If this wasn’t a game, then that may explain why I could use all of the techniques I had learned, regardless of class changes. After all, it wasn’t like a judo practitioner would lose his ability to use all the judo techniques he had learned the moment he started practicing boxing.
In that case, I wondered if this meant I could use the top-tier class skills I had learned.
Before becoming a Holy Knight, a top-tier class, I had previously leveled up nine other classes. In order to become a Holy Knight, I needed to have the top-tier classes of Summoner, Sacred Knight, and Priest. To get those, I needed the mid-tier classes of Magus, Knight, and Bishop. Those required the base-tier classes of Mage, Soldier, and Monk. After those nine classes, that made Holy Knight my tenth.
I didn’t learn every skill from every single class, but I had still acquired quite a large number of techniques.
With all these skills at my disposal, I just may be able to survive in this unknown world. The fact that I wasn’t limited to my main class would alone be a huge help.
To be honest, the Holy Knight class was basically a love letter from the developers. Holy Knight Swordsmanship was the only ability available, but it allowed you to equip a two-handed sword in one hand, then gave additional attack bonuses if you equipped one in both. With its ample equipment options and high attack and defense stats, the class seemed perfect for tanking. Unfortunately, it was difficult to use as a main class, since it lacked any ability to attract enemies.
The romanticism and the Holy Knight name itself were what drew me in. Having gone through all the effort to attain this top-tier class, I felt a certain affinity for it. Though, even I had to admit it was hard to use. But, on the other hand, the class was certainly more than powerful enough to win in a straight-up fight with its weapons alone, no special techniques needed.
I slowly exhaled while I thought this over. I realized I couldn’t just keep idling my time away on top of this hill. I needed to find a person, a town, something. I began thinking about what I would do next.
Even though I found myself in this impossible situation, I was a little proud of how calm I was.
I summoned another spell, just as I had done earlier. This time, it was Transport Gate, a Magus support magic skill, which caused a three-meter-wide, pale blue column of light to appear at my feet. This spell allowed players to instantly transport to any town they had previously visited.
In the game, a prompt would typically appear that allowed you to select the name of the town you wanted to transport to. However, the space in front of me remained blank. I thought for a moment about what I should do. Suddenly, the world around me grew dark. The next moment, I was greeted with the same scene I had seen just moments ago. Looking down at my feet, I guessed I had moved ahead maybe three meters. It seemed the spell wouldn’t work without me having a distinct image of where I wanted to go in mind.
I wasn’t sure where I was in this world, so perhaps I wouldn’t be able to travel very far. It wasn’t like I knew any areas other than where I currently stood.
“Well, this sucks,” I muttered as I looked up at the sky.
Though, there may be other options. I punched my fist into my open palm as I remembered a different transport skill I could use: Dimensional Step, a supplemental Mage skill. After executing the skill, players could move to any location of their choosing with a click of the mouse. Often used in the early game to get out of range of an enemy’s area-of-effect attack or to make a quick escape from hordes of enemies, the skill became mostly useless around mid-game. The area of effect of attacks by large monsters and bosses was simply too large to escape. The skill was basically only useful for adjusting your position, or for consuming MP as you darted across the screen.
I focused on a location in front of me then executed Dimensional Step. An instant later, the world around me began moving. Looking over my shoulder, I could see where I had been standing just moments ago; it was quite a distance away, maybe about 500 meters or so.
In the game, the skill would only allow you to teleport as far as the edge of your screen. Here in the real world, however, the spell made it possible for me to instantly travel to any location I could see. It was pretty convenient to be able to fly about like an esper without needing to put a bead against my head each and every time. Plus, the short recharge time between uses made it a pretty useful transport spell.
I alternated between waiting for the spell to recharge and using Dimensional Step to teleport. My mood started picking up the farther I traveled.
The day wore on, and the sky began taking on a crimson glow as the sun drew ever closer to the horizon. Assuming the sun was west of me, that meant I was traveling southwest.
As I progressed from one grassy hill to the next, a large river came into view. I teleported down to the riverbank and looked across to the other side. The river seemed to be about 200 meters wide. The only sound was the gentle flow of the water, its glass-like surface reflecting the deep orange sheen from the setting sun. The river’s water was clear, giving me a view into its depths, where I could see schools of fish swimming past.
I suppose it’s about time I take a break and drink something, I thought as I unclasped my helmet from my armor.
Now that I thought about it, it was a bit odd that I didn’t feel any weight—or even warmth—from the armor, despite the fact that I was completely encased in metal. With that in the back of my mind, I leaned over the surface of the water.
My face…was completely white.
“What the…” The words escaped my lips before being quickly drowned out by the sounds of the burbling river.
I locked eyes with the face staring back at me from the river. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. There were no eyes in my reflection. Nor was there a nose, or even skin.