The Height Problem

Of course, there was a problem.

The ceiling was about 5 meters high. Even with his immense strength, reaching that far up wasn't easy. And the Life Guardian certainly wouldn't just sit idly by.

Finding a way was one thing, but silencing the beast was another. Still, it was exciting too. If he destroyed that thing, would the guardian really go quiet? And what about the five Life Orbs it still held? Could he snag an intact one?

That could lead to some really interesting uses.

His intrigued expression didn't last. Vulcan focused, dodging the Life Guardian's assaults—it clearly had no idea its weakness was exposed. He timed it right, created some distance, and pulled the Judgment Mace from his inventory, hurling it with a shout.

"Power Throw!"

It was one of the few attack skills boosted by Troll Strength, dealing throw damage proportional to his raw power. With Vulcan's might, it had more than enough force to shatter the ceiling.

"Krwoong!!"

Only then did the Life Guardian catch on to his intent. It wanted to swat it away, but time was short. To protect its weak point, it lunged, taking the mace hit instead.

"Agility Boost."

But that was part of Vulcan's plan too. His speed tripled in an instant. Before the guardian could react, he was on its body.

He scrambled up the falling beast, using its head as a springboard to leap toward the ceiling.

"Judgment Strike!"

Boom!!

And that wasn't the end. As the guardian flailed, swinging fists to block ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him, Vulcan twisted mid-air, met a punch head-on, and used the shockwave to launch himself higher. That got him to the unreachable ceiling in one go.

"Checkmate!!"

Clang?!

"?!"

Convinced the Despair Serpent would shatter the massive Life Orb at the magic circle's heart, Vulcan thrust with all he had. But a chilling, ominous sensation at his fingertips made his spine crawl.

Even the serpent's attack power couldn't destroy it.

"Uwaaaah!!"

He flailed awkwardly in mid-air. Falling now would mean getting smashed by the guardian, already recovering its stance for another leap. He thrashed desperately to cling on.

Pluck.

But then, something unexpected happened. The massive Life Orb, unmoved even by his full-powered stab with the Despair Serpent, simply popped out into his hand.

"Ugh?!"

Thud!!

Vulcan plummeted. Strangely, though the Life Guardian had recovered, it just stood there dumbly, not attacking.

"Huh?"

As he flailed and grabbed whatever he could, a question mark popped into Vulcan's head. Class change? An Epic job, no less?

Is this why?

He glanced around in bewilderment, then at the Life Orb in his hand. What else could trigger this alert?

Life Sorcerer... wasn't that Kapus?

He even knew the name. A pretty famous one among NPCs. Sure, just Epic, so no big deal—but holding it seemed to put the guardian back on standby, buying him time as if waiting for his decision.

"Holy shit! Legendary?"

Activating Dragon Eye, the item's true nature shone clear. As expected, Kapus's legacy—a class change item for his successor. It even acted like a master key for his Life Guardians.

But the hidden option stole the show. His eyes bulged at the 'Life Egg' revealed upon destruction. Legendary? Was that even possible? When Life Sorcerer was just Epic?

His heart pounded wildly, but Vulcan calmed it. Abnormal heart rate could force a logout.

"Before class change, holding this makes it recognize me as master, huh."

Checking the Life Egg's details could wait. Survival first.

"Then maybe...?"

Regaining composure, his eyes locked on one line: Grants command authority over all Life Guardians.

Meaning he could control this pain-in-the-ass beast too?

If it's a helper for the class-changer's early growth...

He couldn't help but covet it. A boss-grade tank, wrapped in buffs from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠multiple magic circles. Pop a few Life Orbs, and he'd have a Lv. 200 minion.

That meant solo-leveling to 200 easy, no help needed.

-What, so what. Even a mere Epic class gets this setup.

Glaring at Tud with envy and regret, the dragon grumbled, but Vulcan refocused.

Size is an issue, but sub-space storage works. Pull it out only in instance dungeons to avoid attention...

As he pondered uses and moved to store it in sub-space before leaving, a grimace-inducing alert appeared.

"Damn. No wonder luck felt too good."

His excitement for free levels via the guardian deflated instantly. No class change meant giving up the guardian.

"Can't be helped then."

But he still had five minutes. It saw him as master till then, so he could do something.

Destroying it for the Life Egg anyway? Might as well use it first. Self-consoling that it was for the best, he raised his sword.

"Sorry, but bye."

Stab. Stab-stab-stab...!

He approached the silent guardian, plunging Despair Serpent repeatedly, shattering all five remaining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Life Orbs in one go.

"...Did it work?"

No level-up alert due to job quest, so hard to tell. He mined the body to bits to be sure, collected the six shattered orbs, and finally relaxed.

"Whew. Can't even use EXP buffs right like this."

Having cleared the boss room completely, Vulcan's face was full of regret. Normal dungeons respawn, but yanking the Sealed Source of Life broke it. Probably terrain change—maybe no more mobs.

Most were guardians or spirits; removing the source ended the ley line and life energy magic circle.

"I refuse the class change."

With the guardian fully destroyed, he declared. Choosing thief status voluntarily, but nothing happened—all guardians gone.

Even if they respawn, no biggie.

Respawns would be welcome—he could handle them, and Item Master kept the source's effects despite no Life Sorcerer class. Meaning other legacies too.

He had leeway.

"Oh? Nice."

As expected, environment change alerts followed. The forcibly gathered energies dispersed, birthing new things via dense mana and life force. Not just terrain—internal shifts too.

Mine output up, new veins—better mining city. Spirits might keep spawning, or new plant monsters/races. All good, but Vulcan focused on treasure hunting.

Dragon Eye on, scanning Kapus's legacies.

"Diary, magic book, skill book? All hype, no substance?"

Soon, the loot fell short of expectations. Diary was just that. Skill book a recipe for Life Guardians.

Problem: Tud knew full golem recipes, way beyond Vulcan's level. Still useful—maybe minor golems or applications. He pocketed them.

Wanted to learn now, but issue with the magic book.

Even Item Master, ignoring restrictions, wouldn't let him learn another class's skillbook. Made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sense—otherwise, ultimate all-class fighter.

"At least I can read it... silver lining?"

He could open and study it, adapt contents. Not soulbound, good—but the 'Life Sorcerer only' condition meant others couldn't even open it. No high bids; it'd sell cheap as collector bait.

Couldn't bundle with the Legendary-containing source. Frustrating.

"If it's crap, dump the set."

More hopes on the source. If Life Egg sucked, sell the trio: Epic class item, progress skillbook/recipe. Big bucks.

Guardians? Pretend they never existed.

Even Epic egg? Sell anyway. Set worth billions. Legendary? Priceless, tens to hundreds of billions.

Glaring at the source with hope and grudge.

But first, clues from Kapus's diary. Normal diary? Skip. But Epic grade hinted story—and maybe egg info.

Glanced at source again, flipped open the diary.

Delving into the last words and insights of grand sorcerer-level Life Sorcerer Kapus.