Malphegor
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MoP: Ch. 100
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 19:40:24 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
"This is…" LootGoblin's eyes widened in astonishment.
He felt as though an army of thousands was galloping through his body. Every inch of his skin and every cell seemed to stretch out, absorbing this surge of energy. It was even more soothing than taking a hot shower on a freezing winter day.
A spark of fire flashed in his eyes as his pale face turned rosy. His clothes fluttered without wind.
"Hahaha, I feel so strong now!"
He let out a hearty laugh.
This immersive feeling of becoming stronger was exhilarating beyond measure. He looked at his right hand. Within less than half a minute, a bright flame "whooshed!" into existence in his palm.
Although he still couldn't form a fireball, its size and color were significantly more intense, burning brightly and fiercely.
"No way!" ProGamer_Daddy scrambled down from the stone pillar he'd been leaning on, his eyes nearly popping out. "Is this still just the Fireball Spell?"
Several players immediately gathered around him.
"What did you see in there?"
"Share your experience with us!"
From LootGoblin's account, they learned that upon reaching Level 10 and choosing a class, not only could a specific spell achieve a qualitative boost, but their mana reserves also nearly doubled.
This made the remaining players even more eager to give it a try.
At the back, Luminaris scoffed at them in disdain. "Foolish undead. Getting so excited just from advancing to a beginner mage. Such ignorance!"
"What did you say?" Viktor asked from behind.
Luminaris immediately stiffened, floating away to put a significant distance between them. "I'm just telling the truth! Wasting so much divine power to force their breakthroughs is completely pointless!"
Lately, Viktor's aura had grown darker and heavier, more and more like a true undead, which sent chills down his spine. To avoid being casually crushed one day, he was determined to maintain a safe distance until his hardships finally ended!
Viktor was exasperated. "…I was just reminding you to watch your words. Once they understand what you're saying, how will you ever win them over?"
Luminaris froze midair. "Oh, right."
Even though these undead were mysterious and acted oddly, they were highly valuable, whether as laborers or soldiers, they excelled.
He did, in fact, have plans to ally with them to resist the exploitation of the undead. But how did Viktor know?!
Viktor shook his head, frustrated by Luminaris' lack of tact.
He shook his head and turned his gaze to the players animatedly discussing the perks of their Level 10 breakthroughs.
"The beginning is always the hardest. Spending more divine power upfront is normal."
At the very least, investing in players yielded visible returns.
"From magic apprentice to beginner mage, they've barely entered the threshold. What happens after Level 10 will depend on them…"
These three externally-assisted breakthroughs were all the beginner benefits Viktor planned to offer. They were also essential guidance to set players on the correct path for magical cultivation.
Luminaris quickly caught on and snuck over to sprinkle blessing buffs on the newly promoted players.
As a self-proclaimed fair "god," he believed in rewarding excellent followers, whether they were the players currying favor or those with outstanding performance.
LootGoblin caught the falling golden light, his expression immediately souring.
"Again?"
The last time he'd been drenched in this stuff, he couldn't save his game for half a month, tiptoeing through every day… Ugh, such unpleasant memories.
"Heh!" Hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "We're over here fighting for a chance to be moles, and you're still complaining!"
He'd earned the most from the last main quest, yet here he was, still grumbling after another freebie.
NeverShowOff rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So, does this mean whoever reaches Level 10 first gets a free lucky buff? That's a pretty sweet deal!"
Luminaris' preferences changed daily, making it increasingly hard to gain his favor lately. By the same logic, lucky buffs were growing rarer. Rarity meant value, so they'd profited.
"It's just a purely superstitious buff," LootGoblin muttered disdainfully. "Who's next?"
"I'll go." Garble took a deep breath and strode toward the statue.
From the start, he'd been clear about his training path, focusing on stealth and assassination. His only viable class option was Ranger, so he didn't have to agonize like the others.
After showing his level as required, he let out a long exhale.
Judging by LootGoblin's experience, breaking through would boost skill attributes by at least five times. He couldn't wait to see how Wind Concealment performed after leveling up.
