"So... it's me but stronger?" Gabriel muttered, his voice calm as he placed the Voidsting blade on his shoulder. He already looked quite domineering on the battlefield.
The Mirror Duelist raised its blade in the exact same motion—matching him down to the angle of his stance.
"Let's see how well you fight yourself," it said in a distorted version of his voice—and then suddenly vanished from its spot.
"Tch." Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "I'll just kill you faster, then."
BOOM!
The clone reappeared in front of him like a lightning bolt. Without hesitation, it swung the massive cleaver down with terrifying speed.
CLANG!!
He barely raised Voidsting in time. The impact made his arms go numb as his boots dug trenches into the stone ground.
'Strong. Way stronger than those chimera,' he thought, sliding back several meters.
But before he could recover, the Mirror blurred again, appearing behind him.
"[Vicious Pounce]."
Gabriel spun on instinct—
CLANG!—blades clashed again and sparks flew. Then both activated the same skill at the same time—
"[Burrow Shift]!"
Two shadows vanished into the ground.
BOOM!!
They both emerged at opposite ends of the arena. For a moment, silence.
Then he chuckled. "...He really is me."
He dashed forward again, aiming low.
The Mirror mirrored his move.
CLANG! CLANG! WHOOSH!
Steel clashed in a blur of movement. Their swords whirled, parried, and slashed in perfect sync—only the raw stat difference gave the clone an edge. Every time Gabriel attacked, it countered a fraction faster.
Then he switched it up.
"[Dark Flame Orb]!"
A charged orb condensed at his fingertip mid-swing. He fired it point-blank.
BOOM!!
Smoke erupted between them.
He burst out of the cloud, not waiting for confirmation. He slashed at where he thought the Mirror would dodge.
CLANG!
But it read him perfectly.
The clone's blade caught his, then twisted sharply—disarming him. Voidsting flew out of his hand and clattered to the floor.
"...!"
He staggered back, unarmed.
The Mirror immediately took advantage of the opening. It raised Voidsting—his Voidsting—and exploded forward like a bullet.
BANG!
Of course, Gabriel didn't stand idle. He rushed forward as well! No weapon? No problem—he'd just shred the enemy with his bare hands.
The clone grinned and raised the blade to strike, but he used [Vicious Pounce] midway, arrived faster than expected, dove low, tackled it at the knees, and grabbed his dropped weapon in the same motion.
Everything happened so fast the Mirror was left stunned.
Boom!
Before it could regain its footing, Gabriel kicked off the ground spontaneously, causing it to cave in as he spun, and slashed upward.
SCHLING!
The blade sliced deep into its side. The clone hissed, stumbling back—but didn't fall. Its eyes flickered erratically.
'Now!'
He didn't give it time to recover.
Jumping in again, he charged the blade with mana. A reddish glow enveloped the sword, pulsing fiercely.
When it was fully charged, he slashed violently.
SLASH! SLASH! THRUST!
A barrage of savage cuts overwhelmed the Mirror. It parried one—but got hit by two. Then three.
Then—
SCHLACK!
Voidsting pierced through its chest.
The clone froze, its eyes shining with disbelief as it shattered into black fragments that drifted upward.
---
[Ding! Final Trial Complete]
[Analyzing performance...]
[Congratulations! You have met the conditions for Class Awakening.]
Gabriel dropped to one knee, panting. His MP was almost empty, and his body ached. But a grin spread across his blood-smeared face.
[Ding! Would you like to choose your class now?]
A new screen appeared before him.
—[Available Class Options]—
1. Swordsman (Common)
2. Mage (Common)
3. Martial Warrior
4. Summoner (Special)
5. Berserker (Unique)
His breathing slowly evened out as he knelt calmly, staring at the class selection screen before him, surrounded by the bloody battlefield littered with monster corpses.
"Five options?!" he gasped, a hint of surprise flashing through his blue eyes. "In my last life, there had only been three. Other players confirmed this as well."
'Was this because of my performance, or because of my current skills and fighting style?'
Well, who was he to complain?
Not all things needed solving. Some things were meant to remain mysteries, so he gave up trying to explain it and instead pondered which class to choose.
"Swordsman will definitely give me mastery with the sword, plus my attacks will be even more deadly. I'm very certain this option only appeared because Voidsting has been the only weapon I've used."
Mage would undoubtedly boost his magic attacks and reduce the cooldown of his skills.
As for Martial Warrior, it was a fairly common class. As long as one was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, it had a high chance of appearing. Even in his past life, Gabriel had been offered it during the Class awakening trial.
When his eyes fell on Summoner, he instinctively understood why it had shown up.
'Grizzlenaught.'
He immediately ruled that one out. With his Extraction Talent, he was sure he'd obtain more summons in the future regardless.
Last but not least, Berserker.
He had heard about this class before, but even in his past life, not a single NPC or player had ever wielded it.
According to game lore, the last Berserker existed millions of years ago. It was said they mysteriously disappeared—but now that it was presented to him...
"The last Berserker most likely died," he muttered, eyes flashing. "After all, there can only exist one unique class at a time."
What could have triggered this? Gabriel fell into deep thought, reflecting on all his battles from both this life and the previous.
His mind drifted back to his suicidal charge during the final stand against Sutre—the God of Destruction—where his body was already breaking, yet he still kept pushing forward.
His fighting style wasn't flashy or elegant like most. Gabriel relied on brute force and violence. He was the type to sacrifice himself to land a hit and favored sheer strength and agility, as seen in his stat distribution.
"...I always kept fighting. Even when it didn't make sense. Even when I knew I'd die."
Moreover, there was something undeniably intoxicating about killing.
Gabriel stood up slowly, blood dripping down his arm.
He had made a decision.
His lips parted as he prepared to say: "I choose..."
* * *
AN: What class will you choose if you were Gabriel?
Monthly Goal.
Every 50 Golden Tickets: 1 Extra Chapter
Every 100 Power Stones: 1 Extra Chapter