10 Class Quest
I use potions to replenish my health and mana then I push the gate open. I see in front of me a large circular great hall. In the middle, there is a round stage occupying about half of the hall. I walk through the gate towards the stage, Slam!
The door is closed shut behind me, looks like I'm trapped in here until I either overcome this trial or die trying.
I go up the three-step stairs leading to the stage. The stage is surrounded by eight pillars, making it look like a fighting ring.
The only thing in the hall is a coffin placed on the far side of the room opposite the door.
I think to myself as I step on the stage, 'Will a vampire come out of this coffin?'
Then I see Him, a grim reaper, not in the coffin but standing beside it, as if he's guarding the coffin. I didn't see him at first because of the pillar in front of him.
He's a slim 'and very agile looking' skeleton, wearing a weird black armored battle robe. The robe is tight on the skeleton's body everywhere except for the neck. The weird metallic collar is very wide that it resembles the bell of a trumpet instrument.
There is a black full helm covering his head, decorated from the top by a sickle-like horn with its tip pointing forward. The helm surprisingly matches well with the weird collar.
The weapon in his hand is a two-meder double scythe with one blade on each end. The two blades are shorter than they should be when compared to the length of the weapon.
And the pole of the scythe is covered by thorns and spikes except for the two handles, which are positioned 'strangely' one below each of the two blades.
'Since it's a double scythe, shouldn't the handle be in the middle?' Even the weapon is weird!
The grim reaper starts walking towards the stage slowly.
Seeing his form, I summon the Beast Lord sword. It gives +10% attack speed so it should be the better choice right now, even though it has lower attack power than the orcish greatsword.
'But why don't I feel any aura coming from him?' Is he so weak that his aura is nearly undetectable? Is he just a guard and the real boss is still in the coffin?
But I can see that the name above it is written in dark red letters, [Death Knight– Sratras].
This means that this Sratras is way stronger than any monster that I've ever faced inside an instant dungeon. The names of Koffac and Aereg 'the dungeon bosses that I hunted before' were in orange.
Then, he is strong. So, he can hide his aura like the assassin he is.
The assassin stands firm on the stage and points his weapon at me, then he releases his ominous aura. He is giving me the first move, it seems like he's saying 'show me what you can do'.
This aura is too much … Can I even lay a scratch on him? There is no way back, is there? I have to kill him even if it seems impossible, I WILL kill him …
I steel my nerves and dash forward with my sword in front of me. It seems that he wouldn't let me have the first attack, after all. I can see him turning the scythe to the side.
'A horizontal cut' and since his scythe has twice the reach of my sword, I have to either defend or back down.
'His swing is too slow', I can just outrun it. "Swift strike", my speed is doubled and I reach him faster than the scythe trying to get in my way.
The pole of the scythe hits my left elbow. It doesn't matter, my sword is only 2 celches away from penetrating his abdomen…
"Whah!"
Something just hit my right elbow? It stings! Chain? Thorns? What is going on right now? I'm restrained? And there is a terrible pain in my back?
This Damn scythe … it isn't a polearm, the pole just turned into chains.
This explains the thorns, the short blades, and the position of the handles. I should've foreseen this. This is not a double scythe, this is two hand-scythes connected by a special pole that turns into chains 'or the reverse'.
The chains have made a circle and a half around my body, the thorns are scraping my leather armor. The blade is ingrained in my back. How can I get out of this predicament?
Of course, he wouldn't let me think it over, his left hand is punching my face again and again while his right is holding me in place by pulling the chains.
I'm still holding my sword, so I use Whirlwind skill to spin myself out of the chains and deliver a strike to this bastard.
Once he got hit from my first spin he backed off, not forgetting to violently pull his weapon, which made the blade rip through the flesh of my back leaving a bigger wound than the original one from the stab.
I distance myself without stopping the Whirlwind skill, I don't want him to follow up. As soon as I get enough distance, I stop and quickly use the highest-grade potion that I have.
