He wasn't done yet.
Not even close.
Silence filled the waiting room once more as Ethan began to think.
Carefully.
Critically.
This time, he analyzed everything, the patterns, the positioning, the reactions.
He only had one chance left.
And he couldn't afford to waste it.
Bit by bit, the five minutes passed, slipping away as his thoughts sharpened into a clear plan.
Then the world shifted again.
Ethan returned to the testing ground.
This time, there was no hesitation.
The moment he appeared, he moved straight toward the first hiding spot he had used in the previous round.
Everything unfolded exactly as he expected.
The clones appeared in the same positions, just as he had deduced.
A faint smile touched his lips.
Without delay, he ambushed the archer once more, eliminating it swiftly.
The moment it fell, he didn't linger.
He moved.
Quickly.
Efficiently.
He repositioned himself to an area untouched by the search patterns of the other clones.
From there, he drew his bow again.
One shot.
The priest dropped.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Ethan continued.
His arrows found the necromancer next.
The moment it fell, Ethan felt the shift again.
Power flowed into him.
Without wasting time, he raised his hand.
And summoned the dead.
Undead figures rose from fallen bodies, their hollow eyes flickering to life as they awaited his command.
"Go," Ethan whispered.
They scattered in all directions.
Their purpose wasn't victory.
It was distraction.
Chaos erupted across the ruins as the undead engaged the clones, drawing their attention away from Ethan.
Using that opening, Ethan moved.
He climbed.
Higher and higher, scaling a tall, ruined structure until he reached the top of a crumbling tower.
From there, he had the perfect vantage point.
A clear field of view.
A controlled battlefield.
Ethan steadied himself and began to fire.
One by one, his arrows found their marks.
The mage fell.
And with it, one of the greatest threats disappeared.
Ethan exhaled slowly, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
Now, only one real threat remained.
The sniper.
A rare class.
A dangerous one.
Unlike the others, it relied on mana-engineered weapons, precise, deadly, and capable of striking from afar.
But even then it needed to find him first.
Ethan remained hidden, his position carefully concealed.
The moment he spotted it, he acted.
One shot.
Clean.
Precise.
Fatal.
The sniper fell.
From that point on, the battle lost all resistance.
It became execution.
Ethan adjusted his grip, transitioning seamlessly as his attacks grew more refined. His arrows carried farther, his aim sharper than ever.
Nothing escaped him.
And then the countdown ended.
[Congratulations! You have completed the class change]
The world shifted abruptly.
Ethan was forcefully pulled away from the testing ground, reappearing back inside the cave.
[Congratulations on receiving the All Master class. Randomly draw three unique classes?]
The message hovered before him.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
He accepted immediately.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the following unique classes:]
Holy Necromancer
Frost Magic Swordsman
Shadow Assassin
Three distinct class templates appeared before him, each radiating a different aura.
Ethan's gaze settled on the first.
[Holy Necromancer]
Necromancers are beings who awaken the dead, forcing them to do their bidding.
They carry the stench of death and are feared, hated even, by mankind, as the souls they raise are often condemned to endless torment.
But there exists a rare variant.
One granted rightful authority over the dead.
A being who commands without corruption… without condemning the souls they summon.
(Check under your class to find the skills acquired.)
[Frost Magic Swordsman]
A magic swordsman is one who merges aura and mana into a single force.
They do not rely solely on stars to control aura, nor do they depend on mana circles to cast magic.
Instead, they fuse both seamlessly, frost aura and frost mana intertwining as one, elevating them beyond ordinary limits.
(Check under your class column to find the skills acquired.)
[Shadow Assassin]
Assassins are silent beings, trained to take lives without a sound.
They move unseen, strike without warning, and vanish without leaving a trace.
Their existence is built around precision and secrecy, destroying targets without causing a scene.
But you are not just an assassin.
You stand at the pinnacle.
A Shadow Assassin, one who blends perfectly with the darkness itself, becoming one with the shadows to eliminate enemies in complete silence.
(Check under your class column to see acquired skills.)
"Well… that was quite a haul for my first expedition," Ethan muttered, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
His body relaxed slightly as the tension from the trials faded, though faint exhaustion still lingered beneath the surface.
"Now all that's left is Nicholas' return," he added, his stomach rumbling softly in protest.
The quiet of the cave returned, broken only by the distant dripping of water and the faint rustle of cold air.
To pass the time, and distract himself from the hunger, Ethan brought up his status window, his gaze sharpening as he reviewed the details.
[Ethan Snow]
Race: Human
Profession: Lord of the Crimson Castle
Rank: Half Star
Class: All Master
Bloodline: Apex Devouring Bloodline Lv1
Trait: Absolute Defence Lv1
Blessing: Blessing of Snow
He scanned through his stats.
As expected, the changes weren't dramatic.
Not yet.
But that wasn't what mattered.
His focus shifted immediately to his classes.
The real power lay there.
Without hesitation, Ethan opened the class tab, reviewing the abilities granted by his newly acquired unique classes.
[Arise]
Call forth the dead you have slain to do your bidding. You can only resurrect 10 undead. Increase your rank to increase the number.
[Holy Magic Immunity]
Your undead are immune to holy magic. They cannot be dispelled or suffer additional damage from it like ordinary undead.
[Independent Space]
You gain access to an independent space where you can store your undead.
Ethan nodded slightly as he read through the necromancer skills.
Practical.
Efficient.
Exactly the kind of abilities he preferred.
His eyes shifted to the next set.
[Cold Immunity]
You are immune to cold.
[Ice Control]
Control ice and use it in combat. The extent of control depends on your mana output.
[Blizzard]
Release an area-of-effect attack within a 5-meter radius, freezing all enemies in your path.
A faint glint appeared in his eyes.
These were powerful.
Direct.
Devastating in the right situation.
Finally, he moved on to the last set of skills.
[Stealth]
Enter stealth mode for five minutes. You cannot be detected unless the enemy possesses superior perception or strength. Attacking cancels stealth.
[Backstab]
Strike an enemy from behind to deal three times normal damage. Critical attacks increase damage up to five times.
[Shadow Hop]
Move through shadows, swapping positions by entering one shadow and emerging from another.
Ethan stared at the list in silence, his mind already processing combinations, possibilities, and strategies.
Every skill had its place.
And more importantly, they would grow stronger alongside him.
A slow breath escaped his lips.
Satisfied.
With nothing urgent left to do, Ethan decided to test the one ability he could currently use without much strain.
His gaze drifted to the corpses scattered around the cave.
Dozens of goblin bodies lay lifeless, piled across the cold ground.
Letting them go to waste felt… wrong.
Raising his hand slightly, Ethan activated his skill.
"Arise."
A faint energy pulsed through the air.
One by one, ten corpses trembled.
Then, they rose.
The undead stood stiffly at first, their movements unnatural, but they quickly stabilized, awaiting his command in eerie silence.
Ethan watched them for a moment, observing carefully.
Then he gave a small nod.
Satisfied.
With everything settled, the exhaustion he had been suppressing finally caught up to him.
His body felt heavy.
His mind, drained.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Ethan lowered himself to the ground. He dragged one of the goblin corpses closer and rested his head against it, using it as a makeshift pillow.
The cold didn't bother him.
Not anymore.
Closing his eyes, Ethan allowed the darkness to take him.
And within moments, He drifted into sleep.