Since there was no one left to interrupt or witness my actions, I turned my attention to the grim task of looting. I began with the bodies of the knight and the adventurer. It was clear from our brief, lethal exchange that every member of their party had been well above average in terms of skill and equipment. This wasn't the rusted gear of common bandits; this was high-quality steel, well-maintained and likely worth a fortune on the open market. As I stripped the equipment, the weight of the gold coins I recovered was a physical reminder of the stakes. I collected a total of 45 gold coins and 250 silver coins from the group. Predictably, the vast majority of the gold had been tucked away in the knight’s pouches. I couldn't help but think to myself that being a noble in this world must be a very comfortable existence, provided you don't find yourself on the wrong side of my blade.
The knight’s equipment, in particular, was incredibly valuable. As I turned the pieces over in my hands, I noticed the telltale shimmer of skill crystals embedded in the metal. These were rare finds, items that I could either sell for a massive sum of money or perhaps even integrate into my own loadout once I had the time to study them. Along with the weapons and armor, I carefully retrieved the magical device I had taken from the scholar girl earlier. I truly hoped that the device, with its ability to reveal hidden truths, would be worth as much as its rarity suggested.
I stood there for a moment, looking at the blood-stained dirt and the stillness of the dead. I had made a very big mess—actually, two massive messes if I included the massacre I had caused at dawn. The political and social repercussions of this day would be staggering if I stayed to answer for them. It was clearly in my best interest to leave this place as quickly as possible. To properly organize the influx of items, coins, and equipment I had just acquired, I decided to revisit the inn for a brief moment of relative privacy.
Once I had finished dealing with the material issues and stowed the loot safely, I opened the Player Window to see if the recent carnage had resulted in any changes to my status. The translucent screen flickered into existence, and my eyes widened as I scanned the updates. There were indeed many significant differences. First and foremost, my jobs had leveled up significantly, even though I had deliberately deactivated both of my experience-boosting skills before the fights to prioritize my raw survival stats. My current job levels have reached impressive heights: Hero level 8, Swordsman level 41, Warrior level 40, Dungeon Raider level 40, and Monk level 38.
The second and far more important realization was that I had unlocked four entirely new jobs. The descriptions that appeared before me were nothing short of game-changing.
***
Swordmaster:
- An upper-class job for a sword-using fighter.
- Strength increase (small)
- Agility increase (small)
- Dexterity increase (medium)
- Intelligence increase (small)
Skill: Sword Dance
- You increase your dexterity and agility (0.5 + 0.01 * level) for 20 seconds
- Skill cost = 20 mana
Skill: Breathing Correction
- Decrease your stamina consumption by half until the fight is over.
- Skill cost = 20 mana
***
***
Knight:
- A scarce job associated with nobility.
- Strength increase (medium)
- Endurance increase (small)
- Agility increase (minor)
- Dexterity increase (small)
Skill: Appoint
- Appoint jobs that are authorized by the noble you serve, or if you are a noble yourself.
- Skill cost = 10 mana
Skill: Pressure
- Reduce the target’s agility by (15 + 0.3 * level) % for 3 seconds
- Skill cost = 30 mana
***
***
Assassin:
- A job that could be seen as criminal or not, depending on circumstances.
- Agility increase (small)
- Dexterity increase (small)
- Sense increase (minor)
Skill: Covert
- You can greatly suppress your presence for 5 seconds.
- Skill cost = 5 mana
***
***
Adventurer:
- The basic job for guarding small settlements like villages.
- Strength increase (minor)
- Vitality increase (small)
- Agility increase (minor)
- Intelligence increase (small)
- Sense increase (medium)
Skill: Item box
- You can store different items as many as your level + 50 in an invisible box.
- You can stock up on 20 items of one type unless their total mass surpasses 20kg.
Skill: Advent
- You can move freely between places that you have been before.
