Ding!
[Congratulations, you have established a connection with "Gods Ascension"]
The glowing panel appeared in front of Karl, its golden letters floating in midair.
That same message appeared across the world for everyone turning eighteen.
It was the moment nearly every young person waited for their chance to enter [Gods Ascension].
Karl had been one of them before.
Back then, he was excited, nervous, and full of dreams.
Now, standing there once again, he still felt a rush, but not for the same reasons.
This time, he knew what awaited him.
[Do you wish to enter now?]
[You will not be able to leave "Gods Ascension" until level 10 if you accept.]
The same message as before. The same choice.
Ever since the game descended three years ago, it had reshaped the entire world.
There were now entire academies teaching people how to survive once they entered.
Tutorials, guides, and mentors, it had all become routine.
Now, three years later, things were calmer, more predictable.
People thought they understood it. But they didn't.
Karl exhaled slowly as he looked at the floating panel.
This world, the "real" one, didn't matter much anymore.
There were no jobs, no goals, nothing left to work toward.
Everything revolved around the game.
After all, [Gods Ascension] gave you strength and everything you needed.
There was danger, yes, but it was also the only way forward.
And for those strong enough, it was paradise.
Karl knew that better than anyone.
And he also knew what would come in seven years if humanity failed again.
He clenched his fists, eyes sharpening.
He couldn't afford to waste even a single second.
This time, he would use every bit of knowledge he had.
He closed his eyes and spoke quietly.
"Yes."
The instant he confirmed, his body felt weightless.
Gravity twisted, and a strange sensation of falling sideways filled his chest.
His heart raced as light and darkness blended together.
A moment later—
He landed on something invisible.
The space around him was endless, dark, and silent, a void stretching infinitely in all directions.
[Welcome back to "Gods Ascension".]
Karl's eyes widened.
"Back?" he muttered.
Normally, the system would say: [You have officially entered "Gods Ascension" for the first time.]
But it didn't. It remembered him.
That meant his regression wasn't just a dream.
The game itself acknowledged his past.
Karl took a breath to steady himself.
He knew what came next: class selection.
In his past life, he had chosen the [Warrior] class, focusing on strength and close combat.
It was simple, direct, and efficient.
Back then, he even got lucky, his assigned Talent was the S-Rank Berserker, which made him powerful in short bursts.
It had carried him far.
Talents ranged from F-Rank all the way to SSS-Rank, with F being the lowest, and SSS being the strongest.
They were spread out around several categories: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS.
As for classes, there were several at disposition: warrior, assassin, mage, summoner, archer and more that you could select.
There were also the [Unique Classes], which were the most powerful of the bunch, as they gave the most power.
Out of billions of players, only a handful had ever obtained one.
Karl hadn't.
That was why he knew he would surely hesitate to choose a class in this new life.
It would determine everything after all.
But before he could select...
Before he could even move to choose—
[The "Gaze" of Oblivion is on you.]
His heartbeat stopped.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Unique Class: Heir of Oblivion!]
"What?"
Karl froze, staring blankly at the glowing text.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
He had not received a unique class before.
Yet why did he this time around?
Perhaps... it was linked to that eye he saw while in the void before dying.
That monstrous gaze piercing through his soul.
It had to be connected.
Without hesitation, he opened his new class panel.
---
[Heir of Oblivion (Unique Hidden Class): The "God of Oblivion" has fallen by the hands of the "Ancient Gods" because they deemed him too powerful.]
[You cannot yet wield his full might, but as his heir, his power has been passed down to you.]
[Class Passive #1: All your magic damage is multiplied by 10.]
[Class Passive #2: You do not need MP to cast any spells, no matter how powerful they are.]
[Class Passive #3: All your spells' cooldowns are reduced by half.]
[These passives evolve alongside the user.]
---
'Damn!'
Karl's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected something like this, it was just too good.
Though Karl did notice his class said "magic damage" and "MP".
Every passive mentioned magic.
That meant he wasn't a warrior anymore. He was a mage.
Mages weren't exactly considered to be the best class in his last life.
They were powerful, yes, but hard to use.
Most of their skills required time, strategy, and good positioning.
If their mana ran dry or if cooldowns were too long, they were helpless.
Of course, there were several powerful mages, after all, all classes are equal.
But even then, the majority of players assumed them to be bad.
And yet, seeing that new class in front of him, Karl couldn't help but grin.
'This class is too strong.'
He didn't need mana to cast, his cooldowns were reduced and his damage increased.
Wasn't every single problem a mage had resolved?
Plus, these passives could evolve along with Karl in the game.
And he would also probably even gain some others!
Karl was satisfied, it was definitely stronger than his warrior class in his past life.
But since he was technically a mage, he also received a single skill with that.
---
[Fireball (Common): Conjure a small fireball that deals 100% of Spirit. 30 (15)-second cooldown.]
---
This was his starting skill. It was simple, weak, and basic.
Though of course, a mage only being able to cast one spell every 30 seconds wasn't gonna cut it.
Still, Karl smiled when he noticed the parentheses.
'(15)-second cooldown.'
His third passive was already working!
And he would also do much more damage, wouldn't he?
He was already off to a good start, and as he acquired more equipment and skills, he would evolve to become stronger.
Next, came the second part of his entry to [Gods Ascension]: his Talent.
[The "Gaze" of Oblivion pierces your soul.]
'Again?'
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have obtained the SSS-Level Talent: Infinite Evolution.]
Karl froze again. His breath caught.
"SSS…?!"
He had never even seen one before.
In his previous life, even though 10 years passed since the descent of [Gods Ascension], he had only ever heard of SS-Rank Talents.
And a very few amount of them too!
But... this was a level higher!
He immediately opened the panel.
---
[Infinite Evolution: When defeating monsters, there is a chance to obtain "Evolution Points" that can be used to evolve your skills.]
[Current Evolution Points: 4.]
---
Karl blinked.
"That's it?"
The description was short.
But the simplicity was what made it terrifying.
Normally, skills could only evolve after extreme mastery or by using rare items.
Either way, it was difficult.
But if he could evolve them just by earning points…
Then there was no limit to how fast he could grow.
Karl truly felt like he had received both the strongest class AND talent in [Gods Ascension]
He was beyond lucky.
Karl grinned, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"So that's how it is."
He looked again at the small number on the panel, four evolution points.
'So I can test it right away, huh?'
He opened his skill panel and tapped on [Fireball].
A small confirmation prompt appeared in front of him.
Ding!
[Do you wish to consume 1 Evolution Point to evolve "Fireball"?]