A day passed after the great battle against the Wolf Tide. The village of Lont was in a festive atmosphere because they had narrowly escaped a calamity.
Unfortunately, some other towns and villages didn't share their happiness. Several messenger birds had arrived at the Ainsworth Residence and the majority of them brought bad news.
James was frowning as he read the latest letter that had arrived. After a while, he heaved a deep sigh as he carefully placed the letter on the right side of the table.
"The town of Fuschia had been overrun by the Beast Tide. There were no survivors," James announced.
"This makes it the third town that got wiped out," Owen commented. "Those poor souls."
"This Beast Tide really came without warning." Helen grimaced. "If the defenders of Lont were just a bit weaker, this town would have suffered the same fate as the others."
Everyone in the room silently agreed with Helen's deductions. If none of them were here, this town would have already been in ruins.
"Let's wait for John's reconnaissance mission," Marcus suggested. "We can make our move once we get his detailed report."
"Do you think it's a good idea to open Lont to accept refugees?" Shawn asked.
This was a question that was hard to answer. Lont was a peaceful place and they liked to keep it that way. If refugees were to swarm into this town then a certain balance would be broken. This was not something they wanted to happen.
However, could they really turn away the people who were in dire need of help? Those who had lost everything? Although none of the people inside the room were innocent, and all their hands were covered in blood, they still had a shred of humanity in them.
If push came to shove, they would still extend their hands to offer these refugees assistance.
After they resisted the Wolf Tide, the town of Lont had entered a state of emergency. No one was allowed to leave town, except for the few elites that were responsible for Lont's safety. The wolves on the battlefield were currently being cleaned up and turned into wolf jerky.
This was their way of helping the refugees get something to eat, if and when they arrived in their small town. The thousands of wolves would be enough to feed a lot of people. As for the Centennial and Millennial Beasts? They didn't intend to share them with anyone.
They were magical beasts that would help nurture the next generation and only the original residents would get the privilege of eating their meat. Their fur, claws, and horns could be used to forge weapons and armors.
It was qutie a pity that the two Centennial Beasts committed suicide when they saw that their leader had perished. William could have gained a few levels for his Shepherd Job Class if they had survived.
Even so, the boy didn't think too much about it. Two Centennial Beasts couldn't compare to a Millennial Beast. If William would have to choose between them, he would pick the latter any day.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was heavy. Almost all the towns and villages near Lont had either turned to ruins, or had been wiped out completely from the face of the continent.
John and his animal companion Blitz, decided to do a reconnaissance mission in order to get a better understanding of the current situation. Lont was located at the Western Edges of the Hellan Kingdom.
It was quite far from the capital city, and it would take at least five to six days to reach it if you were to travel using a flying beast like a Gryphon.
"For now, let's wait for John's return," James said after organizing his thoughts. "If any refugees arrive in Lont, we can allow them to stay in the town hall for the time being. That place can house up to two hundred people."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After a few more discussions, everyone left to return to their duties.
James sighed for the umpteenth time as he stared at the ceiling. "I wonder how the King will react to this calamity."
-----
William looked outside the window of his room. The battle against the Millennial Beast had taught him a lot. He had to admit that it was the second most dangerous experience that he had encountered in his current lifetime.
The scale of the battle was very different from the controlled environment inside the dungeon. Inside the dungeon, William had the opportunity to escape. However, in the outside world, there were no second chances.
The boy opened his status page and checked the title that he had acquired after defeating the Millennial Beast.
----
< Wolf Slayer >
"Time to save Little Red Riding Hood!"
-- Increase attack against Wolf Type Monsters by 50%
-- Strength +3
-----
William gained a lot from that battle. His Ice Mage Job Class reached max level. Not only that, he was able to unlock the skill "Chantless Casting". This was a skill that William had always wanted. It allowed him to use spells without having to chant them out loud.
Now, he had several options in front of him. The first option was to level his Shepherd Job Class. The second one was to take the next step and advance his Ice Mage to a stronger class.
William opened the Job Advancement Menu. There were several choices for him to choose from, but the majority of them were locked. There were even some that were unknown.
----
< Ice Wizard >
< Elemental Lord > (Locked)
< Battle Mage > (Locked)
< Magic Swordsman > (Locked)
< Arcane Ranger > (Locked)
< Cryo Lancer > (Locked)
< ??? >
< ??? >
< ??? >
-----
The system told him that the jobs with question marks were known as "Prestige Classes". According to the system, these classes required chance encounters and extreme luck to acquire.
William didn't think much about it because he already had a prestige class waiting for him to unlock. It was none other than the "Disciple of Thunder".
Its requirements were very simple. You need to get two job classes to reach their max level. It was a very straightforward requirement and William only needed to max one more job class in order to unlock it.
The basic job classes like swordsman, archer, spearmen, mage, etc, needed to reach job level 40 in order to advance to the next job class. The only question on William's mind right now was, which job class should he choose next?
The Shepherd Job Class was his permanent main class. If he wanted to maximize both worlds, leveling this job class would bring him the most benefits.
However, William was very tempted to switch the Ice Mage Job Class to one of the other classes as well.
According to the system, once you reach the max level of a certain class, you would be able to add "one single skill" to your list of permanent skills.
What did this mean? Simply put, if William were to swap the Ice Mage with one of the other job classes, he could choose one skill from the Ice Mage class to add to his main skill slot.
For example, even if he chose the Swordsman as his next Job Class, he would still be able to use Glacial Lance if he wanted to. He could also choose Chantless Casting, Ice Armor, Ice Wall, Mana Regeneration, etc.
Having one permanent skill from a job class was a major boon to William's repertoire.
"Battle Mage and Magic Swordsman sound cool," William muttered as he looked at these two job classes. Although they were still locked, William could see their job requirements.
----
< Battle Mage >
Might and Magic are at your disposal. Who said that a mage couldn't fight in close combat?
Requirement:
-- Any Mage Job Class Level 40
-- Monk Job Class Level 40
-----
< Magic Swordsman >
Perfect combination of Sword and Magic. Nothing is too hot or too cold to those who wield both powers in his hands.
-- Any Mage Job Class Level 40
-- Swordsman Job Class Level 40
------
William scratched his head continuously. He couldn't make up his mind. The problem with multi-classing was that it took a lot of time to max the level of his job class.
The Wolf Tide was a "special event" that wouldn't happen too often. William knew that killing a Millennial Beast was not an easy thing to do. If not for the fact that the one he fought was greatly weakened, he wouldn't even stand a chance in killing it.
Look for Beast Tides? That was a very stupid idea.
Although the people of Lont were surprisingly strong. He didn't want another Beast Tide to head in their direction.
'One step at a time.' William sighed. 'I don't need to rush. Maxing one job class is already good in my current age.'
William suddenly thought about his ex-fiance, Rebecca. They said that she was a genius born every two hundred years. If the young girl knew that he had already become a full-fledged ice mage, what would she think? What would her mother, Agatha, and her master, Eleanor, think?
The corner of William's lips curled up into a smile. 'No good. I am feeling narcissistic again.'
He shook his head in order to clear his thoughts. What he needed to do now was to decide which job class he should prioritize.
'Should I advance to Ice Wizard or go for the basic job classes? Argh! Deciding is a pain!' William scratched his head for the umpteenth time.
'I think i need to ask Mama Ella for advice. Maybe she can give me a second opinion.'