“It’s too smooth. Something is wrong.”
Lomyu lay in his tent with his hands behind his head, unable to sleep. This assessment had indeed gone a bit too well.
Elena and Lilith, the two favored daughters of heaven in the early game, were supposed to be incredibly difficult opponents. One had explosive stats, while the other possessed broken mechanics. Yet, the exam had barely begun, and now one was being publicly displayed while the other had been sent back to the respawn point to cool off.
‘I didn’t even get to use my backup plans. It’s such a waste. They didn’t even help me kill a few magical beasts to make harvesting easier.’
Complaining to himself, Lomyu felt they were somewhat… underdeveloped? He didn’t mean their figures, but rather that the strength displayed by them and their teams was clearly disconnected from his impressions of the game.
“Sigh… it’s all because of that crazy woman, Sylvia.”
Lomyu muttered to himself, unsure if he should be snickering or growing more vigilant. The storm Sylvia had stirred up in the materials market was like a butterfly flapping its wings, triggering a gale that swept up all the first-year students. Most students had severely depleted their Credits, leaving them without enough capital to prepare high-tier alchemy cards.
That was the only reason his plan had been executed so “smoothly.”
In the past, he might have had some reservations and wouldn’t have let Ibuki Mio tie Elena to a pillar to humiliate her publicly like that. But now? Since he was already sprinting down the path of a major villain, Lomyu only wanted to clap and watch the show from the edge of the cliff.
Haha, if I successfully become a major villain, I might even reincarnate earlier than everyone else. How is that not smooth? Please, let there never be a second Sylvia!
“Being this lucky definitely isn’t right. As a man, it’s impossible not to be screwed over by the developers.”
But as he thought about it carefully, things really weren’t as simple as they seemed on the surface. What about Cromwell?
That group, centered around the capital’s nobility, had always looked down on the so-called “Talent Cultivation Plan.” The Credits in their hands were definitely in the top tier. Why had they been as quiet as if they didn’t exist for the past two days?
‘Cromwell suppressed Sylvia in the materials market even at the risk of losing money…’
‘One controls domestic freight, while the other monopolizes dragon materials. Is this kind of commercial harassment really just to vent their frustration?’
‘Is there some plot point I haven’t considered?’
Lomyu closed his eyes, quickly reviewing the main storyline of the early game. This entrance assessment was a major event in the game, and it was actually divided into two phases.
Phase One: Farming artifacts.
Phase Two: Competing for artifacts.
Obviously, in the farming phase, whoever could enter the high-level monster zone first would establish a huge advantage. He had already achieved this. But the problem lay exactly in the second phase.
The terrain of the Southern Valley meant there were only a few fixed paths leading to the final evaluation point. By then, the peripheral teams waiting on the roads would actually have an advantage over the teams deep in the heart of the valley. Currently, all students were still at Tier 1 to Tier 3, which belonged to the early stages of their classes. Even Lomyu himself had not yet officially stepped over the threshold of the middle tiers.
With such a small gap in strength, any well-prepared plan could pose a threat. Traps, ambushes, special alchemy cards, and several teams joining forces — even Tier 1 students could bring real trouble to a high-tier team.
And…
Lomyu’s brow furrowed slightly. When the second phase opened, a genuine Tier 5 magical beast would spawn in the deepest part of the valley. This beast had only one task: to drive all the teams still in the high-level zone toward the final evaluation point like a flock of sheep.
At that time, all teams would be forced to move within a very short period, crashing head-on into those ambushers who were waiting comfortably.
Now that both the Black and White Queen teams had been slapped in the face by him, they would never let it go. Once they respawned, their next preparations would only be more thorough and targeted. The situation was far from being a guaranteed victory.
Lomyu took stock of his advantages. Currently, his biggest trump card was undoubtedly the **[Dragon Flame]** card. But its mana consumption was terrifying. A single use drained nearly half of his mana, which was clearly not enough to support him through the upcoming melee.
He had to become stronger.
He sank his consciousness into the depths of his mind, and the talent tree representing all his abilities slowly emerged. In his experience pool sat the abundant experience points he had accumulated from farming monsters like crazy over the past two days.
It was time.
Without hesitation, he poured all the experience into his Assassin class. Tier 4 and Tier 3 were separated by a massive chasm. For a Warrior, it meant completely moving past the recruit stage and being qualified to become a veteran or even a reserve instructor. For a Mage, it represented truly entering the halls of spell research.
