Chapter 10: Selecting a Class

Just as they were about to head towards the forest, Fatty reminded Ares to choose his class. They made their way to the Class Change Hall, where Ares confidently walked straight towards the room designated for swordsmen without sparing a glance at the others. He entered the room and encountered an NPC named Haldor Iron heart, a master-ranked expert who carried two sheathed swords on his waist.

As Ares entered the room, Haldor immediately noticed the sword intent radiating from him, recognizing the potential of a budding swordsman. With his grizzled appearance and a long scar across his face, Haldor exuded authority and wisdom. His own story was one of triumph over adversity, once a renowned warrior of king rank who, due to a grave injury, transitioned into becoming a mentor, passing on his knowledge to the next generation.

Approaching Ares, Haldor spoke with a seasoned tone: "Young man, you possess the makings of a swordsman. It's good that you came here."

Ares got a system promt.

Ding! [Do you wish to choose the class swordsmen"]

"yes" ares answered right away.

Ding! [You have acquired the class Swordsmen.]

"Now that you have chosen your class, you can learn the three basic sword skills for free," Haldor continued. He proceeded to teach Ares the skills of Slash, Parry, and Cross Cut.

as Haldor had already noticed Ares's sword intent, HE offered him an additional skill to harness its power.

Ding! [Do you wish to learn the passive skill Sword Sense?]

Ares confidently responded, "Yes."

Ding! [Do you wish to spend 5 skill points to learn Sword Sense?]

Ares confirmed, "Yes."

Thus, Ares acquired Sword Sense, a passive skill that heightened his senses and utilized his sword intent. It granted him a sixth sense-like ability, enhancing his reflexes and allowing him to sense danger in his surroundings.

[Sword Sense]

[Passive Effect: Automatically triggers when danger approaches. And Player can see everything in his surrounding of 3m radius in slow motion.]

Cooldown: None]

[Active Effect: Enables the user to enter a hypersensitive state for 3 minutes, enhancing their senses and granting them unmatched responsiveness, as if glimpsing into the future.

Cool down: 6 hours]

"This was the first time he encountered a passive skill with an active ability effect. He found it intriguing, but decided not to dwell on it for now. As he was about to leave, Master Harold called out to him and said, "Young friend, as you can see, I once used to be a King Realm expert. However, during the war against the Dark Faction, I suffered a grave injury, causing me to drop to the rank of a Master Warrior. Now, I require your help in finding a Vermillion Sword Fruit, which can only be found in the depths of the Verdant Forest.'"

[Ding! Do you wish to accept the quest "Return of Fallen Hero"?]

Quest Rank: S

Quest Details: Master Harold is severely injured and has at most two years to live. He needs the Vermillion Sword Fruit to heal his injuries.

Quest Reward: Harold's Inheritance.

Failure: Decrease in favorability with Harold.

He chose to accept the quest and confidently stated, "Okay, I will find the fruit so that Master Harold can recover his former glory." With determination in his eyes, he left the hall and reunited with Fatty. Together, they ventured towards the forest.

Fatty, although not a professional gamer, had a good understanding of tank mechanics and game strategies. As they made their way through the forest, they encountered low-level monsters like wolves and slimes. With Fatty's excellent positioning and timing as a tank, they easily defeated these creatures. Ares leveled up twice, reaching level 12, while Fatty, with the higher experience requirement for his level, remained at level 30.

As they delved deeper into the woods, they finally came face-to-face with a massive black bear.

[Black Bear]

Rank: Silver

Level: 45

HP: 70,000

Both of them couldn't help but gulp as they saw the bear's intimidating HP pool.

As Fatty and Ares faced the daunting black bear, their hearts raced with adrenaline. The bear lunged towards them, but they swiftly dodged its attack. Fatty, known for his impeccable timing, positioned himself to minimize the damage with his sturdy gold-grade shield.

However, even with Fatty's exceptional defense, their hearts sank as they witnessed a significant blow.

