The Quest Begins Now

 Just to the right of Winter, a gate opened, and just after more gates opened around him. "This was unexpected, but welcomed," he summoned his daggers.

~>System<{" The [Job Change] Quest Will Now Begin,"}>it rang with a bell-like ring<~< p>

~>System<{" [Points] Will be [Accumulated] The Longer [Player] Stays [Alive]. These Are Necessary to [Advance] a [Higher-Ranking Class],"}>it displayed<~< p>

~>System<{" [Timer: 00:00:00],"}>it displayed over Winter's head<~< p>

 "How long will these gates stay open, though?!" Winter asked, looking around, sensing more gates in the back.

~>System<{" Good luck! [Timer: 00:00:01],"}>it displayed, the timer starting<~< p>

 The Timer beeped softly with every second it increased. But, Winter's attention moved to the castes in front of him. Armored Knights began to step out of the gates, two coming from each gate. "I shouldn't have a problem with these guys... Especially now, but if I had to fight more of Igris, I wouldn't have served for more than 60 seconds," Winter thought, more relieved. But, this anger still burnt inside of him. It was hard for him to concentrate with all this power pulsing through his body, but he shook his head and focused on surviving. "The longer I last, the more points I'll obtain... Meaning the higher I go in ranking," he thought, "I may be surrounded, but I like these odds," Winter added, smirking as he stayed in place, watching the knights slowly approach him. "Right, now... There are 20 knights. It looks as if they're growing steadily," he thought, "I need to remove the increasing threat right away," Winter added in thought, rushing at each knight, swiftly tearing them apart. "I have enough cursed energy for 'The Great Ultima's Rage,' but I might not have enough mana to keep 'Speed'," Winter noticed some mages in the room. Wait, what are they doing?" He thought.

~>System<{" The Mage Has Used [Skill: Slow] Your Speed Stat is Reduced by 20%,"}>it rang<~< p>

 "Oh no! I only have a 40% increase now!" Winter mocked the mage, destroying the knights in his way. Making his way towards the mage.

~>System<{" [Skill: Bloodlust Has Leveled up to Necrotic Shroud]!"}>It rang<~< p>

~>System<{" 1 [Skill: Necrotic Shroud Has Been Activated] The Target's Stats Will be Reduced by 50% for minute,"}>it rang again as Winter began to use it<~< p>

 The mage stumbled and failed to hold the skill, and with his speed regained, he swiftly cut the mage down. With it, a gate closed, but there were more gates and even more Knights. "They're just multiplying with each passing moment... I need to kill more mages, wait... Should I be waiting instead?" Winter thought, ripping through 3 knights at once, "If I finish this too quickly, I won't get as many points..." He thought, not noticing a knight from behind. With one powerful swing, it struck Winter in the back, "Ugh! But these knights are becoming a bigger threat. Either I need to kill the mages or knights," he thought, biting into the knight that had just hit him, crunching the helmet. "I would need to kill them faster than the rate they spawn..." Winter thought, destroying more knights. He leaped up, pushing himself off a knight, and propelling himself towards another, slamming his fist into their helmet. "Or learn to avoid them well enough to kill time," he added, starting to go faster. With a burning rage being fanned by the increasing threat of knights. "I need to go faster... But I'm exhausted!" He thought, stumbling just a foot away from the next chunk of knights. "Damn it... I underestimated them, and wasted all my energy on the first few," he thought, ripping free of a knight's grasp. "I could use whatever that was from before, but I don't want to kill the mages by accident," he thought, building up a ball of blood-red and black energy between his horns. "I have to! I need to recover," Winter thought, blasting a beam of this hot, red energy. It melted through many of the knights, cutting their numbers down significantly. "Good, I didn't kill another mage... I have two left, and they're my ticket to getting a high-ranking class!" He thought, trying to recover his energy. "I don't know what kind of benefits I'll get from a higher class, but... I hope it's worth it," he panted, the white mask's jaw open. He looked up to see the timer, "Only 5 minutes?! Dammit... I need to learn how to conserve my energy better..." He sighed, "Well, this is the best place to start," Winter thought.

 From the left, a massive battle hammer struck his side. He was launched away, landing on the ground on his side, and the knights closed in, with much more on their way. With an explosion of cursed energy and air, a blood-red laser blasted from the ground, spreading like fire from an explosion and enveloping the knights closest to Winter. They fell apart as their armor melted into motel metal. Winter stood himself up, breathing heavily and growling deeply. "I've worked so hard for this opportunity! I won't let it end like this!" He yelled. Summoning his long, broadsword he swung them both around, crushing the knights regardless of whether it was able to cut through them or not. With each swing, the destructive force was enough to destroy multiple knights in one go. "I was stuck at the very bottom," Winter thought, swinging more and faster. "I dreamed of reaching the very top," he thought, blocking some attacks from the knights, "I know better than anyone how miserable it feels to be weak," Winter added, roaring with a destructive force surging through the throne room. Destroying the majority of the knights, and knocking the rest back. With exhaustion, Winter was hunched over, "Winter, you've done enough. How about taking it easy?" David asked, a ghostly voice of the past. "Yeah, Winter, you deserve a break," the girl he spoke to long ago, he only saw her nearly a year ago. "You've brought this all upon yourself," he began a figment of Winter's past self. "What Are you looking at? Stop doubting yourself!" Ultima warned. With wide eyes, he turned back to look into the darkness. "Why do you always insist on going down the hardest path when the easiest is right there," he asks himself. Winter stared intently, his eyes burning brightly. "You've been extremely lucky to have even made it this far as a stupid mage with E-rank strength. Wouldn't you agree, Winter Greats?" His younger self asks, in the same attire he wore to school before the System's offer.

