Mother Marie stepped out of the church and everyone standing in front of the church immediately bowed down to her in respect.
Even the children walking with their parents bowed down to her without second thoughts.
"Good afternoon everyone..." Marie spoke as she raised both of her hands into the air as if blessing everyone.
"Mo-Mother... Please save my child. Please I beg you..." The father of the child spoke with a desperate expression as he immediately walked upto Mother Marie with his dead child.
"Child... Do you believe in Lord baltzaar ?" Mother Marie asked as she took the child into her own hands.
"We believe in Lord baltzaar, Mother Marie." The child's mother replied as she joined hands in front of her and started crying loudly.
"W-We do... Mother." His father replied as he went down on his knees once again.
"Very well... I shall put this child on the altar and we shall see if Lord spares his life." Mother Marie spoke as she turned around and entered inside the church once again.
As soon as she entered inside the church, she pulled out the small bottle of green liquid from her pocket and emptied it into the child's mouth.
The church was filled with long wooden tables and on the Front there was a huge altar with an eye sigil etched into it.
As Mother Marie walked towards the altar... All fourteen nuns that were standing inside the church went down on both of their knees and pressed their foreheads against the ground.
Mother Marie walked upto the altar and placed the child on the Altar.
"Everyone... Please come in. May we pray for this child to Lord baltzaar." Mother Marie spoke in a soft voice and everyone standing on the church's gate entered inside and took seats on the wooden benches.
Mother's marie then went down on both of her knees and holded the pendant tightly that she was wearing and started chanting in an ancient language.
"Yoko Alkoiu Trusam Lovelo Hunano Trusam Re Alor Trusam..." As soon as she started chanting the pendant in her hand started glowing brightly.
Suddenly a green light started to glow out of the altar and the infant's hands started to wiggle.
"Oh my god..."
"Are you seeing that ?"
"I-I am."
"M-My child..." The mother of the child spoke as her tears disappeared and a shocked expression took it's place.
"UWAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." The kid started crying as it came back to life once again.
"Lord Baltzaar has blessed this child with his kindness and given him another chance at life." Mother Marie spoke as she immediately picked up the child from the Altar and looked at him with a smile.
The child looked back at mother marie as his eyes shined brightly green for a second before returning back to normal.
"There you go..." Mother Marie spoke as she returned the child back to his mother.
"T-Thank you... Mother Marie. I-I don't know how can I ever repay-"
"Shhhh... Child, you don't repay the lord. You just stay loyal to him. You understand that ?" Mother Marie asked with a smile.
"I-I will give my life happily for the lord... Mother Marie." Child's father spoke with a serious expression as he immediately went down on his knees in front of mother Marie.
"Loyalty is what lord asks of you in return for everything he has given to you. I hope you all are not going to disappoint the lord." Mother Marie spoke as she turned around and looked at all the others sitting on the wooden benches.
"NO MOTHER." Everyone spoke in unison as they stood up and pulled out the same eye pendants just like mother Marie was wearing around her neck.
"Good... The lunch will be distributed soon. Get back to your jobs." Mother Marie spoke as she immediately started walking towards her room upstairs.
"Mother..." Suddenly one of the nuns stopped her in the middle of the stairs.
"Hm...? What happened, Yuli ?"
"A word from the human Kingdom has arrived mother."
"Come to my room." Mother Marie spoke as she immediately took the nun to her room.
*Click*
Both of them entered inside the room and mother Marie immediately locked the room as she slowly walked upto Yuli.
"What did she say ?" She asked with a serious expression.
"The Royal Cavalry went out to fight some demons in the duran mountains, Mother...." Yuli spoke with a hesitated voice.
"What ? Did Merlin killed someone important to them ? Or did they found out about the village ?" Mother Marie asked with a serious expression.
"T-That's the problem... M-Mother..." Yuli spoke as a grim expression appeared over her face and she took a step back.
"Oh for Lord's sake... Will you just speak up and tell me... What the hell happened ?" Mother Marie shouted in an angry tone.
"S-Sir... Merlin was killed in fierce battle with a human." Yuli spoke as she immediately looked down in fear.
"W-What ? What the hell are you talking about ? How can a demon as powerful as Merlin die from a Human's hands ?
