Owen, to his own surprise felt great when he woke up. There was part of him that felt more full or more together. He didn't quite have the words to describe it, but he felt more whole than he had in a long time. He had finally been able to free Briar from the contract, though he hadn't yet been able to talk to Briar about it yet. He had been looking for them all morning, but neither he or Lucas had been able to find them. When he finally went to Xerxes to ask about them, he didn't get the response he had wanted.
"Briar will be out of commission until you arrive back on earth. Ending the contract took a lot from them and that will need to be recovered before they are capable of doing more than resting." Xerxes said before glancing at the main courtyard. "In the meantime, would you like me to begin you class test?" Owen look back and forth between Xerxes and the courtyard. "I didn't accidentally hurt Briar did I? Did I do something wrong?" Owen said anxiously, but Xerxes shook his head.
"No, they need to recover, because they had been partially functioning off of your power and you took that ability away by ending the contract. So, until Briar become self sufficient, they will be recovering from losing that ability. You did everything perfectly, so don't worry, but you should be prepared to begin your class test shortly. It will take close to a day to complete and it is not a good idea to be taking the test when the system attempts to teleport you back to earth."
Owen nodded, still feeling nervous for Briar, but forcibly turned his focus to the secondary class notification.
*You are level 50, you have the ability to create your secondary class now: Options available
Form a common - requirements met
Form a uncommon - requirements met
Form a rare class - requirements met
Form a ultra rare class - requirements met
Form a epic class - requirements met
Form a arcane class - requirements met
Form a legendary class - requirements met
Form a hero's class - requirements met
Form a unique class - requirements met*
*Please select which secondary class you would like to form.*
Owen hesitated for only a moment before selecting the unique class option.
*Beginning secondary class test for Unique Class*
The world seemed to shift and spin into itself. Owen had to fight against the desire to find a bucket and throw up, but in less than a moment, it stopped. Owen waited to give himself and his body time to adjust, before looking around the new area. He was in a finely decorated building on earth. The floor was made out of a polished white marble, that was so polished he could see his reflection in it. The walls were decorated in gold trim and fine fabrics.
Owen stared at all of the lavish decorations in confusion. He hadn't ever been anywhere like this before, but he could feel his body was actually here, which meant it must be a physical space. As he wandered through he began calling to see if anyone was there, but got no response. The only door in the room was at the very end, so Owen pushed forwards and made his way through the door. The office he entered was nothing like the room it was attached too. Books collected dust on book shelves and papers were strewn about everywhere with random dashes of information on them.
Sitting in a chair set at the desk that stood in the middle of the room was a man that Owen recognized. It was himself, maybe a couple years older, but it was definitely him. The older him gestured for Owen to take the chair opposite him and spoke before Owen himself had the chance too. "Ah, you have already gotten to the point where you must choose a secondary class and chose the unique class. I would say I was impressed, but I am you, or at least a version of you, so it is only expected."
Owen was surprised hearing his own voice sound so dismissive was such a foreign concept, yet it was still somehow familiar. "How are you me?" He asked, and the older him sneered at him. "This is a secondary class test. You are trying to create a class that is a part of you and your legacy." Owen shook his head, "No, I understand that, but why are you here, or I guess how is a version of me here?"
The copy of him gave out a cold laugh. "This is what you would be like if you had just realized your potential. A future you gave up to wallow with the dross that clutters up our world." Owen had to force himself to keep his face straight as he fought back the urge to cringe. Hearing words that sounded that edgy coming from someone else's mouth might've made him laugh, but he could hardly hold back his cringe when it came from his own, and so seriously too. "What do you mean the choices I could've made?" As soon as the words left his mouth images flashed through his brain.
It showed him joining up with Jared's group for the tutorial and after their first fight realizes that Jared couldn't attack. He saw himself taking advantage of it and killing Jared while he slept. He wasn't able to disguise it as a monster attack, so in a panic, he had killed each of his old coworkers.
