Harem Online: My Party Is Full of Beautiful Celebrities-Chapter 58: I’m wet
A Class Upgrade was one of the things players looked forward to most in this game, right alongside the immersive virtual reality and the richly detailed world full of monsters. After all, everyone started with the same classes, but relatively early on, they could evolve them to match their personalities, playstyles, and even dreams.
Martin recalled that NukEncore played the game for that exact reason. She wanted to fulfill a dream she had carried since childhood.
[You have shown a willingness to wield various weapons paired with your shield.]
[Would you like to begin the quest to upgrade your current class, Guardian, into a Warden?]
[Warden: An upgraded class from Guardian, specializing in wielding various weapons in combat, each providing buffs to the Warden and their allies. A Warden can easily carry more than one weapon for passive buffs and switch between weapons for different skills.]
Wow.
Martin stared at the class description as a rush of hot excitement went through him. A second later, that excitement sharpened into something deeper and more dangerous: hunger.
On paper, Warden seemed like the perfect tank class for him. Every weapon promised a different rhythm in battle, a different way to hold the front line while feeding strength back into his party. It was not just a class that endured punishment. It was a class that adapted, supported, and controlled the flow of a fight.
Combined with Martin’s food buffs, those weapon-based bonuses could turn an ordinary party into something far more dangerous than most players would expect. He could already picture it for a moment: stronger openings, cleaner coordination, teammates moving with more force or confidence simply because he was there at the front, setting the pace.
More than that, it felt like a class that would keep demanding more from him. More practice, more adaptability, more growth. That was exactly what Martin wanted. He did not want to become some rigid wall that only stood there and took hits. He wanted a class that kept asking more of him every time he grew stronger.
And the best part was that Warden did not look finished. Depending on how his future runs in the dungeons of the Light Tree unfolded, he could shape the class even further to his liking. That thought tightened his chest with anticipation. For the first time, it felt as if the game was not merely handing him a role. It was giving him the chance to build the kind of fighter he actually wanted to become.
Martin decided on the spot.
[Yes.]
[You have received a new quest: Warden’s Weapon Mastery.]
[Objective: Gain mastery with three weapons: Sword, Warhammer, and Spear, while fighting alongside your shield and combining your attacks with your shield mastery.]
[Reward: Your Guardian class will evolve into Warden.]
"A mastery for each weapon..." Martin muttered under his breath.
Robert caught his words. "A weapon mastery?"
"Ah, yeah." Martin turned to the blacksmith and nodded. "I received a quest to upgrade my class, and to do that, I need three weapon masteries."
His mastery with the shield had not come from theory. It had come from impact, timing, instinct, and the steady rhythm of battle after battle. If the sword, warhammer, and spear demanded the same kind of understanding, then he would earn it the same way, with his shield in one hand and real fights forcing the rest into his body.
Robert gave him an approving look, as if Martin had already stepped onto the right path. "That’s right. You can practice with your teammates or challenge other players to a spar. A weapon starts teaching you proper lessons once it meets different hands and different habits. Even if two fighters use the same weapon and the same skills, they still move differently, think differently, and react differently. That’s what pushes mastery forward."
Martin nodded. "That makes sense. Thanks."
"Aye! Haha! You can keep this spear. May it help you until you find a better weapon for yourself!" Robert offered him the spear Martin had been training with until now, free of charge.
It was a nice gesture.
Martin didn’t hide his happiness. "Thanks. I’ll repay you in the future! I’m going now to meet my friends and continue the grind!"
"Aye, same here! Good luck, man!" Robert waved at Martin and returned to his smithy.
Martin went to the riverbank and called out to Ao Tenshin by her nickname.
Just as he had expected, she didn’t answer him.
"Angel... why are you making me do this?" he muttered aloud as he took off his armor and rolled up his pant legs before stepping into the river to splash around in search of his playful Dragon Turtle. "Actually..." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
As he stared at the water’s surface, Martin recalled that he had received a blessing that allowed him to breathe underwater. The river wasn’t shallow, and he could definitely immerse himself completely.
After a moment of thought, he gave it a try and lunged in, entering a new world of darting fish, drifting insects, and swaying water plants. It was beautiful, but Martin could not take it in for long. The fact that he could breathe underwater confused him so much that, for a few seconds, he could not breathe at all.
It was as if his mind, or his human body, simply couldn’t comprehend the phenomenon.
And yet, he truly could breathe through the water itself and stay in the river for as long as he wanted.
Just then, he noticed something zooming straight toward him.
A second later, Ao Tenshin bumped her head against his forehead, essentially head-butting him and dealing a ridiculous amount of damage.
[-1 HP]
"You little trickster!" Martin reached out to catch Ao Tenshin, but she was too fast in the water.
She slipped away from him with such ease and grace that her lineage was impossible to miss.
She spun and sent a wave toward Martin for calling her a trickster.
"Oh, come on! Don’t get angry over something like that!" Martin yelled.
A moment later, it struck him.
I am speaking in the water... damn.
—
"And that’s why I’m wet right now," Martin explained when his teammates asked why he was late to their meeting.
