Job Change Quest (2)
Shin Dong-hoon's ability was classified as A-rank due to his "instant acceleration❞ skill.
He could move at extremely high speeds while holding his breath, though no one had actually seen him use it yet.
'The people with him aren't pushovers either.'
Three B-ranks and six C-ranks.
A fully elite squad.
They were an awakened group formed under Commander Lee Hak-ki's
leadership, and thanks to their substantial experience in monster hunting, they quickly succeeded in clearing the orc dungeon.
'And Shin Dong-hoon's level is 37.'
A level of 37 made him nearly top-tier among civilians, excluding vassals.
Civilians had an experience point buff.
For those who showed promise, I had even directly boosted their EXP gain, so in effect, there was a 3 to 4 times difference.
That he overcame this gap and still reached such a high level meant only one thing.
'He must have hunted high-level monsters.'
His performance since acquiring citizenship had also been excellent.
'He has a good reputation among his teammates and seems like a decent person.'
That alone earned him a passing mark.
'I should consider offering him vassal registration.'
I was also thinking of offering it to the three B-ranks: Lee Jun-ho, Park Sung-joon, and Kim Ki-tae.
Recently, when I leveled up my Nobility Maintenance skill, the vassal registration cap increased by 100, giving me more flexibility.
'Still, a hunter, huh.'
Becoming a hunter was simpler than expected.
All I had to do was assign the job change quest to the person. For hunters, the requirement was to hunt 30 monsters.
Even just killing 30 goblins after accepting the quest would be enough to complete the change.
As long as I could provide them with a gun, the hunter job change quest was basically a walk in the park.
'I could give it to him if he wants...'
"
Since a job could be removed at any time, it wasn't a big deal.
'But a warrior would probably be better.'
The hunter's job effect was merely acquiring by-products from prey.
In simple terms, it meant the hunted monster's corpse wouldn't disappear-but this wasn't particularly advantageous.
Frankly, if the corpse had a rare item, they could just register it at the shop and be done with it.
The hunter class just didn't offer much of a merit.
'The only real benefit would be for hunting sea monsters.'
Sky bluefin tuna were a prime example.
They usually lived near the coast, and in the past, they had even moved inland due to the appearance of a white dragon.
Their sashimi was known to melt in your mouth, and there were even civilians who specialized in hunting them.
Demand was so high that although they were registered in shops, they were traded more actively at the exchange due to their unexpectedly high price.
That made them pretty lucrative.
'But the warrior class directly helps in combat.'
Since it was a class unlocked at level 2 of the Job Research Lab, its effects were far better than a hunter's.
It provided a 50% buff to melee attacks and temporarily doubled one's physical abilities.
'The condition for the job change quest is... huh?'
The warrior's job change quest was a bit unusual.
'Clear the Warrior's Room?'
Apparently, a special room for the class change had been prepared in the now level 2 Job Research Lab.
'The Eye of the Absolute.'
Indeed, when I checked the Job Research Lab, two special rooms had newly appeared.
'This must be it.'
One was the Warrior's Room, and the other seemed to be for a yet-unfinished class research-probably for the Archer class.
'I should begin researching the Archer class too.'
[Do you want to begin researching the 'Archer' class?]
[Yes / No]
'Start it.'
Ding!
[Archer]
...Research in progress...
Remaining time: 11 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds
After initiating research on the other class unlocked at level 2, I used teleport to head to where Shin Dong-hoon's group was.
Shwoosh-
***
"Squad leader. Isn't this a bit hasty of a decision?"
"What is?"
"There's no guarantee that we can even hunt those things inside the safe zone. If it were really such easy profit, those who already changed to the hunter class would have monopolized it by now. For all we know, the monsters could be extinct already. Wouldn't it be better to go and scout it out first before making a decision?"
Shin Dong-hoon sighed and spoke.
"Ki-tae, I told you earlier. You can quit being a hunter any time. Try it, and if it doesn't work out, you just stop."
Kim Ki-tae, known for his cautious nature within the unit, couldn't accept Shin Dong-hoon's hasty decision.
"Then shouldn't just a few of us try changing to hunter instead?"
After hearing what he said, Shin Donghoon thought for a moment before answering.
"Is there a reason we have to do that?"
"The fact that there's a hunter class with such a specific effect means there must be other classes as well, right? And the fact that it takes a full month of cooldown time to switch jobs after quitting being a hunter suggests the same. There must definitely be other classes."
"So?"
"I just meant that we should choose carefully, because there might be better classes out there. Once a choice is made, you have to wait at least a month to change it."
"Hmmm."
If Shin Donghoon were the kind of leader who only insisted on his own opinions, even someone like Kim Kitae wouldn't have spoken this much.
Because with someone like that, talking would be pointless and just hurt your own throat.
But Shin Donghoon was a leader who listened to his subordinates, and if he judged something to be reasonable, he was willing to change his mind.
'My real goal is facing Kim Jaehyun anyway. Changing to the hunter class is just a justification.'
He was just about to conclude that there was no need for the whole team to change their class to hunters when-
"I agree with that as well. Instead of hunters, how about trying to become warriors?"
