Chapter 131: Broke Man

"Yes! Yes, Mom! Don’t worry!"

"No! I won’t spend so much of my time gaming again!"

"Yes! Yes! Bye-bye!"

In a dimly lit room, a man with chubby cheeks spoke on the phone before hurriedly pressing the "End Call" button and throwing it away.

The man let out a heavy breath.

He reached toward the nightstand, wanting to grab a cigarette, only to discover that there were none. He had smoked the last one just yesterday.

His first thought was to go out and buy a pack.

However, when he recalled the three zeros in his bank balance, the man shook his head.

He had recently been laid off from his job. Shortly after, his childhood girlfriend had broken up with him. As if that was not enough, his landlord had doubled his rent.

With few relationships, no money, and heavily in debt, the man found himself in a desperate situation.

It was as though the world had collapsed around him.

Yet he hadn’t given up just yet.

He still had a trace of hope.

There was still a chance! A chance to turn everything around!

Recalling that lifelike world which seemed to be a second reality, the fat man rose to his feet.

He didn’t turn on the lights. Electricity was too expensive. He didn’t have money to pay the bill.

After grabbing a futuristic helmet from the nightstand, he took his seat on a nearby chair and was about to place it on his head.

Just then, an alarm interrupted him.

The man raised his eyebrows. Picking up the phone he had just thrown away, he opened the notification bar.

[TheoryMaster69 has uploaded a new video!] The notification read.

To be notified whenever she posted, it was clear that the man had taken the initiative to actively follow her.

But unlike her other fans, he showed no joy at seeing his "Goddess" post a new video.

If anything, he burst with anger.

"TheoryMaster!" he spoke through gritted teeth as he opened Nova Roma’s forum.

His eyes widened upon seeing her post’s title.

When he pressed "Play" on the video and the text of her boasting appeared, the man could no longer hold back.

He dismissed the post, rushing straight to the comments.

Then, he began typing furiously.

"Everyone! This witch is trying to manipulate us again."

"I, World_Builder, am willing to expose her lies..."

In the dimly lit, run-down apartment, the only sound that remained was that of fingers furiously pressing against the phone keyboard.

--

On the other hand, Aurelius had no way of knowing World_Builder’s outburst.

He also clicked on the video TheoryMaster69 had uploaded, wanting to see just what this woman had worked overtime for.

Soon, a scene unfolded.

A man and a woman stood in a wild forest, with the latter facing a growling black bear.

Although it was only a juvenile monster, its sharp fangs and powerful claws were enough to showcase its physical might. It was still an apex predator.

Yet the fight did not last long.

The camera soon focused on the woman. More precisely, on the sword she was holding.

Golden flames erupted from its surface, while a blue sheen wrapped around its edge.

Then...

Boom!

The black bear collapsed to the ground, losing all signs of life.

Only a single burned wound was left on its body, evidence that it had been killed in a single strike.

According to Aurelius’ memories, this was the point where TheoryMaster69 had also collapsed to the ground, throwing up and crying for several minutes.

He had long engraved this scene in his memories.

Unfortunately, since this was a video she had personally uploaded, it was impossible for her to show her dark history.

The video paused upon the black bear’s death.

A gentle voice rang out, belonging to TheoryMaster69.

"This is the strength of the Sun Knight Class."

"I believe everyone is already familiar with the two generally accepted categories of Classes: Physical and Mana-based."

"The former includes Classes like Warrior, Assassin, and Brawler. The latter includes Mage, Priest, and Healer."

"Although these categories are too broad and might not be entirely accurate, I will use them for now."

"... If I had to say, Sun Knights are a strange hybrid between these two categories. They not only rely on their physical strength, but their skills are also extremely powerful."

"More specifically..."

TheoryMaster69’s voice faded away.

The paused image resumed.

TheoryMaster69’s figure appeared.

Yet this time, she was not facing a black bear but an enormous wild boar.

The camera focused on her sword, which had Sacred Flames revolving around it.

"This is one of the Sun Knight’s three skills: Solar Manifestation."

<anno data-annotation-id="3f3a21f1-c8f1-c94b-85f8-36a6cb49122f" data-title="[Solar Manifestation: ...]">[Solar Manifestation: ...]¹</anno>

The skill’s description flashed briefly before the scene shifted.

What was displayed this time was Weapon Infusion.

Then came Awakener’s Physique, with TheoryMaster69 no longer relying on weapons but fighting using only her physical strength.

"Solar Manifestation. Weapon Infusion. Awakener’s Physique."

"These are the three skills of the Sun Knight." Her soft voice rang out.

"As for Talents, I believe everyone will be surprised."

Since she hadn’t triggered it, TheoryMaster69 had nothing to add here.

She could only let the description speak for itself.

<anno data-annotation-id="ca187c19-55ee-8579-9684-f78d11c4c2d0" data-title="[Divine Intervention (Talent): ...]">[Divine Intervention (Talent): ...]¹</anno>

Perhaps it was because of the lack of images, or perhaps because TheoryMaster69 wished to show off her strength, but the video in the background showed her Class Ritual.

Through some method, she had managed to obtain footage of herself being engulfed by the mighty sun.

The scene looked even better than it had in real life.

TheoryMaster69 looked holy and majestic, like an Angel descending into the mortal world to bless all mortals.

Even Aurelius had to take a second look at her.

However, he quickly looked away, focusing on the video’s timer.

It was only after he confirmed that there were still a few minutes remaining that he calmed down.

Thankfully...

He patted his chest.

He had almost thought he would have no chance to appear.

If TheoryMaster69 had wasted such a great opportunity to advertise him, Aurelius would have to wonder whether he should change the leader of his Fan Club.

Fortunately, TheoryMaster69 was smart enough.

After letting Divine Intervention’s description linger for a few seconds, her voice rang out once more.

<annotations style="display: none;">[Sacred Light imbued with the power of the Sun. It naturally deals increased damage to creatures aligned with darkness and evil.][Whenever a skill or Talent is upgraded, you have a chance to trigger a Divine Evolution, causing them to evolve beyond their normal limits.]</annotations>