The Hidden Class: Divine Archer
Class advancement. The silver bracelet gleaming on the mana screen looked like nothing more than an ordinary piece of jewelry at first glance. But it wasn’t. I could feel an unusual surge of mana pulsing from it. And if my memory served me correctly, this was essentially an end-game item.
Just to be sure, I activated Mind’s Eye.
Mythic
A weapon once wielded by one of the five legendary heroes who sealed the Demon God. A growth-type weapon that evolves alongside its user.
Just as I suspected. ‘I never imagined I’d run into this thing here.’
Even back when I played the game, the weapons used by the five heroes weren’t supposed to appear in the early stages. The difficulty would become trivial if they did. That’s why the system had been designed to prevent players from obtaining them too soon. Yet here it was.
‘I never expected to find it like this.’
Unlike the other Beginning weapons, I had never actually seen the Bow of the Beginning in the game. To discover it in such an unexpected place… ‘Is it because the protagonist is female in this version?’
Well, I could think about that later. I’d been feeling frustrated by the lack of a proper weapon, and acquiring this would mean a massive boost in specs. The only question was how to get it.
Since it had been put up for auction, the sellers probably thought it was just a mana-infused bracelet. That made sense. Most people wouldn’t know how to handle it. At the very least, you needed the talent for Archery Mastery to even use it. To the average eye, it would simply look like a pretty silver bracelet.
‘But nobles love this kind of thing.’
Aristocrats with more money than sense always preferred extravagance over practicality. There would definitely be nobles trying to buy it. ‘Ugh. How much do I even have right now?’
I took out the remaining gold from my spatial pouch. The moment I saw the coins, I frowned. ‘I’m basically broke.’
I had only brought enough to buy the World Tree’s arrow, so I hadn’t carried my entire fortune. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought everything. ‘It’s too good to just give up on.’
I racked my brain for a solution. Then it hit me. ‘Wait a second.’
It wasn’t just gold in my possession. I still had points. ‘Time to open the cash shop.’
I opened the cash shop and scrolled down with a flicker of hope. There it was—the option I wanted.
‘I knew it would be here.’
I had checked just in case, but sure enough, it was possible to buy gold with points. ‘Using real money to buy in-game currency really is the golden rule.’
I had been nervous it might not exist, but I was relieved. ‘If it wasn’t here, I would’ve been screwed.’
I spent half the points I had. The next moment, a message window appeared before my eyes.
3,000 points have been used to purchase 3,000,000 gold!
How exactly did it deliver the gold, though? I had never used the cash shop before. While I was wondering, a low vibration hummed from my spatial pouch.
‘No way…’
I opened the pouch. Sure enough, countless gold coins stamped with the image of the sun had appeared inside, as if they had always been there. ‘Insane. When did they get in here?’
The coins had materialized the instant I made the purchase. Anyone watching would think they had been in the pouch from the start.
The auctioneer’s voice rang out. “All right! Those interested in purchasing, please write your bid amount on the paper beside you!”
I didn’t hesitate. I wrote down 3,000,000 gold. There was no point in writing less and risking it being taken from me. A moment later, the announcement came.
“Sold! Bidder 103 has won the auction once again! Congratulations!”
Fortunately, no one had bid higher. I had been anxious someone might snatch it away, but it worked out. As I let out a sigh of relief, there was a knock at the door.
When I opened it, the staff member from earlier handed me the Bow of the Beginning. I poured the gold coins from my spatial pouch into a sack. ‘Everything here is nice, but the fact that they only accept cash transactions is a bit annoying.’
Normally, calculations would be done conveniently through a crystal orb, but since this was a secret auction, only physical currency was allowed. It made the whole process rather cumbersome.
‘I wonder if these will actually work…’
With a hint of worry, I handed the sack to the employee. He examined the coins carefully, then nodded.
“Yes, everything checks out. Thank you, sir.”
With those words, the employee quietly left the room. ‘It actually worked?’
If even the staff at El Dorado’s headquarters couldn’t tell the difference, the coins were clearly usable. At this point, I had to wonder how the system had obtained them. ‘Well, it’s the same entity that gave me my traits, so I guess something like this is normal.’
There was no point pondering it now. I couldn’t figure it out anyway. It was more important to return to the dormitory. ‘There are observation orbs watching here.’
With that thought, I suppressed my excitement and headed back to the dorm.
The moment I entered my room, I took off the recognition-inhibiting necklace without hesitation. At the same time, I pulled the Bow of the Beginning from my spatial pouch. ‘Shall I try wearing it?’
The instant I slipped it onto my right wrist with a fluttering heart—
Congratulations! You have obtained the Bow of the Beginning!
Experience has been awarded as a reward!
Congratulations! You have leveled up! First class advancement is now available!
I had leveled up in a completely unexpected way. I had already obtained an incredible item, and now this? Today was turning out to be ridiculously lucky.
