System Breaker: Surviving Apocalypse with Nine-Tailed Kitsune-Chapter 8: New Class

Just as the monster’s body fell onto the street with a deafening thud, and right before the debris and dust which exploded from the impact could collapse, a heavy rain crashed over the city.

Damon’s tense expression, which he had taken amidst the battle, broke, replaced by a faint frown.

’Rain? Huh...’

He had always been good at predicting the weather, often finding better success than the weather apps his best friend used, but now he was caught slightly off guard by the sudden change of weather.

He lingered for a moment before shaking the thought away. Something almost visibly lit up in his eyes as he recalled the last system notification.

His class limit had increased.

A smile curved across his face as his head turned upward toward the rain. He allowed the downpour to wash the blood from his face and hands. But before he could enjoy the moment of peace that rain had always brought him, he saw Ivy collapsed to her knees on the other side of the street.

His smile vanished just as fast as it appeared as he moved toward the girl. Monster’s black blood streamed down the street, while the previously thick, metallic air began to become noticeably cleaner.

"You okay?" Damon asked.

Ivy didn’t reply; she breathed raggedly and swayed from side to side, unable to keep her balance.

’Mana exhaustion,’ Kitsune’s voice cut through Damon’s mind, ’She’ll be fine.’

Damon’s gaze lifted up, studying the nearby surroundings.

’That should do it’

He thought as he saw a corner store, its glass windows smashed, half of its wall ruined, but in Ivy’s current state, it was as good as anything.

"Let’s go. We’ve made too much noise," Damon said as he helped the girl to her feet. The girl’s face was paler, her slender arm trembling as she hung to his neck for support.

’Mana backlash is no joke, huh’

’If she used any more abilities, her core would break,’ Kitsune replied. ’And to those with mana... that means death.’

Damon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

’But didn’t you say your core was broken?’

’Aww, are you worried about me?’ Kitsune replied in a playful tone, ’Don’t worry, as long as I have at least one tail, I won’t die’

’At least one tail?’

Damon’s next question was cut short as they arrived at whatever was left of the store.

Groceries, most just empty paperwrappers were scattered all around the floor, along with dried blood and debris from broken walls and ceiling.

Most of the shelves were emptied and toppled over, but as Damon went deeper into the store, he did notice some things that were still intact.

He lowered Ivy against the wall before going to fetch some items.

’Three water bottles and two chocolate bars...’

His stomach growled at the sight of the small chocolate bar in his hand. Only now did he realise how hungry he was. The last time he ate was before his University Entrance Exam. He gave Ivy one water and one chocolate bar. She began to slowly regain her consciousness.

"T-Thank you," she mumbled under her breath before chugging the whole bottle at once.

Damon nodded before lowering himself against the wall. Kitsune jumped on his left shoulder as he did. He didn’t waste much time; he dove into the chocolate bar just as he opened his status window and focused on his classes tab.

[Classes (1/2): Divine Beast Tamer(Active) ]

Chewing on the chocolate bar, his lips curved into a smile. His class limit had increased, which meant he could finally use his second class card.

He wasted no time opening his inventory, staring at the only item inside.

[Slot 1: Class Card (Grade: C)]

’Use.’

Just like last time, a sudden bright light appeared around him, followed by a feeling of mana surging through his entire body.

It was less potent than the last time, probably a matter of the card’s grade, but it was still very noticeable.

[You have acquired a new Class: Dark Mage]

’Dark Mage?’ Damon raised a brow. The class sounded stronger than he expected a C-Grade class to be. He opened his status window, studying the new entries.

[Name: Damon]

[Level: 10]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Error-!]

[Attributes: System Breaker, Dark Evolution (Dark Mage)]

[Classes (2/2): Divine Beast Tamer(Active), Dark Mage]

[Abilities: Black Ice Manipulation (Dark Mage)]

[Stats:

— Strength: 29 (with [Nameless Tachi] equipped)

— Dexterity: 7

— Vitality: 21

— Stamina: 11

— Mana: 10

— Luck: 1]

[Stat Points Available: 2]

’Dark Evolution?’

As his eyes narrowed on the new attribute, a smaller window appeared before him.

[Dark Evolution: Limited to the [Dark Mage] Class, it allows the class to evolve to higher grades when conditions are met.]

’A C-grade class that can evolve to a higher grade?’ That almost sounded too good to be true. But the second part of the sentence kept his excitement at bay.

’It doesn’t say what the conditions are... knowing my luck its probably something crazy.’

Shaking the thought away, he moved down toward the new ability.

[Black Ice Manipulation] 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Focusing on the words, he could feel a connection that wasn’t there before. It was as if he had an instinctive knowledge of how to do something he had never learned.

"Try it," Kitsune’s voice purred in his head, "Let’s see what my man can do."

’Right now? Wait... your man?’

"Isn’t it best to learn how to use it before the battle?" She asked, ignoring his second question.

Damon lingered for a moment before nodding. The logic made sense. Despite feeling like he knew how to call upon the black ice, he wasn’t sure what exactly would happen.

Not wanting to cause any more destruction inside the store, he got up to his feet to go to the street outside.

"You’re leaving?" Ivy’s voice cut through the silence of the store.

"I’m just gonna test something out, I’ll be back in a minute," he replied.

The girl raised her brow but didn’t press; exhaustion gnawing at her body was already enough for her to worry about.

***

’This will be better than using it in empty air,’ Damon thought as he stretched his arm toward the body of the Undead Colossus.

The silence of the street was only broken by the crashing rain.

With a low breath, Damon’s thoughts focus purely on the instinctive connection of his ability. He felt mana surge toward his outstretched arm. A moment later, he felt a sudden chill at his palm, and before he could take another breath, he saw a black, glass-like ice coalesce at his hand.

But the black ice didn’t have enough time to take a proper shape as it shattered into a thin black mist.

Damon winced slightly as he felt a sudden tug at his abdomen. Perhaps it was due to the nature of his new class, but he could instantly feel that at least a third of his mana reserves was gone.

’Let’s try again...’ he thought to himself as he raised his arm once more.

But this time, before he even began to completely focus on using his new ability, he felt a soft touch on his raised arm, followed by a voice he would not mistake anywhere.

"Just like that...’ Kitsune’s voice purred, not in his head this time, but in his left ear. His head snapped to the left, where the Kitsune in her human form ran her slender hand across his arm, a playful smile decorating her lips.