Chapter Forty-Nine: Paladin Niu Million (Part One)

As far as I know, before anyone undergoes a class change, they are always given a rather arduous task by their trainer. Some are ordered to eliminate a band of kobold bandits, others to steal a secret letter, and there are even those who must capture a wanted criminal or purge a demon. These class change tasks are by no means easy to accomplish and can be extremely dangerous—I myself nearly lost my life during mine.

Therefore, almost everyone feels an overwhelming joy upon successfully changing class. After all, they have paid with sweat and toil, endured perilous trials, proved their abilities, and thus received their well-deserved reward.

But this time, the situation was somewhat unusual. A stubborn fellow was shouting at the top of his lungs, “Let me go,” “Help,” “I don’t want to change class!” and similar cries. He didn’t sound like someone on the brink of glory, but rather a hog bound for slaughter, squealing in protest.

This irrational outcry immediately piqued my curiosity. I looked in the direction of the commotion and saw a burly, towering minotaur warrior being held fast by four paladins wearing the insignia of the Order of the Starry Sky. They had him locked by the arms and were dragging—“dragging” was indeed the proper word—him toward the parish’s announcement platform, where the saintly Lady Miria Bathesfia awaited.

To be honest, it was less a procession than a forced removal. The minotaur, with his plump, robust hindquarters, was doing his best to sink down, clearly wishing he could plant himself on the ground and refuse to move. He struggled fiercely against the paladins’ grip, his tail twisting itself into knots from the effort. Yet all his resistance was in vain. These four paladins, resplendent in gleaming armor and bearing solemn expressions, were all formidable warriors of level sixty. In their eyes, the minotaur’s thrashing was as feeble as a child’s tantrum. Their arms never wavered, their steps remained steady and unbroken. Judging by their pious, reverent faces, I suspected they didn’t much care what they were dragging—be it a person or a sack of oats, such faithful devotees would carry out their duties with the same meticulous devotion.

Life is full of unexpected encounters that surprise us, and this was no exception.

Even at a distance, I had no trouble recognizing the minotaur about to become a paladin. He was the very first companion and comrade-in-arms I had met after leaving Campnavia City—a robust but somewhat slow-witted horned warrior named Niu Baiwan.

To be honest, it was hardly a challenge to identify him. Wherever he went, he bore that dizzyingly long name atop his head, like a walking billboard that instantly drew all eyes. Wherever Niu Baiwan appeared, there was never any shortage of spectacle and laughter. Just as now: people thronging the city’s main street burst out laughing as they watched this self-styled “World’s Greatest Hero, Champion, Knight, Grandmaster” being dragged along the ground like a recalcitrant child. Many couldn’t help but cover their faces, and several young ladies laughed out loud with abandon.

Their laughter made me feel a tad embarrassed—for all his antics, the one being ridiculed was, after all, my friend. Yet despite myself, watching him blush and kick up such a ruckus, I couldn’t help but let a broad smile curl my lips.

Soon enough, Niu Baiwan was hauled up onto the announcement platform and forced to kneel before Lady Bathesfia by the four paladins. Even then, he hadn’t given up struggling—violently shaking his head, scraping at the ground with his knees and hooves, protesting all the while, “I don’t want to change class! Where’s the GM? This is a violation of my rights...” His outburst didn’t seem to perturb Lady Miria Bathesfia in the slightest.

She was a dignified and kindly middle-aged woman. In Reed City, any candidate approved for conversion to a paladin was brought before her to receive the Supreme God’s blessing and acknowledgment. At this moment, this venerable lady stepped forward, her gaze imbued with a touch of divinity—solemn yet benevolent—as she looked upon the foreign giant. She smiled, nodded, and extended her right hand above his head. “Peerless and unmatched, shaking heaven and earth, unrivaled across the world... the graceful gentleman in a troubled age, the flower among youths... mighty as an ox, books as numerous as cattle, testing his mettle, as robust as a bull, tiger’s back and ox’s waist, crouching like a tiger, rolling like a bull, sinking like a boulder, soars like a dragon and dances like a bull—the great Niu Baiwan...”

Lady Bathesfia managed to recite Niu Baiwan’s entire name in a single breath—which surprised me. I had tried to do it myself once, but could barely get halfway before running out of air. It was impressive indeed that this dignified woman had such a steady, unflagging breath, not only pronouncing the whole tongue-twister without pause but doing so loud and clear, at a measured pace throughout. That alone was reason enough for my admiration.

“...Thank you, valiant warrior from distant lands. You delivered an urgent message to its destination just in time, saving countless innocent lives from the devastation of war and bloodshed. Your loyalty, perseverance, and magnanimity are deeply admirable...”

“Let me go!” Niu Baiwan’s coarse roar interrupted, drowning out some of the priestess’s words.

He fell silent just long enough for me to hear Lady Bathesfia continue, “...Faith is not a wall that divides us, but a bridge that brings us together. Though the blood of the Earth Mother runs in your veins, your selfless deeds and courage have proven you worthy to bear the radiance of the Supreme God and become a noble and valiant paladin. I hereby declare—”

“I don’t want it!” Niu Baiwan yelled in protest.

“...In the name of the Supreme God, I bless you, granting you courage and resolve...”

“I don’t want to be a paladin...”

“...You are now a glorious paladin...”

“If I’d known, I never would have done that quest...”

“...For honor, for loyalty, for victory!” With these final words, a purple halo shot forth from Lady Bathesfia’s hand, enveloping Niu Baiwan.

Amid his humiliated, helpless wailing, he was at last transformed into a noble, valiant paladin.

This was the most grandiose class change ceremony I had ever witnessed. Like all things pertaining to the Supreme God Darimos, it was solemn, dignified, and suffused with an air of awe, making one feel the omnipresent majesty of the deity.

Ironically, the only discordant element was the main character himself—Niu Baiwan, now a paladin. From start to finish, he had struggled and shouted, wholly unwilling, awkward, and undignified, displaying not a trace of the pious devotion expected of one dedicating himself to faith and deity.

As soon as the spectacle ended, the crowd dispersed with a roar—some heading out to hunt monsters, others manning their stalls, some seeking vengeance in duels, others turning in their completed tasks. Everything swiftly returned to its former jumble of noisy calm and orderly chaos, as if the grand class change ceremony had been nothing more than a stone tossed into a lake—sending out but a brief ripple, quickly swallowed up by the placid surface, leaving no trace it had ever happened at all.