Chapter 2: Unwanted Classes

Chapter 2: Unwanted Classes

"We need to review the history of this world..." Shadow's last words hung in the heavy, damp forest air, as thick as a fog unseen but felt. We stood there, three human dots lost in a vast expanse of vibrant green, strange silver, and the glowing blue emanating from the leaves. The initial shock, that blend of disbelief and disorientation, began to slowly fade, like a receding tide, leaving behind a cold shore of rising anxiety—an anxiety flavored with the real fear of the absolute unknown. The smell of damp earth and rotting humus mingled with a strange fragrance, slightly sweet, slightly repulsive, emanating from flowers we had never seen before.

Shadow turned, his sharp eyes behind his glasses scanning our surroundings with a methodical precision undeterred by the shock. He wiped his lenses with the cloth he pulled from his pocket—that ingrained habit which now seemed like a tiny anchor in a sea of strangeness. He spoke in a calm, analytical tone, as if delivering a lecture in an empty room rather than a hostile forest: "This forest... there are elements reminiscent of descriptions of certain zones in Valaria's encyclopedias, the ancient forests in unexplored territories. But it's denser, more... primitively wild. More importantly, I see no trace of civilization. No worn paths, no signs of old logging, not even distant smoke. If we are truly in the game world as I hypothesize—and that's currently the most logical possibility given the circumstances of our transition—we must determine the time period. Valaria's main events as we know them, the major wars and the founding of the current kingdoms, supposedly begin in earnest around the year 1200 by the Eigreve Line Empire's calendar. But this place... this feeling of absolute wilderness... it seems older, more primal. Are we in a previous era? Have we been thrown into this world's past? Knowing our position on the timeline is crucial for understanding potential risks and opportunities."

"History? Era?" I interrupted sharply, my voice rising more than I intended. I spun around, eyes desperately searching for anything familiar, any recognizable sign in this impossible landscape of silver trees and glowing blue leaves. The initial adrenaline rush was turning into a burning mix of confusion, anger, and helplessness. "Shadow, for hell's sake, we're stuck in a forest probably on another planet! We haven't seen another human, we don't know if the air is toxic long-term, or if the water is drinkable! We need shelter, water, food, a way to defend ourselves! Not a history lesson about a world we might not even be in!" I clenched my fists, feeling my nails dig into my palms.

Jack, who until that moment had been examining the damp soil beneath his feet with a focused, deep gaze, as if searching for non-existent footprints or reading the story of the earth, slowly raised his head. He spoke calmly, with a weight and strange confidence considering the situation: "Calm down, Ares. Your outburst is understandable, but Shadow has a point. Knowing where and when we are is vital for long-term survival." He turned his head towards Shadow for a moment, then looked back at both of us. "But, before we start constructing an astronomical calendar by observing these two strange orange suns, or try building a hut from this shiny wood, there's a simpler, more logical step for experienced players like us." He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning our surroundings, assessing the situation with his usual coolness. "Let's try the most obvious thing that connects us to our recent past. Does this place, whatever it is, follow any of the familiar rules of Valaria?" He looked directly at us, clear seriousness in his eyes. "Try opening the system screen. Just... try. Say 'Stats' or 'Menu' or 'UI' or whatever command you used inside the pod. Let's see if there's any response, any echo from the world we came from."

It was a surprisingly simple idea, logical in our upside-down world. A fragile sense of hope fluttered in my chest. If it worked, it meant we were still connected to something we knew, something with rules that could be understood. I stared at him for a moment, then closed my eyes, trying to summon the same mental focus I used to interact with the game interface. I spoke clearly and intentionally, casting the word into the forest's silence: "Stats."

Complete silence. No pop-up window, no faint light before my eyes, nothing but the continued faint whisper of the forest.

"Menu." I tried again, a little louder.

Nothing. I opened my eyes, feeling a sharp, cold disappointment wash over me. There was no system. No interface. We were truly alone. I looked at Jack and Shadow. Jack was slowly shaking his head, a faint expression of disappointment flickering across his face before his calm mask returned. Shadow was pinching the bridge of his nose, wiping his glasses again, as if the action helped him process this new, alarming piece of information. The silence that followed our attempts felt heavier, more threatening than before.

