Adam tilted his body just enough, so that the goblin’s knife would only break the skin and draw blood, but do no more harm. Special classes always had requirements that needed to be met to unlock them, and the class he was aiming for requirement was to keep fighting while being lettered in wounds. Even though he met the requirement in the tutorial, he wasn’t sure if that got reset too, so he decided to go through the whole thing again just in case. Besides pain was his only friend in the tutorial so he didn’t mind.
As the goblin’s blade grazed Adam’s shoulder, he wasted no time. His free hand swung in a swift arc, slamming into the back of the goblin's head with enough force to crush its skull, killing it instantly. In the same fluid motion, Adam pivoted, bringing his sword around in a deadly sweep, effortlessly slicing the last goblin behind him in half.
[You killed Goblins X8 You Gained EXP]
[You have leveled Up]
"Just one more level to go," Adam muttered to himself, his body marked with shallow wounds as he gazed at the lifeless goblins sprawled before him.
After parting ways with Ed, he had ventured deeper into the forest, waiting for the goblins to find him. Ambushing and backstabbing was Ed’s specialty, but Adam preferred a more direct approach. He chose a spot, stood his ground, and let the goblins come to him. And they didn’t disappoint. Group after group arrived, eager to kill him, only to meet their end instead. He must have slain at least thirty by now.
Adam opened his quest log to check how many goblins remained.
Kill 24 Goblins
Kill 4 Hobgoblins
Kill the Dungeon Boss
"When we split, there were 96 goblins and 5 hobgoblins left. I took out 32 goblins, so that means... Damn, Ed killed 8 more than me—and a hobgoblin, too!" Adam muttered, frustrated. He began to question if staying in one place had been the wrong strategy. Glancing at the 32 mutilated goblin corpses scattered around him, he shook his head.
"Yeah, am lucky I got even this many, the place look like a death trap. If those goblins weren’t so damn dumb, I wouldn’t have gotten more than two parties."
Deciding it was time to move on, Adam opened his status to allocate his points.
Name: Adam Vlahos
Race: Human
Class: N/A
Stigma: Abyssal Soul
Level: 9
Strength: 22
Agility: 20
Constitution: 15
Wisdom: 10
Intelligence: 10
Willpower: 15
Stat points: 5
Adam had invested all his previous points into strength, and though he was tempted to do so again, his current state wasn’t ideal. His wounds were shallow but numerous, and if he didn’t address them, he might collapse from blood loss. Reluctantly, he put all 5 points into constitution. Almost instantly, the bleeding slowed, his body stabilizing as the new points took effect. "Better. I can keep going now."
Adam left his spot and began to stroll through the forest, on the hunt for more goblins. As he ventured deeper, he started to notice goblin corpses scattered around. But unlike the chaotic carnage he left behind, these kills were precise. A clean stab to the heart, a neatly slit throat. “This has to be Ed’s work,” he muttered, recognizing the assassin’s signature efficiency.
As Adam crouched to examine the corpse, his curiosity piqued by the absence of any visible wounds, and the boredom from not encountering any goblins in a while. Just then, he heard the soft crunch of footsteps behind him. Turning around, he spotted a hobgoblin flanked by three goblins staring at him from a distance.
Standing up, Adam smiled, a spark of excitement lighting up his eyes. “Come on now, don’t be shy, you’re the last piece of my puzzle,” he said, gesturing for them to approach.
Though he was certain they didn’t understand his words, he knew their instinct to fight would kick in. But, to his surprise, instead of charging at him, the goblins’ eyes widened in fear, and they bolted.
The hobgoblin, left momentarily stunned, hesitated before eventually following his subordinates in retreat. Adam let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Really? You're going to make me chase you for the last level?" He muttered, cracking his knuckles before darting after them.
Though the hobgoblin had been the last to flee, his long strides quickly carried him past the smaller goblins, leaving them behind as easy prey for Adam. The four goblins, despite their head start, didn’t stand a chance against him.
