Chapter 10 Part I

    Möbius's Second Class

    "Um, Mr. Cosmos, do you know Mr. Watson, the Gunslinger Job Changer in Gateway Town?"

    Möbius asked to make sure that this man was the same one Watson had told him about.

    "Oh, young Watson, the cowboy fanatic? I've known him since he didn't know how to shoot a gun. Now he has his own ultimate attack, even though it's a bit ridiculous."

    Cosmos laughed out loud while Möbius blinked his eyes because he was the one who had inherited that ridiculous ultimate attack. And just a moment ago, that move had helped him and Miho.

    "Ugh... I'm so hungry."

    Gumiho, who was still being carried by Möbius, rubbed her empty stomach with her hand. Using a lot of magic power made her quite hungry. When Möbius saw that she had woken up, he slowly put her down on the ground, fearing that she would eat him first.

    "Oh, hello, old man. Why are you here?"

    As soon as the fox girl saw the old man in front of her, she greeted him politely. She used to be very familiar with Cosmos because he often visited Inari in the Illusion Forest.

    "Well, I saw that the Illusion Forest was in trouble, so I came to help, Miho. But I didn't think I would be too late for the young man behind you."

    Cosmos replied, pointing at Möbius, who was standing nearby. Soon, Inari came out of her house to see if Möbius and Gumiho were injured anywhere.

    "So, how did it go, Möbius? About the Giga Rafflesia?"

    Inari asked about the mission she had given Möbius. Although the spread of yellow pollen had stopped, she wanted to be sure that the giant tree boss was really dead.

    "The two of us took care of it. I think the Illusion Forest should be safe now. And this is a gift for you, Mother."

    Möbius replied before reaching into his bag and giving Inari a fist-sized stone that glowed faintly silver. It was the Moon Stone that Gumiho had taken out of the Giga Rafflesia's mouth.

    Inari widened her eyes in surprise because at a time like this when the moonlight was shining, the two of them should not have been able to defeat the tree boss without destroying the Moon Stone.

    "This is... the Moon Stone. Möbius, how did you kill it without destroying the Moon Stone first?"

    "Heh heh, the one who took out the Moon Stone was Miho. But it was almost bad at the very end."

    Möbius scratched his head and laughed dryly because the truth was that the one who was most tired was the fox girl, who had used up her magic power until she fainted once.

    "You both must be tired. And thank you for saving this forest."

    Inari, seeing that the two of them were in very bad shape, slowly took Möbius' hand, which was full of wounds. Although the power-enhancing potion helped to heal them, it did not make all the wounds disappear. As for Gumiho, she was a celestial fox, so her healing power was much higher than Möbius's. The wound from being bitten on the stomach had already healed completely, but her fatigue was still there.

    Inari blew air into Möbius's hand. Suddenly, his wounds glowed faintly before all the wounds disappeared. Möbius wondered why Inari could use healing magic, but Gumiho never did.

    "This young man is really lucky to have Inari heal him. Hey, Inari, I'm also wounded here."

    Cosmos pointed at the bruise on his shin that Möbius guessed had come from a fall.

    "Oh, Cosmos, you're so strong. Just a little licking and that bruise will be gone."

    Inari, who had finished treating Möbius, turned to look at Cosmos' wound and said to the old man with a smile,

    "If you had someone to lick it for you, it might heal even faster."

    Cosmos clutched his injury and winced, giving Inari a look that resembled a pitiful puppy, which made Möbius wonder if Cosmos had some odd feelings towards Inari.

    (This old man, there he goes again, chasing after the lady nearly 100 years and never giving up.)

    Gumiho, now resting near a rock in the wide courtyard, telepathically complained to Möbius. She gossiped fiercely about Cosmos, hinting that the reason Inari always warned them to be wary of men was because of Cosmos, who always seemed to seize every opportunity.

    "Let's focus on the two kids for now, Cosmos. They must be very tired. Möbius, Gumiho, go rest for now, and I'll follow you once I'm done with the Moon Stone,"

    Inari suggested that both of them rest in her house, as she took the Moon Stone towards the village's pond. Today, Möbius was too tired to care about what might happen next, exhausted from the battle. As for Miho in her fox form, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The young man pondered the secrets of ??? behind his luck attribute until he fell asleep.