"It doesn't work..." Shadow muttered, his voice almost devoid of emotion, but I could hear a thin thread of anxiety beneath it. "This means either we're not in Valaria at all, or the fundamental rules of this reality are radically different, or the mysterious transition process severed our connection to any kind of familiar system..."

And just as true despair began to creep into the folds of our thoughts, with the realization that we were utterly cut off from any known system, we heard a sudden, violent sound coming from the dense trees ahead of us. It wasn't just rustling leaves, but the sound of branches breaking, the sound of deliberate, somewhat heavy movement, approaching fast. A shiver ran down my spine, an instinctive feeling of imminent danger.

Suddenly, without warning, something burst from the shadows with astonishing speed. It wasn't a massive beast as one might expect in a fantasy world, but a slender creature, its skin a pale, strangely shiny grey, about the size of a large Doberman. It moved with terrifying agility on six thin, jointed legs like those of giant insects, each tipped with a black, razor-sharp claw. Its face was an almost featureless flat surface, except for a circular mouth in the center, filled with concentric rows of tiny needle-like teeth that spun slowly and continuously, emitting a sharp, low hum like a distant drone. It moved directly towards me, its small, black, beady, glistening eyes fixed on me with clear hostile focus and unmistakable lethal intent.

There was no time to think, no time to try opening the system menu again, not even time to scream. My reaction was purely instinctive, a surge for survival. I leaped aside at the last second, miraculously dodging its deadly initial lunge. But in that moment of evasion, something strange and unexpected happened. It wasn't just an ordinary adrenaline-fueled jump. I felt my body become incredibly lighter, instantly more responsive to my thoughts, as if the world around me had slowed down for a brief moment—every movement, every falling leaf, seemed distinct and defined. I saw the path of the creature's incoming claw almost before it completed its arc. When I landed on my feet, I wasn't where I had jumped from. I was several feet further away, as if a faint, unseen shadow had carried me and placed me there. I felt a sharp, sudden sting in my left arm where one of its claws had grazed me superficially during its movement, leaving a wound from which blood slowly began to seep. But the stronger sensation overwhelming the pain was a strange, vibrant energy surging within me, a sharp, cold desire to retaliate, to end this threat quickly and with deadly precision.

"Ares, watch out!" Shadow yelled, his voice carrying genuine surprise, perhaps at my unexpected reaction speed or the nature of my evasive movement.

The creature spun around immediately, its insectoid legs scratching the damp earth, readying to attack again, this time seemingly more determined. But this time, I wasn't the only one who reacted.

Shadow, who had been frozen for the first instant, perhaps processing the overwhelming sensory data of the situation, suddenly raised his right hand towards the attacking creature. He didn't cast a spell or throw anything physical. Instead, something stranger happened. I saw the fine dust, tiny soil particles, and decaying leaves around his feet begin to vibrate and rise into the air, gathering with astonishing speed, forming before him into a small but distinctly dense cloud with a faint metallic glint. This cloud shot forward rapidly, directly towards the creature, striking it around the face and head area. It wasn't a blow with tremendous impact force, but it seemed to distract and severely annoy it, perhaps getting into its spinning mouth or small eyes. The creature's movement slowed slightly, one of its front legs momentarily retracting, and it emitted a sound like a choked hiss. I saw a flash of intense concentration and scientific curiosity in Shadow's eyes behind his glasses as he whispered to himself, barely audible: "Precise control... over micro-particles? Mass manipulation at the micro-level?"

At almost the same moment, Jack, who had seen my wound and the small patch of blood starting to spread on my shirt, took a decisive step forward. He didn't shout or rush recklessly. Instead, I felt a strange coldness spread from him, a coldness that wasn't just a drop in the surrounding air temperature, but something deeper, a feeling of stagnation, of emptiness, as if vitality itself was being drawn from the area around him. I saw the creature shudder visibly this time, not just from the dust cloud, but as if a small amount of vitality had been forcibly drained from it. Even stranger, I noticed the dead leaves scattered on the ground around Jack's feet begin to twitch and curl unnaturally, not moved by wind, but as if responding to his presence, to that deathly coldness slowly seeping from him, as if trying to twist or rise weakly, disturbingly. Jack frowned distinctly, a grimace of disgust and unease crossing his face as if feeling something unpleasant passing through or emanating from him.

