The selection of a class at level twenty is an extremely important milestone. Not only will it be a permanent decision to make, but it will also shape your second class milestone, which will upgrade your class and race according to history, achievement, bloodline, and skills learned. Humans, elves, and dwarves have mapped out the possible branches that have been explored. Many organizations are willing to pay for information regarding rare and lesser-known classes. Kingdoms try to optimize these branches, and Idil is known for the creation of specialized forces such as the 'Rocketeers', 'Ara Orus', and the infamous 'Achilles Heels'. Their focus on efficiency and optimization has garnered them the strongest military force in recent history.

~ Class Optimization for Dummies by Joseph Caveh

They made a break for the main streets, running past dozens of people. He could see a multitude of adventurers struggling to move and helping each other reach higher ground.

It was akin to moving in mud. Except the mud was sentient and trying to bring you down into the ground. Liquid darkness came up to their ankles as the duo made a break for the exit.

“This is all your fault!” Damien barked out. The veins in his forehead were bulging with anger. The illusionist looked affronted at how Damien's first idea was to blame him.

“How?! For all you know, this could be completely unrelated!”

“Not only do I think you jinxed it, I also think you’re directly responsible for this happening!” The boy stumbled slightly as he forced his leg away from one of the tendrils.

Chester couldn’t say anything as he began to take out items from the bag. A white shield and an adamantine dagger. Damien noticed the buckler on his arm, before it disappeared into his baggy robe. He had a gut feeling that this incident was related to him even though he refuted the vampire's accusations.

“You took Jasiah’s shield?!”

“No time to explain! We gotta get the hell out of here!”

The crowds were in a panic. Although the field didn’t cause damage, Chester and Damien could feel a small drain on their energy the longer they remained still. The illusionist wrapped the Attainium around his dagger, lengthening it into a sword and cutting away at the dark magic in front of him. Damien did the same with his own mithril sword.

An explosion rocked their world from behind them, and Chester looked to see an armored knight looking around the street, seemingly aware of their general direction. A woman encased in what looked to be adamantine armor. Her ginger hair was neatly braided, dropping all the way to her breastplate.

He threw his bag towards Damien, and the illusionist ordered him in a tone that had no room for argument.

“Take this and head straight to the exit. I’ll cast Invisibility on you, but just get the fuck out of here. I’ll meet you along the way.”

Chester watched as the boy turned invisible, before turning to meet the knight’s green-eyed gaze.

“Hand over the Attainium, and you will be turned over to the Elway authorities.” Her voice was effeminate, but deep. It was powerful and demanding. Chester didn't reply, opting to get into a fighting stance, which resulted in her eyes narrowing into a steely glare.

Before he could even generate a funny one-liner, she rushed him. Even with heavy armor it was a speed that surpassed Damien’s when he was at his fastest. Her acceleration surpassed common sense and she crossed twenty meters in the blink of an eye.

The man blocked a sword slash with his shield, but was unable to react when he was shoulder-checked across the street. It felt like he got hit by a cannonball square in the chest, and he hacked up blood in the process.

Your disguise has been dispelled.

He gritted his teeth. His back had been stopped by a shopping stand, and he could feel bruises beginning to form along his body. Chester got up as the soldier continued to approach him.

“Mana Blast!”

Blue energy erupted from his palm, but was slapped away like a minor nuisance when it reached the knight’s attack range.

It took away her vision with a bright flash of light, and the knight was displeased to see a flaming boulder headed straight for her position. People screamed as the meter-long object threatened to destroy the street, running to avoid the attack.

‘I must avoid collateral damage to the citizens.’

Rearing her fist back, she was fully prepared to smash the massive object into smithereens. An amazing amount of power built up in her arms, and she timed it to explode as it made contact with the boulder. The illusion passed through her, and she was appalled to see that the man had run off during the momentary distraction. Her eyes scoured the area, but couldn't see any sign of the curly-haired man.

“Illusionist. Duke Warner, I require assistance.” Mars Magesse whispered quietly.

‘Attanium signature is forty meters, three’o’clock from your position.’

Her leader’s words brushed her mind, and she acted within an instant. The knight cut off the man’s escape, and spread a layer of pixie dust along the street. The properties of the powder meant that it wasn't affected by the Invisibility spell, showing the rough outline of a man as he tried to run from his assailant while taking advantage of the crowd.

With the pixie dust and the help of dark tendrils slowing his movement, she could infer where he was. Mars swung her sword in an attempt to bisect the man from hip to shoulder. She felt resistance, and was surprised to see that she had not drawn blood with the strike.

