Dimension Beta

Tom dragged the bag behind him; it was way too heavy to carry, so he just scraped it along the ground. This wasn't unusual in the city, but it sure got him some looks. A few people teased him, asking if he needed help, but no one actually offered, each too busy with their own errands.

Eventually, he reached a small leatherworking shop and dragged the bag inside. A few tanners were busy at work, but one came up to the counter. "Here to sell?" he asked.

Tom nodded, the bag in his hand speaking for itself. The man took the sack and inspected each pelt, one by one.

"Not bad did you skin these yourself?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tom nodded again.

"The way you've handled these shows skill, like you've skinned hundreds of these before. Plus, you've even got an Uncommon pelt in here. You want to sell the whole lot? I'll give you a good price," he offered, enthusiastic.

"Is it alright if I only sell the normal pelts?" Tom asked.

"Trust me, no one's gonna pay you better than I will; I'll even throw in 10% above market price. So, what do you say?"

Tom thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, but I want to gift the Uncommon pelt to someone."

The man nodded, understanding. "Alright, here's 340 gold. And don't forget to stop by again if you've got more good pelts."

Tom thanked him and made his way back to the tavern from the day before. He slung the pelt over his shoulder and, once at the tavern, spotted some workers patching up the hole in the wall.

He greeted them and went inside, where Pablo was busy hammering together a new table, holding the pieces with one hand and nailing with the other. When he heard Tom come in, he turned around, looking annoyed at first, but then broke into a smile when he saw who it was.

"There you are, boy!" He gave Tom a hearty slap on the shoulder. "Looks like you're getting stronger. I was planning to train you the next few days, but looks like you're already high enough level to pick your class. So, what do you say? You ready?"

A message popped up in front of Tom.

[Class Change Available]

[Accept/Decline]

With barely-contained excitement, Tom hit Accept.

[Class Successfully Changed]

Full of anticipation, he opened his character menu:

[Name: Tom Stein]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Brawler]

[Level: 10]

[Health Points: 200/200]

[Mana: 200/200]

[Vitality: 10]

[Strength: 10]

[Dexterity: 10]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Wisdom: 10]

[Level 10 Skills: None]

Free Stat Points: 100

Seeing his new class, Tom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He wanted to yell at Pablo, What kind of dumb class is "Brawler"? But then it hit him that you could only grant classes you already had or once had yourself. That meant, at some point, Pablo himself was a Brawler.

Seeing the genuine smile on Pablo's face, Tom knew he wasn't messing with him.

"Well done, boy! But what's a class without skills? Come on, let's head to the back. I'll teach you a thing or two."

As they walked to the back, Pablo started explaining. "We Brawlers are a subclass of the Bruisers and Berserkers. When you start putting your Stat points in, do it in a two-to-one ratio: two points in Strength and Vitality for every one in Dexterity. Forget Wisdom and Intelligence. We don't bother with spells."

Tom followed Pablo's advice and allocated his points.

By the end, his stats looked like this:

[Health Points: 600/600]

[Vitality: 50]

[Strength: 50]

[Dexterity: 30]

As they stepped into the back room, Tom's eyes went wide. Among some dusty old weights stood a boxing ring right in the middle of the room.

Pablo climbed into the ring and put on a pair of boxing gloves. The funny thing was, they were bright pink and had little rabbits printed on them. Another pair lay on the floor beside him, and when Tom picked them up, he saw why Pablo was wearing them.

[Extra-Cute Bunny Punchers]

Too cute to deal any real damage while worn.

Tom was about to put them on when Pablo stopped him. "No need for those. Or do you really think you can hurt me?" he said with a smirk.

Tom stepped into the ring and took a fighting stance. Pablo sized him up and then adjusted his stance to something that looked like boxing but had a raw, wild edge to it.

"Remember this stance, and try to dodge my punches," Pablo instructed.

Without another word, he unleashed a barrage of punches. Most of them landed, but Tom held his ground in the stance Pablo had shown him. After a while, a notification popped up:

[New Skill Learned]

Pablo said, "Now, try hitting me back!" while still landing blows on Tom.

Tom tried counter-attacking, but every time he swung, Pablo nailed him with a flurry of hits. They didn't do any real damage, but they hurt enough to sting.

