As the beasts bounded forward, rapidly devouring the distance between them, Clover's options were limited. With his stone Puppet destroyed and without time to create a new one - he did not have an effective way to engage the two monsters at once. Thankfully, he did not have to. Already, Ron was charging forward with hands balled into fists, ready to confront one of the Two-tailed Squirrels.

Clover pointed his open palm toward the other mutated squirrel. There was no point in overcomplicating things or coming up with a complex plan when he could just blast the monster in the face.

In his soul space, Clover smashed his will against [Unstable Mana Bolt]'s crystalline structure, wordlessly summoning forth the spell. Mana surged out from his core, twisting into foreign patterns and shapes reminiscent of blooming flowers in a spring field as it rushed down his arm. Immediately, he could tell that this cast would not be normal.

Tinged green, the bolt of mana formed; tiny tendrils grew out of its exterior, stretching toward the ground like the hungry roots of a tree. Before the beast could even close half the distance, the spell crashed forward out of his hand and slapped against its flank.

Despite its grandiose appearance, the attack did not deal any damage on impact. Instead, as it grazed the Two-tailed Squirrel's side, the orb of mutated mana exploded harmlessly in a rain of green specks that delicately fell to the floor. Was it a misfire? No, he didn't think so; he could still feel the spell working toward something.

Confused, the monster swiped at the bright falling lights, causing it to stumble as it met no resistance. Out of the ground, vines shot forth and entangled the Two-tailed Squirrel. Off balance and taken by surprise, the monster crashed to the floor, where more green shoots rose to further ensnare it. The beast strained against its mounting restraints, snapping them with wild movements. However, despite its best efforts, it was stuck, at least for now.

Congratulations! Unstable Mana Bolt has reached Level 22. +1 Skill Points.

Claire rushed toward the ensnared beast, and with wide, unhinged swings, she chopped down at it repeatedly, beating it as if it were the source of all the misfortunes in her life. Blood splattered and bone cracked - in short order, the Two-tailed Squirrel stopped moving.

Before [Unstable Mana Bolt] could come off cooldown, Ron finished off his Level 1 opponent. More did not seem to be coming. For now, they could rest.

Congratulations! You have significantly contributed to the defeat of a Two-tailed Squirrel - Lvl 1. +100 Exp.

Class: Blank has reached lvl 5. +5 Stat Points.

Congratulations, you have passed the first threshold. Your experiences have colored your identity; no longer is your soul blank. For being one of the first from your planet to accomplish this feat, you have been awarded an additional 5 Stat Points. Further experience will be delayed till you upgrade your Class. You may click [Here] to start the selection process at any time.

In the aftermath of the battle, a deafening silence reigned as Clover read through the barrage of blue screens. Once finished, he looked from left to right, from Ron to Claire. Ron's shoulders heaved as he knelt next to his fallen foe, and Claire loosely gripped her sword, the weapon slowly sliding out of her grasp as she stared at a singular flower that had grown out of the vines that had ensnared the Two-tailed Squirrel with a harsh frown.

Clover didn’t know what they were thinking; he wished he did.

"Sorry," Ron said as he unsteadily rose to his feet, wiping off his hands. At his full height, he stared down at the Two-tailed Squirrel he had beaten to death with his bare hands, his shoulders tense, and then he turned away, more relaxed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have jinxed us," he said with a slight nervous chuckle.

Clover shrugged, trying to project a relaxed air. He couldn’t stop his eyes from darting about, searching for threats. Oscillating from danger to peace so quickly had fried his nervous system. “It’s fine. I hit Level 5 off that.”

“Really!” Ron scurried over in excitement. “What Classes did you get? Tell me. I have theories that need proving.”

“Can we do this somewhere else? It’s disgusting in here,” Claire said. The room was beginning to stink of dead squirrels - not exactly a great smell.

Clover nodded. Both Two-tailed Squirrels had come from the same direction; if they continued deeper into the museum, they would likely encounter more of them. For now, it would be best to retreat back to the entrance.

