It had not been a challenge to track down his next foe, they weren't exactly hiding. In fact, Axel felt a twinge of guilt as he approached. The marvelous feline, this time a brilliant orange color, was snoozing underneath the shade of a large tree. Axel had to take advantage of this golden opportunity.

With cautious steps, Axel stealthily closed the distance, ensuring each movement was as devoid of sound as possible. Yet, despite his best efforts, it was for naught.

The feline's ears twitched and shifted, its head raised up to look in Axel’s direction. Axel expected as such. The keen senses of an animal were not to be trifled with, but still, Axel had to attempt to sneak closer regardless. The beast leaped onto all fours, emitting a hiss as it arched its back, fur bristling with aggression.

The feline uttered a muffled retching noise as it hurled a hairball towards Axel, who had already begun charging towards the creature, while the creature prepared its disgusting attack. With his [Trusty Iron Sword], Axel deflected the ball of fluff with a well-timed swing of his blade. Sliding across the dirt, under another hairball flying overhead, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Axel swung his weapon towards the side of the feline. It hissed and leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade as it grazed the tip of its tail.

Can’t hurl on me if I’m too close.

Axel dashed toward the feline, certain that victory was within arm’s reach. To his dismay, the feline's claws extended, it scraped along the length of Axel's arm as the feline swiped at him in retaliation. A burning sensation shot through him as he felt a line of searing pain where the claws had connected. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Axel gritted his teeth refusing to let the pain hinder his goal.

The feline was undeterred, it lashed out once again. Axel raised his sword just in time to intercept the claws that came swinging towards his face.

The sharp, grating sound of claws scraping against metal screeched out, eliciting a pained cry from the feline. Another slash of its claws was once again blocked by Axel’s blade, this time trapping the claws against the crossguard of his sword. With the feline immobilized, he brought his [Wooden Training Sword] down in a crushing strike, relentlessly pummeling the poor creature until its life faded, and so did its body, leaving behind a coin and whisker.

[Purrjectile Feline was slain. Gained 5 points]

In the heat of his assault, Axel had made a careless blunder, assuming that the monster would only spit hairballs at him. That assumption was proven wrong as he glanced at the wounds he received. With a gentle touch, Axel traced the searing red lines etched across his forearm, following their painful trail. It was not the most gruesome injury, but he was certain it would sting for a while.

With a sigh, he tugged his sleeve down over the wound. It was not much of a bandage, but at the very least it should not worsen it. If anything, It would serve as a reminder not to be too overconfident against these monsters.

Pressing on, Axel resumed his search for more Purrjectile Felines to slay. For each one he defeated, he was rewarded with 5 points and a single whisker. He fought using a simple strategy: close the gap quickly and dispatch them with two well-aimed strikes.

Thankfully, all the monsters he had encountered in the barrier were not that durable, simply dying in a few hits from a wooden sword of all things. It was a million times easier than when having to fight wolves on his journey here, where even a fatal wound would leave the beast standing on unsteady legs, still desperate to attack him.

All the Purrjectile Felines, so far, had been derivatives of the typical domestic cat: Tabbies, Calicoes, Tuxedo, Siamese, and so on. Except scaled up, of course. Only one feline’s appearance completely caught Axel off guard. The feline lacked the luscious coat of fur that its brethren were blessed with. Instead, it was completely devoid of hair, showcasing its bright pink wrinkly folds of skin.

Maybe it used up all of its hair spitting hairballs, he joked.

The feline's eyes fixed upon Axel, and a moment of intense staring ensued between them. However, the stare-down was abruptly interrupted, when the cat began to cough and gag. After combating enough Purrjectile Felines, Axel knew the telltale signs of what was to come. He prepared his blade and braced himself.

A projectile came launching out of the naked feline, only to be deflected by his [Trusty Iron Sword]. If only his sword was able to deflect saliva, as he wiped the slimy residue of saliva off his cheek, scowling at the repulsive feeling of dampness on his face.

The naked feline howled and hissed, arching its back in aggression. Axel launched into a charge, deflecting any green hairballs that came his way.

Green hairballs? Axel thought. What in blazes?

Axel shook his head. Right now was not the time to think about the contents of the feline's stomach, he needed to get closer and finish it off. Just a few more yards and he would be within striking distance. He quickened his pace, dodging to the right just as the Purrjectile Feline belched out another barrage of hairballs.

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One within range, Axel brought his [Wooden Training Sword] down in a vicious arc. The feline danced out of reach, rolling to the side to evade his strike. Its claws sprung into action once more as it attempted to rake along his arms. Axel blocked with his [Trusty Iron Blade], trapping its claws once again against the crossguard.

