The blue holographic screens materialized in front of everyone's faces simultaneously.
Screams erupted in the classroom. Students swatted at the air, thinking it was some sort of prank or hallucination.
But Kael wasn't looking at the screens. His eyes were locked on Mr. Harris.
The teacher's skin turned a sickly, mottled green. His jaw dislocated with a sickening CRACK, elongating as jagged, yellow teeth tore through his gums. His clothes ripped apart as his muscles bulged, turning him into a monstrous, hunched creature.
A Level 5 Goblin Variant.
"W-What is that?!" a student shrieked.
The Goblin let out a bloodcurdling screech and lunged toward the closest student—Elara Vance.
She froze, her eyes wide with primal terror. This was the moment she was supposed to get a permanent scar across her face, an injury that fueled her icy demeanor in the future.
Not this time.
SWISH!
Kael moved with the desperate speed of a man who had spent ten years running from monsters. He swung the heavy metal fire extinguisher in a brutal arc.
CRUNCH!
The heavy metal cylinder slammed into the Goblin's temple. Bone shattered. The monster was thrown off course, crashing into the chalkboard in a spray of dark green blood.
The classroom went dead silent. Thirty teenagers stared in absolute horror as Kael stood over the twitching monster, breathing heavily.
He didn't hesitate. He raised the extinguisher and brought it down again. And again. Until the monster stopped moving.
[Ding!]
[You have slain a Level 5 Goblin Variant.]
[You are the first human in the 'Earth' Server to achieve a kill!]
[Calculating Rewards...]
Kael dropped the dented extinguisher, wiping a splatter of green blood from his cheek. He looked at Elara, who was trembling on the floor. "Get up," he ordered coldly. "If you stay on the floor, you die."
Before she could respond, Kael's personal System screen flared with a blinding gold light. Not the standard blue. Gold.
[Error in System Registry.]
[Player Kael's soul signature does not match the current timeline.]
[Merging past and future data...]
[Class Awakened: The Glitched Devourer (Mythic-Rank)]
Kael's eyes widened. Mythic Rank? In his past life, the highest rank known to humanity was SSS-Rank. Mythic was a legend, a myth whispered about by the Constellations.
[Skill Acquired: 'Devour' (Lv. 1)]
[Description: You can consume the core of any slain enemy to permanently extract their stats or skills. No limits.]
Kael stared at the prompt. No limits? He could steal skills from monsters? From Bosses? From other players?
He looked down at the dead Goblin. A faint, glowing white orb was hovering above its corpse. Without thinking, Kael reached out and crushed the orb in his hand.
[You have used 'Devour'.]
[Strength increased by +2.]
[Skill Acquired: 'Lesser Bloodlust' (F-Rank)]
A surge of raw power rushed through his veins. He clenched his fist, feeling the muscle fibers in his arm tighten with unnatural density. It was intoxicating.
Outside the classroom, the screams began. The hallways echoed with the sounds of slaughter as other teachers and faculty mutated.
"K-Kael..." Elara stammered, finally finding her voice. "What... what is happening?"
Kael picked up a shattered leg of a wooden desk, testing its weight. He turned to the terrified class.
"The world just ended," Kael said, his eyes glowing with a faint, predatory light. "Now, the real game begins. Barricade the doors. I'm going hunting."
A/N: First kill secured! What do you think of Kael's Mythic Class? Comment your thoughts below! Don't forget to add to your collection!