    The next day

    (It's so hot. Why is it so hot?)

    Möbius woke up drenched in sweat, not because of the weather but due to the numerous fluffy golden tails spread all over him from the mother-daughter foxes sleeping snugly on either side of him. He wondered if this was their plan to roast him gently for an easy meal. His appearance was less than dignified since he seemed to have unbuttoned his shirt in his sleep due to the heat, but fortunately, the shirt still covered him.

    In this condition, he couldn’t possibly fall asleep again, so Möbius decided to take a walk outside, eager to see the current state of the Illusion Forest.

    “Ah, Mr. Cosmos, good morning.”

    Möbius, soaked with sweat, greeted Cosmos, who was acting suspiciously in front of the fox girl’s cave. Cosmos, noticing Möbius’s disheveled shirt and sweaty body, looked stunned.

    “What... did you guys do last night?”

    Cosmos asked Möbius with a stammering voice. Even though certain activities couldn't be done in this game due to its rating, the old man knew well that there were places where it could be done.

    “We were just sleeping, sir. Luckily, last night the mother and daughter were quite exhausted, so they didn't fight over me. But the night before, it was almost the end of me. I don’t know where they get their energy from; I barely got any sleep at all.”

    Möbius responded, making an exaggeratedly exasperated face. He didn't even realize when he had fallen asleep the night before. Cosmos stiffened like a rock upon hearing what the young man in front of him said.

    “Oh… right, Mr. Cosmos, I wanted to ask you about the question mark next to the luck value.”

    Seizing the chance to ask, Möbius shot his question at Cosmos. When Cosmos heard a question that few would ask, he seemed to come back to his senses from his own imagination.

    “Who told you I knew about this?”

    Cosmos, regaining his composure, held back his jealousy, as Möbius’s question was something that a beginner like Mobius should not have known at all.

    “It was Mr. Watson, sir. Besides the luck value, I really have nothing else, and I need to win the upcoming war, so it’s crucial.” Möbius replied.

    “Heh heh heh, the secret you want to know is very valuable indeed. Even if you threw all your money at it or pointed a gun at my head, it wouldn’t make me, Cosmos, reveal this secret. Ha ha ha.”

    Cosmos laughed heartily, pleased to have teased the fortunate youngster.

    Just then, a hand gently grasped Cosmos’s earlobe, pulling it gently closer. The old man knew whose hand it was without looking and easily relented.

    “Oh, dear brother Cosmos, if it's possible, I would like you to help Möbius as much as you can. Helping him is like helping Gumiho, and helping Gumiho is like helping me, Inari.”

    Inari, who had come out of the cave unnoticed, was the owner of the hand that was holding Cosmos's ear. She whispered softly into the old man's ear, making the fox mother's sweet voice sound even sexier than usual.

    “Ah... if Miss Inari asks like that, I, Cosmos, will break his own rules to help this young man to the best of his ability.”

    Cosmos's voice seemed to float in a dream made real. He reached out to touch Inari's hand on his own ear, but all he felt was his own earlobe because Inari had already walked over to stand beside Möbius.

    "But no matter what, a secret must be exchanged for a secret, Möbius. So, your first test is that you must have a secret that I want to know before you can learn what you want to know."

    Cosmos laid down a freshly minted rule for Möbius, hoping that if he teased the young man in front of him enough, Inari might do what she did just now again.

    "If he knows something that you want to know, Brother Cosmos, you have to help change his hidden class as well, agree? Because your secret is related to your hidden class too, right?"

    Inari, looking adorably curious, called the old man ‘brother’ and ‘dear’ and laid out a proposal that took advantage of Cosmos, knowing well what Cosmos would ask Möbius.

    "Sure, but let's see if he qualifies first. Let me check your status."

    Cosmos didn't think there would be anyone meeting the entry requirements for this class again, as they were quite challenging due to the required status values, which most people tend to have very low.

