The Spinecrawler burst from the side of the gorge like a nightmare made flesh, eight jagged legs stabbing into the stone with each step, its armored body bristling with bone-like spines. A split maw opened vertically, drooling thick strands of black venom.

  I was becoming used to System messages randomly appearing now, and instead of looking at it deeper; I kept my eyes on the creature.

  The earlier fights had warmed my body and mind up, leaving my reflexes sharp. I let out a quick breath and stepped forward; eyes locked on the monster.

  “Try not to get gored, kid,” Balt yelled from behind a rock.

  "Big help, thanks!" I shouted over my shoulder, raising Ashbourne.

  I began to focus. Mentally going through my kit.

  Okay, I have no Limit Breaker Slash to bail me out. My boosting Talent is still on cooldown, so no moving superhuman. I still have Mana Ball, but that always seems to blow up in my face somehow. But you know what, I still got this... probably.

  It’s just a big spider. Where is a giant tissue when you need it?

  My time for thinking vanished as the creature lunged at me, spiked sharp legs coming down at my head. I dove to the side, rolled, and came up into a crouch, Ashbourne already humming in my hands.

  Limited time before my mana runs out and my armor is gone.

  I gritted my teeth and reached inward, pulling mana to my palm. “Mana Ball.”

  The energy gathered fast, too fast. It crackled violently in my grip, sparking up my wrist. Easy… easy now… the spider turned, its claws clicking against the stone as it stalked me.

  I shoved my hand forward. The Mana Ball veered off course, smashing into the ground. It made a huge BOOM, and dust and shards blasted out from the ground.

  The spider shrieked, debris pelting its cluster of eyes.

  The creature’s eyes seemed to flash gold as the system message came in. There. The eyes.

  I charged, ducking a sweeping leg, twisting into a brutal two-handed thrust. Steel bit into its underbelly, wet crack, dark green blood spraying.

  The Spinecrawler spasmed, stabbing blindly. A jagged leg rammed through my left thigh. My armor barely stopped the creature's assault.

  White-hot pain exploded. My knee buckled. Blood soaked my pant leg. I screamed, swung for the creature's leg sticking out of my thigh. Ashbourne bounced harmlessly off the armored appendage.

  Another of the creatures' legs was coming down, right on top of my head. No time to move.

  My armor flickered at that moment, and I felt dizzy. Forcing me down onto both knees. That moment of weakness cost me. I was about to be impaled through the brain.

  The red bar in my vision was rapidly going down. My vision was going black.

  Golden light flared between me and the creature's final blow. Balt stood there, magic streaming from his hands, face clenched with effort. The leg that was through my thigh and the creature itself were pushed back

  The pain haze vanished. My senses snapped back razor-sharp.

  "Will you stab that damn thing in the face already!" Balt yelled out.

  I didn’t need to be told twice. Ignoring the pain coming from the hole in my leg.

  I lunged forward with all I had left and thrust the sword through the creature's eyes. Ashbourne’s silver fire cooking the eye as it entered. Making the smell enough to make a Billy goat puke.

  The Spinecrawler shrieked as I drove the sword deeper, twisting hard. I held on to the hilt for dear life, knuckles white with the effort. The monsters' eyes flashed golden in his vision, and I instinctively willed the silver fire through the blade.

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  “We win! Thanks for the XP, asshole.” I shouted into the creature’s face.

  The Spinecrawler convulsed and then collapsed. Taking me to the ground with the monster’s body weight. My punctured leg slammed into the rocks. Fresh pain burst through me, and I cried out. I pulled his sword out of the creature’s skull, and Balt helped me hobble back a few steps.

  We’d barely gotten a few feet away when my leg gave out, dragging Balt down with me. Taking us both down to the ground. Ashbourne was covered in green blood on the ground next to me.

  Several seconds passed there with me and Balt on the ground looking at one another.

  Green blood was still coming out of the spider. The creature's legs moved and my adrenaline spiked. The legs curled inward. A few seconds later and my bladder, considerably lighter. What we had been waiting for, happened.

  My heart was hammering in my chest. Adrenaline was coursing through me. Even after all the engagements I have been in, and the after-battle adrenaline was always there.

  I tried to center myself, but the System kept the good news coming. A silver chest appeared in the cave the Spinecrawler had come from.

  Healing light suffused me and, to my surprise, Balt as well. "Well, how about that?" said the man, looking up and down at the light suffusing his body.

