Writer's Note: Early chapter release tomorrow and a chapter of The Snake Immortal as my midterms are over for now. Again, I wrote this story first so there are more stories but the other one is my main story.

Chapter 8: Choosing a Path

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; welcome to Black Water City. I am your humble host, Kevin Gaunt. I am this quarter year's overseer of the level 10 promotion test. Parents, guardians, and friends of all participants; please enter the golden door to my right. Participants, please enter the golden door to my left. They are portals to the Night, established by many powerful mages of the city. I guarantee its safety. Please," Kevin bowed as the last of the participants arrived.

"This is it. Let's go guys," Gaoli said and Rex and the twins followed the other participants through a gold door that appeared out of thin air.

As Rex walked through, he appeared in a large plaza, the escorts of all the participants appearing before seats that faced a single direction: a giant plasma screen as tall and wide as a three story apartment complex. Servers also appeared, offering food and refreshments to the people in the stands. The one hundred and eight participants gazed around, a few not surprised as they had seen their elder siblings take the test and knew the common procedures.

"Ten moons?" Rex asked, puzzled as he saw nine different moons. Some were crescent moons, half-moons, waning moons, waxing moons, and only one was a full moon.

"Yup. The skies of the Night are boundless. If you can fly, you'll discover its like outer space: endless. However, this world is in a perpetual state, as if it never rotates. The moons never change or shift in the sky," Gaoli explained.

"Many non-Cheat Hunters benefit the most as we cultivate spirit energy, be it mana or Ki. On Earth, we have to rely on our bodies to produce it. Thus, cultivation is slower. You are not permitted to enter the Night below level 9. Unless you are born in the Night, you have to wait to level 9 to transfer from the Earth to the Night," Soji said.

"Very few cities exist in the Night as they constantly bombarded by creatures of the Night. Legend has it, three of the ultimate weapons of power are in the mountain range, beneath it, or in the mountain range's gorge up ahead. Some people said the Hammer of Earth was found, verifying truth to the rumor. It wasn't until the Claw of Blood was found that people believed," Suna said with awe.

"Do you know how many were found?" Rex asked.

"Well, my uncle was really surprised the sunset before last night. The Weapon of Flame had chosen a master, making it the seventh to be found. I don;t know how my uncle knew, but he received a message and fell to his knees in shock. The four others are the Fan of Wind, Axe of Wood, Dagger of Poison, and Trident of Water. No one can own two ultimate weapons of power," Gaoli said, seeing the confused look on Rex's face and continued. "See, the Lord of Wind did not like that his weapon was a fan. He killed the Lord of Wood, but mysteriously exploded as he bound the axe. The explosion made a crater ten miles in diameter. My unclesays the Code Keepers found the Axe of Wood, but the Fan of Wind was missing. No one knows who took it."

"So everyone knows about them," Rex said as the three knew so much.

"Of course. Everyone wants one. That's also why Black Water City is so popular and respected. The veil to the Night actually leads to those mountains. According to the rumors, the third weapon is said to be the Staff of Light. However, the Weapon of Flame could be a staff but the rumors all say it is the Weapon of Light for certain. I certainly hope it is not a staff or scepter as I am no mage. See, those weapons can't be the same as another. If one is a sword, the other twelve cannot be. Don't know why though," Gaoli shrugged. "The weapon just has to match the element. I think it will be a spear, if it's not a staff. Light is a radiant, elegant element. Only a staff or spear would match that description."

"Of course, there are other treasures in the mountain range. You just have to survive and it is restricted to level 9 Night Hunters by the system. If you do find the ultimate weapon of power there, you will be hounded by everyone here once you bind it," Soji warned, looking at Suna and Rex.

"Don't worry. I have no interest in light spirit arts, be it magic spells or Ki techniques," Rex shrugged. He couldn't bind it either as he already has the Staff of Flame. He just hoped to get his promotion, reach level 10, and find a magic armor or item in the mountain.

"Before I begin, I will send these participants into a pocket dimension. There, they will be divided into their main classes and choose which advanced class they wish to be. Participants, I must warn you that the mountains are not without its dangers. Going beneath it, or into the gorge, will have higher numbers of enemies with many of them at level nine or even 10. Good luck and may your hunt reap favorable rewards," Kevin said, the plaza floor shining a golden light beneath the participants.

