[You are now eligible to choose your first class.]
[Available class options:]
[Boneblade: Relies on strength, fast weapon strikes, and raw durability to overwhelm enemies.]
[Tombguard: A heavily armored defender built to endure punishment.]
[Dreadstalker: A swift and deadly assassin who strikes from the shadows.]
[Soulbrand: Uses Magic to enhance melee attacks with elemental force]
[Animancer (Rare): A hybrid class that blends melee combat with Animus-fueled magic.]
Ethan had just returned to his hideout when, at last, the moment he'd been waiting for arrived.
With a soft chime, the system message appeared. He was finally eligible to choose his first class.
A new interface unfolded before him, revealing a list of available classes.
He scanned through the names. A large portion leaned heavily into melee combat: physical warriors, brute-force tanks, raw-damage specialists.
But Ethan had been planning for this. Melee had served him well so far, but he'd always kept the idea of magic in the back of his mind. A hybrid approach might grant him the flexibility he needed.
And then one name caught his eye, Animancer.
From the brief description, it was a fusion of melee and magic power. Exactly what he'd been hoping for.
Sure, there was also Soulbrand, another hybrid class, but it felt more focused on structured elemental magic. Ethan felt a pull toward Animancer, especially because this one was marked as Rare class. He tapped the Animancer class option.
A second list appeared, evolution path options tied to this class:
[Skeleton Brute – A brutal frontline fighter who enters a frenzied state to overwhelm enemies with raw strength and speed.]
[Skeleton Caster – A skeletal mage who wields decay magic, launching offensive spells fueled by dark energy.]
[Skeleton Soldier – A disciplined melee fighter who reinforces their skeletal frame to increase durability and weapon control.]
After Ethan was finally granted the chance to select his Class, another prompt followed. This time offering an evolution path. It was a pivotal moment, one that would elevate his race from a simple Lesser Skeleton to something far more advanced.
Three distinct paths unfolded before him, each with its own theme. Broadly, they could be sorted into: a berserker-type, a caster-type, and a standard warrior route.
If he wanted to double down on melee combat, the Skeleton Soldier seemed the most solid choice. It was the reliable route, the foundation of a physical fighter. On the other hand, if his growing interest in magic held sway, then the Skeleton Caster offered something different.
And then there was the Berserker path. It promised explosive power, the kind that surged in the heat of battle, peaking the longer he fought. This type was all about raw, relentless aggression.
So the question stood: which path should he choose?
If he went with the Skeleton Caster, he couldn't help but worry about its trade-offs. Magic classes often came with weaker defenses, and Ethan was no stranger to the dangers of being exposed in the thick of a fight. Could he really afford to be fragile when survival meant standing his ground?
Conversely, taking the standard warrior path might mean giving up his magical potential entirely, something he wasn't ready to abandon just yet.
Then there was the Berserker evolution. It felt like the next step up from a warrior, still firmly rooted in physical combat, but sharpened into something far more vicious.
He lingered on the decision, letting the weight of each choice settle in his mind.
After a while, he finally made his decision.
[Class Selection Confirmed: Animancer]
[Evolution Path Chosen: Skeleton Caster]
Well... he couldn't deny it, this focused caster evolution path had an almost irresistible pull. He'd lingered on the idea of becoming a Berserker, drawn in by its promise of raw, explosive power. For a moment, it had nearly swayed him.
Instead, he chose to commit to a combat style that let him stay on the front lines while still tapping into immense magical potential.
[Evolution Initiated...]
A surge of dark energy erupted from within his body. Ethan took a cautious step back, watching in awe as shadows coiled around him like smoke, wrapping tightly around his skeletal frame. The thick tendrils of darkness pulsed and hissed, as if alive, before slowly seeping into him, vanishing beneath his bones.
[Race Evolution: Lesser Skeleton → Skeleton Caster]
He could feel it, his very structure shifting. His skeletal frame grew broader, more defined, and undeniably taller. The ragged bandages that had once clung loosely to his bones now unraveled and dropped to the ground.
Huh. He had assumed a caster would look more... fragile.
Instead, he found himself standing nearly two meters tall, about 6'6" in feet, with a more commanding presence than before.
[Evolution Complete: Skeleton Caster]
[Elemental Affinities Unlocked: High Affinity with Dark Element]
[You have received +10 Magic Boost]
[You have received +5 Strength Boost]
[You have received +5 Animus Boost]
The most striking change now was the emergence of a unique black pattern etched across nearly every part of his skeletal frame. It was as if his bones had fused with dark elemental matter.
And one more thing… At long last, he had an elemental affinity.
He wasn't entirely sure just how special the Dark element truly was. In his mind, elements fell into familiar categories, earth, fire, water, wind… that kind of thing. So if Dark existed, then surely Light had to exist too. Which meant one thing: natural opposites. If Light ever showed up, it would likely be his elemental nemesis.
Still, that was a thought for another time.
For now, he'd let the system do its thing, wrap up its process. Later, he'd dig deeper into what Dark magic really meant.
[Processing Class Application: Animancer...]
But then, something even stranger happened.
The energy that had once swirled in pure darkness now began to shift, threads of red wove their way into the black, coiling and twisting like veins of fire through obsidian.
The crimson hue bled into his bones, merging with the black in a chaotic, pulsing dance, as though the energy were claiming not just his body but his very core.
The power burrowed inside him, filling the hollow spaces within his form. Even the eye sockets in his skull now glowed with a vivid, ominous red light.
And damn, this was going to make things more complicated.
His eye sockets now glowed with a vivid red hue. He could already imagine how that would look to others. If being a fully bandaged figure wasn't suspicious enough, now he had a pair of blazing crimson lights staring out from beneath the wrappings.
[Class Acquired: Animancer]
Was that it? Had everything settled?
He opened his status window, scanning through the updated information, and sure enough, the new Class had been successfully applied. Animancer was now officially listed under his profile.
But… was that all?
Shouldn't there be a full set of skills? Additional benefits tied to the class? Some kind of power set?
[Initiating Class Upgrade Protocol...]
[Due to unique synergy between Animancer and Skeleton Caster, a new evolution path has been unlocked]
Wait... seriously?
There was an even more advanced class than Animancer?
[Class Upgrade Available: Choose One]
[Choose Evolution Path:]
[Bone Reaver (Rare+): A brutal melee fighter who channels magic through every strike.]
[Grave Caller (Elite): A necrotic warrior-caster who weaves decay magic into blade combat.]
[Hollow Warden (Rare+): A summoner who creates spectral clones and bone-forged echoes.]
Alright… now things were getting really interesting.
Animancer had already sounded promising enough. But now, even more advanced class options had opened up before him. Three distinct paths, each one more enticing than the last. All of them brimming with potential.
But he could only choose one. And once chosen, there'd be no turning back.
The first was a full-on magic melee fighter, a true frontline warrior infused with dark magic.
The second appeared to be a necromancer-style class, though not the kind that hid behind a wall of minions. This one fought up close as well, balancing summoning with survivability.
Then there was the third option. Another variant on the summoning path, but this one was different. Instead of raising skeletons or the deaths, it conjured a clone of the caster himself.
Ethan took his time, weighing the paths, trying to envision the kind of fighter he wanted to become. Each class came with its own rarity grade too, a factor that only deepened the stakes.
But in the end, he didn't hesitate for long.
His gaze locked onto the one that called to him most. He had made his choice.