Arnold took a moment to regain his composure. He then revealed a doubtful expression.
"They may hide their alignment, but the murders and thefts can't be hidden, so why haven't I heard of many?"
Azazel smirked.
[And who said they can't be hidden? Deep inside, you still believe that this world is a peaceful place, despite what you've been through.]
The young Grim felt like he was awakening from a dream. He thought seriously.
"Murders aside, people who have been robbed must surely complain, and rumors would spread. The only way to hide these things is…"
His eyes widened in shock.
[Silencing. Good job, boy. If this were a video game, I'd give you a Vapor Achievement.]
The young man heard an unfamiliar term.
"What's a video game?"
Not receiving an answer, he shrugged.
"Fine, keep your secrets. Anyways, whether or not crimes are being covered, and victims silenced, isn't my problem. More importantly, can you explain my Subclass options?"
The Devil Lord obliged his protégé's request.
But of course, he wouldn't be an old monster if he didn't play mind games, lose his train of thought multiple times…
In the end, Arnold made sense of everything in his mind:
This world was unfair to the extreme, because Class Holders were given a powerful advantage from birth.
Say what? You have 40 years of experience as a blacksmith but can't forge that sword? That's rough buddy.
Say what? The neighbor's 10 year old Class Holder forged it instead? Here, have a try at reincarnation.
In an attempt at balance, the Heavens made leveling up difficult even for the most talented Class Holder. The jump from lvl 0 to lvl 1, in particular, was incredibly challenging.
Additionally, Cass Holders couldn't choose their starting Class.
Even an unparalleled genius would be stumped with an archeologist Class. After all, it was well known that the Archeons had annihilated all the ruins and traces of history in the world. How was he to gain experience? This was more cruel than not having a Class at all.
All things considered, the choice of Subclass given by Azazel was quite amazing, and Arnold was genuinely grateful.
…
About an hour later.
At last, the Devil Lord started taking his explanation more seriously.
[... Anyways, this choice will likely determine your fate, so let me give a thorough explanation of each basic Class, starting from the most simple Unique Classes. Your Beggar Class belongs to this category.]
A slightly excited Arnold was soon doused with cold water.
[Don't be tricked by their name, these are essentially shit. Slave, Beggar and Prisoner are all Unique Classes. There may only exist one Holder in the world, but a Unique beggar is still a damn beggar. Of course, there are also famous Uniques, such as the Hero Class spoken of in legends.]
Once again, Azazel's occupational habit of giving hope before taking it away in the next sentence manifested itself.
[But the Hero Class forces the Holder to fight the Demon Lord, and die together; it's actually a top tier trashy Class. If you were lucky, the Randomness might work in your favor, but given your Luck track record… keke.]
Arnold scratched his cheek.
"Duly noted, I shall avoid the last choice like the plague."
Azazel then continued his lengthy explanation.
[Warrior, Merchant, Scholar, Worker and Thief are the basic Classes. Just as Unique doesn't mean good, basic doesn't mean bad. With enough advancements, Warrior can become DragonRider and Scholar can become ArchMage. Archeologist and Blacksmith are all variations of Worker.]
Arnold got to hear one secret after another.
"By Dragon you mean that mythical creature? Does it truly exist?! And the scholar path leads to magic?"
The slightly unfamiliar word, Dragon, took the young Grim back to his childhood. Of all the bedtime stories his mother read him, his favorite had been that of a terrible, greedy Dragon kidnapping princesses only to be defeated by the mighty Hero.
Azazel, who could read his thoughts, smirked.
[It's funny, come to think of it. Dragons, the only True Neutral faction, were written as villains by humans.]
Arnold couldn't help but nod. In the last year, any good impression he had had of the human race had been thoroughly erased.
[Anyways, I'll explain Class advancements another time, so stop pretending to hesitate. You made your choice months ago, but my generous self still let you know some secrets. Consider it a reward for the Cathedral stunt, boy.]
Arnold smiled. Azazel was right; he'd long since made his choice for his first Subclass. He had been temporarily tempted by the Unique Classes, but that misunderstanding was quickly corrected.
This first subclass wouldn't replace his Main Class. After all, as much as he didn't want to admit it, Arnold had immense talent for the Beggar Class.
But this Subclass would synergize with his Main Class, and he was also familiar with it.
"Advance to Merchant."
The Grim Merchant Family's heir took a deep breath and made the first step onto his path.
[Subclass 1 : Merchant]
A faint golden light enveloped him, and Arnold's Fate changed as he fell unconscious.
[At least you're not stupid. You've grown up admiring and studying your father, and you've experienced the economy and society of Porto. You can do this, Arnold.]
The Devil Lord, Azazel Grim, sighed.
[In the end, what's meant to happen, will happen. The energy and lifespan expenditure is too high, and I will have to hibernate.]
The Devil Lord looked at the sleeping Arnold and smiled.
[... Farewell, boy.]
…
…
That night, the cold breeze woke Arnold from his slumber.
As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, the first thing he did was open his System and focus on his Subclass.
[Subclass 1 : Merchant
Skills : Haggle, Persuade, Flatter, Mind Arithmetics]
Unfortunately, his Class skills were passive, and they only enhanced his original capacities. Thankfully, he had received a good education and could make good use of the Mind Arithmetics skill.
Flatter, Haggle and Persuade were convenient skills that had great synergy. They should probably be used in that order.
Overall, it was a very simple Class, as expected of level 1.
By the time he finished checking everything, Arnold suddenly noticed the uncharacteristic silence around him.
The Devil Lord, who would usually liven things up, was strangely silent.
"Azazel? Are you sleeping again? Feel free to wake up at any time."
A few minutes later and still no response, Arnold finally couldn't sit still anymore.
"You stupid System, answer me! ... Please, answer me."
Arnold called out in his mind to no avail.
He convinced himself the Devil Lord would wake up later, but the new Merchant vaguely felt that he might be on his own from now.
His first friend was gone.