Was it Adwin the Human kingdom's king ?" Mother Marie asked with a serious expression.
"N-No mother... It was someone else. The human who defeated the demon was wearing a white mask on his face and he defeated him inside a Demon pact."
"Send the message... I will need everything on that human in two days time." Mother Marie spoke with a serious expression as she looked at Yuli.
"A-As you say... Mother." Yuli replied with scared expression.
"You understood what I just said ?" Mother Marie asked in a low voice as she looked at her.
"Y-Yes... Mother." Yuli replied with a scared expression.
"Then what the hell are you still doing in this room ? Get out and send the MESSAGE." Mother Marie shouted in anger as she pointed towards the gate.
"Y-Y-Y-Yes... M-Mother." The nun replied as she exited the room at once.
"Merlin... You fucking idiot. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." Mother Marie shouted in frustration as she stabbed all of her nails into the wooden table in front of her and broke all of her nails at once.
*tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick*
"What happened child ?" Suddenly the dark smoke rose inside the mirror once again.
-x-X-x-
Inside the dimly lit first floor of the dungeon, the air hung heavy with the scent of damp stone and wood.
Leon sat on a big wooden chair with a smirk on his face and a screen floating in front of his face.
"System... I want to change class."
A translucent blue panel shimmered into existence before him.
[Class Change is available!]
[Are you sure you want to change classes?]
[Yes / No]
"Yes," Leon answered without the slightest hesitation.
The moment his confirmation registered, three vivid crimson warning screens exploded into view one after another, each edged in pulsing scarlet light.
[Warning: Changing classes will remove all current class-based skills and reset class progression level to 1. Base HP and MP values will be preserved.]
[Warning: The class change option may be skipped at any time.]
[Warning: Class change can only be performed once per lifetime. Choose with utmost care and all current class related skills will be taken away.]
Leon let out a low whistle, eyebrows lifting as he scanned the aggressively flashing red messages.
"Wow... those are some really big, really angry-looking red screens," he muttered to himself, half-amused.
He read through the warnings again, more slowly this time, letting each word sink in.
"So my level resets to one... but the actual HP and MP I've built up stay the same?" A thoughtful gleam entered his eyes. "That means I'll lose all the level-scaling perks tied to my current class, sure... but honestly? Who cares."
He gave a dry chuckle.
"My so-called 'Alchemist' class is completely useless to me. I have zero interest in spending my days brewing potions or mixing herbs and I don't really care about the spells related to this class. So yeah... I'm doing this."
With a decisive flick of his finger, he tapped [Yes].
[Class Change has been initiated...]
[Note: 50 class levels have been forcibly reset!]
[Please select your new class within the time limit: 30 minutes.]
"Time limit?" Leon blinked, the words catching him off guard.
Before he could process it further, a long vertical list unfurled in front of him.
[Swordsman]
[Archer]
[Alchemist]
[Mage]
[Dark Mage]
... [Click for more]
"More...?" he echoed, puzzled. He reached out and tapped the option.
Instantly the screen expanded outward in a dizzying rush, transforming into an enormous, semi-transparent wall of text that stretched far beyond his field of vision. Hundreds—no, thousands—of class names scrolled past in neat columns.
"Fucking hell..." Leon breathed, eyes widening in genuine shock.
Shadow Master.
Mind Flayer.
Necromancer.
Circus Master.
Blood Sovereign.
Abyssal Contractor.
Void Weaver...
These weren't the safe, beginner-friendly classes handed out at starter villages. These were the real ones. Classes belonging not only to humans, but to every race, every nightmare, every monster this world had ever birthed.
He began scrolling slowly, scanning for names that stood out, drawn to the longer, darker, more evocative titles. For the next twenty-six minutes he read description after description using his fast reading skill, muttering to himself, weighing pros and cons, discarding dozens of tempting options in seconds.
Until only four remained floating prominently in his mind.
[Puppet Master]
[Malice Embodiment]
[Shadow Revenant]
[Dark Summoner]
Each one promised obscene versatility—access to virtually any dark spell tree, just like a high-tier Dark Mage, yet twisted into something far more unique and dangerous.
A sharp chime interrupted his thoughts.
