Chapter 84

『What?』

“I said, I’m the only Black Mage who’s made it this far. If I choose one of you, the rest of you are out of the game. Wouldn’t it be better if all of you blessed me instead?”

『Hah!』

Astarothe laughed, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. The other Dukes quickly followed suit, mockery echoing through the massive colosseum.

Their laughter grew louder, until, suddenly, it stopped.

『You’re a fool. Did you really think we’d believe such nonsense? We can sense how many Black Mages walk this path.』
『Others are climbing toward the same power as we speak. It won’t be long before they arrive here, just like you.』
『You’ve wasted your one chance at earning our favor, throwing it away in a fit of greed!』

Their booming laughter shook the arena like thunder.

Justin remained silent, arms crossed, waiting for their amusement to fade.

Then, he spoke again, voice calm and steady.

“They’ll come, sure. But none of them will choose any of you.”

『What foolishness is this now?』

“Because Black Mages have an expiration date.”

For a time, Black Mages remained powerful. Their raw destructive force made them formidable even past level 25.

But past that point? A fatal flaw emerged—energy drain.

“You see,” Justin continued, “past level 25, there’s no time to drain energy in battle. Against monsters like orcs, you’ll be too busy killing them to leave anything alive for fuel.”

Even if the battles ended quickly, a Black Mage’s mana reserves would be constantly depleted. The need for sacrifices to replenish energy would turn them into burdens on their teams.

No party would want a member who needed constant babysitting just to keep functioning.

“Besides,” Justin added with a smirk, “you’re not the only option available at level 25. There’s another choice.”

『…Another choice?』

“Class change.”

The moment the words left Justin’s mouth, all four Grand Dukes froze in place.

It was clear they hadn’t even considered the possibility.

“If I refuse the second-class advancement, I’ll lose one level, sure—but I’ll also get a Class Change Ticket. And if giving up being a Black Mage costs me so little…”

『Enough. I can’t listen to your drivel any longer.』

For the first time, Kereis, the Grand Duke of Death, broke his silence, his voice as cold and hollow as the grave itself. Though quiet until now, his fury was no less intense than the others.

『This is your final chance. Forsake the path of the Apostle of Eternity, and choose one of us… or walk away with nothing.』

A final ultimatum.

Without hesitation, Justin locked eyes with Kereis and declared, “I choose none of you.”

『…Then begone from the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons! You wretched fool!』

A deafening roar drowned out everything as darkness swallowed his vision once more.

As his consciousness slipped away, he heard a final sneer from one of the Dukes, the voice too indistinct to recognize.

『You’ll regret your arrogance soon enough. If you ever return, learn some humility first.』

We’ll see, Justin thought, a smirk tugging at his lips. I wonder who’ll be the one regretting this.

“His eyes are back!”

“Oppa, are you awake?!”

“How many fingers am I holding up?!”

When Justin returned to reality, the first thing he saw was the concerned faces of his companions, crowding around him, shaking him as if trying to wake someone from a coma.

“Calm down, all of you. What’s with the panic?”

“You suddenly froze, and your eyes turned completely black. No matter what we said, you didn’t react at all.”

“How long was I out?”

“About a minute. What the hell happened?”

At least not much time passed in reality, Justin noted, his mind quickly catching up with the situation.

He let out a breath and explained, “I hit level 25 and went for the Black Mage’s second-class advancement.”

“Second-class advancement?!”

The words made Ethan and Derek light up like kids on Christmas morning.

Especially Ethan, who seemed familiar with Black Mage mechanics. His voice rose with excitement as he asked, “You went to the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, right? Which Grand Duke did you choose?”

“None of them.”

“…What? Why? Are you planning to change classes?”

“Nope. I just didn’t like any of them.”

“What?!”

The truth was, of course, that the Dukes refused to grant him the title of Apostle of Eternity, so he left. But explaining all that would take too long, so he kept it simple.

Ethan buried his face in his hands, groaning in frustration. “You do realize how powerful second-class advancements are, right? You just gave up the chance to become exponentially stronger!”

“Relax. It’s not like I can go back anyway.”

“Wait, why not?!”

“Black Mages can’t attempt their second-class advancement again until they hit level 30 if they refuse it at 25.”

“…Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Most classes could retry their second advancement immediately after refusing it, but Black Mage was different—it required five more levels before the opportunity reappeared. It was one of the hidden mechanics of World Breaker.

Other classes had their own gimmicks tied to specific level ranges, but none were as punishing.

“Then… you’re just going to stay like this until level 30? No power-ups?”

“Not exactly.”

Watching Ethan’s horrified reaction, Justin couldn’t help but grin.

There was a reason why the Black Mage had such a harsh penalty for refusing the advancement.

It’s because refusing the advancement unlocks something even better.

《You have refused your second-class advancement. A ‘Class Change Ticket’ has been added to your inventory.》
《You declined to choose any Grand Duke during ‘Whispers of the Demon.’》
《You have met hidden event conditions. Additional rewards granted.》
《You have acquired the skills [Iron Will] and [Intimidation].》
《‘Black Dragon Egg’ has been added to your inventory.》

This was what he was really after.

Suppressing a grin, Justin opened his skill window.

[Iron Will]

• Type: Passive Skill
• Description: A mind unyielding even before overwhelming power. Grants complete immunity to mental interference skills from others. However, the user must overcome visual illusions through personal insight.

[Intimidation]

• Type: Wide-area Mental Skill
• Description: A dominating presence that threatens those around you. Monsters 15 levels or more below the user will be instantly repelled. Reduced effectiveness against other pioneers.

Neither skill directly boosted his attack power, but that didn’t make them any less valuable.