“No—you’ve returned to the starting point. That is the end.”
“No.”
Alvis did not stop walking. He took another step forward.
“For a circle, the starting point is the end, and the end is also the starting point. Since this is the starting point, how can it be said that I’ve reached the end?”
He kept walking, one loop after another, tireless.
This was not rely sophistry—it was an unbreakable logical loop.
In the end, bound by an ancient contract that prevented him from violating the wager, the ferryman felt an unbearable irritation.
Unwilling to let this mortal continue circling endlessly on his shore—an eyesore and an obstruction—
Enraged and humiliated, the ferryman could only lash out and kick Alvis straight out of the underworld.
“Get lost! Go back to the world of the living and keep walking your circle! When your legs rot away, then crawl back here!”
Thus, Alvis returned to the mortal world.
This was a fairy tale known to every household in this world.
And its ending was always written like this:
【So, children, do not treat death as a predetermined future.】
【When strength cannot oppose fate, wisdom can draw you a looping circle. As long as you are still moving forward, the ending will never catch up to you.】
Lance had once regarded this as nothing more than a story to amuse children.
But now, looking at the class information for 【Pale Sentinel】, he suddenly felt—
Back then, the class Alvis had taken was likely one that danced repeatedly on the boundary between life and death, possessing extraordinary resilience.
If he had to choose between the conventional 【Swordsman】 and this rare 【Pale Sentinel】—
As a veteran min-maxing player in his previous life, the answer required no thought.
“Of course I choose the stronger one.”
Lance clenched his fist, a trace of ambition flashing in his eyes.
If he already had cheats enabled, then he might as well play at high difficulty.
Next, he needed to properly replan his skill tree.
As his thoughts settled, the carriage also crossed the final hill.
The familiar outline of Graystone Town appeared at the edge of his vision.
……
After confirming that Damian—that foolish kid—had been taken over by the guild physicians and was no longer in danger of dying,
Lance returned to his small attic dwelling.
He locked the door behind him and struggled to peel off his blood-soaked equipnt.
This set of gear, which had cost him quite a few silver coins, was completely ruined.
The leather armor was covered in scratches and puncture holes, and even two of the leg guard buckles had snapped.
It seed that after this joint extermination mission ended, he would have to make a trip to the craftsn’s district to get a new set.
Lance sat bare-chested at the edge of the bed, lowering his head to look at his hands.
They were covered in dried dark green blood.
Even now, the scenes from the shallows kept replaying in his mind.
The grotesque faces of the Goblins, the shrill whistle of stone spears cutting through the air, the sensation of his short sword slicing into flesh, the vibrations from heavy blows against his shield.
Suddenly, Lance noticed that his right hand was trembling slightly.
He raised it and examined it closely.
At first, the movent was minimal, but as he recalled the battle, the trembling in his fingertips grew more intense—that was muscle spasming from excitent.
This was not fear.
Lance understood this feeling well.
His muscles were cheering. His nerves were pulsing. It was excitent born from dancing on the edge of life and death.
This body was craving the next battle.
“Smack!”
A crisp sound rang out.
Lance raised his left hand and slapped his disobedient right hand hard.
“Damn it, you little demon!”
He gritted his teeth and cursed viciously.
“At your age, what you should be craving isn’t battle!”
“What you should be craving is the soft and warm body of a young lady! Can you have so ambition?!”
To suppress this abnormal agitation, he forced himself to close his eyes and desperately recalled the illustrations from that magazine in the bookstore—《Ostera Illustrated Gazette · Sumr Edition》.
The fluffy ears of a Foxfolk girl, the sultry gaze of a Succubus lady, and the long, slender legs of an Elven Ranger…
He ntally flipped through those pages again and again until the excitent for battle gradually subsided and his emotions returned to stillness.
“Phew…”
Lance let out a long breath and kicked the pile of ruined equipnt under the bed.
Out of sight, out of mind.
After a quick wash, he changed into casual clothes and headed out again.
This ti, his destination was the town’s bookstore.
He had always been curious and fascinated by the “professional class” system of this world, but due to his lack of funds, he had only been able to learn bits and pieces through hearsay.
He had previously tried to freeload by reading expensive professional books at the store—
Only to be taught a lesson by the shrewd shopkeeper.
All high-tier knowledge books priced above ten silver coins were protected by special anti-theft reading enchantnts.
One could only see the first ten pages—the table of contents and introduction. The rest was obscured as if by mist, completely unreadable.
Want to learn real skills without paying? Not a chance.
But now things were different.
After “acquiring” wealth from Hakon the Coin Counter, Lance’s purse was temporarily well-stocked.
Without hesitation, he slapped down twenty silver coins and bought the book he had long coveted: 《Basic Guide to Class Advancent for Professionals》.
“Knowledge really is expensive.”
As he walked out of the bookstore, Lance touched his much lighter coin pouch. Though it pained him, he knew the investnt was absolutely worth it.
By the ti he returned ho, night had already fallen. He lit the oil lamp on his desk and opened the costly book under its glow.
Expensive as it was, it had to be admitted—worth every coin.
The pages were thick and durable, the text clear and neatly printed, and it even included exquisite magical diagrams. With proper care, it could be passed down for generations.
As the pages turned, the mysterious veil of this world’s professional system was gradually lifted before Lance’s eyes.
The path of a professional was far more rigorous than he had imagined.
The maximum level cap was set at twenty.
After taking a class, this progression path was referred to in ancient texts as the 【Stairway to Godhood】.
It ant ascending step by step until, with a mortal body, one could stand shoulder to shoulder with Gods.
The strength of professionals was divided into four major tiers: Common, Excellent, Extraordinary, and Legendary.
Between each tier lay an insurmountable gap.
According to the book, once a human professional stepped into the Excellent tier, the magic power within their body would begin reshaping their flesh, gradually surpassing racial limits.
At the Extraordinary tier, a single individual could influence the outco of a small-scale war.
As for the final Legendary tier—ancient texts directly referred to them as walking natural disasters.
Lance was completely absorbed in reading.
Until he reached the section on attributes and class restrictions—
His finger suddenly froze.
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