Chapter 20: 19. An Unexpected Visit

[Class: Nebula Nexus (Legendary)]

Drifting through the depths of space, you’ve lost your sense of humanity. You’re a cold thing that despises all that lives. Self-isolation and anger at the world drove you to use your skill with the flames to create Art! You’re a singular painter, and you have the whole world as your canvas. This class will improve your fire affinity and enable you to create many miracles! You’ll no longer be able to form any meaningful connections with others, you’re loftier than that. Create stars and shine brighter, for this is the most comfortable path.

 

[Class: Living Crematorium (Legendary)]

You’re an insignificant mortal in the grand scheme of things. You’ve been led to the path of flames, but you lack latent abilities. On the other hand, spending your time as a butcher made you quite familiar with corpses! The system recognized your efforts and you decided to make the best of your abilities. By combining your understanding of general anatomy and your elemental skills, you can be an indomitable threat to all that lives. You’re a simple man with simple needs. You usually keep to yourself, but there is a monster inside of you. Don’t unleash it unless something that you hold dear is in danger! Burn fiercely and ignite all that stands in your path, [Dismantler]!

 

[Class: Candle of Hope (Legendary)]

This world is in a dire state. Mortals are desperately looking for salvation, as higher beings enjoy lavish lifestyles. People need a hero and they deserve one! When no one wanted to take the role, you stood up and held your ground against all that is evil. You scorched enemies and incinerated wrong-doers, your sense of righteousness drove you to stand for the weaklings. Fate applauded your genuine concern for others and rewarded you with immense rewards, as long as you stay true to your path. Your happiness lies in the well-being of others, even at your own expense. You enjoy the spotlight, but you’ll always grimace at the price you had to pay for this power. Smile and stand radiantly! For you are the only thing able to stand against behemoths!

 

Bruh, I thought. What the fuck is this? What kind of class choices are these?

The descriptions were vague, but that was usual for class evolutions. However, they seemed too different from one another and there was no room for ‘winging it’ like people usually did in their class choices.

I tried to buy information on these classes from the system shop, but it was too expensive. Each of them required about thirty thousand shop points

I miss the [Dismantle] skill, I thought. It was such an easy way to get mana cores and other loot.

I shook my head at that intrusive thought and focused on the system screens in front of me.

The first class seemed quite strong, but it was creepy sounding. I didn’t understand what losing my humanity entailed, but my intuition didn’t give me a good feeling about it.

I theorized that this class was detached from the realm of the mortals and focused on something else, something greater. This class resembled a true nebula in that sense, the host would use his ability to control the flames to create stars or something similar. While this class’s capacity for mayhem would certainly be satisfactory, I didn’t want to risk losing myself in pursuit of power

It improves my fire affinity too, I thought. That would make the fires much more tolerable.

The second class gave me a bad feeling immediately, as it evoked memories of my previous class. It didn’t sound as grand as the first class, but it seemed much more balanced. It also seemed to be powerful against living beings more than anything else.

It doesn’t say anything about increasing my fire affinity, I thought. So, the flames will still be as painful if I choose this class.

Even though this class had its negatives, I couldn’t deny my interest in it. Since most enemies were made of flesh, the class’s strength should be great enough.

The third class’s description would appeal to many people, but I didn’t consider myself a savior or anything like that. Sticking to the path of the hero seemed to be a requirement for this class, and the punishment for ignoring the ‘duty’ was still unknown.

Meh, I thought. I am not willing to pay for anything, get the fuck out with your pyramid scheme.

I knew that the system was trying to scam me with the last class. A regular person would be jumping with joy at the offer, but I knew the truth behind all this righteousness crap. The good guys would use a certain person as a symbol, and they would enjoy the material wealth that his presence brought them, at the expense of peasants.

I sighed. I was still unclear about my choice. The first two classes were both within my consideration, as each of them had its positives. Ultimately, I had to make a decision soon enough lest I got stuck in analysis paralysis.

I made sure to be as precise as possible with my wording and chose the class that I thought was most suitable.

A system screen appeared.

[Host has chosen his Class Living Crematorium (Legendary)! Initializing evolution in five minutes. . . The process is expected to take a while and you will lose consciousness. Find a safe zone quickly.]

 

This was the first class evolution that I’ve been through, but I’ve already heard the most important details from other adventurers. The host lost consciousness usually, the duration depended on the class and the person’s constitution. The common thing among class evolutions was that the person would wake up with an enhanced body, as each evolution improved the host’s rank.

I’ll just find a secluded place with many shadows, I thought.

I looked around for a bit and settled next to some large trees that were huddled together, as their shadows were connected and large enough.

“[Shadow Assimilation]” I said in a whisper and dozed off.

*

Where am I?

I felt my body floating, but I wasn’t able to see any of my limbs when I tried to check them.

I heard some voices under me; a conversation was taking place. As I looked down, I could see two cloaked figures talking to each other. One of them was slightly taller than the other, but their clothes were identical. They covered them from head to toe and they didn’t reveal a single patch of skin.

