It was a surprise that the barns were still intact given that most buildings and other structures had suffered considerable damage at the start of the apocalypse. All three barns were roughly the same size with bright red paint that was now splattered with layers of mud, blood and other stuff Xavier did not want to closely inspect.
He was far too focused on hoarding the Infected into the barns like a shepherd guiding his sheep. The first barn was just a few feet away from Oakwood street and he quickly stuffed in as many Infected as he could without endangering his life.
Leyla and the others managed the rest of the horde as he threw the doors open and kept using Taunt to lure them inside. The wooden floor creaked as several of them stepped inside and a few hens began clucking loudly, attracting even more Infected inside.
He felt sorry for the poor hen but he could not save everybody so he quickly walked out and began hoarding the remaining Infected into the second barn. The moment he flung the rusty metal door open, the stench of urine and feces greeted him.
But he did not wrinkle his nose as he was already used to the smell of death and decay by now. It was dark inside but the flickering light of a few dim bulbs accentuated the twisted shadows dancing across the hay-strewn floor.
Farther down the street was the third barn that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in ages. Moss and Ivy had eaten the damp wooden walls of the neglected barn so Xavier first ensured that the door would hold ground if the remaining 70 Infected or so decided to pound on the door.
Luckily, it was still quite strong so he ignored the pungent smell of damp hay and rotting flesh, probably of cattle that did not survive the apocalypse, and closed the door behind him.
He stood leaning on the door for a while to catch his breath, ignoring the growling menace on the other side of the door.
Xavier spent much longer to move the Infected into the barns than he expected. It was a little troublesome to fight the Goblin Warriors while ensuring that the Infected would follow him and not die. There were so many ordinary Goblins led by Goblin Warriors that Xavier was forced to kill them as well.
He’d hoped that his father, Leyla, and the hunters could increase their strength by decimating a large chunk of ordinary Goblins, but that didn’t work as well as expected. Everyone grew far stronger than before, but it was uncertain if everyone was capable of defeating a Goblin Warrior on their own.
It has to be enough.
“We will take care of the rest here. Don’t worry about us and focus on your next task. We will sandwich the Goblin Community with the mass of Infected and the mutated animals you bring from the forest. So…make sure that you bring a powerful fellow to wreak havoc through the horde of Goblins,” Walter Blake said reassuringly, patting Xavier on the shoulder.
It was good that they had someone like Xavier in the village. If not for that young brat, they would have never even tried destroying the Monster Gate. Maybe, they would have never come this far either.
By now, all of them had realized that they needed Xavier if they wanted to destroy the Monster Gate.
“Alright. But take these and see who can make the most use of them,” Xavier responded, retrieving three Common Cards from his pockets. He was already in possession of seven Cards and he had Glut by his side as well. It was better to give the hunters a few more Cards. They had to be a little bit stronger to deal with the threats of the upcoming fight.
“Don’t break my little treasures!” Mark cautioned Xavier while looking longingly at the ruby katana resting in his son’s hand. Xavier raised an eyebrow but smiled, “It’s good that you can still joke, Dad. I will take care of myse–...of your weapons.”
Xavier shook his head and decided to leave. They didn’t have much time left before the last rays of sunlight would vanish behind the horizon. He possessed Nightvision, but that didn’t mean the others could navigate through the little village blindly, even less if there were Infected and Goblins around them.
Leyla slapped Xavier’s shoulder as he walked past her. “Good luck.”
This time Xavier didn’t turn back. He was already focused on his Foundation Orb and started running. He went back to the elevation and charged upward. His steps didn’t slow down even as he zig-zagged through some yards to take a shortcut to the forest that was connected to the street where he found Julian’s girlfriends and the elderly couple first.
If I can collect three more Uncommon Card Shards, I can create an Uncommon Card. Another one would be perfect. Maybe, I will collect three Uncommon Card Shards in the final battle. Using it as a trump should be quite useful – that is if the Uncommon Card’s effect will be useful, in the first place.
Well, even then, I have 25 Soul Essences to integrate. If I integrate all Soul Essences the moment I obtain them, it should be possible to increase my strength mid-battle. Hopefully, it won’t be necessary though.
Xavier spent a few seconds reconsidering how he should invest his Soul Essences to create the most efficient Foundation in his current situation. His main mission was not to obliterate all Goblins but to destroy the Monster Gate. Nonetheless, Xavier figured that it was always better to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Integrate two Soul Essences into the Star of Vitality. Y/N?
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Strength. Y/N?
Integrate six Soul Essences into the Star of Agility. Y/N?
Integrate four Soul Essences into the Star of Dexterity. Y/N?
Integrate five Soul Essences into the Star of Perception. Y/N?
Integrate two Soul Essences into the Star of Energy. Y/N?
Integrate five Soul Essence into the Star of Wisdom. Y/N?
Foundation Orb
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[Star of Vitality – Novice 20/100]
[Star of Strength–Novice 25/100]
[Star of Agility – Novice 23/100]
[Star of Dexterity – Novice 15/100]
[Star of Perception – Novice 15/100]
[Star of Energy – Novice 15/100]
[Star of Wisdom– Novice 15/100]
Xavier was not fully satisfied with the state of his Foundation Orb, but the strength that coursed through him was enough to keep him from grumbling. It had to be enough. Just as he was about to get closer to the entrance of the forest, Xavier was bombarded with new notifications – notifications that attracted his interest at once.
[100 Soul Essences have been integrated into the Foundation Orb. Path of Ascension has been unlocked!]
