Thump clunk
Crash , boulders and rocks fell together , colliding with themselves as a giant paw sent them flying away.
Inside a crumbling cave, a giant lion like beast could be seen, it's body shifting the Cave's shapes at he walked with no care of the terrain, its mind only thinking about one person.
Grevois looked around, his fangs dripping with saliva, his claws piercing through the ground with each step he took as he made his way deeper into the collapsing cave.
He stopped, sniffing the air to find Argus while he looked to look the completely unscratched structure of the Cave's inner section.
"He is here." He said to his himself, taking a step back while crouching on his fore-legs, going prone on the ground as he closed his eyes.
Grevois's body changes, twitching wildly before it begins shrinking until it reaches a level of a normal tiger cub.
He dashes forward, his new light body barely weighting anything, giving him free availability of space.
He soon arrived at the Hideout, sniffed around to find a Argus only to catch a familiar smell he remembered from years ago.
"The old bastard! I just ho-" Grevois stopped, his feet carrying him to the geode as he sensed a presence, "This can't be... i failed him."
Grevois looked down at Argus, finding him devoid of the aura of a 1st tier class and felt that he had messed up. He was furious, not towards Argus but himself for the his own laziness.
With stable steps he jumped in the hole, stones and pebbles crumbling under his feet as his mana surged, which caused the ground to cave in around him.
"Urgh."
A groan came from Argus, his eyes opening slowly as he was greeted with a hungry, fanatic like gaze that sent shivers down his spine, waking him up in a instant.
Argus jumped like a scaredy cat, he looked down at Grevois while clinging onto one of the geode Crystals, his eyes peeled open.
"I am sorry kid... My laziness caused all these chaos."
Argus stared at Grevois, the voice felt familiar to him but he couldn't pinpoint whose. (Grevois's voice has grown more cub like)
They both looked each other in the eye, one confused as hell, the other drowning in regrets of his life.
"I wish I could go back in time, this mess coul-"
"Who are you?"
Argus asked plainly, interrupting Grevois's depressive thoughts as he slowly jumped down, only to feel the effects of his new class.
He landed on the ground, the earlier adrenaline gone as he felt his feets buckle up, excruciating pain hit his nerves, making him look at his own feet as if they were screaming for mercy.
"Did you lose your memory kid?, Don't tell me they hit you on the head." Grevois roared at Argus, tension evident in his voice, hinting at a underlying worry.
Argus however, only gestures to wait one minute as he took deep breaths while enduring the pain and acted tough on the outside.
At last, Argus turns to Grevois, scanning him from head to toe as he said "You do seem familiar, did Grevois had a child or something?"
A nerve popped up on Grevois's head as he raised his claw, "Still a idiot I guess." He bluntly says before lunging towards Argus.
Grevois hit Argus with a paw slap, sending him flying across the cave, luckily Argus landed right on the hide blankets which cushions his momentum, saving a injury or two.
"Short talk later. Come with me brat."
Grevois left the cave with Argus following behind him while making sure to haul his soul cores alongside him after shoving them into one of the blankets.
*********
"So you are saying... You took a class that gives you a halved multiplier and that those bastards mistook you as some random because of it?"
"From what this guy told me about... Yup."
Grevois burst out laughing, causing a small shockwave with each laugh as he wiped imaginary tears from his eyes with his claws.
Argus pouted, he felt insulted but he knew better than to argue with a century old boomer for some petty fake respect.
Currently they both were moving through the center of the forest or rather what used to be a forest, making their way back to Grevois's home as Argus sat on Grevois's back.
"What skill did you get for you to do this? A alchemist skill? A enchanter skill?", Grevois mocked Argus, laughing at his stupidity.
Argus looked at his so-called uncle with disgust, feeling like he was being interviewed by a relative after getting his graduation degree.
"A three times learning boost." Argus said calmly, not expecting any reaction.
However... Grevois stumbled, almost losing his balance he turned his head to Argus with a gaze filled with endless envy.
He didn't say anything, not even a single word before he turned back and whispered to himself " You don't deserve that."
Argus looked at Grevois, taken aback by the reaction but he was not one to mess up a chance to mock him, 'You wish you had this didn't you? Too bad, you weren't lucky enough to get it."
