Chương 50

Rudra didn't even hesitate. He tapped the third option on the glowing holographic screen.

"I'll take the Black Staff Expert," Rudra told the receptionist. The NPC receptionist blinked, rather taken aback by his quick decision to choose the least valuable class from the three classes which were all too good as a First Class.

"Are you sure, traveler?" she asked politely.

"The other paths offer greater potential."

"I'm sure," Rudra smiled beneath his dark leather mask.

"This class suits me far more."

"Very well. Processing your advancement now," she nodded. She tapped a sequence of runes on her wooden desk. The glass orb flared with a heavy, grounding brown light. The light flowed out of the crystal, wrapping around Rudra's boots and traveling up his arms. It didn't feel like a magical rush of energy. It felt heavy. It felt solid. The lingering, awkward clumsiness of being an "Apprentice" completely vanished from his muscles. A cascade of golden text flooded his vision.

[You have changed your class to 'Black Staff Expert'!] [Class Rating: Normal] [Description: Abandon magic to master the physical weight and blunt force of a staff. By utilizing heavy materials and proper leverage, the Black Staff Expert focuses entirely on crushing enemy defenses and controlling the flow of close-quarters combat.] [Class Benefits Acquired:] - Strength +30 - Stamina +30 - Agility +30 - When a staff is equipped, blunt physical attack power increases by 10%.

- The durability consumption of weapons is reduced by 30%. Rudra flexed his fingers. The raw stat bumps were nice, but the durability reduction was exactly what he wanted. He swung his weapons so violently that he lived in constant fear of his Epic staff snapping in half. [Two new class-specific skills have been generated.] [Blunt Force (Lv. 1)] [Type: Passive] [Your strikes carry a heavy, deep impact. - 10% of your physical damage bypasses standard armor. - Hitting a target repeatedly in the exact same spot has a low probability of inflicting a 1-second [Stun] effect.] [Sweeping Gale (Lv. 1)] [Type: Active] [A rapid, low-angle horizontal swing using the full length of the staff to clear a crowd. - Deals 130% physical damage in a wide arc and violently knocks lightweight targets off their feet. Resource Consumption: 35 Stamina. Skill Cooldown: 2 Minutes.]"Fuck, this is perfect," Rudra muttered happily.

He finally had a reliable way to crack through heavily armored enemies. And [Sweeping Gale] was the exact crowd-control move he needed when swarmed by low-level monsters. It was a simple, brutal toolkit. Suddenly, another wave of system messages popped up. Because his new class perfectly matched his combat style, his foundation grew stronger. [Your combat foundation has stabilized.] [Intermediate Staff Mastery has leveled up to Lv. 7!] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. [Intermediate Staff Mastery (Lv. 7)] [Passive] [When equipped with a staff, attack power and attack speed will increase by 33%. The probability of a critical hit will increase in proportion to the user's Agility.] [Crushing Strike has leveled up to Lv. 9!] [Crushing Strike (Lv. 9)] [Active] [Channels heavy momentum to the tip of your staff for a devastating overhead or horizontal swing. - Deals 230% of your physical attack power. Resource Consumption: 30 Stamina. Skill Cooldown: 12 seconds.] [Iron Guard has leveled up to Lv. 9!] [Iron Guard (Lv. 9)] [Active] [Brace your staff with both hands to absorb a heavy impact. - Reduces incoming physical damage by 95% for a single strike. Resource Consumption: 20 Stamina. Skill Cooldown: 6 seconds.]"Nice," Rudra grinned. His damage output just got another solid bump.

"Your awakening is completed, sir," the receptionist said. She handed him an updated copper guild tag.

"May your heavy strikes find their mark."

"Thanks," Rudra tossed a silver coin onto the counter as a tip and walked out of the Guild. He jogged back through the busy streets of the Arc Kingdom's safe zone. He pushed open the door to the Silver Boar Inn and walked up the stairs to his rented room. Elysia was still sitting by the window, adjusting the leather straps on her silver breastplate. Kratos was awake now. The tiny, dual-colored cub was actively chewing on the leg of a wooden chair.

