Pavel laid there, staring off into space for hours. Those hours turned into days, the days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. He was numb to the outside world, the people who entered his cell, everything. He was even numb to the System. At some point, he had noticed that he had received a barrage of notifications. He ignored them, as the system just reminded him of his failure. What he could have done better. What he should have done better.

He no longer felt. He existed. There was no rage, there was no pain, nothing. What could he do? To Pavel, the idea of fighting a god was laughable. What was the point in trying if every time he stood against that tyrant, something terrible would happen, either to him or someone he loved? For what reason did he exist now?

At some point during his stay, the demons had come in and taken away his bindings, apparently no longer considering the broken man in the basement cell a threat to them. They could tell, the same as him, that he was a broken man, useless to the world, to himself, to everyone. Something they said had made him even more apathetic to the world. They had said that the restraints binding him were rated for a being at Level 100. Pavel didn’t know whether he should take solace in the fact that his escape would have been impossible, even if he had achieved his goal, or to despair at that same fact.

The knowledge that, even if everything were to have gone right, you would still have failed is demoralizing. But also somewhat inspiring. Pavel wasn’t sure if that was the exact moment, but something sparked inside of him. It was a slow process, starting from a spark, that triggered a flame, that triggered the raging inferno of anger that Pavel held in his heart, but eventually, the rage that he held there towards the tyrant god who had imprisoned him and taken everything from him, let him open his eyes and see clearly of his path forward.

Lenus had said that it would be difficult for him to honor someone whom he did not know or remember. Pavel now disagreed with that sentiment. Even if he was unable to remember what she looked like, who she was, even her name, he could still do right by her. No matter what Lenus had done, he still held the love that he had felt for her in his heart. Nothing could change that. And the one thing that he could still do to honor her would be vengeance. Vengeance against all who wronged them, him and his nameless, faceless love. There would be no holds barred. Anyone and anything that stood in his way would fall. This would be his legacy, making up for all of his previous failures. The destruction of the tyrant and all who stood between them.

He resolved himself to make an attempt to escape from this hellhole that he now recognized he was trapped in. He looked at his status, specifically looking for how much time had passed since he gave up. It turned out that he had sat there doing nothing productive, something he was now kicking himself for, for thirty-one years.

Pavel reached up towards his hair, feeling it. It had grown long in those years, as he had not done anything to cut or change it. He resolved to keep all of it as a reminder of the years that he spent trapped in a prison of his own mind. Slowly, he folded the dark, grimy hair back up onto itself and began to braid it. The process took hours, but he sat satisfied in knowing that he had managed to keep all of it and that it wouldn’t get in the way of his fighting when he inevitably would need to.

The next step in achieving his escape was to look at the notifications that had been blinking for all those years.

Feat achieved!

Level 10 unlocked!

Choose a class!

5 Free Points gained!

The sight of the next level appearing almost shocked Pavel back into his melancholic state. How close had he been? How... No, he couldn’t go down that path. That way only leads to stagnation and despair. What happened happened and the only way to move forward was to move on and tear it all down. He opened the notification to choose a class. There were many options for him to choose from, but he quickly narrowed it down to four that felt fit him the most.

Warrior (Common) - You were made to fight. You are the basis for the prototypical hero that every village venerates. You have humble beginnings, but the chance is there to advance to high heights.

Stats per Level: +3 Strength, +3 Agility, +2 Endurance, +2 Vitality

Berserker (Uncommon) - Your rage fuels your attacks. Nothing can stop you. Not known for being an immovable object, but an unstoppable force. Rage o’ soldier, rage till you have no more.

Stats per Level: +6 Strength, +3 Agility, +1 Endurance, +5 Vitality

Tortured Soul (Rare) - You have survived immense suffering and you never quite got past it. Utilize that suffering and make others feel what you have.

Stats per Level: +5 Intelligence, +5 Wisdom, +7 Willpower, +2 Perception

Defiant Crusader (Epic) - You have fought a god and vowed to stamp him out wherever possible. You have defied a god’s will, not letting him accomplish everything he wanted to. Rise high or else fall hard. You will either reach the pinnacle or everything will come crashing down. Good luck.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Stats per Level: +4 Strength, +4 Agility, +4 Endurance, +4 Vitality, +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +6 Willpower, +2 Perception

All of the options intrigued Pavel. The Warrior class obviously stemmed from his background in his homeworld. It was a simple class for a simple man. Though by this point Pavel did not believe that he could be a simple man any longer. He had no illusions that he would be in the clear after escaping from Lenus’s clutches. He figured as soon as the god realized that he was gone, there would be a hunt for him, either to capture or kill. It was clear that while Warrior called to his nostalgia, it would not work for him now.