They retraced their steps back to the museum gift shop - there was only one entrance to it, and from their vantage point, they could see the entrances to all three exhibits while still maintaining some degree of visual cover.

Clover clicked a blue screen, and after a long delay - approximately 15 seconds, a window containing his Class advancement options appeared.

Nobody (Inferior): A person of no importance or authority; it is rare for someone to even know your name. Amongst the crowds, you are faceless, and in the books of history, you are not even a footnote. To some, of great evil or cowardice, this is a gift. However, for most, it is a curse - a life without recognition or connection is a hard one. Perhaps it is the lone advantage of a Nobody, with no past or future to hold them back; when they emerge from the shadows, they can become anyone or anything - unrecognizable to those who once pursued them. +2 Vitality, +2 Intelligence, +1 Magic, +5 Free Stat Points per Level.

Serial Killer (Uncommon): Once an ordinary and unassuming man, the killer snapped, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Night after night, he hunts, searching for an answer - he never finds it. A mounting mass of clues collects: a broken clock, an unaccounted for digit, and a hastily buried body under a tree. The authorities are closing in. Caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, the Serial Killer burned brightly till nothing remained. Truly talented, will you take on their mantle, or will you let the perfect crime wilt away, lost to time. +4 Dexterity, +4 Intelligence, +2 Agility, +2 Perception, +2 Strength, +1 Vitality, +1 Endurance, +2 Free Stat Points per Level.

Apprentice Golemancer (Common): It takes a special person to look at a dull rock and see potential. For better or worse, inspired by a glimpse of what was possible and an innate talent, you are one such person. In a long art such as golem making, an Apprentice without a Master is lost; however, only by becoming truly lost, stumbling miles off the beaten path, can something new be discovered. Will you wander the desert forever in mediocrity, or will you grasp the impossible? +4 Magic, +3 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, +1 Strength, + 1 Perception, +1 Vitality, +3 Free Stat Points per Level.

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Clover remembered the three things Ms. Lin had claimed influenced what Classes someone would be presented with: What they did before the System came about - in essence, who they were, what they did after the System’s arrival, and a mysterious third factor - possibly random chance.

[Nobody] fit into that pattern. Before the System had come about - maybe even still to this day, he was a nobody. He'd be surprised if more than a hundred people even knew who he was. He guessed that the Class would focus on stealth from its brief description. He paused. There was no guarantee that Classes came with Skills; that was just an assumption he had made from all the games he had played.

He shook his head and grumbled to himself. He would work under the assumption that they did. Otherwise, there would be no real reason to give the Classes different names.

[Nobody] had a Rarity of [Inferior] and offered a total of 10 Stat Points per Level, double the amount he currently gained. If the Class had been offered to him on the first night of the apocalypse, and the circumstances had been different, he might have taken it. Hiding away from danger had an allure; he had done it almost his entire life. But in the short time since then, he liked to think he had changed. Now, the other options were more attractive to him.

Still, he had to admit that as a starter Class, it was alright. The bit there at the end about emerging as a different and stronger person raised his hopes for its prospects. The Class's next evolution was probably solid. Though he figured he shouldn't be too hard on the Class, based on Rarity alone, he doubted most people would be offered a Class that would be much better than it on their first advancement.

He moved on to his next Class, [Serial Killer]. He'd like to believe that it was only by random chance that it had been offered, but the message had referred directly to him - it had said he had an immense aptitude for killing. Did the System think he had the potential to be a [Serial Killer]?

Clover strained, considering the possibility. In truth, he couldn't see it. He had never been that type of person. He'd always tried to avoid conflict in the past, and he liked to think he was a good person. But so had the man in the System's story. One day, would he snap as well?

Before he could get himself too worked up, he refocused, abandoning his effort, to divine why the System had decided to offer him such a menacing Class. Instead, he considered it based on its merits alone.

Of all his potential Classes, [Serial Killer] was the highest Rarity, offering the most Stat Points per Level. In terms of Skills, its benefits were dubious. It was likely that the Class's abilities would focus on killing other people and hiding his tracks once he had done so. Neither of those were very useful to him. However, the more he thought about it, the more likely it was that Skills that worked well for killing humans would also probably be effective at killing monsters.

