--
'Are they gone? '
'There's no way, right? '
TJ sat on the chair in front of the table, frowning and looking unconvinced.
The reason behind his frown was the apparent quietness of his mind right now.
Somehow, the voices that constantly made his life difficult were awfully silent today.
It's not the first time this has happened; whenever the Medical Saint tended to him, this happens. But that was temporary; the voices will eventually return and become just as loud as before.
That's why he's not convinced right now. He didn't believe that the voices were completely gone. They always managed to return, and he thinks that this will just be temporary.
The only difference this time is that it wasn't Anthony who silenced them. It's whatever happened to him last night.
"Forget it. I'm spending way too much time thinking about something that's out of my control." TJ shook his head.
He once again opened his profile page and inspected the changes there.
TJ saw that, somehow, without his consent, he had become a 1☆ Apprentice Ranked Pro.
Usually, he will need to tell the system to proceed, but now, it was different. It wasn't all that bad, though. He's going to do it anyway, so it really doesn't make any difference.
Though, he did receive some notifications after becoming an Apprentice-ranked pro.
[Boons strengthened slightly.]
He wasn't surprised. He knows that this happens to everybody. The upgrade to his boons isn't that much, especially considering that both of his boons were already at Unique Rank, but it's an improvement nonetheless.
The collection range for gathering Dream Echo Fragments has increased. Before, it was only 100 meters; now it jumped to 500 meters. Furthermore, he could no longer gather Novice-ranked Dream Echoes, only Apprentice-ranked and above. The older dream echoes he gathered received a one-time upgrade, going from Novice Rank to Apprentice, putting them at an appropriate level, meaning that they could still be used.
Finally, the Dream Echo Battlefield now allows him to either fight 10 Nameless Dream Echoes at once or two Named Dream Echoes at the same time.
As for the Boon: Limit Breaking Hard Work, there's really no visible change. There are no other indications either. He guessed that he would have to find out more about it on his own, which wasn't really a bad thing.
But most importantly, the one that really concerned him the most was his new class template.
So far, he only saw the general description for it. But now, he's determined to learn more about it.
**
[Accursed Knight]
Core Legacy: 『Oath of the Curse Bearer』
Unique Passive: 『Burdened Discipline』
Skills: Sinbound Retaliation, Oathbreaker's Reprisal, Black Aegis, Pain Forged, Mark of Fallen (locked), Unyielding Torment, Dirge of the Fallen (locked), Ashen Vow (locked)
EX Skill: [REDACTED]
Synchronization: 15%
**
"Okay..." TJ's frown deepened. The terms he could see on the system under his class template sounded a little too ominous; to be fair, nobody could really blame him for feeling a little doubtful.
"My synchronization is already at 15%? Wow, what do I do? It hasn't even been a day!" He exclaimed after noticing this part.
Class Templates wasn't just some package containing a unique set of legacy and skills. They are an identity, one that could fundamentally change one's life.
All of the skills and assets included in the Class Template won't be unlocked right away; it doesn't work like that. It's the same for even the most common and basic class templates out there.
To unlock everything that class templates have to offer, one must work hard on increasing their synchronization with it. And to do that, one must 'act according to their profession.'
In a sense, it requires them to 'roleplay,' but more seriously. Knights should be humble, loyal, wear clanky armor (not really required), protect the weak, uphold their virtues, and so on. Mages must be studious, intelligent, eccentric (debatable), etc.
The more convincing or more absorbed they are into their role, the faster their synchronization climbs and the sooner they can squeeze every benefit their class templates have.
Usually, especially for those who just transitioned to a new class template for the first time, this starts at zero. So it's not strange for TJ to be surprised that his was already at 15%.
"Well, this works for me, so I won't question it too much." TJ shrugged. "Let's see what this class is all about then."
**
Core Legacy: 『Oath of the Curse Bearer』
『Oath of the Curse Bearer』
[History]: Accursed Knights are those who discovered the existence of curses and hexes.