With multiple swings of his [Wooden Training Sword], the naked feline was sent to join its brethren. As the creature's lifeless body disappeared it left behind a [Gold Coin] and a [Feline Tail].

[Purrjectile Feline was slain. Gained 5 points]

Retracing his steps, he followed the path that he had charged down, curious about what sort of purrjectiles the feline had been launching. His answers were quickly answered when he stumbled upon the supposed hairballs it had been spitting out, scattered on the ground. To his surprise, instead of fur, the feline had regurgitated grass, complete with tiny bits of dirt clinging to the roots.

Gross. Makes sense, but still gross.

Axel was gradually growing more accustomed to this new world, as his mind started accepting the sheer absurdity of it all. A huge tunnel rat, dogs with two heads, a snail that rolled like a runaway bull, a ginormous cobra that could shoot icicles, and now cats spewing hairballs and grass apparently. How everything could be so radically different inside the barrier was a mystery, but that would have to be another problem for future him. For now, he had to get stronger and rank up.

Axel continued with his hunt, pushing deeper into the forest. There were no more surprises from the Purrjectile Felines he encountered. The usual assortment of tabby, tuxedo, calico, and other variants was easily defeated, but he had not been able to locate another hairless one. It was not like he was looking for one anyway. He just needed more points, and thankfully, the felines seemed to be abundant in numbers.

Finally, after the umpteenth Purrjectile Feline, Axel received the message he had been eagerly waiting for, along with a few unexpected extras.

[Purrjectile Feline was slain. Gained 5 points]

[Basic Sword Proficiency - Rank D → Rank C]

[You have earned enough points to rank up!]

[Rank Increased From Novice to Recruit!]

Yes! Finally ranked up. Now I should be able to get a class unless those instructors were lying to me.

To his relief, they indeed were not lying to him as another message popped up.

[Please choose a class]

[Warrior] [Rogue] [Mage] [Archer]

His finger hovered over each option, unsure which to select.

[Archer] was a definite no, memories of him trying out a bow in the past filled his mind. Sure, he had at least been able to hit something, but only because the arrow had to fall back and hit the ground eventually.

What about [Mage]? Everything so far had felt like magic so perhaps choosing a [Mage] would provide him a better understanding of this world?

[Rogue]? That would be preposterous. His big sister had raised him right. If she found out that he had become a lying swindling thief, she would scold him for an eternity. He shuddered at the thought of facing her wrath.

Maybe a [Warrior] would do. After all, warriors used swords, and the idea of being able to wield a flaming sword, like Dave, the [Flame Knight] instructor, sounded pretty impressive. A [Warrior] was basically a step away from a [Knight], or maybe it was through magic that the sword could be lit on fire. At least he had boiled it down to just two choices, but still which to choose.

[Warrior] or [Mage]. [Warrior] or [Mage], the thoughts echoed in his mind, unable to make a choice.

Should he ask Fen for help? Then again, Dave did mention that most people were not exactly eager to share about their [Classes]. Would Fen even know? Would Axel even have enough money to afford that sort of information?

This was all so frustrating. Maybe [Warrior] was the right choice, it was basically the closest to what he had been doing so far — swinging a sword and hoping for the best. But then again, [Mage] could mean the difference between his sword lighting on fire or not.

Axel had a solution to his indecision, a solution that always drove his big sister crazy, but it always worked for him. He pulled out a [Gold Coin] from his [Inventory]. Heads for [Mage], tails for [Warrior]

He flicked the coin up with his thumb, the golden disc rotating in the air, the fate of his future class at stake. The coin was in his hand, and he slapped it down, covering it with his other palm. Holding his breath, he lifted his hand and peeked under, eager to discover the outcome of his throw.

It was tails.

Axel was okay with the outcome. Maybe he could just throw some oil onto his sword and set it ablaze, fulfilling his desire for a fiery blade.

Without any more hesitation, he selected [Warrior].

[Choice accepted]

[Changing class to Warrior]

A soft glow enveloped Axel, before fading away. He paused, feeling... well, exactly the same. Had anything actually changed?

The instructor did mention that unlocking a class would also unlock new skills, and the prospect of being able to unleash cool new abilities was all too alluring. Axel opened his [Skills] page, to find that there were indeed more skills other than [Basic Sword Proficiency] and [Basic Dual Wielding Proficiency].

The skills had been somewhat useful, ever since he unlocked [Basic Dual Wielding Proficiency] he could feel that his ability to dual wield had substantially improved, despite the skill’s low rank. But now, he craved something a bit more flashy. Something like Dave and his flaming sword, or even an electric-spitting whip.

As he browsed through the array of new skills available to him, he felt that their names felt a bit lackluster, to say the least.

[Slash - Rank F]

[Block - Rank F]

[Copper Body - Rank F]

[Strength Boost - Rank F]