Would you like to evolve your Class?
Michael Ark curiously stared at the blue box as it flickered before his eyes. A Class evolution, huh? he thought as he read it again. This is really like a video game….
While he hadn’t expected to get one so soon, he knew enough about video game mechanics to have assumed that he would eventually get one. But that was only to his advantage, since it meant that he was sure to get a significant power boost that could help him escape this dungeon.
He raised a hand to tap the screen floating before him, but that was when he suddenly felt a dizziness overcome him. Mana exhaustion again? he thought.
But then he felt the numbing pain that was erupting from his side. Looking down at himself, he saw the skeleton warrior’s sword was still sticking out from him.
Right… he groaned as he sat back down. Perhaps it was because of his [Lesser Pain Tolerance] mixed with an overwhelming rush of adrenaline, but he had barely even realized he had been stabbed until now.
He grimaced as he placed a hand on the wound, keeping the weapon there. Right now, he could partially heal himself to keep it from worsening, however that was not the same, however he couldn’t fully heal himself until he removed the blade. But also— this was a deadly wound. Even more so than the multiple shallow stab wounds he had suffered just earlier.
And that meant once he removed the blade, he had to quickly use [Basic Heal] and hope it was enough to save him before he bled out. But considering that he could pass out due to mana exhaustion like earlier, he didn’t trust that he was going to survive with just that. So at the moment, his main priority was evolving his Class and getting a stronger healing Skill to save himself.
Looking over his Status one last time, he quickly distributed all of his Class Skill Points to his [Basic Heal], which apparently maxed the Skill out.
Status:
Michael Ark
Level 10
Mana Rank G
Race: Human
Titles: None
Title Skills: None
General Skill:
- [Identify] - Level 1 (MAX)
- [Lesser Pain Tolerance] - Level 1
Class: [Basic Healer]
Class Skills (1/3):
- [Basic Heal] - Level 10 (MAX)
- N/A
- N/A
Class Skill Points: 0
So that’s as powerful as my [Basic Heal] can be, huh? Well, hopefully it’ll be getting even more of an upgrade soon… Michael thought before focusing back on the blue box prompting his Class evolution.
Capstone Level Reached: Class Evolution Available!
Would you like to evolve your Class?
“Yes,” he said simply.
And a series of notifications popped up a moment after.
*ding!*
You have three Class evolution options to choose from:
[Battle Healer]
Specialization: Hand-to-hand combat and healing magic.
Skill-types: Physical strength, mana draining, self-healing.
[Cleric]
Specialization: Anti-undead magic and divine healing magic.
Skill-types: Group healing spells, protective barriers, light magic.
[Medic Mage]
Specialization: Alchemical healing and physical combat capabilities
Skill-types: Physical strength, minor healing spells, specialized potion crafting
Three options, huh? Michael furrowed his brows as he looked each one over. Immediately, he dismissed the third option that was given— [Medic Mage] just didn’t seem like something that was useful to him at the moment.
Crafting potions wasn’t very useful if he didn’t have any of the tools or resources to craft a potion.
But the other two options, [Battle Healer] and [Cleric], both seemed to offer some utility to him. Especially in his current predicament.
Considering this pyramid has mostly been filled with undead so far, becoming a [Cleric] would be quite useful to me right now… However, Michael paused as he considered what would happen once he escaped this place. I highly doubt that the monsters that are out there are all undead as well. Which means that if I became a [Cleric], I would be far less effective in dealing with them.
Michael knew that his main concern should be getting out of this pyramid alive right now. But he couldn’t help and think about what his life was going to be like once he escaped. He was going to have to face a lot more monsters if he wanted to survive this… this… apocalypse.
His fingers twitched as a sense of excitement almost seemed to wash over him. But he quickly dismissed it, before he made his decision.
Only [Battle Healer] seemed to have both a short-term and long-term usefulness to him.
And that was why he chose it as his Class evolution.
Stolen story; please report.
*ding!*
Your Class has evolved from [Basic Healer] to [Battle Healer]!
Your Class Skill Slots have increased by 2!
You have gained the Class Skills: [Weaker Lifedrain], [Physical Overdrive], [Mana Meditation]
Since your Class Skill [Basic Heal] is maxed out, it has been upgraded to [Lesser Heal]!
Mana Core Rank G has been upgraded to Mana Core Rank F!
You have gained 3 Class Skill Points!
You now gain 2 Class Skill Points for each level gained!
Status:
Michael Ark
Level 10
Mana Rank F
Race: Human
Titles: None
Title Skills: None
General Skill:
- [Identify] - Level 1 (MAX)
- [Lesser Pain Tolerance] - Level 1
Class: [Battle Healer]
Class Skills (4/5):
- [Lesser Heal] - Level 1
- [Weaker Lifedrain] - Level 1
- [Physical Overdrive] - Level 1
- [Mana Meditation] - Level 1
- N/A
Class Skill Points: 3
Michael felt a wave of strength wash over him as he finished his Class evolution. It was like he was not only stronger and faster now, but he intuitively felt like he was able to use his magic for even longer. Looking over his Status, he briefly wondered what his new Skills did. But he winced as he remembered the blade jutting out of his sides.
So he quickly distributed his newly-given Class Skill Points into his [Lesser Heal], before he took in a deep breath. Steeling himself, he grabbed the hilt of the blade and yanked it out with a cry of pain.
Right as he did that, he focused his [Lesser Heal] onto the open wound pouring with blood. He quickly tried to cover it up with his already-bloodstained clothes as he let his healing magic flow through him. And as he did this, he tried to clear his mind and calm himself, ignoring the pain that was flaring from his sides.