People who harnessed their power weren't new; they've always existed and always respected the power they wielded. However, there will always be those who entertained bad thoughts. It's these people who began abusing this power, bringing forth immense suffering and pain to the world.
Seeing their effects and the suffering they brought to people, knights of the old order have unhesitatingly sworn an oath to cleanse the world of curses and hexes.
In doing so, they received the ire of the Evil God, who tampered with their oath. Because of the Evil God's interference, curses and hexes have been involuntarily drawn to their oath, burdening the knights with their weight and negative effects.
Only the unyielding willpower of a hardened knight can carry the weight of sins — Sir [REDACTED]
[Mechanics]: You are now more attuned to the existence of Curses and Hexes, allowing you to sense their existence from miles away. Simutaenously, you are also now compelled to cleanse or absorb Curses and Hexes you come across with.
As the bearer of this oath, you are more resistant to the effects of curses and hexes.
Upon reaching 100% Synchronization with this class template, you will receive 50% immunity to Curses and Hexes, and a 10% to reverse their effects on you.
**
"Okay!?" TJ was unable to help himself from exclaiming.
The 『Oath of the Curse Bearer』 seemed a little too good to be true, didn't it?
Well, sure the origins are rather sad and awe-inspiring at the same time. And sure, there will be a time when he will be compelled to move against those who use curses and hexes...
But gaining resistance against Curses and Hexes? That's awesome! One must know that amongst all know status effects, Curses and Hexes are the hardest one to cure or cleanse. Yet TJ had a built in resistance towards them just by having this class. Isn't that just wonderful?
And gaining 50% immunity upon reaching 100% synchronization with the class template? That's incredibly good!
[Resistance] and [Immunity] are two completely different concepts. The latter being way better than the former. If anybody were to choose between these two, they'd choose Immunity over Resistance without a doubt.
And these benefits aren't even including the 10% chance to reverse the effects of the curses and hexes against him. Sure, it's very small chance, but TJ could almost be certain that it'll be very satisfying to trigger that one day.
"Alright, next!"
**
Unique Passive: 『Burdened Discipline』
『Burdened Discipline』
[When afflicted by Curses or Hexes]: Combat Stats increased by 10%, Debuff Resistance +15%
[Eliminating sources or absorbing Curses and Hexes]: grants a [Medal of Honor]
**
"Oh, damn! This is also good!" TJ was surprised yet again.
[Discipline] is a unique passive for the [Knight] class. It doesn't matter whether its the most barest or simplest Knight, or any other rarity of the Knight Class there is, all of them will have a passive like this.
Well, every class has a Unique Passive, but the knight class' [Discipline] was very common since the class itself was common.
[Discipline] could be seen as a code of conduct that mostly ties to the honorable history of knights. It rarely compels them to act accordingly to it, but doing so, especially willingly, is rewarded generously, which could be seen from the Unique Passive's effects.
In TJ's case, it practically tells him to search for those who abuse the power of curses and hexes and eliminate them.
To them, he's their worst enemy. To him, he's their bounty.
[Medals of Honor] are conditional items that mostly appear as a reward for great deeds. The medal itself doesn't hold much value; it's what it represents that does.
There is a long list of things Medals of Honor could be exchanged for. Some require more than one; others are exclusive to those who had it. The most common thing is a straight-up star rank upgrade.
So long as TJ searches for people who use curses and hexes for their nefarious plans and manages to defeat them, he could cleanse their activities or absorb the curses and hexes they used. In turn, doing this provides him with a Medal of Honor.
They're essentially a guaranteed source of medals for him. How awesome is that?
But, as good as this sounds, TJ won't start going around hunting for them. He's not stupid. Those who dared to abuse the power of curses and hexes could do so because they're strong and capable. They're not some people he, a freshly minted apprentice, could mess with.
In the future, though...well, who could say?
"I think I've been too hasty. This class may not be as bad as I thought it was..."