Chapter 69: The Wandering Gunslinger
At this moment, beneath the Ascetic Church—
In an elegantly furnished room, Kien West was hunched over a stack of recent investigative reports, peering through his monocle with intense focus.
The king's assassination had already left him at his wit's end, and now a surge of supernatural incidents far surpassing the past decade combined had cropped up in just a few days. In the dock district, workers were mysteriously dying in quick succession. Some even claimed to have seen the undead wandering near the docks—utterly absurd.
Meanwhile, in the slums, an unknown small-time gang had been slaughtered overnight, the scene a mess of blood and flesh, with traces of heretical rituals left behind.
Connecting this to the earlier sacrifices and the king's assassination, Kien West sensed a deeply sinister malice at work.
His instincts told him that all of this was undoubtedly linked to the Curse God Cult and the Life Alchemy Society.
Although the assassination likely bore the signature madness of the Life Alchemy Society, it was still the Curse God Cult that inspired more fear.
Unbeknownst to most, the cult's tendrils had already infiltrated every corner of Darkland. Who would've imagined that even Elvis Bart, a lecturer at Vick University, was one of theirs?
Kien was even convinced that members of the cult had made it into the upper echelons of the kingdom. There were just too many suspicious elements surrounding the king's assassination.
And that wasn't the only thing weighing on his mind.
In the past few days, there had also been sightings across Bryston of strange, undying individuals. Their behavior was bizarre—they would vanish mysteriously, walk like the floor was on fire, often hopping about. When they died, they'd resurrect nearby after a short time.
This perfectly aligned with Elan's prophecy. These people might just be the Chosen Ones foretold. But what if they too joined the Curse God Cult...?
The thought alone made Kien shudder.
…
Meanwhile, in the alchemy lab—
Zhou Ning was working on creating a new class.
In the game, players had to travel to the northern lands to find an old NPC named Kael, who would verify whether a new class was valid.
But in reality, it was much simpler. The game interface itself showed the skill progression and had a "Create New Class" option, sparing players the trip north. That said, the option had always been grayed out before.
Now, when he reopened the control panel, the "Create New Class" button next to his profession was lit up. Clicking it brought up the following prompts:
[6 Class Specializations (click to view) — Check complete. Current count: 7.]
[2 Core Buff Skills (click to view) — Check complete. Current count: 2.]
[10 Active Skills (click to view) — Check complete. Current count: 10.]
[Validation complete. Create new class? Yes / No.]
Zhou Ning took a deep breath. In his previous life, he had never created a new class. He had no idea what the process entailed, and he was strangely nervous.
"Yes."
The interface prompted:
[Please enter the new class name.]
Zhou Ning was ready: "Wandering Gunslinger!"
[New class name set to Wandering Gunslinger. Confirm?]
"Confirm!"
[Please select a primary attribute.]
"Agility."
There was no hesitation. In Apocalypse, Agility determined movement speed, attack speed, evasion, and provided a bonus to ranged attacks. All of these were essential to a Wandering Gunslinger.
[Selection successful. Your Mana Points have been replaced with Focus Points. Initial Focus = Agility × 3. Most of your skills now consume Focus Points to activate. Stamina cost has been adjusted accordingly.]
[New class creation complete. You have earned the milestone "Class Mentor." A class badge has been sent to your inventory. Proceed with class change? Yes / No.]
Of course it was a yes!
[Class change successful! You have acquired the new class: Wandering Gunslinger Lv1. Agility +3 (Extraordinary Physique +0.35), Stamina +1, Spirit +1. You've received 2 free attribute points and, as a first-time main class change, an additional 1 Golden Skill Point.]
[Your primary class has changed. Your Stamina bonus has improved. 1 Stamina = 12 HP, 1 Stamina = 15 Stamina Points.]
In that instant, Zhou Ning felt as if his body were undergoing a massive transformation—a new power coursing through every part of him.
Simultaneously, a flurry of updates filled the panel.
[Your primary attribute is now Agility.]
[You now have a new energy bar: Focus. Initial value based on Agility.]
