As always, there are no explanations. Just a few sub-classes are offered by the system.

This will take a bit more thinking. I already have an idea of how the system works at places, so it should be better than before. Plus, I have some information from Lissandra. I also have told others to wait with their subclasses for a bit. I can tell them bits of what I learned. But, I bet there are already some impatient people who have already picked their subclass.

Anyway, I'll give myself some time to think and check out the shop in the meantime.

"System shop. " I say out loud.

The window that appears in front of me is bigger, and there are even some pictograms, hinting at the category of the shop. In the top right corner, I see the amount of currency I own: 100 shards I got as a reward from Beyond.

I quickly go through the offer, and it looks better and better the more I look; the only problem is the prices that are so damn high.

There are weapons, armor, food, sweets, clothes, and such stuff. There are passive skills, skill upgrade tokens, and trait-strengthening tokens. There are some options I don't even see the price of, and that are partially censored or fully censored.

Common-grade weapons are 20 shards, some of them a bit more or less. Uncommon grades are around 40, and rare are around 200. Some of them are a bit less or more.

Common passive skills are around 40, Uncommon are 80, and rare are well over 400 shards.

All the cool stuff is just way too expensive, and I don't buy anything yet. I don't know how to get more shards, and I might need more of them in the future, so again, I will have to check the shop multiple times and have others do the same before buying something.

What did catch my interest are Coordinates, Mana stones, hell, even Epic passive skills that are eight thousand shards, and more. Coordinates are even more expensive.

There seems to be a big jump going from Rare to Epic. Common, Uncommon, and Rare increase their prices gradually. Uncommon is 2x of Common, and Rare is 5x of Uncommon. But then there is Epic which is 20x of Rare.

There are also consumables, antidotes, food, and water. The highest rarity of items or passives that I can see is epic, and there are plenty of censored items that I'm either too weak or poor to see.

I get an idea and look at the longsword in my hand, "I want to sell this longsword to the shop," I say out loud, and a new window pops up.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 200 shards?

Longsword of Lasting Refuge (Epic): Elegantly designed longsword with extreme durability. Used to be bonded with a revered saint and connected to its healing powers.

Yes/No

I decline and check the other epic items I got from the 3rd floor, and they are all for the same price.

The heck? I just went through the shop, and most of the Epic weapons are starting at 4000 shards. Is the system trying to scam me?!

"I want more than 200 shards for the item."

The notification doesn't change.

"250 shards, and I sell it right now."

Still the same.

"249?"

Nothing changes.

Dang it.

So yeah, the system is a total scammer. I don't care if it's because of some cut it takes, or because it's an epic weapon that is now only a bit hard to destroy and doesn't qualify to be sold as epic. In my mind, the system is and will be a scammer.

Even as impatient as I am, I do put off the skill upgrade while moving to where others are. As I do so, I check the rare item reward for clearing the 3rd floor.

Flaresteel Blade (rare) - Crafted from a rare metal that can absorb and channel heat, this blade can store thermal energy from fire spells. Upon command, the blade releases the stored energy, engulfing the weapon in flames and adding fire damage to the user's attacks.

Runic Ward Amulet (rare) - This amulet is adorned with ancient protective runes. When activated, it creates a temporary magical barrier that absorbs and nullifies incoming magical attacks, providing a shield against spells and enchantments.

Galewhisper Dagger (rare) - Forged from the feather of a mystical storm bird, this dagger resonates with the power of the wind. When wielded, it grants the user the ability to create gusts of wind with their attacks, knocking opponents off balance or even pushing them back.

Shadowmelder Chestplate (rare) - Constructed from shadow-infused metal, this chest plate grants the wearer the ability to merge with the shadows. By activating the chest plate, the user can become nearly invisible in dim light or darkness, granting them increased stealth and evasion.

Venombrand Tattoo (rare) - This tattoo depicts a coiled serpent with dripping fangs. When activated, the tattoo's venomous energy can be channeled into a weapon, temporarily infusing it with a venomous effect that poisons enemies upon contact.

I just go through them quickly, and there is nothing that seems to be interesting, nothing that I would need or that sounds stronger than what I can do. Maybe a tattoo sounds interesting, but why would I try to poison some monster instead of killing it in one hit? I didn't struggle with managing my mana just to patiently wait for my enemy to die. Sparrow Obliterator spears all the way!So I just pick the amulet, and as I get into the cave where others are hiding from the wind, I put it near Lily, who is sleeping. Someone brought a blanket from the third floor, put it around her, and also moved her close to one of the bigger orbs filled with thermal energy I created.

The cave isn't that deep and barely blocks us from the wind, but it's better than nothing. Our bodies are much more durable, yet we still feel some cold, meaning that the air here is cold enough to affect our strengthened bodies.

"I will take over," I say to little Isabella, who just nods and stops using her fire skill to heat the surroundings.

She doesn't have as much mana as me, so it's better if I do it instead. So I start sending more mana to my Kinetic mana heart and then turn generated kinetic energy into thermal that I start releasing into our surroundings while also creating a few more orbs to light up the cave a bit more as it's getting darker outside.

It feels quite cozy and looks like it. Some of the others might not share my thoughts, but that's how it feels to me.