"Later guys. Good luck and let's not kill each other on the mountain range. Try not to go to the mountain gorge as most people go missing and are presumed dead," Gaoli waved before they all disappeared.

"Well, that's certainly encouraging," Rex muttered and looked around as he appeared in a pure white room with white tiled floors and ceiling. He looked around and saw no one. He looked above and saw strange, white crystals that seemed to illuminate the room. He decided to follow them and kept walking, never tiring as he was a Cheat Hunter.

*Ding*

System AnnouncementYou have entered the Sage Room dungeon

You have decided to take the promotion test and must choose one of ten mage paths. Some cross with another or not at all. As a mage, you have access to both pools of spirit energy: Ki and mana. Your path will cross both the rogue and warrior path, depending on how you develop in the future. Meet the ten sages created by the system since the beginning of time and choose your path.

Dungeon effects

Cannot sustain damage.

Enhanced 100% health, Ki, and mana regeneration.

You feel a connection to a mysterious energy in the dungeon.

"I entered a dungeon! Sweet!" Rex grinned and started to run further, using the glowing crystals to guide his direction. Sometimes, they changed direction for miles or after a few yards. Finally, he saw the end and ten old men stood in a line before him, each containing an ancient aura that was both oppressive and peaceful. Ten white boxes appeared before him, similar to when he had to pick his four active and single passive skill upon awakening at level 1.

*Ding*

White Mage: A mage that walks the path of peace and healing. Specializing in light and water magic, even curses can be healed by them. If evil stands in their way, they summon ancient beings to fight beside them. Class gives unique right to wield maces, granting the mage the ability to wield a fourth kind of weapon. The ultimate mage of healing, no other mage can learn legendary tier healing spells but those who walk the path of the white mage.

Necromancer: A mage that walks the veil between life and death, morality cast aside to harness the power of the dead and bend it to his will. Dark rituals and undead summons strike terror into their enemies. Death, blood, and poison magic are their specialty. His army is as powerful as the mana he supplies them. A mage with the highest potential to be a one-man army.

Mage Hunter: A mage that specializes in hunting other mages. Able to use any and all weapons, augmenting them with his magic to levels higher than others. He uses life magic to track them and void magic to slay them. Nothing can stop this mage from killing his targets, not even warriors and rogues. A mage that uses augmentation and enchanted spells more than attack and defense magic. Has the highest defense against all types of magic.

Summoner: A mage that never fights alone. Why fight with warriors and rogues when you can summon creatures and elementals. This mage stands alone and calls upon the thirteen elements to summon far more powerful creatures than the mage. Has the highest elemental resistance than any other mage. A mage on a quest to summon all thirteen types of elementals and prove his dominance over the elements.

Red Mage: A mage that does not specialize in any type of combat and uses all kinds of spells. The ultimate jack-of-all-trades mage and is the only one who can wield two scepters or staffs at once. A rare advanced class mage that have the potential to be the most powerful or the weakest mage. Does not shirk from learning even the darkest and evil of magic in their pursuit of learning them all.

Druid: A mage that walks the path of being one with nature itself. The wood element is his main specialty and is able to turn even a desert into a jungle, forest, or swamp. The earth and water elements call to him, augmenting his wood magic higher than all others. Due to his connection to nature, has absolute immunity against wood, water, and earth magic or Ki techniques. He is the champion of nature and animals are friendly to him.

Black Mage: A mage who specializes in destruction magic. They are mages that pursue power, good and evil seen only as blinded connotations made by others. This mage is more prone to evil and pursues the most ancient of magic to conquer all others. The hardest and least tread path, unable to learn any further healing spells. Make a pact with an ancient creature forgotten by time and conquer all!

Time Mage: A mage specialized in learning magic to manipulate time. The world slows or freezes around you as you wield your magic. Unable to learn the thirteen element magics further, your time and space magic are unbelievably superior to others. Teleportation is part of your nature, enabling you to teleport without any mana cost and even in restricted or locked dungeons. The ultimate escape artist and control mage. You are the bane of all warriors.

Illusionist: A mage who copies the magic of others. This mage can learn the common and uncommon spells of his enemies, using them at half the power and effect. Illusions are your specialty and your defense is also the weakest. You rely on your wit to control the enemy, even manipulating their minds with your illusion magic. You are the ultimate mage on battlefields and you specialize in fighting against many instead of one.

