The next class he examined was the indomitable.
[Indomitable (0.001%)]
[Indomitable: Your strength is not to be defeated. Not to bend. Neither wind nor time nor any other force can wear you down. Your true strength lies in your indomitable heart. This class is built on resistance to pain, determination, training, resolve, and absolute physical stability. Power +20%, Physical Damage, Physical Endurance, and Physical Defense Substat +10%]
[Unbreakable Resolve (Passive): Even if you fall to the ground, your mental strength will lift your body. All Physical Parameters +20%]
[Strike Redirector (Active): Reduces 80% of all physical damage by redirecting it, and you can transfer the remaining power to your next attack. The added power deals +150% additional damage.]
[System Warning: The Indomitable class requires absolute physical discipline, perfect reflex control, and pain tolerance. To maintain this class, you must have at least 95% body control and a high pain threshold. Although the ability's fuel consumption is very low, it slowly but steadily consumes the user. In cases of mind-body incompatibility, permanent muscle entropy may occur. Not recommended.]
"In short, this class is for strength. It's a complete muscle pile. What's more, it requires a lot of effort and determination. The ability I got for 20 million SC was similar to this. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get to the second level."
William shook his head and looked at another class.
[Echo (0.001%)]
[Echo: Some people see it, some hear it... But you feel the echo. The sound of a step, the flicker of a lie, or the vibration of an approaching danger—they all speak to you. You feel the traces left by beings, their intentions and emotions, like waves echoing through your body. This class is built on awareness, senses, and instinctive perception. Perception +20%, Awareness, Senses, and Foresight sub-statistics +10%]
[Secondary Hearing (Passive): Real sounds are not heard with the ears; they are understood through echoes. You can sense the location, direction, and intentions of every enemy. Even if they are not in your field of vision, you can sense the presence of all creatures within close range (100m). You can also sense the spiritual fluctuations of creatures and sense their intentions.
[Spiritual Echo (Active): You sense the trail left behind. (10 seconds/prior) You can follow the trail you sense and perform a spiritual attack. +10% Spiritual Power Substat (Spiritual Attack: This refers to attacking by materializing and shaping spiritual power.)]
[System Warning: The Echo class requires high sensitivity. Excessive sensory perception can cause panic, insomnia, and hallucinatory symptoms. Spiritual traces can cause mental confusion. Recommended use: Permanent entropy damage may occur in individuals who have not undergone strong mental filtering training. Not recommended.]
"It's very confusing. It's a class that focuses entirely on perception, and I think you need Ley to use it." William nodded. This was a class he would never choose. Most likely, those who chose this class had very strong predictive abilities, but their physical bodies might be weak.
Therefore, there was no point in seeing the future if they couldn't survive.
William looked at the next class.
[Weaver (0.001%)]
[Weaver: Ley energy is not a tool for you, it is a toy. While others bow to the laws of nature, you rewrite them. Your thoughts become matter, your desires become reality. You can weave Ley's pattern with your hands, bending both the physical and metaphysical structures. Ley +20%, Ley Control, Ley Pool, and Ley Purity Substatistic Points +10%]
[Master of Waves (Passive): If Ley is a river, you are the rock that determines its course. You can use Ley energy outside of its natural flow, bend spells, or disrupt existing magical structures. The shape, type, and effect of all spells can be instantly reshaped. Ley disruption is reduced by 50%.]
[Manuscript (Active): You write what is not written in the universe. For a limited time (10 seconds), you can create a spell or effect that you have determined in your mind by "weaving" it. This can be a combination or effect that did not exist before. However, the energy cost is very high and causes physical/mental exhaustion.]
[System Warning: This class poses a high risk due to its flexibility against the fundamental rules of the universe. The slightest mistake during ley manipulation can cause the user's body or mind to burn. Not recommended. An extreme combination of mental resistance and imagination is required.]
William's hand stopped in midair. He had decided to choose this class the moment he saw the initial description. This class really seemed like the coolest class possible.
The ability to create a massive attack out of blue ley and shape it into any form appealed to him.
"Just think about it, I can imagine a giant nuclear missile, and if I have enough power, it becomes a 'nuclear missile' spell. I guess the effect would depend on the amount of ley in my body and my sub-statistics related to ley. But I don't think my imagination is that great. I don't even know what spiritual resistance is. It's too risky."
William thought for a few seconds and made his decision. "I think I'll pass. I'll take a look at the last class, and if I don't like that, indomitable doesn't sound like a bad idea."