[Warning: Less than 5 minute remaining until class selection window closes.]
[If no choice is made within 4 minutes and 23 seconds, the class change will be canceled and permanently locked with {Alchemist} Class.]
"Fuck—fuck—fuck!" Leon hissed under his breath, pulse spiking.
He stared at the four glowing class panels hovering before him, each accompanied by its neatly formatted description.
[Name: Puppet Master]
[Type: Monster]
[Description: The Puppet Master may summon lifelike human puppets whose appearances can be freely altered to the master's desire. Their movements and actions are controlled remotely from any distance. Puppets grow stronger alongside their creator and, in turn, amplify the master's own power.]
[Name: Malice Embodiment]
[Type: Demon]
[Description: An Embodiment of Malice draws strength directly from ambient negative mana, channeling it to reinforce the body and unleash devastating forbidden spells without suffering the usual backlash or penalties. Exceptionally powerful in environments saturated with malevolent energy like negative mana. Severely weakened in areas dominated by neutral or positive mana.]
[Name: Shadow Revenant]
[Type: Undead]
[Description: Shadow Revenant is one of the rare classes that no ordinary undead can achieve. Shadow Revenants are excellent in using dark or shadow related magic. They can control shadows to their will but without any shadow around to help them they become utterly uselss.]
[Name: Dark summoner]
[Type: Unknown]
[Description: Dark summoner is one of the most gruesome and powerful class, as one can use it's powers to summon beings powerful enough to destroy kingdoms with just a flick of their fingers from the depths of the darkest purgatory.
But, everything comes with a cost.]
"Fucking hell... I am so confused. Which one of them should I pick ?" Leon asked as he placed both of his hands over his head and started thinking deeply.
[Warning: Less than 59 seconds left. Please select the clas or-]
Leon dismissed the warning immediately and closed his eyes as he started thinking carefully.
'Puppet Master seems like a perfect choice as I can summon puppets and make them look like anyone I want. It can help me in the politics but that is not enough.
Malice Embodiment is also a good class... But taking it will be stupidity. Negative mana can only be found in gruesome places and it's weak without it. So that's a no go for me.
Shadow Revenant is a powerful class but I don't want my powers completely to be dependent on shadows and I don't want that.
That only leaves me with one class... It doesn't say much about the class but this description sure looks creepy. I really hope I am not making a mistake here.' Leon thought as he opened his eyes and clicked on the last option without thinking much.
[Class change has been confirmed.]
[Estimated Time : 5:59:59]
...
"...ter."
"...aster?"
"Hmm...?" Leon slowly opened his eyes only to notice dusk and Freula standing in front of them with confused expressions.
"What happened?" He asked with a confused expression.
"Umm... You were floating in the air for like two hours when I came to the first floor, Master. I was calling out to you since then." Dusk replied with a neutral expression.
"Master... are you alright?" Fruela asked with a worried expression.
"Yeah... I need a glass of water." Leon spoke as he felt weakness in his body.
'Status...'
-x-X-x-
[Name: Leon Luster]
[Class: Dark Summoner]
[Race: Human (80%)]
[Level: 1]
[Mana: 15000/15000]
[HP: 5000/5000]
Skills:
[Skill Crafter (D)], [Inspect (A)], [Adaptive Body (SSS)], [Minor Healing (D3)], [Trap (D)], [Inventory (D6)],
[Blind Spot (D)],
[Touch of Lust (D4)], [Loose Grip (D)], [Adrenaline Rush (D)], [Lustful Thoughts (D)], [Glitch Point (D)], [Reverberate (D1)], [Mana Thread (D)], [Life Steal (D)], [Leeching Aura (D)], [Mana Return (D)]
[Efficient Breathing (D)], [Core Bonding (D)], [Dungeon Master (D)], [Silent Steps (D)], [Blast Seal (D)],
[Focused Reading (D)], [Data Manager (D)], [Mimic (D)], [Bluff (D)], [Lust Bite (D)], [Pain's Recovery (D)]
[Compass of Heart (D)] [Multi-Cast(D)] [Instant Kill(D)] [Feather Weight (D)] [Sixth Sense (D)] +8 skills (+3 New skills).
