Forsyx stared at the countdown ticking beneath the black template. It wasn't just a timer; it was a timer to his death sentence.
Or worse, an invitation to the death game.
This entire class was designed in a way for him to protect this black template.
This timer was a countdown to a big event.
Basically, the moment the timer reached zero, he would change from a player to a monster.
An ancient monster with three forms.
A creature so rare that not only players and NPCs but even monster bosses would want to kill him.
His first form would be from slot one. If he died, then he would go into the second form, which would be from slot two.
If he died in the second form, then finally he would change into this small baby monster who was just born. The only solace would be that he would randomly teleport after each death.
No matter what, he had to survive at all costs because the moment he died as baby Nyxthar, his character would be deleted.
In a way, if the human species was his base form he started with, then baby Nyxthar would be the one he would end with.
His entire class just revolved around creating strong monster templates and surviving when the awakening cycle started.
He was basically the hidden event that other players would aim for.
He just sighed and closed the status. There were still 3 days left before the event.
In his last life, he still remembered being completely caught off guard when this event started for the first time. As he could only see the hidden slot after sitting on this old Template Master chair.
That time, after his second death, he got teleported to some hidden cave as baby Nyxthar. He survived on luck, but this time he would not repeat the same mistake and leave his fate to luck.
He had to get a power template in these three days. Not thinking much, he looked at 4 templates on the table.
As he picked the one with a bird on it, its description popped in front of him.
[Creature Template: Pipler Bird.
Description: A common bird found inside the forest. Their ability to eat both fruits and small creatures allows these birds to survive in a lot of conditions.
-> Stats exchange:
AGI -> +20%.
STR-> -10%.
DEF-> -20%.
-> Skill: none.
]
This Pipler Bird template was the same as in his last life.
It was one of the best templates he started with last time, as this provided him with the ability to fly around.
Although Pipler Bird was just a half-foot-long bird—kind of small and easy prey. In the beginner area, it would be the most important template for him.
As for the stat exchange, he would face a loss of 10 percent overall stats. Other than that, it was an exchange between speed and defense.
He placed the templates back into the slots, as these templates were different from common items.
He could not store them inside his inventory, and then these templates would degrade over time if not stored in these 10 slots.
Forsyx picked up the second familiar template card with a rabbit on it.
[Creature Template: White Horn Rabbit
Description: A common rabbit that populated both grasslands and forests. Quick on their feet but easy to kill once caught.
-> Stats exchange:
AGI -> +10%.
STA-> +20%
VIT-> -20%
DEF-> -20%.
-> Skill: none.
]
This template card was another cool card that gave him more agility on land, but the main stat was stamina.
Stamina stat points were mainly responsible for the passive recovery speed of health and mana.
This card helped him cut a lot of resting time. But he was not sure whether to use it this time or not.
After all, changing to White Horn Rabbit would make him very fragile. He died a lot of times in his past life while using this form.
He placed down the rabbit and then looked at the two new cards. He picked up the one with a fish on it.
[Creature Template: Rainbow Carp
Description: A mid-sized, chunky fish with aromatic meat loved by a lot of creatures.
-> Stats exchange:
AGI -> +10%.
STA-> -20%
-> Skill: none
]
Forsyx just stared at the description. "Damn, this is great."
This template was worse in terms of current usability, but in the future, it was going to help him a lot.
He placed down the fish and picked the last one with a snake on it. He had a bit of expectation from this one.
[Creature Template: Green Hook Snake
Description: A common small grass snake that relied on tiny insects. Good for deception.
-> Stats exchange:
AGI -> +10%.
DEX-> +20%
STA-> -20%
DEF-> -20%.
-> Skill: none.
]
Forsyx just stared at the Green Hook Snake template with wide eyes.
This template was actually great. It had the same 10% stat downside, but out of all the common cards, this was the only one that targeted the hidden Dexterity stats.
In Apex Ascension, every player had 6 base stats, plus hidden stats invisible to them.
Dexterity was one such stat that was responsible for control over the body.
He could imagine himself becoming an extremely agile foot-long snake. It could come in handy in multiple situations.
He just stared at the four templates.
It was time to choose.
He first crossed out the fish card and then picked the Pipler Bird. With the template card in his hand, he said, "Equip the template."
The card disappeared from his hand, and the next moment, a notification popped in front of him.
Ding!
[Pipler Bird Template equipped.]
[The Mark of Wilder is being etched onto the player. Etching in process…]
The next second, he felt a sting on his left shoulder.
He slid his shirt and saw complex circular tattoos near his left shoulder. As he touched it, a description popped up in front of him.
[Mark of Wilder I: Upon changing the form, would quickly store the equipment onto the player's body.
Current limit: 3 pieces of equipment on each form
(Note: You can not store the weapons.)
]