[Breaker (0.001%)]
[Breaker: While others search for a path within the system, you question the system itself. Rules are not your guide; they are your obstacles. If there are limits, they are exceeded. If there are ceilings, they are broken. This class aims to defeat the system and the rules of the universe with determination, physical endurance, and mental willpower. It does not recognize status limits. Under certain conditions, it can temporarily exceed its statistical limits. Strength, Speed, Perception, Ley +5%, All Sub-Statistics +5%]
[Shadow Cap (Passive): Every stat has a limit — but for you, that limit is a faint shadow. During a critical action (attack, evasion, resistance, willpower, etc.), you can temporarily exceed a primary stat by 20%. This limit grows with your current level. Although the duration is short, the strain on the body is extreme. Activated with Willpower.]
[Breaking Point (Active): You gather power to break the limitations of your own body, spirit, or an enemy. The user selects "what to break": either one of their own limits (e.g., speed, physical defense threshold, endurance, energy consumption, etc.) or one of the enemy's resistances (Physical Defense, Mental Resistance, Armor, etc.).
The selected element is broken, temporarily ignored, and full effectiveness is achieved for 5 seconds. However, this ability disrupts the user's balance with their body and the universe, causing a -30% decrease in all sub-stats and main stats for a period of time.]
[System Warning: This class contains features that may cause the collapse of the body and the system. It may have devastating effects on the user's consciousness, mind, and physical integrity. Misuse of the breaking power may expel the user from the system. Only suitable for those who "chart their own path." This is the highest-risk class in terms of general entropy. Not recommended.]
William raised an eyebrow.
"What is this entropy? It keeps popping up. I'm a Level 11 being. How can I disrupt the system and the rules of the universe?"
The emotionless and impartial voice of the system appeared in his ears. It was not concerned with William, but with the fundamental questions.
"Entropy is the disruption of the structural integrity of the body, mind, or spirit."
William shook his head. "Almost all classes have this risk. Of course, only in very rare cases."
William put his hand on his chin and thought for a few seconds. "This opportunity won't come again. This class could give me powers beyond my imagination. What's more, it could allow me to escape or attack in difficult situations where my abilities are insufficient."
"Looking at it now, I guess I'm very lucky," William said this with a smile, but then frowned. "Why am I so lucky?"
He shook his head. "No, I shouldn't be this lucky. There's something fishy about this..." William put his hand on his forehead. "Otherwise, why would the system offer me classes that challenge the system?"
"Am I not special? If I am special, why am I special?" William thought, but couldn't find an answer.
"Screw it. I'll choose a class first and deal with the problems in front of me. The rest can wait. Besides... I have no family or anything else. There are no restrictions holding me back in this world... The universe is vast."
William said this, but he didn't believe it himself. There were things holding him back in this world. This was his home. And whether he wanted to or not, he would always feel that way.
The place where you were born has an indispensable importance in your life.
Even if he lived on another planet for a hundred thousand years, he would still want to come back and see this place in his final moments.
Maybe he would want to be buried here, to spend his last moments here.
Memories were the reason for this. Memories that people held on to tightly, afraid to let go.
Because they knew that if they let go, they would turn into monsters.
William made his decision.
He focused and chose the Breaker class. At that moment, he began to feel an indescribable pain. Unlike Marcus and the others, the pain began the moment he touched the "yes" option.
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
"Why is it taking so long?" Joseph looked around at those around him but got no answer other than frowns.
"Could he be very indecisive?" Marcus spoke thoughtfully.
Eliza was the first to sense it. "Something's not right."
Then she opened her eyes wide. "Get back!" She ran without looking back, shouting at the people in the city square and in their homes, waking the sleepers.
"It's Ley! Something's not right! It's not stable, get back! To the gate!" Hearing this, everyone ran toward the eastern gate of the city on the New Telludure side without even looking back. Everyone, young and old, children and adults.
Joseph wanted to stay at first, but when he saw Eliza's pleading look, he couldn't resist. He trusted her blessing and ability.
With that, everyone retreated.
"What did you see?" Joseph asked. He looked at Eliza with a look that said, "I hope you have a good reason."
"It's terrible, just like when the monolith was formed, a lot of ley energy is gathering. We need to secure the city immediately."
Eliza wanted to run right away, but Joseph stopped her.
"Calm down, Eliza, there aren't many zombies left in the area."
"Yes, there aren't any around, but what about the field bosses? What if they decide to make a move? General, you have to understand, this isn't normal. We could all die in this ley storm!"
Joseph's eyes widened. He hadn't expected it to be so serious.
"You have full authority, use everyone as you see fit, I'll stay here."
Eliza bowed her head and gave orders to everyone one by one, dispersing them throughout the city.
Joseph stayed behind. He was the only one left in the center of the city.
He watched William slowly rise into the air.
Then he saw something he had never seen before. William's eyebrows furrowed and his skin began to melt.
His consciousness was still clouded, but he knew that he could still feel pain while he was inside the system.
It wasn't just his skin; his muscles began to melt away, fiber by fiber.