 With sweat running down Winter's face, his eyes dilated. "Wow, is this me?" His past asks, "I can't believe we're the same person... You've grown taller, and you've put on a lot of muscle as well," past Winter leaned in as Winter stood there, frozen in surprise, "You look pretty strong. But, your appearance is the only thing that's changed," they mocked, "You're still weak," he added. "What is the difference between you and me?" Winter Jr. asks, "You've done nothing to improve yourself," they explained, Winter snapped out of it enough to notice a sword being swung down at him. He blocked the attack, but his thinner sword flew out of his hand. He punched the knight in the gut, breaking through their armor and knocking the knights behind this one away. Grabbing his thinner sword from the ground, Winter swung his sword more, blasting the knights away once more. "E-rank Winter Greats. That's all you'll ever amount to be," Jr. explained as Winter breathed heavily, clearly exhausted. "Courage is meaningless if you don't know your place," They added, "Just... Shut up," Winter replied. A knight lunged in, and Winter swung his sword into the knight. It wasn't enough to kill it in one hit, and more was approaching. He was struck in the side by a mace and flung to the left. He was pushed into another knight, and they punched and kicked him to the ground. Despite Winter's best efforts to block and minimize the damage taken from their attacks, it wasn't enough to take control of the situation. "You Still Have a long way to go till you're 'strong'," Jr. mocked him, "You'll have to kill a lot more people. Make sacrifices. Not just abandoning family and friends," he explained, "If you don't do that, then you'll be the cause of your death," Jr. explained as Winter laid lifeless on the ground. Exhausted and in pain. No amount of anger could save him now. "What is this?" Winter asks, a knight bringing his sword up over his head. "Haven't I been through this before?" He asks himself, watching the knight. "Wasn't there something that happened after this?" He thought, his eye's glow fading. "I can't remember," Winter thought just moments before he was struck. The System went off.

~>System<{" [Quest Info: Daily Quest - Become Stronger]. Caution! If The Remains Incomplete, Penalties Will be Given Accordingly,"}>it displayed<~< p>

~>System<{" 8 [Quest Info: Daily Quest- Become Stronger] Time Remaining: Less Than Seconds,"}>it rang time ticking down, second by second<~< p>

 "What's going on? Is the Quest running out of time?" Winter asks with confusion. "Luck is also a skill. I guess the system thinks it's a shame to let you die here," Jr. commented. "I hope to see you soon," he added, slowly fading. The knight swung its sword down at Winter Greats.

~>System<{" [Notice]: The [Player] Has [Failed] to [Complete] [Daily Quest],"}>it rang<~< p>

~>System<{" [Notice]: The [Player] Will be [Transferred] to [Penalty Zone],"}>it rang again<~< p>

 Just as the sword was reaching Winter's head, he was teleported away by the System. The knight struck the ground, but never landed a hit on Winter. As he was now, no longer in the dungeon. Now, the hot arid sun shines through the clouds of dust and sand. It's hot raze hits Winter's scaly skin. From the sandy ground, Winter sat up, looking around with delight, "Is this the penalty zone? Well, that confirms it, I didn't finish today's daily quest," Winter wobbled up onto his feet. "I guess it's already past midnight," he sighed, his claws digging into the sand. "What great timing. It didn't look like I could have survived that," Winter thought, with sweat running down his mask he turned to look over to his main status.

~>System<{" 93 202 [HP: 10278]. [MP: [Fatigue: 91],"}>it displayed<~< p>

 "Did the System wish me luck because the 'Job Change Quest' was hard, or did it want me to accumulate as many points as possible?" Winter asked himself, in thought. "Luck, coincidence... I don't care what you call it," he added in thought. "Shop," he commanded as the System shop popped up to the left of him. "My fatigue has gone over 90%... I think this is a first," he chuckled in pain. "I've accumulated a lot of gold, so I'll recover by using the best option available," Winter bought the 'Divine Healing Potion'.

