The Path Walked, The Path Ahead

The Lizardman's abdomen was pierced by the Orc warrior's spear. In that instant, the warrior's mana surged violently, and with a powerful upward swing, the spear carved a brutal arc through the air.

Whoooosh—!

"Grrrk—!"

Thud—

Lizard No. 1's upper body was sliced cleanly in half, ending its life in an instant.

"Uwooooooo!!"

The spear-wielding Orc warrior threw his head back and roared toward the sky. The three hundred Orcs that had now surrounded us in a crescent formation joined in with their own deafening cries.

"Ugh— My ears are ringing!"

No Hayun glared at the Orcs with clear irritation.

Hmm. The rest must have split off to pursue the others.

The remaining six hundred or so Orcs seemed to have gone after the other hunters. We'd managed to kill about fifteen percent of the Orc army and tie down another thirty percent, but the safety of the hunters who had fled first remained uncertain.

Tsk... I wish I could calmly read through the options, but everything's happening way too fast.

"Kyahulan will keep fighting!"

The spear-wielding Orc declared his will to continue the battle, and the others raised no objections.

This bastard seems to be the strongest among the Orc warriors.

I wasn't particularly fond of dividing things into neat categories like mid-D-grade or low-C-grade, but his combat prowess clearly placed him at the top of D-grade.

"No. 1..."

No matter how many times a summon could be resummoned, it wasn't easy to stay calm while watching a cherished summon get brutally slaughtered right before your eyes. Lee Yeonhee squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before sending out the next one.

"Uwoooor!!"

Deonni, a fellow Orc, let out a thunderous battle cry and charged forward with powerful strides. As a regular soldier who hadn't yet reached warrior rank, how long could Deonni possibly last against an Orc warrior? Even I was genuinely curious.

Slash—!

One swing from the Orc warrior.

...Come on, you bastard. At least block once like No. 1 did. Geez...

But contrary to my hopes, Deonni's head and torso were separated in a single clean cut.

Thump—

Deonni's severed head rolled across the ground and came to a stop right at my feet.

Don't look at me with those eyes. If you want to resent someone, resent No. 1 for choosing you.

Lee Yeonhee must have resummoned him immediately, because the severed head soon turned into smoke and vanished.

This isn't working...

I wanted to buy some time to craft bombs and prepare for my class change, but everything was dying the moment it stepped out. There was no time to do anything.

As I fiddled with a bomb and stared at the Orc warrior in dismay, No Hayun spoke up cautiously.

"If it's alright with you, shall we go first? You need time to make those bombs, right?"

I nodded immediately. Yeonhee answered that she understood.

(Ilwol, how many bombs do you have left?)

In response to Yeonhee's question, I held up nine fingers.

"This won't be easy. Honestly... I thought they would last at least a little longer."

It was inevitable that her expectations had been off.

How could you know without experiencing it?

We had dominated every fight with overwhelming force back in E-grade. So naturally, she must have assumed we could at least hold our own against D-grade opponents.

Slurp...

The resummoned No. 1 looked at me with a slightly dejected expression. He was probably close to evolving as well. If he had already evolved, he might have lasted longer, but the timing was simply too early.

Step—

The second miscellaneous member of No Hayun's party stepped forward. They weren't exactly hunters worth remembering as "miscellaneous 1, 2, 3," but unless they were on the level of No Hayun or Yu Dali, they wouldn't leave much of an impression on me.

"I have no name to give the likes of you! Come at me!"

"Human. Kill."

Unlike when he first appeared, the spear-wielding Orc had completely regained his composure.

Hmph—!

The Orc warrior snorted loudly as he eyed the kite shield painted in a striking blue and the thick mace held by miscellaneous No. 2.

Looks like a Paladin-type. I can have some expectations. In that case, the options...

Paladins typically possessed supporter-type skills focused on restoring allies' health, temporarily stunning enemies, or preemptively canceling enemy mages' spells. They generally had excellent staying power. In short, they were versatile all-rounders who could tank, heal, and stun opponents before beating them senseless.

Ideal, really...

Of course, that only applied if they grew properly and reached the late game, but their fundamental traits didn't change.

Since it seemed like I might have a moment to breathe, I turned my attention to my class change. When the Orcs first came pouring out, the red-haired elf had kept me too tense to look away. Only now could I finally examine it.

There were some concerns, especially recalling what happened during my first class change.

