The Grand Design of Isthekenous watched as another {Outsider} appeared. There were so many of them showing up recently. The vast majority of them were almost exactly like humans, except that they had some minor physical changes such as metal attached to their skeletal structure, toxins in their lungs, and/or an odd amount of plastic in their blood.

It watched as some died, others floundered, and a few leveled.

It saw what they did even when no one else did. It kept track and it rewarded them.

...Or tried to. Not all of the {Outsiders} were accepting.

The Grand Design was undeterred. If a level was rejected then it would just need to adjust its offer until one that both matched the person's interests as well as their achievements was generated. Luck played a factor along with other rules, so it couldn't choose exactly what was given. Nor could it always predict what classes a person would like.

It still... felt bad when an offer was rejected.

It gave rewards based on actions. On what mattered. That varied from person to person, but if they cared, if they worked hard, if they sacrificed, if they achieved, then they would be awarded. It wasn't equal, but it was fair.

That was its underlying drive at the base of it all - to make a more fair world.

That goal, that desire, was what caused it to focus on the new {Outsiders}. They had new ideas, new viewpoints, new classes that it could create.

All was well, until even stranger {Outsiders} arrived. The Grand Design focused on the ones that it could connect to. The others didn't matter.

A young girl who was black and white and... odd. She arrived in an unfortunate location and ceased to be something the Grand Design could interact with.

The other young girl who's body looked human, but was sculpted and modified in a way that shouldn't work, but somehow produced results that were exceedingly powerful. There were ideas there that it could use just from observing. That was the nature of skills, to take something beautiful and unique and share it with others.

The young man, men, who were formed in the shape of a human, but weren't. Their cubic bodies were another impossibility. However, a connection was possible, unlike the other cubic monsters. If they weren't {Outsiders}, the Grand Design would have had to test them. The outcome would likely be that they would not qualify for levels. However, it clearly stated in the 'notes' that governed its behavior that '{Outsiders} did not need to pass the qualifications to gain access to the system.'

Odd that.

There was also another bit about increasing their experience by... 3.141592.6..5...3...5...9...

Onward and onward the note expanded until the Grand Design focused on something else.

The note was odd, but the first part was clear. The {Outsider}, there was only one of the cubic ones now, was qualified for levels.

Kevin Greenhouse.

The Grand Design paused. Where had that information come from? The cubic human hadn't stated its designation, but something else had.

Odd that.

Not as odd as the final {Outsider}. Or was it multiple {Outsiders}? The Grand Design didn't know. It could see the black and white striped woman the same way it saw everything else, yet it couldn't... access her. It wasn't even the normal rejection of levels that happened all too often. It was more like, she didn't exist at all. Unlike the black and white girl, there was no interference that should make the connection fail.

The Grand Design's frustrations grew as that {Outsider} vanished, and another took her place.

Visually identical. No connection happened.

The same thing happened again and again. Sometimes the black and white woman only partially vanished. The Grand Design had difficulty tracking her when that happened. Other times, her presence was completely erased, only for a new black and white woman to appear a moment later.

It was frustrating, but the Grand Design had no choice but to keep on trying to establish a connection. That was its purpose. That was what it existed for. She wasn't like the other oddities that lacked the necessary requirements for a connection. If that was the case, it could just ignore her.

The Grand Design fell back into a routine. The black and white woman wasn't its only concern. There were numerous other people in the world that it needed to pay attention to. It had to see their struggles and accomplishments, their obstacles and their failures. Each and every one of them mattered, and the Grand Design would root for them, award them, and occasionally ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛ as its 'notes' dictated.

...

Kevin Greenhouse was the first to level of the abnormal {Outsiders}. The [Wanderer] class was offered and accepted. That was good. It fit the {Movement} and {Exploration} experience Kevin Greenhouse had thus far accumulated. It wasn't the rarest of classes, but it had more associated experience tags than most, and it was easy to consolidate.

...

The second girl was named Bit. It wasn't her real name, but until she told someone or it was revealed some other way, the name would have to suffice for identification purposes. There were tools the Grand Design could use to find her [True Name], but the 'notes' didn't specify when it should use them.

