As they stepped through the veil, everything around them had changed. The smell of charred meat was gone, and the dim light of the crystals replaced with gas lamps on sconces. He was astounded at how structurally different the room was from anywhere else he’s been in-game.

The two of them had walked into the ruin of an old Cathedral that most certainly had better days. Stone bricks laid strewn around, stained glass windows were shattered with their colored glass lying everywhere, and pews laid splintered and thrown everywhere around. Columns held up the ceiling, with several destroyed and others helping to form a path down the middle.

What this columned path led to was the most magical sight he’d seen since playing the game, and he’d seen magic. Sitting in a pile of rubble, that somehow caved around the item instead of burying it, hovered a floating black sword that glowed with an unearthly red light.

Congratulations! You have finished the quest, The Forsaken Cathedral. Approach the weapon to claim your rewards.

Nox pulled back his hood for the first time since Colin had known him, showing off short, smooth white hair. His smile was gone, and his eyes were transfixed on the sword for a long moment before he shook his head to clear whatever had happened to him. He looked at Colin sheepishly for a second before looking back at the sword, “what is that weapon?”

Colin shrugged, “Let’s find out.”

The weapon seemed to glow a little brighter as Colin approached it. More details of the sword became apparent as he got closer. It was a highly decorated black and steel sword with stylized symbols carved into the blades flat. The pommel had a sizeable clear gem that had a coal-black center wrapped in bands of silver. There was something else about the weapon that had nothing to do with its appearance, even though it looked epically bad-ass.

He reached out to touch the weapon’s handle when a prompt appeared in front of him.

All previous prompts that have been stopped by ‘The Ruins of old Willows Cross’ will now retroactively receive all prompts held. Congratulations! You have killed the Surtr Warrior in room one of the Dungeon! You have gained 200 Experience points. You have gained 200 EXP and now have 567 /1800 EXP towards level 6 You have leveled up the skill; Kinetic Vigor to level 2. While the skill is active, all physical stats are increased by 2% (minimum of +1 to stats) Due to the subskill, Kinetic Vigor, increasing in level, the primary skill grows along with it. Kinetic Magic Manipulation is now Level 2. You have leveled up the skill; Acrobatics to level 4. +4% bonus to jumping distance, height, and landing stability. +2% bonus to stability while performing any act considered acrobatic. +4% bonus to balancing. Congratulations! You have participated in the felling of a Root Elemental Spider! You have gained 700 Experience points You have gained 700 EXP and now have 1267 /1800 EXP towards level 6 You have leveled up the skill; Personal Blades to level 5. +5% damage with all Personal Blades. +5% critical damage with all Personal Blades. +2.5% dodge rate. Congratulations! You have gained a new skill, Knowledge: Herbs Level 1. You can tell plants have uses, you just know it. You get a 1% increase in charisma when applying this knowledge near other people. Gather or discover more knowledge in this area to level this skill and get more detailed prompts towards any plant.

Colin stopped reading the windfall of prompts for a moment to let his mind wrap around the information. All of his most common abilities leveled up, which was good to see. Plus, the new knowledge skill would undoubtedly come in handy with everything he’d seen in the previous room. But the one thing that was bothering him was the wording of the Root Elemental Spider Prompt.

Hand moving to his chin as he thought, Colin looked at Nox and asked, “did I get only partial experience for killing the Root Elemental earlier?”

Nox rolled his eyes, “of course you did. You did get help to defeat it, didn’t you? So I got at least half the experience points. Not that it helped me level up again any time soon.”

“Why is that?” Colin asked, curiosity pulling him away from the prompts that remained.

“Simple math, DevilWalker. I just got seven-hundred experience, and I needed a little over four-hundred thousand to level up again. How long would it take to level up again if I got seven-hundred every day,” Nox said, his tone instructional.

Immediately, Colin responded, “a long time.”

Nox shrugged and nodded, “exactly. Now, while you continue to go through your prompts, I will look around. There might be something else useful floating around. Call me before you grab the weapon, will you?”

Colin nodded and opened up the next series of prompts.