Last time I changed classes, my head spun for a while and I felt something like motion sickness. This time I might even lose consciousness entirely. Even if it's urgent, I need to proceed calmly.

The options presented to me totaled four. I first examined the one floating at the very top.

So every action I've chosen is reflected in these options... It's rational, but also kind of creepy...

Just how was a system like this even created? It had become a topic that even the old-fashioned scholars no longer studied, yet I found myself strangely curious once again.

Anyway, the first option ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠presented was exactly what I had expected, and it carried a very familiar feel.

The message that had appeared when I reached level 40 had been so long that I'd roughly guessed what it would say, but reading it directly made it clear this was on an entirely different level from the explanations given during my first class change. The most striking part was the description of "paths."

I don't really understand what it's saying just from looking at it...

There were a total of five paths. If I chose Skeleton Bomb Mage, the paths that would follow were...

Doom Bomb Magician...

The name itself was terrifying. "Doom" meant to be destroyed and annihilated.

Annihilation...

In my mind, I could already picture a mad bomber laughing maniacally as he blew up every living thing except himself. I didn't know how many more class changes it would take to reach that point.

Still, the feeling itself seems incredibly powerful.

The additional abilities were also quite satisfying. Time bombs were something I'd hoped for, and it seemed that wish had been reflected. The bomb crafting time, which currently took about one minute and thirty seconds, would be reduced by a full twenty seconds. The number of bombs I could store would nearly double, and I would be able to focus explosions on a single point by adjusting the range.

The special trait and stat increases are more than double what I got during my first class change. This is incredible.

When I was still a hunter, the ways to raise my stats were through leveling up, crafting equipment, acquiring artifacts, the occasional enlightenment that boosted stats, or advancing my class. But advancing a class felt completely different from what was happening now. There hadn't been such drastic stat growth, and of course there were no choices like this. It simply felt like how faithfully I could walk the path that had been set for me.

At this point, it's fair to say the system I'm under is a higher version than what current hunters have.

That made it all the more important to be cautious. Since I was given so much information, if I made the wrong choice, it would be entirely my own fault.

Choosing the Doom Bomb Magician would mean completely departing from the paths leading to the Shadow Sovereign and the King of the Undead. "Completely departing" probably meant I could never switch back to those routes again.

Argh! Is this system trying to kill people with decision paralysis?!

I knew it was an excessive complaint. There was no way for me to know why such a tremendous opportunity had come to me. But no fool would throw away a winning lottery ticket just because they were afraid of the future.

The abilities themselves are good, but completely leaving those paths feels a bit uncomfortable. Hmm— Let's look at the next option... Skeleton Flame...

Bam—!!

"Ugh... Hrk—"

......Wait, it's already over?

It hadn't even been two minutes. Contrary to expectations, miscellaneous No. 2 couldn't hold out for long. He was relentlessly beaten with the spear shaft and eventually gave up the duel. Still, at least no part of him had been severed, so he had fought far better than No. 1 or Deonni.

"Chiiiik..."

Miscellaneous No. 2, who had been turned into a literal punching bag, began trembling violently as if in a panic from the insane jeers of three hundred Orcs—sounds he'd never heard in his life.

That kind of thing really wears people down mentally.

"Ughhh... Damn it..."

"Hyung, a-are you okay?"

"Don't take your eyes off his right foot. He has a habit of always stepping forward with his right foot when he attacks."

"O-okay... Hoo— Haa—"

Miscellaneous No. 3 seemed to have completely lost his will to fight after seeing No. 2 return in such a wretched state. Still, even while getting beaten to a pulp by the Orc, he had managed to pass on some useful information for the next fighter.

Tremble tremble—

The male hunter known as No. 3 was shaking so badly he could barely stand. It was an understandable reaction. Anyone could see this duel was a guaranteed loss. No, from the beginning, this was never a real fight—it was just a way to buy time. The fact that he had lasted this long was only because he was a shield-focused Paladin. A pure warrior like No. 3 would be in serious danger of having his neck cut in one blow, just like Deonni.

"Can't do it? If you can't, just say you can't. Is someone holding a knife to your throat and forcing you to go out there?"

No Hayun spoke coldly to No. 3, who was looking at her with a pitiful gaze. She was right, but saying it like that would probably sap the listener's strength before the fight even began.

Still, they're on the same team. She could have said it a bit more gently. What a cold girl.

"Ugh... S-still, I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠give it a try."

Miscellaneous No. 3 staggered forward, gripped his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two-handed sword, and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

This looks really unstable...