Looking over the message one last time before dismissing it, Owen tried to piece together what was happening.

“So that Swordsman is trying to get a war band going. That’s what destroyed Grest. Does it just do that on instinct? Is it because it hit its maximum level and is trying to evolve? Either way, I was gonna stop it; at least it seems this God, Dae, isn’t an asshole. Alright, we got a mix of warriors and normal gobbo’s, with one Ardent and Acolyte on the group's fringe. As Owen thought to himself, he began formulating a plan. First, he would take out the mage and cleric; hopefully, if he used his Air bullets, they would be thrown into confusion. That should give him enough time to get a shot or two off on the Swordsman with his Death affinity. Just then, he remembered about the Rogue he fought in the Dungeon, that it didn’t show up on his Map. Scanning around once again, he noticed a Gobbo sitting up in a tree. “Gotcha,” Owen whispered, “Change of plans since you're off all by yourself being the edgy Rogue; you get to die first.” With his plan, Owen decided to lean against a tree for support and aim at the Rogue. Firing, the Air bullet hit the Rogue, and down he went. Owen looked over to the War Band, and none of them seemed to have noticed losing their lookout. Owen then lined up his shot on the mage, but before he shot, he moved his target to the cleric and back over. Ready, he pulled the trigger, then quickly switched targets and fired again.

The War Band noticed this time as the Swordsman shrieked loudly, followed by more hissing. The rest of the warriors seemed to start surrounding the Swordsman; afraid of losing his window of opportunity, Owen quickly let off a controlled pair infused with death mana. Unfortunately, only one of the rounds struck the Swordsman, with the other taking a warrior in the head. When the round hit the creature, its eyes snapped onto Owen’s location. With a shriek, it pointed its sword in his direction, and the Gobbos began to charge him; luckily, it looked like a handful stayed behind to guard their leader. Owen dismissed his pistol while summoning his sword and shield, ready to face down half a dozen gobbos. Applying his Mana Edge, Owen pulled back into the tree line, which caused the six monsters to split further. Charging into one of the groups, Owen quickly cut through them before moving on to the next. After taking a few grazing hits, Owen defeated the charging monsters before returning to the group and their leader. Seeing Owen walk back towards their group, the Swordsman began issuing orders to his entourage. Four of the warriors lined up in front of him, with one flanking him on either side.

“Dam, well, I guess those points in Intelligence are not for show.” Glancing up at his mana, he was sitting at about half. “A few shots will help even the odds,” Owen said as he leveled his pistol at the leader. Firing a shot, Owen was surprised when the leader grabbed the Gobbo in front of it and used it as a meat shield. Undeterred, Owen fired a few more rounds as he advanced until his mana dipped below 100; he then dismissed his pistol. Only the leader and his two lackeys were still standing, having used the others as sacrifices to Owen's ranged assault. Not wanting to give them a chance to coordinate, Owen charged in and managed to get a deep slash on one of the warriors. Blocking a slash from the other warrior, Owen tried to counter, but the creature leaped away.

“Fuck, these guys have more combat experience than the rest had. I’m going to have to switch it up then.” Circling his enemies, the two remaining warriors are always between him and their leader. Owen would go in for an attack only to be repelled and receive an attack from the other. Getting nowhere with his sword, Owen had an insane idea. He went in for another attack, this one an overhead swing. The Gobbo raised its sword to block as the other moved to the side to swing at him. Turning his wrist mid-swing, the sword changed targets to the other, caught off guard. It attempted to put up a guard. Smirking, Owen dismissed his sword, opting to summon his axe instead. With its blade further up, it bypassed the monster's attempted guard and bit deeply into its neck. Pulling it down and tearing through the creature, Owen dismissed the axe and returned his sword. “That’s what I’m fucking talking about,” Owen said as he slashed out and was able to take down the other warrior, leaving only the wounded Swordsman. As the two began to clash, Owen noticed he was losing ground. Even with the Swordsman being wounded, his lack of skill showed as the Swordsman batted his sword out of his hand.

Now disarmed, Owen used his shield to try to get some distance, but the Gobbo kept up the pressure. Making a desperate move, Owen braced his shield with both hands as he used it to push against the Gobbo. The Gobbo began cackling as it pushed down on Owen's shield, getting louder and making more strange noises.

“Yeah, I’m sure you're gloating right now.” Owen fired off two rounds through his shield and into the Swordsman as he said it. As the creature fell and began dissolving into a black mist, Owen walked over and picked his sword back up. He didn't notice any other creatures in the area, and looking through the makeshift camp, he couldn’t find anything interesting besides some weapons and game corpses. Confidant that he killed everything, Owen began to make his way back to his base camp when the notifications began to arrive.