You have been Infused with Hallowed Shadow to the first rank. This infusion is a power that saturates the soul and empowers the body more through successive infusions. This power will eventually leak out unless maintained You have leveled up the skill; Determination to Level 2. Your will has been strengthened, and thus, the effect of your determination grows as well. Congratulations! You have participated in the slaying of a Mature Columbine Mutator! You have gained 4000 experience points. You have gained 4000 EXP and now have 5267 /1800 EXP towards level 6 LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! You are now level 7 and have 767 /4050 EXP needed to attain level 8. You now have a total of 30 unspent attribute points to spend. It is advised that you attain your class before you spend your points to ensure proper placement since all finalized choices are permanent. Just say LEVEL UP to access the appropriate menus.

“Holy shit,” Colin whispered to himself. He’d gotten two whole levels from helping to defeat the Mutator. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting to get from that fight, but Colin would be lying if he said he was upset. He had to fight just saying the words to level up; he was so close.

But there was one more prompt waiting for him, just flashing somewhere off to the side of his vision. He opened it with a thought and was greeted by a black prompt with red writing.

Congratulations on conquering The Ruins of Old Willows Cross, DevilWalker. Here, in this Cathedral, the final battle between the last Demon Lord and the Hero took place. During their battle, the city shook and trembled with the combined force of their power. Ari, the fifth Demon lord, fell under the might of the Hero and his Heaven-forged sword. Ari, however, was the latest in a line of mortals called upon to become terrors upon the mortal planes. Before becoming the Demon Lord, Ari was called by the universe to become the villain in the continuity of this planet. Will you take up this mantle? Congrations! You have met the requirements to gain the Unique base class; Antagonist. If you wish to take this class, you will be hunted for simply taking up this power. You will be given a name designating the flavor of Antagonist you match. And finally, you will choose a path of sin that you will grow and flourish in. Now! Choose, DevilWalker! Will you become the Antagonist? If you accept this choice of Base Class, take up the weapon before you.

With all the prompts finally taken care of, Colin looked at the weapon again and smiled. This sounded exactly like what he was looking for, and he had to hold himself back from just taking the weapon.

Taking a deep breath, Colin called out, “Nox! I’m going to grab it now.”

“I’m coming, give a Goblin a moment,” he called, his steps coming closer. As he rounded the weird stone alcove where the sword hung suspended, he pointed where he’d come from. “There’s something pretty interesting over there. I think it would be worth it to look once we are done here.”

Nodding, Colin gave the Goblin a little bow and gestured at the weapon, “by your leave?”

Nox gave him a sharp-toothed smile, “DevilWalker. Unless you want to have your spleen extracted through your stomach, only to be shoved back up your arse, I suggest you take the weapon.”

Straightening up, Colin smiled at his companion and focused back on the sword. Flexing his fingers, Colin raised his hand and reached out for the handle. He grasped the leather-bound handle, and the red light around the weapon enveloped his hand along with the feeling of something pushing into his palm and the limb.

It started as a simple, physical reaction that was quickly followed by a confusing pain that could only be described as an electric cold. As the red light traveled up his arm and covered his entire body, the pain followed and took up his whole mind. This left no room in his head for anything but this single moment of agony and a sense of something else bubbling up like a geyser.

Refusal.

Colin’s lip curled as he fought against the anguish and pulled the sword out from its place in the room. It took some effort, like pulling a jammed door loose, but suddenly and with a crack like thunder, it came loose.

A voice echoed through the ruined Cathedral, feminine and strong like a goddess stating her ironclad will.

When there is one, there will soon become two. Neither can be at peace while the other is at war. The World’s Narrative requires a hero that will rise against the odds and a villain that will create these odds. You have chosen to take up the role of THE ANTAGONIST! May your enemies tremble before your might, and even the gods bow in supplication before you.

A prompt quickly followed the words spoken.

You have accepted the mantle left by the previous Demon Lord, Ari, and have become the new Antagonist. As is the custom, every Antagonist gains a class title that befits their goals and aspirations. The world has judged you and has chosen your name. You are the Avenger! For you are one who has been wronged and seeks retribution for it! Let no one stand in your way, or there will be no absolution.

