Chapter XIII - Promotion Quest 4

Marcus knew he couldn't take a full force swing from this monstrous weapon and had to do everything to avoid. He only had to survive just a little longer until the berserk wore off, easier said than done.

Marcus created a distance between the hobgoblin as it struggled to get the battle axe out of the ground who yelled "Fire!!" again as one missed it's mark but the other found it's way into in the hobgoblin's back.

Marcus grinned, this was it! 30 more seconds and he could overpower the beast. It began charging Marcus and swung wildly. Marcus was barely able to avoid the attacks and every block reduced his HP. The hobgoblin was attacking too erratically and fast for Marcus to counterattack so he simply played defense.

Marcus avoided the swing of the axe but was backhanded by the hobgoblin taking a critical hit and stumbling backwards and bracing himself behind his shield to no avail as the hobgoblin kicked his shield flinging him back against the wall.

The hobgoblin had lost a lot of blood as his berserk wore off and took another swing at Marcus who deflected with his shield as he thrusted with sword and kicked the hobgoblin stumbling backwards.

It growled loudly before it succumbed to the injuries and took a knee to the ground.

Marcus was barely able to stand as he threw his shield aside and gripped his sword in both hands exclaiming loudly, lobbing the head of the hobgoblin clean off.

<Congratulations! Goblin horde defeated!>

1,000 EXP!

Level Up!

Marcus fell on his rump as his hands held him up looking up into the night sky. The gate began to open as the entire village was standing in the entryway observing their savior. The Elder approached Marcus and held a hand out to help him up.

Marcus thanked the Elder as he stood up.

"Congratulations adventurer!" The Elder smiled as a flash of white light blinded Marcus and the Judge had taken his place and the villagers had all disappeared. "You will make an excellent Squire! Please follow me."

Marcus nodded and he followed the Judge back through the the white doorway back into the back room of the Adventurer's Hall.

"You passed with flying colors adventurer. You are most qualified to become a Squire!"

<Upgrade Class to Squire?>

"Yes!" Marcus replied with enthusiasm!

<Congratulations! Quest Complete!>

<Tier 0 Class Unlocked!>

<Difficulty: Chaos>

<Assessment: SSS>

<Reward: 1 active skill from 3

1 random passive skill>

<Fame +6>

Please choose active skill:

[Rush]

Active Skill - Level 1 - Rank D

Attack the target with a twofold strike.

Stamina -10

Upgradeable

[Charge]

Active Skill - Level 1 - Rank D

Shorten the gap between the user and the enemy and follow-up with an attack

Stamina -10

Upgradeable

[Yielding Attack]

Active Skill - Level 1 - Rank D

Quickly attack the enemy and create a large gap

Stamina -10

Non-Upgradeable

Marcus was glad with these choices, usually all options are non-upgradeable skills, but he got two choices. As much as he would like Charge, he knew how strong Rush would become as it leveled up.

"Rush" Marcus said.

<Calculating…>

<…>

<Awarded skill Boost!>

[Boost]

Passive Skill - Level 1 - Rank D

Increases all stats of the user by 10%.

Upgradeable

Marcus was elated with this reward. Boost was one of the best abilities for the Squire and he was never able to get it in his past life. He couldn't wait to max it.

"Status!" Marcus called out.

Name: Nobody

Faction: Order of Balance

Guild: <None>

Title: <None>

Class: Squire

Level: 6

EXP: 770/1062

Sub-Class: <None>

HP: 240+24

STA: 160+16

MP: 100+10

STR: 11+1

AGI: 11+1

DEX: 5

END: 11+1

VIT: 11+1

FCS: 5

INT: 7

LCK: 6

Piety: 0

Fame: 15

Infamy: 0

Skills: Rush Lv 1

Profession: Basic Butchery Lv 2

Spells: <None>

Abilities: Boost Lv1

Pet: <None>

Mount: <None>

Companion: <None>

Partner: <None>

Already halfway to level 7 and a nice boost to all of his stats. Marcus was not expecting all the experience, gaining 50 per goblin and 100 for the hobgoblin, he could very easily go and take out overworld mobs and get a level quickly.

"Great work Squire, you truly exemplified what it is to become a Knight. Please take this token as merit of your achievement here today." The Judge said as he held out a Copper Adventurer Mark.

[Copper Adventurer Mark]

Proof of one's acceptance into the Adventurer Hall. Allows the user to accept contracts. The lowest level Mark - complete contracts to increase to the next rank 0/10.

Marcus planned on going all the way up to Diamond but he would need to clear 1,000 contracts to achieve that, but that was a task for another day.

"I would also like to bestow upon you this, young Squire." The Judge said once more, extending his hand as a bright light flashed and a sword appeared.

<Replica>

Rank: White

Level 5

No Class Restriction

Slashing Damage

Slashing/Piercing Weapon

Durability: -/-

Upgradeable

A replica of a mighty sword wielded by the legends of yore. It has lost all of its previous powers. Maybe one day it will be restored to it's former glory.

Skill 1: locked

Skill 2: locked

Skill 3: locked

Marcus was blown away. He had never heard of this in the past. He had never once came across an Upgradeable weapon, only accessories in his past life and knew that they were powerful artifacts. As it was now it was just a basic sword but once it ranked up it could end up as a Red or Gold ranked weapon.

"Thank you for your extreme generosity Sire!" Marcus said as he bowed to the judge.

Marcus returned to the pub of the Adventurer's Hall and noticed a few players queuing up to take their promotion quests. Smiling to himself, a little too soon everyone he thought. His guide wasn't out yet and they were going to miss out on his tips and tricks.

Marcus exited the Hall and went towards the smithy. Time to get some new equipment!