The Sharpening Path

Yeonhee had been staring blankly at the building entrance for an hour now. The longer time dragged on, the more she felt that what she was doing was utterly pointless, and a quiet gloom settled over her. What makes me think I have anything like Ilwol’s incredible abilities…

Just as her confidence began to waver and she considered heading back to the café she had visited earlier, the trio emerged from the building once more. Something about them had changed. Hmm… what is it?

She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, yet an intangible aura that wrapped around their bodies had shifted in a subtle way. Ilwol had overheard them mention something about a “stone” back at the café; perhaps this was connected. If they really used it, shouldn’t they have transformed as dramatically as the red-hatted one who turned into a harpy? This change is so faint.

The shift was so delicate that only someone with Yeonhee’s exceptional senses could have noticed it at all. Keeping a greater distance than before, she quietly tailed the trio as they moved. Their steps were noticeably quieter than when they had entered the building.

Stagger— stagger— Definitely suspicious.

The three walked like zombies, swaying unsteadily, yet the flow of their mana was steadily rising. The longer she followed, the more distance she had to maintain. Only after watching them disappear into the hotel they had stayed at the previous night did she finally stop and slip into a nearby café.

I can’t push any further…

Stepping into the hotel now felt too risky, and a strong instinct warned her against it.

“Ran, what on earth are those people? It’s that thing, isn’t it?”

(Ahem— In my judgment, everything you’re thinking is entirely correct, Master!)

Yeonhee gently stroked Ran’s increasingly patchy body while saving the building’s location on her phone so she wouldn’t forget.

“There’s something going on there. And it’s definitely nothing good.”

She followed the thread of her thoughts for a moment before suddenly stopping. If she told Ilwol about this, he would insist on going inside that building himself. Then he’d be in danger again. No. Absolutely not.

“Phew…”

She slumped over the table and let out a long sigh. Nothing felt fun anymore, and her body felt drained, heavy with sleep. She still had hours to wait before Ilwol returned. How had things ended up like this?

I miss him…

Staring at the coffee cup on the table, she pulled her hood low over her head.

“Clack-clack—”

The sound of teeth striking together echoed endlessly through the lightless void. The intangible waves never returned. So this really is the Dark Space. Ilwol nodded to himself.

Hmm. Finally hit level 60.

In truth, reaching it in less than a month was impressive, but the density of events made it feel long overdue. He invested the newly gained stat points into Agility, Wisdom, and Perception as usual. Even after focusing solely on these three for some time, he still felt the shortage. His other stats, by comparison, didn’t feel lacking—except perhaps Strength, which was starting to feel tight. Considering his ultimate skill and Piercing, however, prioritizing speed still seemed wise.

Whoa… my stats really have climbed a lot.

These were the values after being fully blessed by Irmana’s water. Thanks to the Perception stat gained from leveling, his wave detection range now exceeded two kilometers. Even by raw total, he had surpassed 1,600—an absurd figure. Few C-rank hunters could match him now, and after his class change, perhaps none at all.

He had slain twelve Tarantaras, triggering Thievery once more.

Hah, this is nice. Simple skills like this tend to perform reliably.

Though he had only stolen one trait, it was satisfying. At this level, he wouldn’t melt away instantly even if hit by a Tarantara’s acid.

“Clack!”

After one more unnecessary click of his teeth, Ilwol recalled the class-change message that had appeared earlier—and the other matter he still needed to address.

That old man… he told me to come find him.

The mysterious grandfather connected to Forgotten Ancient Swordsmanship. Since then, no matter how much he trained with the sword, the trait had never activated again. Though the unknown existence made him wary, he still felt he ought to seek the man out. The problem was that he had no idea how.

Searching blindly with Perception alone was impossible; this space was simply too vast—perhaps too vast for the very concept of “vastness” to apply.

Once I change classes, finding him should become easier.

Growing stronger was essential if he wanted to prepare for any potential danger. He looked again at the floating message.

That was really tough… I hope the System realizes that.

……

As always, the System offered no reply. The past few weeks of slaughtering thirty thousand monsters felt distant now.

Still, having the Stealth restriction lifted is something to look forward to.

He had already felt uneasy lately. The detection stone on Nargul’s staff had once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dispelled his Stealth, and yesterday he had sensed danger from the guide in Cha Jin-hyeok’s party. He didn’t know what ability the man possessed, but there had been a sharpness that made Ilwol feel his Stealth could be exposed at any moment.

Other things could be managed, but Stealth had to be preserved. Once he reached C-rank, many ability users and items with detection powers would appear. Leveling Stealth was clearly necessary now.

The stat reset opportunity was also welcome. He had no immediate use for it, yet simply possessing it felt reassuring. Even if the stats he had chosen upon leveling weren’t perfectly optimal, knowing he could undo them brought peace of mind.

Hahaha—if this is the reward, the hardship was worth it.

“Clack-clack.”

Now that he had made a sound, it was truly time to change classes.

Enough with the obvious warnings. Just show me the options.

How many choices would appear? Too many would be troublesome. While waiting for the message, countless thoughts raced through his mind—yet when it finally appeared, all he felt was confusion.

……Huh?

……What? What is this?

A sudden binary choice—completely unexpected.

Please just do what you’ve always done… Why change the rules now?

Still, this was the reality before him.

Urgh…

He tried to think it through seriously. Swordsmanship or Magic—only one? That had never been an issue before. He had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been using both together just fine until now. Damn it… Both were things he had worked hard to master. He didn’t want to give up either.

Swordsmanship, Magic, Swordsmanship, Magic…

No matter how long he pondered, the conclusion remained the same.

Can’t I just keep both? I’m a Magic Swordsman, after all.

After a long struggle, still unable to choose, he simply stared at the options as time passed.

Is there a way to choose not to choose?

There was a time limit, but no message about penalties for letting it expire.

…Fine.

He decided to wait it out without selecting anything.

Soon after, once the time had fully elapsed, a sharp, piercing tone rang through his skull.

……So this works?

As expected, there had been a hidden third option.

But why didn’t it tell me? Does it think picking only one is better?

Still, the fact that the System had phrased it as “the option of not choosing” suggested it wasn’t considered wrong. He finally let out a relieved breath.

……This kind of message is new.

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but the tone almost sounded concerned. It’ll be really difficult—are you sure you’re okay? That was how it felt.

Taking both sides really is going to be tough, huh? Maybe choosing only one would have given explosive efficiency?

Swordsmanship and magic were, in some ways, opposites. His choice might have been reckless.

…But Flame Slash and Flame Explosion are already a combination of sword and magic from the start…?

Looking back at his ultimate skill, he knew he couldn’t abandon either path. With that conviction, he read the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next message.

Hmm… This class change has a clear concept. But this choice is easy.

The next question had nothing to do with his abilities directly; it was meant to reflect his personality in the class change. If protecting Yeonhee was the priority, he should choose the shield. But if he had to pick only one…

What good is just blocking? I choose the spear that pierces all things!

Better to step forward and drive through the enemy’s heart than to endure until everything collapses together.

Aha, so that’s how it works.

This time it was proceeding by elimination. The discarded class names all sounded impressive… Curious, he read the description of one anyway.

Oh…

Hmm… The abilities are heavily skewed in one direction, but they’re quite strong.

It was probably the evolved form of the heavily armored skeleton soldier that had appeared in his early class options.

Interesting. It might not have been bad either.