The Path I Cannot Return From
The head commands, the heart chooses. But this time, the choice had become something I could never take back. I decided to treat it as nothing more than the fun that came with a class change. Soon another message appeared.
"Hey, teach. Take it easy, will you?"
You have obtained the opportunity to kill your enemy. Where do you stand while holding the coldly forged dagger?
1. In front of your enemy
2. Behind your enemy
Damn it. They weren’t giving me any time to think. Still, for me the question was easy.
‘Heh heh heh… This one’s simple.’
Staring them straight in the eye and fighting fair had its own kind of romance, sure. But—
‘Sneaking up from behind, driving the blade into their back, and watching that bastard’s face twist in agony would be far more satisfying.’
Jo Giman. The old monster who had lived through seven lifetimes. The one who looked down on the world thinking he knew everything. I wanted to land a solid blow on that arrogant face.
Clack. Clack.
Just imagining it was so thrilling that my ribcage danced with excitement.
‘I choose number two.’
By selecting option 2, you continue the possibilities of Bone Cloak Nightblade and Shadowbone Infiltrator.
‘Oh? This time I didn’t have to discard anything. Anything that keeps possibilities open is good. But these… they look like stealth-specialized classes?’
Interestingly, the two classes that continued their possibilities each possessed the abilities Shadow Bone Mantle and Existence Erasure. Both were essentially superior versions of stealth.
‘Hmm… Does this have something to do with the removal of stealth restrictions after clearing the quest?’
Anyway, this choice wasn’t bad either. Stealth was a skill I had to keep carrying forward.
On the other hand, I was curious what possibilities I would have continued if I had chosen to face the enemy head-on.
‘Skeleton Knight… Probably something in that line.’
Suddenly, the image of Natalan Jackmon marching stubbornly toward Nargul came to mind.
‘Hmm— that would have had its own atmosphere, I suppose.’
A commander who maintained harmony between offense and defense while directing the battlefield. But that role would belong to Yeonhee, and since I had to become the single strongest combat force, it wouldn’t quite fit.
My brief thoughts were interrupted by the next message. This one clearly felt different from the previous questions.
Summoning, Fire, Water, Wind, Ice, Nature, Rock, Light, Sand, Lightning, Death, Void, Gravity, Sound, Shadow······
‘Uh… What am I supposed to do with this?’
The message continued for a while before suddenly stopping. Then another message followed.
This is a list of the source abilities experienced by Skeleton Magic Swordsman Ilwol.
Among them, you may strengthen or newly continue three possibilities.
If you do not select within the time limit, three will be chosen at random.
Time remaining: 10 minutes.
‘……This is definitely good, but what happens to the ones I don’t choose? It’d be nice if I could still use them even a little.’
The word “strengthen” sounded appealing, but it was also true that I felt regret over the possibilities I would lose.
‘Hmm— three, huh. So it’s telling me to choose and focus…’
The system sometimes seemed to offer infinite possibilities, yet at times like this it felt like it was guiding me toward the most efficient path. Either way, I calmly examined the list.
‘Summoning… That’s Yeonhee’s ability. Do I really need to take it?’
If I chose summoning, I had a vague hope that it might provide some positive synergy with Essence Devour. But I wasn’t alone, so I had to consider efficiency. Why bother when there was already a genius summoner?
The picture of Yeonhee raising a great army while I confronted the strongest enemies on the front line was ideal. My servant Gori was somewhat useful, but I didn’t expect him to play a decisive role against powerful foes.
‘Yeah… Summoning is out.’
Next, fire was an ability I absolutely had to keep. In fact, I was tempted to pour all three possibilities into fire alone. On the other hand, water and ice seemed to originate from Irmana and No Hayun. Since they felt opposed to fire, I was cautious.
‘Water and fire are probably the hardest to make coexist.’
In a similar vein, light was completely incompatible with me. It was ridiculous that it even appeared as an option. Who was this trying to kill?
‘Now that I think about it, she should be around here somewhere.’
Right before leaving the Dungeon of Nargul, I had killed the light mage Ju Ye-seul and stored her corpse in my inventory. She was probably lying around somewhere in this space.
‘I should collect the bodies later.’
It wasn’t that I planned to eat them or anything, but they might be useful someday. I nodded and looked back at the source abilities.
Wind and lightning were probably related to the Lightning Step and High-Speed Flight I had used while moving. Death seemed connected to 94 Lives… and sound was likely because of the monster Speaker.
I understood most of them, but—
‘Void? What the hell is that?’
I had never even heard of the concept. Yu Dali’s nature-based plant magic. The shadow ability woman who had been watching our house a few days ago. The orc mage who controlled sand. Cha Jin-hyeok’s gravity manipulation. It seemed even abilities I had only seen with my eyes were included.
‘Void, void… Have I ever felt something like that?’
Just like the word suggested—empty inside… nothing there, nonexistent. An ability with that kind of feeling.
‘That’s…… it feels similar to when I cross a gate.’
The hollow sensation I felt every time I entered or left a dungeon. There was definitely a resemblance. Once I thought of it that way, one thing came to mind.
‘The red-haired elf I met in the orc dungeon.’
More precisely, the portal-opening ability used by the old man who had been standing beside him. Come to think of it, Nargul had used something similar in the hidden dungeon. Tania had also opened a portal when showing me the titan.
Of course, it was slightly different in nature from what the old man had used.
‘Is it an ability that connects two separate spaces? Something related to the concept of space itself?’