The white light enveloped him just like before.
LootGoblin stayed to watch, curious if others would gain any new insights. In the meantime, he practiced his newly upgraded Level-3 Fireball Spell.
Hedgehog glanced at the glowing orb, then at LootGoblin, who was wasting mana like a fool.
"We're like anxious family members waiting outside a delivery room."
Worry, anticipation, tension… No one knew if the next one out of the delivery room would be another blockhead like LootGoblin.
NeverShowOff frowned in concern. "I still haven't figured out which class to choose."
He had two different skills, [Fireball] and [Water Arrow].
In theory, he had twice as many class options as LootGoblin.
But which one was better? Listening to LootGoblin's rambling explanation didn't help at all.
"It's like we don't even know why 90% of the classes are locked."
Hedgehog had an idea and glanced at Viktor, sitting by the statue with an air of complete indifference. "We've got an encyclopedia right here, don't we?"
"Lord Viktor~~~" His voice trailed off melodiously, almost floating into the sky.
---Viktor's POV---
I calmly shifted my position on the recliner, and said, "50 magicoins."
"That much?!" Hedgehog exclaimed and immediately backed away a step.
"Show, your turn!"
"It's the same no matter who you ask. If you weren't Level 10, you wouldn't even qualify to pay this consultation fee."
My tone was light and indifferent. Helping them break through cost me 50 divine power per person. Now I was charging 50 magicoins, was that too much to ask?
Clink-clink!
The sound of coins entering my account rang out.
I softened my demeanor immediately as I sat up straight. "If you want my recommendation, you're naturally suited to be a wizard," I said, pointing at NeverShowOff, "and you to be a warrior," pointing at Hedgehog.
"Wizard?" NeverShowOff tilted his head.
"Warrior?" Hedgehog furrowed his brow.
I nodded firmly. NeverShowOff's extra exploration experience gains made him the most efficient player in the group. He observed everything in the world of Aeltia. It might be a professional habit of being a gaming content creator. From the battlefields and monsters to the surrounding plants and flowers, he was fascinated by it all.
Without needing divine power to activate the corresponding features, I could already tell that he had a strong affinity for elements. Born to be a mage or a druid. Based on his combat instincts and ability to wield spells, though, he leaned more towards being a pure magic-focused wizard.
As for Hedgehog, things were simpler. He was a combat-heavy type, a perfect fit for grabbing a blade, charging forward, and diving straight into battle without a second thought while shouting: "Leeroy Jenkins!"
I gazed firmly at him. "If I'm not mistaken, you know how to use a blade, right? Maybe a bit of swordplay too." Not like some players who swing a machete like a kitchen knife, but someone who's genuinely trained.
He froze for a moment, then sheepishly scratched his head.
"When I was a kid, I was so obsessed with edgy fantasies that my dad chased me around the streets for days trying to get me to stop. He eventually enrolled me in a historical fencing academy for a year of training."
NeverShowOff gave him a sideways glance. "You went to a fencing academy, why did you learn sword instead of rapier techniques?"
"Eh-heh, I was still in my edgy phase back then!" Hedgehog shrugged unapologetically. "That year, I only learned some basic footwork and parrying. I was too young to even handle proper weighted weapons more than a handful of times. My dagger and sword skills? I picked those up by sneaking extra practice sessions after hours."
I remained silent. What else could I say? As expected of him. Also... That fencing academy must be struggling these days, expanding their curriculum all the way to competing with the Royal Arms Institute.
"Hey! What about me?" ProGamer_Daddy waved frantically, trying to make his presence known. "What about me?"
"You?" I didn't even look up. "Blacksmith."
This one was a true tech prodigy, capable of crafting weapons and civilian tools alike. Why waste such talent in brutal frontline combat when he could shine in the tech field?
His eyes widened. "I'm a light-element player, and you're telling me I can be a blacksmith?"
"Of course," I lied effortlessly. Who said sunlight couldn't produce heat? And if that failed, there was always a furnace or earthen kiln to ignite the flames. It wouldn't be like the traditional blacksmiths anyway.
