William licked his fingers clean. He hadn’t ever felt regret for finishing food so quickly before, but it was happening now. The rice and meat was seasoned with something beyond human, cooked in ways that could not be real, and tasted better than anything he had ever had the blessing of eating or drinking. He could feel tipsy and would not trust himself in a battle.

  He pulled up his status page.

  Status User William (1oPg72j9) -

  [Class] - [Knight Guardian Novice (F+)]

  Level - 6 [6/49]

  Runes Held - 9740

  Runes Needed for Level Up - 1102

  Strength - 13

  Dexterity - 10

  Endurance - 20

  Vitality - 15

  Intelligence - 10

  Wisdom - 10

  Arcane - 10

  He had gained four thousand and three hundred runes from the meal by itself. No wonder he felt drunk. All those level ups were just waiting for him, plus the boost he would gain when he finally equipped the dagger. It would throw him into a different stratosphere compared to where he was before this terrifying situation had begun. While it wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, it was more than what he had gained fighting and dying dozens of times.

  It made sense.

  The greater the danger the better the rewards.

  “I’ve come to a final conclusion!” Zefor announced as he broke out of the silent trance he had been in. “You, William, are screwed!”

  William blinked at the ancient being before him. “That’s it?”

  Zefore nodded.

  “I think you’ve said that a dozen times already.”

  “More so than before you see. With only an (F) ranked class, you are quite literally capped at level 551 with no potential of exceeding it unless a miracle happens. Let me tell you, miracles rarely happen, even at my timescale. Considering you are so limited on levels, you have no shot of surviving anything it would throw at you when it finds out you exist. Wasting the chanced danger of whoever sent you to me. You aren’t worth the time it would take for me to do anything with you, much less any chance to save your planet from the apocalypse sent down upon it. Not sure what type of second advantage you carry could help with that.”

  Zefor’s sentiment of this not being a coincidence only made more sense the longer the ancient man spoke.

  William frowned.

  Everything was to perfectly lined up. His second advantage clearly countered this massive pitfall. As though someone had specifically chosen and tailored the system breaks and everything else that he would go through to a certain extent, which included throwing him into a Dungeon World that so happened to carry a creature above level 12000 that also happened to have clear hatred for the system itself.

  Not to mention everything he was learning just by being quiet and listening when Zefor tended to speak entire monologues. The fact that classes at certain ranks were capped at level 551 changed his entire game plan. He had no clue if he had access to only a limited amount of classes considering how in depth and detailed the system actually was with the advantages and disadvantages. He couldn’t waste anymore potential limited class numbers with anything that wasn’t impressive enough to shift things dramatically.

  Most importantly, being useful down the line as well.

  Even if level 551 was ages away, it was still smart to plan ahead and prepare just in case he made it that far.

  William just needed to survive this encounter and make it to level 10. Now that Zefor considered him not worth the time to keep alive, he didn’t doubt someone called the Doom and Ancient Devourer would not hesitate once to obliterate him so badly that he would not even loop back and stay dead. He needed to keep the old man on his side the entire time and keep leeching of his existence for another ten thousand runes.

  “I guess my second ability does curb it,” William said as he picked up the bowl that was already licked clean. Not a single grain of food remained on it.

  Zefor made the bowl vanish back into his inventory. “Explain.”

  “I have access to multiple classes.”

  “Wait, what?” Zefor said as he reeled back. He mimed saying something for a few seconds before he resolved himself to a simple: “What does that even mean? Multiple classes?”

  “It means I have two classes currently, both (F) ranked, but also the potential for more.”

  “Example.”

  William pulled his status page up and mentally prompted the system to place the [Skill Shard]s for [Pathetic Tavern Brawler]. It reacted instantly to his command. His status page changed from the level 6 [Knight Guardian Novice] to the other one.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Zefor’s eyes widened as he leaned in uncomfortably close to William. He studied him for long moments that stretched for what felt like eternity. Until finally something clicked in his expression and a frighteningly large smile grew on his face. His fangs were longer than ever before. “I see… How does it work? Is it random? Or are there specific things you have to accomplish to unlock classes?”

  “I just need [Skill Shard]s,” William gulped, this was the first attempt he would have to convince the ancient monster before him for something special. “L-Like the one you put on the table a while ago. Four of them exactly. They lock into place until the class settles into place and then drop out.”

  “And you can casually change between classes?”

  William nodded.

  “Huh, no wonder you were sent to me.”

  Fuck. The hint did not land! I’m going to need to be more forward next time…

  “You said sent to you a few times already. What does that mean? I don’t understand. Isn’t this just a tragic coincidence or malfunction like you suggested?” William said. He needed to fish for more information to figure out what the hell was going on and what had he been involved in. Being blind to potential danger did not seem like a smart thing to do, especially if there were monsters as powerful as Zefor out and about casually.

  “It could have been, but I am sure you’ve noticed how perfectly tailored your advantages and disadvantages are. This is not coincidence, William. They are made perfect to fit into one another and compliment their advantages. Now, all that remains is whether I want to develop you into an Apocalyptic Breaker or not.”

  “Still, if everything was perfect then how do you come into play? Or is this just a random teacher of incredible power situation?”

  Zefor smiled. “I am the greatest [Skill Shard Smith] this half of the universe. And no, I won't be making you anything special until you’ve proven yourself worthy by reaching level 5000.”