I look around; Hadwin is in the corner, and I can see that he is still not in a very good mood, probably blaming himself as he holds the place where his arm used to be. He will have to wait a bit for Lily to get to him.

A few others also have some wounds like broken bones or cuts, some burns, and such. To be honest, lately, I barely consider such things as wounds.

(Food?) Biscuit asks while moving closer to me, I point at Min-Jae, and Biscuit runs there, repeating the question until the boy opens one of the bags and gives him something.

Yup, Min-Jae, Aaron, and Dennis, three greedy teenagers, were able to take some bags with stuff even during all this.

Greedy little twerps, I love them.

In the bags they have, there is some water, some clothes, food, and plenty of jewelry. I find it quite funny how money-struck these three teenagers got by seeing all this gold, jewels, and delicately crafted items. I still remember them talking over them and thinking how much it would be worth on Earth and if they would be able to buy some cool, yet useless stuff.

They still live in the past and do not realize how much stuff will change if they get back on Earth. We will either end up being hunted by every country and some of us either be blackmailed or paid to do some dirty work or just work as scarecrows for other countries.

Let's say only 500 people survive each tutorial, that would mean at least 2,500 people if we, the 5th round, are in the round. If there are more of them, it could easily double.

Yes, even a few thousand people aren't that much when you take into consideration the billions that live on Earth, but how strong will we end up? Level 200? Level 300? As strong as Champions that could kill an entire continent of people or as strong as the gray-haired humanoid cockroach that destroyed an entire world?

"Nat, you said we should wait with the subclass so we did. Do you have any information?" Min-Jae interrupts my thoughts, and I see everyone turn to me other than the sleeping Lily.

The boys especially seem to be impatient to try out a new sub-class. As I look at them, I think of something else. What happened to me from the start of the first floor? The person that was ready to throw them away at any time, hurt them, beat them if needed.

Is it something I thought of only because they were strangers to me, and now it's harder as I know them a bit? Is it [Focus] that helps me make more rational decisions and decided that being in a group is safer? Another thing I will have to think about.

I truly suck at this.

I start explaining; "There are seven Radiances—Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride—and seven Blights—Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience, Kindness, Humility. As for what each of them means or manifests, you should already imagine easily." I create another orb and move it closer to Lily, who seems to be shaking a bit. Tess notices it as well and moves closer, taking Lily and hugging her close to her chest. Lily in her sleep calms down a bit.

"The information I have is from Lissandra. Yup, the creepy brooch and exhibitionist naked young woman that beat our asses and made us run away from the third floor. So take it all with a grain of salt and think about it on your own and deeply," I give them a warning and then continue, "She didn't share much, probably on purpose, and as the system said, it's difficult but not impossible to change your subclass."

Biscuit comes to me, and I absentmindedly start petting him as he puts his head on my leg, "There should be four stages to each Radiance or Blight. The first one is Initiate, the second one is Adept, and the third one is Master. There is a fourth one, but Lissandra refused to tell me anything about it. As for upgrades of stages for your subclass, there are two ways to level it. One of them is through the system and the second one is through hidden requirements that are different from person to person and sub-class to sub-class, so that's it."

"What subclass did Lissandra have?" Hadwin asks. I didn't even notice, but he moved closer with a firm expression on his face. The man looks angry. Angry as Lissandra.

"She didn't tell me, but I would guess maybe Greed or Pride?" I answer him, and only after saying that out loud do I realize how similar she and I are in some ways.

Hadwin then nods and continues to listen.

"After picking a subclass, you will receive a single passive skill, nothing else. The skill should be called, for example, [Initiate of Greed], and that's it," I pause to let them take it in before continuing, "That passive will affect your body, your mana, your skills, and maybe some other things. It can affect one of these things or all of them. It varies from person to person. With each stage, it will get stronger. It's hard to say how it will show off." I stop as I feel my voice getting excited.

I love it; I love all this theorizing and all the options we are offered. It's fun.

"For example, Isabella, let's say she will get Gluttony," I ignore the little girl's quiet shout, "The passive she would get would be [Initiate of Gluttony], and maybe, it could make it so her flames are better at burning stuff or "eat them up". It could make it possible for her flames to burn metals and other materials. Or maybe they would last longer, and become stronger. Or as you all know, she has a skill that allows her to read out emotions. What if the passive would allow her to 'eat' our emotions or weaken them a bit?"

No one says anything, and I can see the gears in their heads spinning. There are so many options, and so many different ways it could affect each person.

"It's somewhat similar to a skill upgrade, with the difference being that it might affect your mana, and body as well. So give it some time, theorize a lot, brainstorm with others, and only then pick one of the offered options. It will affect each one of us differently. It might not strengthen you much, as it's only the first stage, so don't be disappointed."

I then share a few more examples with them and let them think on their own. In the end, it's their decision.

When Min-Jae and a few more others come to me for advice, I only give them examples of how I think it could affect their skills, body, or mana and send them away. I don't want to pick for them, they should trust in themselves a bit more.

As for myself, I already have a favorite of mine but will go over them a bit more. I knew about sub-classes from Lissthaniel, but I didn't know what ones I would get offered by the system, and all three sound fun. Patience, Greed, and Pride.