If the Class had a more physical distribution of Stat Points, he’d question whether he would be able to use it to its fullest extent while stuck in a wheelchair, but because of [Serial Killer]’s high focus on Intelligence and Dexterity, he figured its abilities would be more cerebral in nature - something he could take advantage of.

He imagined it - poisoning monsters and escaping the scene of the crime unseen. It was fun to think about; [Serial Killer] would probably synergize well with [Stone Puppetry] as well. The only hang-up he had with the Class was its name. If anyone ever discovered that he had taken a Class called [Serial Killer], his moral character would immediately fall into question. In the apocalypse, that could be dangerous - potentially, he could be outcast from society if word ever got out.

Even with all those downsides, he considered it. Its extraordinarily high Rarity would probably make up for any trouble he ran into as a side effect of taking it.

He stroked his nonexistent beard, the motion helping him think.

Before coming to a decision, he moved his attention to his final Class, [Apprentice Golemancer].

It struck a middle ground between [Serial Killer] and [Nobody] in terms of Rarity and Stat Points. Based on the concept alone, it was the Class he favored the most. The idea of creating and controlling an army of Golems was appealing to him. Plus, he figured it would synergize well with his [Magical Talent] and existing skill set. The description had even claimed that he had a distinct talent for golem-making.

The only part of the Class that made him pause was the difficulty the System had implied in its description. He did not know how much the System would hold his hand in the golem-making process. In the worst-case scenario, he would essentially be flying blind, doing the equivalent of trying to learn calculus without a textbook. More realistically, he would be resigned to mediocrity till he figured out what he was doing. On his own, with no teacher, there was no telling how long that would take.

“So, what did you get? What are your options,” Ron said, no longer able to contain himself from asking.

"I'm not sure what to take yet. As options, I have [Nobody], [Apprentice Golemancer], and…" He paused. "And [TV Fan]."

"They all sound cool," Claire idly added as she leafed through a rack of hoodies in the gift shop. She was not nearly as caught up in the details of his Class selection as Ron was.

“And the Rarities,” Ron asked. He shook his head from side to side twice. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

"It's fine. [Nobody] and [TV Fan] are [Inferior]. [Apprentice Golemancer] is [Common]."

“Oh, the answer is obvious then, right. What are you waiting for?”

To Clover, a choice, even if it was correct, meant leaving behind what could have been. After a moment of internal debate, he nodded and selected [Apprentice Golemancer].

Congratulations! Sub-Skill: Stone Puppetry (Minor) has evolved into Lesser Golem Creation (Common). As this Skill is no longer a Sub-Skill, the limits on its leveling will be lifted, though due to its history, it will retain a synergy with [Sculpting].

Accept Skill Y/N: Appraisal - Lvl 0 (Minor)

Picking the right materials is half the battle. With this Skill, you'll never have to wonder. Spend 5 MP to reveal basic information about an Object or Golem.

With a smile, Clover accepted the Skill. He fought the urge to rub his hands together like a mad scientist. There was so much he had to test. First, he expanded [Lesser Golem Creation]'s Skill description.

Lesser Golem Creation - Lvl 0 (Common)

Imbue a Sculpture or Object with threads of magic, transforming it into a Lesser Golem. A maximum of 0/1 Golems can be controlled from a range of up to 50 meters. An initial cost of 25 MP is required to turn a Sculpture or Object into a Lesser Golem. No further cost is required to control them. Though they do not have infinite stamina, each command, varying on how complex, will drain their energy.

It was similar to [Stone Puppetry] with a few key differences. For starters, its base range was more than five times what it used to be, and he wasn't limited to only using it on stone sculptures. [Lesser Golem Creation] was significantly more expensive than the Sub-Skill; he wondered what all that extra MP would do.

Well, there wasn’t any point in wondering.

He picked up Mr. Cat and prepared to cast [Lesser Golem Creation].