  Fuuuuck!

  “What if I don’t want to be this Apocalyptic Breaker you keep pushing me toward?” William was getting more frustrated with his [Skill Shard] hunt.

  “You don't have a choice, boyo!” Zefor laughed loudly, slapping the table as though he said the funniest thing on the planet. “The second It notices your existence, expect them to send out bounty hunters. And no, they're not going to send people around your level. They're going to send monsters at around level 700 and above. The second you leave this Dungeon World and my protection is the second you die a gruesome death.”

  “If you want to break the system, why not break it yourself? You've existed for thousands of years, I can't imagine what your level would look like.”

  “Maybe, but an encounter with our levels would turn entire galaxies, and half the universe into dust. That is not a cost either side of this war is willing to go through or afford. The damage being caused by It and Its endless attempt to grow and burn entire civilizations and planets into nothingness for its own power is less of a threat than all out war. From thousands of planets every year dying to millions every few moments the battle would take place before being separated.

  As long as we don't act, they won't act. And you? Our baby Apocalyptic Breaker? You will have a shot to curb its power, hopefully enough to send it reeling back to the depths it had arrived from. They'll try to break the truce once you’ve gained enough notoriety and success, but we're prepared for that. They will be reeling from the cost of recoil of shattering eon old Oaths. We will finally have a chance to show the universe their dishonor!”

  I’m being dragged into a war that probably lasted longer than Earth has existed… What the hell do I do now?

  This was not something he wanted to be part of, yet what choice did he have before him when Zefor was throwing him off the cliff without any chance to escape or get a word in edgewise. He had a single choice in the matter than that was understanding the risks and taking advantage of every possible thing he could. That meant trying his best to squeeze as many benefits as he could from the ancient being before him.

  William took a deep breath and rubbed his face hard. He exhaled hard. “What do you need of me?”

  “Not much. Keep your head down. Grow. Level up. Don’t die, don't mentally break when I throw you into monster dens…” Zefor stopped for a second. “Really all you have to do is what you are told, don’t try to escape, and don't give up since you can’t really die. Oh! And don’t do anything to attract Its attention. I will not protect you from them, not yet at least. You aren't worth the death of a few hundred billion galaxies until you are worthy.”

  Universe Level Quest -

  Defeat It and return it whence it had come from!

  Defeat Its Forces!

  Help the forces of the Opposition gain victory!

  Reward -

  250 Malidrom’s Rune Shard [53,000]

  2 SSS+ [Skill Shard]

  1 SSS+ Weapon (Element and Type Randomized)

  2 SSS+ Randomized Items

  Oh my god… SSS+? Two of them too?! Two hundred and fifty [Rune Shard]s each one worth fifty three thousand runes?! That has to be more than ten million runes!

  That was a quest he would likely throw to the back of his system and never look at for the foreseeable future. Just getting to a point where he would become worth the time it takes to develop him in Zefor’s perspective would take him to level 5000. William was at level 6. He couldn’t imagine reaching that level, it was just too far of a number for now. He would focus on getting to smaller goals to keep himself sane instead.

  William cleared his throat. “So… I get multiple classes, correct?”

  Zefor turned to him and nodded.

  “What if the multiple classes are actually only three classes? Or four classes at most? How am I supposed to be this Apocalyptic Breaker if I am locked to a max of level 500 when you won't consider me worthy of anything until level 5000? An Apocalyptic Breaker with a (F-) ranked class doesn’t seem very likely to break anything.” William stopped himself. He had started to ramble, but was lucky enough to catch himself before he kept going.

  “That is a good point,” Zefor said as he tapped his chin, though he tried to hide the smile on his face. They both knew exactly what William was attempting. “You won't be much of an Apocalyptic Breaker at (F-)–”

  C’mon! Do it! Give me some [Skill Shard]s! Give me something special!

  “–What do you suggest then?”

  William let out a chuckle. It was difficult to say and be so shameless, and yet this was an opportunity that was simply too great to lose. Even if it cost a bit of face.

  “Well. Since you are so powerful and ancient,” he began to lay it on heavy. “A couple (S) ranked [Skill Shard]s won’t be anything special. Four or five, six or seven. Nothing much. You wouldn’t even notice, right?”

  Zefor erupted in boisterous laughter and guffaw. He fell off his chair, struggling to breath and rolling around.

  William felt heat rise up his face, it felt painful to continue to push down this line, but anything close would have been a massive boon. “I don’t mind (A) ranked either.”

  The old man struggled to get back up on his chair once he was done laughing. Taking deep breaths and wiping tears from his face. Zefor had to clear his throat a few times before he was ready to speak again. “You don’t need to worry yourself over much, young Williams. Though I can’t help you much with the horrific (F) classes you have now, I can assist you with enough potential to reach above level 5000. Nothing more than that. Break through on your own the rest of the way.”

  Zefor pulled out two [Skill Shard]s; one a that had green and purple swirling in it like a lava lamp, and the other red. He placed them on the table, stood up, and exited the cell, leaving William alone with the bright stars.

  System Self Prompt Analysis -

  [Skill Shard] - Essence of Change (Avatar Adjacent Type) (C+)

  [Skill Shard] - Greater Mana Sensitivity (C+)

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