Everyone turned their heads toward the unfamiliar voice.
"?"
There sat a man whose face no one recognized.
He was sitting so naturally, as if he had been there from the beginning, that it was almost disturbing.
'...This is the man.'
But paradoxically, the presence radiating from him was overwhelming.
He was just an ordinary man with clean, spotless skin and casual clothes, yet standing in front of him made you feel strangely dominated.
In the frozen silence, the man opened his mouth.
"Nice to meet you all. My name is Kim Jaehyun."
"!!!"
Everyone reflexively took a step back, shocked.
"N-nice to meet you."
"I-I'm Lee Junho!"
"U-uhhh..."
Comrades who had spent every day like a battlefield suddenly reverted to the state of green recruits.
The only one who seemed to keep his composure was Shin Donghoon.
Shin Donghoon spoke.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Jaehyun. I'm Shin Donghoon."
"Pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
Donghoon took the hand that Jaehyun extended. Though his face seemed calm, inside he was utterly stunned.
'This much...'
Seriously.
'I didn't expect the difference to be this overwhelming...'
Shin Donghoon.
He was confident in his skills.
Compared to other awakened ones, his abilities were outstanding.
In the early days, he had to rely on firearms to hunt monsters just like everyone else, but now, he could wipe out a dozen orcs in an instant with nothing but a kitchen knife.
He had even succeeded in hunting the giant that had caused his awakening
Cyclops.
Yes, he had received support and help from his comrades in the legion, but still, he was the one who had hunted the Cyclops with his own hands.
He could never forget the moment he threw a bunch of grenades into the monster's mouth and blew its head off.
Having overcome his fear of the Cyclops, he thought he could stand tall even before Kim Jaehyun, the master of this place.
Honestly, he had thought they might even be somewhat equals.
'That was a complete delusion.'
Now, he was caught in an emotional storm that was on a completely different level from the fear he had felt in front of the Cyclops.
Ever since his awakening, he had been able to instinctively sense the power levels of others.
He could clearly discern that in his team, Lee Junho, Park Sungjoon, and Kim Kitae were stronger than the others, and he understood the individual differences between them.
But now-
'He's in a different league.'
The man in front of him had no discernible limits.
No matter how far up he looked, it felt like staring at an impossibly high and impenetrable wall.
Because Shin Donghoon was someone with great power himself, he was able to sense the enormity of the man before him.
The emotion he felt standing in front of him was similar to fear, but it had a fundamentally different essence.
'There's no comparison.'
Awe.
A transcendent mixture of fear and reverence that could only be felt before a being of absolute power was shaking his very mind.
At that moment, Kim Jaehyun spoke again.
"I'd like to see you try becoming a warrior instead of a hunter, Mr. Donghoon. What do you think?"
There was no hesitation.
"I will do it."
Kim Jaehyun nodded slightly with a faint smile.
"Very well."
At that moment, a holographic window appeared in front of his eyes.
Quest Objective: Clear the Warrior's Room.
Push-ups (0/100)
Time Limit: 23 hours 59 minutes 57 seconds
Reward: Change class to 'Warrior'
Failure Penalty: Class change failure.
And then-
"I wish you the best of luck."
As Kim Jaehyun's voice rang out-
Shoosh-
The surrounding space trembled, and a wave of dizziness hit him.
"Ugh."
When he came to, what stood before his eyes was a display case filled with
various weapons.
'What is this...?'
[Please select a weapon.]
All the weapons on display looked like they were carved out of wood.
Swords, axes, spears, hammers, daggers, and so on.
They all resembled practice weapons, with wooden blades.
Among them, Shin Donghoon chose a sword about 50 cm long-just the right size.
At that moment—
Click.
A door to his right opened, revealing a fairly spacious-looking room.
'Looks like I'm supposed to go in.'
The room was brightly lit, allowing him to see the interior clearly.
Other than being decently spacious, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
Except for one thing: aside from the entrance he just came through, there was another door on the opposite side.
'I think I get it now.'
He instinctively understood what he was supposed to do.
"Sss... hoo."
After taking a deep breath, he stepped into the room.
As soon as he entered, the door behind him slowly closed.
Click.
The door on the opposite side opened.
And then-
Creaaak-creak-
What emerged from it was a wooden doll.
Judging by its appearance alone, it seemed laughably flimsy.
It was, after all, just a doll made of wood.
But-
'...That thing's no joke.'
He could feel a strength coming from it that rivaled that of his roommate and closest junior, Lee Junho.
From a mere wooden doll, no less.
And in that instant—
Ta-dat-
The wooden doll closed the distance in a flash and lunged at him with its
wooden spear.
Clang!
"!"
It was incredibly powerful.
The force was strong enough that even though Shin Donghoon blocked it with his dagger, he was pushed back slightly.
'But...!'
Wooooong-!
A hot surge of energy exploded from Shin Donghoon's heart and spread throughout his entire body.
At the same time, all the surrounding sounds faded into silence.
And then-
Clang-clack-clack-!
The wooden doll's spear visibly slowed down.
In contrast, Shin Donghoon's body had become faster.
Smash!
Shin Donghoon's dagger shattered the wooden doll's neck in an instant.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]