<>(Zack)<>

I exit Maelnor through the West Gate after getting some more food from Jesse, and look around. Probably three or four miles away starts the forest, maybe a bit more than that. Other than that, there's just the road leading into it and fields, with the occasional cluster of rocks or random tree.

But it's mostly fields with random rocks.

There's a light blue Slime bouncing on the path roughly twenty yards from the entrance to the City, and it keeps bouncing. There's a dark grey core on the inside, a spherical object with a two-tone coloration to it.

Slime Level 1 Health: 10 Mana: 10

According to Jesse, I need to damage the core. The slime will act slightly acidic to my skin, without a high enough Willpower, and regular Slimes have no attack, but do jump at people. On the flipside to that, however, they provide almost no boost to any Skills or Classes, which means the only benefit to killing them is getting rid of them.

As if that matters to me. I'm a Dark Knight, I'll kill any Monster that gets in my way. And this one is. Along with the hundreds of other Slimes I can see.

They're in my way because they exist. Because they are Monsters, they are a threat to myself, to other Adventurers, to any children born here too young to be able to defend themselves, and to the Boundary itself.

Slimes and Rats reproduce at a high rate, and since the Adventurers leave through the South Gate and head to Praevar, the Slimes and Rats around here are untouched by them.

As a result of that, I get to have a lot of fun killing Slimes and Rats and gaining Levels. According to the information Jesse gave me, Slimes spawn as a regular Slime, then once they reach the Area Level Cap or have something special happen to them, they can morph into another type of Slime, one with attacks beyond simply jumping at you.

The light blue Slimes will be my first targets. Any of the specialized Slimes can fuck themselves, if they think they'll get priorities. They're already evolved, and so, not worth the focus from me yet.

Take out the ones that can't fight first, reduce their numbers, then take on their advanced forms. Morphing into Chieftains and Elite Monsters are rare occurrences, and those are the only ones I think I'll need to keep an eye out for, even after some Levels have been gained.

Though I do want to see if there's a bonus for hitting a combined Skill Level of 50. Maybe even one for a combined Skill Level of 100.

That would be so cool. Nik said that Skills tend to be tough to learn or Level without the right stats and associating Classes, so reaching a combined Skill Level of 50 is tough to do without any Classes at all.

There's gotta be a bonus or something.

I charge at the Slime, drawing my sword and bringing it down with enough force to cut into the core. The Slime loses half of its Health and starts bouncing away. I pull my sword back, then slice it to the side, sweeping low, and cutting into the core again, killing the Slime.

Woot! First kill!

An infinite more to go!

I avoid the rock clusters, as Jesse and Nik both told me they would likely have Rats hiding within, in addition to the Slimes chilling on them.

For about an hour, I manage to kill Slimes, from the light blue Slimes, to the white-gold Heal Slimes, to the dark green Poison Slimes (mental note: avoid their sprays, those hurt), to a random dark blue Water Slime that kept shooting jets of water at me.

I take a breather, feeling confident enough that I might be able to take on a team of Slimes, which is probably for the best, because the log I'm sitting on seems to have been home to a quad of Slimes. Two dark blue Water Slimes, a dark red Fire Slime, and a white-gold Health Slime.

I become aware of their presence when a blast of water slams into me from behind, taking out 15 Health and sending me crashing to the ground.

Water Slime Level 1 Health: 49 Mana: 58

About average. The others have similar values.

The Water Slime that hit me before blasts another jet of water at me, and I draw my sword, blocking that blast with the blade.

"Hey!" I yell at it. "I was sitting there, asshole!"

Both of the Water Slimes and the Fire Slime blast at me, two jets of water and a funnel of flames. I dodge to the side, rolling a moment before returning to my feet.

"Okay," I say. "So I've only fought in ones and twos before, so four of you is going to be different. I'll give you a chance to run away, before I kill all of you."

The Fire Slime spits more fire at me.

"Hey!" I say after dodging. "I wasn't done talking, jackass!"

I lunge forward.

New Skill! Dash Active Allows for a short burst of high speed.

The tip of my blade cuts into the Flame Slime's core, taking out nearly all of its Health. Before I can finish pushing the blade in, though, it glows, healing some, even though my sword is still in it.

"Fuck off!" I yell at the Heal Slime before finishing off the Flame Slime, then taking two blasts from the Water Slimes. "Fuck you!"

I pick myself back up off the ground, scrambling to grab my sword, holding it up to stop another blast of water.

"Deflect!" I yell.

New Skill! Deflect Active Instead of taking on the full force of an attack, you may instead deflect it away from you. The amount of impact absorbed decreases with each Level of this Skill, down to none.

The jet blasts off to the side, slamming into the ground. I still feel the impact, but it's not as strong as the last one.

I go after the Heal Slime, dodging and deflecting Water Jets until it's dead, then doing the same thing until the other two are dead as well.