The invisibility faded and the man was launched high into the air. Chester flew like a ragdoll and crashed into a nearby building. Glass and wood cut at his skin, making minor marks as he suffered more damage despite shielding himself.

"This fucking gorilla bitch..." He growled.

BLESSED SHIELD

- Forged from a starsteel and mithril alloy, this shield is extremely durable, lightweight and can hold two powerful enchantments at once, providing a minor boost to light-based enchantments.

- Vastly reduces damage from piercing, cutting, and bludgeoning attacks.

- Pernatia’s Blessing (Minor): Heal 10% of HP instantly. Deals minor light damage to nearby enemies and inflicts blindness. 10 hour cooldown.

- Holy Rebuke I: Reflect one attack. 12 hour cooldown.

- Weight: 1kg

‘I blocked it with the shield, reinforced it with Attainium, and they still left me like this?!’ He had focused all the Attainium back onto his body, knowing that there was no way he'd win in a fight against the overpowered warrior. The illusionist focused all his efforts on defense and evasion.

He scrambled upwards, a new plan formulating. As the knight leapt over to the second floor, Chester held his adamantine dagger towards a child’s throat. His shield arm held the boy by the torso, preventing any escape.

“Stay back! Or this kid’s dead!”

Nonsensical cries and whimpering escaped the boy’s lips. The knight remained still, before talking quietly. Her sword lowered ever so slightly, and she gritted her teeth.

“It’s an illusion.” Although her voice wasn't as resolute like before. To him, it seemed as though she was trying to convince herself.

“If you want to believe that, go ahead!” He pressed the dagger closer towards their throat, and the boy began to struggle even harder. Chester did his best to actually avoid touching the construct, fearing that it would disperse upon making contact.

“Please…I don’t want to die…” The child whispered.

The knight’s body language clearly displayed hesitation. However, their stance shifted slightly. They readied their sword, and mana condensed itself within her blade. He cursed mentally, realizing that she was willing to injure a child in order to capture him.

“Shattering Charge.”

The hardwood floor splintered as she charged him like a bullet train. He braced himself, facing his shoulder towards his enemy. At the apex of their collision, he activated the shield’s ability and dispersed the mirage.

Strike is too powerful. Attack cannot be fully reflected.

60% of damage reflected.

Forty percent of the damage was absorbed by the shield and the impact was still strong enough to send him flying backwards. Chester broke the hardwood, falling towards the first floor. The powerful knight had ended up on the other side of the street. His arms felt like they were on the verge of breaking, trembling slightly after the intense attack.

Slowing effect occurred. Movement will be inhibited by 10%.

He eyed the cooldown of his shield’s skill. It was twelve hours long, and he hurried to escape as fast as possible with the opening it provided.

Seeing that the knight was completely out of sight, he made a mad dash for the exit, which was slightly over a kilometer away. Chester remained high above, where the tendrils could not reach. He had a gut feeling that the knight was able to sense his presence using the darkness below.

He leapt from building to building, noticing that droplets of blood were beginning to form under his chin.

With one look, he could see that the knight was in fast pursuit. It seemed that her top speed was greater than his despite wearing what looked to be heavy adamantine armor. He threw spells behind him, doing whatever he could to slow the warrior down.

The knight’s vision was replaced with nauseating patterns, but it only seemed to make her go faster. Chester screamed like a little girl, running as fast as he could. He hadn't felt this type terror since his time in the forest when he was being chased by a massive bear. Her running speed was greater than his by a small margin, meaning that she was slowly catching up to him.

“Darkness!” He cried out, the rarely-used spell forming a five meter wide radius encased in shadows. With a single step, the knight cleared the area and continued to pursue him. Chester couldn't even think properly in the midst of the panic.

A massive presence descended on the entire kingdom. A blanket of white light coated the black tendrils, and the knight froze. Chester watched as the dark magic below was oppressed by a mysterious source, unable to fight against the sheer volume which flooded the streets. Civilians were freed from the invasive tendrils and coated in a white light, showcasing resistance towards the tendrils as they seemed to vanish upon contact.

“Duke Warner!”

He saw his powerful opponent immediately do a U-turn, hastily running towards the Lanes Auction House. As she turned away, Chester could see panic and alarm all over her face. His brain warned him against it, but he decided that some parting words would send any pursuers in a completely different direction. It also satisfied the petty side of him that narrowly avoided death.

“The Omen prevails! BITCH!” Chester scurried off when the warrior’s neck snapped to glare at him.

