Ethan started thinking about what path should he choose first. 'Hmm… mage or knight? Which one should I go for first?'
He then opened his system window again. The window appeared in front of his eyes.
'Okay, let's see what my objective is.'
[Name: Ethan Graves]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Overlord (SSS-Class)]
[Level: 5] [Health: 100/100]
[Mana: 120/120] [Strength: C+]
[Agility: C-] [Endurance: C+]
[Intellect: B-] [Charisma: B]
[Luck: B-] [Dominion Points: 0]
[Potential Rating: SSS] [Harem Slots: 0/10]
[Stat Points:-15]
[Class Ascension: Begin Your Path]
'Hmm least my stats have increased a bit since I last saw them, I am improving in a good way.'
Ethan noticed something on his system window. 'What the fuck is this now? It was not here before. Is the system glitching or what?'
[Overlord Trait Activated: Hybrid Eligibility Detected]
[Hidden Class Unlocked: Dominion Warlord]
[Fuse both Knight and Dark Mage paths.]
[Gain access to sword and dark magic simultaneously.]
Ethan started smiling like crazy, people were looking at him and giving weird reactions.
Someone whispered. "Look at him, he's gone mad."
The murmurs between other people were going around like crazy about Ethan being a weirdo.
But, Ethan's eyes were fixed on his system screen. 'Aha, So it's possible that I can easily get two cores built up in me because I am too fucking OP for this game.'
Ethan then thought for a while and decided to take on the knight's class first because it'll be easier to learn than a dark mage.
Ethan walked through the mist-veiled street of the Graveshallow city and finally now he arrived at the grandest structure in the city's northern part—a colossal fortress whose walls were carved with white obsidian. The courtyard was filled with statues of past champions and heroes, each holding their weapons.
Above the huge gate, the sigil of the Empire's other knights shimmered proudly: a lion devouring a serpent.
"Damn, that's sick. I saw it in the game but looking at it in front of my eyes… it surely hits different." Ethan whispered to himself. "It was already big in the game, but we only go a few places to visit so I never knew that it'd be this fucking huge."
As he stepped inside, knights were sparring with each other, their strikes were making the ground vibrate a bit.
Training dummies exploded under mana-charged punches. The discipline was visible in each one of them.
But, the main thing was the ma waiting at the end of the hall.
The Grandmaster of the imperial knights.
Sir Vandelion Greythorne.
Ethan stopped, and he took a clean look at him. He was tall, and his body seemed carved from rigorous training and hardships. Short silver hair, sharp cobalt eyes, a squared jaw with a long scar running from temple to chin. A sword with a dragon-bone hilt rested beside him, he gave the presence of the warlord.
Ethan gulped, visibly scared.
'Holy fuck… he looks more intimidating when I see him in person.'
Ethan sighed. 'In the game, he was really scary. Here, I think my knees will make me fall on the ground and make me kneel for him.'
Sur Vandelionnspoke up, voice loud and felt like a roaring lion. "You. Boy. Step forward and state the reason behind your appearance at the knight training yard."
Ethan did, trying not to fall on his knees—maintaining his composure. He inhaled a bit of air to puff his chest out so that he looked a bit confident—though he was having a hard time maintaining it.
"I am Ethan Graves." He said, bowing a bit. "I'm here to take the trial to become the knight of the empire."
Vandelion scanned Ethan carefully, just like how a grandmaster inspects the rusty sword of his.
"Hmph. So you seek the path of the sword, huh? Many come here with big dreams, but only a few of them leave with the honor."
He stood up from his desk. The ground shook a bit.
"To earn the right to hold the Crest of a Knight." He paused for a few seconds and then continued. "You must complete the Basic Rite of Probing. Only then I'll judge your worth and make you into a knight of the Empire."
A scroll suddenly appeared on Ethan's system screen.
[Knight's Trial Initiated]
[Run 1000 kilometers]
[Complete 10,000 push-ups]
[Complete 10,000 sit-ups]
[Land a single clean strike on Sir Vandelion Greythorne]
Ethan was shocked, his face got pale. 'Bro… What in the fucking medieval hell is that!?'
He punched the bridge of his nose, to wake himself up from this hell of a dream. But, it didn't work. 'Run a thousand kilometers? That's a quarter of the fucking planet! And then fight him? HIMMM??? Land a fucking strike on this guy? I'd rather be set on fire and thrown into the demon realm' He thought while staring at the window with dead eyes.
This wasn't how it went in the game! You just had to bring a relic and give it to him and do a duel with a level 20 knight apprentice!
'This scenario is not like that of the game.' Ethan thought, dragging his hand down to his face, facepalm. 'This is a fucking living HELL!'
Vandelion raised one of his eyebrows. "What? Do you have any problem, kid? If you're scared then get out of here"
"N-no, no sir!" Ethan straightened his back instantly, standing in an attention position. "I was just… thinking of how to complete the challenge."
The grandmaster smirked slightly. "Good, then begin with it immediately."
With a loud snap of his fingers, several knights brought training equipment to the courtyard.
Ethan sighed and accepted his defeat. "Well, it's time to ruin my joints."
He dropped down and started the first push-up. "One…two…three… why does this fucking ground feel like it's punching me back." He whispered to himself.