The Lexicon floated beside me, bound by invisible threads of light.
It was more than just a spellbook.
It was the core of the Spellforged Scribe class—a living, adaptive grimoire that stored my spells, read my intent, and evolved with my decisions. Everything I cast would be written in its pages. Everything I learned, refined. Everything I changed, remembered.
[Class Confirmed: Spellforged Scribe]Role: Support | Tag System: EnabledInk Reserves: 100/100Active Features: Tag Creation, Minor Glyph StorageLinked Item: Adaptive Lexicon – Bound
The cover shimmered with soft lines of silver script, and when it opened, it did so not with hinges—but with intention. As if it wanted to be used.
A blank page hovered in the air beside me, glowing faintly with runelight.
Please create your first Tag.
I held my breath.
In my first life, I'd chosen Healing Thread—a safe, boring, utility spell.
This time, I selected something else entirely.
I dipped the spectral quill into my ink pool and traced the glyphs I remembered. Not from instinct—but from memory. From experience earned through failure.
A symbol of recoil. Reversal. Controlled force.
[Spell Tag Created: Repulse Thread – Tier F]Effect: Emit a force pulse that pushes enemies back 3m.Ink Cost: 4 | Cooldown: 3s
The glyph glowed as it settled onto the Lexicon's page.
My first weapon.
I moved through the outskirts of the starter zone alone.
Around me, new players were still figuring out how to auto-target boars or navigate their UI. The air buzzed with laughter, shouting, and the occasional death notification.
I ignored it all.
Instead, I made my way to the edge of a shallow cliff overlooking a wide, golden field.
Duskridge.
A hill zone known for unpredictable mob behavior. Most players avoided it until level 10. I wasn't here for loot or XP.
I was here to test the Lexicon.
I found a lone wolf circling near a broken fence and baited it forward with a weak spark rune.
It snarled and lunged.
"Now," I whispered.
I cast.
[Repulse Thread]
The air shimmered as the glyph activated, a sudden pulse of force erupting from my hand. The wolf was flung backward and slammed into a tree, dazed but alive.
Not enough damage—but the execution was smooth.
[Lexicon Observes: Kinetic Disruption Successful]Tag Form Efficiency: 89% | Suggested Adjustments Queued
The book… responded.
Not passively. Not mechanically.
It learned.
That had never happened in my last life.
"Again," I muttered.
I adjusted the angle, redrew the glyph with a modified base stroke, and launched it once more. The wolf hit harder this time—and dropped a loot pouch on impact.
[Enemy Defeated]EXP: +32 | Loot: Broken Fang, Cracked Hide
I smiled.
In my old life, this class was a joke.
Now?
It was starting to feel like cheating—with style.
Back in the starter town, the crowd hadn't changed. Players buzzed around NPCs, trying to min-max tutorial quests. Some sparred. Others haggled over +1 boots like it meant the world.
I sat on a crate and watched them.
[Player Level: 3]
Still low. Still under the radar.
But I wasn't following the path this time.
I was drawing a new one.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: Anomaly Progressing. Observation Level Raised.]Subject: Aiden Chase – Flagged as Possible Variable-Type User. Monitoring Tag: Active
The SYSTEM wasn't just watching anymore.
It was analyzing.