    "Okay," Möbius promptly pulled up his full status window to show Cosmos.

    "Hmm, the level is just right, your status is quite interesting... this is?"

    After seeing Möbius's stats, Cosmos was greatly surprised, not just because the values were amusingly low, but it seemed like Möbius was indeed born to take up a class that currently only he could.

    "You've been through a lot, haven't you, kid? Alright, I'll ask you the easiest question,"

    Cosmos's gaze changed, looking sympathetically at Möbius as if he had momentarily forgotten his jealousy towards him.

    "Inari once told me she has a mole, where is it located?"

    Cosmos asked a lewd question while giving a sympathetic look to Möbius, which was quite contradictory. The young man turned towards Inari as if seeking permission. The fox mother nodded lightly in response, which every act was in the sight of Cosmos.

    "It's between... um… Inari’s chest, about 14.5 centimeters down from her neck. It's about 1 millimeter in diameter and dark brown. Uh… Mother, that time, I really didn’t see it clearly."

    Möbius tried to answer as comprehensively as possible to cover the question fully. Cosmos knelt down as if the world was crumbling. He looked towards Inari hoping she would say it was not true.

    "Well... next time, dear child, Möbius, come closer so that you can see it clearly."

    Inari, now blushing more than usual, covered her glowing pink cheeks with her hands and twisted her body as her response.

    "Sob... sob... my Inari."

    Cosmos wept openly on his knees like a child, because the woman he had pursued for over a hundred years seemed so easily accessible to the young man who had come after him.

    "Cosmos, it's time you share your secret with Möbius."

    Inari quickly changed her demeanor, standing with her hands on her hips as she reminded Cosmos of their agreement with a cunning look.

    "Alright, Möbius, listen carefully. Everyone in the world of Real Dream is composed of different elements based on their basic physical constitution. The more elements one has, the higher their status attributes, but their luck decreases as well. Can you guess what 'luck' actually represents?"

    Cosmos explained slowly to Möbius, who was quick to catch on and think it through.

    "The more you have, the less you have; the less you have, the more you have. It's like the void, isn't it? If I were to compare it to an element, it would be the element of space, as it represents the most absolute emptiness."

    Möbius seemed to have a flash of insight in his mind, and his response made Cosmos smile. The child's intellect was not light. If he was this clever, he could definitely utilize the abilities of his class to their fullest potential.

    "That's right, Möbius. You've now met the requirements for my hidden class, the Space Mage. You're now level 30 with all the necessary qualifications. Do you desire the power for your purposes?"

    Cosmos asked with a booming voice full of authority, a stark contrast to the man who had cried because the woman he had a crush on chose another man.

    "Yes, I need that power.,."

    Möbius immediately accepted. If the class relied on the status he most possessed, it was likely the most suitable for him.

    At that moment, a system announcement echoed,

    ‘Player Möbius has accepted the second test for the class of Space Mage.’

    "Excellent. Before the real test begins, let me explain about space magic."

    Cosmos donned a pair of clear-lensed, black-framed glasses to look dignified before continued explaining. Meanwhile, Inari, knowing that Cosmos was about to embark on a lengthy explanation and that it would take some time to complete the class test, excused herself to prepare food. Gumiho continued to sleep.

    "Normally, for the natural element magic, if the users are humans, it requires them to invoke the natural forces first before usage, which is called casting a spell. Combat classes draw elemental power from nature into themselves to enhance physical capabilities. Such classes dictate having an affinity with that particular element in order to change the class.

    However, just because you have a water affinity doesn't mean you can only use water; other elements can be used if the correct invocation is made. Mages who are very intelligent (water) but less powerful (fire) can use fire power if they invoke it correctly. But space or cosmic elements are different; they must be drawn out from the user themselves. What can be drawn out depends entirely on you. Alright, it's time for the real test."

    Cosmos snapped his fingers to begin the test, and a strangely shaped magical circle appeared at Möbius's feet, and the young man vanished in a flash.

    "Ouch..."