The red aura seeped into his body, and the pain faded away to a dull ache. Then the ache disappeared to a calm that somehow reached his very soul. But before he could think about that, Another prompt immediately popped into his vision, several others minimized by the system until he was ready for it.

Unfortunately, you are not the owner of the weapon, Lorelei’s Profane Nature. This weapon shall revert to its unenhanced state.

Then before Colin could properly absorb that knowledge, the weapon in his hand vibrated and started to disintegrate and crumble dust upon the ground. Colin tried to keep a hold of the weapon but dropped it as the effect reached the handle, unable to keep a grip on it. The sword lost layers of metal, decoration, and runes until only a sword blank remained in its place.

On the ground in front of him, a dull blade and tang sat in a pile of dusty ash with its dark blue color reflecting the light. He reached down and picked up the weapon, annoyed at the injustice that had just occurred. He gripped the handleless tang of the weapon, and a pop-up appeared.

You have picked up a Mythic Sword Blank. This particular mythic weapon is connected to the Antagonist class and has a growing effect. You may feed a number of items, monster parts, enchantments, runes, energies, metals, and anything else to the weapon to create a sword unique to you. Your weapon has seven open slots available for use.

His annoyance alleviated a little at the prompt’s message. This had fantastic potential, and he already had an idea of what to add to it first, but that could wait a few more minutes. He slid the sword into his belt next to his heavy dagger and hoped it held. When he got back into town, he’d have to look into buying a sheath for it. There were a few more prompts to look at, and the next one was interesting.

You’re an Avenger and you have a burning need to exact your revenge. The Avenger gains an ability at first level called Player Killer 1, which makes hunting your hated foe more profitable. Whenever you kill a Player, you gain a number of experience points equal to ten percent of their current total. Stronger versions of this ability may be unlocked at higher levels of your class.

From the prompt Colin got after defeating Harvey Regic, he’d been working under the assumption that you didn’t usually get experience when you killed another player. Ten percent wasn’t a lot, but it was a start. Especially given that the experience would add up over time. It also could increase over time, which made this an even better ability. He just needed to get to a higher level and make increasing this ability a priority when the opportunity arose.

!System Warning! As the Antagonist, you get many strengths that you have yet to fathom but with one downside. If you are killed, you lose all experience gained for your current level, and it gets distributed among all involved players. Depending on circumstances, this penalty for dying could decrease your level further to the bottom of the previous level.

Now that wasn’t as fun. Especially when he got to higher levels, this penalty could take him back weeks of work. On the other hand, this could save players an undetermined amount of time towards their next level or level them off the bat. There were definite problems with this deal, but so far, he was liking what he was seeing.

To finalize your class selection as the Antagonist, you must choose your sin path. These seven paths mirror the seven deadly sins, and each is unique to themselves and cannot be changed once chosen. Pride - the sin of Hubris One who follows the path of empowering pride does not let social convention control them, forbidden lore stop them, or even let the gods stand in their way. If one is better than everyone else, why should they listen to anyone? Sloth - The sin of Apathy One who follows the path of stagnancy creates decay and devastation around them by simply being. Actively channeling this force can topple enemies, cities, empires, and even gods. Gluttony - The sin of Overconsumption One who follows the path of excess gains power in their own overindulgence. Any amount of excess increases their personal abilities, and this includes eating/ drinking, imbibing, smoking, and absorbing to the point of excess. Wrath - The sin of Violence One who follows the path of the omnicidal maniac follows where their bloodlust leads them. This form of anger is magnitudes of power greater than what is ordinarily possible by mortals leading to bouts of near god-level fury. Greed - The sin of Economy One who follows the path of avarice wants money and anything they can buy with it. The font of all evil is greed because everyone wants what wealth can bring, so their enemies should fear what they will do to them. Envy - The sin of Resentment One who follows the path of Resentment wants what everyone else has and have accomplished. The path of envy is a twisted road with infinite paths and an undetermined length, who knows what kind of facsimile you’ll become. Lust - The sin of Pleasure One who follows the path of desire wants to like others and be liked in return. While someone who follows this path does get so much more through sexual interactions, they also gain friends easier than ever before. Beware the charisma of a lustful one, who knows who they might have seduced to their side Choose, DevilWalker, choose your path and let word of your power spread about the Rosengard!

