Nicky stared at the pile of corpses she had gathered before her. Most of the desiccated bodies had already been brought here when they had been briefly reanimated as undead. However, there were still those who had been killed before that, and they had been left untouched.
Now though, every single member of the Blood Swords was gathered together in a massive mound of bodies. Half of their corpses were still recognizable to Nicky since she had been the one to kill them earlier on. She even spat on Justin’s corpse as she tossed him into the pile.
And at the very top of the pile, she had placed the body of their leader.
Nicholas the Bloodied Blade.
She stared at his lifeless face for a moment, mourning the death of her brother once more. She wished there were more words she could say. However, no words left her mouth. Because she knew that he had long since been no longer the brother she knew back then.
So she said the only thought that was left in her mind.
“Goodbye, brother,” she whispered.
Closing her eyes, Nicky simply bade farewell to her brother one last time. And then she turned away from the dead members of the Bloodswords, ready to embrace her new life she was about to start.
She looked towards Eli— or rather, the Death God— and she approached him, about to inform him that she was finished with the task he had given her. There was still some… apprehension she felt about the fact that as the Death God he was supposedly going to bring about the death of the Goddess of Life. But she was indebted to him.
He had saved her life. He fought to protect Hannah and Ethen. He couldn’t be so bad, right?
Nicky didn’t know for sure. She had many questions she wanted to ask the boy. But as she walked up to him from behind, she paused when she realized he was staring off into empty space.
And she knew that he was very likely dealing with his notifications from the Atolas after wiping out the Blood Swords. So she stayed back, waiting for him to finish what he was doing for now.
***
*ding!*
You are now eligible for five new Classes:
There are currently seven Class options for you to choose from!
[Death Knight]
A rare specialized Class that focuses on death magic spells to enhance close-quarters combat proficiency. A [Death Knight] may not be as physically strong as an ordinary [Warrior], but they make up for their lack of strength with their magic to whittle down their enemies in battle.
+10 [Magic]
+5 [Strength]
[Death Mage]
A rare specialized Class that focuses on casting death magic spells from afar. A [Death Mage]’s magic may not be as destructive as a regular [Mage] due to the taxing nature of their spells, however they are often far more durable and capable in one-on-one confrontations.
+10 [Magic]
+5 [Vitality]
The first two Class options offered to me were the same two that I had seen before. I dismissed them quickly, since they were related to death magic. I wanted to blend in— I especially wanted to get a Class related to life magic to help me get into the Holy Academy of the Church of Life. Although… that was not necessary, since any [Mage]-Class that wasn’t death magic-related was the main requirement to attend. But it would still increase my chances of being accepted to the school.
So I pulled up my next option, hoping that it would offer me something I wanted. Unfortunately, it did not.
[Harbinger Of Death]
A mythical Class that only exists in legend. Stories tell of a prodigy born once every ten thousand years who is so proficient in the ways of death magic, their rise in power will bring about the death of tens of millions across all of Parvos.
+30 [Magic]
“...what?” I blinked a few times as I stared at the option.
I had never even heard of this Class— or this legend— in my past life. And for an Iron Rank Class, it was extremely powerful. Under any other circumstances, if I was offered this Class I would accept it without even thinking twice. Especially if I had been given it early on in my past life.
However, not only was I already quite proficient in death magic with a high [Magic] Attribute, it would also be counterintuitive for me to accept this Class option as I would not be allowed into the Holy Academy of the Church of Life.
Furthermore, I did not want to be responsible for millions of deaths. I was trying to end the cycle of suffering— not just for me, but for the world.
So I shook my head as I dismissed it as my Class, even if it piqued my interest.
What else? I pulled up the next two Classes.
Unfortunately for me, they were ordinary death magic Classes.
[Lesser Shadowmancer]
An uncommon Class that focuses on shadowmancy in combat. A [Lesser Shadowmancer] will use the shadows in whatever way possible to defeat their enemies, in the same way a [Pyromancer] would use fire.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
+7 [Magic]
+3 [Strength]
[Lesser Necromancer]
A rare Class that focuses on necromancy in such as manipulating bones or raising the dead. Not necessarily a combat Class, a [Lesser Necromancer] is capable of reanimating corpses to do their bidding, or carry out some basic healing such as closing open wounds or mending broken bones.
+10 [Magic]
+3 [Vitality]
I once again dismissed the Class options that were presented to me. Anything that was even adjacent to death magic was a problem. I hoped that my last Class option would actually be useful to me right now.
And fortunately for me, it was.
[Light Healer]
A rare specialized Class that focuses only on the healing aspect of light magic. A [Light Healer] may not be able to cast a wide array of offensive spells, but they are capable of drawing from the essence of life to heal grievous wounds and even aid their allies during battle.
+10 [Magic]
+5 [Vitality]
“A [Healer] Class, huh? I should’ve expected that…” I muttered under my breath.
After all, the only other spell I knew was a healing spell I copied from Hannah, before refining it so that it would be stronger. It wasn’t the most efficient spell, of course. But I had an abundance of mana to draw from, so it didn’t matter.