Adam easily closed the gap between them, and without breaking his stride, he grabbed the slowest goblin by the neck. With a vicious swing, he slammed the creature against a nearby tree, the impact so powerful it snapped the goblin’s neck. Not pausing for breath, Adam lunged for the next goblin, grabbing it and hurling it toward the other goblin. Both tumbled to the ground in a tangled mess, giving Adam the perfect opening.
He stepped forward, sword in hand, and skewered them both with a swift, brutal thrust. Without a second glance, Adam straightened, locked his eyes on the fleeing hobgoblin, and took off in pursuit.
The brief pause allowed the hobgoblin to widen the gap between them, forcing Adam to push harder to close the distance. Just as Adam was about to catch up, the hobgoblin abruptly stopped, turning to face him with a smug grin. Adam halted, confused by the sudden shift in attitude—until he heard the unmistakable sound of movement all around him.
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From behind the trees, ten goblins emerged, encircling Adam. He quickly glanced around, realizing he'd been lured into a trap. A moment of disbelief crossed his face. “There’s no way I’ve fallen for a goblin trap,” he muttered, the thought of Ed mocking him for this blunder flashing through his mind. He groaned inwardly, imagining the rogue’s smug grin.
Then, Adam’s expression shifted from surprise to amusement. A wicked smile curled on his lips as he locked eyes with the hobgoblin. “No hard feelings, buddy, but you definitely gotta die now. Can’t have anyone knowing I got tricked by goblins. I’ll never live it down.”
Adam, in a burst of reckless strength, grabbed his sword and hurled it with all his might at the hobgoblin. The suddenness of the attack left the hobgoblin stunned, unable to react in time. The blade flew through the air, impaling the hobgoblin in the chest and pinning him to the tree behind him, his life snuffed out in an instant.
The goblins, now leaderless and shocked by the swift death of their commander, stood frozen. Seizing the moment, Adam pivoted and sprinted toward the two nearest goblins. Before they could react, he charged at one with full force, delivering a powerful kick to its chest. The impact was so intense it crushed the goblin between Adam’s leg and the tree, caving in its chest.
Without pausing, Adam grabbed the other goblin by the head and slammed it into the ground with brutal efficiency, the force crushing its skull into the dirt. The goblins, already overwhelmed, had no chance against Adam’s fury.
Adam's sudden onslaught snapped the goblins out of their daze. In a frenzy of desperation, all eight remaining goblins lunged at him. But Adam, quick and calculated, weaved between their attacks with precision. He let their weapons graze his skin just enough to leave shallow cuts, fueling his relentless fighting style.
As they attacked, Adam delivered devastating blows—punches to their throats, kicks to their ribs, each strike landing with brutal efficiency. Goblins fell one by one, dead before they even realized what had happened. His movements were so fluid and lethal that none of them stood a chance.
In the end, only one goblin remained, wide-eyed with fear. It bolted, fleeing into the forest. But Adam didn’t bother to chase. His focus shifted as the long-awaited system message flashed before his eyes. Adam's smile widened as the notifications filled his vision.
[You killed Goblins X13 You Gained EXP]
[You killed Hobgoblins Lv 12 You Gained EXP]
[You Have Leveled Up]
[You Have Gained Stats Points]
[You Can Choose a Class now]
[You can’t Level Up Anymore Until You Choose a Class]
With anticipation, he opened his status window and focused on the "Class" section. A flood of options and descriptions appeared in front of him, each offering a different path with various powers and skills, some even had a higher rank than the one he was aiming for. But Adam ignored them all. He wasn't here for just any class—he was here for the one that had started it all.
The class that marked the beginning of his misery in the tutorial—the one he had been tricked into choosing, the one that shaped him into the man he was now, and the one that ultimately made him know as the ‘The War Tyrant’.
He scrolled past the other choices, dismissing them without a second thought, until he found it. The words glowed in front of him, and his heart raced as he read them. It was time to reclaim his legacy.
Class: Berserker
Rank: Rare
Description: Berserkers are not human. They are beasts, animals driven by only a singular instinct: to kill and die in battle. Fueled by fury and madness coursing through their veins, Berserkers fight with reckless abandon, caring neither for their own lives nor for the lives of their allies—only for the death of their enemies. Beware: there is no happy end for those who becomes the creation of one of the 4 Great Concepts, especially not War.