I couldn’t be certain. But it was clearly a unique ability, so it caught my interest. There was no way I could pass this up.
‘Alright. I’ll take fire and void. Then the last one…’
Shadow? That felt a bit… ambiguous. The fact that the Blue Eye bastards used shadow cloaks made me uncomfortable.
It seemed related to stealth, but since the restrictions on stealth had already been lifted, I thought it would be better to first see how much power it could display.
Gravity was good too, but it had a critical drawback. I remembered looking up information on Cha Jin-hyeok’s ability out of interest after reading about him in my previous life. Gravity manipulators were extremely rare throughout history, but they all shared one common weakness.
While the ability was active, they couldn’t use any other abilities at all.
‘It also consumes mana quickly. I could handle that, but the bigger problem is that my reaction to danger approaching Yeonhee would be delayed. That’s a definite minus.’
Clack clack…
‘Maybe wind or lightning would be better?’
There was no need to explain the importance of a movement skill. Of course, wind and lightning were also excellent for offense, but the ones I currently possessed were movement-oriented.
‘Lightning seems best. Since I’m already using Lightning Step.’
If I increased its potential, maybe I could raise the completion rate of the Lightning Step I was clumsily imitating. Since it still wasn’t recognized as a proper skill, it would definitely help. Moreover, the overwhelming presence that had swallowed me when I detonated Flame Explosion five times on that giant skeleton also influenced my decision.
The dazzling light that illuminated the entire world and the ferocious waves of lightning that seemed to tear the sky apart. Just remembering it sent a shiver through my bones.
‘……Yeah. Let’s go with lightning.’
If I could even follow a speck of that immense being’s power, crushing someone like Jo Giman would be easy.
‘I choose fire, lightning, and void.’
Strengthening the possibilities of Fire, Lightning, and Void.
‘Alright. I’ll trust this choice.’
I had chosen with some care, but maybe I didn’t need to take it so seriously. During the last class change, it said I had gained the possibility of rock magic. Yet for twenty levels I had only spammed Fireball and never even touched rock magic. In the end, a possibility was just a possibility.
‘If I had gotten a little closer to Bae Jua, could I have used rock magic?’
I was picturing Bae Jua frowning while cleaning her glasses when a message suddenly appeared and gave me goosebumps.
You have encountered the final enemy.
If you cannot kill the enemy, this world will face its end.
The enemy’s combat power is 100. Your combat power is 80.
You have five incapacitated allies. Each time you sacrifice one, you gain 5 combat power.
How many allies will you sacrifice?
1. Sacrifice none.
2. 1 person
3. 2 people
4. 3 people
5. 4 people
6. 5 people
— There is no option to not choose.
‘Whoa— this one’s rough. The question’s pretty brutal.’
This time they had even blocked the loophole of staying silent.
‘Hoo— let’s think rationally. This is just a question meant to reflect my tendencies, right?’
……
‘Damn it! Why did it have to be exactly five? It’s bothering me for no reason.’
The faces of Yeonhee and the other party members flashed through my mind, but I forced myself to think calmly. Setting aside half-hearted answers, what about option one?
‘Even if the world ends, I cannot sacrifice my comrades!’
It was the kind of choice you’d see in a shonen manga. If the system gave points for humanity or camaraderie, it would probably receive a generous evaluation. But would a system that managed dungeons and awakened beings—where countless people died every day—really care about something like that?
‘Bullshit. That’s not it.’
Then what about the coldest, most rational choice?
‘Sacrifice them all and stably defeat the enemy with 105 combat power. Honestly, that’s the best option, isn’t it?’
Fighting at 100 versus 100 while leaving one person alive and risking an uncertain outcome was too much of a gamble. Besides, if I left even one person unsacrificed, I’d be distracted and unable to fight properly. If I lost, the world would disappear. I couldn’t afford to take that kind of risk.
…I couldn’t. My head pointed toward sacrificing all five, but the words “five comrades” kept getting stuck in my throat.
The memory of having dinner with Yeonhee, Bae Jua, Baek A-rin, Ham Eun-yeong, and No Hayun kept resurfacing. I couldn’t stop myself from substituting them into the problem. Even though this was just a class change question, it wasn’t something I could brush off lightly.
Just the thought of abandoning her made me sick.
‘Five people… Yeonhee… Even if I save the world without being able to save Yeonhee…’
What was the reason I was born and living in this world?
‘……Option 5. I will sacrifice four people.’
After sacrificing four people and gaining 20 combat power, you engaged in a fierce battle with the final enemy.
However, your concentration was scattered due to the incapacitated allies, and you were ultimately defeated.
— Due to your choice, the world has been destroyed.
I flinched.
‘It can’t be that the world actually ended, right?’
Please do not worry. This is merely part of the class change process.
‘Phew—’
However, there is no guarantee that the same situation will not recur.
‘……Right. That’s true.’
A bitter feeling rose, and my thoughts deepened. The same situation could happen again… It was something I really didn’t want to think about.
‘……’
Time passed in silence.
‘…Is that it?’
I thought something would appear after the questions ended, but strangely, nothing came up this time. Neither gaining possibilities nor losing them happened.
‘Hmm… Was this really just to gauge my tendencies?’
I was letting out a sigh of relief when the long-awaited message finally appeared.
Based on the path you have walked so far, the most suitable option will be presented.
‘Hmm? Most suitable? Does that mean this time it’s giving me a single option?’
It would present the most suitable choice according to my decisions and the path I had walked without needing me to worry. That in itself was an exciting prospect.