He was silent. Cara shook her head.

“There are exceptions. But my point is that the system is made so it’s unfair. Even if one in ten poor people can become a [Knight], if nine in ten come from wealth—”

“I understand your point. It is well…it is made, Miss Sullivan. I shall not demand use of my title, at least until I have words that might sway you. I am not a great debater, however, and I respect your superior argument.”

He replied coldly. Cara stopped talking. She didn’t want to hammer the point home. But she’d also not been able to say the last part.

I respect the individual. She respected doctors, even professors, and certainly Ser Dalius had done nothing to show he was anything less than what he claimed to be. It was just—

She said nothing. Neither did he, for a while. The two moved on in silence.

——

After ten minutes, Ser Dalius broke the silence. Despite his ire, he spoke, as if desperate to fill up the quietness around them. Cara replied gratefully. Both he and she had suffered too much of silence. And he—for all she might offend him, he had a hungry look as he turned to her.

“I have a thought, Miss Cara. If your world lacks Skills, does a [Farmer] not have [Rapid Growth] to allow his plants to grow to fruition in less than a week?”

“…Nope. Takes months.”

“Dead gods. How awful that must be.”

He seemed shocked. Cara glanced at him.

“You said no one swore by gods in this world. So the gods are dead?”

He gave her another puzzled look.

“Naturally. They died in ages far before I was born. It is indisputable fact. Are they not dead in your world?”

“Verdict’s out. I hope so, or they have a lot of explaining to do about what’s been going on of late.”

“Hrm. And—and—what of a warrior? Does he not use Skills in combat?”

“Nope. We just stab each other. Or we used to. Now, we have guns. We press a button and someone’s head explodes. Boom.”

The [Knight] looked horrified.

“Barbarians!”

“Says you. You don’t even know what this is.”

She waved her iPhone at him. The screen lit up and the [Knight] retreated, warily putting a hand on his ghostly greatsword.

“I saw you using that artifact from afar. It made the music which you sang with. That thing has no magic in it. Yet it glows. What trick is this?”

“It’s called technology. See? It’s electricity. Harnessed lightning.”

He floated closer, inspecting the screen.

“The time is…10:34?”

She shrugged.

“I guess it is. By my world. But go on. Keep explaining…levels to me. So everyone has a class?”