Titles:
(Dungeon Master)
(Goblin Slayer)
(Favour Of Fairies)
-x-X-x-
'What the fuck? Why does it say 80% in front of my race? And why is my head hurting so much? It's like someone is pinning needles in it. Leon thought with a confused expression as he sat down on the wooden chair and grabbed his head tightly.
"Master... Here." Fruela spoke as she passed a big wooden glass full of water to Leon.
*Gulp-Gulp-Gulp*
Without wasting another second, Leon drank the whole thing and tossed the glass aside.
"Would you like another glass master ?" Fruela asked with a worried expression.
"No... All of you get out of here for now." Leon commanded in a heavy voice as his eyes started shining brightly red.
"Yes, Master."
"As you command, Master."
....
Both of them immediately left the floor as soon as they heard Leon.
"What the hell is happening to me...? Why am I feeling so angry and irritated?" Leon thought with a confused expression as he immediately stood up from the chair and walked upto the wall.
He raised his hand, made it into a punch and striked the wall with full power.
*BOOOOOM*
As soon as Leon removed his hand from the wall, he noticed blood flowing out of his knuckles but he didn't pay any attention to it.
But when his eyes fall on the spot where he had punched, he noticed a large imprint of his knuckle and huge cracks spreading across the whole wall.
"What in the fucking hell?" Leon spoke with a shocked expression as he stepped back from the wall.
Suddenly, Leon felt something behind him and he immediately turned around without wasting another second.
'I definitely felt someone's presence behind me... I can still feel it. Leon thought with a serious expression as he immediately opened his inventory and pulled out the Nyxter.
He again felt someone's presence behind him and without wasting another second turned around.
'What the fuck-!?"
As soon as he activated glitch point, a black cloud like thing appeared in the corner.
*Swish*
Leon pulled the Nyxter out of it's sheath and pointed it towards the upper west corner of the room, where the black figure was standing.
"You can see me?" The black figure spoke in a deep and amused voice.
[Name: Dreulis]
[Class: Lich]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: 399]
[HP:-/-]
[MP:-/-]
[Description: Dreulis turned into a lich after being betrayed by his beloved wife and her lover. On the verge of death, he made a contract with an unknown god in exchange for forbidden knowledge and an unknown favor.]
"Dreulis... The Lich." Leon spoke as his eyes glowed brightly red and bloodlust flowed out of his body uncontrollably.
"You know my name as well?" Dreulis spoke as he immediately banged his wand against the ground and revealed himself.
"I don't really like it when things enter inside my dungeon without my permission." Leon spoke as his bloodlust continued to increase.
"Calm down... Mr. Michael. I am not your enemy." Dreulis replied as he started walking towards Leon.
"Then what the hell are you doing in my dungeon?" Leon asked with a serious expression as he controlled his bloodlust.
"I was hoping to make a deal with you... Only if you can turn your sword down." Dreulis spoke as he stopped exactly one feet away from him.
'Hmm... He is not emitting any bloodlust and I am pretty sure if he wanted to attack me, he would've done it by now. Leon thought as he slowly lowered his blade and placed it back into the sheath.
*Swish*
As soon as he placed the Nyxter into it's sheath, Rees appeared right next to Leon.
"Hmm... as I sensed, it's you." He spoke in a serious tone as he looked at Dreulis.
The flames in their eyes glowed brightly as they looked at each other.
"How do you guys even sense each other? Do you have some kind of-"
"Death." Dreulis spoke as he continued to look at Rees.
"Hmm...?" Leon looked at them with confused expression.
"The more a lich kills the more his presence becomes stronger... It's like a predator's instincts when he sees another predator, he walks away without engaging in battle.
But lichs are very intelligent creatures so we don't run away from each other, in fact you will barely ever seen two lichs fighting each other in real world.
Name is Dreulis... We didn't meet properly last time Mister ?" Dreulis spoke as he raised his hand towards Rees.
"Rees..." Rees answered as he shaked his hand back.
"You know... I have killed a few thousands of humans myself but your presence is so overwhelming in front of me that I just can't help but get curious. How many have you actually killed Mr. Rees?" Dreulis asked.
"Five hundred thousand more or less..." Rees replied in a neutral tone.
Leon's eye widened with surprise as soon as he heard it.
"What the fuck?"