NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: Chapter 5: A Shop!
"A shop?"
Ethan's interest piqued as he immediately tapped on the menu.
[Currency Exchange: 10,000 Gold = 1 Point]
[Magic Restoration Potion Recipe – 1,000 Points]
[King of Fighters Combat Style – 200 Points] (Note: Provides techniques and muscle memory but does not increase physical strength.)
[Death Penalty Nullification Scroll – 100 Points]
[Double Experience Potion (12H) – 100 Points]
[Custom Items & Equipment – Price Varies]
The sheer variety of options surprised Ethan.
Ethan's eyes widened as he scanned the items listed in the shop.
Not only did he seem set financially, but…
His gaze locked onto the "King of Fighters Combat Style" entry. The moment he saw it, a bold idea began to take shape in his mind.
That class he had dismissed earlier—perhaps it was possible after all.
But something still puzzled him.
Custom Items?
Why was that section so outrageously expensive?
Before he could dwell on it further, the system chimed in again.
[Ding! New Side Quest Issued!]
[Side Quest: Change Class.]
[Quest Reward: 1,000 Points!]
"A thousand points?"
Ethan's eyes widened even further.
Was earning points really supposed to be this easy?
Grinding Toward Progress
After an exhausting grind, Ethan finally managed to complete the quest under the guidance of the Monk Mentor.
Thanks to the Double Experience Potion, he shot up to Level 20 in no time.
But it wasn't as simple as he'd thought.
Initially, Ethan had assumed becoming a Monk would just involve hunting down a few monsters—but reality proved far more complicated.
Not only did he have to collect specific materials, but he also had to answer quiz questions given by the mentor.
What was this? A post-exam nightmare designed by some traumatized developer?
Even so, Ethan allocated most of his early experience points to Dragonkin, only leaving enough for Monk to reach Level 5.
Early-game stats favored raw strength, and the Dragonkin's physical boosts provided far more immediate benefits than Monk's utility skills.
While Monks relied heavily on techniques and abilities, a Level 5 Monk only unlocked a single passive skill:
[Breathing Technique]
The skill offered minor enhancements—slightly increased HP and MP recovery rates and reduced stamina consumption during normal attacks.
Honestly? Ethan wasn't impressed.
It didn't seem particularly useful—at least, not yet.
But Dragonkin? That was a whole different story.
In YGGDRASIL, classes were divided into three tiers:
1. Common Classes – Max Level: 15 (Potential for advanced subclasses later).
2. Rare Classes – Max Level: 10 (Rarely unlocks advanced subclasses).
3. Limited or Special Classes – Max Level: 5 (e.g., Catastrophe Mage).
At first glance, it seemed counterintuitive—why did rarer classes have lower level caps?
The answer lay in YGGDRASIL's unique progression system.
Since levels acted like talent points, and each class consumed a portion of the 100-point cap, the game was designed to discourage overspecialization.
Players couldn't pour everything into one class and expect to dominate. Instead, success required synergizing multiple classes—like building pages in a mastery tree.
Rare and special classes consumed fewer points but offered stronger effects, allowing players to maximize potential without spreading themselves too thin.
The best example?
The World Champion.
This class—practically an official cheat code—was limited to only nine slots across the entire game, one for each of the Nine Realms.
Of course, if you were lucky enough, you could keep advancing through rare classes, but there was a catch—rare classes required significantly more experience points to level up. It was the developers' way of balancing their overwhelming potential.
And now, Ethan had triggered the advanced class for his Dragonkin race.
[Black Dragon → Obsidian Flame Dragon (Level 10)]
[Quest Requirement: Obtain 1 Obsidian Flame Dragon Egg.]
The moment Ethan saw the quest details, his head began to buzz.
Where were dragon eggs usually found?
No brainer—dragon nests.
And what kind of creatures lived in dragon nests? Dragons, obviously.
The problem? Even the weakest dragons started at Level 70—and something like an Obsidian Flame Dragon?
That could easily be Level 80 or 90.
There was no way someone like him, barely Level 20, could even set foot near such a place without being fried to ash.
[Ding! New Side Quest Issued—Obtain Obsidian Flame Dragon Egg!]
[Quest Reward: 200,000 Points.]
Before Ethan could even finish cursing his luck, the system doubled down with a side quest tied to the same impossible task.
"Are you serious?!"
Ethan let out a long sigh and crouched down, running through possible strategies in his head.
The reward was just too tempting to ignore.
Logically speaking, since the quest existed, it had to be possible to complete—right?
But why did it feel like the game was stacking the odds against him?
Looking at the nearby players still grinding low-level quests, Ethan debated whether to ask around.
But what was he supposed to say?
"Hey, have you unlocked any advanced Dragonkin classes yet?"
Most of these players were still hovering between Level 7 and 8—meanwhile, he was already Level 20, practically a walking anomaly.
After a long moment of hesitation, Ethan made his decision.
Time to check the forums.
{A World of Dragons}
After scouring the official forums and game database, Ethan confirmed a few critical details.
First, he was currently in Alfheim—the realm of elves.
And wouldn't you know it?
Alfheim also happened to have the highest concentration of dragons across all Nine Realms.
The moment Ethan saw that detail, he clenched his fists.
This was planned.
There was no doubt in his mind now—the developers had set him up.
Digging deeper, Ethan finally unearthed the entry he was looking for.
[Obsidian Flame Dragon] (Legendary Boss)
[Level: 70+]
His heart sank.
A Legendary Boss starting at Level 70?
And that was just the minimum.
[Prefers to inhabit volcanic craters. Highly aggressive. Attacks all nearby lifeforms on sight.]
Ethan's head began to spin the moment he read the description.
He didn't need to keep reading—just the mention of a Level 70 Legendary Boss told him everything he needed to know.
In YGGDRASIL, bosses weren't like ordinary mobs. A Level 70 Legendary Boss was essentially on par with a Level 90 rare-class player fully equipped with high-tier gear.
And the challenges didn't stop there.