Moving past how ominous that last prompt sounded, Colin smiled at the choices before him. Lust was immediately out given that McKenna would find some way to get back at him for even a virtual triste. Envy and Gluttony were also out. He had no interest in becoming a facsimile or in overindulging himself. Neither was his style or his interest.

Wrath was immediately appealing, given the wording of the description. God-level fury was something that might come in handy, especially with the power boosts they usually give in pop-culture. Greed was an exciting possibility but was annoyingly vague, and Sloth was definitely a contender for his first choice. Channeling a force of stagnancy that can topple armies and cities? That sounded awesome.

But Pride, though. Pride sounded absolutely fascinating. If he was reading this correctly, the path of pride unlocks possibilities. Some of the terminologies made it sound like there were rules that stopped people from doing certain things.

Looking down at Nox, Colin broached the subject. “Nox, can I read you something and get your take on it?”

When the Goblin nodded, Colin read the path of pride entry to him. The Goblin started off with his usual, somewhat cocky grin and quickly became wide-eyed and slack-jawed the more Colin read. By the end, Nox had released his cane that he’d reproduced at some point and let it just clatter on the floor.

Seconds passed after Colin finished the read, and Nox was just staring at Colin in dumb-struck awe. He blinked and started to gather himself as he readied himself to answer Colin. Then in a low voice, Nox said simply, “classes, DevilWalker. This is mostly about classes.”

After Nox decided not to elaborate further, Colin sighed and told him to continue.

“Classes are a framework for how an individual will grow. At first level, we can get a base class that becomes the foundation of how we are to progress. Tenth, we get to choose a subclass that will either expand our capabilities or focus them further. Then at thirty, we choose from a list of true classes that match what we want to be. You with me?”

Colin nodded.

“Good. Now every class has several skills, abilities, and techniques that only they can use. There might be some crossover with some abilities like the Ranger’s Danger Sense ability and the Rogue’s Trap Sensing ability, but they are still different. There is no way around this rule of the world. You choose a class, you get some skills and abilities for that class. This is the law of the world, DevilWalker. What do you think part of this path is?” Nox said with a shark’s smile.

A smile matching Nox’s crossed his face, “if I take this path, I can do anything.”

Nox nodded, “at least, that’s what I think.”

“Just so I know, what qualifies as forbidden lore?” Colin asked, mostly out of curiosity.

“Oh, there are a few skills like Soul-Forging, flesh magic, blood magic, mental magic, Inverse Ki Manipulation, any sort of Time Magic, the list goes on. Things that could be catastrophic if allowed to grow and rampage. There are a few skills, like Demonification, that you will be killed immediately if discovered. Does that help?” Nox asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Colin said, lost in thought. “I will have to grow the skills and powers that I get, but if I choose this path… Yeah,” he said, smiling at the ideas brimming in his skull. Ideas that could be useful, destructive, and better yet, be used to enjoy the game. Oh, revenge was still the goal, but did that mean he couldn’t explore the world while he got ready?

Thinking one last time over his options, Colin shook his head at all the others that had potential before. No, there was really only one option that suited him. So he looked at the options, squinted a little at pride, and selected it.