~>System<{" [Alert]! The [Player]'s [Fatigue Level] Has Decreased],"}>it rang three times<~< p>

 "Although my fatigue is dropping, my health isn't rising... Seems like potions won't restore HP when I'm seriously wounded," Winter thought to himself, driving much of the potion. "Guess I have no choice but to wait until I recover naturally," he thought after chugging much of the potions. "Hold on, maybe I could heal from leveling up, now that I'm in the penalty zone," Winter added in thought, "A single blow might just be enough to kill me in my current state, but..." He began, cracking his neck. "I never feel more alive than this," Winter's eyes burnt a blood-red once more. "The only issue is, will there be enough magic beasts to level me up?" He asks, watching mounds of sand be dispersed from one point in the sand. Many large, centipede-like monsters rising from the ground, and into the sky. "Looks like I was worried for nothing," he smiled. A centipede launched itself at Winter, but with no fear, he leaped up and stabbed his daggers into the large monster's head. He cuts right through it, then leaped up and off, "See you next time? If you make it next time," Winter thought, cutting through other centipedes that had launched themselves at him.

~>System<{" [Penalty Quest: Survive]. Survive For The Allotted Amount of Time. [Time remaining: 04:49:30],"}>It displayed<~< p>

 "What doesn't kill me will only make me stronger," he cuts through their heads too. After Nearly Four Hours of killing large centipedes, he had leveled up significantly. With over half of his health recovered. One last Centipede lunged at Winter but was quickly shot down with an intense, and powerful strike.

~>System<{" [Skill: Vital Strike level 1] Has Been Enabled,"}>it rang with that attack<~< p>

~>System<{" [Skill: Vital Strike] Has Leveled up!"}>It rang just moments after<~< p>

~>System<{" Level up![x4],"}>it rang in a cascading effect<~< p>

 "I was right. I'm able to recover my health just fine now," Winter watched his HP rise. "I can also use the shop, which means I can buy potions to recover my health the rest of the way," he added, drinking potions.

~>System<{" 10278 [Level: 71]. [HP: 10,278 11,035]. [MP: [Fatigue: 0],"}>it displayed in front of Winter<~< p>

~>System<{" [Penalty Quest: Survive]. Survive For The Allotted Amount of Time. [Time Remaining: 00:15:19],"}>it displayed over Winter<~< p>

 "15 minutes left... That's quite a bit of time before being returned to the job change quest," Winter mumbled, surrounded by corpses. "This is plenty of time to prepare," he told himself. "None of my weapons are strong enough to break through the knight's defenses. So, I'll need a stronger weapon," Winter explained to himself. "Shop," he commanded the System. Just then, the shop popped up before him. Winter swiped through the shop, with his clawed hands-free from the weapons he held onto previously. "Preferably something with an effect that I could just steal," he got the more expensive weapons. "Oo! 'Knight Killer' sounds promising," he tapped the purchase button.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has [Purchased Item: Knight Killer],"}>it rang<~< p>

 "It costs 2.8 million gold. Preferably, I would have saved all that gold for something stronger, but that'll make things far easier," He summoned it to his hands.

~>System<{" [Item: Knight Killer]. [Rank: B]. [Type: Dagger]. [Effect: Taste For Armor] Attacks Used Against Armored Enemies Will Inflict 25% Additional Damage,"}>it displayed over the dagger Winter held<~< p>

~>System<{" [Effect Transfer: Knight Killer to Ultimate Daggers] This Transfer of Effects May Take a While Depending on The Type Effect(s), How Strong It Is, And Many There Are One Dagger. [Warning!] Dagger With Desired Effect Will be Destroyed When All Transferred You Sure Wish Proceed Transfer? [Y N],"}>it explained<~< p>

 "Let's add it to my other dagger, it's got no other effect. Yes," he confirmed the system. It took much of the time, but when it finished, there was only a minute. "That should be it, but it feels like I'm missing. Oh! The rune stone!" He summoned it to his free hand.

~>System<{" [Rune Stone: Commander's Touch]. Breaking This Rune Stone Will Grant You a Skill,"}>it displayed over the stone<~< p>

 "The rune stone I obtained after defeating Kang gave me 'stealth'... So I wonder what this skill is," Winter thought aloud, breaking the stone.

~>System<{" The [Player] Has Obtained [Skill: Commander's Touch],"}>it rang as an aura consumed Winter<~< p>

~>System<{" [Skill: Commander's Touch], [Level: 1], [Cost: no Mana Required]. The Ability to Physically Control Objects Without Touching Them,"}>it explained<~< p>

 "A skill that requires no mana? That's far better than I was expecting... But, from the description, it seems like this skill will be highly useful," Winter thought, "Wait, could it be the same skill that Igris used?" He asked himself, thinking back to their fight. "Looks like I can't move large objects yet. To be expected, though," Winter attempted to move a centipede body.

~>System<{" [Warning!] The Proficiency Level is Too Low For [Commander's Touch]. Object Cannot be Moved,"}>it rang<~< p>

~>System<{" [Time Remaining: 00:00:04],"}>it displayed as the timer ticked down, second by second<~< p>

 "This is my last chance. Is this all I can do to prepare... I guess I have no choice but to leave the rest up to luck," he thought, watching the timer strike 0.

~>System<{" The [Penalty Quest] Has Ended,"}>it rang beginning his transportation back<~< p>