Chapter 2: The Classification Choices
Edard continued to move closer to the base of that massive, frozen mountain. As he walked, the mountain seemed to grow larger and larger, stretching up into the clouds like a giant made of stone and ice. But strangely, the sight did not frighten him. Instead of running away, he pushed himself to go deeper into the cold, hoping with all his heart that he would finally run into another living person who could explain where he was.
After he had been trekking through the snow for about ten minutes, he suddenly heard a sound that caught his attention. It was a conversation—two voices speaking in a low, hushed way. These voices were not coming from people, but from two massive, ancient snakes that were talking to each other nearby.
The first snake let out a long, mourning cry and shook its head back and forth. It said, "The Great Cultivator, the legendary Immortal Conqueror... his time has finally come. He is old and weary, and death is searching for him. It is very unlikely that he will be able to live for even one more day in this world."
The second snake hissed back in response, "That man has conquered hundreds of huge and dangerous dungeons. He has lived for thousands of years. In my opinion, his death has come at the exact right time. Even your great-grandfather's grandfather used to work for him. He has lived long enough."
The first snake sounded very upset as it replied, "But think! If he dies, who do you think will be able to stand up and stop people from causing chaos? The whole world is going to change. Once he is gone, things will never be the same as they were."
The other snake answered, "I am sure that another Great Cultivator will rise up eventually. But as for me, I want to go and see him as he passes away. I want to witness his death with my own eyes. Are you going to go, too?"
"I must go," the first snake replied. "It is something I have to see."
Edard stood a little distance away, hiding himself so he could listen to the conversation of these old serpents. At that exact moment, a new glowing blue box flickered into existence right in front of his eyes.
Ordinarily, this would have been a moment of great joy for Edard. But before he could even feel happy, he remembered the most important thing: the clock on his wrist. He looked down at the glowing numbers and saw that his time had already dropped to 49 minutes and 50 seconds. He had been wandering aimlessly for several minutes without a plan, and now this was all the life he had left.
He realized that what he needed most was to find someone who could tell him how to increase his longevity, so he could add more days to his time and avoid dying. Since he heard these snakes saying they were going to meet a "Great Cultivator," he decided to follow them. No matter what that title meant, he hoped this man would have the answers he was looking for.
He paused for a moment to figure out the best way to trail them. Back on Earth, Edard had a special gift: he could see things even if they were hidden behind a wall or covered up. He could perceive things that weren't even right in front of his eyes—just like how he had "seen" professors approaching their class from hundreds of meters away. He realized that if he still had those great powers, he could follow the snakes from a safe distance without them seeing him. That way, if things became too dangerous, he could turn and run away before it was too late.
The first snake was incredibly thick and long; its body stretched for fifty meters, and it was so wide that it would take a grown man two big steps just to walk across its back. The second snake was not quite as large, but it was still huge—about thirty meters long. The most terrifying thing about the second snake was that it was pitch black, and its skin shimmered and glowed with a strange light. Edard knew that following these creatures was a huge risk, but it could also lead to a huge reward.
He realized that if he stayed too close to them, things would go very badly for him. So, he waited for several minutes, letting the snakes get far ahead until they could no longer catch his scent. Only then did he start to follow their trail. While he was waiting, another new box appeared in front of him.
The first was Classification: Lightning Elementalist.
The second was Classification: Dragon Breath.
The third was Classification: Cloning.
The fourth was Classification: Psychomancy.
Edard gritted his teeth and pressed yes.
Edard was excited despite his inability to use the skill at the moment. He tapped the first Classification box, and it grew larger, revealing more details.
Edard stayed silent for a while, thinking deeply about these two powers from his Dragon blood. After a moment, he moved to the next box.
Edard didn't press "Yes" or "No" yet. He moved to the final box.
Mind Read
Mind Sense
Intimidation
Slow Thinking
Fast Thinking
Edard noticed that although this "Psychomancy" path had the most skills (five in total), he was still only allowed to pick one. Just like with "Cloning" and "Dragon Breath," once he made a choice, he was stuck with it.
He looked closer at the descriptions: