1 The determined weakling

In the world of Satisfy, inhabited by more than 2 billion players, it was close to impossible to rise from the bottom to the top. However, one person proved that this view was wrong, the one who came to be known as the supreme one, Grid. Since the day he proved the world wrong by defeating the sky above the sky, Kraugel, the world of Satisfy was in turmoil. Newbies who set their goals high, rankers who aspired to transcend their past, and much more. People had forgotten about the thing that allowed the supreme one to reach his current state, it was luck.

A lot of people don't believe in luck in real life, but this was not the case in Satisfy. Luck definitely existed, in fact, it could even be quantified as a number through the ''good luck'' and ''bad luck'' stat. How many among the motivated majority were able to achieve their dream? very few, the world of Satisfy was limited. Morpheus, the AI that managed the game, prioritized balance more than anything. As such, there were only a few spots for the heroes of the current era, most of them were known as ''Legends''. It was then that the people who realized they had no chance to rise to that position after 17 years of playing the game changed their actions. Some quit, while others decided to join one of the heroes and work under them in the hope of reaching their level one day. But there were always exceptions, exceptions who either fell to the abyss with their stubbornness or struggled to the end and rose from the pits of hell, This was also one of the reasons Grid was the supreme one, but Grid was not the only one, he just happened to be the luckiest.

''1456!''

''1457!''

In the Saharan empire, a sole player was switching between different weapons and using them in the middle of the desert. If people had seen him they would think he was crazy or venting his anger, but this was the daily routine of 'Beowulf'. In the real world, his name was 'Thomas', Once a game developer for S.A group's rival, D.S(Dream studios) group. However, once satisfy was released, D.S went bankrupt as all the attention it had gathered over the last decade was sucked dry by the appearance of Satisfy and the investors backed off. Thomas had lost his job, after desperately trying to get a job at S.A group and failing, his girlfriend broke up with him due to financial struggles, his father died from liver failure as he was unable to gather enough money to send him to surgery, his life had quite literally crumbled before his eyes. Only his mom, who accepted him and stood by his side despite everything, remained. So he promised himself to support her through her remaining years no matter what.

It happened around the appearance of the new supreme one, Grid. Thomas realized that if he could find a path to rise in Satisfy, he too would be able to make a fortune and allow his mom to live comfortably. Thus he started his journey, analyzing every stream, video, and guide about Satisfy out on the internet, trying to find the optimal path that nobody has tried before. He then bought a mid-low rate capsule and finally started his journey...That did not last long. His mother died few months after he started the game due to heart failure, and he was left truly alone, with his capsule and game. He started to make money by carrying newbies through high-tier beginner areas, though it was barely enough to pay both the subscription and life fees. You might ask why he did such a thing instead of hunting on his own? It was because of the path he chose, the classless path.

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Name: Beowulf

Class: Beginner

Level: 91

Title: Experienced hunter, True Beginner, Knight candidate, Unyielding spirit.

Race: human

Health: 7,000

Mana : 3,000

Stats:

Strength: 120

Stamina: 87

Agility: 117

Intelligence: 43

Insight: 2,164

Remaining Stat Points: 910

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That's right, after he realized he had nothing to work hard for anymore, Thomas decided to take ''All efforts are rewarded'' to the extreme. He had rejected the class assignment quest at level 10 and trained for 14 years, leveling up without assigning the stat points he gained, every time he died, he would train for weeks, sometimes months, to learn how to counter their fighting style in the most optimal way. As such, in the early days, a red knight had taken interest in him and taught him how to use the sword and spear, He then started requesting duels from other knights to peek into new fighting styles. The beginner class is unique, although it doesn't provide any benefits like normal classes, it doesn't impose any restrictions either, as long as the person trains they would be able to acquire the skill once they master it. It can be said that the beginner class was one that made players closer to an NPC than an actual player, it was also why it was very hard to grow the class and why the first 10 levels were known as the ''trial'' in Satisfy. But Beowulf thought differently, if one was able to bring the full potential out of the beginner class by mastering multiple occupations wouldn't they be rewarded for it? It is, after all, an effort that could not be compared to any other.