[-500]

Fatty was shocked to see his health decrease despite his best efforts. He shouted urgently, "Ares, don't let its attack hit you, or you'll be one-shot!"

Ares decided to test his attack power, swinging his sword with all his might. To his dismay, the bear merely took a measly 2 points of damage. Realizing that the bear's defense was near 1000, he cursed under his breath and released his sword aura and unleashed his skill, Slash, dealing a substantial amount of damage.

[-1570]

However, it was still not enough. Fatty, being a higher-level player, was able to inflict 200 to 300 damage with his normal attacks. Determined to match his friend's prowess, Ares switched to his epic-ranked lightning sword, obtained from the Mythology shop. As he equipped the sword, lightning crackled and his attack power surged. The sword provided 3000 physical damage and 2000 lightning damage, further amplified by his martial soul's 200% increase in lightning damage, resulting in a staggering 4000 lightning damage.

With his attacks boosted by more than 6000, Ares unleashed a relentless assault, executing his skills in rapid succession—Slash, Cross Cut, and a flurry of normal attacks.

[-2000]

[-3000]

...

[-5000]

Fatty watched in awe as Ares unleashed an onslaught of devastating blows. However, in his moment of awe, Fatty forgot to draw the bear's attention, and the bear's paw swiped at Ares from his blind spot. Miraculously, Ares's new skill, Sword Sense, triggered just in time, allowing him to parry the attack. Although he was sent flying and suffered a massive -900 damage, he quickly regained his footing as Fatty handed him a healing potion. he chugged the potion and got back into the action.

With the bear's health dwindling to 30%, its fury intensified, turning its attention towards Fatty. The bear unleashed its skill, Black Bear's Claw, conjuring three frightening slashes aimed at Fatty. Reacting swiftly, Fatty activated his ultimate skill, Guardian's Shield, and combined it with his martial soul ability, Silver Wolf's Claw. The clash of attacks pushed Fatty back, but he held his ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Ares tapped into his full potential and unleashed his sword intent. He went all out, executing his Heavenly Slash—a devastating blow that dealt an astounding 10,000 damage in a single strike. The bear staggered, its health rapidly diminishing under the combined assault of Ares and Fatty.

As the bear's health points dwindled to zero, Ares and Fatty were enveloped in a radiant light, signifying their level-up. Fatty reached level 31, while Ares advanced to level 14, feeling a surge of power coursing through their veins.

The defeated bear left behind valuable loot, including the coveted Black Bear's Armor (gold rank), bear claws, bear fur, 50 gold coins, and 100 silver coins. Fatty, recognizing the armor's superior quality, immediately handed it over to Ares, considering his current level 1 armor to be too inadequate.

Ares saw no reason to decline the gesture and promptly fed the Black Bear's Armor to his powerful Infinitude Dragon Armor. The armor absorbed the new material, causing it to level up to an impressive level 10.

Soon after, a notification appeared before Ares,

Ding! [Do you want to use the skill sloth for bears shield, it can be replaced by another skill in the future if player wishes to].

The message clarified that the skill could be replaced with another in the future if desired. Ares deliberated for a moment and then chose to accept the skill, eager to enhance his arsenal further.

[Infinitude Dragon Armor]

[Description: The Infinitude Dragon Armor is a legendary piece of armor forged by the greatest blacksmith to have ever delved into the depths of their craft. Utilizing the reverse scale of the Heaven Devouring Dragon, this armor possesses a unique ability known as "Unlimited Growth." This extraordinary attribute allows the armor to continuously evolve as long as it is nourished with other equipment, ores, and resources.

Level: 10

Rank: Bronze

Defense: +1000

Skills: None (Can acquire and hold up to two skills at the bronze rank. The number of skills it can hold increases with each subsequent rank.)

Skill Slots: 1/2 (Skills slots available for customization)

Skills: Bears shield

: deploys a shield equal to user health points.

(Can acquire and select skills from the equipment fed to the armor)]

Having sorted out their loot and shared the monetary gains, they resumed their journey with renewed determination.