'In spirit, as always,' Karl thought as he placed his five free points into his stats.
Ding!
---
[Constitution: 55 (+4)]
[Strength: 55]
[Agility: 60 (+16)]
[Spirit: 95 (+39)]
---
"My stats are high, good," Karl grinned, "But I need more."
Of course, his [Strength] and [Constitution] were still the lowest since he rarely placed points in them.
He had always focused on [Spirit] and [Agility] to boost his casting speed and magical damage.
That meant he could hit harder and faster, even if he couldn't take many hits himself.
He also didn't have the right kind of equipment to boost those physical stats yet, but that didn't bother him.
What he had now worked fine.
He turned toward the ground where the [Broken General] and the [Broken Soldiers] had fallen.
The air still carried the faint echo of battle, and the blackened ground shimmered with the faint glow of dropped items.
Karl crouched beside the general's armored body and began inspecting what was there.
'Damn,' he muttered under his breath as he saw what had dropped.
---
[Broken General Armor (Elite): Warrior-type armor, +40 Constitution, +15 Strength, +23 Physical Resistance, +12 Magical Resistance. Requirement: Level 10]
---
[Broken General Sword (Elite): +32 Strength, +9 Agility. Requirement: Level 10]
---
[Broken Spirit (Elite): Warrior/Sentinel/Tank-type skill book. Requirement: Level 10]
---
All three of these were excellent drops.
Even though Karl couldn't use them himself, he instantly recognized their value.
The armor and sword were perfect for warrior-type players, and the skill book was even more valuable.
[Broken Spirit] allowed its user to buff their allies' morale and strength during combat.
It was one of those group-support skills that made a massive difference during long fights or raids.
'But there's no point in selling it here,' Karl thought, shaking his head, 'Players in the [Novice Continent] can't equip any of this yet.'
So instead of wasting time trying to trade it now, he stored it all neatly inside his inventory.
He would sell it once he reached the [Ascension Continent], where higher-leveled players would pay much more for it.
After that, he looted the soldiers' corpses as well, though nothing stood out.
Most of the gear was basic or repetitive, worth keeping for now but not impressive.
[Inventory Space: 14/20]
Once that was done, Karl straightened up.
His mind immediately went to what he wanted to do next: evolve.
[Current Evolution Points: 9.]
He didn't hesitate.
[Do you wish to consume 7 Evolution Points to evolve "Scorching Fireball"?]
He looked at the panel in front of him.
His [Magic Barrier] was still rare-rank, but he knew that raw power mattered more for the upcoming battles.
He was heading toward the [Ascension Continent] soon.
The monsters there were stronger, faster, and deadlier.
To survive, he needed more damage.
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have evolved "Scorching Fireball" (Elite) to "Annihilating Fireball" (Epic)]
[Current Evolution Points: 2.]
---
[Annihilating Fireball (Epic): Conjure an annihilating fireball that deals 500% → 700% of Spirit. 15 → 14 (7)-seconds cooldown.]
---
"Damn!"
Karl's eyes widened slightly as he saw the result.
His attack multiplier had jumped again.
Based on his [Spirit] stat, that meant his new fireball could deal more than 9,000 damage in a single cast.
That kind of strength was terrifying.
He clenched his fist.
With that, he could easily one-shot most bosses in the [Broken Town].
It made him stronger than literally every other player at this stage.
Still, he knew that once he stepped onto the next continent, that wouldn't be enough.
The enemies there were on a completely different level.
So this was only the beginning.
After finishing the evolution, Karl turned back to his interface.
Several notifications he had ignored earlier were still glowing faintly.
He opened them.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you may now undergo your first class advancement.]
[Your experience will be locked until you complete it.]
He nodded. This was the rule for all players.
Once you reached level 10, your experience gain was frozen until you completed your advancement task.
It prevented anyone from rushing ahead without proving their worth.
[Level: 10 (Locked)]
Karl wasn't too worried.
He already knew what the first advancement task was supposed to be.
Every single player received the same one.
It was simple: leave the [Novice Continent] and reach the [Ascension Continent].
That was the very first test.
Players would receive a panel asking if they wished to leave, and once they accepted, they'd be teleported straight to the new continent where the true game began.
That was what Karl expected.
But then…
Ding!
Another message appeared.
[You will receive the hardest Tier-1 Advancement Task possible.]
"Huh?" Karl blinked.
[Tier-1 Advancement Task: Clear the 'Ruins of Oblivion'.]
[Good luck.]
"Wait, what?"
He stared blankly at the text.
Even after seven full years of experience in [Gods Ascension], Karl had never seen anything like that.
A special advancement task? And one that described itself as the hardest possible?
He frowned deeply.
Usually, players had the freedom to immediately teleport to the [Ascension Continent] once they reached this point.
But now, his system displayed a restriction.
[You will be able to head to the "Ascension Continent" once completing your task.]
Karl took a deep breath.
That meant there was no way around it.
In [Gods Ascension], if you couldn't complete your advancement task, you couldn't advance at all.
You could still exist in the game, of course, but your growth would be permanently halted until you succeeded.
There had been rare cases of players being stuck like that for months, even years.
And now, Karl had been given what the system itself described as the "hardest" one of all.
"The [Ruins of Oblivion]," Karl repeated aloud, his tone calm but his expression sharp, "Never heard of that zone."
Even with all of his previous experience and knowledge, that name didn't ring a bell.
Still, he didn't feel discouraged.
He was determined to go through it no matter what.
'Alright,' Karl thought.
It couldn't be a coincidence that his class was named [Heir of Oblivion] and that now his task involved a place called the [Ruins of Oblivion].
It had to be related somehow.
If he completed this, maybe he'd finally understand more about the true nature of his class.
Even a small hint would be worth it.
But before he could think too deeply about that, he needed to actually find the place.
In all his years of playing, he had never heard of any zone named that way.
That meant only two possibilities: either it was hidden so well that nobody had discovered it, or the people who did never came back to talk about it.
Either way, it didn't sound good.
Karl walked toward the outer edge of the [Broken Town], where the massive stone wall stood tall.
It stretched endlessly in both directions, smooth and unbroken, cutting off the horizon.
'It'll take me hours to find it,' Karl sighed, his expression blank, 'So much for completing everything quickly.'
Still, that didn't discourage him. If anything, it made him even more eager.
The fact that he had received this kind of advancement task meant the system, or perhaps the game itself, considered him strong enough to face it.
That alone was a reason to keep moving forward.
Karl took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then, as he opened them—
Fwish!
His eyes briefly shone with a faint purple light.
And suddenly, in front of him, a thin purple line appeared, almost invisible but glowing faintly against the ground.
"Huh."
Karl tilted his head. He blinked a few times, but the line remained.
It wasn't something that existed before.
"That's..."
He had a good feeling about this, and so, he followed it.
The line traced a narrow path that wound around the outer walls of the city, leading him through quiet, empty streets and broken corners where the ruined town faded into the cliffs that bordered it.
After about ten minutes of walking, the purple trail ended.
Karl looked up.
"Hah…" he grinned slightly, "I guess that's… weird."
In front of him, hidden between two jagged rocks, was a small cave entrance carved into the side of the cliff.
The stone around it was dark and cracked, and the air inside looked unnaturally still.
He could feel it, that faint pull. Something about it resonated with his class.
Karl stepped closer, his eyes narrowing.
And as soon as he crossed the invisible threshold—
Ding!
[You are about to enter a dangerous level 10 zone: "Ruins of Oblivion"]
[Once you enter, you cannot leave unless you die.]