- Skill cost = 0.1 mana per km
***
All of these new jobs were awesome. Looking at the level requirements, I began to suspect that level 40 serves as a major turning point for job evolution in this world. The Swordmaster job is clearly a higher-tier version of the Swordsman job, while the Knight job likely derives from a combination of the Warrior or Swordsman paths. Similarly, the Adventurer job seemed to be a direct evolution of the Dungeon Raider job.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The only one that didn't seem to be a direct evolution of my currently equipped jobs was Assassin. Curiously, it only provided 10 points when equipped, which was much lower than the 50 points offered by the other three new Tier 3 jobs. I figured I must have unlocked it because of the way I killed the adventurer so sneakily earlier.
After checking the mechanics, I realized that I could now categorize my repertoire into a tiered system. If I labeled the basic Villager and Hunter jobs as Tier 1 (providing no extra points aside from their level), then the Swordsman, Warrior, Dungeon Raider, Monk, and Assassin jobs would be Tier 2, providing a base of 10 points.
This made the Swordmaster, Knight, and Adventurer jobs Tier 3, as they provided a massive 50-point base plus their level count. And then, there was the Hero job. I wasn't sure if there were any jobs that existed at the same level or higher, but for now, I would call it Tier 4. These elite jobs provided a staggering 100 base points.
Since I now had access to significantly better jobs, it was time to overhaul my active list. I decided to equip Hero level 8, Swordmaster level 1, Knight level 1, Adventurer level 1, and Monk level 38. I planned to keep the Assassin job in reserve, ready to equip it in the future if I ever needed to use its skills to move around covertly.
With the Hero job providing 100 base points and 8 points for its current level, my total point pool surged to 188, as I was already receiving 80 points as my default base. I decided to pull back on my extreme stat enhancements, decreasing my physical stat boosts from 10 to 7. This reallocation consumed 30 points across six stats. I required 16 points to maintain my five active job slots and continued to funnel 25 points into the Player Window bonus skill. This left me with a healthy 117 points to play with.
I didn't hesitate to max out my growth potential. I put 110 points into my Level 10 Experience skills, which multiplied my experience gain by a factor of 11. This left me with exactly 7 points that I couldn't use on anything other than basic stats for the moment. There are other skills and spells I use occasionally, like Identify or Warp, but they don't need to be active all the time. I can simply shift my points around, lowering a stat or a skill level when I need to cast them, and then boosting them back once I'm done.
With the point adjustments made and the job changes finalized, my stats and skills were back to their stabilized state. It was time to leave, but first, I had to check the total cumulative stat bonuses and my final amounts.
***
Stats: Job Bonuses: Total:
HP: 190/232
MP: 65/91
SP: 105/119
***
“Woah! My stats are totally hyped now. Even my non-physical stats like intelligence, wisdom, and charisma are pretty high,” I exclaimed softly, unable to hide my shock at the numbers dancing before my eyes. If I continued to grow at this pace, I would become truly overpowered in a very short amount of time.
This exponential growth was almost entirely thanks to the Hero job. Since it had reached level 8, it was now increasing every single one of my stats by a staggering 58%. As the job’s level continued to climb, that bonus would only become more lopsided.
All of this—the loot, the high-tier jobs, and the absurd stats—felt like a reward for the suffering I had endured over the last three weeks. Seeing the current state of my Player Window elevated my mood, but the relief was quickly tempered by the memory of what I had to do to get here. It made me question my own moral values.
I could still smell the iron scent of blood lingering in the air of the inn. I have killed a few dozen people today alone. Back when I was in Targashar, I was just focused on exploring the dungeon and hunting monsters for survival. Now, I have transformed into a total murderer. I can feel myself changing, turning into another being entirely, for better or worse.
It was going to take a significant amount of time to collect my thoughts and reconcile what I had become. I knew I had to leave the territory of Velshara immediately—perhaps I even needed to leave the kingdom entirely—until my deeds were forgotten by time. The best option that came to mind for my next destination was the Hazaroth Union. I began to think about the possibilities of making some trades using my Warp skill and the newly gained Advent skill from my Adventurer job.
With my destination finally decided, I left the inn and stepped out into the afternoon light, departing for a new journey. I truly hoped that I could find a way to heal the mental wounds I had received over the last month and find a way to actually enjoy my time in this world. In the end, this was the new world I had always dreamt of being a part of.
It is only a waste not to make full use of it, right?
With those thoughts heavy in my mind, I took my first step in a new direction, heading toward the north.
[Edited]