Delight surged through Raine.

He examined the system's wording carefully. Only one requirement remained unmet: Archery.

His recent page-boy training had included archery every day, but because he had not spent a Skill Point, Basic Archery was still only Lv. 1 (12/100). Reaching Lv. 2 through practice would take at least another two or three months.

Raine considered the matter for a single second, then spent one Skill Point on Basic Archery.

He had originally intended to use it on the Core Skill Blacksmith's Strength or on the Great Bear Breathing Method. Yet neither option was likely to provide returns comparable to changing into a new combat class.

Advancing from Blacksmith Apprentice to Blacksmith had improved an attribute and granted Core Skills. It was reasonable to expect that changing from Militia to Night Watchman would also provide attribute gains, perhaps even new Core Skills.

It might produce a qualitative leap in his strength.

If the dire gnoll returned now, the gap between them was simply too great. Raine could not stop it.

Why not advance to Knight Attendant instead?

Because he didn't have time, and he had only one life.

Night Watchman was clearly a stronger combat class than Militia, making it his best immediate option. Skill Points, Attribute Points, and even other Class Panels could all be earned later—as long as he survived.

Raine understood that perfectly.

He had once wondered whether Knight Attendant was the sole advancement path from Militia. Now he knew it wasn't. He had simply never fulfilled any other trigger condition.

Advancing from Blacksmith Apprentice to Blacksmith had required him to touch a Blacksmith's Hammer. Night Watchman, bizarrely, had been triggered by adding oil to a streetlamp.

Raine could not yet discern the logic governing class-change and advancement triggers.

He shook his head and set the question aside. Completing the class change came first.

Hopefully, it would bring a pleasant surprise.

[All requirements to change from Militia to Night Watchman have been met. Change class to Night Watchman? Yes / No]

[Note: After the class change, the Night Watchman Class Panel will replace the Militia Class Panel.]

Raine chose Yes without hesitation.

[Class change successful.]

[Class changed to Night Watchman.]

[Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1]

[Core Skills acquired: Danger Sense Lv. 1 (Passive) and Dark Vision (Passive).]

[Danger Sense Lv. 1 (Passive): Years spent guarding humanity in the darkness have given Night Watchmen a perception of danger beyond that of ordinary people.]

[Dark Vision (Passive): Because Night Watchmen often fight at night, their vision in darkness approaches that of nocturnal animals.]

Raine blinked.

Three attributes had increased, and both Core Skills were passive abilities.

That was unexpected.

The word *Militia* had vanished from the original panel, replaced by *Night Watchman*. Beneath the title, alongside existing icons such as Great Bear Breathing Method and Great Bear Swordsmanship, two new icons appeared with faintly glowing borders.

Raine focused first on the eye-shaped icon.

[Core Skill: Dark Vision (Passive)]

Dark Vision (Passive)

Effect: Vision improves greatly in darkness or dim light, approaching that of nocturnal animals.

After reading the description, Raine looked around.

The difference was immediate.

Night now felt strangely comfortable and familiar. Places beyond the streetlamps that had previously been impenetrable blackness looked almost like dusk—dim, but clear.

At a dark street corner, a rat crawled from its hole and sniffed for food. In the shadows nearby, a cockroach scuttled into a rubbish heap.

Raine immediately grasped the value of the passive ability. Fighting at night with Dark Vision would be like wearing night-vision goggles. The advantage was self-evident.

He also noticed that its icon had no EXP bar. Dark Vision could not be improved by spending Skill Points.

"Raine? What's wrong?"

One of the elite Night Watchmen had noticed him standing still.

"Nothing. I just thought of something."

Raine returned to his senses. He had become distracted while studying the new Class Panel.

"The lamps are lit. Let's keep moving."

"Right."

As they continued down the street, Raine examined the second Core Skill.

[Core Skill: Danger Sense Lv. 1 (Passive)]

Danger Sense Lv. 1 (Passive)

Effect: Perception of nearby danger increases slightly.

Note: The acuity of Danger Sense is related to the user's Spirit. The higher the Spirit, the sharper the perception.

After considering it, Raine decided that Danger Sense was the greatest reward of the night.

Dark Vision straightforwardly granted him something comparable to night vision. Danger Sense gave him an animal's instinctive awareness of threats.

In some respects, it might be the most important ability he possessed.

This was a transcendent world, and overwhelming dangers were hardly rare. The dire gnoll attack was a perfect example. Until Raine had the strength to confront such threats directly, detecting and avoiding them in advance was the surest law of survival.

That applied to him as much as any other living creature, especially while he remained weak.

---

Raine and the elite Night Watchmen patrolled cautiously for most of the night. By the time dawn began to brighten the sky, they had found no sign of the dire gnoll and seen no distress signals from other patrols.

Apparently, the creature had not appeared in either Goldflash Town or Habsburg Estate during the night.

They were preparing to end their patrol and return home when a messenger hurried over with orders to assemble outside the administrative hall.

Sheriff Hamilton would personally lead a force into Night Song Forest and join the troops from Habsburg Estate in surrounding and killing the monster.

After brief consideration, Raine decided to accompany them.

He did not know who would lead the estate's force, but it would most likely be Knight Lloyd or Instructor Perez, neither weaker than Hamilton. With several Knight-level fighters at the head of the operation, supported by large numbers of elite Night Watchmen and estate guards, the risk seemed manageable.

More importantly, his strength had risen again after changing to Night Watchman. He badly wanted to witness a battle between true experts.

Then there were the dead page boys. Raine had not been close to them, but their deaths still weighed on him. They had eaten and trained together day after day, and now they were simply gone.

If he could keep the danger under control, he would gladly strike the monster a few times himself.