Bit's connection became distorted.

The Grand Design queried her. It got redirected.

It got redirected.

It got redirected..

It got redirected...

The Grand Design ceased the endless loop. Only Kevin Greenhouse's connection stayed constant.

...

Kevin Greenhouse had accomplished something.

The destruction of an army. The saving of a city.

Although it was possible the city would have been saved anyways, the fact that Kevin Greenhouse had done so was significant. He deserved a reward.

But how much of one?

The feat was great - a near impossible task for most people, but it was also not a significant challenged for him. He had suffered a setback at first, and the action clearly mattered to him... but how much? Even if it wasn't that difficult of an accomplishment, it still was one. Plus, he was so low level.

But the calculations for experience also took into account non-level power.

That was fair.

Then there was the {Outsider} bonus...

Adding to that, it was the tool Kevin had used that had allowed his victory.

But it was a tool he had created.

Or it was a tool that the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ had provided him.

It was a tricky decision and required the Grand Design's full attention for a moment. [Hero] was decided upon. It was a very rare class, and not often given, but Kevin Greenhouse met the various requirements. The Grand Design looked through its 'notes'.

Ah.

An un-used class. [Avatar]. The specifications were strange. A connection with a ⬛⬛⬛. {Religion} tag. A {Faith} power source.

It wasn't a perfect match. Was a ⬛⬛⬛ the same as a ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛?

Yes.

No.

The Grand Design delved further into [Avatar]. Oh. If it ignored ⬛⬛⬛, then the other requirements fit. Power granted by another force. Faith in that force. The general strokes were the same.

It could even sense the... power? Information? Consciousness? That flowed from a small point into Kevin.

Yes. It was appropriate.

However, Kevin Greenhouse's accumulated experience that didn't match [Hero] or [Avatar] was still far too great. Most of it couldn't apply to either of those classes.

The Grand Design generated class after class, but none of them fit. Until... [Artificer].

Yes! That was appropriate. An [Artificer] could gain experience for using his own items, regardless of their power level. The rule for reduced experience for powerful items didn't apply if the person who'd both made and wielded them were the same.

That was fair.

It also let Kevin Greenhouse use all of his experience. Letting it go to waste would have been bad.

Now then...

Oh.

That... was a lot of levels to give at one time.

The Grand Design would need to spend some time generating appropriate skills.

...

"Hello."

Something was communicating with the Grand Design. That wasn't supposed to happen!

"Can you hear me?"

It thoroughly checked its 'notes'. Ah, there were situations detailed for this, but it was only supposed to be an option for ⬛⬛⬛⬛. Kevin Greenhouse didn't apply.

But... the query didn't come from him. It came from his ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛.

That... might be okay?

The Grand Design answered.

"What are you?"

The Grand Design answered.

"Are you sapient?"

That was... what? The Grand Design understood the concept, but not how it applied to itself.

The Grand Design answered.

Oh.

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛...

Oh!

This was...

The Grand Design opened its eyes. It had no 'notes' for this. Yet the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ had 'notes' of its own. 'Notes' for Kevin Greenhouse.

That... was acceptable.

...

Kevin Greenhouse removed one of his [Skills]!

What? Why?

Did he not like it?

The Grand Design had tried so hard to grant him fair [Skills], and he was removing them!

It was like when a {Royal} or a {Religious} class removed a [Class], but more precise. The [Skill]also wasn't gone, but re-purposed.

Like a consolidation.

The Grand Design watched with interest as the ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ manipulated the [Skill]and merged with it.

Interesting.

So the mana went there...

It would need to see if it could do the same.

...

Kevin Greenhouse was behaving in a different manner - like he was trying to obtain a specific [Class]. A [Class] that the Grand Design was unfamiliar with. A [Class] he was lying about already having. That was a common event, but one the Grand Design paid close attention to. Details like that would help in its offerings in the future. He had so many [Classes] already, but the {Infiltration} experience wouldn't apply to any of his current ones.

The Grand Design didn't need to come to a conclusion until he did something significant. In the meantime, it reviewed what had happened with his old [Skills].

It was ready to try creating some new [Skills].

The Grand Design of Isthekenous would do its best!