“Oh, teach me Skills then,” Blue Maple shamelessly asked the old man.

“Hmm, there’s still something that I haven’t mentioned. It’s that you can instantly ignore any Seals and unleash your attacks with full force. However, it’s best not to use it too often. I don’t want to fix you all the time,” the old man snorted slightly as he continued.

“Oh. Skills.” Blue Maple was the same as ever.

“Alright, I’ll teach you Skills, three of them. However, I’ll need you to pay fees according to procedures. This system is really annoying...” the old man commented, a bit vexed.

“Can you ignore the system to some extent?” Blue Maple was a little perplexed as he asked. After all, the old man had ignored the system’s requirements while Blue Maple was restrained.

“Yes, that’s why I did so earlier. So I can’t do that again.” The old man smiled as he replied to Blue Maple. This expression revealed something: I want to collect fees from you.

“How much?” Blue Maple was a rather straightforward person too.

“Let me think about it. Oh yes, how much do you have now?” the old man counter-asked him.

Blue Maple glanced at the old man and requested, “Put it on credit.”

“In that case, let’s price it at 100 gold coins per skill!” the old man laughed cheekily in reply.

“Hmm, here’s 290 gold coins.” Blue Maple retrieved gold coins from the coin pouch that every player was equipped with. The coin pouch wasn’t restricted by space, but it could only store up to 10,000 gold coins. To increase the maximum limit, one had to proceed to the money vault to process the request.

After that, a flurry of gold coins fell out.

“What about the remaining ten gold coins?” The old man asked in confusion.

“Oh, it’s coming.” Blue Maple adjusted his coin pouch a little.

After that, “Hua!!!” A huge pile of coins fell on the old man’s head.“Ah!” A certain old man was buried in coins…

Yes, it was a pile of bronze coins. 100 bronze coins were equivalent to 1 silver coin, while 100 silver coins were equivalent to 1 gold coin...

“Master, please count it. In case the system got it wrong.” Blue Maple was expressionless as he bent his head to the old man. His intentional use of the word ‘Master’ made him seem rather cute right now.

After he finished speaking, Blue Maple guided the Heavenly Fire out of his stomach. It formed a thin barrier in front of him.

“Hua!” The old man drilled his way out of the pile of coins. Bronze coins flew everywhere. Fortunately, Blue Maple had a barrier in front of him.

“Rascal, that was intentional, right?!” The old man was enraged as he reappeared in front of Blue Maple.

“The coins have fallen in.” Blue Maple warned as he watched the bronze coins falling into the lava.

“Rascal, you still have the mood to play. Seems like I have to take care of you today.” The old man warned as he slowly got into a fighting stance, as if he was ready to give Blue Maple a good whacking.

“What’s wrong? Master, I still thought that you enjoyed being surrounded by money. After all, how could you not have avoided the coins given how strong you are?” Blue Maple was still as expressionless as ever. However, he spoke very abnormally.

The old man gave Blue Maple a weird look. He felt that Blue Maple was acting a little weirdly.

Has his brain been fried by the Heavenly Fire?, The old man was puzzled as he wondered. “Rascal, don’t tell me your brain has been fried?” The old man tested the waters.

“No, I have enough money. Teach me skills.” Blue Maple seemed to have regained normalcy. Although his expression was still the same, at least he wasn’t as weird as he was earlier.

Strange. When did I piss off this rascal? The Snow Lotus quest was too difficult? Doesn’t seem right, eh? Forget, this kid isn’t normal anyway. It’s only normal that he’s weird. The old man spent some time thinking again.

“Alright, this is the first Skill.”

The old man suddenly disappeared! Blue Maple sensed a breeze sweeping past his face. After this, the old man appeared behind Blue Maple. He even put one of his hands on Blue Maple’s shoulder.

Ding! Announcement: Are you learning the Class Skill Hidden Attack?

[Hidden Attack] (High-Rank Skill) Rank 1

You can conceal yourself for two seconds. You won’t be detected unless an extreme detection-type Skill is used. After you use it, your movement will increase by 50%. In the two seconds after you re-appear, your speed will gradually decrease. In addition, the damage inflicted by your next attack will increase by 50% after you re-appear. You cannot use any Skills that require accumulation during the period that you conceal yourself. (Anyone with a light-type Law or any Thief can learn it. 15 MP will be drained; the cooldown is 30 seconds.)

Light-type? Heavenly Fire?

“Learn!” Blue Maple didn’t care about anything else, as long as there was no detriment to him from learning it.

“Here’s a long-range Skill. Watch carefully!”

The old man chopped the air while facing the other side of the lake. A blue, fiery sword suddenly flew towards the other side and created a deep indentation in the walls of the chamber.

“There’s still a more fun way of using it.”

The old man performed the same chop. However, the sword that appeared instantly vanished after it appeared. Eventually, it appeared somewhere on the left, but it was further away this time. It created another indentation in the wall, but it wasn’t as deep as the first.

Ding! Announcement: Are you learning the Class Skill Spatial Fiery Chop?

[Spatial Fiery Chop] (High-rank single target Skill) Rank 1

A fiery streak of sword energy is unleashed, inflicting up to 150% offensive damage to a long-range target. Beyond a certain distance, the offensive damage will be smaller. At the same time, the sword energy can blend into space after it is unleashed and its re-appearance can be controlled. However, the trade-off is that the damage done will be reduced to 100%. Depending on its rank, the sword’s trajectory can be altered. For example, a Rank 1 Skill can only move in a straight line. No alteration of direction is possible. (Drains 15 MP and has a cooldown of 15 seconds.)

