Dimension Beta

Tom left the alchemy shop with three new quests displayed in his interface:

[War Preparations]

Reach at least level 150. Bonus experience for each level beyond that.

Time limit – 1 year

[War Funds]

Collect gold with Pech to hire a mercenary.

Gold collected: 22,140/50,000,000

Time limit – 1 year

[War Recruitment]

Find three recruits willing to let Pech guide their leveling paths.

Transfer Knight – 0/1

Healer – 0/1

Beast Master – 0/1

Time limit – 1 year

Tom didn't know where to begin with the recruitment quest. Convincing someone to hand over control of their future to Pech sounded near impossible. Still, he decided to focus on the first two quests for now.

His first stop was at Casper's shop to sell all the hides he'd collected during his hunts. He was expecting the usual routine, but to his surprise, Smork wanted to see him.

When Tom arrived at the workshop, Smork greeted him with a hearty grin. "Tell me, boy, how's the equipment treating you?"

"It's really good, Smork. Thanks a lot," Tom replied sincerely, still appreciating how much the gear had helped him survive.

"That's good to hear," Smork said, his voice growing more serious. "Listen, I remember what you said yesterday, that you'll need to get stronger soon. I've been thinking, and I want to help you with that."

Tom raised an eyebrow, curious about what Smork meant.

"Start by collecting more hides and pelts from wolves, beavers, and deer," Smork explained. "Your cape is good enough for now, but if you bring me high-quality materials, I can craft you a better set of gear. Actually…" Smork gestured toward the workshop. "Some of the wolf fur you just brought over is decent. I'll craft you a new vest and boots. They'll be ready the next time you stop by."

Tom nodded in gratitude, but Smork wasn't done. "And, boy, if we find any pelts that exceed rare quality, I'll set them aside for something special. With the right materials, I can make you gear that's truly exceptional."

"Thanks, Smork," Tom said, chuckling. "But don't count on me bringing anything that good anytime soon. I don't think I'll get that lucky."

Smork grinned but said nothing more, letting Tom leave. As Tom walked out, he noticed his gold counter in the quest interface had updated:

Gold collected: 30,140/50,000,000.

He quickly did some math in his head. "If I make 8,000 gold a day, 365 days a year, that's almost 3 million gold. That's nowhere near 50 million. I'd need to make nearly 137,000 gold every single day."

The sheer scale of the task felt overwhelming, but Tom tried to stay optimistic. "I'll make more gold as I level up. For now, I just need to focus on what I can do today."

Tom decided to trust Pech's advice and allocated all his stat points into strength and vitality. Then, after buying a few supplies, he returned to his hunting grounds. Once there, he retrieved a whistle from his spatial pouch, a specialized tool used by power levelers to lure monsters.

Most players avoided using such tools, as attracting multiple monsters at once was a death sentence for anyone unprepared. But Tom didn't have the luxury of caution. He needed to level up quickly, no matter the risks.

He blew the whistle, and within seconds, the first wolf appeared. While waiting, Tom had already begun punching a nearby tree to maintain his weapon's attack speed buff. The buff only remained active as long as he was in combat or continuously hitting something, so keeping it up required constant effort.

As the wolf lunged at him, Tom stomped down hard, slamming the creature's head into the ground. More wolves arrived, and Tom stopped hitting the tree to face them. To keep his hands free, he clenched the whistle between his teeth, blowing into it whenever the number of enemies thinned out.

Gradually, a pile of wolf corpses grew around him. His clothes remained relatively clean, but his gloves and brass knuckles were soaked in blood and monster fluids. After a while, the wolves stopped coming. No matter how hard Tom blew the whistle, no new wolves approached. Either they had grown afraid, or he had wiped out the local population.

He began skinning the wolves, impressed with his progress. "About 220 pelts in 2 hours and 15 minutes," he thought. "Not bad." It took him an additional 25 minutes to finish processing the wolves. Once done, he ventured deeper into the forest.

After another two and a half hours of hunting, both of his spatial pouches were full. By then, it was time to head back to the city. Tom teleported to the city gates and ran to the tavern, arriving just in time for his shift.

As soon as he stepped inside, he noticed the tavern was bustling with activity. Before he could find Pablo to start working, Pablo called him over and gestured for him to follow. Tom obeyed, feeling a little uneasy as they walked to one of the back rooms.

"What's this about?" Tom wondered, sensing a serious atmosphere.

