Chapter 24: Advancing to the "Shadow Chosen" Class
Akira fell silent, then stood up and approached the corpse of the imp, picking up one of the items it had dropped.
[Book: Shadow Manipulation Skill]
[Level: Rank 2]
[Description: Make shadows obey your will. You can control the shadows around you.]
[Do you want to learn this skill?]
[Yes] [No]
"I seek power, to surpass everyone. Either I succeed… or I die trying."
"Yes."
[You have learned the Shadow Manipulation skill]
[You have met the requirements for the Shadow Chosen class. Do you want to advance to this class?]
[Yes] [No]
"Yes."
[Reminder: There will be no way to undo this. Do you want to continue?]
"Yes."
[You have chosen the class: Shadow Chosen]
[Initializing...]
[%1... %2... %3... %10... %50... %80... %100]
All the shadows suddenly moved toward Akira, beginning to swirl around his body from his feet to his head.
Alice, witnessing this, shivered in fear… but could do nothing. She knew he had made his decision.
Akira's body became completely black, then slowly regained its color as if the darkness had melted within him.
Akira, overwhelmed by the surge of power, didn't fully realize what was happening. Notifications kept appearing in his mind:
[You have acquired: Shadow Chosen as your main class]
[Strength +10]
[Speed +10]
[Defense +10]
[Intelligence +10]
[Endurance +10]
[You have acquired skills: Shadow Clone, Shadow Shield, Shadow Thorns]
[You have leveled up. You are now Rank 1 – Level 2]
[You have 6 attribute points to distribute]
[Your flaw has been revealed. Your flaw is…]
When Akira's upgrade finished, his wounds healed, burns disappeared… even the scars vanished.
"Is it over?"
"Yes."
"How do you feel?"
"Hmm… indescribable."
Akira's body felt lighter. Stronger. His awareness expanded, his senses sharper. A strange euphoria coursed through him, like a moment of detachment from the world.
"Let me see what you've obtained."
"Sure."
[Name: Akira]
[Age: 15 years]
[Affinity: Darkness]
[Rank: 1]
[Level: 2]
[Experience: 150/2500]
[Class: Shadow Chosen]
Stats:
Health: 60/60
Mana: 1000
Strength: 25
Speed: 26
Intelligence: 28
Defense: 23
Endurance: 35
Skills (Active):
Spear of Void
Shadow Clone
Shadow Thorns
Shadow Shield
Shadow Manipulation
Skills (Passive):
Supernatural Health
Items: Blood Katana
Unique: Exchange Contract
Titles: Survivor of Death
"This is a huge upgrade compared to last time."
"Four new skills… Honestly, you've exceeded my expectations. Fifty attribute points… that's insane. I've never heard of a class giving this many points."
"How many are normally given?"
"Between twenty to thirty."
"And the skills?"
"Two or three at most."
"Do you know what 'the flaw' means?"
"Do you have a flaw?"
"Can't you see it?"
"Well, flaws cannot be revealed to anyone, even if they wanted to. I don't know why the system does this, but it's actually good—it's better kept hidden."
"Can you tell me what it is?"
"The description says…"
Alice listened seriously. She knew this was a weakness for Akira, but when he described it, she smiled inwardly.
"It doesn't matter what it is, just live with it."
"The problem is… I don't see any meaning in it."
"The future will reveal everything."
"Let's move to the skill."
[Shadow Clone]
Rank: 2
Description: A copy of yourself created in the shadows, possessing 30% of your power, and can use one of your skills.
Activation Cost: 200 Mana
Consumption: 20 Mana per minute
Embedded Skill: None
"Can you try it?"
"I'll try… Shadow Clone."
Akira's shadow began to rise, gradually forming a humanoid figure resembling his own features.
[Select the skill to assign to the clone]
"Spear of Void."
[Yes, successfully assigned]
The clone stood still. Akira walked around it. There was no visible difference between it and the original.
"How does it work?"
"Maybe you need to command it."
"Move forward."
The shadow moved forward. Akira could now give it a set of commands to understand how it works.
"So I just need to think of what I want, and it acts accordingly."
Alice said excitedly:
"What about testing the assigned skill?"
"Let's start. Launch the Spear of Void at the wall."
The shadow aimed its hand at the wall and unleashed the Spear of Void, piercing the wall and creating a large hole.
"This will be a great help."
Suddenly, Alice noticed something strange… unusual. Akira's body was not casting a shadow.
"Akira, don't panic… this is normal. Some skills have side effects."
"What do you mean?"
"Your shadow…"
He looked at the place where his shadow should have been, but it was nowhere to be found. He spun around, thinking he might be facing the wrong direction, but it was not there.
"Strange."
"Perhaps the skill's range isn't simple."
"Can you show me the development requirements?"
"Development?"
"When you reach Rank 1, you can evolve skills according to specific requirements."
He considered evolving the skill, and a new screen appeared before him.