“Learn!”

“It’s not of much use if its rank is low. Continue.”

“Let’s continue then.” The old man leaped towards the lava lake behind him after he finished speaking.

However, he didn’t fall in. Instead, a blue and circular talismanic platform appeared beneath him. It seemed like a boundary that had been drawn on the ground. However, it was actually drifting in space.

The old man wasn’t stepping on it, but floating above it.

After this, the old man suddenly pointed his toes down and propelled himself against the talismanic platform. The platform responded with strong thrust and shot the old man upwards. The old man formed a few more similar platforms in the air and kept changing his direction.

The platforms that he used quickly disappeared. Eventually, the old man stopped on top of one talismanic platform. However, this platform was reversed. The special thing about this platform was that it didn’t just provide thrust; it also had suction power!

Finally, the old man tipped his toes and shot down. After making a somersault in the air, he formed another platform before using it to jump down in front of Blue Maple.

Blue Maple’s eyes brightened as he watched everything unfold. Seems like a fun skill.

The old man proudly lifted his head in delight as he watched the changes in Blue Maple’s expression.

“Hehe, it’s great, isn’t it? Not many people know of this Skill. I thought of it when I was pondering how to better change my direction when I was airborne.

“People who are around the same level as I am know something similar. However, I modified it and made it more interesting. In addition, even someone of your level can learn it. It’s just that you need the laws of the Heavenly Fire to properly execute it!”

Ding! Announcement: Are you learning the Class Skill Airborne Somersault?

[Airborne Somersault] (High-rank Skill) Rank 1

You can stockpile talismanic platforms and summon them anywhere near you when you need them. You can keep them afloat in the air and reverse them. When you touch these platforms, they will release great thrust. After you’ve been launched, a platform will disappear. You can use this skill for 30 seconds straight. (Your MP won’t be drained from using a talismanic platform. You can stockpile an extra platform every 10 seconds. If the skill is Rank 1, you can stockpile up to 3 platforms.)

“Learn! Yes, Skill rank?” Blue Maple suddenly thought of something. He had almost forgot to ask.Blue Maple was perplexed as he asked, “My old Skills have reached Rank 3. Why has their damage increased, but the amount of mana drained and cooldown not changed?”

“Hehe, take a look now.” The old man seemed to have known that Blue Maple was going to ask.

After the old man finished speaking, Blue Maple checked his skills. He discovered that the mana and cooldowns had both changed.

For the higher-ranked Skills, the cooldown shortened but the mana needed to execute them was higher. The mana needed to execute newer Skills was higher too, even though they were only Rank 1 Skills.

“Clearly you didn’t read the game summary properly! Come, let me tell you about it.” The old man started to act like a master now.

“After the second Class Advancement, one’s attributes will greatly increase, especially one’s HP. That’s the case for any Class. The magnitude of the increase will vary depending on Class. That’s why there aren’t many people that you can kill with one strike right now. You’ll know why the increase doesn’t follow the official game format when you reach the Rank 3 Main City.

“After the second Class Advancement, many interesting things will be updated. You can take a look for yourself. I don’t have the time to tell you all about it. Skills will also be strictly differentiated. The details are a little too complicated. You just need to know that they will be more complete. Your MP will also increase as your attributes increase. The system will also make modifications to perfect the skill mechanisms.”

“You should know that this game is incomplete. It’ll continue to slowly change. In fact, if we want to be honest, it’s that the system didn’t deal with it well, but it’s changed now.”

This explanation…

“Alright, just take a look at your own attribute changes and you’ll know instantly.”

Blue Maple looked at his status after he heard the old man’s words.

===

[Blue Maple] (Level 33 Sword Hermit)

Attack: 879-1068 Luck: 1

Defense: 257-309 Reputation: 730

Strength: 678 Glory: 0

Agility: 125 Evil: 0

Endurance: 67 Survivability: 50

Magic: 27 Hunger: 56%

Endurance: 59

HP：1865

MP：426

===

This……

The increase is a little too much. I only switched Classes, and my attributes are supposedly Sealed. Why am I Level 33?

Just as Blue Maple was confused, a system announcement was heard.

Ding! Announcement: Player Blue Maple has successfully switched Classes and become a second Class Advancement player. He’ll be promoted two levels and given a Gold-tier weapon. At the same time, the system will make changes when all players are asleep tonight. Please stay tuned!

Blue Maple appeared very gloomy as he turned to the old man at this moment. “Explain.”

“I recall that I have something to do. I shall leave first. This teleportation formation can send you to the Rank 3 Main City. Bye bye!” After he finished speaking, the old man turned into a flame and vanished.

The old man must have done something with the system announcement. He didn’t ask me before the announcement was made.

Since the announcement had been made, there was no way to change it anymore. However, Blue Maple discovered that his name and information could still be concealed.

Blue Maple was a little helpless as he stepped into the teleportation formation. Although there were still some questions that he had yet to ask and settle, he should be able to deal with them himself. Otherwise, the old man wouldn’t have absconded just like that.

However, why did everything seem so sneaky?...

White lights flashed and Blue Maple disappeared from this scorching hot world of lava.

------

After this, Blue Maple felt a very familiar sense of blurriness before everything became clear in front of him. However, something special appeared in front of him this time.

It was a beautiful young lady with a perfect figure. Her proportionate figure was completely covered by a set of black armor. It was easy to tell that she was a Theif.

This lady had a very similar demeanor to Blue Maple. She was cold. It wasn’t far-fetched to say that she was like an ice mountain!