Chapter 125: Third Class: Demon Tamer

The four-colored gem shot straight into Nolan’s chest.

For a moment, Nolan thought the bullet-like gemstone would pierce right through him. But there was no agonizing pain, no sensation of flesh tearing apart. Instead, it merged into him soundlessly. Like a pebble sinking into the surface of a still lake, leaving behind only invisible ripples.

Then, in the very next instant, an overwhelming force erupted from inside his body.

Nolan was blasted backward, sent flying through the air before slamming heavily into a crumbling stone pillar in the distance. He hit the ground hard and rolled several times.

“Cough…”

His body was fine, but it felt like his head was about to explode. No, more accurately, it felt as though some brutal force was tearing his skull apart down the middle, trying to split it into two. His vision went completely black, and his ears rang with a piercing whine. Collapsed on the ground, he gasped for breath in ragged gulps. Veins bulged across his forehead, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his T-shirt.

“Holy shit…” His head felt like it was cracking open. “Am I about to turn into a two-headed ogre or something?”

More than ten seconds passed before the sensation of his brain being churned into mush finally began to fade.

Struggling, Nolan propped himself up against the remains of the stone pillar. At last, his vision slowly cleared.

The feeling reminded him a little of those all-nighters from his past life, when he would stand up too suddenly after gaming for hours and get hit with low blood sugar. Except low blood sugar only made the world spin. It definitely didn’t hurt enough to make him want to die on the spot.

He looked around.

This mental world belonging to Qroshu was heading toward complete destruction. The ground, the walls, the sky—everything was dissolving into countless specks of light, swallowed by endless darkness.

Qroshu, kneeling not far in front of him, had already lost most of his body. Only part of his torso and his left arm remained, and even those were rapidly crumbling into dust.

Meanwhile, in Nolan’s field of vision, several lines of golden system notifications continued flashing stubbornly across the familiar UI, radiating an enticing glow.

【Rare Legendary Class License detected: Demon Tamer.】

【Remaining Class Slots: 2. Accept?】

Nolan did not hesitate for even a second.

Confirm.

In the memories of veteran player Nolan, this class was one of the rarest of the rare, a true legend among legendary classes.

Across the entire twenty years of his previous life’s gaming career, there had only ever been one known player who successfully obtained it.

The world’s number one Demon Hunter, the legendary player whose ID consisted of a single letter—

J.

J earned the title of “World’s Number One” not because he had the highest level or the most divine artifacts, but because he was the first and only player in the entire history of Glory to successfully locate and transfer the Soul Imprint of a Demon Overlord.

The Demon Overlord he conquered had been the Seventh Seat among the Seven Serpent Courts of Demonkind, the ruler of Gluttony itself: Bote, the Serpent Head of Gluttony.

After achieving fame, J had generously revealed on the player forums the method for uncovering Demon Soul Imprint sequences.

The wisdom of one person was limited, but when countless players gathered together, they became a force capable of changing the world. Through endless collaboration, theorycrafting, and obsessive research, players eventually deciphered the Soul Imprint sequences of four other Demon Overlords, including Qroshu.

Of course, knowing the password did not mean you could open the vault. To conquer a Demon Overlord, one first had to face endless demon legions and somehow confront the Overlord’s true body directly. The difficulty was comparable to assaulting the endless undead armies of the Shiva Empire.

Qroshu had only been an exception because he had already spent ten thousand years imprisoned. Unfortunately, the guild that first discovered the Gap of Ages had no idea such a method even existed, so Qroshu was completely annihilated early on. As a result, even by the time Nolan transmigrated, he had never heard of a second Demon Tamer appearing.

And now…

In this real Vaughn Continent, the point in time when J would rise to legend was still several years away. Once again, Nolan had strengthened himself ahead of the timeline itself. That was the true value of rebirth.

The idea of claiming Qroshu’s Soul Imprint for himself had emerged suddenly after his conversation with Ailindel. The accumulated effort and wisdom of countless players from his previous life had now become the staircase for him alone to climb higher.

He thought of those old companions who had once shared the same dream.

“This time, I’ll fulfill our wish for all of us.”

The moment he confirmed, the empty third class slot on his status panel changed.

A brand-new class icon lit up.

【Demon Tamer Lv.1/25, EXP 0/1000】

【Demon Tamer】: Rare Legendary Class. Grants additional “Intimidation” effects toward demons and NPCs affiliated with demonic cults. Lesser demons below Second Tier will flee from your presence. Warning: Revealing your aura will draw extreme vigilance from order-aligned factions such as the temples.

【Class Advancement Successful! Exclusive skills unlocked.】 

【Branded Target: “Rebellious Serpent Head” Qroshu (Weakened)】

【Regicide Assault (Active)】: Lock onto any target within 50 yards and generate a temporary clone behind them lasting 0.75 seconds. During this period, you may switch positions with the clone an unlimited number of times. After each position swap, your next attack deals 250% of base physical damage. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

【Half-Demonization (Passive)】: Activate the source power of the branded demon and temporarily enter a demonic state. Different branded demons grant different forms and abilities. While active, all Darkness-, Chaos-, and Corrosion-type damage received is reduced by half.

A top-tier class truly lived up to its reputation.

Nolan stared at the descriptions in amazement.

It started directly with a level cap of 25 as an advanced class, saving him an enormous amount of trouble.

Still, he knew perfectly well that this thing was a double-edged sword.

Especially within the rigidly ordered human world. If he dared use 【Half-Demonization】 in public, he would probably be branded a heretic and hunted down by the Holy Templar Order the very next second.

He still remembered that in his previous life, J had never been accepted by any faction for precisely this reason. The man had remained a lone wolf until the very end.

“So every Demon Tamer gets different abilities.” Nolan nodded as he studied the skill descriptions.

Interesting.

J’s signature ability had been a skill called 【Devour Bite】. It allowed him to literally “eat” injured opponents alive. If the target happened to be a demon, he could even absorb its power and permanently increase his own attributes.

That skill was also the reason behind J’s infamous nickname—

“The Old Glutton.”

Compared to J’s straightforward brutality, Nolan’s own abilities looked far more “civilized.”

The near-infinite repositioning within 【Regicide Assault】, combined with its massive damage amplification, greatly expanded his offensive options. He was no longer limited to using only 【Radiant Sun Charge】 as a rapid gap-closing technique.

As for 【Half-Demonization】, it was nothing less than an ultimate trump card.

Overall, the advantages far outweighed the drawbacks.

More importantly…

Nolan’s gaze settled on the small suffix attached to the branded target.

Qroshu (Weakened).

Did that mean the class could continue growing stronger as his class level increased, or as his control over the Soul Imprint deepened?

Unfortunately, he was only a consciousness right now, so there was no way for him to immediately test his new abilities.

Nolan rose to his feet and habitually dusted himself off, preparing to leave this collapsing world.

The edges of the temple had already broken apart into countless particles of light, disappearing into the surrounding darkness. Massive cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet. If he did not leave soon, he would probably be buried along with this mental world.

He took a step toward the direction he remembered entering from.

After only two steps, however, Nolan froze. A very real and very serious problem suddenly presented itself.

When he came here, Ailindel had sent him in. But now, he was nothing more than a pure consciousness, completely cut off from the outside world.

He…

Had absolutely no idea how to leave someone else’s mental world.

For the first time in a while, Nolan was completely dumbfounded.