Upon choosing this class you will get:
On level up: +5 to strength, +3 to constitution, +2 to agility.
The Rage skill.
Adam couldn't help but laugh bitterly as he reread the Berserker class description. “Even though it clearly told me everything I needed to know, I still believed those assholes,” he muttered under his breath, remembering how the deceptive allure of power had led him down this path. The Berserker class was a double-edged sword. Though it granted only a single skill, its power was undeniably immense—on par with an epic-rank class even. But all that strength came with a cost, a flaw so devastating it nearly nullified the power. He opened the skill information.
Skill: Rage.
Type: Passive.
Rank: Rare.
Description: In exchange for your sanity, you will gain a tremendous power.
Effect 1: +10n% to all physical attributes (n=skill level).
Effect 2: you will be inflicted with madness.
“How dumb was I back then, to just believe them without even checking the skill?” Adam shook his head, the memories of the past stinging like a fresh wound. “If it wasn’t for my stigma, my corpse would be rotting in that dungeon along with the other failed experiments.”
The realization of how close he had come to losing himself still haunted him. His stigma, Abyssal Soul, granted him immunity to mental attacks, sparing him from the madness that would have otherwise consumed him. Without it, he would’ve died a senseless death, just another failed subject in their twisted trials.
“But none of that matters now,” he muttered under his breath. "I survived, and the class they forced on me has turned me into their worst nightmare."
Shaking off the haunting memories, Adam focused on the present. He smiled, grim yet satisfied, and selected the Berserker class.
[You Attained The Berserkers Class.]
[You Gained The Skill Rage® Level 25.]
[Madness Is Takin A Hold Over You.]
[Your Abyssal Soul Stigma Resisted The Madness.]
[Some Of The Restrictions Are Being Lifted.]
[Your Hand-To-Hand Mastery(U) Skill Leveled Up To 25.]
[Your Novice Swordsmanship© Evolved Into Swordsmanship(U) Level 25.]
[Your Dodge(U) Skill Leveled Up To 25.]
[Your Class Found A Synergy With The Hand To Hand, Swordsmanship, Small Weapons Mastery And Dodge Skill. They Are Being Merged.]
.
.
.
[You Gained The War Arts Of Madness(Un) Skill Level 25.]
[Your Running® Skill Evolved Into Dash(U) Skill Level 25.]
The messages blurred together as a searing, familiar pain wracked Adam’s body. It was the same agony he'd felt when the system first claimed him as a player—his body reshaped and reforged by a foreign, unstoppable power. Muscles tore and rebuilt, bones cracked and fused, nerves burned as they reconnected, all in an instant that stretched for what felt like an eternity.
But finally, the pain subsided. In its place, raw, destructive energy hummed through him. The sensation was familiar, the same overwhelming force that had surged through his body back in the tutorial. It was back, stronger and more refined, like a long-lost piece of himself being restored.
Adam stood there, breathing deeply as the last echoes of pain faded. His body felt different now—lighter, more lethal. Every movement, every breath, was filled with potential violence. It was the power of the Berserker class, fully realized.
Adam clenched his fists, feeling the crackling energy surging through him like an unstoppable tide. A dark grin spread across his face. “It’s back,” he whispered, the words laced with grim satisfaction. "I’m back."
He turned his gaze to the hobgoblin, still impaled against the tree by his sword, its body lifeless but unbroken. Without hesitation, Adam approached it, his footsteps slow and deliberate. Instead of simply retrieving his blade, he thrust his hand into the creature’s chest. With a primal snarl, he pulled, tearing the hobgoblin in half in a grotesque shower of blood and gore, its body splitting like paper under his newfound strength.
The blood dripped from his fingers, but he didn’t care. This was what the Berserker class promised—unfiltered power, violence without restraint.
Calmly, Adam grabbed the hilt of his sword and yanked it free from the tree. He wiped the blade against the shredded remains of the hobgoblin, as if cleaning it for the final battle.
“It’s time to kill the boss.”