After leaving the Dungeon, Gabriel went to the black market to sell some of the treasures he had extracted.
"You came earlier than our appointed time," Damien spoke, his eyes fixed on the skill scrolls and weapons on his table.
"Well, something came up," Gabriel replied calmly.
A gleam of surprise and shock flashed through Damien's eyes, and his heartbeat sped up.
'He really kept to his word,' Damien thought in disbelief. 'For a moment, I thought he was joking. Just yesterday, he sold two skill scrolls, and today he came with two more skills and even more weapons.'
Several thoughts flashed across his mind. How did he get these skills so easily? It didn't make sense. This was the worth of some mid-tier guild's monthly drop from hunting monsters relentlessly, and somehow...
'He was able to get all of these in a couple of hours.'
Although he wasn't the smartest in the Grave family, Damien knew there must be a secret method Gabriel was using to farm these drops.
This method was either illegal or a hidden loophole that he didn't want others to learn about.
Unfortunately, even if he asked, it was very unlikely the other party would reveal anything.
Regardless...
"Since I'm the one benefiting from this, it's a win-win!" Damien Graves beamed, a wide smile on his face as he entered business mode.
"This is a Bronze rank treasure, so I'll give you 5,000 dollars," he said, raising the Mageborn staff that had belonged to the Skeleton Shaman.
The price was fair, and once again, Gabriel noticed the slight increase in valuation—but who was he to complain?
The Boneplate Shield (Bronze) was sold for 5,000, the Bonepiercer Armblade (Silver) for 30,000, and the Bone Dagger (Bronze) for 5,000.
"As for this..." Damien's eyes glinted as he picked up [Necrotic Slash], which was rare and highly sought after by necromancers due to how difficult their skills were to acquire.
The [Necrotic Slash (Rare)] skill was sold for a whopping 50,000 dollars and the [Bone Shard Throw (Uncommon)], another skill, was sold for 15,000.
"Here," Damien said as he slid a sleek black card toward Gabriel. "The total sum of 110,000 dollars has been loaded onto it. The PIN is XXXZX. From now on, all our future transactions will go through this."
Gabriel's eyes lingered on the exclusive black card with golden edges and the image of a Roman cavalry. This card was the third most prestigious in the world. It could be used in almost any establishment, and it was only owned by elites.
'As expected of someone from the Graves family... Even though he's disowned, an illegitimate child, he's still pretty wealthy.'
Gabriel accepted the card and left shortly after. As soon as he was gone, Damien returned to the Grave mansion, which was located in the most prestigious part of Stellar City, close to the royal castle.
He proceeded to use the rest of the day to find out more information about his business partner.
The Graves were very influential, and all it took was a couple of hours for the relevant information to be delivered to Damien.
"Homeless a few days ago, hunted in the wilderness, participated in a D-ranked dungeon." Damien skimmed through the information with furrowed brows. "No reports of him stealing either—that's a relief. At least now I know he's getting it legally."
He paced around his room, his steps filled with excitement. "Maybe, just maybe, he will be the key for me to finally build an empire that will rival those arrogant Graves—hahahaha!"
Unaware of his supposed partner's ambitious thoughts, after leaving the black market, Gabriel went straight to one of the four branches of the Holy Church in Stellar City.
The exploration in the wilderness was still a week away, so he needed to kill time. During this period, he had made some plans—one of which involved awakening a class.
In Realm of Ascendency, players could only choose a class when they reached level 10, which was the required level to leave the beginner village. However, as an NPC, that rule didn't apply to him.
In front of the church gate, two guards in shining white armor adorned with golden crosses stopped him.
"State your business," the first guard demanded in a rough voice.
"I'm here to awaken my class," Gabriel said calmly, feeling irritation rising from the pit of his stomach, though he kept it suppressed.
"That way." The guard pointed at the entrance of the church.
After a subtle nod, Gabriel entered the grand church, which was filled with golden details and sparkling marble floors. It was crowded with netizens offering prayers. He carefully made his way to a priest and, after stating his reason, was brought into a private chamber.
In Realm of Ascendency, classes could only be bestowed by the Patron Gods, and the only place to connect with these deities was through the church.
Inside the private chamber, Gabriel sat on a stone stool as the priest chanted in a low voice, drawing several glowing runes into the air.
A circle appeared beneath his feet—golden, with intricate symbols he couldn't recognize.
"Remain still. The Gods are watching," the priest said solemnly before placing his hand on Gabriel's head.
Ting!
[Class Awakening Sequence Initiated]
"You'll be transferred to the class awakening in 3... 2... 1!"
FWOOOSH!
Everything turned white. The world spun—and then, silence descended. Gabriel's eyes twitched. As they opened, he found himself standing in a vast, endless arena.
There was no sky or sun. Only a flat, dark surface stretching infinitely.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a rift appeared, and from within the rift, a black-furred beast stepped forward.
[Chimera-Lv 30]
[Trial Round 1: Survive and Defeat the Chimera.]
Newbie players didn't know this, but the class selection process for Realm of Ascendency was determined by the individual's fighting style.
One didn't have the free will to randomly select a class after logging in. The only way to obtain a class was by truly deserving it.
As for Gabriel, he already had a perfected fighting style thanks to his previous life's experience, so he remained relatively calm.
At that precise moment—
BOOM!
The ground cracked as the monster lunged forward, and the class awakening trial officially began!