That completed, I check the log for anymore Slimes or surprises, then sit back down on it and rest. It's about lunchtime, so I pull out some food and start eating. As I'm finishing up lunch, I sense something behind me.

+1 Perception!

I dodge to the side, feeling a sharp pain in my side. It was a spike made out of stone. I put my hand to my side, looking around, spotting a dark brown blob with a darker brown core.

Slime Level 3 Health: 118 Mana: 20

That fucking hurt!

It fires another spike at me, and I Deflect it. The impact still causes me to stumble back a couple of steps. The only Slimes I've fought so far have been Level 1, but they were mostly easy, even for the Elementals.

This is strong. I might actually need to gain a couple of Class Levels before I can handle it. Or a fair few more Stat Points, though I'm gaining them from my training and slaughtering.

I dodge three more Stone Spikes before getting close enough to stab into it. My blade barely nicks its core, only doing two points of damage, the tip breaking off and dissolving away into it. I pull the sword out and take several steps back and dodge another Stone Spike.

The part of the sword that was in the Slime started to dissolve, not just the tip. The sword is metal of metal, which is derived from stone… the Slime can dissolve it within. In fact, I'm pretty sure it healed the Slime.

I am not going to die against some pathetic little thing, and nor am I going to lose to it.

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I'm out of Mana after just one Dash while in Rage, and I still couldn't hurt the Slime without healing it. I'm going to kill it, though. My fists aren't affected too badly, though I do still take damage. If I can get the damn core out, this fucker is going to find itself smashed to bits.

Unfortunately, it manages to fire off a Stone Spike every time I try to do that, and I quickly find my Health in the single digits.

Dark Knights use damage to self to increase their own. There is no way I will not find that method here and now. Though it might also be better for me to retreat, except the only clear shot back to town is past this damn thing. Any other way is filled to hell with Slimes.

I dodge another Stone Spike, backing up several feet and wait for another to come my way, giving my body a small amount of time to heal. Not much, but every second counts.

New Skill! Blood Frenzy Passive Your physical damage is increased the lower your Health drops.

Oh, right. I have Skills. And can acquire them, too, even during combat. Though maybe now isn't the time to try for Intimidate.

"I'm going to cut up you and your family!" I yell at the Stone Slime, dodging another Stone Spike. "Then, I'm going to hunt you down in the afterlife, and kill you again!"

New Skill! Intimidate Active You're capable of intimidating those with lesser wills through your spoken and body languages. Costs no Mana, and the reaction is dependent on the difference in Willpower between you and the target. Some may freeze up, some may go into a frenzy, some my attempt to flee, and some may faint. Duration of the effect is also dependent upon the Willpower of the affected..

Oh, good. This one froze up. I take off running, jumping over it and making my way to town as quickly as I can, collapsing just inside of it. After a few minutes, I roll onto my back and stare at the sky.

That was awful. I never want to be stuck in that situation again. Ever. I wish I'd detected it sooner. I know I'm not ready to take on a Level 3 Slime, that's why I was seeking out Level 1 Slimes and only Level 1 Slimes.

Why did I even try fighting it in the first place? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"You okay?" An old man in a dark blue robe with white and gold runes and trim looks down at me.

"Perfectly fine," I smile at him. "Just enjoying the view of the sky from this edge of the path."

"Uh-huh," he says. "You know, you could utilize the weaker monsters further in, if you wanted. Any magician at a high enough Level and has been to a further town could bring you in, you know. You'd also find people able to work with you as a team."

"Yeah, yeah," I wave dismissively. "I'm not going to turn tail and run, though. I'm going to get stronger here and take out what can be, winning the fight for everyone. If I get a team, then we will do it. But I'm staying here."

"Are you sure?" The old priest asks.

"Positive," I tell him. "Just need to figure out how to avoid the stronger Slimes while I'm unable to fight them. So my theory is this: I just run away. That's a good idea. That, or insult its mom, and while it's confused, run away."

"Nik warned me about you," the old priest snorts. "I am Adrian, the High Priest here in Maelnor. Come to me if you need healing or a purge."

"Eh," I tell him. "I'll heal or purge myself."

"Good luck," he says. "Just come to the Holy Temple if you need assistance."

"Does that include free handouts for food and clothes?" I ask. "Because the perv is stingy."

"See you around, Zack," the old priest walks away.

Guess not.

Once I recover a bit more, I stand, stretch, and draw my knife, flipping and spinning it a few times, then take a stance and slashing the air a few times.

I need to avoid the Stone Slimes until I can afford a weapon that will actually damage it without being affected by its power to absorb metals. That, or learn a spell that will work against it. What kind of spell, though?

Fire, maybe? I pull up my status.

