Jack didn't take out his magic staff to increase his firepower; he counted on its added defense. A magic shield manifested at the tip of his staff as he charged towards the two puppets coming his way. Both of them swung their arms at the same time. Jack parried one with his sword and blocked the other with his magic shield.
The impact threw Jack back, and he skidded several meters on the floor before stopping very close to the green floor area.
"I don't know any fighters with that kind of shield skill," one of the rowdy men said with a hint of a question in his voice.
"That's not a fighter's skill," Gruff answered.
After being pushed back, Jack immediately jumped towards the two puppets. One of them reacted faster than the other and attacked. Jack made quick side steps to dodge its blow. The second puppet followed up with a horizontal swing. Jack blocked it with his Magic Shield and twisted his body to use the momentum to slip past in the space between the two puppets.
When the first puppet attacked again, Jack used his sword to parry. Every impact he defended against pushed him closer to the platform as he was already slightly past them. He alternated between parrying with his sword and blocking with his shield, not attempting to counter-attack as he inched ever closer to the platform.
The third puppet saw Jack backing towards it and couldn't resist the opening. It abandoned its post and moved forward in an attempt to force Jack into the middle of a three-pronged attack. The human would not have enough limbs to defend against their attacks!
Jack's back may have been facing the third puppet, but he was paying attention to his radar and was waiting for the third puppet to move. When he saw the dot behind him approaching, he blocked the one from his right using Magic Shield and hit it with a Power Strike pushing the puppet back a bit and stopping it.
He allowed the blow from the puppet on his left to hit him. Jack suffered 58 damage from the left puppet's attack; his HP was now under half.
Jack let the force from the blow push him slightly to his right. He then turned around and dashed away.
Jack was now very close to the third puppet. It smashed down as Jack came to its side, but Jack lunged forward and evaded it with a forward roll. All three puppets were now behind him; there were no more obstacles between him and the statue! He immediately stood up and ran towards the platform.
Jack had begun mentally celebrating as he ran for the platform, but then he heard a clanging sound. He turned around just in time to see a steel ball on a chain hurtling at him from the side.
"Holy cra—" He didn't have a chance to finish his curse when the steel ball crashed onto his Magic Shield and sent him flying. He slammed onto the wall on the other side.
Pain lashed through his body! Clenching his teeth, he sucked it up and rose to his feet.
The steel ball that had hit him was hanging from a chain attached to the third puppet's arm. The steel ball could disengage from its hand and become a chain ball weapon!
Even as the other two puppets were running towards them, the third puppet pulled the chain ball back and swung it around and around at its side. It then used the momentum to launch the ball straight at Jack. The flying ball's speed was frightening, but Jack focused his attention on the puppet's motion. With no hesitation, Jack jumped upward as soon as the attack began. He then kicked towards the wall pushing himself higher. The steel ball crashed onto the wall leaving spider web cracks radiating from its point of impact.
Jack landed on the floor and immediately continued running for the platform. One of the puppets slammed its arm downwards as soon as it was close enough to hit Jack. Jack parried the blow and cast Magic Bullet right at its knee joint. It didn't damage the joint, but it did disrupt the puppet's movement.
The third puppet was frantically pulling back its chain, but it would not have enough time for another attack before Jack made it to the platform. The other two puppets could no longer catch him after Jack had halted the one closest to him.
All looked good, but Jack continued to pay attention to them as he ran. As he expected, they had one final trick.
The other two puppets' steel balls detached from their arms. If they made a straight shot, they would end up pushing Jack closer to the platform. Instead, they both slung their ball hands towards Jack horizontally to throw him to the side. The iron balls flew from left and right, one high and the other low. The left ball was aiming at Jack's leg while the right ball was targeting his upper body.
Jack made a quick calculation and jumped up, raising his Magic Shield into the right ball's path. The left ball passed below Jack, while the right one smashed onto the shield and sent Jack flying to the side, but Jack quickly stabbed his sword into the floor and used it to pivot himself towards the platform. Jack flew through the air and landed on the platform just in front of the statue. The three puppets instantly froze in place.
Gruff and the others were silent; their eyes glued on Jack, who was now standing in front of the warrior statue, catching his breath.
'That was close,' he thought. He had managed to pass the test only because of his outstanding attributes and dual-class skills. No wonder those warriors all bet against him passing the test!
He wondered how many players would successfully get their advanced class at level 15. An average level 15 Fighter could easily get crushed by this test. Most would likely only pass once they reached a higher level and became stronger. Some might manage it if they had excellent martial skills. Red Death, for example, with her exceptional situational awareness and control of body movement, might have an easier time passing this test. However, he doubted that her test for a Ranger's advanced class would be the same as the test for Warrior. He reckoned that they would be different; otherwise, why had they set up academies for each class?
After collecting his thoughts and relaxing his body, he turned to the three-meter-tall sculpture of a male warrior wearing ceremonial armor and carrying a large two-handed axe. Jack did as he was told and knelt in front of it. He soon heard a notification voice.
"Congratulations, you have passed the trial to become an advanced class. You are now a Warrior. Receive inherent skill: Physical Damage +10%, and a new skill: Charge."
He remembered Peniel had told him that Warrior focused more on offense. It was indeed the case; his attacks would already be 10% stronger. He would need to wait until he leveled up to 16 before judging the attribute increase difference.
He opened his skill window to look at the new skill, Charge.
*
Charge, level 1/20 (Active skill, melee, require melee weapon)
Charge through a direction. Dealing damage and knocking all within the direction
Deals 120% physical damage
200% movement speed
Range: 8 meters
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Stamina: 30