Free Web NovelChapter 2: I Refuse
Arc was stunned at the series of prompts that momentarily clouded his vision just as he resigned to his fate.
Not only was his previous Talent restored, but it was even upgraded to the highest rank of Talents known to humanity. And it was all thanks to this "Malefic Bloodline" thing.
Six years in the Golden Age and he could swear he’d never heard of a Bloodline—even in passing. Maybe it was because he had been a slave for most of that time. But if a Bloodline was powerful enough to awaken a dormant Talent and evolve it to the highest rank possible, then it should be a lot more powerful than the Talent itself.
Arc’s hand, which was seconds away from selecting the Rogue Class from the list, had frozen in place as soon as the strange system prompts hit his vision; it slowly fell to his side now.
It was important to check the abilities of one’s Talent to help narrow down the most suitable Class for it. The Goddess’s clone was programmed to say something along those lines to every player before they chose a Class, but Arc had been ahead of her by activating his Player Class System without being instructed. This had likely resulted in him unintentionally skipping that cutscene and the pep-talk that came with it.
Now that he thought about it, would breaking the loop invite unwanted attention? Or was he just overthinking it?
Probably.
Arc wanted to know what his evolved Talent—[E-rank Glorious Seed], now [SSS-rank Dominator]—could do. This would help him decide if going with the Rogue Class was still a good choice, or if there was a better alternative to trigger its full potential.
"Status," Arc called out into the void, and his Player Class System materialized before him.
He didn’t need to tap his glabella any longer to summon his Player Status System, as that was only a requirement for first-time activation. That didn’t mean it had lost its effect, though. Voice activation only worked if the command was said out loud; if one was trying to be discreet, tapping the glabella was still the best choice.
|[Player Status System]|
• [Player Status]
• [Inventory]
• [Trade Market]
• [Forum]
Arc was already familiar with the display and promptly selected [Player Status] to reveal his attributes.
[Player Status]
Name: Arc Sinclair
Race: Human
Affiliation: Player
Title(s): Regressor
Level: 1 [50 / 50]
[Attributes]: 38
Strength: 6
Agility: 7
Dexterity: 8
Constitution: 5
Wisdom: 12
[Skills]: —
[Talent(s)]:
Merge | E-rank
Dominator | SSS-rank
[Bloodline]:
Malefic | Calculating...
He ran his eyes through his status screen, pausing for a moment when they reached [Attributes], before continuing downward to the Talent list, where he willed himself to read the description of his latest Talent, [SSS-rank Dominator], in anticipation.
[Dominator | SSS-rank]: ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Targets subdued by the user—whether through the influence of a [Glorious Seed] or by absolute domination—are permanently bound to the user’s authority.
All bound subjects are subjected to a permanent taxation of every Experience Point (EXP) earned.
The description was simple and on point. But for some reason, Arc had to re-read it a few more times—no, more times than he could count. His heart rate increased with each paragraph he covered. His expression was conflicted.
[You have fifty-nine (59) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
The Goddess’s voice interrupted, but Arc was barely paying attention to it at this moment.
In his six years of survival in the Golden Age, Arc had come across players from all walks of life, mostly women, with Talents powerful enough to punch a hole through a reinforced mountain or split an ocean with a sneeze. And trust him when he says he’s been with a lot of the top female players humanity had to offer.
But not once, in any of those agonizing years, had he come across one with a Talent that could copy the Talents of others—permanently—and even subject them to a lifetime EXP deduction over a single intimate act.
[You have forty-nine (49) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
If Arc understood the description of the [Dominator] Talent for what it was trying to convey, then he should be able to "borrow" any Talent he deemed useful and use it at its peak for as long as he wanted. If the 12 points in his Wisdom attribute weren’t just fluff, it meant he should be able to grow stronger passively by making the best use of his Talent on powerful women.
[You have thirty-nine (39) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
Then again, that would force him into a position where he would have to be with multiple women—involuntarily forming a harem. And that wasn’t Arc’s style. He was a one-woman man, and in his previous life, he had loved only one woman—who ended up betraying his trust when he needed her most.
But that didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
[You have twenty-nine (29) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
If the price he had to pay for power was being with multiple women, then Arc was willing to take the gamble. The only problem he had was trust. If the one woman he’d given his heart to had betrayed him, what was stopping ten women from doing the same? The possibility was even higher.
[You have nineteen (19) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
Which was why, this time around, Arc was going to make his selection carefully and see to it that all his women remained loyal and steadfast for as long as he kept them by his side.
[You have nine (9) seconds remaining to select a Class from the list.]
With that taken care of, it was finally time to give his focus to the Class selection that had been counting down. Because of his latest Talent and the implications behind its description, Arc had made up his mind on the path he wished to follow—one that would truly trigger the full potential of the [SSS-rank Dominator] Talent.
[You have run out of time to select a Class from the list.]
And that was...
[To compensate the player, a random Class will be assigned to you now...]
"I refuse."