Character Information Dark of Fire Name: Zack Primary Class: None Level: 0 Unavailable: Unavailable Title: None Unavailable: Unavailable Health: 110/110 Mana: 20/20 Strength: 7 Intellect: 1 Endurance: 5 Willpower: 2 Vitality: 11 Wisdom: 2 Agility: 6 Perception: 3

If Dark of Fire means the Crystal I align with most closely, then that means I likely have an affinity for fire magics. The spell might be as simple as focusing on summoning something like a fireball, then saying the name for it. It could also require me chanting a spell, though.

I'll ask Nik, when I see him again.

Wait.

How the fuck did my Intimidation work on that Stone Slime? Aren't they magic-based? Wouldn't that mean it has more Willpower than me?

I am now confused, and thus, I make my way to the Trading Post.

"Zacky!" Jesse exclaims when he sees me. "What happened to you?"

I will castrate you.

"I got hungry," I tell him. "Got food for me, Pervert?"

"You need to stop expecting free handouts!"

"You need to start feeding me better."

He huffs, but gives me some food. I tear off a piece of the bread and pop it into my mouth.

"I somehow Intimidated a Level 3 Stone Slime," I tell him. "Even though I only have 2 Willpower. I'd think it'd have, like, three or four or something, minimum. How did the Intimidate work?"

"It works on me!" Jesse exclaims. "You're just that scary naturally!"

So Intimidate also factors in natural intimidation power? The description is slightly misleading in that, then, as it states 'lesser wills', then brings up the difference in Willpower for the effect.

However, Intimidate also looks at one's actual will at the same time, so something like a Slime, which has pretty much no will at all, can be intimidated by something with a higher Willpower.

"Wait!" Jesse exclaims. "You already acquired Intimidate? How?"

"Do you have an old training dummy or something I can take home?" I ask.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Then I'm out," I turn and walk towards the door. "Later, Pervert."

I make my way home, then look up and down the tree, before running up to it and jumping, grabbing onto one of its branches and climbing it. My Climb Skill is already at Level 10…

What the hell was I up to before dying?

At the top of the tree, I look out across the streets, silent and empty. The City of Maelnor used to house over twenty thousand people, and it's been reduced to less than a hundred because of the ever-growing horde under the control and influence of the being known as the Shadow of Life.

Everyone who could help out in the coming battle who isn't here right now is further in, focusing on getting much stronger and preparing items and such for the battle to come.

Feeling the gentle breeze against my body, I focus on two of the windows that appeared alongside the notice for acquiring Climb.

Combined Skill Level of 50 Reached Without a Class The Original Class in Which Your Skills Align with Most and Your Attributes Work For Has Been Assigned to You Original Class: Ruffian

New Class! Ruffian Those who are agile and perceptive, masters of knives, thievery, and stealth, you are uncatchable. This does not count as a Class, and nor does it take up a Class Slot. It has 10 Levels, and only 10 Levels. +3 Agility Upon Leveling +2 Perception Upon Leveling

Huh. Even though my Strength, Endurance, and Vitality are higher than my Agility and Perception, I acquired the rogue-based version. Was it because I've done a lot of running and dodging, and use a knife more than a sword? Or at least, have a higher mastery for it?

It could also be factoring in my natural speed and perception of things, and probably my Climb Skill. Martial Arts probably worked for both, so that doesn't count. Overall, I'd just be a strong rogue, looking at my Skills. I could also be a soldier or knight, too, but a more agile one talented at evading attacks.

So it sort of balances out for both, but with a slightly-higher favor of the rogue. So I guess that makes sense, then.

I probably could go for the rogue Classes, first. I do favor quick attacks with a tendency to dodge instead of block.

Climbing down to the lower branches, I dangle my legs off the lowest branch on this side, then allow myself to fall back, holding on with my knees and legs.

Time to do some curlups. I think that's what they're called.

Regardless of the path I go down, all of them will require me growing stronger, and I can worry about stuff like which one I'm going to be once I reach Combined Skill Level 100 without a Class.

There has to be something there. Especially with the Titles I acquired.

New Title! (R1) First Original Ruffian The first person to acquire the Original Class of Ruffian after the System nullified the original version for a newer, stronger version of things.

New Title! (R1) First Original Class The first person to acquire an Original Class after the System nullified the original version for a newer, stronger version of things.

In other words, no one's ever hit Combined Skill Level 50 without a Class in the new System, and there were Titles for it. Titles that will never be accessed again. No one knows what Titles are for, according to Nik, but there might one day be something that I discover requires them.

And I'm going to reach Combined Skill Level 100 without a Class to see if there's another reward waiting there. After all, why would the System retain the Original Classes, which grant 2 Skill Points more than Tier 1 Classes do, and not have it count as a Class if there isn't a reward higher up?

So I just need forty-five more Skill Levels to go, and I can find out if there's something there.

The ground rapidly approaches, and I slam into it hard enough to lose 5 Health.

I should probably focus on exercising and not the windows in my vision.