Learn skill: "Quick Slash"? Cost: 3 Skill Points.
——Skill acquired.
You have unlocked the intermediate job: "Sword Master."
Minori blinked at the shimmering panel in front of him. His voice was barely a whisper, tinged with realization and awe.
"…As I thought. This world's job acquisition system isn't like a game interface—it just happens. But even I can trigger it."
But.
His gaze dropped, eyes flickering with thought.
No prompt asking "Would you like to change jobs?"
That was unsettling.
Minori began categorizing the current known methods of unlocking combat jobs:
① Equipment Trigger: Touch or equip weapons tied to a class to acquire it.• Pros: Easy to unlock basic jobs.• Cons: Mid-to-high tier jobs likely require rare gear or specific conditions.
② Skill Trigger: Observe and learn a skill, spend points, and acquire related job.• Pros: High flexibility—any skill seen can lead to job acquisition.• Cons: No confirmation window. Once the skill is learned, the job is forcibly assigned. Potentially dangerous.
Minori mulled this over. For someone with Genius as a general job, Method 1 was almost irrelevant. Method 2 was the real bread and butter.
He returned his gaze to the status panel.
After gaining Sword Master, his overall level had increased to Level 2, granting him another 3 Skill Points.
"That's absurdly fast. No wonder some YGGDRASIL players managed to hit 100 jobs with enough grind."
The potential of class-hopping crossed his mind, albeit fleetingly.
"If the three skill points per level-up holds true, and I get a point reset every time I drop and relevel…"
He paused, immediately shaking his head.
This wasn't YGGDRASIL. Death mechanics here were unknown. Risking that kind of experiment now would be idiotic.
Better not test bugs that might get him permanently deleted.
With the panel still active, he used two more skill points.
Skill acquired: "Instant Reflection."Skill acquired: "Four Lights Consecutive Slash."
One skill point remained. He decided to hold it in reserve.
A fresh pulse ran through the status panel.
[Status Panel]
Name: Minori
Justice Value: 0 (Neutral)
HP: 23 (1.7%)
MP: 13 (1%)
Physical Attack: 23 (1.7%)
Physical Defense: 13 (1%)
Agility: 23 (1.7%)
Magic Attack: 13 (1%)
Magic Defense: 13 (1%)
Total Attribute Bonus:9.1%
[Ability Panel]
Innate Ability:[Player]
Level:2 EXP:0 / 100
Jobs:• Basic Job:Genius Lv.1 (Warrior)• Intermediate Job:Sword Master Lv.1
Skill Points Remaining:1
Passive Skills:• Item Box• Slash Damage +1%
Active Skills:• Warrior — Instant Reflection, Four Lights Consecutive Slash• Sword Master — Quick Slash
[Job: Sword Master]Type: Intermediate Combat JobEffect: Increases slashing damage by 1% per level, max 10%.Stat Growth: Each level adds +10 to HP, Physical Attack, and Agility.
[Skill: Instant Reflection]Type: Warrior SkillEffect: Automatically returns the body to its previous attack posture.Cost: None
[Skill: Four Lights Consecutive Slash]Type: Warrior SkillEffect: Simultaneously performs four slashes. Damage may be distributed and hit rate is reduced.Cost: None
[Skill: Quick Slash]Type: Sword Master SkillEffect: Performs a rapid forward slash dealing 110% physical damage.Cooldown: 10 secondsCost: None
Minori narrowed his eyes as he reread the Sword Master's bonuses.
"Only boosts HP, Attack, and Agility. So it has a clear physical bias. And 10-point stat gains per level? Not bad. Basic jobs probably offer far less."
He let out a soft breath.
"Genius really is overpowered. Skipping the basic jobs is a huge advantage."
Still, one thing stood out.
"Wait... Sword Master granted a passive skill on acquisition?"
He focused on "Slash Damage +1%".
Not particularly flashy. But it stacked. Up to +10%.
"It's plain, but not useless. Better than nothing."
The bigger revelation came when he compared the skills.
"'Quick Slash' is formatted like a game skill—damage, cooldown, everything."
In contrast, Instant Reflection and Four Lights lacked system-defined damage. No cooldowns either. Only vague descriptions.
Minori muttered, "Just like the martial arts in the New World. Their structure's completely different from the game's coded abilities."
In YGGDRASIL, warrior skills usually consumed cooldowns and had no mana cost. Magic-users consumed MP but often cast freely.
Martial arts, on the other hand, drew from a different resource entirely—concentration.
Yet his panel showed no such stat.
"So how do I track it?" Minori frowned. "Is it invisible? Or just intuitive? I'll need to test this later."
A sudden shift interrupted his thoughts.
Crash!
Crash!
The sound of shuffling bodies filled the air. All around him, the crowd began rising from their seats in unison.
Minori snapped out of his thoughts, startled.
Several people turned to glance at him, the only one still seated.
"…Ahem."
He cleared his throat and stood up quickly, face expressionless, mimicking the crowd.
When in doubt, follow the flow.
As he stood, his body tipped forward, unbalanced by the sudden movement.
Minori instinctively reached out and steadied himself by placing a hand on the shoulder of the man in front.
Unfortunately, that man had the look of a street brawler—a muscular, brown-haired middle-aged man with a feral edge.
The man turned slowly, displeased.
"You got a problem, brat?"
"…Sorry. Lost my balance."
Minori withdrew his hand and apologized with a slight bow.
The man snorted and glared, as if committing his face to memory.
Minori exhaled quietly. He wasn't interested in unnecessary attention right now.
The brief imbalance… had a cause.
His stats had increased, and his body felt it. Faster reflexes, denser strength—he was stronger. Noticeably.
He curled his fingers into a loose fist.
"It's like I've just finished a year of training… compressed into a second."
He straightened his back and looked toward the arena.
Gazef and Brain were gone.
They must have left during his inspection of the panel.
The nobles above had begun filing out, which explained why the crowd had risen—they were giving way, as expected of commoners.
Minori nodded in understanding.
"…Still. Would've been nice to catch a glimpse of Princess Renner."
The stands had blocked his line of sight to the noble tiers.
Half an hour of standing later, his legs ached and his expression soured.
The privileged really are obnoxious.
The moment the nobles had all departed, the crowd relaxed. Noise returned to the venue as people resumed speaking.
Most were excitedly analyzing the duel. Praise for Gazef. Speculation about Brain. Even envy—both had caught the King's eye and been invited into the palace.
And then—
The brown-haired man turned, cracking his knuckles.
That black-haired brat was about to pay for touching him—
But the seat behind him was empty.
"…Tch! You little bastard, just you wait!"
He grumbled curses under his breath.
Minori was long gone.