Eventually, Tom got frustrated after taking what felt like the hundredth punch to the nose. He began swinging wildly, trying to hit back, all while staying in the stance Pablo had shown him.

"Yeah! Just like that! Keep it up!" Pablo shouted.

After just a few minutes, Tom was already exhausted. He slumped in the corner, gasping for air, and took a moment to check his new skills.

[Level 10 Skills: Beginner Brawler's Stance, Punching Fury]

He clicked on the skills to read more.

Beginner Brawler's Stance – While in this stance, stamina consumption for bare-handed combat is halved.

Punching Fury – Gain 1% attack speed with each consecutive punch until you stop (up to 20 stacks).

Tom was impressed. These skills weren't bad at all.

"We're not done yet," Pablo said.

He tossed a chair to Tom. "Attack me with that chair."

"What?!" Tom wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"Go on, hit me with the chair. And keep that stance!"

Pablo blocked each strike, but Tom noticed something, his stamina consumption was still halved. He glanced at Pablo, who gave him a knowing grin.

"That's the beauty of us Brawlers. We might not use 'real' weapons, but using stuff like chairs and bottles counts as "environmental weapons" so they don't break the skill."

They trained for a bit longer until Tom decided to call it a day. He still had to bike home, and he could always come back to train more later if he wanted. But just as he was about to leave, something came to mind.

"Hey, Pab, this is for you," he said, handing him the Uncommon pelt he hadn't sold.

As Tom gave him the pelt, he could've sworn he saw the glint of a tear in Pablo's eye. But Pablo quickly turned around, inspecting the pelt with exaggerated interest.

"What a fine gift, and you can still smell the wolf on it, like it was freshly skinned," he muttered.

"Thanks, kid," he said, his voice gruff, as he left the room.

Tom watched him go, a little taken aback by Pablo's reaction. Could the giant, who looked so intimidating on the outside, be soft-hearted on the inside?

As Tom stepped outside, something else came to mind. Didn't he still have a quest he needed to turn in?

…

Mr. Pech sat at his counter in the alchemy shop, propping his head up with one hand as he drifted toward sleep. Another day, another empty shop, not that it was surprising. Customers were a rarity, almost mythical, in his establishment.

To say one or two people stumbled into his shop per month would be overly optimistic. His shady practices and poorly crafted products had earned him a terrible reputation throughout the city. Nobody wanted to do business with him. His name was whispered as a warning among locals: "Stay away from Pech's potions unless you want more problems than you started with."

As Mr. Pech teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, the shop bell suddenly rang, jolting him awake. A customer? He straightened his robe and prepared his usual sales pitch, only for his enthusiasm to fade when he saw who it was. The same kid he'd swindled out of 5,000 gold just a few days prior.

Still, his interest was piqued. He remembered the quest he'd given the boy and recalled watching the chaos unfold from the safety of his shop. The kid had done a remarkable job stirring up trouble, and as the quest giver, Pech could sense that it had been successfully completed.

A sly grin spread across his face. "Well, well, what can I do for you, boy?" he asked, feigning politeness.

Tom kept his uncertainty hidden, his expression calm. "I'm here to turn in my quest," he replied.

The moment the words left his mouth, Tom felt a surge of experience flood through him. His level shot up to 13, and he immediately allocated his stat points according to Pablo's earlier advice. With each point distributed, Tom could feel himself growing stronger, his confidence increasing.

Pech's grin widened. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You've done well, kid. Tell me, interested in taking another quest?"

Tom hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should trust the man again, but then again, quests rarely carried any major downsides for failing or declining. What was there to lose?

"What's the task?" he asked cautiously.

Pech gestured grandly at the shelves of dusty potions behind him. "As you can see, my fine products are of exceptional quality," he said, his grin dripping with sarcasm, "but attracting new customers can be... challenging. I have a simple repeating quest for you. For every customer you bring who spends at least 3,000 gold, I'll give you 300 gold as a referral fee. What do you say?"

A familiar prompt appeared before Tom:

[Would you like to accept Pech's quest?]

[Accept/Decline]

Tom glanced at the text, weighing his options.