rune system.
A glowing scroll unrolled itself in the central plaza, accompanied by ethereal chimes.
Notice
"Effective immediately, Master Tashi Suko will be conducting a series of lectures on advanced healing, mana control, and restorative system theory. Open to all students above level 5. Class begins tomorrow at the South Dome."
Dawn Academy Administration
The moment it appeared, murmurs broke out everywhere. Tashi teaching officially? That was rarer than phoenix marrow.
Students scrambled to prepare, instructors adjusted their schedules, and even veterans sent silent requests for reservation in what would surely be one of the most sought-after classes in the Academy's history.
But for Kaelen, Jered, and Neal, the notice wasn't a surprise.