Congratulations DevilWalker on your ascension to the Antagonist of Pride, The Avenger. Since you achieved this class at a level higher than first, you will retroactively receive all abilities and choices. You have made a choice that the universe has decided to call evil. As the Antagonist, you may never gain a good alignment and shall always be considered at least Evil 1 You have moved beyond the hidden statistic of Neutral Alignment and have unlocked it on your status page. You are now Evil 1. Congratulations! At the first level of the path of Pride, you have automatically learned the ability: Hubris. Your strength of will and height of your ego allows you to break every known convention and learn any skill, ability, and spell known and unknown. This skill synergizes with your Avenger class of Antagonist and changes. Before this change, you’d have to learn the skills you want to attain. Now, however, if you kill a player, you may unlock an ability from the player killed based on their class. Open the Hubris tree for more info. Congratulations! At level five, you can choose an ability from either the Avenger archetype or the path of pride that you meet the requirements for. While the choices you make are permanent, options from previous levels are available at higher levels. Please choose one now. Aligned strike Requirements: Avenger level 1, alignment: any but neutral. Description: After triggering this skill, your next attack will radiate your current alignment like an aura of flame dealing extra damage of that type. You must channel twenty times your alignment rank into the weapon of choice to activate the attack. Damage equals ten times your alignment rank. Example, Evil rank three deals three times ten damage. I Am Me Requirements: Path of Pride level 5 Description: your personal identity is strong enough to withstand any outside attempt to influence it. Effect: you gain a passive resistance to magic from the enchantment spell school equal to your wisdom attribute. The effect is multiplied by two when you actively and knowingly resist an effect. Unyielding Skill Requirements: Path of Pride level 1, Any Skill Level 5 Description: Your pride in your work makes you work harder to succeed and grow. When you take this ability, you choose one skill that you have achieved at least level 5 in. The chosen skill grows 10% faster.

He had just finished reading the choices when Nox said quietly, “DevilWalker, you may have an issue.”

Ears twitching and body going still as he waited for any warning sign. After a moment, Colin asked hesitantly, “what?”

“I just got a prompt. Shit!” the Goblin hissed. “DevilWalker, take this,” Nox hissed, pulling a clasp loose from a braided silver band that he wore around his wrist. Without waiting for consent, Nox pushed up the sleeve of his Jacket and snapped it upon Colin’s wrist.

You are now wearing a Silver Bracelet of Obfuscation. All magic attempts to find you are impossible without the direct help from a god. Even then, this item may not be overpowered easily. An added bonus from an unknown aspect of the item may let you know roughly where the tracking took place.

Before Colin could protest about the treatment, another prompt appeared.

An attempt to find you has been blocked by your Silver Bracelet of Obfuscation. The Scryer is somewhere in the city of Nightshade. An attempt to find you has been blocked by your Silver Bracelet of Obfuscation. The Scryer is somewhere in Kudzu Citadel City. An attempt to find you has been blocked by your Silver Bracelet of Obfuscation. The Scryer is somewhere in the Rosewood Forests

The prompts came one after another, many repeating themselves for several minutes until they slowly trickled to a stop, and Colin looked at Nox in appreciation then horror. Nox, what did that prompt say?”

In a voice that had the distinct tone of someone reading, Nox spoke aloud. “Rosengard! The Avenger and final Demon Lord Candidate has risen to their calling. Either cower in fear, stand in opposition, or bow in supplication before this new power. No matter what you choose, know that the World Quest; The Grand Crusade has begun!”

Nox paused and took in a deep breath. He looked up at Colin with a bit of a distressed look. “Are you a demon lord candidate?”

Colin could only shrug, he hadn’t been through all the prompts yet, but he figured if the Demon Lord Candidate announcement existed, then it would be further down. He quickly opened up the last of the prompts, opting to choose his fifth level ability a little later.

By becoming the Antagonist and choosing a Sin Path, you automatically qualify to become the fourth and final candidate for The Demon Lord. The Title; Demon Lord Candidate has been added to your status page. Effect 1: You may recognize another Demon Lord Candidate by sight. Effect 2: this title cannot be viewed by anyone looking at your status with anything less than a master level viewing ability. Effect 3: if you successfully are the last Demon Lord Candidate standing, this title will evolve to Demon Lord. Since Demon Lord Candidate is your only title, it has been set as your title by default. In this hall, where the last Demon Lord Ari perished, two gifts are waiting for you. Find them and leave with her blessing.

“Hey, Nox. Did you find anything interesting when you were looking around?” Colin asked.

Nox raised an eyebrow, “I did. Shall I take it that you would like to see it?”

