Magnus of Ice

LONGING

"But if a hearthstone was dropped... perhaps... it means the quest isn't over," Jin-Woo concluded as he turned and looked for any signs of the quest continuing. He didnt need to look for long since an eerie sound was heard, closely followed by a system alert.

*DOOOM*

[ALERT

THE CLASS ADVANCEMENT QUEST WILL NOW BEGIN]

*SHIIING*

To his right, a strange swirl appeared in space. As if the fabric of reality was thrown into a vortex, the rotation started to turn faster and more savagely as the seconds passed. Eerie black-purple currents were seen crackling inside as a black center consumed all the color around. The edges of the vortex were blue and red, short of one primary color, slowly being consumed by the black center.

"The fuck...!" Jin-Woo said as he heard other tears in the fabric of reality.

*SHIIIING*

*SHIIING*

Three to four more portals appeared with the original one, all surrounding Jin-Woo. "I fucking knew it! There's no way Igris would have been the end. I fucking can't!" A sense of despair and dread filled Jin-Woo's entire body, all the way to his core. Just looking at the eerie, light-consuming portals was enough for anybody to have automatically used the hearthstone. But Jin-Woo was different; he's survived through much worse circumstances, he's even evaded death. Gritting his teeth, Jin-Woo was about to act when another alert announced itself.

[THE LONGER YOU LAST, THE MORE POINTS YOU CAN COLLECT. COLLECTING MORE WILL PLACE YOU INTO A HIGHER-TIER CLASS.]

[00:00:00]

"Fuck, points? Is it an infinite wave?" Jin-Woo gasped as he saw the timer start moving from zero to one as creatures appeared one after another from the swirling tears in reality or, rather, gates.

[GOOD LUCK!]

As if mocking him or wishing him luck, the system stopped sending notifications after the last one. Before Jin-Woo could process what was happening, he was interrupted by a loud sound he'd become far too familiar with.

*CLACK*

Foot after foot, metal crashing against the earth multiple times, the knights made their presence known.

*CLACK*

Silently floating, creatures that could be confused for rags didnt announce their presence as loudly as their counterparts.

*CLACK*

Soon, a massive wave of knights of all variants made their way through the gates. The black-purple currents followed their exit as metal attracted electricity. Their worn-out and rusty armor completely contrasted against the terrifying pressure they were releasing as they marched and floated toward Jin-Woo, causing him to grit his teeth and think things through. The sheer number of knights made him temporarily forget the magicians, leading to his following action.

The knights kept making their way towards the lone Jin-Woo, each with different armor and weapons. 'Even with my current condition, I should be able to take these guys on! Though if they were on the same level as Igris, even this first set of enemies would be impossible to beat!" Getting into position, Jin-Woo quickly punched out in succession as he attacked the incoming horde.

'Every second means more points! Time is equivalent to class advancement points!' Ducking and evading an incoming swing, Jin-Woo delivers an uppercut as he says, "So the chance of obtaining a hidden class goes up the longer the timer is left running...?" Realizing that not even a full minute had passed, Jin-Woo couldn't help but comment, "As expected of a class advancement quest. It's fucking difficult but rewarding... I wonder how Mags is doing with his..." Every once in a while, his mind would drift to what HIS Mags would be doing and how he was faring compared to him since he had been gone for three days already.