Many sections of the town were engulfed in flames with smoke limiting visibility in many of the streets and alleyways. A small demon charged at Dreu who responded by raising his shield. Another claw mark was added to the shield but the shield was holding. Dreu clumsily brought the sword down and sliced the demon in half.

Shortly after the bell rang earlier, the demons had poured into the streets like a tsunami. Screams of humans could be heard everywhere. Dreu, like so many others, froze in place while his brain tried to register the scene before him. He finally took action when a demon attacked him. Despite slaying a handful of small demons after the attack began, he saw no end to the number of demons. At the sight of larger demons, instinct gripped him forcing Dreu to flee from the terrors that had befallen Berkton.

Human and demon corpses littered the streets. The few remaining human soldiers tried their best but they were easily overwhelmed by the sheer number of demons. As the fire spread from building to building, the current survivors had the choice of dying by fire or at the hands of the demons. Dreu ran desperately with his eyes scanning for anything that could save him. His body was already screaming at him to stop. Fatigue steadily settled in and he forced himself to keep going. A part of him also registered that he was now alone.

The young man was so focused on looking for a way out that he failed to notice a demon charging out of an alleyway into him. The two of them flew into a nearby burning building. As the demon raised its claw, Dreu swung his shield into the demon’s head. The impact sent it flying a few meters into the fire. He then grimaced as he raised his other arm. The demon left a nasty gash on his sword arm resulting in his sword being far less effective than earlier. With a curse, he backed away from the street due to the multiple demons gathering there. As he prepared for his final stand, he felt the ground give out under him.

Dreu landed awkwardly and the impact knocked the breath out of him. Once he recovered, the young man searched for his sword and shield in the darkness. Upon getting his bearings, Dreu blindly headed in a direction and was rewarded by an intersection. Turning the corner, he could see a handful of torches and a couple of silhouettes in the distance. With no other choice, he approached the torches.

“Illuminate,” said a female voice.

Dreu instinctively raised his shield to put it between his face and the unexpected light.

“It’s a fellow human being,” said the same voice from earlier.

Dreu let out his breath and lowered his shield. While his vision was recovering, a man approached him.

“We’re fleeing to the outskirts of the town through these tunnels. Keep up if you want to live.”

Dreu merely nodded and followed the group. He sneaked glances at his new companions. There were a dozen humans with half of them dressed as civilians and the other half he suspected to be adventurers.

“Demons to the left!” shouted a voice.

The civilians fled at the mention of demons while the adventurers readied themselves.

“I will hold them off as long as I can.” The tallest man of the group stood out. “Run and that’s an order!”

Dreu saw a brief hesitation from the other adventurers but they chased after the civilians. He muttered a quick thanks before leaving the man to fight against impossible odds. They then spent what seemed like forever running down the tunnel. Eventually, all of them collapsed onto the ground to catch their breath. The civilians were already sound asleep while the adventurers struggled to keep their eyes open.

“Humans are such weak creatures. To think we thought they were a threat. I will enjoy tearing you all apart!”

Dreu and the adventurers turned towards the source of the voice and saw a pair of violet eyes staring at them from the darkness. Two adventurers, both in heavy armor, rushed to intercept the demon. Someone behind the two adventurers began chanting a spell while Dreu turned to see another notching an arrow.

“Illuminate!”

Dreu turned his head and was shocked to see a humanoid demon with grotesque horns and claws. The demon easily towered over them and had to hunch slightly to avoid hitting the tunnel ceiling with its head. The smile on the demon’s face was the most disturbing. Dreu felt his heart beat rapidly as he began hyperventilating.

Meanwhile, the adventurers fought the demon with much difficulty. The narrow tunnel prevented them from using their numbers effectively. Not only could they not maneuver properly but the ranged supports struggled to avoid hitting their companions with their attacks. To make matters worse, the front liners found their weapons useless against the demon’s armor. Lacking ranged support, one of the front liners was quickly killed when the demon’s claws went through his chest and armor. The demon then tossed the corpse aside to turn its attention towards the other front liner.

The corpse landed near Dreu who was still hyperventilating. The sight jolted him back to reality but he cursed as he tried raising his sword arm. He barely had the strength to grip the sword handle. He kept cursing internally until a prompt showed up before him.

<Congratulations! You have unlocked the Emperor Class.>

Dreu’s eyes widened at the sight of the prompt appearing before him. While prompts were available to anyone regardless of their magical abilities, they were generally only useful for those with magical or ability skills. When he first learned of the prompt, Dreu summoned the window only to find his name. He later learned that prompts not only provided more details of unlocked skills but also provided valuable information on how to unlock new skills when certain hidden requirements were met. If used properly, the prompt could bring out the full potential of its user. Up until this moment, Dreu had no use for the prompt since working as a laborer didn’t unlock any abilities within him.

<Do you wish to unlock the “Summon Footman” ability? ( Yes/No )>

Following a brief pause, Dreu selected the “Yes” option. The prompt then updated.

<Do you wish to use the “Summon Footman” ability? ( Yes/No )>

With no hesitation this time, he selected "Yes."