Chapter 6 – Soul Master

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

There was only one item in the treasure chest-a golden scroll covered in mysterious patterns.

Wen Yu stared at the item before him, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from his body. Tears streamed down his face in large drops.

Wen Yu was not afraid of death, but he absolutely did not want to die, especially after Heaven had given him a chance to start over.

And the scroll before him had just saved his life.

Wen Yu recognized the patterns on the scroll; they were the same as those on the Hidden Class Change Scroll.

In his previous life, a year after the Apocalypse began, Hidden Class Holders started appearing in large numbers, all thanks to items like this.

In the largest Settlement in Mudanjiang City, the Treasure Land that had existed for three months produced a large quantity of one particular Hidden Class Change Scroll-the Frost Warrior.

Wen Yu had coveted this item desperately, because it was a Warrior-type Hidden Class, and he could change his class to it.

Unfortunately, no matter how common Hidden Classes became, a mere cannon fodder like him could never obtain one.

However, the Frost Warrior Class Change Scroll was white.

Class is the fundamental power that allows humanity to grow stronger in the Apocalypse.

The Exchange Pillar offered three basic class exchanges:

Warrior: Excellent melee capabilities, strong survivability.

Archer: Ranged attacks, high lethality.

Mage: Harnesses the power of elements, extremely destructive.

Hidden Classes are not necessarily stronger than ordinary classes, because the true determinant of strength is not the class itself, but the skills.

After changing class, a human would immediately be promoted to a Level 1 Class Holder, their combat power greatly enhanced, and they would gain a skill or a talent. Talents could also be called Passive Skills.

All three basic classes only receive the weakest F-Rank skill at Level 1.

Of course, this can be washed away with a Skill Forgetting Scroll and replaced with a stronger skill using a Skill Scroll.

The Hidden Class Wen Yu had longed for in his previous life-the Frost Warrior-was coveted because it provided a basic C-Rank skill.

Skill Forgetting Scrolls and Skill Scrolls are not items that cannon fodder can afford.

Each level up grants an additional skill slot. In other words, a Level 10 Warrior would have 10 skills or abilities. This is the true foundation of strength in the Apocalypse.

The gap between skills is enormous; the lowest is F-Rank, the highest is SSS-Rank. High-level skills can boost combat power to the point where a Class Holder can crush others of the same level.

Wen Yu trembled as he picked up the scroll, and the information about the item appeared in his mind.

"Haha, hahaha, truly, those who are not meant to die will always find a way to live. I should thank that Beast, hahaha!"

Hope arrived at the moment of greatest despair, nearly overwhelming Wen Yu.

Wen Yu laughed wildly at the sky, tears still streaming down his face. If anyone else were here, they would surely think he was insane.

Wen Yu couldn't spare another thought and quickly tore open the Class Change Scroll.

The scroll transformed into a golden light, rushing into Wen Yu's body.

At the same time, Wen Yu felt a warm power enveloping him. The small wounds on his body healed rapidly, and even his severed limbs began to regrow.

This is the bonus reward that comes with Promotion; each time you level up, your injuries are healed. The Class Change Scroll is essentially the Promotion from Level 0 to Level 1.

As Wen Yu felt his wounds heal, a surge of immense power flooded his body, instantly doubling his physical attributes compared to a normal human.

Then, a series of notifications sounded in his mind.

"Ding, congratulations to the Host for successfully changing class. Current class: Soul Master."

"Ding, please note: Each person can only change to one class, but may use other Class Change Scrolls to switch classes."

"Ding, the Host is currently a Level 1 Soul Master, with basic physical attributes of 2, and has obtained the class-exclusive skill: Soul Realm (no level, exclusive skill, cannot be forgotten or replaced)."

"Soul Realm: The Soul Master is accompanied by a Soul Pet, relying on the Soul Pet to gain immense power. The Soul Realm is the living space for Soul Pets, where their injuries heal at an accelerated rate. Each time the Soul Master advances a level, a new Soul Realm will be unlocked."

"Ding, please note, due to the special nature of the Soul Master class, Soul Realm is the only skill available to Soul Masters. Soul Masters will not acquire any other skills by any means."

"Ding, the Host has obtained the Soul Master's life-bound Soul Pet: Soul Beast (contract cannot be dissolved), which automatically occupies the Host's first Soul Realm."

"Soul Beast: The lifelong companion of the Soul Master, and also the Soul Master's greatest trump card and reliance. As long as the Soul Master lives, the Soul Beast is indestructible."

"Soul Beast: Can devour Soul Crystals of different attributes to grow and evolve. Please note, the skills generated upon Promotion are automatically determined by the attributes of the Soul Crystals devoured by the Soul Beast. Current Soul Beast attribute: None."

"The Soul Beast has no combat power, but it has two forms: Non-Combat Form and Combat Form. The Soul Beast cannot be stored in the Soul Realm."

"Non-Combat Form: Appears as a glowing orb, with its appearance changing according to the Soul Beast's attribute and level, floating above the Host's shoulder."

"Combat Form: The Soul Beast merges with the Soul Master, greatly enhancing the Soul Master's combat abilities. The Soul Master's basic attributes become the sum of the Soul Master's and Soul Beast's attributes. All skills possessed by the Soul Beast are amplified for the Soul Master."

"In Combat Form, the Soul Realm skill changes to: Soul Pet Empowerment."

"Soul Pet Empowerment (no level, Soul Master exclusive skill): In the combat state where the Soul Master and Soul Beast are merged, all Soul Pets released outside cannot re-enter the Soul Realm, and all Soul Pets inside the Soul Realm cannot be released. All Soul Pets existing within the Soul Master's Soul Realm can empower the Soul Master with one of their own skills."

"Current Soul Beast attribute: 2. Skill 1: Soul Strike (S-Rank, Passive Skill): In Combat Form, every attack by the Soul Master inflicts damage to the enemy's soul. The effect depends on the difference in attributes between both sides. Completely ineffective against enemy units whose attributes exceed the Host's by tenfold."

"Current Host attributes:

Name: Wen Yu

Race: Human

Class: Soul Master

Skills: Soul Realm (Soul Pet Empowerment)

First Soul Pet: Soul Beast

Attributes: 2"

Wen Yu read through the system prompts in his mind word for word, his eyes widening with each line, until by the end, his astonishment was so great it seemed his eyes might split at the corners.

In his mind, Wen Yu compared the Soul Master class to the Warrior, the class he was most familiar with, and almost instantly reached a conclusion: the two were fundamentally incomparable.

Looking at basic attributes alone, there was no difference between the two. In fact, Wen Yu knew that the basic attributes of any class were the same: 2 upon initial class change, and 10 at Peak Level 1.

However, once he merged with the Soul Beast, his basic attributes would immediately surpass those of other classes by a significant margin.

If other classes have basic attributes of 10 at Peak Level 1, then in combat state, his would be 20. As his level increased, the gap between them would only widen.

Just this alone meant he would crush those of the same level in the later stages.

Moreover, in combat state, Soul Pet Empowerment would allow him to have several more skills than others, with the number increasing as his level rose.

This difference would result in effects far greater than simply doubling his physical attributes, and would make his combat style unpredictable.

He might even become an all-rounder, capable of both close and ranged combat, able to tank and escape as needed.

There could even be situations where his Soul Pet's combat power surpasses his own in combat state.