Eternal Art Online

Inside the Class Hall, mentors for each class stood neatly in a row. In a humble village like this, they naturally didn't enjoy much prestige—their attire was plain and unremarkable.

The Berserker and Knight mentors were clad in the most basic iron armor, entirely devoid of ornamentation.

The Mage and Cleric mentors wore coarse woolen cloaks, managing just enough mystique to pass as magic users.

The Assassin mentor lingered in a shadowy corner, quietly observing every player that passed.

The Archer mentor, meanwhile, wore a weathered leather tunic, blending in so well with the wooden wall behind him that he was nearly invisible.

At the very center of the hall stood the Swordsman mentor—a beautiful female NPC with striking features. A long sword hung at her waist, and her short-sleeved tunic was tailored for combat, crisp and practical, exuding a clean-cut elegance.

The moment Kiriya saw her, his eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he strode forward and said, "I'd like to change my class."

The female mentor glanced at him. Her expression was calm but carried a certain noble authority.

"The great Lightbringer bestows strength upon us. Brave warrior—from this moment forth, you are a member of the Swordsman class."

Shing—!

A soft flash of light rippled across Kiriya's body. His title instantly changed to "Apprentice Swordsman."

Ding—!

System Notification: Congratulations! You are the 5th player in this starter village to become an Apprentice Swordsman. Please speak with your class mentor to learn your basic skills.

Ding—!

System Notification: Your stat growth has been updated based on your chosen class.

[Strength]: 8 Stars

[Vitality]: 6 Stars

[Agility]: 7 Stars

[Intelligence]: 6 Stars

In Eternal Art Online, stars represented potential stat growth. For example, if a player had 10 points in Strength and a 10-star rating, they would gain +10 to +10 attack power.

But with only 9 stars, the same 10 Strength would yield +9 to +9. This difference was the foundation for how each class evolved.

True masters of physical offense were often those with a 10-star Strength growth—namely, Berserker and Knights.

Kiriya blinked in mild surprise. He had thought his leveling pace was fast, yet four others had already beaten him to this class.

That meant five Swordsmen now existed in just this one village. And considering the Southeast region alone had over a hundred such starter villages…

"...My ranking is probably already somewhere past ten thousand," he muttered with a wry smile.

Shaking it off, Kiriya stepped up to the female mentor once more and opened the dialogue interface. Sure enough, a new option had appeared— "Learn Skills."

Kiriya reopened his skill menu. Three skills shimmered before his eyes—the first was [Basic Swordsmanship], followed by [Cross Slash] and [Blade Wave].

[Basic Swordsmanship]: The third strike of your normal attack deals an additional 30% damage.

[Cross Slash]: A horizontal sword sweep that deals 100% attack damage to enemies in front.

[Blade Wave]: Releases a blade-shaped energy wave up to 8 meters, dealing 70% attack damage.

But when his eyes shifted to the learning costs listed below, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

Learning [Basic Swordsmanship] required 50 silver coins. But both [Cross Slash] and [Blade Wave]? A staggering 5 gold coins each.

It was absurd—after all, the server had only been live for eight hours. Gathering that much gold this early was practically impossible. But Kiriya had luck on his side. Just earlier, he'd sold a piece of bronze-tier armor and netted 20 gold coins. It seemed that fortune had smiled on him just in time.

Without hesitation, he unlocked all three skills. It cost him a good chunk of his earnings, but he still had 12 gold left. Not a bad trade.

On impulse, he picked up one more skill: [Armor Breaker]. His skill list now displayed four beginner-level skills:

[Basic Swordsmanship] (Beginner) – Proficiency: 0/10,000. No MP cost.

[Cross Slash] (Beginner) – Proficiency: 0/10,000. Consumes 5 MP.

[Blade Wave] (Beginner) – Proficiency: 0/10,000. Consumes 5 MP.

[Armor Breaker] (Beginner) – Proficiency: 0/10,000. Consumes 10 MP.

…

He glanced at his current stats. His total MP was only 120—barely enough to cast a few skills. If he wanted to level up his proficiency effectively, he'd need to carry some mana potions with him.

Just then, he noticed a new tab at the bottom of the interface—Rankings. Curious, he tapped it.

Instantly, a full page of leaderboards appeared: Level Rankings, Gear Rankings, Reputation Rankings, and more.

Kiriya checked the Level Rankings first—and was immediately stunned. The top player had already reached Level 16, with even the 10th place sitting comfortably at Level 15!

Switching to the Player Rankings, he was even more surprised. The one sitting at the top was a female mage named Rose Yuna.

"…Freak," Kiriya muttered under his breath. For a girl to level up that fast… it was honestly kind of terrifying.

He then clicked over to the Gear Rankings, and his eyes lit up.

His Obsidian Sword was sitting proudly at the top, miles ahead of the second-place bronze weapon.

Not surprising. A silver-tier weapon was an entire grade above bronze. In terms of rating and stats, it completely crushed the competition.