But for an Assassin? In Lomyu’s memory, it was nothing more than gaining a few more movement skills, becoming more insidious, and acting more “sneaky.”
However, just as the experience points were being absorbed and the class barrier was about to be shattered, a change occurred!
Lomyu “saw” an originally inconspicuous branch on his dark Assassin talent tree suddenly grow rapidly, blooming with a golden-red bud! The bud grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally unfurling to form a completely new branch he had never seen before!
A line of fresh information appeared before his eyes.
**[Detected special bloodline material…]**
**[Class mutation occurring…]**
**[New class branch unlocked: Dragon Shinobi]**
**[Advancement Requirements: Tier 3 class foundation, experience points, 1x Special Material Card]**
Lomyu’s breathing stopped at that moment. He stared fixedly at the requirement for the material card. What was displayed there was the golden card tucked away in his system inventory — the one handmade by Sylvia!
**[Dragon Flame]**!
A hidden class?!
“Huh?!”
“Holy crap, am I about to be hit by another truck of destiny?!”
Lomyu practically bounced off his bed!
Dragon Shinobi! These two words exploded in his mind like twin claps of thunder. Wasn’t this the joke class the game developers released as a teaser during an April Fools event? It was an ultimate “chimera” that stitched Eastern Samurais together with Western Dragons. At the time, players jokingly called it “Dragonborn with a Japanese mod.”
Not only did it have superior melee techniques, but it also used “Ninjutsu!” Its power was greater than the magic of many characters! Because its strength was too absurd and it didn’t fit the world-building, it never appeared again after the event ended.
But now, it had truly appeared on his talent tree!
‘No… it didn’t appear out of thin air.’
Lomyu forced himself to calm down, locking his gaze onto the words **[Special Bloodline Material]**.
Sylvia! That crazy woman!
Not only had she used her own dragon blood to create the out-of-spec **[Dragon Flame]** card, but the power of the dragon blood contained within it had actually become the “key” to activating this hidden class! In other words, this **[Dragon Flame]** card was not just a powerful area-of-effect attack card.
It was an… advancement certificate!
Lomyu’s heart began to race. A mixture of ecstasy and dread washed over his nerves. He understood now. He understood why the Cromwell family would suppress Sylvia at all costs.
They probably weren’t targeting that mentally ill dragon girl at all, but rather the “dragon material” line she represented! If Sylvia could make this kind of thing with her own blood, what about other pure-blooded dragons? The value hidden behind this was likely far beyond anyone’s imagination!
“Damn, the water in this game is too deep…”
Lomyu cursed, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Advancement Requirements: Experience points (sufficient), 1x Special Material Card **[Dragon Flame]**.
This meant he had to sacrifice his current strongest trump card. A strategic-grade weapon capable of killing two Tier 4 magical beasts in one shot and turning the tide of battle at a critical moment. All for an… uncertain hidden class.
Should he gamble?
This thought circled in Lomyu’s mind for less than half a second.
“I’m gambling! Why wouldn’t I?!”
He laughed.
Power!! After working so hard for Credits and tolerating these young misses’ games, wasn’t it all for this in the end? And this was a hidden class! The ultimate romance that countless players in the game dreamed of!
“Come on, let me see what kind of monster an SSR Alchemist plus dragon blood can cook up!”
Lomyu hesitated no longer and sank his consciousness into the system.
“Confirm advancement!”
As his thought fell, the **[Dragon Flame]** card stored in the system warehouse instantly turned into a brilliant stream of light, rushing into his talent tree!
*Vwooom —*
A golden-red light erupted from the new “Dragon Shinobi” branch, instantly sweeping through the entire talent tree!
“Oh no!”
Lomyu’s body jerked violently!
It was hot!
“Dammit, why is there a torture segment…”
The intense pain made Lomyu groan. He gritted his teeth, swallowing all sound.
Biceps! Abs! Forearms!
The muscles throughout his body seemed to begin moving on their own — increasing, exploding, and surging with power! In just a few breaths, Lomyu felt his arms had become so solid he could probably crush ten dogs with ease!
His mind felt like it had been thrown into molten lava! Every blood vessel and every inch of muscle was being burnt, torn, and restructured by the violent power of the dragon flames! Looking at his arm, Lomyu noticed that phantom, dark-gold dragon scale patterns even surfaced on his skin for a fleeting second.
Martial arts. Abilities. Experience. It was like things engraved in the depths of his memory and merged into his bloodline. The Assassin energy erupted and gradually fused with Lomyu’s body!
“I survived getting hit by a truck; this is nothing!”