[You've gained a new talent: Long-Range Vision (Blue).]
[You've gained a new specialization: Quickdraw.]
[You've gained a new specialization: Stylish Gunplay.]
Zhou Ning immediately felt a profound transformation. His body was brimming with leopard-like agility, and his senses were significantly heightened.
Especially his vision—he could now make out the veins in herbs on the shelf, the tiny bubbles in alchemical test tubes, and even the dripping whale oil on a distant lamp. It was insanely awesome.
He now had the eyes of a hawk and the speed of a leopard. If he could add a wolf's hearing and a bear's strength, Zhou Ning figured he could play Sheriff Brastor himself.
He had finally succeeded! Clenching his fists, Zhou Ning opened his game panel.
——————
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC [Beta Launch Countdown: 40 days 22 hours 19 minutes]
Level: 14
EXP: 53,200
Class: Wandering Gunslinger Lv1 [1/30]
Sub-Class: Linguist Lv3 [3/10] / Alchemy Apprentice Lv10 [10/10]
Nature Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talents: Tony Stark (Purple), Gun-Fu – Deadly Rhythm (Blue), Athletic Prodigy (Blue), Long-Range Vision (Blue), Grandpa-in-a-Ring (Purple)
Personal Stats: Strength 24, Agility 32, Stamina 20, Willpower 25, Spirit 41, Charisma 100
HP: 240/240
Stamina: 300/300
Willpower: 25/25
Focus: 96
Free Points: 2
Golden Skill Points: 1
Life Skills: Alchemy (Intermediate), Occultism (Intermediate), Precision Machinery Crafting (Expert), Gambling (Advance), Puppet Alchemy (Beginner), Synthetic Devil Fruit Manufacturing.
General Skills: Dodge (Beginner), English Mastery (Expert), Universal Language Mastery (Expert), Pickpocketing (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Beginner), Flirting Mastery (Expert)
Class Skills: Ripple Breathing (Beginner), Mozambique Drill (Beginner), C.A.R. Shooting (Beginner), Ripple Shot (Beginner), Rapid Pursuit (Intermediate), Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate), Armament Haki (Beginner), Observation Haki (Beginner), Evasive Shot (Beginner), Point-Blank Killshot (Beginner), Divine Departure (Beginner)
(New!) Ripple Swordsmanship (Beginner), Aerial Shot (Beginner), Fatal Countershot (Beginner)
Specializations: Dexterous Hands, Encyclopedic Memory, Extreme Calmness, Endurance (Intermediate), Firearms Knowledge, Extraordinary Physique (Elite), Extraordinary Charisma (Elite), Forest Elf (Elite)
(New!)
Quickdraw: Your innate reflexes grant enhanced draw speed. Drawing a firearm is 25% faster.
Stylish Gunplay: The signature of every true wandering gunslinger. Skill flair +50%, Skill damage +3%, Agility +2.
Clan Motto: None
Influence: 200
Legend Rating: 4
Combat Power Rating: 2,142
[Note: You now possess a complete class framework. Your power has grown significantly—but still pales in comparison to your looks.]
Zhou Ning: …
He had learned to ignore the panel's snide commentary.
After the class change, his combat power jumped by a full third. But Zhou Ning believed the actual boost was likely even higher. He could probably take on two versions of his old self now.
It wasn't just the stat and skill gains—the addition of the Focus bar drastically improved his sustainability in battle.
With 53,000 EXP left, and no need to save it anymore, he poured it all into his main class, leveling up twice in one go.
[Wandering Gunslinger Lv2: Agility +3 (Extraordinary Physique +0.35), Stamina +1, Spirit +1, 2 Free Attribute Points] ×2
Upon reaching Lv3 in Wandering Gunslinger, he gained 4 more free points, all of which he invested into Agility, now a whopping 43. His ranged damage, attack speed, and mobility all improved significantly.
At this point, although he still wasn't on par with bosses like Leandro or Kien West—who were stacked with elite specializations and secret inheritances—Zhou Ning was clearly on the right path.
With the simulator and the player base at his disposal, it was only a matter of time before he surpassed them.