Colin nodded, and Nox walked around the rubble made alcove so that the newly crown Antagonist could see the back of the Cathedral. For the most part, it was mostly the same. Splintered wood pews, broken stone bricks laid scattered, and much more shattered colored glass everywhere. Even the shattered remains of a raised stone pulpit laid across the area in artistically sculpted heaps.

But Nox raised a sharp nailed finger up on the back wall, to an area just below where a giant stained-glass window used to sit.

A skeleton with tattered clothes hung on the back wall by a rusted and tattered sword that must have been an elegant weapon at one point. The skeleton had a pair of small horns angling up towards the roof, and an octet of fangs showed along with its teeth. Even more impressive was that the skeleton’s arms were grasping the blade and handle of the weapon impaling it to the wall.

He approached it, and he noticed that the one thing on the ruined weapon was a small crystalline gem on the pommel. It was so out of place that he wanted to take a closer look, but the weapon was too high. Even with his increase to athletics and the supposed bonuses it gave.

“Hey Nox, would you mind helping me get that?” Colin asked, pointing.

The Goblin shrugged and waved a hand. Colin watched in awe as a pair of dark misty arms burst out from behind the skeleton and grabbed the sword. The arms pulled and pulled, the sword coming free with a stone on steel screech long seconds later. The sword and skeleton fell free with both clattering to the floor, the latter somehow remaining intact.

Nodding in thanks to Nox, Colin walked over to the fallen weapon and picked it up by the handle. He put the crystal level with his eyes, and immediately two points of red light that swirled within it met his eyes.

You have discovered the last will and testament of Ari, The Demon Lord of the Wild Rage. Would you like to hear it now?

Colin thought yes, and the red light within burned brighter as a feminine voice, different than the earlier one, echoed through the hall.

HI! I’m Ari, and I always objected to being called a Demon Lord. I am just a fun and adventure-loving Drow woman who happened upon a mythical sword in one of the caves under my home city. I don’t know why it gave me the Archetype of Psycho, but I cannot complain since it helped free me from my home. What little freedom Drow men have sometimes seemed preferable to the strict lifestyle that my mother put me through as servant to the Princess.

But the power of the Antagonist freed me from the bonds of tradition and allowed me to leave home. I actually rode out on the sacred spider from the temple after releasing its strongest warrior slave and telling him to wreak havoc. I found out later that he actually broke into the General’s bed chambers and killed her. From what I’m told, he then proceeded to kill three-quarters of the royal guard and all of the house guard. Absolutely fantastic.

Anyway, I went on a lot of adventures. Kidnapped some princesses, I believe no one should ever have to live with that much stress and I helped relieve some of that. After my proudest achievement, I screwed with cults and churches, I even owned an army from Hydrangea sent to stop my fun. It was only a week ago that I was trapped in the city of Willow’s Cross and had to fight. They brought out all the stops for me, even rolling out the red carpet in the form of the Hero and his party.

We fought, and the city was brought low in the battle. It was unfortunate, but it’s not like I could control the Hero and his group’s actions. Finally, I was defeated here. Impaled by the Hero’s sword, I found that it was cursed to ensure my death, figures.

Anyway, I ensure that the Hero would die soon after with a curse of my own. When I die, he dies. I found this to be incredibly poetic and don’t expect to be on this plane of existence for much longer. The Antagonist class asked me to leave a message to the next wielder of the Antagonist class. I decided to do something… crazy, and leave more.

To the next bearer of the Antagonist class, I first leave a skill. I cannot control which skill you will receive and how many levels it will have, but it’s what help I can give. Second, I give an ability I created, Eyes of Deception. Last, I offer a warning. If you hear of the Hero rising, I suggest you kill the offender as soon as possible. Nothing limits your freedom more than looking over your shoulder and hoping not to see a blade coming towards you.

The red light died back down to the two points of red light again as the voice vanished like smoke in the wind.

“Wow,” Nox said, smiling at the room around them. “To think that we’d be able to hear from a Demon Lord from beyond the grave. Will the wonders you show me never cease.”

“I hope not,” Colin answered, looking back at the sword’s crystal pommel.

