TL: Knight Errant
An entirely unexpected power leveling.
The system messages announcing his level increase kept appearing, enough to obstruct Dio’s view.
“What’s this? Why is it happening?”
He recalled the monsters he had hunted while pretending to be a mercenary with his level 10 strength.
Was this a sudden influx of all the experience points from those monsters?
“What a windfall!”
A class reward was expected.
But, to also receive accumulated experience points as a bonus?
Just escaping level 10 significantly increased his chances of survival…
‘A reward beyond that!’
Unable to hide his smile, Dio closed his level window and checked his newly acquired class.
“Huh?”
His surprise wasn’t just because it was a class he had never seen before.
Dio knew this event was related to the second update.
However, the problem was that the class grade was marked as ‘Common.’
Despite completing a quest that seemed quite difficult, the low grade was a painful realization.
‘It was natural to get a class I didn’t know about. But this…’
A ‘Common’ grade. And what’s with the ‘growth type’?
Encountering a ‘growth type’ class was a first in his OTF life.
‘This is going to take some time.’
Analyzing the class change content would take a considerable amount of time.
Realizing he couldn’t afford to waste time here, Dio quickly stood up.
He joined Clara and the mercenaries, who were focused on exploring, as he descended from the altar.
“Huh? Monte-nim?”
Clara, having completed her exploration on time, tilted her head while looking into Dio’s confused eyes.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s all been resolved.”
Despite wearing a mask, was Clara’s intuition sharp? Somehow, the way she looked at him seemed to have changed.
Dio vaguely shrugged off her question.
“Yes… I see.”
Responding to Dio’s return to his usual demeanor, Clara hummed softly and tilted her head.
Still not completely easing her guarded expression, Dio quickly changed the subject.
“If we’re done here, let’s return.”
Their business here was finished.
With time pressing for the next plan, Dio suggested to his companions that they should return quickly.
The group agreed with Dio’s words, and they hurried back to Avera Village through the way they had come.
* * *
“Raymond, turn right over there.”
“Hey, you there. Narrow your elbow angle.”
“Left side. Hold off once, then counterattack.”
“Brown hair. Don’t you know the more you use your wrist, the stronger it gets?”
On the way back to Avera Village.
In the midst of battles with mercenaries and monsters returning to the village, Dio’s voice resounded powerfully.
[Your level has increased.]
‘I have to take what I can.’
Dio was not taking shortcuts but passing through various camps on his way back.
Having succeeded in his class change and able to level up, it was the perfect situation to power level using the mercenaries.
Of course, due to the large number of mercenaries, the incoming experience points were less than expected.
But for Dio, who was only at level 28, it was still a significant opportunity to level up.
Thus, under the guise of training, Dio gradually collected the experience points from the monsters hunted by his party members.
‘I need to be well-prepared for the upcoming Monster Wave.’
Monster Wave was an event-type quest to help newbie characters who had just reached the appropriate level adapt to the village.
For Dio, as long as he was well-prepared, it was an experience event offering the highest efficiency for his efforts, despite the dangers of his low level.
The mercenaries, unaware of Dio’s thoughts, simply followed his instructions diligently, thrilled to be personally trained by an A-grade mercenary.
‘Well, their mission isn’t over yet, anyway.’
Dio looked at the mercenary rolling on the ground with all his might and smiled.
Ensuring Clara’s safe return was part of their mission.
Raymond and the mercenaries following him wanted to receive as much guidance as possible from an A-grade mercenary, now that their mission was nearly complete.
“Hey, is there time to rest?”
“Huff, huff, no, sir.”
“It was you guys who asked for guidance during the mission.”
Dio opened his mouth, admonishing the mercenaries who were catching their breath.
“Even though the priestess made it convenient, if you had any conscience, you wouldn’t have time to catch your breath. Well, I find it easy and nice when you guys rest, but… are you sure?”
“No, sir! We can continue!”
The mercenaries, thinking Dio’s words were for their benefit, showed a passionate attitude as they stood up again.
However, Dio’s actions were merely a whip to extract the maximum benefit from them.
“Eh… I’m okay, though…”
Clara, seemingly feeling guilty under Dio’s Spartan training, murmured softly.
Even considering the time spent encountering the Death Knight unexpectedly, Clara had some time to spare since they took a shortcut.
But…
‘I don’t have time.’
Unlike Clara, Dio didn’t have the luxury of time.
He had to extract as much as possible from the mercenaries and return to the village quickly.
“Hey you! I see you slacking off.”
“Huff, I’m sorry, Monte-nim!”
…Well, it wasn’t all bad for the mercenaries.
Despite Clara’s words that there was no rush, Dio continued to push them, pretending to be considerate.
Only after reaching level 35 did Dio finally call an end to the training and arrive at Avera Village.
* * *
[You have entered Avera Village.]
The group, upon arriving at the village, headed to the Mercenary Guild to report the completion of their mission.
However, Dio, who hadn’t requested any separate reward, turned his back to separate himself from them immediately.
“Ah! Monte-nim!”
Clara called out to Dio.
“There will be a separate reward from the Church of Luna for the special circumstances of this mission. Especially for Monte-nim, who saved our lives, a considerable…”
“It’s okay.”
Predicting what Clara was about to say, Dio cut her off sharply.
Dio no longer needed them.
Having achieved his objective, Dio now had to prepare for the upcoming Monster Wave.
“Huyng-nim! Why don’t you have a drink with us?”
“Yeah! I want to hear in detail about how you dealt with that black thing!”
