And even when he summoned more than one, even if their strength dropped to 50% or even lower, it was still a game-changing advantage in any battle.

He could swarm enemies.

He could bait opponents with decoys.

He could even leave a clone behind to protect someone while he moved elsewhere.

The possibilities were endless.

He looked down at his hands again.

And all he could think was—

"This class… is completely broken."

With his new class, Riley had truly grown by leaps and bounds.

It was more than he had expected.

Much more.

He hadn't imagined that class awakenings could drastically transform someone—not just in power, but in presence. It was like his very being had shifted. He felt sharper… darker… deadlier.

But even so—

His mind drifted. Unconsciously.

Back to the one figure who always lingered at the edge of his thoughts.

The Demon Lord.

Riley's face twisted into a slight frown, his brows furrowing as his jaw tensed.

'I wonder what class and talent that bastard has…'

He had never found out in his last life. No one had.

All they knew was that the Demon Lord's strength was overwhelming.

That his presence could swallow entire battlefields.

That he fought as if the world itself bent to his will.

Riley could still remember the blood-drenched clashes… the way he tore through guilds and armies… how he dominated even someone as powerful as Terry during most of their encounters.

Terry had been humanity's greatest hero, possessing an SS-rank talent and class.

And yet the Demon Lord had made him look like a struggling novice at times.

Riley's eyes narrowed faintly, his fists tightening at his sides.

'His talent and class are probably SSS-rank too.'

It was the only explanation.

The sheer gap in power couldn't have come from anything less.

And that thought—more than anything—grounded him.

'No matter how good my class or talent is… it means nothing if I can't defeat him.'

He couldn't afford to get carried away.

Not now.

Not ever.

Because all of this—all the strength he was gathering—was ultimately for one purpose.

To survive the end.

To win the war.

The war against the demons might still seem far away to most players, but to him—it was already creeping closer.

It would come.

And when it did, it would bring hell itself with it.

The Demon Lord… would return.

Just the thought alone made his chest feel tight.

That presence… it was unforgettable.

No matter how much time passed, no matter how many lives he lived—it was still burned into him. Etched into his bones and soul like a scar that never faded.

Even now, even here, in the quiet of the aftermath—

He could still feel it.

That weight. That pressure. That suffocating aura that crushed everything beneath it.

Riley exhaled slowly, forcing the tension in his shoulders to bleed away.

"…Don't think about it too much," he muttered under his breath, his voice low and calm.

"Just grow stronger… and win."

With that, he completely pushed the matter of the demon lord and his army to the back of his mind, focusing instead on the present.

'Status Window: complete status.' he mumbled inwardly.

Though the status window became shortened when the total number of skills reached ten, a player could still check their full status along with the description of all their skills.

They only had to tell the system to display the complete status.

[Player ID: A Random]

[Level: 13(4160/7000)]

[Profession: Assassin]

[Class: Shadow Assassin(SSS)]

[Talent(s): Gluttony (SSS), Ironblood Fighter(B)]

[Trait(s): Lesser Regeneration (C-rank), Friend of Darkness(S-rank)]

[Title(s): Wolf Slayer(Uncommon), Hungry Demon(Epic)]

[H/P: 12783 <Vitality X 10>]

[M/P: 13402 <Mana X 10>]

[Magic Damage: 1340.2 <Mana X 1>]

[Physical Damage: 1350.2 <Strength X 1>]

[Magic Resistance: 1340.2 <Mana X 1>]

[Physical Resistance: 1358.5 <Endurance X 1>]

[Attributes: Strength: 1350.2{+50}; Agility: 1505.8{+110}; Vitality: 1278.3{+50}; Mana: 1340.2{+100}; Endurance: 1358.5{+50}]

[Skills]

—Stealth(level 8)

[Rank: F]

[Description: Temporarily boosts Agility by 50% for 4 minutes and masks the user's presence. Deals 200 points of damage to target + 100% of the user's mana to the target. Cost: 25 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds.]

—Spike Shot (Level 3)

[Rank: E]

[Conjure a thin metallic brown spike and shoot it. Deals 100 points of damage to opponents. Cost: 10 Magic Points. Cool-down: 5 seconds]

—Dash(level 3)

[Rank: E]

[Temporarily allocates 30 points to Agility. Cost: 20 Magic points. Cool-down: 10 Seconds]

—Charge(level 5)

[Rank: D]

[Boosts all physical abilities and damage by 50% for 30 seconds. Can be stacked up to 3 times by reactivation. Cost: 50 magic points(Doubles per stack.) At 3rd stack, health is at risk, and physical resistance is greatly reduced. Cooldown: 5 min (doubled at 3rd stack).]