The creature hesitated for a crucial moment, clearly affected by Shadow's irritating cloud and the strange, draining coldness radiating from Jack. This moment of hesitation was all I needed. I felt that strange energy surge within me again, stronger this time, a feeling of sharp focus. I concentrated on the creature, on a weak point that suddenly seemed obvious to me behind what looked like its neck, where its head met its slender body. Without conscious thought, I lunged forward with a speed I didn't know I possessed, a speed that felt unnatural. I felt my hands move almost independently, with a coordination and precision I'd never known, striking that specific point with focused, precise force. I wasn't holding any weapon, just my bare hands, but the force of the blow, enhanced by that unknown energy, was enough. I heard a muffled cracking sound, felt resistance for a moment, then collapse. The creature staggered back, lost its balance, and fell heavily to the ground. Its body twitched for a few moments, limbs spasming randomly, then it stopped moving altogether, its small eyes losing their glint.

I stood panting, my chest heaving violently, looking at the dead creature before me, then at my wounded arm which was starting to ache now as the adrenaline subsided, then at my two friends who were staring at the scene with complex expressions. Silence fell over the forest once more, but it was no longer the silence of ignorance and blind fear, but the silence of stunning and unsettling realization.

Shadow was still staring at the hand that had summoned the dust cloud, slowly opening and closing it, his eyes gleaming with that analytical curiosity that never left him, even now. He said in a low voice, talking more to himself than to us: "The ability to move and shape fine matter with precision... resembles the concept of theoretical nanotechnology, or perhaps a similar biological ability. This reminds me of rumors about the secret, extremely rare 'Nanomancer' class in Valaria, said to be capable of manipulating matter at the molecular level. But this feels... more innate."

Jack was looking at the dead leaves, now completely still again around his feet, then at the grey corpse, an expression of deep distaste and unease still etched on his face. He said, his voice slightly hoarse: "That feeling... it wasn't just coldness. It was like absorption... absorption of life or vital energy. As if death itself, or something close to it, responds to me in a disturbing and nauseating way." He looked at me and Shadow, his eyes carrying a new weight. "It reminds me of the abilities of the 'Necromancer' class, summoner of spirits or controller of the dead, but this feels different, more intimate... and darker. I think we're no longer just ordinary players lost in a strange place. Now, we possess some power."

I looked down at my hands, which still felt light and ready to move, a strange feeling of agility and latent power. I didn't fully understand how I had done it, how I had moved with such speed and precision, how I had felt that momentary slowing of the world, how I had instinctively identified the weak point. But the sensation of speed, precision, and the ability to move like a light shadow was real and tangible. "Assassin..." I whispered the word that had spontaneously jumped into my mind. It wasn't just a class in a game I had chosen after thought and planning; it felt like it had become part of me, an identity suddenly awakened in a moment of extreme danger.

Jack said, regaining some of his composure and his usual pragmatic tone now that the immediate threat was over: "Well, it seems trying the classic 'system screen' didn't summon any familiar interface. But maybe... maybe the system, or whatever force governs this world, responded to the fight, to the danger, in its own unique way." He nodded towards us in turn. "We didn't get a traditional class selection screen like in Valaria when we started. But perhaps these abilities that suddenly appeared... were 'assigned' to us somehow, like the first class we were supposed to choose or be granted upon entry. Or maybe, and this is another possibility, these are just latent abilities that somehow existed within us, awakened by the shock or the nature of this strange transition into this new reality."

We stood there for longer moments, absorbing the impact of his words, and the impact of what had just happened. We hadn't just been transported to a strange new world; we had also fundamentally changed. We had been granted powers we didn't ask for, powers we didn't yet fully understand, powers that bore a superficial resemblance to the Valaria classes we knew, but now seemed deeper, more real, and perhaps more... dangerous. The small, swift battle with that strange creature wasn't just a random encounter for survival; it was the act of some great being... I don't know anything yet, I'm still new to this world. And as for the rulers... no, I don't think any of them would make a move because of us. Right now, I was thinking about one thing... what if we were in Valaria, but before the game's story began? The strangest thing is that I'm the only one who got a common class! Damn this world!