6 Chapter6-Conflict

"Is it still that same John? Helena, I really don't understand what makes that guy worth your repeated attempts to recruit him. Is he really that strong?"

Yuta furrowed his brows, jealousy evident beneath his mask.

As the fourth-ranked player on the leaderboard, Yuta believed his combat strength was certainly no less than Lawrence's or Exiled Immortal's.

He couldn't understand why Helena was so concerned about an unknown minor character.

"Well... I'm not sure either, but don't you think he has a certain irresistible charm?"

"He carries the aura of a strong person."

Lawrence chimed in at the right time, "If we could recruit him, it would be a huge boost for our Pioneer Squad."

"Bingo! Lawrence and I think alike. We have plenty of time, so I still want to visit him again."

"What if he rejects you this time as well?"

"Then I'll take him out!"

Yuta half-closed his eyes, a ruthless gleam flashing in them.

"That won't do! John has Dragonia blood in him, and if you try to harm him, I'll cripple you right now!"

Qing glanced at Yuta and slammed his battle axe heavily into the ground, causing it to crack open.

Exiled Immortal also nodded slightly and agreed, "Although in this apocalypse, all nations have already fallen, I still can't stand people from your country."

"You! Don't forget, we're allies now!"

Seeing Exiled Immortal and Qing's determined attitudes, Yuta snorted coldly but didn't say much more.

"Alright, enough arguing. Let's go see him. If he refuses me again this time, then he's too oblivious to good intentions."

...

"Thank you! With these bloodwolf fangs, I'm one step closer to my dream of becoming a master blacksmith! Here is your reward; please accept it."

"Thank you, Uncle Ferris!"

With 2000 experience earned, Lily's level skyrocketed to level 8. Looking at the surplus points, she was so happy that she hummed a little tune.

"Brother John, which direction should I focus on? [Wisdom] or [Magic Affinity]?"

"The former. Your [Magic Affinity] is already higher than others', and with your talent, it will increase each time you level up. You won't need to allocate extra points to it for a while.

Of course, you should also put some points into Stamina. Until you learn magic, Stamina is very important."

"Makes sense... Johnny, you're so impressive. It feels like you understand everything."

"That's because I've played a lot of games before, and the underlying logic is similar."

John touched his nose, brushing off the question with a casual excuse. From the corner of his eye, he noticed several figures entering the blacksmith shop one by one, blocking the doorway.

The one with fiery red hair at the forefront was none other than Helena.

"Helena, congratulations. The special reward must have been quite fancy, right?"

"An exquisite piece of gear. If you like it, it's yours."

"No need. A gentleman doesn't take what others favor. So, are you here to see Ferris?"

"No, no, no. I came to see you."

Helena walked forward slowly until she was staring directly into John's eyes, a smile on her face.

"Join me, John. I'm willing to appoint you as vice-captain. If I'm not around, you will have all the rights of the captain. How about it? This time, I came with sincerity."

"I've answered this question many times, Helena. I don't plan to join for now."

"Damn it, who do you think you are? Our captain has invited you repeatedly, but you won't even give her an ounce of respect. You really think you're something, don't you?"

Fuming with rage, Yuta shoved John and unsheathed his straight sword, which gleamed as it pointed at John's shoulder.

John remained unfazed by the sword's cold glint, a faint smile always lingering on his lips.

"Helena, is this what you want?"

"Yuta, put the sword away."

"But Captain!"

"Put it away! I don't want to repeat myself a third time."

Helena's voice was icy, her fiery red hair practically ablaze, exuding an overwhelming aura.

"You're lucky, kid. You'd better pray I don't run into you out there, or I'll show you what hell is!"

With that, Yuta pushed John hard, sheathed his sword, and stepped back behind Helena.

"I'm sorry, John. I don't mean any harm."

"I believe you don't mean any harm. It's just that jealousy can twist some people's hearts. In any case, congratulations. See you in Calia."

"So, I'm being rejected again? Alright, you really are a mysterious man. I don't think I'll give up on inviting you. I look forward to our next meeting."

