Forsyx looked around in confusion but only saw other new players marveling beside him.
What the hell? What was that?
He just stood there, paralyzed in shock. Nothing like this had happened in his past life. His eyes darted around; for the first time, he didn't rush into the game and instead took his time to examine his surroundings.
Judging by how the players beside him were awestruck while looking at the world, it was clear this was their first time in the game.
He even saw a few boards in the shops that started with "Blackwater." This was his correct destination, but then… what was that battlefield?
He rubbed his eyes. Was that some kind of in-game vision? But why did I see it?
Was it because of his class? Or… no, maybe his regression?
Hundreds of questions flooded his mind, causing him a headache. He sighed in frustration and shook his head.
There's no point in overthinking it… But still. What the hell was that?
He stopped trying to think about it.
It was better to focus on the game and do his best with what he could control rather than waste time on some vision.
Taking a deep breath, he refocused on his surroundings.
Even though it was a "green" village, he saw thousands of new players walking around in beginner white shirts and brown pants.
All of them were running around, full of enthusiasm. The energy of a beginner village was unmatched in the entire game.
As far as his eyes could see, there were players everywhere. Well, that was also because the village was too small for this many players.
Not stressing about anything else, he just smiled and walked out of the teleportation circle.
The other new players beside him also started walking out one by one.
There were a few annoying ones among them, screaming at every little detail.
He shook his head and simply started walking around the village. While looking around, he said, "Player status."
===
Player Name: Forsyx
Species: Human/Nil.
Class: Template Wilder.
Level: 1
Health: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
__________
STR: 5
AGL: 5
VIT: 5
INT: 5
STA: 5
DEF: 5
Condition: Healthy.
Unassigned stat points: 0
Template slots:
Slot 1: None.
Slot 2: None.
Class skill:
-> Template shift.
===
Ding!
[New Template Wilder bonus. Enter your lab to collect your free template.]
Forsyx smiled at the new notification.
In the game Apex Ascension, there were a variety of classes available for players to choose from and progress in.
The game simply separated these classes into two categories: regular classes and hidden classes.
You could get a regular class by progressing. For example, he had started with the warrior class and upgraded it to a higher swordsman class as a guild leader.
There were different stages to these classes, each one getting harder to obtain.
Then, there were hidden classes. These required players to discover them through hidden quests, treasures, and relics—just like his current class.
It was too simple. That's why, among the player base, there was a separate hierarchy for classes based on their potential.
It didn't matter if they were hidden or regular classes; players ranked all of them based on the most popular classes at that level.
And if he were to rank his Template Wilder class, it would be among the top of King-level classes.
All the King classes in the game carried extreme potential, but on the flip side, they also had extreme weaknesses.
From his last life, he knew that even among the King Classes, there were super classes that had the extreme weakness of character deletion.
His Template Wilder class was one of them—a class that gave him massive potential, but, in return, a single mistake could take everything from him.
He sighed as he still got nightmares of his past mistakes, even after his death.
He shook his head and looked back at his status. The stat distribution was a standard 5 points in each of the six base stats.
Every class started with the same stats; the only difference was the number of stat points gained per level.
A common game class like Warrior gained 5 stat points per level, whereas rare classes gained extra stats on each level up.
Stat points were not the only thing that separated the higher classes. The most crucial factor was their class skills.
He tapped on his class skill, Template Shift.
[Template Shift: Allows the user to change into different forms based on the templates they have in their template slots.
(Note: Shifting to a different form consumes mana based on the rarity of the template.)]
This skill was the core skill of his class. The overpowered ability that allowed him to switch to different forms at will.
He closed the skill description and looked at his status. There was nothing odd about it.
Basically, his health points depended on his VIT stat—each point of Vitality gave 20 HP.
His mana was directly proportional to his INT; one intelligence point yielded 10 mana.
STR was strength, which determined his physical power.
AGI was agility, which affected his speed and reflexes.
STA was stamina, which gave him a hidden stamina bar that he could check from his condition. Right now, it showed healthy, which means full stamina. There was also a passive recovery effect that depended on stamina.
Then the last was DEF—Defense, which determined his character's toughness.
Beyond these, the other interesting thing was his species. His base form was human, and he could change into any other form.
What set the Template Wilder class apart from other transformation or shapeshifting classes was the fact that his transformations could be permanent—they wouldn't require any resources.
Just a bit of mana during transformation, then nothing. So basically, he could be any creature in the game world as long as he had their templates.
It would be broken if not for the requirements to get templates.
Forsyx stared at the last notification.
[New Template Wilder bonus. Enter your lab to collect your free template.]
This was the special lab built in an extra dimension that only he could access. It was the source of his templates, where he could create templates.
Then, there were his two template slots that were empty for now—but not for long.
He just continued walking around the village, one, to understand its structure, and two, to find a remote spot. But with how crowded the village was, it was hard to find any secluded area.
But luck was on his side as he saw a garbage land at the end of the market. That area stank so much that all the players, as well as NPCs, avoided coming near it.
Forsyx ignored the smell. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Teleport to the lab."
The world around him blurred, and his body tingled with a strange pull—like he was being unraveled and reassembled at the same time.
Ding!
[Teleportation in progress. Remain still for 30 seconds.]
He stood there, and the moment the timer hit zero, a bright light engulfed him.