The thickset mentor scanned Ye Tianxie’s attributes and nodded. “You are indeed suited to becoming a Guardian. But for us Guardians, what we value is protection, not attack, so from now on you’d do best to put your attribute points into Constitution. For every point of Strength a Guardian gains, attack power rises by only 1.5 — while every point of Constitution grants 15 HP and 1.5 defense. The Guardian is the Lost Continent’s most powerful class. We Guardians have the strongest protective capability; on the battlefield we are forever the indispensable strongest shield. The basic Guardian divides into two types: the Light Guardian and the Dark Guardian. Beyond powerful HP and defense, the Light Guardian possesses a degree of self-healing and group support, and can shield and protect his companions well. The Dark Guardian, besides strong defense and HP, possesses all manner of terrible weakening techniques — a nightmare to powerful enemies, able not only to block their attacks but to drag down their abilities. So — which kind of Guardian do you wish to become?”

“Light Guardian.” Ye Tianxie said at once, without even thinking. His novice class conferral had failed, his Warrior advancement had failed; what occupied his mind now was less the advancement itself than confirming something he had no wish to see confirmed.

“Very good. Then, in the name of the God of Protection, I bestow upon you the power of the Guardian… Become a glorious Guardian.”

The Guardian mentor raised both hands, and at the same moment a ball of white light gathered above Ye Tianxie’s head into the shape of a shield, then dispersed downward, drifting toward his body.

Yet the very instant that light touched him, it rebounded — as though meeting a mirror without a single flaw — and vanished without a trace.

Ye Tianxie: “…”

The Guardian mentor’s calm face filled with astonishment. He raised his hands again and made the same gesture. The shield of gathered light appeared once more, and on touching Ye Tianxie’s body, the exact same scene played out all over again.

“Ah…” The Guardian mentor thought briefly, then said, “Don’t worry. This sort of situation isn’t unheard of. It seems your constitution determines that you aren’t suited to becoming a Guardian. With your current attributes, I’d say you could still choose to become a Warrior.”

Ye Tianxie turned silently away and, under the Guardian mentor’s baffled gaze, walked toward the Archer class-advancement point on the other side.

“I want to become an Archer.” Ye Tianxie said flatly, all enthusiasm drained from him.

“Hello, young man… Oh? Are you certain you wish to become an Archer? Though the Archer is the Lost Continent’s most powerful class, with your current attributes you’d seem better suited to becoming a Warrior or a Guardian.” The Archer mentor was likewise a middle-aged man, clad in splendid green, and spoke to Ye Tianxie in all seriousness.

“Certain!” Ye Tianxie answered. Of the three class-advancement mentors he’d met so far, each had a line he was obliged to say: “The XXX is the Lost Continent’s most powerful class.” And the XXX was different every time.

“Very well then. I must say, young man, you have a fine eye. We Archers possess the strongest long-range combat ability. Open up the distance, and the course of battle falls entirely under our control. The basic Archer divides, by specialty, into the Marksman, focused on powerful ranged attack, and the Hunter, focused on laying all manner of terrible traps. Do you wish to become a Marksman, or a Hunter?”

“Marksman.”

“Very good… In the name of the God of Archery, I bestow upon you the power of the Archer!”

This time what appeared above Ye Tianxie’s head was a white ring of light in the shape of a bow. As the ring came down, the instant it touched his body it vanished without a trace, just as before.

“This…” The Archer mentor showed the same startled bewilderment as the previous two, and likewise raised his hand again. “Strange… Come, let’s try once more.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Ye Tianxie turned and walked away.

Next he faced the Assassin mentor.

“…We Assassins are the Lost Continent’s most powerful class. We possess the swiftest mobility and the greatest burst power, and though we’re ill-suited to the battlefield, we are the blades of night that every enemy fears most. So — are you ready to become an Assassin? Will you choose the Killer, who prizes the one-strike kill, or the Rogue, who prizes supreme mobility?”

“Killer.”

Ten seconds later… Ye Tianxie left the Assassin zone with a cold face and walked to the Priest zone… A minute later, he walked out again with the same cold face and entered the Summoner zone. Less than a minute after that, he walked out once more wearing the face of a corpse.

Aggrieved, sullen, teeth-grindingly furious… even all three together couldn’t capture Ye Tianxie’s mood at this moment.

“I want to advance to Mage!” Arriving at the Mage’s advancement point, Ye Tianxie’s voice sounded as though he were squeezing each word out through his teeth.

Had an ordinary player dared speak to a class-advancement mentor like that, what they’d have earned was a scornful look — or being told to get lost outright. But under Ye Tianxie’s Charm of 22, the Mage mentor not only wasn’t angered, he looked him up and down several times with an interested, beaming smile. “Young man, fine spirit. That you’d choose the Mage — the Lost Continent’s most powerful class — shows you have a fine eye as well. Though we Mages are relatively frail in HP and defense, when it comes to terrifying destructive power, if we dare call ourselves second, no one would dare call themselves first. What’s more, our magic attacks ignore any physical defense; whether it’s damage output or tearing open a defensive line, our presence is indispensable. The Mage class divides into five elements — water, fire, wind, lightning, and earth — and each element’s magic has its own strengths. So, what is your favorite magic element?”

“Fire!”

“Oh! Very good.” The Mage mentor’s smile grew more satisfied still. “Young man, you truly are a promising talent with a fine eye. What I myself practice is fire magic, the strongest in attack… Come, in the name of the God of Magic, I bestow upon you the power of the fire Mage!”

This was the last class-advancement zone Ye Tianxie had come to, and his last hope. If the advancement failed again, then…

In truth, when the Guardian advancement had failed, he’d already all but lost sight of any gleam of hope.

Sure enough, the light — brimming with rich magic power — was likewise repelled the moment it touched his body, vanishing clean away.

He could feel it now: it was his body doing the rejecting. Rejecting the conferral of every class.

“Oh? How strange… Heh heh, never mind, let’s try once more.”

“That won’t be necessary, old Fa!” Just as the Mage mentor was about to make another attempt, a voice cut him off. The Mage mentor turned around, then his eyes went wide in surprise. “What are you old ghosts doing over here?!”

(End of Chapter 57)