“The priestess said she has to report urgently to the church, but at least Monte-nim should join us!”
Raymond, who had naturally started calling him ‘Huyng-nim’, led the mercenaries, who were eager to talk about the mission.
“I still have things to do. Let’s postpone the feast for later.”
Dio spoke decisively, and the mercenaries felt the same awkward and heavy atmosphere they had when they first met him.
This was just right.
They would consider this mission a valuable experience.
They would probably feel that hoping to continue their connection with an A-grade mercenary was too greedy.
Such is the standing of an A-grade mercenary.
Leaving the disappointed group behind, Dio immediately sought out a place to stay.
He had to get a new room under the name ‘Monte’, as the original room was under Dio’s name.
In a somewhat worn but clean room, Dio took off his mask and sat on the bed.
‘Now I can finally relax a bit.’
He hadn’t had the chance to organize his class and skills since obtaining the class change and returning.
Now that the mission was over, it was necessary to properly check them.
‘I need to carefully distribute my stats according to my class and skills.’
Especially since he had already heavily invested in the strength stat of his character.
He had safely completed his first goal since falling into the game, but the most important first step might be right now.
Alright. Let’s check it out.
* * *
—————
Class: Forgotten Swordsman (Growth Type) – Common
—————
Dio, opening the status window to check his class again, became lost in thought.
What information about the class might the system provide?
Analyzing his new class was Dio’s immediate priority.
‘The key… must be related to this.’
There was so much information he didn’t know.
The temple murals and the Guardian.
The Death Knight’s sword.
The energy received from the Death Knight.
The key.
And…
The focal point of all changes brought about by the second update.
‘Finding the connection between all this and Adelia Darc is crucial.’
Even though he was just at the beginning, Dio gritted his teeth as the situation he was unaware of unfolded rapidly.
Realizing the uncertain future was approaching too soon, Dio slowly composed himself.
‘Calm down. This was expected from the beginning. All my max level characters followed different paths, and everything was a first.’
If he had always followed the same track, he would have given up long ago.
Despite the same outcome, Dio’s method was to explore various approaches…
Continually complaining about the given situation is nothing but a waste of time.
The unfamiliar class and its related main scenario are far from ordinary.
Making hasty decisions in such an obscure situation might lead to irreversible consequences.
His plan to power level through the Monster Wave hadn’t changed.
However, he needed to think carefully about his future path.
‘Do I prioritize leveling up, facing the unknown future head-on?’
Yes, thinking any harder probably won’t yield any new insights.
Dio opened the system window to understand his current status more accurately.
—————
[Status Window]
<Level>: 35
<Class>: Forgotten Swordsman (Growth Type) – Common
<Stats>
Strength: 50
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 5
Health: 5
Mana: 5
Bonus Points: 125
—————
Dio smiled in satisfaction as he looked at his status window.
Although there were many in the party, the monsters they hunted had levels far higher than Dio’s.
‘I managed to level up seven times for free, thanks to them.’
In OTF, it’s crucial to invest points according to character class and class skills.
Having checked his level and bonus points, Dio remembered something more important.
‘The trait received as a reward for defeating the Death Knight must be good.’
Dio, thinking to distribute his level points after checking his traits and skills, opened the skill window without touching the level points yet.
—————
Skill: Oath of Liberation Lv.1
Effect:
Forms an Oath of Liberation with one designated target.
If the target agrees to the oath, the caster sacrifices their own health to nullify all status ailments of the target.
However, the amount of health consumed depends on the target’s condition.
Afterward, the target enters a subservient relationship with the caster.
The caster loses 10% of their stats with each contract.
Current Contractees: [0/1]
—————
Skill: Slash.
Swings the sword, inflicting damage to enemies in front of you.
—————
“An oath?”
Dio muttered, looking at one of his new skills, ‘Oath of Liberation.’
‘Nullifying status ailments seems like a healing act, right? It seems like I can make someone subservient in exchange for healing…’
He didn’t know the connection between the Forgotten Swordsman class and a skill with an ‘oath’ characteristic.
The concept of liberation, yet forming a subservient relationship with the target, was difficult to understand.
However, Dio knew well the power of an unbreakable vow formed through a contract with another.
‘If there’s no restriction on the target, and I can subjugate someone much stronger than myself…’
Dio pondered how to maximize the efficiency of this skill.
But, considering the conditions and penalties, it wasn’t a matter to be taken lightly.
First, he needed to get the consent of the contractee for the oath.
Yet, it seemed unlikely that someone stronger than Dio, the caster, would easily submit.
‘But to contract with someone too weak…’
That would be akin to wasting the skill.
There’s only one person he can contract with, and a wrong choice could just add unnecessary burden.
And then, there’s the penalty of losing 10% of his stats, which was a concern for someone at his level.
Losing health could be recovered with potions.
But regaining stats, even for Dio, would be a time-consuming task.
‘While it has several constraints, it’s still a decent skill. Plus, there’s no rule that it has to be used only on humans.’
Thinking of using it like a taming skill, Dio shifted his attention to the second skill.
“A skill named ‘Slash’…”
Dio frowned as he reviewed his second skill again.
Oath of Liberation could be a good skill, provided he finds the right target and uses it wisely.
However, the second skill seemed problematic no matter how he thought about it.
At best, it was just a slightly stronger normal attack.
Dio couldn’t help but feel disappointed by this fact.
His disappointment was short-lived.
Suddenly, the red energy of the Death Knight within him started to fluctuate, and a change occurred.
Whoosh-
[The skill is being appropriately altered according to the player’s status.]
“What?”