Chapter 2: Great Cataclysm (2)

“Grrr...”

Jang Sahoo, who had wiped away the tears that had involuntarily flowed due to the terrible pain, panted heavily.

Sahoo, with a bewildered expression, stared at the hologram-like message in front of him, worried that he might have gone mad.

In the moment when the sky seemed to shatter, and an unprecedented and surreal message appeared before his eyes, Jang Sahoo calmly assessed his condition.

He confirmed that his cognitive abilities, memory, and senses were functioning normally, which reassured him that he hadn't gone mad.

“Then, is all of this real?”

As he read the text on the hologram, it fragmented and split into dozens of cards.

The cards that filled his field of vision sent a clear signal.

The people who had called themselves Awakeners.

The phenomena they had described.

Moreover, as a necromancer, he could intuitively tell that this was not an illusion or a trick.

In other words, if he chose a card here, he would awaken and gain powers.

Most importantly, realizing that his feet were rooted to the ground and that time around him was flowing slowly, Jang Sahoo understood that this was not a choice but a compulsion.

The cards were divided into several colors.

The most common were white, followed by blue.

Finally, there were a few golden cards.

As he examined the cards closely, the content of each card became visible, as if adjusting the focus of a camera lens to zoom in.

“What is all this? Are these tarot cards?”

Each card had a picture drawn on it.

A person holding a sword, a person holding a staff, and even a monster with long claws.

Below each picture, there were words that seemed to be the names of the images.

“A Knight of Death, a Mage...? These sound like names from a game...?”

While he was bewildered by the nature of the cards,

Jang Sahoo's sixth sense detected a powerful soul force (魂力) rapidly approaching him, unaffected by the slowed world around him.

The entity that flew toward him, unaffected by the slowed world, was the spirit of a shaman who had been greeting the bereaved family at the funeral.

“I don't know. There was a tremendous explosion, and the apartment building collapsed, and then the sky shattered.”

The shaman's spirit was shocked by Jang Sahoo's words and looked at him with confusion.

Thinking about what the spirit was asking, Jang Sahoo pointed to the floating cards with his finger, ignoring gravity.

“Can you see these?”

“How can you see them? I thought the world seen by spirits was different from that seen by humans.”

As a necromancer, Jang Sahoo knew that spirits, once dead, could not perceive physical objects and could only see and feel intangible forces like the souls (魂), spirits (魄), and energy (氣) of living people.

If the spirit could see the cards, it meant that the cards were also living entities.

After the shaman's spirit explained, Jang Sahoo's expression became more serious as he examined the cards.

By combining the text, images on the cards, and the shaman's spirit's explanation, he intuitively understood what the cards meant.

Now, these cards were about choosing his path.

“I see. I understand what this means.”

His eyes quickly scanned the cards.

With over 30 cards floating in front of him, his head lowered as his eyes moved rapidly.

However, after examining all the cards, his expression became subtly twisted.

“...Strange. I can understand the Warrior, Archer, and Thief, but why are there Mage and Paladin cards, and no Necromancer card?”

Jang Sahoo nodded with a bitter expression.

He was proud of being a necromancer and, therefore, had chosen a profession related to necromancy, making his bitterness deep and intense, even perceptible to the spirit.

The shaman's spirit, unsure of what to say, hesitated and then asked curiously.

“...What?”

Confused by the spirit's words, Jang Sahoo repeated the question.

The shaman's spirit, resembling a will-o'-the-wisp, moved around, frustrated that it couldn't point to anything.

Following the spirit's movements, Jang Sahoo looked where the spirit was indicating.

Although he could faintly sense something in a place far from where the cards were arranged, he couldn't see anything with his eyes.

‘Could it be?’

Recalling the difference between the shaman's spirit's clear perception and his own faint one, Jang Sahoo recited a necromancer's spell in a low voice.

Although using magic several times in one day was taxing on his energy (氣), this was a crucial matter, and he could endure it.

According to the rules, using necromancer powers outside the Necromancer Society, especially among so many civilians, was taboo. However, with the sky shattered and bombs exploding, there was no time for such considerations.

When Jang Sahoo completed the spell and opened his eyes, a deep green light flowed from them.

Using the power to see dead souls more intuitively and to explore the world as a spirit would, he saw a card that had been invisible next to where the spirit was moving.