Your LUC stat has increased by 1.

The knight was disciplined enough to remember her primary duty; protecting the Duke of the Empire. The illusionist's adrenaline was still at an all-time high and he wanted to retreat while he still had the chance. Chester hadn't thought that the gap between him and the soldiers would be this large. A human knight almost killed him, and it immediately made him thankful Joseph Devon hadn't chased him down. He didn't want to imagine how strong the vampire would've been had he actually chased the illusionist down.

'Maybe Damien had something to do with it?'

He eyed the talisman of protection that Roy Lanes had given him. His health was low, and the slow movement effect still persisted. The mysterious magic occurring on the ground had dissipated, leaving the public in a state of chaos. Few even noticed the man as he leapt from roof to roof.

“Fuck, how do I activate this thing?”

He held it in his hands, and a notification popped up as he sped towards the exit.

Use Talisman of Protection? Warning: This item will be destroyed upon use.

A portion of your health is restored.

All status ailments cleared.

A small glow overtook his body, healing some of his most grievous injuries. Cuts mended themselves, and breathing became slightly easier. He suspected that his ribs were fractured due to being tossed around like a hot potato. The invisible weight that slowed his movement had disappeared, and the amulet broke into pieces.

He carelessly let the consumable fall to the ground, fading into invisibility as he passed the exit. The guards were getting their bearings together, unable to notice the dusted outline of his body escaping the kingdom’s premises. His health had fallen to half during the chase; and the only reason he wasn't dead was due to the early retreat and his possession of the shield. He regretted not buying a set of armor before leaving the city.

'Oh, some mithril armor would've saved me from fractured ribs. Fucking hell, that gorilla woman was strong. Kind of attractive too.' His intrusive thoughts began to encroach upon his mind as he remembered the absurdly strong woman. Her face was attractive, but in an intimidating way. Sharp features combined with her stern demeanor gave the man a very conflicting feelings as he fought for his life.

'Dominatrix vibes? I should shut up. I think the blood loss is getting to me...'

Chester refused to stop running. His feet carried him at speeds far surpassing an Olympic athlete for minutes on end. Almost twelve kilometers later, he finally slowed down to a brisk walking pace.

The kingdom was far along the horizon, and he collapsed in exhaustion. Although the equipment he carried wasn't heavy by any means, it only served to deplete his stamina even more as he ran.

“Ugh, fuck…Where is he?” He looked for his vampire companion, wondering whether he had continued further ahead or gotten ambushed. His legs were aching, and his entire body was still sore. The man had a slight headache as well, likely a concussion from the stupidly strong knight.

There was only one trail to follow along the eastern exit from his memories. Chester recalled that the path would only begin to diverge about twenty kilometers afterward. It was already nighttime, Chester could hardly see. He used the moonlight as his only source of illumination.

Grassy plains as far as the eye could see, Chester was beginning to worry about the likelihood of monster attacks the longer they went. There were almost no trees, even less than the savanna that they had traversed. His speed had slowed down to a casual walk.

‘When we carpooled to Elway, it wasn’t so bad because our carriage held about a dozen people. Apart from the occasional flying monster, we didn’t have to worry about much.’

There was strength in numbers; and he was unsure about how safe it was even with their considerable strength.

“We need a guard dog. Or a third person. Maybe a cook? Or a healer. But they'd would have to be strong, too…”

He kept himself entertained with daydreams to pass the time. Chester eventually saw Damien along the dirt path with an annoyed look on his face. Dried blood, dirt, and debris caked his body. Most of his wounds had closed, but he was still sore from overexerting himself. Damien was basically unharmed. Dressed in a simple tunic and black pants, he looked like a regular child. The only thing that made him different was the sword at his hip.

“Not even going to congratulate me? Or even offer me a healing potion?” He made a face as the boy turned around to continue walking after handing the man his bag.

The vampire rolled his eyes. “If you were any later, I would’ve just gone on my own.”

He threw the man one of his mid-tier health potions; a prize from winning the tournament. The man chugged it down, enjoying the warmth that pooled in his stomach as the potion did its work.

They bickered for a while, before deciding to up their pace. It was already late at night, and they wanted to gain distance before setting up camp for the night.

Both of them sprinted at their top speed for several minutes; and the vampire was able to keep up thanks to the presence of the moon. He had stored his armor inside his bag, but kept his sword close as they ran at high speeds.

After half an hour, the duo began to prepare their lodgings. Damien showed off the instant cube, dropping it a decent distance away. He took a quick glance at the instruction manual, confirming the activation word as Chester waited expectantly.