All three players fell into deep thought.
"Of course," I spoke again, breaking the silence. "This is just a suggestion. You can figure out your ideal class as you go."
NeverShowOff was surprised. "We can change classes later?"
"Yes, and the cost isn't necessarily too high." Although, for most, it was.
ProGamer_Daddy stepped forward. "Any specific examples?"
I didn't reply immediately. Instead, I held up a number with my fingers.
"..."
Clink, clink!
Coins were deposited into my account. I couldn't help but feel satisfied as the payment came through.
NeverShowOff spoke again. "Can we continue now?"
"Of course." I happily sat back. "There are plenty of examples. Take Edgar, for instance. He was once a Paladin of the Radiant Church. After defecting, he retrained and is now more of a swordsman."
"Ohh..." Hedgehog suddenly understood. "No wonder he had that lingering injury debuff when we encountered him!"
ProGamer_Daddy smacked his palm in realization. "Ah! So, classes with the 'Holy' prefix require a divine calling, it's like a family inheritance system!"
"Well, that's one way to look at it," I said, not quite agreeing with his analogy.
Hedgehog mused, "Binding your power to an organization is like buying shares, but ones you can never sell!"
NeverShowOff remarked, "But our faction choice is singular, so we don't seem to have that risk."
ProGamer_Daddy asked, "Can the anti-deity faction also build churches?"
LootGoblin interjected, "Why not? Don't we already have a deity right here?"
The players' gazes collectively shifted to the glowing orb.
"Ahem!" I coughed heavily. "Sorry to disappoint you all, but The Watchers don't have a church."
"Ah..." Everyone groaned in unison.
"Does that mean these classes can only be used when playing the traitor role?" LootGoblin speculated.
"Not necessarily." ProGamer_Daddy suggested, "You could always follow Viktor's example, form an organization, bind a deity to it, and voilà!"
Though, the difficulty would be extreme, but he was not wrong.
"Why are you still here?" I asked LootGoblin.
"Well, since I already paid the consultation fee, I thought I'd stick around for some extra lore," he replied shamelessly.
NeverShowOff took out a notebook and started jotting things down. "Divine roles are a scam, never choose one, even if eligible." Then he looked up. "Any more examples? Are there class changes without side effects?"
I glanced at my palm.
Clink, clink!
Payment received!
I began explaining at a leisurely pace. "Of course there are. As long as you can learn the skills, you can have multiple classes simultaneously."
"For example?"
"Every class you can choose, I can do."
Back in the day, when I was still human, I specialized in close combat. Divine power wasn't omnipotent, at least, not the limited amount I had. Every spell and class path the players could access came from my own repertoire. Well, I'd had hundreds of years to learn them.
LootGoblin's pupils shrank. "You're also a blacksmith?"
"Yes."
"Then why do we need to find separate blacksmiths for main story progression?"
I looked at him and sighed. "I'm a severely injured undead."
Half a month ago, I couldn't even lift a blade without falling apart. Forget wielding a hammer, I couldn't even hold a heavy sword properly. And now they wanted me to build city walls? Even the village donkey wouldn't be treated this harshly!
As my fees continued to rise, the players decided to retreat and piece together the details themselves, but I could still hear see and hear them.
---Third POV---
NeverShowOff spoke first. "From the current information, starting classes seem to be broad categories. If there are branching paths later, it's possible to switch mid-progress."
LootGoblin pondered, "So the grayed-out classes are unavailable because the training paths aren't complete?"
"That's what Viktor seems to be implying," Hedgehog agreed. "In the future, we might even have to find new skills ourselves!"
Everyone turned to stare at him.
"..."
He instinctively took a step back. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." ProGamer_Daddy feigned seriousness. "It's just... in this game, even reviving requires buying underwear, so it's entirely plausible for them to make us unlock skills this way."
So, how exactly would new skills be unlocked? At the moment when they were still piecing together the garbled details... a surprise visitor arrived, bringing the answer.
Comments
lohan seibert raimundo
Obrigado pelo capítulo
