[Transporting Player Candidate to Class Selection Chamber for Class Selection Integration.]

[Error! Abnormal Soul Quality has been detected! Analyzing Soul Quality to determine Proper Pathway!]

[Soul Quality has been ranked Mythic Grade! Readjusting Pathway Protocols to better assist Player with their Class Selection Event!]

[Player has been qualified for ???’s Legacy which contains the [Class Legacy Pack]!]

[Error! To obtain ???’s Legacy, Player must complete the [Fable of ???]]

[Redirecting Player to [The Chamber of ???] to commence the [Fable of ???]]

Vlad gasped as he jolted up from the cold stone floor. A massive headache washed over him as he groaned in pain and stumbled around, nearly falling in the process. However, after taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he calmed down as the headache from before slowly faded away like a distant dream.

With his mind more or less cleared, he opened his eyes but couldn’t believe what he saw. Instead of being in a modern classroom filled with chairs, desks, bookshelves, and a screen projector, he now found himself within an ancient temple.

The walls were lined with intricately carved columns along with a torch mounted on the wall, that dimly lit the area he was currently in. The flames of the torches flickered and crackled as a small draft blew past them and Vlad. Looking down, he stood on a slightly aged marble floor that had the occasional crack spread across the surface. What was interesting was that the cracks were made of gold, which gave the floor a rather nice aesthetic look to it.

Looking away from the floor, Vlad scratched his head while continuing to examine his surroundings. “Where is this place?”

Although Vlad could tell he was put in some kind of temple, he had no idea where this temple even was. Was Vlad even still on Earth? This whole situation was way too hectic for the young man to wrap his mind around.

“Well, at least I’m not fighting for my life against monsters,” He sighed, though a hint of sadness was present in his tone. “Still, where were my friends?”

Despite his friends and him surviving together, Vlad was currently alone. Looking around, he didn’t see a single soul here except himself. That in itself was concerning. Could his friends still be at the campus, fighting those monsters? Was he the only one that got teleported out of danger?

Vlad groaned before pinching the bridge of his nose. He soon took deep, long breaths while clearing his mind. He had too many questions and no answers for any of them. If he kept doing this, he was going to suffer from another headache like before.

After a few seconds of calming down, Vlad patted down his body, making sure that he wasn’t severely injured. Aside from the head wound from before along with some scratch marks from the gremlins that held on to him, he was more or less fine. His T-shirt that he was wearing was a little more torn up than before, revealing ripped fabrics that appeared to have come from claw marks. This was likely from the gremlins as well.

Vlad pondered taking his shirt off since he felt it would slow him down but reconsidered after realizing that he would be walking around shirtless if he did. Even if he was alone at the moment, he still had some shame that prevented him from attempting something like that. While patting his pants down to see how bad they were, he reached into his pockets and pulled out what was in them. In his hands were a black tri-fold wallet, some receipt papers, his smartphone, and a pencil.

He put everything except his smartphone back into his pocket before trying to activate his phone. Once the screen turned on, he was about to try and call someone when his phone flashed a “No Signal” message across his screen. Irritated, he aggressively shoved his phone back into his pocket with the rest of his stuff. Since he clearly couldn’t call anybody, he was on his own, while in this place.

“H-huh…?” Before he could move, a holographic panel like before manifested in front of him, hovering right in his face as if it was some kind of Ad that he could not ignore.

[Welcome to [The Temple of ???]. Before you proceed through the Temple to initiate the Fable Trials, you must first become acquainted with a part of the Yggdrasil System. In this case, your status window.]

“What the…?” Although Vlad was reading the panel, he could barely understand what it was telling him.

Why was he in some kind of temple? What exactly was the Yggdrasil System? And what were these Fable Trials he had to go through? Also, what did it mean by Status Window?

Vlad was filled with so many questions that a headache was beginning to form, making his head throb as he kept questioning his situation.

[Please call upon your Status Window through a mental command.]

As Vlad read the next panel that instructed him, he slowly did as it said, not knowing what else to do except follow its instructions to the letter. He closed his eyes and focused on opening this Status Window it told him about. Then, as soon as his eyes opened, a new panel was shown, displaying a lot of information compared to before.