Again, the bastard stands still pointing one of his blades at me. 'You are supposed to be an assassin, you know!'
I charge at him again, this time I know his weapon and I won't be taken by surprise. Still, the weapon is tricky and he is in very good control of it, it's like he's holding three weapons.
The blade in his left hand is for defense while the other blade and the chain itself are for attack and entrapment.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of our blades is filling my ears while I'm deflecting the scythe, evading the spiky chains, jumping to the right and the left, ducking, and then attacking.
I'm sweating profusely as I run all over the place, and this bastard is standing still, taking it easy. Minimal swings from his right hand are enough to wave the chains around in big circular attacks. A simple pull is enough to retract the scythe in missile-like speed.
'Just how many years of training did it take to make him this proficient with the weapon?' Wounds are starting to appear on my body and I can't even land one hit.
I have to change things, so I spam Swift Strike to break the balance. The enemy is already within my sword reach and my feet are constantly moving to avoid the chains. So, I use the skill to double the speed of my next swing and increase its power by 40%.
Now it's starting to feel like a real fight. 'I'm pushing him back'… Who would've thought that using a charging-skill in close-quarter combat would be this effective!
I land a strike then another. That only made him angry, because shit just got serious.
He starts moving like real assassins, too fast for me to defend or counter, aiming only at my back.
'This is hard'. The only way I can keep up with his speed is by constantly using Swift Strike. And since the skill is targeted, I have to be moving towards him.
He figures that out, and the moment I use Swift Strike, I find a trap of chains waiting for me. I can't change my course mid-way, as Swift Strike is technically a leap, and I've already leaped.
I did the only thing I could think of under the circumstances, which is using Swift Strike again. The new one overrides the other, this time my target is his right hand.
He sees that and adjusts his scythe to meet me halfway. I use Swift Strike again to evade. Now, I'm in a deadlock, I'll get hit or trapped the moment I stop spamming Swift Strike.
My mana is being depleted, I've never thought that I would worry about mana depletion because of a skill that costs fifty mana points. I mean my total mana count is more than three thousand.
'This time it's the scythe waiting for me.'
I summon my steel shield, deflect the scythe away, and put all my frustration into this one stab.
'It worked!'
"Ugh…" I don't have any time to rejoice, the skeleton's fist slams my face so hard that I fly all the way out of the stage to hit the wall. The stone wall cracks from behind me.
The skeleton bastard doesn't even let me fall to the ground he's charging at me with incredible speed while my sword still in his abdomen. His scythe is directed to my neck, he's going for the kill.
'Shit …did the sword pass through the gaps between the bones?' I can't see it because of the armored robe.
My shield isn't in my hand, it was thrown away when he punched me in the face.
The orcish greatsword, I summon it quickly and defend against the incoming scythe. He attacks again from a different angle. He is still way faster than me, and my back is against the wall.
I have to escape from this position. I use Swift Strike, his foot is my target. I thought I would hit it, it's already in the reach of my sword. But no, he jumped.
I use this as an opportunity to run towards the center of the hall.
[HP: 11,925/35,700 MP: 635/3315 Fatigue: 53]
'This is bad'.
I can feel the skeletons aura following me at a frightening speed. I quickly stop and turn around to see that he is throwing a scythe at me.
I spin around to face him barely avoiding the thrown scythe, he is still holding the other scythe in his right hand while his left is free.
I use Sword St… 'What?'
The chain just moved on its own and surrounded me. I can see the skeleton waving his left hand then open it.
'Telekinesis?'
Grab! Now, I'm tied by the spiky chains, and he's holding a scythe in each hand… Two scythes are headed for my neck…
Something, anything… 'Whirlwind… Sword Strike.'
[The Player is restrained. Skill cannot be activated.]
Slice…
He cut my throat! I feel a terrible pain but I can't even scream … I can't breathe, blood is entering my lungs. The chains drop to the floor as the skeleton turns around and walks away dragging them behind. I drop to my knees.
