Strengthening Ailian

Ye Wei'an fixed his gaze on the icons, the first few of which he knew all too well: Ellen, Cain, Harold, Renn...

He recognized the other icons as well; they were the guards who had fought alongside him today.

Next to each icon was a brief summary: [Ellen Glowgift, Lv.1 Commoner], [Cain Orm, Lv.3 Purple Dragon Knight]...

Is this... a party list?

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

He continued down the list. Harold and Renn were both [Lv.1 Warriors], each showing only a few dozen experience points—clearly far short of the 300 needed to level up.

The other [Lv.1 Warriors] were in the same boat.

What surprised him more, however, was the status of Ellen and several other ordinary guards.

Their class fields were listed as non-combatants—[Commoner] or [Militia]—yet they possessed experience points just the same.

For instance, Ellen's entry read: [Ellen Glowgift, Half-Elf, Lv.1 Commoner (25/0), Strength 8, Dexterity 13, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, Charisma 12]. Following this was a striking prompt: [Select Class].

Several [Militia] members also displayed the [Select Class] prompt.

Of course, there were also a few guards who had accumulated experience but did not have this prompt.

Ye Wei'an tapped to inspect them closely and discovered that everyone eligible for a class had at least one attribute higher than 13, most commonly Strength or Dexterity.

Thirteen points in an attribute seemed to be the hidden threshold for unlocking a basic class.

But he had another question:

Experience points were earned through combat, so how did Ellen have any?

Right. The first batch of experience he earned today came from the bandit who had broken into their carriage.

He hadn't killed the man alone; Ellen had first dealt a grievous wound to the bandit's back with a small knife, giving him the opening to finish the job.

In the system's judgment, this counted as a "cooperative kill."

It seemed that as long as one participated in combat and made a tangible contribution, even a non-combatant could share in the experience.

And once a non-combatant gained experience, no matter how little, the system deemed them "qualified" to become a class-holder.

This was an unexpected discovery.

It meant that he might not only be able to strengthen himself, but also possess the ability to "guide" others and cultivate class-holders in batches.

To verify this, Ye Wei'an clicked the [Select Class] option next to Ellen's icon.

A simplified class selection interface unfolded.

Unlike his own experience, where he had been able to choose from all twelve basic classes, Ellen only had four options:

Rogue, Ranger, Monk, Warrior.

After all, only her Dexterity had reached 13.

"For a class... let's go with Monk." Ye Wei'an pondered for a moment before making his choice.

He was already accustomed to seeing Ellen in her maid outfit; he truly couldn't imagine her clad in heavy plate or chainmail.

Monks possessed the [Unarmored Defense] ability, allowing practitioners to gain significant protection without wearing armor, making it the perfect fit for her.

Since there were no spells to choose from at level 1 for a Monk, Ye Wei'an skipped directly to the [Race] options.

Ellen was a Half-Elf; in addition to the fixed +2 Charisma, she could choose two different attributes to increase by +1. Ye Wei'an added these points to Dexterity and Wisdom, both primary attributes for a Monk.

Furthermore, Half-Elves possessed [Darkvision] and [Fey Ancestry].

In reality, not all Half-Elves awakened these traits—for instance, the Ellen of the past could see no further in the dark than he could—but now, the power of the game system had etched these into her very existence.

Next was the background. Ellen only had [Urchin] available, which likely related to her early years of being sold and drifting from place to place.

The background granted her a +1 bonus to both Dexterity and Wisdom, and bestowed the [Lucky] feat—in certain critical moments, fate might just smile upon her.

With the class selection complete, Ellen's character panel updated:

[Name: Ellen Glowgift]

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

[Race]: Half-Elf

[Class]: Monk

[Background]: Urchin

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

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

After finalizing the selection, Ye Wei'an looked back at the girl sleeping in his arms and noticed a subtle difference.

The most obvious change was her aura.

Her Charisma had risen to 14, making her already beautiful features even more refined and moving, and her presence felt all the more endearing.

Furthermore, her sleeping posture had relaxed significantly, and the rhythm of her breathing carried an indescribable sense of coordination, resonating harmoniously with the surrounding environment.

Sure enough, the party system's functions could truly bestow power upon others.

Ye Wei'an's thoughts returned to the "Companion System" itself.

The value of this function far exceeded simply leveling up those around him; he had to use it with extreme caution.

He realized clearly that, aside from someone like Ailian, who had shared life-and-death experiences and was a trusted confidante, he must never easily bestow this "gift" upon others.

This was not merely a matter of loyalty; more importantly, any increase in power required a justifiable reason.

For instance, it could be disguised as a breakthrough during a brutal battle, or the result of long-term, rigorous training finally bearing fruit.

Otherwise, if a person discovered they had become stronger for no apparent reason, it would not only easily incite chaos and suspicion, but it was also highly likely to expose his greatest secret.

Furthermore, the strategic value of this system extended far beyond that.

Even setting aside the primary function of "leveling up," it remained a powerful tool.

The most direct point: the Companion System was an irreplaceable "talent detector."

In the real world, discerning a person's potential, strengths, and weaknesses often required years of observation and testing, and even then, one could still misjudge.

But with the system, a person's attributes and abilities were clear at a glance.

Who possessed the robust physique to become a heavy warrior, who held the keenness and intuition required for a ranger scout, and who was naturally gifted at leadership, negotiation, or inspiring others... all this information was clearly visible. This allowed him to screen, cultivate, and place talent with maximum efficiency, putting everyone in the position where their traits could best be utilized.

Finally, Ye Wei'an vaguely felt that this system might also be used to detect loyalty.

Although it was merely a guess based on intuition, Ye Wei'an believed the system had its own judgment mechanism regarding whether someone qualified as a companion.

Otherwise, any friendly person could simply be counted as a companion.

He surmised that beyond fighting side-by-side or having a clear intimate or subordinate relationship, there should also be an assessment of the companion's own thoughts.

His reasoning stemmed from his knowledge of related games.

This system was clearly modeled after Baldur's Gate 3, which he had played before transmigrating, and whether in BG3 or other similar games, low companion approval would trigger them to leave the party, and characters who left would no longer appear in the companion roster.

His system likely possessed a similar function:

If his subordinates harbored ulterior motives or even betrayed him, their portraits would likely vanish from this list entirely.

This was undoubtedly an extremely valuable early-warning mechanism.