Dynamics

Astaroth opened his eyes after fully processing Kade Raevan's memories.

Contrary to Astaroth's initial belief, the "systems" were not available to most of the population. Only around five to ten percent of the population were born with access to them. The wielders of "systems" formed elite circles that stood at the pinnacle of society.

That was not to say that the people without systems couldn't become strong. According to Kade's memories, several "mundane" individuals had risen to prominence through sheer dedication and hard work. However, they were still never able to compete with the best of the best system users. The gap in growth potential was simply too big.

The biggest difference between normal people and systems users was the ability of the latter to use magic. Without the <Spell List>, normal people simply had no way of creating magical phenomenon using regular means.

His conjectures regarding the magic used in this world were largely validated. Mages and Priests were a valued class of people, but they mostly worked in the sidelines or used their incantations behind heavy lines of defense, as casting magic using this system was far too slow.

Warrior and assassin-type system users on the other hand, did not have to deal with such limitations. Their stats simply boosted their physical ability, and thus they fought using their own body like normal.

"Levels" on the other hand, were gained through various ways. The most common method was to hunt the countless hordes of monsters that roamed the world. There were several designated "hunting zones" that were heavily contested areas between the various countries, filled with lairs of continuously spawning monsters.

The "hunting zones" were a precious resource, as they served as the primary means for system users to "level up." Generally speaking, the more dangerous the monster, the more "experience points" the system users could accumulate. Countries would often try to reserve the most efficient monster farming spots for their own elite system users, which often led to heavy international tensions.

Another method for leveling up was to kill other system users. This was, officially speaking, heavily outlawed in most countries, including the Azularian Kingdom in which Astaroth currently resided. But of course, the laws mostly protected the elite system users from each other. For the less powerful, it was a world of might makes right. On top of the royalty and aristocracy of the surrounding countries, several shadow organizations gathered powerful system users in an attempt to consolidate power to further their own agendas.

But levels were not the only important aspects of obtaining power. Acquiring <Class Points> required specific training regimes that were offered by the various system-user oriented institutions around the world. <Feats> on the other hand were powerful upgrades that were unlocked under extreme conditions. Only 1-2% of the system user population had access to <Feats.>

The former owner of this body, Kaden, was a bit of an oddball, to say the least. While he was a system user himself, he had little love for any kind of bloodshed and had no interest in fighting and growing his powers whatsoever.

His behavior was deemed disgraceful by his family, and so they sent him off to the Azularian Academy nearby, where he was to be forcefully trained and honed into a respectable magus.

*Well*, Astaroth thought, *Those plans would be taking quite the drastic change."

The former tyrant grinned in expectation as he contemplated the two primary methods of leveling up....

If there was one thing Astaroth excelled in above all else, it was killing.