Empowering Ailian

Ye Wei'an looked closely. He recognized the first few portraits at once: Ailian, Cain, Harold, Renn...

He recognized the other portraits too. They belonged to the guards who had fought alongside him today.

Brief information appeared beside each portrait: [Ailian Glowgift, Lv. 1 Commoner], [Cain Orm, Lv. 3 Purple Dragon Knight]...

"Is this... a party list?"

He focused on Cain's portrait, and more information appeared: [Cain Orm, Human, Lv. 3 Purple Dragon Knight (215/1800), Strength 15, Dexterity 13, Constitution 14, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, Charisma 10]

He looked further down. Harold and Renn were both [Lv. 1 Fighters], each with only a few dozen experience points to their names—clearly nowhere near enough to reach level 2.

The other [Lv. 1 Fighters] were the same.

What surprised him more was Ailian, along with several other ordinary guards.

Their class fields all listed them as non-classed [Commoners] or [Militia], but they had experience points too.

Ailian, for example, was listed as [Ailian Glowgift, Half-elf, Lv. 1 Commoner (25/0), Strength 8, Dexterity 13, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, Charisma 12], followed by a prominent prompt: [Choose a Class].

Several [Militia] had the same prompt.

Of course, there were also several guards who had accumulated experience but didn't have that prompt.

Ye Wei'an opened their details and found that everyone who could choose a class had at least one attribute above 13. For most, it was Strength or Dexterity.

A score of 13 seemed to be the hidden threshold for qualifying for a basic class.

But he had another question:

Experience came from combat, so how had Ailian earned any?

Right, the first experience he'd gained today came from the bandit who had broken into the carriage.

But he hadn't killed the bandit on his own. Ailian had first wounded him badly from behind with her knife, giving Ye Wei'an the chance to finish him off.

The system must have counted it as a "joint kill."

It seemed that as long as someone took part in a battle and made a real contribution, they could share experience—even if they weren't classed.

And once a non-classed person gained any experience at all, the system considered them "qualified" to become a classed adventurer.

That was an unexpected discovery.

It meant he might be able to do more than strengthen himself. He could also "guide" others and train adventurers in numbers.

To test this, Ye Wei'an tapped the [Choose a Class] prompt beside Ailian's portrait.

A simplified class selection screen appeared.

Unlike the twelve basic classes he'd been able to choose from, Ailian had only four options:

Rogue, Ranger, Monk, and Fighter.

After all, only her Dexterity had reached 13.

"As for her class... let's go with Monk." Ye Wei'an considered it briefly before making his choice.

He was used to seeing Ailian in her maid uniform. He couldn't imagine her in heavy plate or chain mail.

Monks had the [Unarmored Defense] ability, which gave practitioners considerable protection without armor. It suited her best.

Monks couldn't choose spells at level 1, so Ye Wei'an went straight to the [Race] option.

Ailian was a Half-elf. Aside from a fixed +2 to Charisma, she could choose two different attributes to increase by +1 each. Ye Wei'an put the points into Dexterity and Wisdom, both primary attributes for Monks.

Half-elves also had two abilities: [Darkvision] and [Fey Ancestry].

In the real world, not every Half-elf awakened these traits. For instance, Ailian hadn't been able to see any farther than he could in the dark. Now, though, the power of the game system had etched these abilities into her very being.

Next came her background. Ailian had only one option: [Outlander]. That might have been tied to her early life, when she was sold and passed from one place to another.

The background gave her +1 to both Dexterity and Wisdom, and the [Lucky] feat—perhaps fate would smile on her at a critical moment.

Once her class was chosen, Ailian's character sheet became:

[Name: Ailian Glowgift]

[Level]: LV.1 (25/300)

[Race]: Half-elf

[Class]: Monk

[Background]: Outlander

[Attributes]: Strength 8, Dexterity 15, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 14, Charisma 14

[Feats]: Martial Arts, Unarmored Defense, Darkvision, Fey Ancestry, Lucky

After choosing her class, Ye Wei'an looked at the sleeping girl in his arms and sensed a subtle difference.

The most obvious change was in her aura.

Her Charisma had risen to 14, making her already lovely features even more refined and captivating. She seemed more delicate and endearing, too.

Her sleeping posture had also relaxed. Her breathing fell into a rhythm of inexplicable harmony, as if it resonated with the world around her.

Sure enough, the party system really could give others power.

Ye Wei'an's thoughts returned to the "party system" itself.

Its value went far beyond simply leveling up those around him. He would have to use it with care.

He knew clearly that he must never bestow this "gift" casually on anyone other than someone like Ailian, who had faced life and death alongside him and trusted him completely.

It wasn't just a matter of loyalty. Any increase in power also needed a believable explanation.

It could be disguised as a breakthrough during a desperate battle, or as the result of long, rigorous training finally paying off.

Otherwise, if someone discovered that they had mysteriously grown stronger, it could easily cause confusion and suspicion—and might even expose his greatest secret.

Besides, the system's strategic value went far beyond that.

Even setting aside its main function of "leveling up," it was still a powerful tool.

For one thing, the party system was an unparalleled "talent assessment tool."

In the real world, understanding someone's potential, strengths, and weaknesses often took years of observation and testing.

Even then, it was easy to misjudge them.

But with the system, a person's attributes and abilities were plain to see.

Who had the physique to become a heavy infantryman? Who had the keen senses and intuition needed to be a Ranger or Scout? Who had a natural gift for leadership, negotiation, or inspiring others? All the information was right there. It would let him screen, train, and assign people as efficiently as possible, putting each one where they could make the most of their talents.

Finally, Ye Wei'an had a vague feeling that the system might also be able to assess loyalty.

It was only a hunch, but he believed the system had its own way of deciding whether someone counted as a party member.

Otherwise, any friendly person would qualify as one.

He suspected that, beyond fighting side by side and having a clearly defined intimate or subordinate relationship, the system also judged a party member's thoughts.

He based this on his knowledge of the relevant games.

The system clearly drew inspiration from the Baldur's Gate 3 he'd played before he crossed over. In BG3 and similar games, a companion with low approval could leave the party, and after leaving, they wouldn't appear in the companion list.

His system probably worked in a similar way:

If someone under his command became disloyal or even betrayed him, their portrait would likely disappear from the list.

That would undoubtedly be an extremely valuable early-warning mechanism.