"SAY THAT ONCE MORE AND YOUR GETTING THIS CLAW TO YOUR FACE!"
Argus immediately fell silent, acting as if he never said anything while maintaining a innocent poker face.
The duo eventually slipped out of forest, leaving behind the ashen fields as they reached a mountain Swampish region, neither saying a word to break the silence between themselves.
"So did you check what you classes you would get next?" Grevois asked curiously, "Maybe you would get some new unknown class,"
"now that you mention it. Oi Eclipse, show me my Class window."
The statue popped in front of Argus, his new class placed on it like a trophy of war which made Argus very comfortable for a unknown reason.
************
[Name: Argus Marthos]
[Age: 19]
[Class: Burden(tier 1/Primary), Judge(Secondary)]
[Available class tree for primary class-> The Damned survivor, The cursed, the defiant]
Argus looked at his class tree, completely confused as he tapped onto classes for better description.
[ The damned survivor (B)]
[ Description: A master of adaption that survives in the hardest of conditions and completes his goal.]
[Requirements: possession of skill 'Adaption' (evolution option for learning boost)]
-----------
[The cursed (B)]
[Description: A class given to those who have learnt to live with a constant burden their whole lives]
[Requirements: Possession of skill 'Irony' (Branch evolution for learning boost)]
---------
[The Defiant (A)]
[Description: A class symbolising the overwhelming will power to fight against fate and limitations]
[Requirements: skill 'Adaptation' , Attribute 'Unyielding' , 100 tier 3 soul cores.]
********
Argus spoke the description to Grevois, Eclipse however was filled with anticipation for what is to come.
"Why are the multipliers and Skills not showing? I am not very fond of gambling." Argus said to Eclipse who was floating beside him like a ball of light.
"Because you used up all the JP, those perks don't come for free." Eclipse bluntly told Argus, it's tone cold like ice.
"Cold hearted punk."
"Jobless beggar."
The two glare at each other.. if you could call a ball of light a eye that is.
Both Argus and Eclipse were at eachother's throats, each wanting nothing more than to take control over the other.
"Now which one would you take?"
Grevois broke the tension between the judge and the core spirit as the two split and both looked at him.
"The defiant." The two said in unison as if they had been practicing this dialogue, not a single difference in their tone or words.
Grevois was dumbfounded while the two were shocked at each other as they again begins arguing, blaming eachother for copying.
Grevois gave up on trying to calm down the two, leaving them to their whimes and insults as he focused on the journey through the swamp.
Suddenly, Grevois stopped, his senses detecting people in his home, each armed and ready for battle reflected by their presence.
'A bunch of insects here for my treasure again... Good, I need someone to went my anger on anyways.' Grevois thought, smiling internally as he kept his pace constant until he entered the valley and acted as if he had not detected the invaders.
On the other side, Several people in armored clothes could be seen hiding near the trees above, looking down at their target from the ledger of valley.
They were confused, Their gazes stuck on Argus who seemed to be arguing with a small fairy something from their perspectives.
" This wasn't in the data from the association." One of the hunters dressed in red heavy armor said, his glaive placed in front of him.
Every turned at him, staring as if they were looking at a idiot until one of the hunters with a gunner's attire came forward and said "we know that you moron, you think we didn't realise that?"
The armored man looked at the ground, feeling unwanted and embarrassed but quickly pulled himself back to the reality as tall man with a circular shield and a flail came forward.
" What are you twerps worrying about? We came to hunt and we will hunt, anybody who had second thoughts can say it now?"
"I-"
One newbie raised his hand, wanting to say something however, the flail wielder broke the newbie's arm in one strike.
The newbie wanted to scream but the other quickly came forward and grabbed his mouth, only letting go a few minutes later after the newbie could control himself.
"I just wanted to ask what out positions were.." the newbie said with tears and blood trailing down his face.
The captain(flail wielder) who was a armored vanguard with a grey afro looked at the newbie, sighed and then asked to healer to help attach the arm.
" I told you to raise your left hand for questions you idiot, go ask valir for the plans."
The captain quickly sent the newbie with the healer while he leaned over the ledge looking at the cave where he could see a treasury of big money.
He licked his flail in pleasure, as he turned and looked at his Guild members.
"Let's prepare... We strike at night." He said and soon everyone left behind towards their camp except the recon.