Riley's eyes shone the moment the notification appeared, a flicker of anticipation dancing in his gaze.

'Come on… let's see it.'

He waited.

A second later, a pair of new notifications flashed in front of him, bold and glowing in a golden hue:

[Rewards Granted: +50 Attribute Points, +50 Skill Points]

"…!"

Riley's eyes widened, his brows rising in surprise.

He hadn't expected that much. Not even close.

In his past life, he had only gotten ten attribute points and ten skill points after completing his profession trial.

It was one of the reasons many players had been desperate to complete their trials, even if only barely.

That little boost could mean the difference between surviving a fight… and getting torn apart by a random boar.

But now?

Fifty.

Fifty full points in each!

'Tch… no wonder the clone was so damn strong.'

He'd already guessed that the difficulty of the profession trials varied based on performance, but this only confirmed it.

He didn't know the exact values for each grade, or what the average player usually got, but for him to receive this much—

His results were very impressive.

As if responding to his thoughts, more system messages popped up, layering one over another:

[Level Cap Removed!]

[You can now level up above level 10!]

Riley blinked.

Then, slowly, a small smile stretched across his lips.

'Finally…'

It was happening.

The wall that had kept him—and every other new player—locked at level 10 had finally broken.

[Beginning Class Awakening…]

Another notification blinked into existence—this time larger, pulsing faintly with a deeper hue.

Riley's eyes lit up.

This was it.

The moment he had been waiting for.

'Let's see what kind of class I get…'

He couldn't lie—his heart was beating a little faster.

This was no ordinary event. No simple stat boost or minor reward.

It was the moment that would define the rest of his journey.

His class.

And just as that thought crossed his mind—

Fwoooom—!!

The shadows around him suddenly swirled violently.

All at once, they spun into motion like a black vortex, twisting and curling as though caught in a violent storm.

Then—

They rose.

Straight up into the sky.

A massive column of darkness whirled around him, swirling at terrifying speeds. Dust and debris were dragged into the spiral as it spun, forming a massive black tornado that pierced the clouds above like a lance.

The once-calm air became a raging storm.

The ground beneath Riley trembled softly. Small pebbles shook, levitating ever so slightly from the sheer pressure of the dark tornado.

And in the very center of it all… stood Riley.

His hair whipped around his face.

His eyes narrowed.

But despite everything—he didn't panic.

Because somehow, despite the chaos surrounding him, he knew.

This was supposed to happen.

"…So this is my class awakening," he muttered to himself, voice barely audible above the raging howl.

Even so, he felt strangely at peace.

It wasn't surprising, really.

Both of his last two trials had involved the shadow around him.

The second one involved him having to escape from the shadow. And in the third trial, it had created a clone of him—a being that nearly killed him.

Everything was pointing in one direction.

His class would be tied to this shadow. There was no doubt in his mind.

Then—

Fwoomp—!

The swirling vortex of shadows suddenly came to a halt.

The spinning stopped.

And in the blink of an eye—

The shadows closed in.

"—!"

Riley's eyes widened, but before he could say anything—

The darkness swallowed him whole.

It wrapped around his entire body, like a blanket of pitch-black velvet—sealing him inside.

For a moment, everything was black.

Complete and total blackness.

Yet, strangely…

He didn't feel fear.

He didn't feel pain.

Not even discomfort.

Instead—

He felt light.

Like he was flying.

Like he had been freed from his body.

Weightless.

Free.

His consciousness drifted, untethered by flesh or gravity.

He looked down—instinctively trying to find his hands, his arms… something.

But all he saw was shadow.

Long, flowing shadows, clinging tightly to him.

Like a second skin.

Or perhaps… a new body.

The tendrils of darkness wrapped around him gently, pulsing faintly with each passing moment.

They didn't feel cold.

They didn't feel heavy.

Instead, they felt… alive.

Like they were part of him.

Like they had always been part of him.

Riley's eyes narrowed as he floated in the vast, endless dark.

Then, a thought came to him.

'Is this… what I really am?'

The system hadn't said a word since the shadows consumed him.

There were no instructions.

No tips.

No guides.

Only this overwhelming presence of darkness and the sensation of floating in a place far removed from the real world.

He could feel something pulling him deeper.

Tugging gently, like an unseen current beneath the surface of an ocean.

But again… he didn't resist.

He let himself sink.

Let himself be drawn further and further down into the void.

And as he did—

Images flashed before him.

—A large dimension made purely of shadows.

—A blade that flickered between light and dark, splitting through the clouds.

—A shadow rising over a battlefield, its form humanoid, but its presence monstrous.

—And finally… a mirror.

In the mirror—

He saw himself.

But not the same Riley.

No.

This version of him was surrounded by shadows.

His eyes glowed faintly purple.

And above his head… a crown of black flame hovered quietly in the air.

Riley took a slow breath, his chest tightening.

'That's… me?'

The image shattered.

The world of darkness began to tremble.

And then—

[Class Awakening Complete.]

[New Class Obtained: Shadow Assassin (SSS)]

[Description: You have embraced your origin, awakening as an invisible assassin who strikes and rules over the shadow.]

Riley's breath caught in his throat.

'Shadow… assasin…' he thought, his gaze lingering on the description before him.

However, his attention was more on the rank placed before the class.

'SSS-rank… my new class… is SSS-rank!' he thought, his lips curling into a wide smirk.

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