Born In Ashes: The Enigma

(You have completed your class ritual.)

(All of your accumulated power before your class ritual will be returned to you.)

(You have leveled up and reached level 12.)

(You have gained +7 Strength, +8 Stamina, +5 Agility, +10 Cosmic Energy.)

(The abilities of your Soul Armament—Fallen Star have been strengthened due to your increase in rank.)

(You have used ??? as your class change item.)

(You have received your class.)

[Class—Judge]

(You have received class skill—Absolute Decree.)

(You have received passive class skill—Balance Severed.)

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As soon as he reached class level, Azrael quickly looked at his status window to check his updated information.

He briefly glanced at his level and the stats he had received as a result of the power he had accumulated in Eonrift after killing Alex, Rose, and Rudheer's son.

Though he was pleased to see the stat points and two level increases, his mind was occupied with something completely different, so he didn't dwell on it for long.

Even the notification regarding the enhancement of Fallen Star didn't capture his interest, and his gaze immediately settled on the name of his class.

"Judge…" He muttered softly, and as his eyes focused on the class name, a small description appeared before him.

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---) Judge: You are a supreme being with the power to judge everyone and everything in existence. This class is currently at its initial stage and has the potential to evolve further if certain conditions are met.

---) Class Skills—

1. Absolute Decree: Announce your presence as Judge to call forth the power of the World to judge your target. Under the effect of Absolute Decree, the target's stats will be reduced by 50% for two minutes. This skill is ineffective against anyone who is two ranks higher than you. Usable once every seven days.

2. Balance Severed (Passive Skill): As a Judge who maintains the balance of the world, you are protected by the World. All attacks launched at you will have their power decreased by 5%. This passive skill is ineffective against attacks from people who are two ranks above you.

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When Azrael first saw the name of his class, he couldn't help but frown slightly as the name felt… very ordinary.

It didn't sound like something that would come from a class-changing item so powerful that even Ashara couldn't touch it.

However, once he read the brief description of the class and examined the skills it granted him, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.

Just the small line stating that he could judge everyone and everything in existence sounded overwhelmingly powerful to him.

Though he couldn't fully grasp its meaning yet—since he still needed to test how the class actually worked—he felt certain it was far from ordinary.

And the two skills that came with the class were anything but normal.

Especially the passive skill—Balance Severed.

At first glance, it might seem like an average defensive skill. But upon careful consideration, it was actually an absurd skill.

To put it in simple terms, this skill decreased the power of every attack launched at him by 5%—as long as the attacker wasn't two ranks above him.

But if we look at from a different point of view, this skill actually granted him 5% resistance against everything.

Whether it was a physical attack, elemental attack, spiritual attack, or any other kind of offensive ability, this skill reduced the incoming damage by 5%.

It worked the same way resistance normally did: if someone had 5% resistance to wind, they would receive 5% less damage from wind-based attacks... And this skill worked in a similar way.

While it did have a rank restriction—meaning that since Azrael was currently Class Rank, the skill would only affect attacks from Epic Rank or lower and not work against Legend Rank or above—it was still terrifying.

He simply needed to raise his own rank, and eventually, he'd gain 5% resistance even against those of higher levels.

What's more, some class skills became stronger as the user increased their rank.

And if Balance Severed turned out to be one of those scaling skills...

Azrael shuddered with excitement just imagining what could happen if this skill evolved.

'Will it be able to reduce the power of all attacks launched at me by 100% at some point?'

The absurd thought crossed Azrael's mind, and even he felt like slapping himself for thinking something so ridiculous.

But then again…

'But what if it really does evolve into something that decreases the power of all attacks by 100%?'

Azrael took a deep breath and shifted his attention to the second skill:

Absolute Decree.

He had to admit, this skill was also completely abnormal.

To be able to reduce the stats of anyone—so long as they weren't two ranks higher than him by 50% for two minutes was beyond unreasonable.

It was important to understand that when it referred to stats, it didn't just mean Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Cosmic Energy.

No—all stats were affected, including spiritual power, skill power, physical strength, resistances—everything.

For two entire minutes, the target's entire combat capability would be cut in half.

Even though he could only use this skill once every seven days, the fact that even as a mere Class Rank warrior he could reduce the stats of even peak Epic Class warriors (like those at level 50) made it an incredibly powerful trump card.

'This class… it didn't give me any offensive skills, but…' Azrael smiled, thinking of his wind powers and the Fallen Star.

'I wasn't in need of any attack skills anyway.'

Azrael also noted that the description mentioned the class was at its initial level and could evolve further.

'Mom never told me that classes could evolve… Does that mean this is something exclusive to the Judge class?'

Just imagining how absurd the evolved form of Judge might be made Azrael's breath hitch.

"How long are you going to sit there like a monk? I'm dying here out of curiosity… Can you tell me already if you got something satisfying?"

Ashara's slightly irritated voice brought Azrael back to his senses, and he smiled.

"It's actually even better than I thought," He said, and then began telling her about his Judge class.