[Path of Ascension]
Warrior(Common) – (50 VIT/ 50 STR) – (0/100)
Archer(Common) – (50 AGI/ 50 DEX) – (0/100)
Assassin(Common) – (50 AGI/ 30 DEX/ 20 PER) – (0/100)
Tamer(Common) – (20 PER/ 50 ENERGY/ 30 WIS) – (0/200)
Samurai(Uncommon) – (75 STR/ 75 AGI/ 40 PER) – (0/200)
Knight(Uncommon) – (100 VIT/ 75 STR/ 25 ENERGY) – (0/200)
Berserker(Uncommon) – (100 VIT/100 STR) – (0/200)
Mage(Rare) – (100 ENERGY/ 150 WIS) – (0/350)
Xavier raised an eyebrow when a large holographic screen appeared in front of him.
“Path of Ascension. So that is how I get my Class?” He murmured, glancing toward Glut, who was currently trying to turn his embers into small ember darts. The little Ember Sparrow was growing stronger and he tried to learn new things to be more useful in battle.
The ember darts were just as destructive as his ordinary embers, but their penetrative force was a lot higher given their shape.
Glut was rapidly growing stronger alongside Xavier. But that was necessary if they wanted to survive longer. None of them was allowed to stagnate and stay behind. They needed to improve their power together to obliterate their enemies before they could get rid of them!
Xavier focused on the first path shown to him in the hope of learning more about the benefits of the Path of Ascension.
You have unlocked the Path of the Warrior(Common).
All you have to do to become a full-blown Warrior is to meet the Foundation requirements and invest 100 Soul Essences into the Warrior Path!
[Path of Ascension – Warrior(Common)]
Requirements: 50 Vitality, 50 Strength
Description: Warriors are renowned for their physical strength. They’re often depicted as formidable powerhouses who are capable of wielding heavy weapons with ease, delivering devastating blows to their enemies, and enduring the rigors of prolonged battles. Yet, beyond sheer strength, Warriors exude courage. They stand resolute in the face of danger and charge into battles with unwavering determination.
Class Benefits – +2 Card Slots, +3 Class Card Slots(Warrior), +2 Common Card(related to Class) +10 Vitality, +10 Strength
—
“Oh? That is pretty interesting. But…the investment is way too high. First, I need to reach 50 Vitality and 50 Strength before investing 100 Soul Essences into the Warrior Path to obtain 10 Strength and 10 Vitality in return? The Card Slots are useful and the same can probably be said about the Common Cards, but aren’t the requirements way too high?”
The more Xavier thought about it, the weirder he felt about the Path of Ascension. Fortunately, the system came to help him solve his doubts.
Increasing your Foundation without a Class will grow more difficult as time progresses. Classless individuals are usually unable to increase their Foundation past 500 Units. Defeating powerful enemies will grow more difficult without a Class for the prowess of the enemies will increase consistently. Simultaneously, it will be harder to collect Soul Essences due to the natural limitation of Classless Decks.
Foundation enhancements granted through Classes are considered external enhancements. They will not be considered as your Foundation nor will the amplifications granted from Classes be taken into consideration in the loot generation.
At first, Xavier nodded in understanding. What the system told him seemed to make sense. But as he re-read through the messages, his expression contorted and he began to doubt his sanity. More and more questions formed in his mind, confusing him further.
“Is it really necessary to pick a Class soon? Well, I won’t pick a Common or Uncommon path then. I don’t need normal Common Cards as benefits, or some low-stat increase. And what is this issue about ‘natural limitation of Classless Decks’? Can you go more into detail? The last point is also a little bit confusing. If the stats granted through Class benefits are not considered a part of my Foundation…what exactly are they? Why wouldn’t it be counted as my Foundation? Does that even make sense?”
Xavier’s head was spinning, but he thought that he understood some points about the messages and the Path of Ascension.
Fact is that the system wants me to choose a Path soon. A Class Path is similar to the Evolution path of monsters. Therefore, the system probably wants me to grow stronger to keep fighting Monsters. The only issue is that it will be harder to fight stronger monsters without a Class. Yet, picking a class with high rarity will be expensive.
To become a Mage, my Star of Energy and Star of Wisdom need to receive heavy investment before I can integrate 350 Soul Essences into the path to obtain the Class and its benefits. That is 600 Soul Essences solely used on the Mage Path.
Xavier figured that he couldn’t solely rely on two Foundation Stars to survive in this world. Most of his Foundations Stars had to receive a similar amount of Soul Essences to ensure that he could survive surprise attacks in close combat as well as be capable of fighting long-range battles against avians and other long-range fighters on the ground.
There were too many things to take into consideration when it came to investing Soul Essences into a Class Path. Fortunately, it was not as if Xavier had to rush anything for the time being. It would take him a while before he had enough Soul Essences to make such a choice. For now, he had to focus on the task at hand.
But then again; Xavier was curious about the Class benefits of the Mage Path. Thus, he took a glimpse at it.
[Path of Ascension – Mage(Rare)]
Requirements: 100 Energy, 150 Wisdom
Description: Mages are distinguished beings known for their magical traits. While physically less imposing than their counterparts, Mages wield a different kind of power – one rooted in arcane arts and mythical forces. Clad in enchanted robes, Mages are often depicted as intellectual beings with an innate understanding of the essence of magic. Their strength lies in the manipulation of mystical energies. Mages are endowed with profound wisdom. They’re strategic thinkers and know how to utilize their extensive spell repertoire to control the battlefield and overcome adversaries at all times.
Class Benefits – +5 Card Slots, +5 Class Card Slots(Mage), +2 Rare Cards(related to Class) +Lesser Grimoire +30 Energy +40 Wisdom
“This is a proper Path that awards two rare cards, a bunch of stats, a load of Cards, and Card Slots, and a Lesser Grimoire. I have no idea how the Lesser Grimoire will affect my strength, but Grimoires are usually extremely valuable. That means a Rare Path of Ascension is great. I will take nothing less than a Rare Class!” Xavier promised himself before he finally diverted his attention to the forest.