Thus, despite the constant mocking, Beowulf continued to walk that path, until he met the wall called first awakening. The first time he confronted a named monster that had gone through his first awakening, he was crushed like a bug. He then dedicated himself to training without leveling up. Although players gained stats by training their physique ingame, it could not be compared to the production classes' stats bonus, so Beowulf felt he finally met a wall he couldn't break through. It was depressing and disappointing, was it that he lacked talent? money? luck? Why could he never succeed in anything he did...

So he trained, continuously, for 8 years. He sold his house and bought a small apartment and decided to go all-in, never giving up. It was an obvious sign of desperation and something akin to gambling, but Thomas believed in himself, he could do it.

''2000!''

Today marked the 8th year of pure training that Thomas went through, he barely had any money left and was malnourished. As if responding to his desperate inner cries, a golden window popped up in front of him.

[You have gained new enlightenment as a result of your arduous training.]

[The world pays its respect to your unyielding spirit]

[The enhanced weapon mastery skill has grown to the master level as a result of the new enlightenment]

''ah...ahh...finally''

Collapsing on the floor, Beowulf's face was covered with tears. Enhanced weapon mastery was a fusion skill born from his efforts in mastering all weapons. After acquiring mastery skills in multiple weapons of different types, they were combined during his training in linking multiple weapons, however, unlike weapon mastery, enhanced weapon mastery was a very hard skill to level up, as a result of the need to use multiple weapons for it to grow and the stagnant stages caused by insufficient 'Enlightenment'.

[The title 'Unyielding spirit' has been upgraded to 'Transcendent determination']

[You have peeked at the realm of transcendence before your first awakening]

[This is an impossible achievement...]

[You have peeked at the pinnacle of martial arts without any guidance]

[This is an impossible achievement...]

[Your Heart and skills are far superior to your body]

[You are unable to unlock transcendence yet]

[The system wishes to grant compensate you with another reward, do you agree?]

''No.''

[???]

''I can not give up now... I need to reach my goal first.''

[...]

[The system respects your will, The compensation will be delayed until the first awakening is achieved]

'Let's check what I have first...'

[Transcendent determination(stage 1)]

[You are one who has sacrificed the comfort you have been offered to grow beyond your limits. The world pays its respect to your determination and willpower. Your tale, which has yet to start, may leave great traces in history.

*The 'Willpower' stat is opened

*Willpower increases by 5%

*exp and skill exp acquisition rate is increased by 20% and 150% respectively

*Additional effects will be added as you unlock transcendence and grow it.]

Beowulf's eyes shone as he looked at the new title, The concept of transcendence was not strange to him. After all, the supreme one, Grid, was known to be a transcendent, One who surpassed the realm of 'humans'. He knew that the day he would reach that realm isn't close, but the mere fact that the possibility has been shown to him means a part of his dream has been achieved.

[Enhanced weapon mastery]

[Stage: Advanced Level: Master

When equipped with weapons, Physical attack is increased by 35%, Accuracy is increased by 30%, Attack speed and reaction speed are increased by 50%, the penetration rate is increased by 20%, Critical hit chance and damage are increased by 20% and 50% respectively, and the weapon linking time is decreased by 40%.

★ Beginner master level effect: skills assigned to a specific blade-type weapon can be used with all blade-type weapons, however, the resource cost is increased by 50%.

★ Intermediate master level effect: There is a 15% chance of disarming the enemy during a counterattack. If the enemy does not use a weapon, the effect is replaced by a defense decrease debuff.

★ Advanced master level effect: The linking movements are optimized, linking time is reduced by 20%. The attacks' paths can be seen when the user is concentrating, the amount of attacks that can be anticipated depends on the 'Insight' stat.

* The effects are only fully applied when the weapons are linked during combat.]

''Finally...''

As he calmed down, Beowulf looked beyond the desert, at a dark forest surrounded by ominous black fog, It was time to get his revenge for his death, 8 years ago.