Skill increase: Basic Inspection Skill increase: Assassinate Skill increase: Mana Edge Skill increase: Basic Swordsmanship Skill increase: Basic Axemanship Skill increase: Basic Shield Mastery Combat Exp gained 700. Rewards: F-Grade Mana Stones x17, E-Grade Mana Stone

Quest Completed

Rewards: 10 EXP, Basic Inspection has evolved into Critical Eye Critical Eye ( U ): An Evolved form of Inspection, due to the User always examining his surroundings, Critical Eye can be used universally. Aids the User with identifying people, objects, skills, and classes. The User has Leveled Up. The User has one Skill point available. The User has reached the maximum level for their current Class. Please find a safe area to begin Class Ascension.

“Fucking 10 Exp; well, it did say just enough for a Level. I feel like it's a slap to the face, though. Well, whatever, let's see what this Ascension is then; it was getting dark anyway.” Owen didn't encounter another monster when he returned to his base camp. As his camp came into view, he noticed that the walls seemed to have a soft glow, and more shocking than that, a bunny was impaled on an earth spike that appeared to come from the wall itself. “Well fuck,” curious Owen used his new Critical Eye Skill on the wall.

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Enchanted Earthen Bulwark: Strengenthed earth wall that will repel nearby Mist-Born.

“So the walls work, but only against monsters. Good to know.” He dismissed his sword, shield, and armor as he entered before sitting at his makeshift table. Grabbing another MRE, he set it up while bringing up his Stats.

STATUS Inventory Armory Other Name: Owen Grest Class: Marine Species: Human Level: 10 EXP: 0/0 Health : 348/499 Stamina : 370/499 Mana: 74/383 Stats Strength: 25 Endurance: 22 Dexterity: 21 Vigor: 22 Intelligence: 16 Focus: 19 Faith: 13 Luck 8

As tempted as he was to use his free point, Owen held back as he noticed that his Class was bold and highlighted in his vision. Willing it open, he got a new screen.

Marine: A warrior-scholar from a different time and place. Excels at all ranges in combat, with a balanced stat distribution. Gained one to all Stats every three levels.

Would the User like to begin Class Ascension? Yes | No

Without a moment's hesitation, Owen selected Yes. The next moment, Owen was standing in an empty white space. Startled, Owen began to look around, but there was nothing in any direction. Then he noticed four different silhouettes appeared ahead of him. As he cautiously approached them, he noticed they were all similar. He saw why once he was face to face with the shadowy people. They were all him; sure, they were each different, but it was him. Looking at the first shadow person, they looked exactly like Owen, down to his weapons and armor. Using inspect showed him that it was the Marine Class.

“Is that why he’s a copy of me? Todd said that people can reset their Class. This must be what he meant. Nope, next.” As Owen walked over to the next shadow person, they came into focus. They wore black leather armor with a bandolier of knives and cylinders. They seemed to have a short curved sword on their hip and some type of compact crossbow; curious, Owen inspected this version of him.

Arcane Assassin: A rare variant of the Assassin Class. Excels at using magical weaponry at all ranges, heavily focused on the Dexterity Stat. Gains two in DEX and VIG every two Levels.

“Dam, okay. Did I get this because of all those Achievements I got? I guess Assassinate is also my highest Skill. Okay, it's good, so what else do I get.” Walking over, the next shadow snapped into focus. This one wore metal armor as well as being covered in weapons. Swords are on both hips, and a spear and giant axe are on its back.

Armory Knight: A rare variant of the Knight Class. Excels with all martial weapons and gains the unique Skill Armory, heavily focused on Strength and Endurance. Gains three in STR and END every three Levels.

Excited, Owen walked over to the last shadow. Instead of coming into focus right away, this one seemed to shimmer and shake. When it finally came into focus, Owens's eyes went wide. In a full combat load, it looked like him, just like on deployment. Instantly, Owen used his Inspect.

Assault Marine: Ascended Class based on the Marine Class. Excels at all ranges in combat, with a balanced stat distribution. All mana-weapon costs are halved. Gains one to all Stats every other level.

Without thinking, Owen reached out to his old self, knowing that… that’s always who he will be. The Assassin was incredible, the Knight was badass, but this was him. He’ll always be a Marine. Once his hand touched the shadow, it exploded, covering everything with darkness, as it all rushed into Owen.