Heroes' Prison Chapter 67

Huang Yi followed the sound, his footsteps rustling in the darkness, echoing back and forth as if walking through a forgotten time and space.

Soon, he found a small house with a wooden door slightly ajar, dim light faintly leaked through the gap.

"Hello! May I come in?" Huang Yi stood at the door, knocked, and asked softly.

Inside, a rustling noise was immediately followed by slow footsteps. These footsteps sounded unsteady, likely belonging to a hunched over, shuffling old man.

"Creak~" As the door opened, it made an old creaking sound. The dim yellow light from inside suddenly poured out, illuminating Huang Yi’s face and highlighting his delicate features.

Inside was an old man with white hair, a stooped back, and crystal glasses. His murky eyes seemed filled with profound knowledge as he looked up kindly at Huang Yi.

The room inside was an ancient library. Hanging from the ceiling was a brass chandelier with a soft yellow light gently spilling onto each bookshelf, where thick books lay quietly, their covers worn. Additionally, the room was decorated with various interesting trinkets like rare animal specimens, antique collectibles, precise globes, and even an astronomical telescope next to the window, aimed at the vast star-filled cosmos.

From the old man’s demeanor and the arrangement of the room, it was clear he was an old scholar with vast knowledge of astronomy and geography, spending his days shut away studying ancient, yellowing scrolls, and exploring long, obscure histories. The anecdotes that bards regaled in taverns mostly originated from such men, and only they could write rigorous and Orthodox histories. The bards merely took these stories and embellished them to entertain the common folk with more vivid tales.

"Young man, you’ve come to the wrong place!" the old man said amiably.

"Isn’t this where I learn skills?"

The old man smiled slightly, "The place to learn skills is on the lower floors. This is where you learn skills for Rare Classes."

"I am a Rare Class Holder. My class is Judge," Huang Yi said with a wry smile. Rare Classes were so uncommon that they were often overlooked.

"Hmm? You’re a Rare Class Holder?" The old man’s cloudy eyes suddenly lit up with interest as he looked Huang Yi up and down. "Then come in!"

Huang Yi nodded and walked into the ancient library.

The old man closed the door slowly, shuffled to a bookshelf, and, with his withered hands, searched for a while, pulling out a thick book coated in dust, which hadn’t been touched in a long time.

He held the book, gently blew the dust off, then returned to his desk to leaf through it carefully.

Huang Yi stood quietly to the side. The library was very quiet, the only sound was that of the old man turning the pages, as if time itself had stopped here.

"Ah, found it." After a while, the old man murmured to himself, looking at a page in the book, "The Judge is indeed a Rare Class, advocating immense Strength as part of a Warrior Class, fighting with the power of Rage." He read slowly from the book, "Starting from level 5, every 10 levels, a Judge can learn a Class Skill. At level 5, Judges can learn their first Class Skill, which is a basic skill that allows them to absorb Rage during combat. The higher the Rage, the greater the Judge’s Attack Power. At level 15, Judges can learn a second Class Skill, which is an Area of Effect Attack that requires the consumption of Rage to use." He turned to look at Huang Yi, "I see you’re only level 19, so you can only learn these two skills for now."

"Then please teach me these two skills!" Huang Yi said eagerly. Although he could only learn two skills, the impact on his Strength was significant. Rare Class skills were few but powerful; they followed the philosophy of quality over quantity. In contrast, Common Classes had a plethora of skills that dazzled but were generally weaker. The only powerful ability was their Class Ultimate Move, learned every 15 levels, but with such a long cooldown, ranging from half a day to several weeks, it couldn’t be used frequently.

The old man shook his head, "I don’t know those skills. With so many Rare Classes, no one can master all the skills. If I could learn all the Rare Class Skills, I would have achieved Divine Enthronement already. Moreover, there are no mentors for Rare Classes, so you won’t be able to find a dedicated Judge Skill Mentor."

"How then can I learn these skills?" Huang Yi asked, frowning. He hadn’t expected that there were no mentors for learning Rare Class skills! It was no wonder—if each Rare Class required a dedicated mentor, every city’s Warrior Hall would need to employ hundreds of thousands of Rare Class mentors, which was clearly impossible.

"To learn Rare Class skills, you need to enter a special area and learn in a unique way. The further you progress, the more difficult it becomes. Currently, you’re just learning the skills for levels 5 and 15, which isn’t too difficult. You only need to pay a fee of Two Hundred Gold Coins to activate the Teleportation Circle that leads to that special area. Once you’re teleported there, it’s all up to your own ability; no one can guarantee whether you’ll learn the skills or not."

"Two Hundred Gold Coins!" Huang Yi shook his head slightly. "I’m sorry, I don’t have that much right now. I’ll come back when I have enough money," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait." Just then, the old man stopped him, "It doesn’t matter if you don’t have enough money. I’ll pay for you."

"Huh?" Huang Yi looked curiously at the old man. "Why would you help me?"

The old man smiled warmly, "As the first person to study a Rare Class in Thornbush City, it’s only right you receive this benefit. Besides, I have a personal interest. When I was as young as you, I was fortunate to meet a Rare Class Holder at the Oskan Royal Academy, who was personally received by our dean. Since then, I’ve had a deep interest in Rare Classes but never had the opportunity to personally interact with such a professional. You’re the first, and I want to study and see for myself what a Rare Class Holder is like." As he spoke, the old man’s face showed an embarrassed expression, "But there won’t be any discount in the future; after all, every activation of the Teleportation Circle consumes a great deal of Magic Stones, the cost is too great, and I don’t have much in savings to activate it frequently."