Zayn didn’t have to worry about his final choice. Soul Lord felt that it was the right path for him, so he decided to pick it.

Even if one looked at it from a logical point of view, Zayn made the right decision.

A new, unknown Class was a risk because Zayn knew little about it except for the description. However, even the Soul Lord’s Class Path description wasn’t that detailed. It didn’t provide deep insights into the Soul Lord’s power.

Nonetheless, Soul Lord was a Hidden Class Path as well as Limited. It was a Class Path that could only be wielded by one person. It had to be powerful.

Limited Class Paths were always stronger than the norm. The fewer slots the Class Path had, the better. A Limited Common Class Path could be stronger than an ordinary Uncommon Class Path. It depended on the person who wielded the specialized Class and their mastery of the Class Cards. Still, it was commonly known that Limited Class Paths were extraordinary and exceedingly valuable.

The ‘Hidden’ prefix could mean a lot. However, it was undoubtedly nothing terrible. Zayn would have to research a lot about the Soul Lord’s powers, but he could manage that.

In Zayn’s opinion, the biggest advantage was the number of Soul Essences that had to be consumed by the Class Path to initiate the Path integration. The more Soul Essences used to initiate the Path integration, the more potential a Class had.

Last, Zayn liked some details about the Class Path’s description. They attracted his attention.

‘It would be great if I had 1000 Soul Essences stored somewhere.’

He shrugged and glanced at the details of his Heart Deck.

Heart Deck

Classless(Tier-0) Card Holder

Connected Cards: 10

Card Limit: 10

Stored Soul Essences: 286

Not much about his Heart Deck has changed in the last few weeks.

No. That was not entirely true. He exchanged various Cards in his Heart Deck, upgraded some Cards to a higher quality, and improved his Card Set. He was much stronger than he used to be when he raided the Tower of Nature with Melanie and the rest.

‘They should be doing fine, right?’

A thin smile formed on his lips. He stayed in touch with Melanie, David, and the rest, but they were busy dealing with their stuff. Melanie used their records of the Tower of Nature and the fortune they earned in a few days to convince her father that his company should create a branch of professional Players. Melanie wanted to lead a workshop in the name of her father’s company into Forgotten Lands.

It was the same as it had been in the last cycle, though it was probably a little bit earlier than it used to be, thanks to Zayn’s interception.

The butterfly effect was much stronger than Zayn expected, but that was good. The competition for resources was fierce, pushing everyone beyond their limit. Zayn’s influence on Forgotten Lands was much more extensive than he could have estimated. Millions had watched his guides and videos to better understand the game and make a living.

Tens of thousands of Players turned Forgotten Lands into their primary source of income through Zayn’s help. He received countless messages and donations, further expanding the accumulated fortune in his bank account.

It was unbelievable.

If Zayn hadn’t known that the apocalypse was about to descend, he would have been able to relax a little bit more and use his vast fortune to travel around.

Unfortunately, the apocalypse loomed overhead. The Primordial Pantheon wouldn’t stop their advances upon Earth so that Zayn could take a break.

‘There is no need to take a break. I can break once the Primordial Pantheon has been beaten to a pulp or once I’m…dead.’

Zayn smiled wryly, not even noticing when Nicolas appeared next to him. He slapped Zayn on the shoulder.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I’ll go to the gym. It’s time to flirt with some hot babes~” Nicolas said lightly, earning him a scornful gaze from Zayn.

Nicolas chuckled lightly, “You should get a girlfriend as well. What’s the use of all this money if you don’t enjoy it?”

His words reverberated through Zayn’s ears right before Nicolas logged off. His body turned into countless mots of light, leaving Zayn alone.

“A girlfriend…”

Old memories of someone resurfaced, and a pained expression crossed his face.

He didn’t think about the girlfriend who’d cheated on him right before he turned 18. The resurfacing memories revolved around the last cycle, forcing him to recall his old friends, family…and lover.

It was not that the memories of his friends, family, and lover were painful. Instead, Zayn was not sure how to feel at this point. His family didn’t recall anything they had gone through in the last cycle. They were happy and without any worries. His father quit his job and focused on his physique, whereas his mother had joined Forgotten Lands after Zayn talked her into joining for weeks.

