The grassy road stretched endlessly before them.
Mistvale's walls gradually disappeared behind the rolling hills as Aster and Cole walked side by side toward the beginner hunting grounds.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Aster's thoughts remained occupied by a single question.
"...Cole."
"Hm?"
"You said everyone starts with a random weapon."
"Right."
"And your Swift Slash..."
He glanced toward the wooden sword hanging at her waist.
"Where did you learn it?"
Cole blinked before laughing.
"Oh, that?"
"I didn't learn it."
"You didn't?"
She shook her head.
"The system gave it to me."
Aster slowed his pace.
"Gave it to you?"
"When my character was created."
She casually unsheathed her wooden sword for a moment before returning it to its scabbard.
"I received a sword."
"So the system automatically assigned me one beginner sword skill."
"Swift Slash."
"It wasn't anything special."
"Just a Common-rank starter skill."
She shrugged.
"I figured everyone got one."
Aster's expression froze.
"...Everyone?"
"Yeah."
"If someone starts with an axe, they receive an axe skill."
"If they start with a bow, they receive a beginner archery skill."
"Staff users receive a beginner spell."
"It's basically the game's way of making sure every new player can fight."
She smiled.
"My brother told me that's why beginners don't struggle too much."
Aster stopped walking.
"...I never received one."
Cole turned around.
"Huh?"
"When I created my character..."
"My skill list was empty."
She frowned.
"...That's impossible."
"I know."
Silence followed.
After a moment, Cole simply shrugged.
"Maybe it bugged."
"The game's still new."
"It'll probably fix itself."
She continued walking without thinking much of it.
Aster, however, remained standing.
A bug...
He didn't believe that.
Not anymore.
Not after everything he had experienced.
The battlefield.
His grandfather.
The necklace.
The Primal Codex.
None of those could be dismissed as bugs.
Slowly...
His hand drifted toward his chest.
Toward the place where the necklace had merged with his heart.
"...Primal Codex."
As if answering his call...
Warmth spread through his body.
The world around him became strangely quiet.
Time itself seemed to pause.
Only Aster could see the ancient book materialize before him.
Its weathered pages turned on their own.
Dark ink slowly engraved itself upon the parchment.
Inquiry Accepted.
Aster remained silent.
The Codex continued.
The bearer questions the absence of a beginner skill.
Answer: Correct.
The bearer received none.
His heartbeat quickened.
"So it wasn't an error..."
More words appeared.
System-issued skills are granted according to predetermined paths.
Sword
Axe
Bow
Magic
Shield
Each beginning limits the future
The next page turned.
The writing became sharper.
The Primal Codex rejects predetermined paths.
Aster frowned.
"...Rejects?"
The ancient pages trembled.
For the first time...
The Codex revealed information it had never shown before.
Designation
Bearer Status: ANOMALY
Aster's eyes widened.
"...Anomaly?"
The explanation continued.
The world recognizes individuals through Classes.
Classes define growth.
Classes define talent.
Classes define destiny.
The bearer possesses none.
Therefore...
The bearer is not bound by one.
His breathing slowed.
"What does that mean?"
The Codex answered immediately.
**Others become one thing.**
**The bearer may become anything.**
The next sentence appeared more slowly.
As though the Codex wished to ensure he understood every word.
You are not confined to a single path.
You may walk every path.
You may inherit every Truth.
You may become anyone...
...at any time.
Aster stared at the page.
His mind struggled to grasp its meaning.
Classes...
Were the foundation of every player's growth.
Sword users became Sword Knights.
Archers became Rangers.
Mages became Sorcerers.
Everyone specialized.
Everyone sacrificed countless possibilities to master one.
But the Primal Codex...
Offered the exact opposite.
No restrictions.
No permanent path.
If he understood the Truth behind a swordsman's skill...
He could fight like a swordsman.
If he later comprehended the Truth of an archer...
He could become an archer.
If he mastered magic...
He could wield spells.
Not because he possessed every class.
But because he possessed none.
He wasn't replacing classes.
He existed outside of them.
Aster slowly closed his eyes.
"So..."
"I don't choose one future."
"I create my own."
The Primal Codex responded with one final message.
The world calls this impossibility.
The Codex calls it Freedom.
The ancient pages quietly closed.
Time resumed.
The sounds of rustling grass and distant birds returned.
Ahead, Cole noticed he had stopped again.
She turned and waved.
"Aster!"
"You coming?"
He looked at her.
Then toward the vast wilderness stretching beyond the road.
For the first time since entering Divine Nexus...
He truly understood why the Codex had chosen him.
Everyone else would spend their lives perfecting a single path.
Aster...
Would spend his life learning them all.