The second class, Berserker, also piqued Pavel’s interest. He could, even now, feel the fury that was bubbling underneath his skin, ready to burst at any moment if he did not keep it down. That could be an issue in the future for fights and Berserker seemed to perfectly fit his current state. However, the problem with that was that it wasn’t guaranteed that he would have the anger to channel forever. Also, from what the class sounded like, as the System did not give many details, it could be a very dangerous class to level due to the relentless nature of its attacks.

Tortured Soul gave Pavel the heebie-jeebies, though it was definitely a strong path. It strayed away from the path that he had been on before his capture, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing in Pavel’s eyes, though it did waste some of the work that he had put into physical combat. The only reservations that he had about using such a class was the lethality. Pavel’s thoughts shocked him. It wasn’t like him to have such a disregard for the sanctity of human life. Even when he was training to become a warrior for his kingdom, they had instilled in him things like honor and respect; to not take a life if it is not absolutely necessary. However, with recent events in mind, he was set on completing his goals, no matter the collateral damage. Tortured Soul was definitely one of the top classes in his mind, ahead of Warrior and Berserker.

The final class was the one that Pavel was most excited about. Defiant Crusader seemed to describe his goals perfectly. Based on the stats, it seemed like a mix between a mental and physical class, something that Pavel was interested in. It also seemed like it would take advantage of his high willpower stat that he had already invested into given the high willpower per level. While the other classes were interesting, the one that called to him was Defiant Crusader, so he selected it without further thought.

Class Spell unlocked! (You unlock a Class Skill or Spell every 10 levels)

Barrier of Will - Level 1

Creates a shield with strength based on your willpower stat.

Cost: 2 mana per second (m/s)

Skill evolved!

Analyze (Level MAX) —> Examine (Level MAX)

Retains the effects of Analyze, but allows for you to see the basic idea of the class of any being you use it on (Warrior, Mage, Spellsword, etc.).

Profession unlocked!

Pavel had forgotten about the profession. It hadn’t seemed relevant to him during his capture, as there was likely to not be an opportunity to do anything with it even if he managed to achieve it. He looked at his options.

Cleric of Lenus (Rare) - Coming face to face with the god of light qualifies you to be a priest and spread his image wherever you go.

Stats per Level: +5 Intelligence, +5 Wisdom, +5 Charisma

The first option disgusted Pavel. It was an absolute affront to all that he was, what he strived for. It was not considered for even a second, even with its rarity. The second profession that he considered was a simple one, but one near and dear to his heart.

Blacksmith (Common) - Work metal to make anything you set your mind towards. From the lowly man of the village to he who makes masterworks for the king, you can create anything.

Stats per Level: +3 Strength, +2 Vitality

Pavel’s father had been a blacksmith, so it was fitting that he would be offered the trade having learned some things from his father, even though their time together had been cut short. However sentimental the profession made him, however, the final one was the one that Pavel believed suited him best.

Voice of Pain (Legendary) - You know what it is like to go through some of the most painful torture known to man. You are uniquely qualified to represent the aspect of Pain to the world. Tell your story and that of those who came before you. Live free, die with honor.

Stats per Level: +9 Charisma, +6 Wisdom, +4 Perception, +3 Intelligence, +3 Willpower

Voice of Pain was an interesting class. It gave off some connotations that Pavel was wary of, like the mention of the “aspect of Pain”, with pain capitalized as if it was a proper name. The idea of being beholden to a higher power did not appeal to Pavel for obvious reasons, but he figured that one, the benefits of the class were too good to pass up, and two, that this seemed like the whole reason he had kept going. If he was to honor her, he would not mind having a class to be able to better tell their story. Feeling confident, he selected it.

It seemed that all of the extra experience that he would have earned from leveling his resistance skills before attaining the “feat”, whatever that was, was not distributed to him at all. He had expected a few levels due to the sheer magnitude of the skills that he had leveled, but it seemed like all of that experience was now gone forever. It was a shame, but he still had the benefit of those resistances even if he did not receive the full benefit for leveling them

The final thing he could do, as all the notifications had been cleared, was to distribute the five points that he had gained from his level-up. He immediately placed all of them into intelligence, as it seemed to be an important aspect in both of his classes, especially since he had just gained a spell that seemed pretty mana-intensive. Investing those points brought it up to 14. He took a look at his stat sheet, knowing that all of the numbers were going to spike up as soon as he gained a level for either his profession or class.

Now it was time to wait. Pavel had realized that the guards obviously considered him to be a non-factor, given that they had removed his restraints entirely. That was good. It had lured them into a false sense of security that he could now exploit in order to slip away from them. And if a few of them died in the process, even better.