From my past skirmishes against the Church of Life, I knew that [Healers] were extremely rare— that ordinarily, [Priests] or [Clerics] would be the ones who dealt with minor wounds, since their light magic allowed them to carry out minor healing spells.
But a full-on [Healer] was considered a commodity, and they were often kept far from the battlefield, protected at all cost. After all, a powerful [Healer] was capable of regrowing even a missing torso.
Which means I will very likely be able to enter the Holy Academy of the Church of Life with this Class, the thought crossed my mind as a smile slipped onto my face.
And with that, I made my choice. It was a pretty obvious choice, despite the option of [Harbinger of Death].
I had a plan in mind— my friends, my followers, and my minions all risked their lives and some even sacrificed their lives to help me take the first step towards my goal. I wasn’t going to stray from this path I laid out because of an extremely rare Class option.
So I made my choice.
*ding!*
You are now a [Light Healer]!
You have gained the Class Skills: [Aura Of Light], [Healing Touch], [Sacred Flame]
+10 [Magic]
+5 [Vitality]
And now, I was a [Light Healer]. I finally had a Class. Not only that, it was the perfect Class for infiltrating the Holy Academy of the Church of Life. But even though I had already chosen a Class, I wasn’t finished with everything I had to deal with just yet.
My eyes flickered as I pulled up another notification that was lingering in the back of my mind.
(Rank Up Available)
Let’s get this over with, I braced myself as I focused on the notification.
And then like before, I saw a vision. The shifting of my soul.
Not much had changed since I last ranked up just a day ago. An iron core that lay inert in a sea of fire deep within me, unmoving and unchanging. Until this very moment where it began to crack and molt. Its silvery surface peeled off as I felt a sharp pain erupting from my chest.
I winced, but the pain was bearable. I just watched as the vision continued to unfold— as the burning inferno surrounding the iron core burned off its metallic paint, revealing a bronze surface underneath.
And then the flames cooled. A bronze core floated there, about the same size as the iron core. But it was different. It was more… dense.
Then the vision came to an end as I sighed softly, before a ringing sound pierced my ear.
*ding!*
You are now Bronze Rank!
+5 [Strength]
+5 [Speed]
+5 [Magic]
+5 [Vitality]
+5 [Dexterity]
+5 Free Points
And with that, my rank up was finished. I groaned as I raised my head, glad that it was over. Ranking up was always painful because the very core of my soul would be altered— this was true even in my past life.
The only difference was that it was now more painful because of that sea of fire orbiting my core.
I shook my head as I took in a deep breath. “Now, there’s one more thing for me to deal with…”
After all, now that I had ranked up, I could upgrade my Class if I wanted to.
*ding!*
You are now eligible for a Class upgrade:
There is currently one Class upgrade option for you to choose from!
[Light Mage]
An uncommon Class that uses the power of light to protect those they care about. A [Light Mage] does not often engage in battle, but they will do what they must when the time calls for it, even if it means using the essence of life to bring about death.
+12 [Magic]
+5 [Vitality]
Not a bad option, I thought as I stared at the blue box. However, I prefer staying as a [Healer].
Compared to a [Healer], [Light Mages] were bountiful— they weren’t special in the slightest. The fact it was only an uncommon Class was a testament to that fact.
Right now, I hadn’t accomplished enough feats to have more Class upgrade options for me to choose from. So this was the only one, and I was not going to be accepting it. Just like before, I made my decision to wait until a better option presented itself to me to choose it.
Preferably, an option that allowed me to remain a [Healer].
I’d probably have to do a lot more healing rather than killing for that, I considered as I dismissed the blue box for now.
And finally, I pulled up my brand new Status, taking in the changes that had overcome me. But I froze when I saw it.
Name: Nox (Eli)
Race: Human
Rank: Bronze - Level 1
Class: [Light Healer] (CLASS UPGRADE AVAILABLE)
Class Skills: [Aura Of Light], [Healing Touch], [Sacred Flame]
Titles: [Nascent Death God]
Title Skills: [Death Magic Mastery]
General Skills: [Quick Dash]
Attributes:
[Strength: 17]
[Speed: 26]
[Magic: 528]
[Vitality: 25]
[Dexterity: 29]
Free Points: 24
My name is both Nox… and Eli? I blinked a few times. When did that happen?
The last time I checked my Status, my name was simply listed as Nox. But now, that was not the case anymore as Eli was listed as well in parentheses.
Interesting, I mulled over this as I tapped a finger on my chin. It seems messing with the reincarnation process has really resulted in a few fascinating outcomes, huh?
I was not too surprised, because I had theorized earlier that some remnants of Eli’s soul might have remained in this body. But it was nice to get some confirmation that that was the case.
At the very least, I hope you enjoyed getting your revenge against your killers, I thought as I shook my head, looking back towards the pile of corpses gathered at the center of the room. Because I know I did…
Perhaps me bringing the boy to justice— giving in to the compulsion I felt to make them pay for what they did— had somehow caused me to embrace the lingering remains of his soul. Which was why my Status had changed. This was only a hypothesis. I hadn’t known it for certain. And it was very likely it was going to take a while before I figured this out.
For now, I just returned to Nicky to finally wrap up this entire ordeal.
