The Original Beefcake

Volume 1: The Original Beefcake

It was a dreary day in southern France. The sun was nowhere to be seen, and a slow drizzle covered everything with a thin layer of water. Despite that, several hundred people formed a line spiraling around a small hill in a no name forest. The place would be of no further interest to anybody, if not for the 30 meters tall black monolith that silently floated on top of the hill.

Every few minutes a colorful light erupted from the top, followed by cheering and applause. And then the line moved up one spot. Another burst of light, pale blue with a hint of magenta. Arcane Archer, Marcus thought. You could tell the classes apart by the color the monolith emits when it 'elevated' a person. For this day, Marcus had fully memorized the order of classes the monolith would bestow. 23 to go.

Cheer, step up, cheer, step up… With every step he came closer to the top and Marcus' heart beat faster. He was now close enough to also hear the sounds of agony as the monolith did its miraculous work. The transformation was painful and people could suffer anything from nose bleeds to complete collapse. With the next cheer Marcus finally stepped onto the top of the hill, where a handful of security guards ensured everyone followed procedure. 4 left.

A guard waved him closer to check his identity and application number. As he waited for confirmation he could hear the two men in the line behind him whispering and shaking their heads. He did not catch everything but "Fighter" and "death wish" were part of the conversation. He tried to ignore them and took back his ID card from the friendly guard. "Just wait over there, if you have any last question or you need help just tell one of us." The older man gave him an uplifting smile and pointed to the place he had to wait his turn.

As Marcus limped towards the waiting position, a sudden bark made him stop and turn. "ENOUGH!" An older gentleman, right behind the two gossiping men, stared down on them. The authority in his voice alone made them turn as gray as the sky. "Not everybody is here for fame or fortune. People have their own circumstances. The boy has clearly a good reason to be here," the older man said, and made a small gesture towards Marcus' leg. Marcus quickly turned around and continued towards his goal while his face turned red. He could hear the two men apologizing in the background.

A deep purple light erupted (Defiler), and the young woman in front of the monolith collapsed with a moan. Everybody still cheered, as the guards carried her towards a small rest space on the other side of the hill top. Even if you get knocked out, everybody supports you. It is this kind of a situation, Marcus thought.

In the small pause caused by the incident Marcus glanced at the old man from the corner of his eyes. The man had white hair and beard, all well trimmed, and together with his lavish black coat he gave off the air of nobility. Three places behind him, Marcus thought for a moment, "Blood Mage". One of the top ten classes, according to the official power ranking. He better be nobility or filthy rich to be able to pay for the spot, Marcus thought. A top ten class spot can cost tens of millions of dollars. Of course his own spot was basically free. He only had to wait about two years to get it.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Next!" It was his go. With his heart beating in his throat Marcus stepped towards the giant floating stone. Even up close the thing made no sound. Slowly Marcus stretched out his arm and put his hand on the surface of the black stone. It is cold, he thought just before heat rushed through his hand and arm. Fire spread through his body, and he clenched his teeth to smother a scream. The fire moved through his chest and arms and rushed into his head, making him feel like he had stuck his head into a furnace. Then, the heat moved into his bad leg and all other pain became trivial. He could feel his knee burst into flames. White hot pain radiated from his leg, and Marcus screamed until everything went black.

Cheering and clapping slowly dragged his consciousness back from nothingness. The face of the nice guard appeared before him with a smile, "It is over." The man helped him up and guided him towards the exit path. Marcus was sweating and his whole body still felt hot and weird.

After confirming to the guard that he was okay, Marcus slowly made his way down the hill, taking deep breaths and listening to his new body. In theory he knew what was happening. He had read and studied every piece of information he could get his hands on. But the actual physical experience was a completely different matter.

His arms and legs felt strong and full of energy. Every time he set down his right foot, the expected and well known pain failed to appear. By the time he had reached the bottom of the hill he was walking in a brisk manner with a wide, stupid smile on his face. He ignored the still waiting people and walked over the large parking lot, towards the bus stop. He passed it too and moved on until he reached a small footpath that led to the nearby town.

Marcus' body was brimming with energy and after he made some distance to the crowd he stopped behind a tree. He put his hand over his heart and concentrated like he had trained many times before (while looking really silly). It took only a moment and a faint white light appeared over his chest. The formless light quickly changed into a red floating symbol. He moved his other hand from left to right through the symbol and it changed form and color. First green then blue, then purple and lastly a bright yellow. The urge to activate his five crests, which everybody received when they gained their class, was immense, but Marcus clenched his teeth and forced himself to release the crests again. "Stick to the plan," he repeated to himself a few times. He had planned this for the last two years and it was not yet the time to activate the crests.

He pushed off the tree and slowly started to run. It was an unfamiliar feeling for somebody who had spent his life limping. A small sign informed him that the next town was 9 kilometers away. It did not take long and his horribly untrained muscles begged him to stop, but Marcus continued anyway. This was nothing compared to the agony of waiting for years for this day to come, and he knew that his new body would adapt. His class holder body allowed him to grow stronger much faster than any natural human could ever hope. In truth Marcus welcomed the pain. As twisted as it sounded, it was proof of his change and that he was finally moving forward. He was no longer a classless human, he was a Fighter now.

Humanity knew of 162 classes bestowed by the monoliths. The Fighter was rated 162nd in power according to the official ratings. A true trash class nobody would want. But Marcus did not care, because he knew something nobody else did. Humanity was completely wrong about the Fighter.

"Sir, we will reach the jet in less than 30 minutes, and we will arrive at the family mansion in about 3 hours. I have prepared a spa and relaxation program." The man nodded to his secretary and looked at his own reflection in the rain covered window of the limousine. It was the same old face, but now a new energy radiated from it. The first step was made and it was a good idea to take it easy for a moment, adapt to the physical changes and to the activated crests.

The car moved quickly down the road and passed by the figure of a teenage boy running in the rain. The old man's gaze stuck to the boy for a moment and a wolfish grin appeared on his face. "Change of plans. We are going right to the training facility. Make sure Hammond and Rita are there. I want to start as soon as possible."