Name: Vlad Stoker

Age: 20

Species: Human

Class: None

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100

SP: 0

MP: 100/100

Attributes:

Strength: 9

Endurance: 9

Agility: 11

Senses: 10

Magic: 10

Soul: 10

Skills:

N/A

Vlad’s eyes widened. “Whoa, it’s just like in a video game.”

Fully scanning his status window, he couldn’t help but compare this to some kind of RPG. His level, XP, Attributes, everything. It was like this Yggdrasil System turned himself and his whole world into a video game. But why?

“My attributes seem pretty simple…” Vlad mused. “Strength, Endurance, Agility, Senses, Magic, and Soul. What were the last two? Did Magic mean like my magic ability or something? And what about Soul? What did that have to do with anything?”

If he had to guess, the Soul Attribute might have to do with willpower or something. At least, that was how other RPG games labeled something like that.

Everything else seemed pretty straightforward forward like his level, XP counter, and his MP, which he assumed was his Mana Points, were self-explanatory. Of course, that was mainly because Vlad played plenty of MMORPG games since middle school, so he had a bit of knowledge in regards to how being a Player Works.

While thinking of this, another panel manifested before him.

[Aside from the Player System, you must also get acquainted with the Ranking System for Skills and Items. Skills are ranked from F, E, D, C, B, A, and finally, S rank. F being the weakest and S being the strongest. Most skills start out as F-rank, and can experience something called a Rank-Up, allowing their rank to increase. Then there are skills that start out as other Ranks, but the process to increase their Rank remains the same.]

Vlad mused over the explanation. "That's pretty simple. I'll start off with F-rank skills, but I'll eventually be able to rank them up as S-rank. Then I would be able to receive S-rank skills as well."

[Next is the Ranking system for Weapons and Items. Unlike Skills, these aren't Ranked by F to S. They are instead ranked by Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Unique, and Mythic-Rank. Please note that Mythic-grade items are extremely rare, and increasing a weapon or item's rank is very different than increasing your skill's rank.]

He once again understood what the panels were saying. It was pretty much like in an RPG game where you can pick or find an item, and it tells you its rariety. Despite his previous knowledge, he was glad that he at least knew that this would be the case and not figure it out later on the long run.

[In order to know what the item or skills ranking is, all you need to do is mentally think of the skill or mentally appraise the item. You can also appraise living creatures, allowing you to see their Race and Level.]

"Oh, so I can also see other people's status windows? That's good."

Though, he'd only able to see someone's race and level, at least he'd know how strong they were from what level they were currently at. That was honestly enough for him at the moment. Though he wished he could see more and properly prepare.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[Regarding the Class System, once you obtain your class, you can evolve it after reaching Level 30. Then again at Level 100, then once more at Level 150, before reaching the final Class Evolution at Level 200. During these segments, you will be able to obtain skills that determine the type of path you wish to choose. For instance, if you are a Default Mage Class and obtain elemental spells, you can choose different Elemental Mages as your next evolution like Fire Mage or Earth Mage. You could also go down a more unique path and choose a Psionic Mage or Gravity Mage. It all depends on what skills and Path you choose to determine your next class.]

"Oh, so there's a class evolution mechanic as well, huh? Nice."

In RPG games, when you choose a class, you can usually evolve it into a stronger one like turning from a Mage to a Warlock or something similar. It seemed that the Yggdrasil system has a similar feature as well.

It was then that Vlad realized that the more he saw this connection with RPG games, the more he believed that this whole apocalypse was like a game. And he wasn't sure how to feel about that. However, that also brings up another question. Why was this Yggdrasil System turning the apocalypse into some kind of Game? Why turn them into players? Just what the hell was this system trying to do?

Aside from his attributes and the like, Vlad also realized that he didn’t have a Class yet. Then he remembered about the Class Selection Integration event from before. Once he survived ten minutes of the apocalypse, he would get teleported to the place where he could select his class. Which had to be this temple.

What was [The Temple of ???], anyway? Why was the name of this temple censored? And how could he get out of this place?