—Fireball(level 2)

[Rank: E]

[Launch a powerful fireball that deals 200 damage, and inflicts 'burn effect' on target. Cost: 30 magic points. Cool-down: 10 seconds]

—Rockbound(level 3)

[Rank: C]

[Coat your fists and weapons in a thick, rock gauntlets. All physical and magical damage dealt boosted by 120%. Cost: 90 magic points. Cool-down: 1 hour]

—Shadow Shroud(level 1)

[Rank: A]

[Creates a shroud of shadow around the body. Boosts all physical attributes by 150%. Automatically repels any damage 5000 and below, but those above can pass through. Cost: 100 magic points per minute. Cool-down: None]

—Ghost Slash(level 3)

[Rank: C]

[Unleash an invisible slash after each strike which deals 70% more damage than the original slash. Has 100% chance to inflict 'Bleed Effect'. Cost: 150 magic points. Cool-down: 10 seconds]

—Lunge(level 3)

[Rank: E]

[Propels you forward to strike a target with increased momentum. Boosts agility by 30%, and allows for quick gap-closing or sudden attacks. Cost: 30 magic points. Cool-down: 20 seconds]

—Basic Alchemy(level 1)

[Rank: E]

[Allows you to combine simple materials into different potions and compounds. Success rate depends on what you're trying to create, and could be increased by leveling up skill]

—Face Mask(level 2)

[Rank: D]

[Allows you change your facial features. Note: Hair colour can't be changed, but hair length can. You can only make 'edits' to your facial features once, which is what you'll transform into when the skill's activated. Cost: 5 Magic points per second. Cool-down: none]

—Blood Poison Mist(level 1)

[Rank: C]

[Release a thick, poison mist that reduces the health of those within the range by 50 each second until their deaths. Range: 20 meters. Note: Skill's useless against those with physical and magical resistance above 1000.]

—Crop Harvest(level 1)

[Rank: E]

[The crops you harvest are two times sweeter and nutritious than normal. They also possess the ability to recover health by 5%]

—Strength Boost(level 1)

[Rank: D]

[Increase your strength by 20 for 10 seconds. Cost: 30 Magic points. Cool-down: 30 seconds]

[Attribute Points Available: 48]

[Skill Points Available: 229]

[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Swift Boots(Uncommon), Storage Ring(Rare), Whispering Bracelet(Rare), Dark Fanged Daggers(Epic), Hito's Whisper(Rare), Champion Armour Set(Rare), Novice Village Map(Rare), Champion's Bracelet(Rare)]

Riley smirked in satisfaction as he looked over his complete status window, his arms folded loosely across his chest. His eyes gleamed with approval, every number, every skill, every trait—each one felt earned.

But something caught his attention.

His gaze narrowed as it landed on a single detail in the list.

"…An A-rank skill?" he muttered.

It was none other than [Shadow Shroud].

The upgraded form of his previous [Dark Shroud] had taken a massive leap forward—not just in effect, but in classification.

It wasn't just a stronger version.

It was on an entirely new level.

His most powerful skill yet.

And the more he read its description, the more his brows lifted in disbelief.

"To think it evolved this far…" he murmured, eyes narrowing faintly. "So this is what an SSS-rank class can do."

He hadn't expected it to upgrade this powerfully. Not to this extent.

The Shadow Shroud not only gave a 150% boost to all physical attributes but also had a new effect—it repelled all damage below 5000.

Any attack beneath that threshold wouldn't even reach him.

It would simply bounce off, just like his attacks did against his shadow clone.

That meant… unless someone was truly stronger than him—far stronger—they wouldn't even be able to touch him.

A slow smirk stretched across his lips.

"This is nice… really nice," he whispered, almost like a satisfied growl.

He lifted his hand.

And just like that—

A slow, purplish aura began to swirl gently around his fingers. It coiled upward like smoke, weaving around his knuckles and trailing along the veins on his hand.

It was cold. Smooth. Silent.

But it pulsed with barely contained power.

The smirk on his face widened.

Then—

With a slight clench of his fist—

The aura vanished.

Gone without a sound.

He stared at his hand for another few seconds, already imagining the possibilities. Already seeing the way it would tear through his enemies. Already feeling the dread it would instill.

He wanted to test everything now.

Every class effect.

Every new advantage.

He wanted to push himself—to see just how far the class would take him in real combat.

But he held back.

Just barely.

He would get his chance soon enough.

The world was wide, and chaos was coming.

And that meant more enemies. More battles. More reasons to cut loose.

As if on cue, three soft chimes echoed in his ears, and a new set of notifications appeared before him:

⸻

[You have completed your profession trial for a while now.]

[Would you like to head back to the city?]

[Yes/No]

⸻

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