[You have chosen mercy over efficiency. Hidden class evolution conditions partially met. Do you wish to embark on this path?]
Julian glanced at the system prompt and clicked 'Yes' without hesitation.
Hidden classes weren't discussed much in the game's official wiki or in the diary, but he assumed a hidden class would be stronger than a normal one.
[Title acquired: The Gentle Spear]
[The system has recognized your hesitation to kill. Know that mercy too can shape legends.]
[Title: The Gentle Spear
Effects:
+2% damage to enemies that have attacked first
-5% aggro from wild animals
Gain double exp from enemies defeated without lethal damage (i.e., Forced submission, Fleeing, Surrendering)
Description: The spear is a weapon of war, but in your hands, it defends more than it destroys. Creatures sense the hesitation in your strikes, and fate whispers of a ruler who kills not out of want, but out of need.]
[Sneak peek into hidden class path. Silent Shepherd (Rare)]
[Please fulfill more hidden requirements to fully elevate your class!]
Julian wore a sly smile as he read the details of the path he had chosen for himself.
The most significant aspect he noticed was the double exp gained from defeating his opponents.
Out of everything, he appreciated that effect the most, not just because he earned double exp.
He glanced at the mother boar's corpse in his inventory and sighed at the sight.
He had no issues killing her, but it was her orphaned children that troubled him.
In his heart, he vowed that she would be the last living thing he killed solely for exp.
[The system has recognized your vow to honor life. 2/3 Conditions have been met for class evolution.]
It hadn't even been a day since the game started, and he had already gotten close enough to reach a Rare tier class.
He began to laugh maniacally before stopping with heaves of coughing.
Despite drinking 2 health potions, his throat had yet to fully recover from his overuse of 'Command.'
Time began to pass rapidly as Julian continued to wander aimlessly in the forest.
Occasionally, he encountered different small animals before promptly defeating them.
By the time an hour had passed, he finally defeated enough small animals to level up once.
[Level up!]
[6 stat points received! (5 base + 1 uncommon class)]
It was finally then that Julian took a moment to rest from his continuous battles.
His hands ached with the pain of how tightly he had been gripping his spear.
He took the time to check his status after such a long period.
[Name: Julian Caesar
Class: Fallen Noble (Uncommon)
Species: Human (Tier 0)
Level: 1
Health: 200/200
Mana: 100/100
Titles: The Gentle Spear
Strength: 5 Constitution: 5(+5)
Agility: 5 Intelligence: 5
11 unassigned stats!]
Everything appeared the same except for the increase in health. It seemed each point of constitution granted 20 points of health.
The 11 unassigned stat points, however, were an eyesore. He debated looking into the player forum to see what others were recommending, but eventually decided against it.
The game was simply too new for the advice of players to be taken seriously.
Not only that, they were treating building their character as if it were a game, not as something that would actually affect them in real life.
Julian needed to create a build that translated well in-game and in reality, so any glass cannon builds were out of the picture.
For that reason, he assigned 5 points to agility and 6 to strength. With his armor already providing 5 constitution points, it wasn't necessary for him to upgrade it at this time.
What he required was better efficiency and attack potency so that he could increase the number of monsters he defeated.
While he rested, he checked his messages and noticed a feed of updates from Mideous and the Golden Light Emporium.
Within the hour, not only had they purchased rights to set up a stand, but they had also gathered enough items for their initial sale.
Advertised as having a limited supply, they managed to sell their entire inventory of 20 sets of leather armor, 30 bottles of health and mana potions each, and 10 assortments of iron weapons.
Each was 5% cheaper, which caused them to sell out in a matter of minutes. With just an initial investment of 263 silver, they had made approximately 294 silver coins.
While that might not seem like a lot, it was about 3,100 dollars straight profit in a few minutes if they didn't account for the cost of renting space for a stall.
But even though they hadn't recouped their losses just yet, Mideous assured Julian that they would by the end of the day.
He made another post claiming that the Emporium would be restocked within an hour with even more inventory, which also garnered great reception.
Mideous also reported that they had begun signing short-term contracts with local shops to buy bulk equipment from them.
Not only would it lower costs due to buying in bulk, but it essentially allowed them to monopolize the player market in Limillion Village.
Julian and Mideous texted back and forth about the logistics for a few minutes before they both had other things to attend to.
However, one important detail was that they had arranged a meeting in 2 hours with a medium-sized guild to buy items on their behalf.
Confirming that Julian would be attending, Mideous left to oversee the store's inventory.
Julian smiled slightly. He had indeed picked the right person to fully utilize the card.
After another 5 minutes of resting and clearing his mind, Julian set out to hunt once more before the meeting.
While traversing the forest's terrain, he noticed that his comfortable pace had changed from a 12-minute mile to a 10-minute one.
It was nothing short of a miracle how just a few stat points could allow Julian to improve so suddenly.
Even though it was currently a game, it was the first time Julian felt such a thing.
It was the first time he experienced being faster than an average person, and he couldn't help but enjoy the thrill of running.
The sensation of getting faster and stronger was simply too addicting. It took a few minutes for Julian to calm down from his run.
Due to his excitement, he had pushed past his comfort and reached a sprinting pace of 8 minutes.
Though not winded, he certainly felt the need to catch his breath.
The feeling of cool air rushing past his face and the trees whizzing by released the simplest form of satisfaction in his mind.
Julian couldn't help but crack a smile and began laughing and coughing with joy. It was the purest form of happiness he had expressed in a while.
An hour and a half passed as he continued to defeat small to medium animals until he leveled up to level 6.
Though he never managed to find any monsters, the double experience gained from his title carried him thus far.
Seeing as there was half an hour before the meeting with the medium guild, he decided to make his way back to the village.
With no form of fast travel, Julian had to jog at a steady pace back to the village.
On his way back, a nagging feeling caused him to deviate slightly to the boar's den, which resided close to the village border.
Perhaps out of guilt or simple curiosity, he approached a group of players circling the den.
They wore only simple clothing and used nothing but their fists to fight a boar much larger than the mother boar Julian had fought, seemingly the father of the piglets huddled inside.
Julian watched the pitiful scene from a distance, witnessing a father giving up his life to protect his children.
He felt the urge to step in and help the boar.
But did he have the right?
Who was he to impose his ideals on others?
These players could not gain experience any other way. They were not like him, who had the choice of mercy to grow stronger.
Plus, the boar was just 1s and 0s after all. It wasn't as if they were killing a real boar, right?
Julian decided to step back for the moment. He would wait it out unless the players did something more drastic.