Shaman: A mage who uses talismans with his weapon to attack his foes. You are the bane of all creatures of the Night, any spell you make doing ten times the damage against them. Through your talismans, you use support items capable a wide variety of effects akin to all schools of magic. You specialize in fighting from a distance and have the largest mana pool among all mages.

Shaman and illusionist were both classes he had no interest in. He would rather control minds then manipulate them. If he became a shaman, he would become too dependent on talismans. Time mages were a good choice but he would not be able to learn more elemental spells and time magic could be bought in the black market. The reason to not be a summoner was the same as being a shaman: too much dependence on a single way of fighting. He was no saint and had no desires to be a white mage. The eight active and four passive, non-class skill options were the same as being a red mage, but allowed specialization. Thus, he closed those six boxes and turned his attention to the remaining four.

Now, his ideal options were to be a necromancer, mage hunter black mage, or druid. The more he thought about it, the less he liked mage hunter. While it did remove the weapon restrictions, the description said he would only learn augmentation and enchantment magic. He also had the Staff of Flame, the staff using the very elemental weakness of wood. He could not be a druid either.

His last two choices were to be a black mage or a necromancer. He contemplated the pros and cons of both advanced classes. The choice he made would be like a tree's trunk and roots: the base for which the branches will grow and eventually sprout more branches. His potential would be both locked and unlocked by the choice he made. Being a necromancer sounded cool, but he would already be restricted based on the descriptions of the class.

It was too detailed, too eye-catching. The first advanced class should be broad to allow more development and possibilities. If he chose to be a necromancer, how far would he be able to go? Most necromancers in many games had similar characteristics and weaknesses. The black mage description told about pursuit to power, even ancient magic; but the only restriction was no more healing spells. He already had one, Life Drain, and it could evolve to an even more potent spell. Thus, he closed all the options but the black mage.

*Ding*

You have chosen Black MageDo you wish to accept?

Not accepting will reopen all closed boxes, but the black mage option will be lost. Do you wish to walk the path of a black mage?

YES/NO

"Ah, so another Night Hunter wishes to walk the path of a black mage," one of the ten sages smiled, the others turning into ash and faded into nothingness as Rex clicked on the 'YES' option. "Your path is dangerous and inconceivable. You pursue even the most ancient of magic and cast aside the school of healing magic. Allow me to tell you the origins of the black mage.

It all started with a man named Magnus. He was a bright lad, talented in magic and very studious. He was the hope of his clan. However, humanity began to classify magic and create all sorts of heretical religions They began to separate magic into what they thought was good and evil. Magnus refused to conform to the changing society and continued his magic studies in secret, learning magic that was good, evil, or both.

One day, he made a thesis. This thesis was on the concept of immortality. His idea was brilliant, centuries ahead of the rest of the world. Some thought of him as a fanatic, fearful of the change he introduced. At his time, the other nine classes had been made. The various religions sent assassins to kill Magnus. Magnus refused to die and made an accidental discovery while performing a ritual. He made a pact with an ancient being, gaining power beyond that which he possessed. He had become the first black mage in history. He disappeared one day, taking all his research with him. Now, you walk that path as I did."

"You are Magnus?" Rex cried, shocked. "If so, what is the system? Didn't the system make you?"

"Yes, I am Magnus. As for your your latter two questions, you must discover the truth for yourself. You are now a black mage. You must complete the promotion test or perish. Your test is the simplest and the most difficult of all mage paths. You must head deep in the gorge of the mountain range. In there, there is a gateway of sorts. Enter that gateway and make your pact," the sage smiled. "You have two skills that are class skills. They are Meteor and Witch Fire. Thus, you can learn three more non-class passive skills and six more non-class active skills. You will be granted two active and one passive skill which will help you survive your unique black mage promotion test. All black mages know this skill, but not many even survive the first promotion test. Good luck, young black mage."

*Ding*

Shadow Ball: Costs 40 mana per shadow ball. Create an orb of shadows that explodes with condensed dark spirit energy. Can multi-cast the spell. Rank: uncommon class-restricted.