Images flashed forwards again and he had arrived in the hidden boss area inside of the tutorial, but this time he was by himself. He watched himself turn a breastplate with a very familiar snake into a pill and then swallow it, before challenging the boss to a fight. Owen was forced to admit that he was intimidated by this version of himself. The fight against the hidden boss was entirely one sided and after picking up the zodiac rings, he put one on and turned the rest into pills that he swallowed.
Owen felt himself grow cold as he watched a version of himself slowly become addicted to absorbing materials for power. By the time the other version of him left the tutorial, he had gained over twenty levels and had stats that were almost as high as the current stats he had. Owen felt himself pale as he realized that this version of him didn't even have a class yet, yet he was so much stronger than he had been.
He saw himself get sponsored by an unfamiliar being, though it didn't take long for him to realize that the sponsor was Greed. Xerxes had given him descriptions and Owen knew some of the likely inheritance skills, but then the scene shifted again and he was standing in front of a different creature that Owen realized was Pride. He watched himself go from sin to sin, collecting an inheritance skill from each.
As the images began to fade away, another memory formed and Owen could see himself walk into a tier one gate and raise a hand, every single monster flashed with energy, before being turned into pills. Each one gave him a stats point and Owen realized that this version of him was several times stronger than he was, despite their thirty level difference. The last image formed and began too immediately fade away, but Owen was still able to make out what the last memory contained. It showed him, capturing people after they left gates and turning them into pills.
"What even are you?" He couldn't recognized himself in the man that sat across from him anymore. "I am the you that could've been. You could've been powerful and at the top of our world, everyone, who had looked down on you, groveling at your feet." He shook his head and sneered at Owen again. "This is what you'll change into, this is how you will grow stronger. This is the only right choice for your unique class."
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Owen barely managed to dodge the lunge, that he now recognized. He had seen himself do it to several people, turning them into pills. Owen began to dodge each attack, almost if on instinct. Something felt off about this experience so far. He had talked with Xerxes before, who gave him a rundown of what some other people's unique secondary class experiences had been like. Nothing Xerxes had described had been like this. He was supposed to have appeared in a room and a series of tests was supposed to take place. One to test his character, fighting style, and finally he would make alterations to the class.
He continued to weave through attacks and felt somewhat disappointed in how the other version of him fought. It was like he was up against a beast. Each attack was powerful and Owen knew he would probably die if he was caught by any of those hits, but there was no technique behind them, no strategy. He, despite his lower stats, was able to dodge almost effortlessly. When he saw an opening, he attacked, his sword slashed a large cut across his copy's shoulder. Or at least it should have. Instead, Owen felt an enormous cut open across his shoulder as another source of pain coursed through his very soul.
He went back on the defensive, but it was harder to dodge now and each attack began missing by less. He felt panic rising through him and he realized he had no way out of this fight. Injuring his copy, would only injure himself, but he was confident he would still get hurt if his copy hit him. More attacks were made and a strange energy began gathering around his copy. Owen felt another attack on his soul, but his copy hadn't moved. Owen suddenly realized where he was, the room he had entered was a part of him. As he focused on a random piece of paper, he saw what he had feared.
Skills descriptions and skill themselves were written onto each of the pieces of paper. Looking next to his copy, he noticed that the energy coursing around his copy had reached a crescendo, but on the ground, being torn by that energy was another piece of paper, with something scribbled onto it. Without hesitating, Owen activated his boosting skill and crossed the distance between them, before his copy could even notice. Rather than attacking with a sword, Owen swing his fist hard and connecting on his copy's jaw, sending it flying out of the office space and into the large chamber.
Flying after, he was about to land another blow, ignoring the pain coursing through his chest from the punch, but a system notification made him lose focus and missed his attack by a hairs breadth.
*You have begun your first test.
Fight a replica of yourself for a duration of three minutes. This replica will increase its capabilities as the time get closer to reaching zero. Fight with all your strength to receive the best possible benefits.*
Owen didn't have time to panic, as another version of himself formed, though this one was much less lifelike. It looked more like if he was forced to try and recreate himself out of clay. The dimensions were all off, and its features were caricatures of what he looked like in real life. He gave himself a single second to hope that he wouldn't have to fight both at the same time, but his panic only continued to build as both his copy and the new version began to fight him at the same time.