Helena said this as she took a pendant from around her neck, stood on tiptoe, and tied it around John's neck. "I will conquer you," she said softly.

Inhaling her rose-like scent and meeting her captivating gaze, John couldn't help but feel a bit swayed.

"I look forward to that day."

"See you in Calia."

Helena blew him a kiss, then turned away, leaving John with only a stylish silhouette.

Seeing this, Yuta grew even angrier, but Helena's warning still echoed in his ears, so he could only snort coldly and leave in frustration.

In contrast, the other members of the Pioneer Squad were much friendlier.

Not to mention that Lawrence was naturally kind-hearted. And since Exiled Immortal and Qing were also from Dragonia, they had no intention of giving John a hard time; they just greeted him briefly and left together.

Only after they had completely disappeared from view did Lily finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"They had such a strong aura... I didn't even dare take a deep breath."

"Is it really that exaggerated? I actually think girls like you are more likable."

"W-What are you saying? I'm not even an adult yet..."

"I know, you've got one more month."

"How do you know?"

John then gave a mysterious smile and lowered his voice, "Because I'm a prophet."

"A prophet? Is that your talent, Brother John? Why don't you say something? Why aren't you responding?"

...

"Congratulations, you have gained 30 experience points. You have reached level 10 and unlocked the class change request. Would you like to accept the class change request now?"

"Finally, level 10!"

"Don't get too excited just yet. There's still the class change request. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready!"

Lily nodded eagerly, clearly having looked forward to this day for a long time.

"Let's go see the village chief."

Lily's class path was already set: she was determined to become a Priest. If she later acquired a class change stone, she could follow the path of a Light Priest.

As for his own path, John was indeed uncertain.

If he wanted to push his limits, then undoubtedly the class paths based on the Mage would have the highest potential. Whether he became an Elemental Mage or a Battle Mage later, both would be considerably powerful.

If he followed his previous life's path and became a Rogue, eventually becoming a Shadow Assassin, it would also be a good choice. At least that way, John would be well aware of all the crucial items he needed.

But that would waste John's talent too much.

For this reason, John had yet to claim the reward for successfully choosing his first class, instead continuing to grind levels. This was all for one hidden class: Alchemist!

In the previous life, this special class was discovered by [Watchers] who stayed long-term in Adra Village, not wanting to fight and kill every day.

Becoming an Alchemist had extremely strict requirements. Players had to reach level 15 without taking a class change quest to trigger it.

And Alchemists advanced differently from other classes, needing to constantly consume magical materials to brew potions and craft magical items.

In the early stages of [Apocalypse], magical materials were expensive, gold coins were hard to come by, and the initial success rate of alchemy was low.

This made it incredibly resource-intensive to train an Alchemist to maturity!

This was why very few people chose to become Alchemists in the previous life.

However, while the Alchemist might have limited combat power early on, once they obtained a class change stone, they could follow the paths of a Marionette Alchemist or a Contract Alchemist.

The potential was high, and the talent-supported floor made their future prospects immeasurable.

A clue from a hidden quest in a past life revealed that the Alchemist is a class that even grasps the underlying logic of the world.

The most powerful Alchemist can deconstruct magic, analyze the world, and ascend to the pinnacle of existence!

This is the class!

The key point was that in his previous life, John had obtained a [Divine]-level special item related to the Contract Alchemist, which was later auctioned for an astronomical price, paving the way for a Contract Alchemist's rise.

Moreover, the pain point of the Alchemist class was its low alchemy success rate, which John's SSS talent, [Kiss of LUCK], perfectly solved!

Thinking about this, John allowed himself a barely noticeable smile.

"The Rogue's potential is still too limited, and retracing my old path would be meaningless. So... Chief, I'd like to take on the Alchemist class change request," John said.

"A wise choice, child. I believe that one day, Mount Olympus will sing your name. Go, take this parchment. It will guide you!"

As soon as he took the parchment, a notification rang in John's ears:

[class change request is now open. Please collect chant essence X1 and Tear of Cave X10 in the Monster Cave.

Quest reward: Basic Alchemy Manuscript, Beginner's Alchemy Tools (common)]