  My pants were in shreds. Giving myself a jean shorts look that John Cena would appreciate. The internal joke made me start to breathe normally again as my body came off the adrenaline high.

  “Hot damn!" said Balt with excitement. "I got a free stat point to allocate. I have never had one of those before, and I got 2 points added to my stat sheet.

  Vitality and Intelligence. I needed that. Maybe hanging around with you is not too terrible the man joked."

  "Wait a minute. "You don’t get +1 to all stats when you level?" Balt just looked at me funny.

  After a few seconds of just staring, I realized he was acting like someone waiting for a punchline to a joke. Finally, he said, "You're serious, aren’t you?"

  "Yeah, I thought that was normal," I replied.

  "I take it back said Balt. Hanging out with you is the worst!"

  "Oh, come on. I cannot help that I am awesome." It was Balt’s turn to just say “uh huh” and walk off.

  "That’s cold. Hold on a second, Balt." My leg was all healed now, and I was walking after him grinning like a fox that was in the henhouse. "I need to assign my 2 new talent points."

  "2! 2! You say! I… I give up!" And the old man stalked off into the cave where the chest had appeared.

  "Oh, come on, don’t be that way. I got stabbed in the leg earlier; that made you a little happy, I bet. It’s not all bad."

  "That was kind of nice," said the old man with a wistful smile," like he was replaying the moment in his head.

  "Man, you could at least act like you care a little."

  Balt just waved his hand behind him like he was brushing away the comment. Come on, let’s see what we've got."

  The chest glowed as they approached. I opened it to real the contents.

  Balt stared at the pulsing gem nestled in the chest. A slow, almost reverent whistle escaped his lips. “Well, I’ll be damned…”

  He reached out with a gloved hand and plucked the gem free. The thing shimmered, swirling with ghost light, blue and violet, like a storm barely held in check.

  Class Upgrade Gem: The words floated in the air for only a second, but Balt’s gaze lingered long after that.

  "This is some System fuckery if I have ever seen it. I haven’t seen one of these anywhere but the system shop, he murmured. Didn’t think the system still handed ‘em out to the likes of me.”

  I stepped closer, eyeing the old man’s suddenly quiet expression. “What does it do?”

  Balt snorted. “Let’s just say… I am not going to be able to give you shit about having a combat class anymore."

  He turned it over in his palm, and for a rare moment, the constant smirk he always had vanished.

  “Combat class, huh? About damn time the system remembered old Balt existed.” Then he tucked the gem inside his tattered robe, gave me a nod, and the smirk came back.

  “Now you better hurry up and get those pants on, boy. Wouldn’t want another Spinecrawler to come out and bite that little thing off."

  "Hey! Not only is it short, but it’s skinny too," I joked back. Balt just started laughing. "So, what’s the deal with these pants?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” frowned Balt.

  "I mean, I needed pants, and the System Chest rewarded me with pants. You wanted to be a combat class, and you got an upgrade gem. What’s the deal with that?"

  "Hell if I know, said the old man."

  "I know only rumors of you Outliers being System favorites, but I always thought it was made up. Maybe somewhere up in the sky, someone is looking out for you."

  “I doubt that. But I'll take it." I looked around the cavern taking in the grotesque cave.

  The place felt eerily still. The stench of dead animals hung thick in the air. Jagged stone walls loomed on all sides, black and wet with condensation.

  Up above, the ceiling vanished into darkness, broken only by the occasional slow drip of water and the tangle of webs stretched like rotten banners between stalactites.

  Bits of bone littered the floor, rat skulls, cracked animal ribs, a shattered sword half-swallowed by a puddle of water. It felt less like a cave and more like a mass grave.

  They continued to explore the cavern space, finding no other creatures lurking around waiting for them to put their guard down.

  Balt leaned against a rock, catching his breath. “Alright, he said, wiping ichor off his boots, before we charge deeper into this monster-infested shithole of a gorge, maybe it’s time we actually look at where we stand.”

  “Stats?” I asked.

  “Progression," answered Balt. "I admit I am anxious to see what the System offers me for my new class."

  I dropped to a flat rock, pulled up my interface, but hesitated before entering.

  Looking over at Balt. I gestured to him, "You go first, then I’ll give it a go."

  Balt was turning the class gem over like he didn’t quite believe he was holding one. "Every guide mission, every run, every quest… never thought it’d actually happen…Well, shit. Let’s see what this old man can do."

  Balt closed his eyes and began.