Melanie was doing fine, and the same could be said about most of his other old friends. He didn’t stalk them online but quickly found their accounts on social media. Most of them had been more or less popular before the apocalypse, so it wasn’t hard to find out how they had been doing.

Zayn wasn’t sure if he should message them and invite them to play Forgotten Lands together. He was reluctant about pulling them into danger once more. But then, once again, everyone would be in danger sooner or later. As long as Zayn couldn’t prevent the descent of the Worldbridges and Dimensional Anchors, every country would be in danger. The entire world would be in danger.

But the danger surrounding Zayn had always been the highest. Nobody had been as unfortunate as Zayn regarding encounters with powerful enemies.

‘Fuck this shit. I didn’t want to think about that!’ Zayn screamed in his mind. He clutched his chest and gritted his teeth tightly.

He swore to change the future, but there were still too many unknown variables that were near impossible to calculate. Would it be correct to pull his old friends closer and help them grow stronger, or would he put them in more danger – turn them into high-priority targets – that way?

Zayn was not so sure yet, but there was something else he was certain about Strengthening everyone equally ought to increase mankind’s chance of survival in the domains' drastic descent.

The fortune he would earn with the guides and videos was exceptional, but it would be channeled back into the game either way. It was far more important to strengthen as many Players as possible.

He had been focusing on creating guides and videos in the last few weeks, alongside grinding Soul Essences and Cards and researching the Grandmagus’ books for the majority of the day. He was always busy and neglected his family a little bit in return.

The only outstanding achievement he attained with his mother was to convince her to join Forgotten Lands alongside his father. That had been a lot harder than Zayn expected. But then again, it was also one of his bigger goals to attain before the domains descended.

He had to solve some other issues with his family, but there was no rush. Everyone started playing Forgotten Lands since their exchange-traded funds were bound to generate good dividends. If Zayn continued to splurge his entire fortune on Forgotten Lands, the money would be enough to take care of the whole family.

His mother still had difficulty understanding why Zayn invested so much money into the game if he could focus on earning money instead. However, she understood that the money was not her fortune. The money belonged entirely to Zayn. He could do whatever he wanted with it. That was what Stephanie learned in the last few weeks.

Thinking about his mother, Zayn couldn’t suppress a smile. He had provided her with the means to earn a fortune in Forgotten Lands. He removed Alchemist’s Instinct and Coalesce from his Heart Deck to replace them with Cards that were better for combat purposes. His primary mission to earn a fortune via Alchemy had been solved rather easily with the Booster Recipe. Therefore, his mother could use Alchemist’s Instinct and Coalesce instead.

His mother was curious about alchemy, and she turned out to be a great student as well.

In Zayn’s opinion, the most exciting part was visiting Old Farthma with his mother. He left his mother in Old Farthma’s house, curious how his mother would be able to handle Old Farthma, the elderly Alchemist. Still, the situation turned out vastly different than he expected.

He left his mother for only a few hours, but that was enough for her to transform their relationship. Old Farthma and his mother grew close within a few hours. When he returned to help tend to the underground Farming Hall, they told him off and expelled him from the stone house.

A few weeks later, Old Farthma treated Zayn like her grandson. She nagged him all day and all night while pampering his mother like there was no tomorrow.

He had to acknowledge that he was slightly jealous, but seeing his mother happy with a motherly figure near her was also lovely. Old Farthma taught his mother a lot. Stephanie Dexter turned out to be a great Alchemist. She learned a lot and comprehended various concocting techniques rapidly. It was almost like she was born to become an Alchemist. Stephanie was diligent and listened intently to Old Farthma whenever she explained something.

Zayn never expected their relationship to turn out like that, but that was great. Now, both his mother and Old Farthma could help him pick up and raise some Alchemists to generate even more money and prepare everything necessary for the future, whether that was money or Grandmaster Alchemists who could concoct potions once the apocalypse arrived.

Most Alchemists Zayn intended to pick up would become god-like Alchemists. However, for now, they were struggling apprentices who couldn’t even afford to experiment with potions. They were struggling to make a living. Some weren’t even Forgotten Lands’ Players yet.

Zayn was about to change their lives forever.