Once inside, Pablo turned his back to Tom, standing in silence for a moment before speaking. "Tom… you haven't been with us for long. I still remember when you joined us in that bar fight."

"Why does this sound like a goodbye?" Tom thought, his stomach sinking.

"I'll be direct," Pablo continued. "Working here at the tavern is holding you back. If what you told us is true, you need to level up quickly in the coming months. Helping us out here was meant to give you a small head start with experience, but you don't need it anymore."

Pablo turned to face Tom, his expression a mix of sadness and resolve. "From now on, you don't need to come here every evening to work. In fact, I forbid you to."

Tom was shocked. He opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he saw the emotion in Pablo's face.

"This doesn't mean you're not welcome here," Pablo added, softening his tone. "If you're tired, need a place to rest, or just want to talk, we're always here for you." He tapped his chest with a fist. "Come back to me when you reach level 60. I'll have something for you then. But for now, go. We don't need you tonight."

Without a word, Tom left the room. He knew Pablo only wanted to help, but the sudden change left him feeling conflicted. Deciding to give Pablo some space, Tom promised himself he'd return in a few days.

On his way out, several patrons called out to him, inviting him to drink with them. Tom declined, promising to join them another time. Once outside, he headed to the alchemy shop through the back entrance, dropping off the pelts he'd collected before leaving the city to resume his hunt.

Over the next two days, Tom focused solely on leveling and collecting pelts, stopping by Pech's shop regularly to drop off materials. By the third morning, Tom was exhausted, having slept only five hours. Still, he washed up, dressed, and hurried to catch his bus. Thankfully, the bus was running late, giving him just enough time to make it to class.

Felix had just approached Tom, intending to talk to him, when their teacher's hologram appeared. Felix returned to his seat, deciding to speak with Tom after class.

"Good morning, students," greeted their teacher, his voice clear and confident. "Today, we'll be diving deeper into the topic of skills and skill fusions.

"I hope by now you've all decided which class you'd like to pursue in the future. Apart from a few universal skills that can be learned from books or other sources and are available to nearly all classes, most skills you gain will be specific to the class you've chosen. These skills typically come from your profession mentor, the person who grants you your class, or as quest rewards from them or others of the same class."

"For example, my first two skills as a Samurai were Sword Stance and Vertical Slash. Most classes receive between one and three skills upon changing classes at level 10. These skills can be active or passive, depending on the class."

He looked around the classroom, ensuring everyone was following along. "You've probably already heard that every 60 levels represent a significant milestone for players. The first milestone comes after 50 levels, as you don't receive your class until level 10."

"At level 60, you'll have two main options. First, you can visit your class mentor to improve the proficiency of your current skills and unlock new ones. Alternatively, you can choose to adopt a new class to gain access to that class's unique skills. This decision can have a huge impact on your development."

"The skills you receive at level 10 are typically referred to as Rank 1 skills. If you improve them at level 60, they become Rank 2 skills. However, if you choose to switch classes instead, you'll receive something called Fusion Points. These points allow you to combine two or more Rank 1 skills to create a new Rank 2 skill."

 "But be warned," the teacher added with a serious tone. "Once a skill is fused, it cannot be separated without considerable difficulty. Additionally, the original Rank 1 skills are consumed in the fusion process, leaving you only with the new Rank 2 skill. If the fusion results in a weak or undesirable skill, you've made a critical mistake."

"It's best to research potential class combinations online before making your decision. Compatibility between classes is key to creating powerful fusions."

He turned his attention to Felix. "Take Felix, for example. You all saw him spar with me last week. His level 10 class is the Banner Bearer. This class allows him to plant a banner that buffs his allies. At level 60, he plans to choose the Knight class, combining the Taunt skill with his banner skills to become a Banner Knight. This fusion will create a specialized skill set that combines defense and team support."

Tom listened intently, absorbing the new information. For the first time, he understood the significance of the reset potions Pech had given him. Resetting fused skills was clearly a valuable option if mistakes were made during skill fusion.

The teacher continued explaining other class combinations and fusion possibilities until the lesson concluded. As he began to dismiss the class, Tom hesitantly raised his hand.

The teacher looked surprised. "Yes, Tom? Do you have a question?"

"Uh, no, Mr. Bunwald. But could I speak with you after school?"

The teacher nodded. "Of course. Come see me at 12:05. You know where to find me."

With that, the teacher's hologram disappeared, signaling the end of the class.