    Möbius groaned after being warped to the testing location for the Space Mage class, which was quite harsh. Glancing around, he quickly realized he was inside a massive warehouse. Möbius immediately looked for a window to figure out his exact location. Upon finding one, he was startled to see where he actually was.

    "Are they testing me in outer space?"

    Möbius was shocked as he looked out the window and saw a blue planet floating outside. He then realized that if there was any fitting place to test for the class of a Space Mage, where would be more suitable than space?

    "Ha...!!!"

    'You have encountered an alien visitor, level 32, a monster in the class test.'

    A grotesque black creature fell from the ceiling, its weight causing the presumably steel floor of the warehouse to cave into a hole. It was a monster that was uglier than the poisonous flower he had just battled, about 1.5 times Möbius's height, standing bipedal like a human with a long black tail and four arms. On top of its head was like a helmet that extended at least a meter backward. Now, the monster seemed hungry, as its blue saliva dripped down to the floor, making it looked repulsive.

    "Uh... am I really supposed to fight this thing?"

    Möbius looked disdainfully at the creature, which seemed like something out of a movie, unable to believe there was something this hideous in his class test.

    "No need to kill each other, young one. Just tell me what the secret of its power is, and you'll pass. But if this thing kills you, you fail the test. How about it? Isn't my class test fun?"

    Cosmos's voice boomed proudly from a speaker in the corner of the room. Möbius just stared at the creature before sighing and pulling out his Thompson to test the waters.

    45×3 (Critical hit from ability)

    "This is bad."

    Möbius grimaced as he realized the alien visitor was the type of monster he was least suited to fighting because it was incredibly fast. He had fired many bullets earlier, but only three hit, and those hits were due to his abilities.

    He averted his eyes from it due to the shock, only to lose sight of the demon in just a moment. Möbius immediately backed up against the wall and switched to dual pistols, thinking that the next encounter might involve close-quarters combat.

    Just then, something liquid dripped onto Möbius's shoulder. Without looking up, he guessed something was clinging silently to the wall. It was hard to believe it could climb silently on the metal wall like this.

    He lunged forward and then spun around, firing his dual pistols at his enemy on the wall, then running to the middle of the room. If he wanted to learn the secret of this demon, he needed to buy time to gather more information first.

    After the alien visitor brushed off Möbius's annoying bullets, it crouched low then sprung up with great speed. Its large form lunged towards Möbius, making it nearly impossible for him to escape. It closed in on Möbius with alarming quickness.

    Möbius felt the odd surge of wind, so he lunged forward to dodge an attack from behind, but it was too late. Its claws ripped through his back as if it were paper.

    120 (880/1000)

    "What's this?"

    Fortunately, he dodged the attack just in time, so the wound wasn't deep. The monster's jumping speed shocked him the most. It only took a fraction of a second for it to leap from the wall to the center of the room where he was. Möbius clenched his teeth against the pain and ran around the room, looking for something to aid him.

    "Panting... Panting..."

    He was breathless after dodging the alien visitor's attacks around the room until he backed against a clear glass window he had looked out of earlier. He noticed a large door next to him with a small red sign of a running man, universally recognized as an emergency exit.

    "This is it, this is it."

    He exclaimed with relief upon finding something that might help. He looked around for a button to open this door immediately but didn't have much time as the enemy was closing in again quickly. Möbius swiftly used the remaining time to search for the door release button as quickly as possible.

    Finally, he pressed a large red button, labeled as the emergency exit button, which was oddly placed on the opposite wall from where he stood. Although he was puzzled why the door and button weren't near each other, he had no time to dwell on it as the large black demon was closing in on him again.

    200 (Remaining 680/1000)

    This time, it punched him squarely in the stomach with such force that he was flung across to another wall he had aimed for. Meanwhile, the alien visitor stood in front of the emergency exit, replacing Mobius who it just punched away.

    Finally, the young man's body slammed against the other wall. He slumped down slowly in pain, but his mind was still clear. Seizing the opportunity while the alien was distracted, Mobius quickly pressed the nearby red button.

    Bang!!