However, something strange happened as he healed himself— something unlike before. As the calmness overtook him, and he slowly felt his mana being drained from casting the spell at such an elevated pace, he slowly also started to feel like… he was regaining his mana somehow?
It was hard to tell. Even now, he barely even understood what the feeling of losing mana was like. It was subtle— a sensation he had never felt before. But after passing out numerous times from mana exhaustion, he was able to vaguely tell when his mana was being drained or being restored.
And right now, both were happening at the same time.
Of course, it was at an uneven rate— he lost more mana than he regained. But it was still far more than what he was certain was a natural rate of recovery.
How was this happening? Was this because his mana core had been upgraded? No— this was something else. This was… [Mana Meditation]?
Michael didn’t know why, but he just knew that this was one of his new Class Skills. Because he was at a calm and resting state, he was
And because of that, he was able to heal himself far faster than he thought. After only about half an hour had elapsed, Michael managed to heal what was supposed to be a grievous wound like it was never even there in the first place— not even a scar remained, like when he had healed himself with [Basic Heal].
That was not all, either— he had also gotten another notification mid-way through the healing process earlier. One that he knew would aid him even more in his battles that were to come.
*ding!*
General Skill [Lesser Pain Tolerance] has reached Level 2!
Alright, Michael thought as he flexed a fist, feeling refreshed and ready for another round with the skeletons wandering this labyrinth. Now let’s see how my other new Skills help me out in battle…
And he couldn’t lie to himself. He was excited to give them a go.
***
Michael wandered the vast maze of corridors for about an hour before he ran into a pair of skeletons. One was a skeleton archer, and another was a skeleton warrior. He immediately tried to hide himself, uncertain if he could have taken two of them at once.
Unfortunately for him, he made too much noise, and they heard him. They immediately turned his way, the skeleton archer loosing an arrow at him as the skeleton warrior charged his way. Michael couldn’t run in time, so he did the only thing he could do.
He rushed the skeleton warrior in response as he activated his [Physical Overdrive].
Just like all the other Class Skills he had gained, using [Physical Overdrive] was intuitive. It wasn’t difficult for him to figure out how to use its abilities. And with a brief flash of light, it filled him with both strength and speed he didn’t realize he had, propelling him straight into the skeleton warrior before he was ready.
The two figures crashed into the ground as an arrow whizzed by overhead. The skeleton archer began to nock another arrow, while the skeleton archer flailed its arms, trying to swing at the young man.
But Michael managed to pin the skeleton warrior’s arms down, preventing it from stabbing him. And he punched its head once. Twice. Three times—
*ding!*
You have slain a [Skeleton Warrior - Level 13] - Experience is awarded!
The skeleton warrior’s head crumpled under the weight of his fists. Michael blinked, almost taken aback by how easily he had defeated his first opponent. And that was when an arrow struck his shoulder, drawing his attention up to his second opponent.
Michael cursed as he grabbed the arrow and ripped it from his shoulder in anger, before tackling the skeleton archer to the ground as well. Even though he was hurt and bleeding from the shoulder, he still very much overpowered his opponent, keeping it to the ground as he raised his right hand.
This time, he filled his fist with mana— with magic— and he used his final new Class Skill.
[Weaker Lifedrain].
Michael’s fists were filled with a crimson aura, before he punched down once as hard as he could. And with only a single strike, the skeleton archer’s head exploded, shrapnels of bone launching all around the room as a second notification resounded and flashed before him.
*ding!*
You have slain a [Skeleton Archer - Level 14] - Experience is awarded!
*ding!*
You have reached Level 11!
+2 Class Skill Point
*ding!*
You have reached Level 12!
+2 Class Skill Point
Michael panted as he pried himself off the unmoving skeleton archer.
That battle had lasted under a minute, and he defeated his two opponents with ease. Sure, they were lower-leveled than the first two skeletons he had fought, but they were still higher-leveled than him. And yet… and yet…
He completely dominated his opponents and claimed victory with ease.
“I am fucking awesome!” he exclaimed as he threw his head back and laughed wildly.
But then he paused as he felt a light sting on his shoulder. Right, I need to heal myself, he thought as he turned to the small injury he sustained.
However, he could only look at himself curiously when he realized his shoulder wound had partially healed. Although it was never a deep cut in the first place, it was no longer bleeding, which surprised Michael.
[Weaker Lifedrain] is stronger than I thought it’d be. Michael grinned as he continued to heal himself with his [Lesser Heal]. However, as he did that, he couldn’t help but take note of his mana pool.
It seemed that using a single punch of [Weaker Lifedrain] had taken out a relatively significant chunk of his mana, more so than any other of his Class Skills did. This meant that while it was a powerful attack and healing ability, it was also not something he could use all the time.
I’ll have to keep that in mind, Michael thought, before dismissing that concern for now.
Because, as he looked over his new Status, for the first time since the world as he knew it came to an end and he was trapped in this dungeon, he felt like he could actually make it out of it alive.
And even more than that— he felt like he could thrive.
Which filled him with more excitement than he wanted to admit.
Status:
Michael Ark
Level 12
Mana Rank F
Race: Human
Titles: None
Title Skills: None
General Skill:
- [Identify] - Level 1 (MAX)
- [Lesser Pain Tolerance] - Level 2
Class: [Battle Healer]
Class Skills (4/5):
- [Lesser Heal] - Level 4
- [Weaker Lifedrain] - Level 1
- [Physical Overdrive] - Level 1
- [Mana Meditation] - Level 1
- N/A
Class Skill Points: 4
***
But as Michael continued to scour through the vast labyrinth of the pyramid over the next few days, three figures approached the dungeon from the outside. Two men, and one woman. And they intended to make their way into the dungeon to loot the treasures within, no matter what.