One of the lights in the crystal stilled, the second orbiting around it. The still light streaked out of the crystal and sunk into Colin’s eyes with a sharp stab. He screamed and dropped the sword as his hand went for his eyes.

The pain seemed to burn and ease repeatedly as if it were a wound being tormented and left alone again. After a long few moments, the agony in his eyeballs eased away and left behind a profound sense of relief. He peeled his hand away from now pain-free eyes and opened them slowly, and a sigh escaped him. No pain, just the room like it was before except for how he was looking at the ceiling.

He looked to his right, then to his left, and found Nox sitting next to him playing with some dark liquids in steel beakers. He’d just finished pouring everything into the one in his right hand when he noticed Colin’s open eyes. “Ah, good, you’re awake. I was getting ready to try to he-” Nox stopped, looking right into Colin’s eyes. “DevilWalker, what happened to your eyes?”

Colin pulled out one of his simple steel daggers and tried to look at his reflection. It took a moment for him to see what Nox was talking about, and when he did, his eyes widen.

Deep within the oceans of his black pupils, a pinpoint of red light burned like the tip of a laser pointer. As he watched, the light seemed to die down to a dot then vanished into nothing. It was a cool effect but was gone before he could really get a good look.

You have received an ability called Eyes of Deception. The eyes are the windows of the soul, now yours are protected by the light of Ari. No one shall see what your status actually reads. Instead, they shall read a status closer to what the skills would indicate. Only the Hero’s analysis skill can pierce this defense. Currently, the class that will display is Rogue

“Nice,” Colin cheered, pumping his fist once. This would remove the one real worry he had been thinking about since becoming the Antagonist. Now he could move about without fear.

He explained the eyes to Nox, and the Goblin smiled as well. “Good for you, DevilWalker. I will admit that I was afraid that some seer with a thing for reading anyone might find out. Now you are a little safer.”

“Now, for the last thing,” Colin said, sitting up from his prone postion. He stepped over to the fallen sword and picked it up one last time. But before he could bring it to his face, the second light flew out and split into two lights. One went for his forehead, and the other went for his heart, and another prompt appeared.

You are gifted one skill that Demon Lord Ari had at level one. The skill gained is... Ding! Bardic Magic! Congratulations! You have gained a new skill; Bardic Magic level 1! Lute, Violin, harp, flute, recorder, bass, drums, guitar, and even a voice are tools to entertain a crowd of drunkards. Bards may get the most out of this skill, but anyone can benefit from the relationship bonuses this skill builds. +2% to volume. Increases relationship status with people who hear it.

Colin sighed, “Bardic Magic? really?”

Nox raised a questioning eyebrow, “why are you complaining about Bardic Magic? It’s a useful skill. At higher levels, it adds sound-based charm magic.”

Thinking about it, Colin shrugged and dismissed his prompt. He’d have to play with it later, for now. Colin slid the ruined sword into his belt, and Nox stopped him.

“DevilWalker, do you not have a Journeyman’s Bag?” At Colin’s head shake, Nox withdrew a small, dark sack with a drawstring from his coat and tossed it at Colin. “It's bigger on the inside. Just slide the swords in, and you can retrieve it at any time.”

He looked at the small velvet bag in confusion before taking the rusted sword and sliding it in. The bag ate the weapon, and it vanished within the bag.

Looking around for anything else useful before he got to the next important thing, Colin’s eyes fell on the skeleton of the Ari, the last Demon Lord. McKenna had told him that bones, in other games, sometimes could be used as potion ingredients or enchanting goods. If any bones could be useful in this regard than a previous Demon Lord would be it. It looked like a close fit, so Colin carefully took his new dimensional bag and fitted it over the crown of the skeleton's crown. In a moment of wonder and horror, the skeleton compressed in on itself and sucked into the bag.

In a panic that he'd ruined the bones, Colin reached into the bag and tried to withdraw the skeleton. The skeleton poured out of the bag and splayed out upon the floor, still intact and whole. Relieved, Colin put it back in the bag and closed the drawstring.

He had other things to do, but he decided that he had another matter to attend to first.

How does one get out of here?