Glancing down the hall, Vlad soon noticed that on the other side of this hall stood massive double doors. And although he was currently too far away to see it, he could tell that the doors had some kind of intricate carvings on them. However, before moving over to the doors, Vlad shifted in the opposite direction to see where that path would lead him. However, he only saw a vast void after walking a few steps in that direction. Not even the torches were able to light up the darkness, and they barely stopped at the very edge of it.

Vlad wasn’t sure why, but he felt a very ominous presence lurking within the vast void before him. If he were to choose to go down there…he doubted he’d be able to come back.

Seeing no other option, Vlad turned his back to the void and made his way to the giant double doors ahead of him. As he strolled over, he continued to admire the architecture of the temple. The towering columns with vertical grooves circled the structures along with the stone wall with gold plating decorated on them. The gold looked a bit withered, but not enough to where it would be thousands of years old.

For some reason, Vlad was slowly reconsidering his belief that this temple wasn’t “ancient”. If anything, the building looked like it was only maybe a couple of decades old. A century, at least. But that in itself was impossible. Not unless this building was fairly new and created.

Then again…Vlad was teleported in this building. If anything, the age of this temple was the least of Vlad’s concerns at the moment. He needed to know why he was sent here, and how he could get out so he could get to his friends and sister.

Vlad soon got to the double doors before him. Once he got close, he realized just how tall they were. They were at least twenty feet tall or so and they were made of…pure metal. Vlad didn’t know at first until he approached the door and knocked on it, hearing a metallic clang from it.

Vlad wasn’t sure if metal doors were common in the medieval era or before that, but once again, that kind of information was the least of his concerns at the moment. Backing away, Vlad took a look at the carvings on the door. There were engravings of two knights, one for each door, wielding swords. Not only that, but both knights bore wings. At first, Vlad thought they were angels, but the wings didn’t look angelic. They looked more menacing and…demonic. Like knights of hell, guarding this entrance as if an ancient and powerful demon was behind it.

Just what the hell was behind these doors…to display such a thing?

“Arthur would certainly get a kick out this door,” He chuckled lightly, trying to ease his anxiety.

Arthur Wood was a real fan of ancient culture, history, and archeology. In fact, the reason why he was attending college was because he was majoring in anthropology and history, both subjects allowing him to learn about ancient culture.

While thinking about his friend, Vlad slowly frowned, feeling a wave of worry and fear wash over him once more. He was concerned about his friends. He wasn’t sure if they were safe or not. Then there was his sister, and God knows what happened to her during the first ten minutes of the apocalypse. But, he swallowed his concerns for now, to allow himself to focus on the task at hand.

“Alrighty, then,” Vlad muttered while examining the cold steel doors. “How do I open you up?”

There didn’t appear to be any lock to use a key on. That only meant one thing; he had to push the doors open. Vlad slowly lifted his head, fully taking in the entirety of these doors from the size to the material, etc. As he did, a small hint of hesitation came over him like a tidal wave.

“It’s alright,” Vlad breathed. “I can do this. A big pair of metal doors towering over me…is nothing.”

As Vlad raised his arms to push the doors, he quickly noticed that they were slightly shaking. After clenching his hands and breathing a couple of times, he was able to lessen the trembling before placing his hands on the doors. They felt cold to the touch. Freezing cold, to where he felt like he was going to get frostbite just from feeling it.

Vlad’s hands stung a bit, but he managed to ignore the ice-cold feeling and pushed with all his might. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and shifted his upper body forward, using all his strength to push over the doors. Miraculously enough, the doors slowly opened up, making a loud metallic scraping sound as they spread apart from one another.

“Huh…” Vlad muttered. “That was…easier than I thought.”

He didn’t expect the doors to open so easily. If anything, he believed that it would’ve taken him a couple of tries before he was able to open them.

Once the doors were fully open, Vlad was snapped out of his amazement at his feat of strength as he looked inside the room beyond the entrance. From what he could see from there, it was a circular room with more pillars surrounding a spherical platform. At the center of the platform was some kind of altar.