More blood gushes out of my neck. My vision is all blurry …
Ring~
[Your health is below 5%. Miach's Blessing has been activated.
All critical wounds have been healed and your health is restored to 50%.]
As soon as I regain my strength, I use Swift Strike to jump and stab the greatsword in the back of the skeleton's head.
The skeleton seems to be taken by surprise, but it's still alive. Looks like the sword passed 'again' through the spaces between the bones. But I can feel his spine against the blade of my sword.
I hold the sword in its place by my left hand while I condense all the strength I can muster in my right fist and WAM! I punch his helmet from the opposite side of the sword…
Snap!
I hear his neck snaps from my punch but I don't stop. I stand by one foot on the beast lord sword embedded in the skeleton's abdomen to maintain my height, and punch again and again and again until the helmet is severed from the body taking his skull in it.
Ring~
[You have defeated Death knight– Sratras].
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
"SIGH … Finally".
I use some potions to restore my mana, health, and fatigue. I sit down resting my back on a pillar while looking at the several spots of light coming out of the skeletons corpse.
Looks like I only won because of his conceited behavior. If he fought me at full power from the beginning, I wouldn't have even had the chance to understand the situation.
'Beating Sratras 'a foe superior to me in stats and experience', doesn't mean that I cleared the quest'.
The class quest hasn't even started yet. If my memories serve me right, it will start after I receive Sratras's loot.
I stay for a while to relieve my mental exhaustion and prepare myself for what's to come. Then I collect my shield and two swords and extend my hand towards the light spots.
Ring~
[You have found the following items:
1- Ancient Supreme Helmet.
2- Grimoire "Ruler's Hands".
3- Grimoire "Stealth".
4- 1,500,000 Gold.
5- Return stone.
Would you like to acquire them?]
'Acquire gold'.
Ting~
[Current Gold: 2,468,270]
'Acquire Helmet'.
[Ancient Supreme Helmet
Rarity: S
Type: Armor.
Physical Damage Reduction +15%
Strength +20, Agility +20]
'Equip Ancient Supreme Helmet'.
[Orc Berserker's Helmet has been unequipped.]
'Acquire "Ruler's Hands" Grimoire'.
[Grimoire "Ruler's Hands"
Open the Grimoire to obtain the skill.]
I open the Grimoire to find that there are no pages inside, only light? The light engulfs me and then it gets absorbed into my skin.
Ring~
[The skill "Ruler's Hands (Level: 1)" has been learned.]
[Ruler's Hands (Level: 1)
Active Skill.
Mana Cost: 0
Exert your will over an object without physically touching it.]
'Acquire "Stealth" Grimoire'.
[The skill "Stealth (Level: 1)" has been learned.]
[Stealth (Level: 1)
Active Skill.
Mana Cost: 500 (+10 points per second).
You suppress your mana and your movements don't make any sound. No one can sense your presence unless they are looking directly at you.]
I can't be sensed but I can be seen. It's inferior to the Stealth that Jinwoo could use.
'And finally, acquire Return Stone'.
[Return Stone
Type: Class Quest Item.
Break it to immediately exit the Instant Dungeon.
This item will disappear once the quest is finished.
You cannot keep this item in your inventory.]
Ring~
[The player has obtained the "Return Stone".
The Class Quest will now begin.]
[In 10 seconds, the "Gates" will start opening at random.
Objective: Endure as long as possible.
The more you endure, the more Achievement Points you will collect.
The more Achievement points you collect, the better the Class you will receive.
Use the "Return Stone" to escape the Instant Dungeon and end the Quest.]
I put the return stone in my bag. Ready the beast lord sword in my right hand and the steel shield in my left.
[00:00:03 … 02 … 01 ... Good luck.]
The moment the timer hits zero, gates start appearing in various places around the hall.
'About a dozen or so'.
The gates are very similar to the ones leading to instant dungeons, but these aren't for me to enter, they're for the monsters to come out of.