All of Owen's focus went into everything he had learned since being inducted into the system. He wove through attacks and when their were opening made his own attacks. His weapon constantly shifted its shaped as he would need a shield one moment, before shifting it into a spear, to take advantage of an opening. Despite his weapon not being able to be infused with mana, chaos managed to work just fine and he began to fight even faster. Pushing himself to the limits of his skills, he was surprised as it looked like his replica had begun to break down.
HIs copy didn't however and only attack more and more. With his boosting skill, he was able to avoid most attacks, but not all. He was covered in wounds from both his replica and copy. If not for his boosting skill increasing all stats, his copy's attacks would have killed him, but he was able to just barely heal through the damage. With a minute still left on the timer, the replica, made by the system, collapsed to the ground and the timer paused. Everything paused.
*Error, replica destroyed, destruction should not be possible at current level. Calibrating... Use of Chaos energy detected....Calibrating... Timer will reset and replica's functionality will be adjusted.*
Owen felt sick to his stomach, but a wave of energy swept through the hall, causing all of his resources and wounds to instantly heal. He watched the copy of himself get blown back by the energy, it seemingly trying to push it back towards the attached room, but after less than a second the energy abated and a new replica of himself spawned. Owen almost cried, he knew something had gone wrong, and yet he had no way to fix it and the system didn't seem opposed to the interruption.
He was forced to fight against his copy and the replica again and this time, he knew it was going to be so much worse. The replica spawned holding a large spear and a familiar energy crackled along the end and Owen winced. Apparently the fix for the combat test had been to give the replica access to chaos energy and a quick scan of keen eye told him everything he needed to know.
*Replica of Owen Cain - Level 50
Immune to Chaos*
Cursing his luck and the system, Owen prepared as everything began once more with, 3 more minutes on the clock. The copy of his seem less interested to participate in this fight, but it still tried to take advantage of openings. Owen knew it was trying to turn him into a pill, to absorb and try and take control of his body in the real world or something, but it was weird, he could feel his body here, but if it wasn't trying to take over and absorb him instead, what was the purpose?
After the first minute passed, the replica picked up its speed and began to attack even faster. His copy, seeing the increased amount of pressure on Owen, began to attack more fiercely as well. More and more wounds began forming across Owen's body, though when he had the choice between taking a blow from his replica or his copy, he now had to take the blow from his copy.
The chaos on the edge of his replica's spear was enough that a single strike could either kill Owen, or throw him out of focus for long enough he was guaranteed to die in the follow up attack. As they reached minute two, Owen felt his energy began to slip. More attacks landed, that he could've potentially dodged, but he had been fighting for almost five minutes straight not counting the system freezing everything. His replica was relentless and his copy even more so, but through the haze of battle Owen couldn't help but wonder how he was managing to keep up with them.
Both seemed to want to kill him and yet, despite his disadvantage, Owen had managed to just barley slip past every fatal blow. A flash of inspiration shot through him and as he fought for an opening, he gathered power into his weapon. Just as the clock reached ten seconds left, he was barely able to stand, but had managed to create an opening, by making his copy need to dodge a blow from the replica, as Owen deflected its blow towards it. Swinging his sword with the full power of his combat resonance, the replica tried to block the attack, but the slash tore through its weapon and tore into its chest.
Owen almost cried in joy, when the replica didn't die. The last thing he wanted was to need to fight for another three minutes. The replica struggled to its feet, giving Owen a chance to fight back just his copy again. Owen watched as the counter finally reached zero and the replica disappeared right as it threw its spear towards Owen. Everything froze again and a blast of energy tore through the hall again, refilling all of Owen's resources and causing his wounds to disappear.
*You have successfully cleared the first test with the highest possible score, the next test will commence in ten seconds.*
Owen hoped more than anything else that he would get a break from fighting, but a single glare from his copy, as once again, the energy from the system failed to push it back into the office.
HIs copy rushed for him and just like what his copy had shown him, memories began to fill his head, making it hard to focus on his surroundings. Owen wasn't sure how this test was supposed to work, but now he had to figure out how to do it while not being tore apart and eaten by his copy.