That was when it happened.
-Vrrrr.
The bracelet suddenly began to vibrate. What? Out of nowhere?
While I was still startled by the unexpected situation, a low hum echoed through the air.
“Mmm… Has the one destined to awaken me finally appeared?”
A green-haired elf with long flowing locks suddenly materialized in the empty space. Her features were so perfect they could steal anyone’s breath. Her glossy green hair complemented her beauty, and her pure white dress hinted at an ample figure beneath.
‘What? What’s going on?’
As my mind raced to process the situation, the elf turned her gaze toward me and asked.
“Are you the one who awakened me?”
She sat cross-legged in midair, arms folded in an arrogant pose. How the hell was I supposed to respond to this? For now, I decided to pretend I couldn’t see anything.
“Hmm? What is this? A defective product?”
“Do not ignore me. Even if you are blind, you must know that I am visible to you.”
It seemed pretending not to notice wasn’t going to work. Still, I couldn’t exactly answer her question right away. Just looking at her, this elf was clearly no ordinary being. ‘Seriously, who is she?’
While a question mark floated above my head, I quietly rubbed the Bow of the Beginning. The next instant, the elf’s face flushed bright red and she flinched violently.
“W-where do you think you’re touching?!”
Huh? I had only rubbed the bracelet. Why was she acting so embarrassed? ‘No way…’
I touched it again in a different spot. This time she flailed her arms, tears welling in her eyes.
“S-stop that! That place is sensitive…!”
Ah, so that was it. I finally understood why she was making such a fuss. It seemed the Bow of the Beginning and this elf were one and the same. ‘This never happened in the game.’
Unlike the other Beginning weapons, this bow appeared to be a little special. Anyway, pretending I didn’t know at this point would be awkward.
I stopped rubbing the bracelet and looked away. The elf glared at me with flushed cheeks and fierce eyes.
“Ugh! My purity has been stolen!”
“What purity? I only rubbed a bracelet.”
She fell silent, apparently at a loss for words. Ignoring her reaction, I asked a question of my own.
“More importantly, who are you? Why is some strange elf ghost popping out of a bracelet?”
“I am not a ghost! If you must know, I am Miroel, one of the five heroes of the Beginning and the first High Elf!”
“?!”
I was inwardly shocked by her words. I had never imagined the elf spirit before me would introduce herself as Miroel.
“This has to be a scam.”
“I-it is not! I did not lie!”
“I’d like a refund.”
“No, I said it’s not!”
In the end, Miroel burst into tears, and I gave up on requesting a refund.
Well, the truth was I already believed the elf in front of me was Miroel. After all, I had been one of the developers. How could I not know? ‘Still, teasing her according to her settings is pretty fun.’
She usually acted all lofty and proud, but she had surprisingly low tolerance for teasing. I had tested it just in case, and she reacted exactly as her character setting described.
“Sigh… I never imagined the first master to break my seal would be such a wicked man.”
“What are you talking about? Anyone else would have been suspicious too. Honestly, if a ghost suddenly appeared and claimed to be a legendary hero from the Beginning, who would believe that?”
“Ugh.”
She shut her mouth tightly, unable to argue. Then she looked me over and spoke again.
“By the way, it seems your eyes are not well?”
“Yes, as you can see.”
“Hmm. That is concerning. Using a bow requires good eyesight. Will you truly be able to wield the Bow of the Beginning properly?”
She looked at me with a face full of worry. Well, my eyes are actually too good, but… I wanted to tell her the truth, but doing so might incur a penalty. Just as I was about to make an excuse, she let out a small sigh.
“Still, it is fortunate that I can be seen.”
“Fortunate?”
“Indeed. If I could not be seen, I would not have been able to become your mentor.”
“My mentor?!”
“Is that a problem?”
It wasn’t a problem at all. It was fantastic. Miroel, the hero among the five who specialized in archery. If she became my teacher, my growth would far exceed anything I could imagine. After all, she was one of the few NPCs who had reached near max level.
“No, not at all. For one of the five heroes to offer to become my mentor, I should be the one expressing gratitude.”
My praise must have pleased her, because her ears twitched up and down. Then she spoke.
“Hmph. However, there is one problem before that.”
“A problem?”
“Yes. Your current power is far too weak to receive my teachings.”
“Ah.”
It seemed I would need to complete my first class advancement before she could teach me. But that was fine. I could do my first advancement right now.
‘Let’s see…’
I opened the cash shop and scrolled down. Miroel tilted her head as she watched me.
“What are you doing, gesturing at empty air?”
“There’s a reason.”
I gave a vague answer and purchased all the necessary materials. The next moment, a message appeared in my vision.
All materials required for first class advancement have been gathered!
The player can advance to two different classes!
Two classes? I had expected only one. But an extra option had appeared. When I checked what it was, I nearly swore out loud.