A standard level 15 bronze sword might boast 50 attack power at best. But the Obsidian Sword? A jaw-dropping 125 attack power. If word got out about that, it'd be enough to scare off half the players in the game.

Kiriya gave a faint smile, silently evaluating his recent performance. Not bad—at the very least, he had secured one piece of gear that could easily claim the top spot on the rankings.

His level might still lag behind that of the mage girl named Rose Yuna, but if it came down to a one-on-one duel, he was confident that—with the Obsidian Sword in hand—he had a ninety percent chance of defeating her in a single strike.

He glanced at his current level: 12, with 92% experience. The gap between them wasn't all that large. Besides, he still hadn't submitted the "Clearing the Fields" quest—a task that had taken him a full six hours to gather 100 medals. The reward was bound to be generous.

When he arrived at the village chief's house, the old man was already peeking out the doorway. The moment he spotted Kiriya, his wrinkled face split into a grin as wide as a cracked orange peel.

"Young man, you completed the quest! Those blasted liquid monsters are finally gone. You've done us a great service. Here—this is your well-earned reward!"

"Ding~!"

System Notification: Congratulations! You've completed the quest [Clearing the Fields].

Rewards:

— EXP +50,000

— Gold +5

— Reputation +250

— Quest Item: [Wind Strider]

Two flashes of light blinked across his screen. The massive experience boost shot Kiriya straight up to level 14. When he checked his status, he saw that he was only 98 EXP away from hitting level 15.

Overjoyed, he immediately opened his inventory to inspect the quest reward:

[Wind Strider] (Bronze – Leather Armor)

Defense: 24

Agility: +4

Stamina: +2

Required Level: 10

It was a pair of leather boots—exactly what he needed. His old Wildland Boots had long since become obsolete. As a swordsman, he couldn't equip heavy armor, so leather was his only viable option.

He quickly unequipped the worn boots and stowed them in his inventory. The Glimmer Axe he had previously wielded was also auto-unequipped—the system didn't allow swordsmen to use axes, after all.

At the moment, he was technically unarmed. But with just a few more monster kills to scrape together the last 98 experience points, he would reach level 15. Once he could finally equip the Obsidian Sword, it would be like swapping a slingshot for a rocket launcher.

That thought alone made Kiriya chuckle. Without hesitation, he strode toward the village square and shouted:

"Black Iron boots for sale! Top-tier armor—get 'em while they're hot!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the square erupted into chaos. Dozens of new players came swarming toward him, stretching their necks to catch a glimpse.

"Did someone say Black Iron gear?! Damn, I gotta see this!"

"Even if I can't afford it, I've got to take a look!"

In just a few minutes, Kiriya was surrounded—players crowding in from all directions, trying to get a piece of his loot. But when it came to paying up, only a few were truly willing to part with their gold.

Eventually, a warrior stepped forward and offered five gold coins for the [Wilderness Boots].

Kiriya took the deal without hesitation. After all, it was only a Black Iron-tier item—give it a day or two, and it'd be just another cheap find on a roadside stall. Selling early was, without question, the smart move.

Striking while the iron was hot, he sold off the [Glimmering Battle Axe] next, netting ten more gold coins. Compared to armor, weapons always had a higher demand and naturally fetched a better price.

That brought Kiriya's total back up to twenty-seven gold.

Without wasting a second, he headed straight to the apothecary and spent under seven gold coins to stock up on low-tier red and blue potions, filling most of his backpack.

Lifting his gaze, he scanned the village. Most players were out grinding mobs, returning only to restock or repair gear. The place felt like a pit stop, nothing more.

Kiriya hid his name once again, then pulled out the [Obsidian Sword] from his inventory. He gave it a few casual swings and muttered,

"Yeah… feels good."

By now, most of the nearby leveling spots had been swarmed by players. Kiriya knew too well—if he wanted to accomplish anything here, it was already too late.

So, without hesitation, he turned westward, passing the slime fields and diving deeper into the forest, hoping to test his luck. With any luck, he might just find something unexpected.

He cleared mobs along the way, and before long, a golden light flashed across his body—he had leveled up to Level 15.

Immediately, Kiriya equipped the [Obsidian Sword]. Light flared brilliantly as the sword materialized in his hand—radiant and beautiful, its golden shimmer catching everyone's eye.

The weapon instantly drew attention from passing players. But Kiriya, following his golden rule— "Grind in silence. Show off only in PvP."—promptly disabled the sword's appearance effects. In the blink of an eye, the once-glowing blade turned dull and inconspicuous. It now looked like nothing more than a decent, mass-produced piece of junk.

Once he equipped both the [Obsidian Sword] and [Wind Strider], he opened up his character panel—only to be stunned by what he saw:

Kiriya Noir (Apprentice Swordsman)

Level: 15

HP: 440

Attack: 125–180

Defense: 51

Reputation: 551

Luck: 0

His attack power was staggering—far beyond what most players at his level could ever hope to achieve!