"Why the hell did you hit me?" David shouted, his hand instinctively rubbing the spot on his head that was still throbbing from the smack.
The old man before him remained silent momentarily before breaking into a sly grin. "I don't remember hurting you. I must be practising my swings," he shrugged casually.
"Damn you," David gritted his teeth, frustrated by the cryptic response.
"So, you want a good class, huh?" Rowe asked, scrutinizing David from head to toe.
"Yes, sir!", David said and suddenly changed his attitude from a prideful cat to a little puppy.
"I have heard about the stories of great Sir Rowe. He.. uhm, was a very good mage!"
"Don't be a goody-two-shoes in front of me. It might work on other wizards, but not on me, ya brat," Rowe grumbled, his demeanour gruff and unwelcoming.
"I also know that he was got at uhm.. casting spells! The speed at which Sir Rowe casts spells is simply incredible", David spoke up, knowing that he was running out of fake compliments to make. He looked at the old man, who was actually grinning and rubbing his hair as if thinking about these compliments.
"Did I get him?"
Knowing that dealing with Rowe would be no easy feat, David silently accessed the details about the mysterious necromancer.
Level:???
"The fuck? How strong is this old man? And what is he doing here in Beginner's Town?" David wondered, deciding to confront Rowe directly. "What are you doing in the graveyard of Beginner's Town? I promise you, sir, I will bury you with the utmost care if you make me your disciple."
"I am not about to die, ya brat!" Rowe suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind David and smacking him with his staff again.
"Why now?" David exclaimed, but Rowe feigned ignorance, whistling as if nothing had happened.
"Well, I guess James saw something in you. You deserve the answer," Rowe muttered, snapping his fingers. The graveyard began to shake, and two chairs made of bones emerged from the ground.
"WOAH! Would I be able to do this as well?" David asked, quickly sitting on the chair made of bones.
"Ask more unnecessary questions and the next time, the chair will be made from your bones," Rowe grumbled as he took the other seat.
"Now, listen to me. In this world, there are many classes which players can choose, but there are only four main jobs. These jobs contain a few classes which are more special than the others. These classes allow you to reach the pinnacle of your job."
"Hmm, that's some crucial information. The guilds highly protected information about Legendary and Mythical classes," David thought. "But why not pass it to the citizens of your kingdom? Rather than a random player like me?"
"That's because players can grow faster, unlike James or my other students. It seems like mana exists to aid the players, not people like us," Rowe gave a fake smile.
"Most of my mates have passed on their skills. Some passed on to players, while the others didn't have enough time and had to rely on the natives."
David was silent for some time. He looked at Rowe with pity. "So, do you think I am strong enough to inherit your legacy?"
"you are not bad. James has written here that you can conjure mana without using a staff. Even Adept wizards cannot do that, ya know.", Rowe said as he stood up. Rowe could sense a mysterious energy revolving around David. "Maybe he has what it takes" he muttered to himself.
"And James has written that you like fighting alone. The class I can give you can only show its true strength when used by a player that doesn't believe in bullshit like teamwork or the power of friendship. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and you can't trust anyone", Rowe said, looking at the sky.
"Seems like you have been through some tough shit old man" David smiled, patting Rowe's back.
"What do you think I am your son or something?" Rowe grumbled, smacking David again with his staff.
"Stop it with the smacks!"
"Anyway, where was I?" Rowe started talking again, "Your body is not strong enough to take the class at once. I need to give it to you in stages."
Suddenly, David's system rang, and he was assigned another quest.
==========
Quest: Path To Necromancer(Mythical)
Details:
1) Complete 'Path To Necromancer I (Incomplete)'
2) Complete 'Path To Necromancer II (Incomplete).'
3) Complete 'Path To Necromancer III (Incomplete)'
Rewards: Necromancer Class (Mythical), Bonus Rewards
Quest: Path To Necromancer I (Legendary)
Details: Clear the Dungeon 'Boneyard Catacombs' alone at Nightmare Difficulty
Quest: Path To Necromancer II (Legendary)
Details: Gather 30 Mana and the Item 'Soulstone'
Quest: Path To Necromancer III (Legendary)
Details: Learn how to gather Death Energy
==========
"The lower level at which you finish this quest, the better will be the bonus reward", Rowe smirked. "I will teach you how to gather the Death Energy, but you need to complete the second part before that, or else you won't be able to succeed."
"You masochistic old man", David grumbled, but his entire attention was on the quest before him.
"It's not going to be easy", he thought.
"Go away now, ya bastard; you got what you wanted", Rowe said to David as he slowly walked back into his hut by the corner of the graveyard, leaving David alone.
David opened his system,
==================
Name: David
Level: 7(430/800 exp )
Stage: Mortal
Class: None
Stats:
HP: 120/120
Vitality:12
Strength:12
Agility:12
Mana:12
Stat Points: 6
Skill Points: 7
Skills: Lesser Fire Spell, Lesser Lightning Spell
Weapons: Heavy Staff
Items: Hound Armour, Deflection Ring
Quests: Path to Necromancer
Inventory: Bread, Lesser Healing Potion
==================
"I need 30 mana, and even if I put every point I gain towards mana, I would need to reach level 13 to complete the final subquest", David thought. He quickly added all his stat points to mana, bringing it to 18.
"Completing Boneyard Catacomb by myself isn't impossible", David thought, but he knew it won't be easy on nightmare difficulty. He decided to get used to some dungeon runs by practising with Tom and his party in the Fang Caverns dungeon.
"I need to convince him to do the Nightmare difficulty, though. I need to check the difficulty spike once to make my plans for Boneyard one."
Meanwhile, Tom messaged David. "My team is ready, lets go clear the dungeon"