This card, unlike the others, was dark and rusty, barely maintaining its form.

While others might have been terrified and ignored it or at least not considered choosing it, Jang Sahoo's eyes widened as he examined it.

A figure in a deep hood, with blue light streaming from its eyes.

The rusty text below the image perfectly matched what he had been looking for.

“...It's here.”

Jang Sahoo read the text with trembling eyes.

Necromancer (Necromancer).

A word he had inherited as a duty from his family's history since birth, yet a word he held with immense pride.

Having found the Necromancer card, he ignored the other shining cards and, without hesitation, reached for the rusty, old card that barely maintained its form.

Screeech!

Aaaaah!

As soon as his hand touched the card, it emitted a terrifying screech and began to crack like a mirror.

Error. You cannot choose this class.

A hologram appeared in front of him.

The shaman's spirit, hearing the sound, began to tremble.

As a spirit who had lived a long life as a powerful shaman, it could clearly sense the danger of the screech.

This was incredibly dangerous.

“It seems the spirit is also affected. Stay back.”

“No. This is the one I need.”

With firm resolve, Jang Sahoo's answer made the spirit step back.

Confirming that the spirit was far enough away, Jang Sahoo reached for the Necromancer card, which looked like it might disintegrate at any moment.

Screeech!

The terrifying screech sounded again.

However, he neither covered his ears nor withdrew his hand.

Determined not to let go, he gripped the card that was pushing his hand away.

Screeech! Aaaaah!

The longer he held the card, the louder the screech became, and the massive sound disrupted his balance and equilibrium.

But even so, he did not let go.

Error. You cannot choose this class.

Error. You already possess this class.

Error. You have chosen a class you cannot choose.

The message on the hologram began to change.

It felt as if the card was pleading with him not to choose it, evoking a sense of sorrow.

But Jang Sahoo did not let go.

Error. You have forcibly chosen the ■■ class.

■■■ has exceeded the class limit. Attempting to adjust.

Adjustment is impossible. Ability amplification due to the backlash of the adjustment attempt.

Unable to perceive how long he had held the card, the hologram's broken text became visible in his blurred vision as the card crumbled like ashes and scattered.

Bang!!

“Ugh!”

Like a taut rope suddenly snapping, the screech from the card ceased, and Jang Sahoo's body collapsed.

While his eyes were dazed, the messages he had seen earlier began to appear in his mind.

Your mind is being realigned to match the class.

■■■ has exceeded the class limit. Attempting to adjust.

Adjustment is impossible. Ability amplification due to the backlash of the adjustment attempt.

Though he had fallen weakly, his lost senses quickly returned, and he was soon able to stand up.

“What is it? Did it work?”

The cards were already gone when he looked ahead.

Glancing around, he saw that the slow, sluggish flow of time had returned to normal.

“...Is it over?”

Despite the anticlimactic result, which was far less impressive than the powerful force that had nearly overwhelmed his senses, Jang Sahoo let out a deflated sigh.

As his senses returned, he felt the shaman's spirit, which had fled from the screech, approaching him with a powerful soul force (魂力).

Jang Sahoo, sensing a familiar presence, looked at the spirit and was startled.

Perhaps because it was a shaman, the spirit, which had previously emitted a strong, clear, and transparent soul force, now radiated negative emotions like anger, hatred, and confusion.

The spirit flew toward Jang Sahoo without slowing down, even as it was about to collide with his face.

Of course, as a spirit without a physical body, it would pass through him, but Jang Sahoo raised his hand to calm it.

“What's wrong? What happened?”

A whirlwind of confusion and a fiery rage burst from the spirit.

Given the spirit's powerful soul force, the emotional impact was equally strong, causing Jang Sahoo to stagger.

“Monster? Where is your family?”

Even the most composed and emotionally stable person could be greatly affected by negative emotions after becoming a spirit.

Aware of this danger, Jang Sahoo immediately sensed that there was no time to hesitate.

“Let's go.”

The spirit, distorted by anger, screamed and flew away, half-mad.

Worried about the shaman's spirit, which was becoming increasingly polluted by negative emotions, Jang Sahoo's eyes glowed with green and blue light as he saw the funeral parlor and the unidentified monsters lurking around it.