"What have you done, boy! Ah! What have you done, boy!" Joseph was about to lose his mind. He couldn't imagine the pain William was going through. He knew that all of this was temporary, a price that had to be paid for power, but he thought this was too much.
This pain would not be easily forgotten.
William felt the same way. He felt as if every part of him was being torn apart, bent, and squeezed in a vice.
Blood, tears, and sweat were intertwined, indistinguishable from one another.
It took half an hour for William's skin and muscles to break down and regenerate. Then his body suddenly fell to the ground, and the floor shook.
This time, William was experiencing destruction from within. First, his organs—his spleen, kidneys, brain, heart, lungs—were destroyed and reshaped one by one. Each time an organ was formed, he lost consciousness for a few seconds, only to return when it was complete.
Then William's bones began to break down and regenerate. "God," he thought, though he was not a religious man. "I don't want this, none of it, please kill me and end this pain."
William was young, naive, and inexperienced. He didn't know what his wish meant. If you ask God for less pain, he will reward you with more pain.
Once his bones had finished forming, the real catastrophe began.
The ley around him burst out like a river, mainly from the crack in the garden, and began to enter his body. It flowed into William's body through his mouth, eyes, nostrils, and even his anus.
So much so that a storm slowly began to form with the ley, and William was in the middle of this storm, its core.
Newly built houses around him, even the shelter itself and Joseph's office, began to collapse. The ley then left a trail of stardust and turned into blue flames. These blue flames sometimes changed and turned into a blue river, and sometimes blue lightning bolts emerged from between them and collided with the blue river. The clash between the blue lightning and the river produced red, irregular, and unbalanced lines that beat William's body as if it were being whipped.
The ground beneath William had already collapsed several feet. William was buried inside. Each swing of these red, irregular lines opened wounds on William's body that were impossible to heal.
These wounds did not bleed or hurt. It was like a horse being branded. William was being branded by nature.
These marks were faintly visible all over his body except for his face.
At that moment, Joseph heard several voices on the radio.
"Zom...bies...czzttt...they're everywhere...all units...focus on the west and...north."
Joseph frowned.
Eliza's voice didn't sound good at all. He reached out and took the radio.
"Eliza, what's going on there?"
A few seconds later, there was another crackling sound.
The radio wasn't working properly due to the ley storm.
"General... It's a... zombie wave! There are so many... zombies... coming towards us!"
"Damn it." Joseph threw the radio on the ground.
Then he pointed at William and shouted. "Damn you, brat! Finish your evolution and put an end to this nonsense!" He then reluctantly left William alone.
He immediately went to the northern region and saw the scene Eliza had described with his own eyes.
Northmere had not been completely cleared, but there were still a few zombies.
"All these zombies can only be coming from one place," he thought.
"Field bosses." The two field bosses closest to them were in the north and west. Then there was another field boss beyond the tower in the east, and these three field bosses surrounded them.
The number of zombies coming from the field boss in the north was the highest.
At that moment, Eliza approached. She was trying to talk to someone with a radio in her hand.
"Fuck. General, reporting! Pete and his men stayed behind to fight the zombies coming from the east at the beginning hotel. Marcus and Edmond are in the west, and Bradley and I are managing here."
Joseph shook his head. "Go, do your duty. Not a single zombie should pass these walls."
He watched Eliza release all of her ammunition.
He saw Kim kill thousands of zombies single-handedly with her machine guns until they burned out. He saw Mick gather the zombies around him and Jason slip through the gaps to hunt down high-level zombies.
Even civilians were trying to kill zombies with the first machine guns and pistols they could get their hands on.
It was a sight to behold. After a while, Joseph had to join in, as Eliza and Jason were killing high-level zombies, but some were escaping through the gaps.
…
...
William found himself drowning in incredible pain. Again.
This time, red lines with black insides began to appear on his body, and he had no idea where they were coming from.
It was as if the blue ley flame, ley river, and lightning weren't enough.
Fortunately, his body was strong. Or so he believed.
After half an hour of the same painful blows, he didn't know how many times he wanted to die, how many times he wanted to escape. But then something happened.
His eyes opened. He looked at the real world.
There was a storm outside, a blue, merciless, and painful storm. William found himself in the center of this storm.
He no longer felt any pain; he could see the waves of blue flames, the flowing water, and the lightning, and those red lines with black insides, destroying the blue shapes one by one. With his remaining strength, he beat William's body, but as the blue shapes diminished, the red line's power increased, and instead of harming William's body, it was helping him.
William relaxed when he saw that an unknown force was helping him for reasons unknown to him, and quietly waited for the evolution to end. This was because he had not yet received a notification from the system that the evolution was over.
William waited patiently, drowning in the excitement of the future that awaited him.