I stayed staring at the screen, puzzled.
"Can I choose my Class?"
I looked at the screen where I could scroll down and saw the Classes available for me to choose from.
____________________
You can choose from the following classes:
-Warrior
-Monk
-Cleric
-Swordsman
____________________
I clicked on an option, and a message appeared asking if I was sure I wanted to accept it, with options for Yes and No, to which I pressed No.
The Classes made sense: Warrior, Monk, and Swordsman, but Cleric didn't seem to fit, since in my previous life I wasn't very religious, and in this one, I had no connection to it.
According to what Alonso explained to me about the different classes, Warriors usually wield various types of weapons; Monks specialize in close combat, using a peculiar energy; and Swordsmen fight with one or two swords, focusing on quick and precise attacks.
"I don't like focusing on too many things, so I'll discard Warrior. Monk and Swordsman..."
Whenever I hear Monk, I always think of a bald person with a strange stick, but apparently here it's a close combat fighter using internal energy, which is the same as mana.
"I don't think I'll choose Monk. It'd feel weird being a monk, and every man's dream is to wield a sword."
I clicked on the Swordsman option.
____________________
Are you sure about this option?
-Yes
-No
____________________
I accepted, and a light appeared in front of me. At that moment, I felt a strange sensation in my body, and the screen updated.
____________________
Congratulations.
You have obtained the Class: Swordsman
Creating Swordsman Class Ability.
Class Ability: Quick Slash
____________________
Everything started to return to normal until I could feel the wind again.
"I got it. I finally got it," I said happily.
I was about to use the ability when I remembered I needed a weapon.
"I guess I'll have to wait to use it."
Then a thought struck me.
'Why could I choose?'
I thought about why I could choose my Class, which seemed impossible in this world, and the only thing that came to mind was the System. No one knows about a screen that shows your status or can create abilities.
"Every time I understand you less. I'd like an explanation because I have you."
I watched as the sun was setting.
"I need to go wash up."
Still thinking about the system, I went to the small lake to wash and try to relax.
By night, I had gone to bed after a dinner that seemed to be poisoned, which by now felt normal.
I lay down more tired than usual but still happy to have finally obtained my Class. The moment I laid my head on the pillow, I fell asleep.
When I opened my eyes, I stretched and realized I was in a very strange place.
"Where am I?"
I saw I was in a place with no vegetation and no sign of life.
"Was I taken somewhere else? No, that wouldn't make sense."
I touched the ground, and instead of dirt, it was ashes.
"They're cold. Did a fire occur?"
I got a little worried thinking there might have been a fire, but I tried to calm myself by breathing in and out until I felt better.
I tried to open the system, but nothing appeared. I tried again, but still nothing.
"I went to sleep, so maybe this is a dream, but it feels too real. Could it be a lucid dream?"
Knowing it might be a dream, I tried to fly, but couldn't. I scratched my head and started walking to observe the place.
At first, it seemed like an empty plain, but knowing there were ashes, it could have been the aftermath of a volcanic eruption or a big fire.
The smell wasn't just ash; it was a strange scent of wet earth, an odd animal, and blood—lots of blood.
I don't know how long I was walking, but I knew it had been a long time, though what was curious was that I wasn't tired, showing that I was indeed in a dream.
"Mmm?"
A thick green mist began to appear all around me, surrounding me and making it hard to see clearly.
"Where did this come from?"
I could barely see my hand because of the mist, so I started walking slowly, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.
At times, the mist became so thick I could almost touch it with my hands, though it might just have been my imagination.
I kept walking until I heard a sound right behind me.
I turned slowly, a bit scared, since I hadn't seen anything before, and with the mist, I couldn't see anything.
"This is a dream, not a nightmare. This is a dream, not a nightmare."
Groaaar
Upon hearing that strange noise, all I could think was "Run," so I ran in the opposite direction of where the sound came from.
I started running as fast as I could while hearing multiple footsteps following me.
'Nightmare. It's a nightmare.'
As I kept running, I felt those footsteps following me, getting closer and closer.
At one point, I managed to break free from the mist, so I looked back to see if I was still being followed, but I ran straight into something ahead of me, causing me to fall backward.
When I fell, I looked behind me to see what had been following me, and I froze. It was a creature with a humanoid torso, but instead of a human face, there were many tentacles moving. It only had one gigantic arm, shaped like a sword, and its lower body was animal-like, with four legs of different animals.
I closed my eyes, thinking it was going to attack me, but... nothing happened.
I then heard the sound of something being cut, followed by something viscous falling to the ground.
I was about to open my eyes and run when I heard footsteps beside me, preventing me from moving.
The steps were firm and strong. It was exactly where that creature should be, and then I heard something being dragged.
When I heard it was far away, I quickly opened my eyes to look behind me, seeing the strange creature being dragged in the mist, leaving a trail of blood.
"Wh-What was that?"
I then felt a hand touch my shoulder, followed by a voice whispering.
"Wake up."
--
--
{Pov Omniscient}
Vaelor woke up alarmed, looking around and realizing he was in his room.
"What kind of dream was that?"
He sat on his bed, trying to understand what he had dreamed, especially that strange voice. When he remembered the voice, a chill ran down his spine.
"It was a nightmare. Yes, that had to be it."
He told himself to try and reassure himself that it was just that.
During breakfast, he thought about checking if any of the books had information about monsters.
He searched through the bookshelf but didn't find anything on the types of monsters, which disappointed him, so he would have to ask his grandmother directly about the creature he saw.
"Grandma, I have a question," he said, a bit unsure.
"Is it about a potion? If it is, ask without fear," Mireth replied.
"Is there a monster with a humanoid torso, a giant arm, four animal legs, and a mass of tentacles for a face?" Vaelor asked.
Mireth fell silent, staring at him.
"What are you talking about? Where did you see something like that?" she asked.
"In a dream," he replied.
Mireth burst into laughter, leaving Vaelor even more confused.
"I knew it was something weird. That doesn't exist, not even demons are like that. In a dream, it makes sense," she said while puffing on her pipe. "Stop overthinking it."
"But, could something like that exist?" Vaelor insisted.
"Could it? No, absolutely not," she responded, setting her pipe aside. "The world was created with certain rules that can't be broken. There are hybrid races, but they're rare and hard to find. And of course, none of them are like that."
She fell silent for a few seconds.
"Even if someone reached the pinnacle of magic, they couldn't create something like that. And if such a creature existed, it would be the end of this world," Mireth told him.
"Why?" Vaelor asked.
"If something like that existed, who knows how many more could appear, and what they would be joined with."
The conversation ended there since Vaelor had to go for his daily training.
While on his way, he tried to forget about the dream, but he still felt that strange presence along with the mist that had surrounded him.
"Focus on the training."
He ran straight to the village to try to forget about the dream.