The game YGGDRASIL was vastly different from traditional MMORPGs.
Its death penalty was brutal—upon dying, a player would immediately lose five levels. If there weren't enough levels left to lose, the account would be permanently deleted.
To reduce the cost of death, players had two main strategies: cast resurrection magic, or carry rare resurrection items—usually cash shop gear like the [Ring of Resurrection] or [Wand of Revival].
Minori had neither.
And more importantly, he was fairly certain of one thing: even if he possessed the innate trait [Player], death in this world would not be reversible.
No auto-revive. No respawn point.
Because this wasn't a game anymore.
It was reality.
And here, death meant death.
As he chewed on a chunk of hard black bread, Minori's hand moved instinctively to the dagger at his waist—the one he had purchased earlier with a few silver coins.
It was an ordinary blade. Crude iron, standard grip. No runes. No glow.
And without [Item Identification], there was no way to learn anything more specific about it.
Still, even without magic, Minori could tell—it had no special effects, no bonus attributes.
Just a mundane weapon.
But that wasn't why he carried it.
The real reason was what happened when he first held it.
"Buzz——"
You have touched the weapon [Dagger]. Basic job unlocked: [Warrior].Would you like to take this job? [Yes] / [No]
Minori had stared at the floating prompt in his ability panel, the dagger still gripped in his hand.
"No," he murmured quietly.
The prompt vanished.
It wasn't the first time he had declined. He'd seen something similar the first time he picked up a sword in a nearby blacksmith's stall.
This marked the second job offer he had rejected.
He had discovered something critical—simply holding certain weapons for a while would trigger job unlock prompts.
Back at the weapons shop, he'd even tested a kite shield. That one triggered an intermediate class: [Black Guard].
Unfortunately, the job had been locked—a message had appeared stating that he needed the [Guardian] class first.
Still, it had been an exhilarating moment.
He'd spent the rest of the visit subtly touching every weapon he could find, which earned him several murderous glares from the shopkeeper.
So far, only the basic [Warrior] job had responded—no surprise, as it was one of the most common entry-level classes.
In YGGDRASIL, job classes were separated by tier:
[Class Tier System]
Basic Jobs: Max level 15
Intermediate Jobs: Max level 10
Advanced/Special Jobs: Max level 5
Each job had its own level cap and could not be leveled past that point. YGGDRASIL had over 2,000 job classes. Unless someone deliberately copied a build, no two players were ever the same.
Minori understood that his ability to unlock classes via physical contact was not normal.
But he refused to be hasty.
Why hadn't he accepted the [Warrior] class?
Because he understood something deeply:
There was only one path to level 100.
If he wanted to survive against the monsters in Nazarick—let alone stand toe-to-toe with them—then becoming a pure spellcaster or pure warrior would leave him too vulnerable.
Just taking one basic spellcaster job and one basic warrior job would already consume 30 levels.
Leaving only 70 remaining.
That wasn't much room for error.
One bad build, and all hope would be gone.
Minori slowly chewed his stale bread. Sitting quietly in the corner of the street, his head bowed, lost in thought.
He hadn't yet decided on his first job.
Or rather—he didn't dare to decide.
If he were only up against the native forces of this world, he wouldn't need to worry so much.
But the true danger wasn't the Kingdom or the Empire.
It was Nazarick.
...And the Dragon Lords.
Ironically, if Minori only wanted to reach level 100 quickly, there was a fast method.
In YGGDRASIL, you didn't need to fully level a class. You could take 100 one-level jobs and hit max level instantly.
But such builds were completely dysfunctional.
Glass cannons with no utility. Healers with no mana pool. Warriors who couldn't lift their swords.
No. Minori needed something better.
Something unique.
He'd been thinking about that ever since arriving in this world.
And after extensive thought, he had concluded there were only two real ways to bridge the gap between him and Nazarick:
1. Master local power systems outside YGGDRASIL's mechanics.Like martial arts, the Kingdom's national treasure Razor Edge, or powerful relics like the [Origin Ring].
2. Acquire a [Special Job].These jobs surpassed even advanced classes, granting powerful passives or unique skills that could rival super-tier magic.
Only with a special job could Minori begin to stand on equal footing with the Guardians.
Da-da—
Footsteps echoed through the market square and stopped in front of Minori.
He felt a sudden coolness as a shadow blocked the sunlight.
His instincts flared. His fingers twitched.
He didn't move—just glanced down at the shape of the shadow. Then looked up calmly.
A boy stood there.
Short, golden-blond hair. Bangs draped like a mushroom cap. Meek posture. Quiet aura.
He wasn't older than thirteen or fourteen.
His clothing was neat and made of decent cloth—clearly better than Minori's rags, which were barely worth a few copper coins.
Minori blinked, caught off guard.
Nfirea?
The face was younger than he remembered from the story's start, but unmistakable.
This boy would one day become a genius alchemist, personally recognized by the Sorcerer King.
"Hello," the boy said gently. "Are you in trouble?"
Minori hesitated.
He looked at the crusty bread in his hand. His dirty, worn-out clothes. His crouched figure in the corner.
...He was being pitied.
His mouth twitched.
"...No."
Just then, a cold voice cut in: "What are you doing, Nfirea?"
An old woman approached—short, barely 1.5 meters tall. Her white hair was tucked under a green scarf. Her face was plain, but her eyes were sharp.
Minori didn't need confirmation.
That was Nfirea.
And this was no ordinary boy.
Nfirea held two extremely rare job variants: [Alchemist (Genius)] and [Pharmacist (Genius)].
These "Genius" classes weren't normal—they were innate talent jobs, allowing one to:
Learn more skills from their profession
Unlock higher-tier abilities early
Increase skill power and expand class growth dramatically
He was the one who recreated Blood of God using only local herbs—a potion thought lost to time.
The Sorcerer King had thousands of potions in stock. But if someone could make them...
Of course Nazarick would be interested.
But Nfirea's talent didn't end there.
He also possessed a unique natural ability:
[Unlimited Use of Props] – Remove all item usage restrictions.Can equip and use:
Magic Scrolls
Class-locked Items
Race-restricted Weapons
Even Guild Artifacts
Minori inhaled slowly, trying not to let his awe show.
This boy wasn't just a future asset.
Under certain conditions—
He could become a threat to Nazarick itself.