[00:00:01 … 02 … 03]
The timer starts to rise, it calculates my endurance duration now.
An army of skeletons and ancient skeletons leaves the gates, I can also sense the aura of ghosts mixed in the fray. The ground shakes as the monsters advance.
I start slaying monsters while I target the ancient skeletons, I kill one after one, waving my way through the other monsters.
No matter how much I kill I can't see the message, 'you've killed a monster'.
'This is too much!' Jinwoo faced only six mages, why am I facing dozens? Something isn't right.
In the Solo Leveling class quest, the mages didn't fight and summoned countless knights. Jinwoo beat the quest by killing the mages.
But here the ancient skeletons are attacking me by casting spells. Is it the ghosts? No, they are also attacking and they don't give a message when I kill them.
In my frustration, I turn a skeleton into a heap of bones by bashing through it with my shield. 'Wow, you can slay skeletons like that too!'
Then I see it, 'what the …?'
In front of my eyes, the heap of bones is starting to ripple then the bones move together and return to being a skeleton.
Their numbers don't even decrease? I should find their master before the hall is flooded by monsters.
I summon the orcish mace. Now I have a sword in my right hand and a mace in my left. Hitting skeletons with the mace shatters their bones and makes them take more time to regenerate.
'Is it the gates themselves? Should I enter them?'
I fight my way to the nearest gate and try to destroy or enter it, but my body just passes through.
'Not the gates'.
Is it something in the room? There was nothing when I entered here except for the coffin… The coffin?
I fight my way again through the monsters to reach the coffin. As soon as I'm near the coffin, the skeletons start protecting it fiercely.
'Huh, so it is in the coffin.'
I use Whirlwind to 'temporarily' take down monsters protecting the coffin. When I reach the coffin, I see that the lid is closed shut so I use the orcish greatsword to hack and bash through the coffin lid.
Some kind of mummy is what I see inside. I don't feel that much aura coming from it, so it's weak.
It starts to rise slowly, 'I have no time for you'. I swing the greatsword fiercely and decapitate the mummy.
[You have defeated "Ancient Mage".]
'Good!'
I look around, the gates disappear but the monsters are still here. I kill some of them but they don't die.
'Is this some kind of self-regeneration? Or are they all puppets and something is controlling them? Then where is it?'
I extend my senses to track the source of the regeneration magic. I can sense the mana floating through the room to restore the fallen monsters, but my sense stat isn't high enough to discern the source.
The mana is all over the hall, but what can be the source? Aside from me and the monsters, there is nothing in this hall. Only the broken coffin and the dead mummy.
Is it the hall itself? This hall consists of the walls, the stage, and the pillars.
'The pillars?'
Again, I fight my way to the nearest pillar and start hitting it with all my might.
Bam! Bam! Bam! As soon as the pillar is destroyed…
[You have defeated "Dweller".]
[You have leveled up.]
Crumble!
A good portion of the monsters falls motionless to the ground, like puppets after cutting their strings.
Dweller? Is it a pillar-like monster or a monster dwelling inside the pillar?
Anyway, pillars are the target. One down, seven to go'.
Not long after that,
[You have defeated all the quest monsters, The Class Quest will now end.
Your class will be decided next.
Depending on the Achievement Points earned, you may advance to a higher class.]
[The Player's actions will be analyzed to determine the appropriate class.]
[The presence of a Deity follows where the Player goes.
The road he walks is paved with corpses of evil beings, and the blood he spills is the blood of purification.
The Player yearns for great power, he advances with relying only on beings he purified.
However, he builds his road with his own strength.]
'A deity? Is it Miach? ... And beings that I purified? Does it mean the beasts I tamed?'
[Your desire to eradicate evil is strong enough to purify the hearts of the heartless. Through the purified army that will follow your every command, you will be able to build your path without anyone's help.]
[Your class is "Preacher".]
'Huh?'