“Adventus!” The boy shouted.

In an instant the cube grew over a dozen feet tall. Sliding doors allowed for easy entry inside the cube, which possessed a greater amount of space within. Chester had to do a double-take as he looked between the inside and outside. The exterior was about two cubic meters, whereas the inside looked like a small apartment. The non-Euclidean shape screwed with his brain.

"You know what, even if it cost an arm and leg, this shit is pretty cool. Didn't the Tower of Magic have something like this going on?" He remembered how large the interior was relative to the outside. Chester knew that those sparring rooms were far too big to fit inside one floor.

Damien nodded. "No wonder. This is honestly a good investment."

"Would've been an even better one if we had just stolen it."

At twenty square meters, the model had a bunk bed, storage chests, and a table. The furniture was basic, tailored for easy cleaning and the adventurer’s lifestyle. The flooring was expensive-looking hardwood, and the walls were beige. The illusionist likened it to a high-class university dorm. Although it was a bit small for two people, the quality was undeniable.

This was Chester’s first time seeing the interior, and he sat on the bottom bunk before Damien could react.

“My bunk. Claiming it.”

Damien took out the dried rations and placed a portion inside the storage chest. He bought a vast assortment, ranging from dried fruits, jerky, and nuts. The two quietly munched down on the salted foods with the door of the cube slightly open.

“...I kind of miss the restaurant foods.”

The vampire agreed with the man, chewing on a piece of jerky. “I certainly took it for granted. It will be just like the ride from Pesodonia.”

As they ate, Chester went through his adventure bag. He placed the container of blue liquid, along with the cylindrical item atop their table. The additional items he had managed to steal from the warehouse. He grinned at Damien, clearly waiting for him to ask about the items he had gotten. Damien obliged, eyeing the objects with curiosity.

“What is this?”

“Kraken blood. You have any idea what it’s for?”

Damien shook his head. He assumed that it was an important component used in potions, but he was not very educated on which potion it could be used for. It wasn't a branch that he was interested in. Chester decided to store it away. He hoped it wouldn’t expire before he found a use for the liquid.

The vampire reached out to open the cylindrical container. By twisting the top, he found an old, worn down piece of parchment. The illusionist moved towards him, placing his face closer towards the boy's shoulder.

He unrolled it and read through the text, looking closer to chicken scratches. Chester couldn’t understand a single word. Damien’s face scrunched up in distaste.

“What’s wrong?”

He turned to look the man in the face. “It’s written in abyssal tongue. A contract scroll for Marbas, the demon of intelligence.”

“Awesome, so we can summon him or something?”

“No, that’s not how it works. It allows for a communication link between the user and Marbas. You can arrange trades and even get powers.”

“Sounds awesome.”

Damien looked at him as if he was stupid. “You know they only accept your soul? There’s very few demons that are willing to substitute souls for anything else. Actually, Marbas is one of the few demons that accept subsitutes.”

The criminal may have been willing to go far, but he was certainly not in the mood to sacrifice his soul for greater power. Neither was he willing to sacrifice that of other people if he theoretically could. Chester figured that a demon of knowledge would know more than him, unless it wanted some pickpocketing techniques.

Saddened that the extra items he had stolen were useless, he put them away with the hope that they would have a purpose later in his journey. They seemed to have great potential but Chester figured that using them now would be a waste.

They played a game of sword, shield, javelins to determine who would keep watch first. Upon explaining the game, Damien formed a fist, and Chester used his middle finger.

“Javelin beats shield. Goodnight! I am depleted as hell.” He puffed up his pillow and got ready for some well-deserved rest.

Stripping down to his underwear, Chester curled up in bed fast asleep. The vampire shut the sliding door behind him, opting to sit down as the translucent barrier around the cube hummed quietly. It didn't actually act as protection, but an alarm that would ring whenever entities entered its radius.

He was glad that everything turned out alright. Damien unfolded the map and kept track of their destination. He muttered to himself quietly, focusing on his goal to reach Garbrandt as soon as possible.

“Once we hit Stillwater, we’ll pass through Welton’s Furnace. I would like to upgrade my armor there if possible. I heard the dwarves crafted most of my family's personal sets."

Snoring could be faintly heard as he put the map down and began reading the instant cube's instruction manual. For the moment, everything was peaceful.

He hoped that the rest of their trip would be like this, even though he knew it had a minute chance of happening. Damien knew that someway, somehow, that thieving idiot would get themselves into trouble again.