He couldn’t get a good look from where he was standing, so he needed to get closer to know what it was. Slowly stepping inside, Vlad examined the room a little more. Aside from the pillars and altar, the walls around him looked different than the ones outside the room. Instead of regular stone…they were made of black marble. The Obsidian granite glittered from the flickering torches that were placed on the walls.

Vlad wanted to look at them more but was more compelled to approach the altar. He wasn’t sure why, but something was drawing him to it. And the closer he got to it, the more he desired to go to it. To the point where his legs moved on their own as he closed in on the mysterious object. However, as the distance between them shortened, Vlad got a better look at the stand. That was when he realized that it wasn’t an altar.

It was a coffin. It was around seven to eight feet long, three to four feet high, and completely made of a pale stone. Upon closer inspection, the coffin was in the shape of a Greek temple with a pediment as the lid with intricate and interesting engravings on all sides. Vlad bent over to get a better look at the carvings.

The engravings showed several figures crowded together. All of them wore robes with hoods over their heads along with demonic wings sprouted on their backs, much like the hell knights that were engraved on the doors. The winged figures all had their hands up as if carrying the lid of the sarcophagus. Vlad guided his hands across the carvings, feeling the rough, yet detailed work of the coffin.

Getting up, he then examined the lid, to see if there was anything else he needed to see. Since the lid of the sarcophagus was shaped like a pediment of a Greek temple, it had a more triangular shape, but the only thing present was the shingled-like roof along with the edge of the pediment having an intricate design to match it.

As Vlad continued to examine the coffin temple, he felt more drawn to it than ever before. It was like his mind was only filled with the image of the coffin, to the point where all that mattered to him was it. However, he managed to catch on to this strange feeling before shaking his head, ridding himself of such thoughts as if he were possessed by the coffin’s presence.

“Get it together, Vlad.” He scolded himself while brushing his hair back with his hand. “You need to focus on trying to get out of here.”

He once again bore his eyes onto the coffin, but no longer felt the strange fixation he had for like before. This time, he was more focused and calmer, allowing him to stay on task with the object in question.

“Now then,” He muttered. “Let’s see what’s inside this thing.”

Considering that he was in front of a coffin, his next move was obviously to open it. Perhaps whatever was inside the thing could tell him what to do. Whether that was a way to escape this temple or something else. Part of Vlad felt a big hesitant to open up the sarcophagus, fearing that he might awaken some ancient creature or monster. Considering how his world was invaded by such things before coming here, there was a strong possibility that this was going to happen. Sadly, he didn’t have a lot of options other than this.

It was either open this thing up or stay trapped in the temple. Weighing his options, Vlad chose to face whatever consequences there were to open up the coffin.

Vlad then quickly placed his hands on the lid of the coffin, prepared to push it off. Then this happened…

[Would you like to begin the Fable of ??? Y/N]

Another blue panel appeared in front of him as soon as he touched the top of the casket. It happened so abruptly that Vlad frantically pulled back his hand from the coffin in a panic. However, his fear was soon replaced with curiosity the moment he read what the panel said.

“There’s the censorship again…” He mused, rubbing his chin curiously. “What the hell is this? And what does it mean by Fable?”

If Vlad was right, the term Fable meant a Story or Tale. So, was Vlad about to begin a story or something? Although he had no clue as to what this was, he felt a strong urge to accept the Fable. It was the same urge that propelled him over to the coffin in the first place. That was when Vlad knew that someone or something wanted him to participate in this.

It was suspicious. Extremely so. And yet, Vlad believed that he had no choice in the matter. If he declined, he feared that he would get stuck in this temple, with no way to escape. So, his answer was rather obvious when you look at the grand scheme of things.

“Yes,” He declared.

Vlad would accept to take on the Fable. And whatever he was going to face during it…he would deal with it and get out alive. That was how determined Vlad was to see this through. If it meant seeing his friends and family, he would take on an army of monsters.

As soon as he accepted the trial, more particles of light erupted around him, bubbling up and engulfing him in pure white light. His consciousness soon faded away as two more panels appeared.

[Player has accepted The Fable of ???.]

[Please note that everything within the Fables is part of a simulation and is not real.]

[Redirecting Player to the First Fable: The Divine Hunter!]