Yin Yang Gate: Costs a quarter of total mana and Ki. Create a giant gate with the light, darkness, life, and death elements that opens to reveal your soul's true form. A vortex rivaling a black hole pulls and rips apart your enemies only to be devoured by your very soul. There is no good without evil. No light without shadow. Gain +1 of highest enemy stat upon kill. Mage will not disintegrate upon entering a black hole after learning this skill. Cool down: two hours. Rank: legendary class-restricted. Soul: World-Eater Bear.

Timeless Eyes: Passive skill. Your irises turn into glowing grey, and your pupils are changed to appear as an infinity loop. Color of irises differ for each black mage. Grants instant regeneration but does not recover health points. Coverts 5% magic damage to mana. Unlocks ability to learn ancient magic. Enables ability to survive a pact with an ancient being. Rank: unique class-restricted.

*Ding*

System UpdateUnlocked quest: Black Mage Initiation

You have chosen to take the promotion test for black mages. You will be unable to learn the class-restricted only legendary skills of the other mage classes, rogues, and warriors. Class-restricted skills cannot be learned by any class, unlike most other skills like Meteor or Mana Barrier. Go to the mountain gorge and find the gateway. Enter the gateway and make a pact with an ancient being.

For every level, you gain an additional 2 stat points. The additional stat points cannot be distributed and increase the spirit and stamina stat by +1. Class restricted skills do not evolve like ordinary class and non-class skills. Class-restricted skills gain more power as mage levels up.

Quest Rewards

Level up to level 10.

+1 spirit energy storage belt. Can reserve as much mana and Ki as stored in belt.

Gain $20,000.

+2 additional level ups.

"Since I am a Cheat Hunter, I can still distribute the three stats. Still, I learned 3 class-restricted spells. This is awesome. Meteor and Witch Fire are class skills, so I can learn six more active skills instead of four," Rex grinned, very satisfied. "Still, that black hole description and my eyes....wait...does Magnus also have the passive skill?"

Rex stared at Magnus, the sage grinning as Rex took a closer look. Sure enough, the pupils were changed into the shape of an infinity loop, the insides of the loops black as night. Nonetheless, he did not regret choosing to be a black mage.

"Now, you will return to the Night. We might never meet again, but I will be anticipating your progress. Before the gateway is a guardian. You can come up with a method to avoid the guardian, but it is best to kill it and gain its artifact. It will grant you a spell, but also grants an effect that is vital to determine whether or not you succeed the quest. Farewell, Rex Cerberus Valentine. Your dragon, Titus, will be at the site of your arrival. It is a good dragon," Magnus smiled and Rex's vision went dark.

When Rex's vision returned, he saw his dragon stare at him happily as he gazed at his surroundings. He was at the foot of the mountain range, other participants appearing soon after. Some had already made their way into the mountain range. Gaoli, Soji, and Suna waved as they finally saw Rex.

"Dude, what took you so long?" Soji asked.

"He just became a Night Hunter yesterday. Of course he would not know about the ten mage classes. It must have been hard to choose," Gaoli said, nodding his head with sympathy. "I hoped you picked a rather broad class."

"Those eyes....I don't remember seeing many mages with that," Suna said as she noticed his eyes were now a bright grey with bizarre pupils.

"No way....you chose to be a black mage?"Gaoli cried, stunned as Rex nodded. "That's the hardest advanced mage class to be! Most people die because they failed. I mean, sure, you learn the class-restricted legendary skill before any other class. Still, it's that way for a reason!"

"He didn't know the exact specifics, remember?" Suna sighed. "So, where are you going? The rest of us have to head beneath the mountain range."

"I....have to enter the gorge," Rex said.

"Okay. You're dead," Soji said.

"Soji!" Suna snapped.

"What? Nee-chan, many people die in the gorge if their promotion test requires it. He even has the hardest mage promotion test. He probably has to go deep, way deep, in the gorge. He's gonna die," Soji shook his head.

"Remember who his grandfather is? Sean the War God? I'm sure Rex got something to help him," Gaoli said.

"No. Not to survive the quest," Rex said as the black diamond did not have any amazing effects besides cloaking his magical items to make them seem like ordinary items, or making them undetectable altogether.

"So it's just you and your dragon? Okay, I agree with Soji. You might really die. Good luck," Gaoli said as he pat Rex on the shoulder. "It's been fun."

"Good luck. Hope we all survive," Suna and Soji said as they followed Gaoli into the mountain range.

"Well, looks like it is just me and you now, Titus," Rex said as he looked at his dragon and headed into the mountains.