"Hey! Stop eating the furniture," Rudra scolded. He scooped the cub off the floor. Kratos let out a cranky squeak and instantly scrambled into the warm front pocket of Rudra's heavy brown cloak.

"Did you get your class?" Elysia asked. She stood up and grabbed her longsword.

"Yep. Black Staff Expert," Rudra grinned. He pulled his Abyssal Ironwood Staff off his back and gave it a lazy spin.

"No magic. Just blunt force."

"Good. Where are we heading next?" Rudra reached into his inventory. He pulled out a small, wax-sealed envelope. It was the letter Gareth Rowan had given him back in Seabreak Town.

"We're going to Juden. The capital of the Murray Kingdom," Rudra explained, tapping the letter against his hand.

"Gareth gave me an invitation to their Intermediate Militia Camp. I need a place to train my skills without holding back." Elysia nodded.

"The Murray Kingdom is a good destination to travel. Though we do need to be a bit alert right now since last I heard, the King is severely ill and the succession for the Throne is reaching its climax." Rudra crossed his arms.

"I know about that as well, as I was scouted by the Princess's Faction in my training camp. I still haven't chosen whether to join yet but I am more partial to the Princess Faction though it does depend on what they provide us for eating."

"Of course," Elysia sighed.

"Always thinking with your stomach."

"Let's pack up," Rudra laughed.

"We have a lot of ground to cover, and I'm not taking a wagon. I need to test out my new moves on the way." They left the inn an hour later and hit the dirt road leading north. The journey took them a full week of non-stop walking. As they crossed out of the humid, swampy Arc Kingdom, the environment changed fast. The air grew sharp and biting. Lush green forests gave way to towering, jagged mountain ranges capped with heavy snow. Rudra refused to ride in merchant carriages.

He forced them to walk off the main roads, actively hunting for trouble. He found it on the second afternoon. A pack of seven Frost-Tusk Boars surrounded them in a snowy clearing. The boars were huge, covered in thick ice-armor, and highly aggressive.

"Let me try something," Rudra said. He stepped in front of Elysia and gripped his staff with both hands. The boars charged all at once, their heavy hooves shaking the frozen ground. Rudra waited until they were only a few feet away. He dropped his stance, dug his boots into the snow, and swung his staff in a massive, low arc.

"[Sweeping Gale]!" The heavy ironwood blurred. The staff slammed into the front legs of the charging boars. The 130% physical damage instantly shattered their ice-armor. The sheer force of the swing violently swept the first four boars completely off their feet, launching them into the snowdrifts.

"Whoa," Rudra cheered.

"That clears the room fast." The remaining three boars scrambled to recover. Rudra didn't give them a chance. He dashed forward and swung his staff overhead. He didn't use an active skill this time. He just used a basic attack. The staff smashed into a boar's thick skull. Crack! Thanks to [Blunt Force], the hit didn't just bounce off the thick bone. A portion of the damage completely bypassed the monster's natural armor. The heavy, deep impact rattled the boar's brain.

It stumbled sideways, a tiny swirl icon appearing over its head.

"A stun on a basic attack," Rudra grinned wildly.

"This class is amazing." He easily cleaned up the rest of the pack in less than a minute. When the fighting was over, he immediately pulled out his iron skillet and built a campfire. He chopped the boar meat, tossed it in butter, and heavily seasoned it with wild mountain herbs he picked along the way. The rich, spicy smell filled the snowy clearing. Kratos poked his head out of the cloak, squeaking loudly for his share. Elysia sat on a rock, eating her portion quietly. She watched Rudra happily feed the cub.

"Your movements are much cleaner now," Elysia noted.

"You aren't wasting as much energy in your swings."

"It feels good," Rudra mumbled around a mouthful of meat.

"But I need tougher enemies. These boars go down way too fast." On the afternoon of the sixth day, they finally crested a massive snowy ridge and Rudra had already reached Level 113. Spread out in the valley below was Juden, the capital city of the Murray Kingdom.