Supreme Swordfiend

Leon arrived home, expecting Zerasos to have already eaten himself into a food coma, but the devil surprised him.

Luxuriating in the hot tub, Zerasos set aside his display crystal, clapping his hands as Leon began the lengthy process of removing his armour.

“There he is! Good work out there! The balls on you would put most men to shame! Jumping down those T-Rex throats, fighting a pair of mini-bosses back to back, taking down pretty much everything that crossed your path! Now, young grasshopper, come here, let ‘ol uncle Z take a good hard look at you- after you get your gear off. You stink something fierce, kid!”

Clearly, the devil had enjoyed the show. Leon didn’t enjoy being reminded that he was being watched constantly, but after one look at his mentor, Leon’s bloodline had quieted down.

While sealed, he’d only been able to guess at how wide the power disparity between them was.

Now unsealed, his bloodline knew the true extent of Leon’s inferiority.

The devil could rip him limb from limb and Leon would be powerless to stop him; running wouldn’t even be an option.

This was the power at a completely different Grade, an insurmountable challenge.

Placing his sword down with the rest of his gear, Leon entered the hot tub, the tub more than large enough to accommodate both Leon and Zerasos.

The devil gave an appraising look before he spoke.

“Looks like you’re at the first hurdle then; a capstone quest. They’re a necessary pain, stops people power levelling- makes sure they’re at least competent with their Class before letting them move on. What’d it slap you with?”

Smirking as he replied, Leon turned over the fresh knowledge. Whatever perception skill the devil had, it couldn’t see that he’d completed the quest.

“The System wanted a sword style out of me- course I’d made mine days ago. Now it’s asking me whether I want to reclass or uncap. I’ve another option as well- a one per cent chance to breakthrough to [G] Grade, but I’m not about to roll the dice on those odds.”

The unspoken question hung in the air for only a second before Zerasos responded, a hint of pride in his voice. He mustn’t have expected Leon to have already cleared the capstone.

“Reclass. Uncapping is a dead end. It’s for failures, trash who don’t qualify for any new Classes. They’re forced to take that option. Takes an ungodly amount of mana and it only lets you go up a single level at a time. Pull up your reclass options- run them by me.”

Confirming his choice to reclass, the System presented Leon with another pop-up flurry.

“Selection confirmed- Class [Swordsman] removed.”

“Skill [Sword Affinity] removed.”

“Skill [Swordsman’s Physique] removed.”

“Skill [Swordsman’s Eye] has degenerated to base skill [Inspect].”

“System Functionality unlocked! Your aggregate level is the total number of levels you have gained across all Class choices. Your aggregate level is now used in experience calculations!”

“Class selection now available:

[Common- Novice Swordsman]- You are no longer a mere [Swordsman]. The [Novice Swordsman] has yet to decide their path, seeking to continue refining their foundation. There is no shame in simplicity.

[Common- Berserker]- You know there is wisdom in rage- give in to your urges and shrug off injuries that would kill lesser men. A class focused on boosting your Constitution to utilise attrition combat- trade your flesh to break their bones.

[Common-Cutthroat]- Aim for their weaknesses, slice them apart. A hybrid class, borrowing parts from both the [Rogue] and [Warrior] with a focus on blades, Speed and perception-based skills.

[Common- Martial Artist]- You manipulate your internal energy with some skill. Accelerated healing is only scratching the surface, a trick even the dullest fighter will eventually pick up. Dig deeper and learn to use your energy for far more. A class focused on Wisdom and Power.

[Common- Barbarian]- Savagery. Cruelty. An iron fist. Crush your foes with oversized weaponry while you delight in the thrill of combat. A class that focuses on Speed and Power. Get in quick, hit them hard and take all they hold dear.

[Uncommon- Buster Blademaster]- Let them laugh. You know that bigger is always better. For those who love gigantic swords. Focused on Power, with all the skills you need to hit even harder.

[Uncommon- Bladesinger]- Your blade’s song is the last they’ll hear. For those who love curved swords, whether it be the conventional scimitar, the ever-popular katana or a more esoteric choice like a shotel. Focused on Speed, with skills to let you cut through the hardest of defences.

[Uncommon- Army Of One]- You took on an army and won. Now get better at it. A balanced Class that excels in group combat, with major boosts available when you fight alone against many.

[Uncommon- Drake-kin Slayer]- You’ve killed an awful lot of them. A specialised class, enjoy enormous boosts to your abilities while fighting your favoured foes.

[Rare- Stormblade]- Water, Air and Lightning. Combine that with a skilled swordsman, capable of channelling heavenly might, and you have a [Stormblade]. Balanced gains, sword skills that take advantage of your Insights and an opportunity to further refine your skillset. Embody the storm.

[Rare- Regenerator]- They’ve maimed you, cut you open and crushed your organs. But they’ve never put you down. A pure Constitution Class, with skills that boost your other stats the longer you can drag a fight out. The harder they hit you, the stronger you’ll grow.

[Unique- Sealed Swordfiend]- They sealed your bloodline. Weakened your immense gifts. How foolish. Even sealed, a Swordfiend is supreme. Remove this seal- as quickly as possible. Claim a set of skills that allow you to extract and consume foreign bloodlines while learning to wield your own with far greater mastery. Your strength will not lag behind. The stat gains owed to a Swordfiend are more than enough to fuel your growth. Embrace your lineage. Through blood- power.”

Relaying all but the last class to Zerasos, the devil paused before grabbing his crystal and leaping out of the hot tub. A wave of his hand summoned a set of papers to the unused ping-pong table, Leon bemusedly watching on as the man began shuffling through them.

