Soulless Path

Marius found himself bombarded with a sudden onslaught of sensations.

With a start, he opened his eyes, his breathing labored and his face covered in visible sweat, as if he had just awoken from a nightmare.

As his vision cleared, Marius was immediately greeted by a game-like interface. In the top-right corner, a radar display showed a detailed map of his surroundings.

Positioned at the bottom left was a miniature version of himself: — 웃 — showcasing his short, pitch-black hair, dark purple eyes, and slim build.

It also portrayed the outfit he was wearing- a black t-shirt, a lengthy black overcoat, and black slacks secured with a belt. On his feet, he wore black oxford shoes. 

In the bottom-right corner, nine icons appeared:

Character Profile - Attributes - Titles - Points - Skills - Shop - Quest -Main Quest - Status.

However, one stood out for obvious reasons.

"Status?" Marius mumbled to himself, looking at the icon, confused.

Out of nowhere, a blue-colored system window materialized out of thin air, displaying everything, catching him by surprise.

"What the-"

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Character Profile:

Name: Marius Von Sledge

Age: 22 

Race: Hero

Level: 1

Experience: 0 / 10

Hit Points: 10 / 10

Mana: 10 / 10

Class: ???

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Attributes:

Strength: 1

Agility: 1

Vitality: 1

Intelligence: 1 

Dexterity: 1

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Titles:

(Hero) 

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Points: 

Stat Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

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Shop:

Locked (level 5)

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Skills: ???

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Quest:

Daily Quest: Kill 5 Horn Rabbits

Progress: 0/5

Reward: 25 XP

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Main Quest: Save The World

Progress: ???

Reward: ???

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Reading through the entire system window, Marius sighed, shaking his head, "I must be dreaming…" He looked around—a dense forest surrounded him completely.

"Any minute now, I'll wake up," he mumbled to himself, letting out a small laugh. This entire situation reminded him of the cliché Isekai; light novels, anime, and manga'. 

Unfortunately, his thoughts of this being a dream came crashing down as in the next moment, Marius heard a robotic voice in his head. Reflexively clutching his forehead, he felt a slight pain.

[Ding! Voice activation download completed]

[Welcome, hero! To the game-like world of Pax! Become stronger, adventure, create a party, protect this world from evil, and live out a life of fantasy! Your legendary journey begins here!]

Before Marius could get a word out or react, the mechanical voice continued speaking. A golden screen appeared in front of him.

[Select your class]

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True Hero - Holy Warrior - Unerring Archer - Legendary Beast Tamer - Supreme Mage - Divine Healer - Warlord - Berserker - Unmoving Tank - Side Character - Basic Bitch Warrior———

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It felt like the choices were never-ending, as an overwhelming number of classes kept appearing on the screen.

The class "True Hero" kept flashing, pre-selected and awaiting Marius's confirmation. [YES or NO].

With his hands raised in an X formation, he firmly and coldly rejected. "Not happening. Send me home." He clicked "NO".

[Impossible]

Taking a deep breath, Marius asked, "can't you pick someone else? Like some loser who has nothing going for him?"

[Impossible. You've specially been selected]

"Huh?" Marius pointed to himself. "I've specially been selected?"

[Therefore impossible to send you back to Earth]

"Why me?"

Marius couldn't understand why he was chosen. He was a regular guy. He didn't fit the stereotypical loser protagonist found in anime, light novels, and manga.

[Because—Ding! Information denied]

Veins appearing on his forehead, Marius took another deep breath. He knew he had to keep a level-head. "Could you at least tell me how I can return to Earth?"

[Oh, yeah, all you have to do is—DENIED! Did you really think I'm allowed to give you that information?]

Marius shrugged his shoulders. "Worth a shot." Realizing that even the slightest bit of information could be useful, he knew it was worth attempting. 

[Hero, understand this world needs you!]

"Stop trying to BS me into some dangerous adventure," Marius said. "I'm not risking my life for a random-ass world."

[… Hero, you're forcing me to use my last card.... You can get yourself a… HAREM!]

Marius felt like falling to the ground once he heard that. "I'm not some virgin…" He mumbled.

Would he reject a harem? No. What would be his reason? If the women truly loved him and he could reciprocate that love, then why not? But is he desperate for one? No. He wasn't some horny teenager.

Seeing this was going nowhere, Marius put his hands up in defeat. "Fine, I'll select a class. But I'm not doing this hero bullshit."

Why would he not pick a class? That would be suicide. Especially in a game-like world that surely was dangerous.

Marius scrolled for a little, looking at the many options displayed before him, and after a couple minutes a class caught his eye: "Necromancer".

"Oh~ I'll pick this." He selected the class and then, with a final confirmation, clicked "YES". However, it was not confirming as it continuously displayed the word "REJECTED" in bold.

[Hero, please reconsider your choice]

"Hm? Why?" Marius raised an eyebrow.

[Because—Ding! Information denied. I apologize for my interference.]

The next second later, Marius was given the class: "Necromancer". The golden screen disappeared.

[Now that you've chosen a class, you have been given a default skill]

"Wait, why did you try to stop me from picking that class?" Marius asked. He was now a little worried he might've picked wrong.

[I can't give you that information. Please check out your default skill]

"Fine…" Marius decided to not put up much of a fight, as he knew it would be useless, and so he called out, "Skills".

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Skills:

(Bony)

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[Click on the skill to see the description]

Doing as he was told, Marius moved his finger forward and pressed on the skill: "Bony".

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Name: Bony

[Summoning Skill] 

Level: 1

Experience: 0 / 10

Hit Points: 1 / 1

Cost: 1 MP 

Cool Down: 1 Second

Description: Self-proclaimed King of the Undead, despite his small size, he struts around with regal confidence, believing himself to be the ruler of all. But don't let his grandiose title fool you—he's more cute than fearsome, and his strength is as weak as his skeletal frame!

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"Um, can I switch my class?" Marius asked, closing out of the screen, before itching his cheek awkwardly.

[Denied]

Marius felt like smashing his head against a tree at the moment. He was immediately regretting his choice of picking the class "Necromancer".

[I must ask you to reconsider and become a hero, to protect this world]

Picking his head up and showing a serious expression on his face, Marius shook his head. "Not happening. My only goal is to return home."

[I see. "IT" has found you interesting and would like to give you a gift]

"A gift?"