“We’ve come far enough,” Othrik informed everyone, his breath still slightly ragged. “We should rest here and collect some of our energy. Relax for ten minutes and prepare something to eat. After we finish resting, we will return to the village”.
The party members didn't need to be told twice; they immediately found spots to collapse and relax among the roots and grass. Since I had only intervened at the tail end of the fight against the bears, I wasn't nearly as tired as the others. While they were busy catching their breath and checking their gear, I decided to take a look at my own progress. I had killed a Level 12 enemy, so I was hopeful that I’d gained at least one level.
“Identify,” I whispered, keeping my voice as low as possible to avoid drawing curiosity.
***
Han
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Status: Normal
Equipment:
*One-handed Iron Sword
*Middle-scale Iron Shield
*Leather Breastplate
*Leather Helmet
*Leather Gloves
*Leather Footwear
Job: Villager Lvl 2
***
Wow! My Villager job leveled up, I thought, a rush of excitement tingling through my chest. I was eager to see if this new level granted any additional bonuses to my stats or points.
“Player Window!” I called out the skill name in my head.
***
Player Window
—
Name: Han
Sex: Male
Age: 20
—
Total Points: 82
Remaining Points: 2
—
Stats: Job Bonuses: Total:
HP: 140
MP: 50
SP: 63
Strength: 6
Endurance: 5 X 1,260 6,300
Vitality: 7
Agility: 6
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Sense: 5
Charisma: 5
Regeneration: 5
—
Equipped Jobs:
Villager Level 2
—
Acquired Jobs:
Villager Level 2
Hunter Level 1
—
Equipment:
*One-handed Iron Sword
*Middle-scale Iron Shield
*Leather Breastplate
*Leather Helmet
*Leather Gloves
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
*Leather Footwear
—
Shop
***
“Yes! That is it!” I shouted before I could stop myself.
“...Huh?!” several voices grunted in confusion from nearby.
“Oh, it is nothing! Hahaha,” I replied quickly, waving a dismissive hand. I felt my face heat up; I had gotten so excited that I’d forgotten there were other people around who couldn't see my blue screens. All of them were looking at me like I had finally lost my sanity. I’d have to be more careful from now on.
Returning my focus to the Player Window, I noticed that my total points had increased from 80 to 82—a direct reflection of my job level. There were also several new developments to explore.
The most exciting was my new job: Hunter. It was currently Level 1, which was to be expected for a newly acquired role. It seemed that dealing the finishing blow to a monster or animal was the requirement for unlocking it. I also noticed the "Job Bonus" section. The Villager job appeared to increase endurance, though the multiplier of 1.260 seemed oddly irregular and specific.
I decided to test the system further. I remembered a skill in the Shop that could increase the number of jobs I could hold at once. I opened the Shop and found the skill named ‘Extra Job’. I only had enough points for Level 1, so I purchased it immediately, bringing my remaining points back to zero. Instantly, a new empty slot appeared in my equipped job list.
***
Equipped Jobs:
Villager Level 2
Empty
***
I selected the Hunter job for my second slot. My points didn't increase, which suggested the primary point bonus likely only applies to the first job slot. However, I noticed a change in my stat bonuses: both my endurance and agility had increased again. It was clear that the Hunter job provided a secondary boost to these attributes.
***
Stats: Job Bonuses: Total:
Endurance: 5 X 1,311 6,555
Agility: 6 X 1,128 6,768
***
To fully understand the mechanics, I began to experiment by equipping the jobs one by one. I tried to unequip the Villager job, but the system refused. I realized that since I had already spent the 2 points granted by that job, I couldn't unequip it without losing those points—and since I had zero remaining points, the system wouldn't allow a negative balance. I had to remove the ‘Extra Job’ skill first to reset the slots.
After unequipping the Hunter job and removing the skill, I was finally able to swap their positions, making Hunter my primary job. My points updated to reflect the new primary job's level—since Hunter was only Level 1, my remaining points dropped to 1.
***
Stats: Job Bonuses: Total:
Endurance: 5 X 1,120 5,600
Agility: 6 X 1,255 7,530
***
The bonuses for endurance from Villager and agility from Hunter were remarkably similar when set as the primary job. I needed more information to optimize my build, so I used Identify directly on the job names themselves.
***
Villager:
- The most basic job. It is the precondition of many jobs.
- Endurance increase (small)
Skill: Endure
- You don’t exhaust for (5 + 0.2 * level) seconds.
- Skill cost = 10
***
***
Hunter:
- The basic job of tracking animals.
- Endurance increase (minor)
- Agility increase (small)
Skill: Lock On
- You can lock on a target and track it even if there is an obstacle in the way for 60 seconds.
- Maximum tracking distance = (50 + 1 * level) meter
- Skill cost = 5 mana
***
The math finally began to click. A "small" increase appeared to represent a 25% boost that rose by 0.5% per level, while a "minor" increase represented a 10% boost rising by 0.2%. The Hunter job was clearly a better fit for my current build, as it multiplied my agility—my highest and most useful stat.
I wondered why the other villagers hadn't changed their jobs to Hunter, considering how often they were out here in the forest.
“Hey, Othrik!” I called out, trying to sound casual. “Are there any jobs that help with hunting?”
“Yes, there are,” Othrik replied, as if sharing common knowledge. “The most well-known is the Hunter job. It increases your agility and endurance and even gives you a skill to track enemies. Why do you ask?”
“I just wondered if any of you had it,” I said.
“No, none of us has that job,” Othrik said plainly. “Aside from me, everyone in this party is a Villager”.
“Why? Wouldn't it make your hunts much easier? Is it a hard job to get?” I pressed, genuinely confused.
“Not really,” Othrik explained. “Once you finish off a monster, you gain the recognition to acquire the Hunter job. But changing the job itself is the real problem. You have to travel all the way to a Hunter Guild to officially register the change, and our village is nowhere near a big settlement”.
He added a crucial detail I hadn't considered: “Also, as you stay with the same job, you grow stronger little by little. When you change your job, you have to start accumulating that time all over again”.
It seemed their understanding of "leveling up" was tied to the time and experience accumulated in a specific role, though they lacked the precise numerical data provided by my Identify skill. I realized I would have to be extremely careful; if they saw "Hunter" on my Intelligence Card, they would have many questions about how I managed to change my job without visiting a guild.
“Time? I would have thought people would get stronger faster by killing monsters or humans,” I suggested, testing his perspective.
“Experience definitely matters,” Othrik agreed with a nod. “A soldier who has seen battle will always be stronger than one who hasn’t”.
He wasn't quite grasping the technical concept of "job levels," so I decided to ask directly. “Ehm. Do you know anything about job levels?”
“Job levels?” Othrik mused, stroking his chin. “Hmm, I think only explorers and merchants deal with things like that. It’s a very practical system for them”.
I was slightly embarrassed—were we even talking about the same thing? Regardless, I had gained a significant hint. “Can you introduce me to the merchant of the village? I’d like to ask him about that. Erm, I think his name was...”
“Copez,” Othrik provided. “Don’t worry, we’re taking most of the materials we got in the hunt to him anyway. I’ll introduce you then”.
“Thank you, I’d really appreciate that,” I said.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s eat, it seems the food is ready,” Othrik said, gesturing toward the cauldron where the others had gathered.
After our meal, we began the long trek back to the village. Before we left, I made sure to have both the Villager and Hunter jobs equipped. On our way, we encountered two more groups: four grey wolves and three black boars. I participated actively this time, and by the end of the skirmishes, my Hunter job reached Level 2. I immediately set it as my first job.
We reached the village just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, the evening air quiet and still.
[Edited]