“You kept your shorts on in the tub?”

Unable to tear himself away from a manila folder, the devil responded without looking back.

“Zip it hypocrite- you kept your ratty clothes on as well. Don’t see me calling attention to it, do you?”

While Zerasos shuffled through an unholy quantity of paper, Leon formed opinions on the choices offered.

[Novice Swordsman] was clearly the next step, in what Leon presumed was a chain of swordsman classes. Boring but safe. Not his first choice, but not awful. A backup option.

[Berserker], [Cutthroat], [Martial Artist] and [Barbarian] were all out of the running. Regardless of any benefits offered, the four classes did not focus on swordsmanship. That alone disqualified them. The revelation that he could use internal energy for more than self-healing did pique Leon’s interest- something to query with Zerasos.

The Uncommon classes had some stranger choices mixed in, though Leon had already disqualified another two- [Army Of One] and [Drake-kin Slayer]. Leon wrote both off as overly specialised. With no control over the type of fights he found himself in, Leon thought it a poor idea to focus on any one style or enemy type.

He needed to be just as comfortable fighting an army of weaklings as he was fighting an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. Fluid, versatile, a sword for every situation.

While [Bladesinger] and [Buster Swordsman] narrowed Leon’s weaponry choices, they no doubt offered a hefty amount of power, their narrowed focus once again cut them from the selection process. The sacrifice of Bladeless had changed his thinking- relying on one sword would leave him weakened if he lost it.

If he’d been able to forge replacements or had the option to buy spares, perhaps he would have gone for a more specialised Class, but stuck in the Tutorial as he was, meant Leon had limitations to work around.

The two Rare Classes were much more interesting.

[Regenerator] had an appeal. Not dying was high on Leon’s priority list and with this Class, he’d be that much harder to kill. If it had a different name, like [Undying Swordsman] or [Immortal Blademaster] he might have taken it.

Since it did not relate to swords, Leon’s rejection of it was swift.

[Stormblade]. Now that was a Class. It took all his insights, his swordsmanship and his feat of channelling a lightning bolt into an attack. In it, Leon saw a path forward, a seed from which he could cultivate a mighty tree.

Were it not for the last Class on offer, he would have taken it.

[Sealed Swordfiend]. Its existence implied there was a regular [Swordfiend] Class. The rarity alone was a cut above, though Leon had no frame of reference for how high Unique was.

He hadn’t shared its existence with Zerasos. Leon’s connection with this Class was intimate, several uncomfortable truths derivable from the name alone. His attraction to it was immense- it offered everything he needed to unseal his bound bloodline, to propel his power to a new level.

No doubt there would be a cost to strengthening his bloodline- one he felt he could afford to pay with the success that holding back had brought. Forced to push his limits in his fights, Leon’s confidence kept in check by the struggle.

Looking at the options, it was easy to see what the choice came down to.

The things he had earned, his insights, his skills. The heavenly fury of a [Stormblade].

The things he had been born with, his bloodline, his lineage. The supreme power of a [Sealed Swordfiend].

Zerasos choose that moment to speak up, papers swept away, table barren once again. There was an edge to his voice, one born of stress.

“That took longer than I thought. Had to run a query up the chain- they’re allowing me to advise you, but apparently I’m not to ‘unduly coerce the participant’, whatever that means. First things first. Ignore any option that isn’t Rare.”

An opening to have the devil explain the rarities then.

“You gonna explain why? Or do you expect me to just take that as gospel?”

Shaking his head, the devil retreated to his beanbag.

“You got a pop-up about aggregate level. That’s why. You take low rarity classes, they give lower stat gains per level. It wouldn’t bite you in the ass now, but the higher you climb, the harder the fights get. Without a high rarity Class pumping your stats higher than the average for your aggregate level, you’ll fall off.”

It was something Leon hadn’t even considered; that you could win every fight but still wind up weak since your Class wasn’t giving you enough power.

“Makes sense- for future reference, if I’m offered a Class at a higher rating, like Unique, Epic or Legendary how do you figure out the highest rarity?”

“Lowest on the list- always pick lowest and you’ll do fine- now from what I could dig up on it, [Regenerator] is a perverse Class, they’re incredibly hard to kill even in their base form and they only get stronger the more they bleed. The skill quests are fucking hard, but worth it for one skill alone- [Decentralised Nervous System], it lets your body instinctively regenerate from wounds that would normally kill you. [Organ Redundancy] and [Limb Regrowth] are the other two big draws.”

Leon’s expression must have given away his distaste for the Class as Zerasos switched tack immediately.

“[Stormblade] is a rare Class, even for a Rare. Most [H] Grades struggle to even get an insight, never mind three of ‘em. My info is, therefore, a little spotty. The skills aren’t public, but from some footage that the boys dug up, it seems like you’ll gain the ability to impose stormy conditions on a battlefield, alongside some kind of lightning control. Your call kid- either Class is enough to carry you through this Tutorial- though I’d advise you pick the one you feel aligns best with your personality. Capstone quests are a pain if you’re not enthusiastic about your Class.”

Pulling up his choices once more, Leon briefly hesitated before locking in his decision. He needed power, enough power to do whatever he wanted. His bloodline was offering that.

“Your class is now [Sealed Swordfiend]. You have been issued Class quests! Check your Status for more information!”

The last thing Leon felt before he fell unconscious was the flood of energy. It rose from within Leon’s body, pulling from every cell. A mix of his internal energy and mana, alongside something darker.

Then the darkness took him.