“…this system integration was quicker than usual,” said the taller person with a thick voice, “this might disturb our plans a bit, but we’ll try to prevent the worst possible outcome.”

The speaker had the voice of a middle age person, it gave me a sense of safety.

Is this some kind of skill? I thought. He might be a [Bard] or something similar.

“We’re still lacking in manpower, Albert,” said the other person, her voice much softer than Albert’s. “We still haven’t recovered from the last operation.”

“Well, that’s a bummer,” he said as he suddenly looked up, “Perhaps our visitor would have some ideas to solve this dilemma?”

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I was startled when he brought attention to me. I tried to run away but to no avail, as my limbs were no longer attached to my body.

The woman looked up as well and she said, “I feel sorry for you, kid. You’ll have to trust yourself and no one else,” she inhaled before adding, “We’ll contact you in time, stand strong.”

The man laughed and spoke as he raised both of his arms, “Always remember! Nothing is free in this world.”

*

Was that a dream? I thought as I checked my arms, feeling better as I confirmed that they were still present.

I can still vividly remember it, I thought. They seem to be a mysterious bunch; do they have something to do with the system admin?

I didn’t remember much about the location in which their meeting took place, but it didn’t seem luxurious.

A large system screen in front of my eyes pulled me from my trance.

[Congratulations, Host Jason Stubbs is the first to evolve his class in the whole tutorial!] [Obtained Class: Living Crematorium (Legendary)]
Would you like to globally broadcast this system notice?
[Agree]	[Decline]

 

I chose this class primarily because it didn’t have too many negatives. I had to play it safe as a legendary class was still powerful enough as is.

Besides, it seems somewhat mysterious too, I thought, I wonder what that monster stuff is all about.

I agreed to the system’s proposal, as this would help establish myself as one of the stronger humans much faster.

Hehehe! I’ll also get the title for the first host to evolve their class, I thought. It was among the better titles as it gave percentage-based stat increases!

Class evolutions were perceived as important events in my past life, both by the system and by people. Each class evolution improved the person’s genes on a fundamental level. They halted the process of aging and increased people’s lifespans. A rank-up made people taller, stronger, and faster. It also improved their physical appearance and coordination too.

Yet the hosts’ stats didn’t increase with each rank up, I thought. System enthusiasts theorized that evolution just improved a person’s capacity to control his body.

Many people leveled up with this sole purpose in mind. Rich women crazily spent their resources in pursuit of eternal beauty, and men did all kinds of dirty jobs, even stooping as low as to kill other humans, for the chance to evolve their classes.

Many system screens appeared in front of me in quick succession, so I decided to take a look at what my new class had to offer.

[Class: Living Crematorium (Legendary) Jason was an average human with below-average prospects until he got lucky and obtained Alnarius’ legacy! The system recognized his efforts as a butcher, as he sacrificed his education, friendships, and personal happiness in pursuit of fine-tuning his capacity to deal with corpses. Will he be able to sleep peacefully, knowing how much of a failure he truly is compared to his competitors? This Class is a memorial to Jason, who stood against all odds and emerged as the Forerunner of humanity! This Class was carefully balanced and optimized to assure some satisfaction. -Each Level gives the host: 4 MAG points; 4 END points and 12 free stat points. -If the Host desires to use a skill, he must shout its name. -Host is immune to fire damage. -The past class skills were improved accordingly. -In addition to the past skills, the host obtains 3 other skills. -Damage is increased by 50% against beings made of flesh. -Upgradable.

 

[Host gained Class Skill [Dismantle] (Legendary)!]

 

[Host gained Class Skill [Plasmic Torch] (Legendary)!]

 

[Host gained Class Skill [Flawed State of Being] (Legendary)!]

 

So, this skill won’t leave me? I thought. At least I won’t get the negatives of the class this time…

*

Three humans were exploring the location around them. The two guys had gaped mouths and wide eyes, but the woman was apathetic. The area was mostly barren and living creatures were scarce.

They only found three hellhounds thus far, and each of them got one kill. Dividing kills was the strategy that they relied upon in the first phase.

“Ay, Stella!” said a tall man with spiky black hair, “What’s your current level?”

“It’s twenty-two” replied the silver-haired woman, “How about yours, Igor?”

“I am still nineteen, I guess you got the longer end of the stick when you got a magic-based class,” he said, before shrugging his shoulder and turning to the shorter bald-head boy, “and you Oleg?”

“I am still level fifteen, what can you do as a tank?” he said, “I suggest we let Stella get the next couple of kills since she has the highest level of us, that way she would get the Class Evolution.”

“True, the sponsors said that titles will be…” said Igor before a system screen abruptly appeared in front of him.

[Congratulations, Host Jason Stubbs is the first to evolve his class in the whole tutorial!] [Obtained Class: Living Crematorium (Legendary)]

The two guys’ mouths were wide-open yet they didn’t say anything. They looked at the silver-haired woman, waiting for her input.

“Jason Stubbs, huh?” Stella said, “I’ll remember your name.”

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