Chapter 16

The quest for changing classes was quite challenging, but as expected, Doyugeon cleared it effortlessly. As a result, a new job skill was added to Doyugeon’s skill list.

[Skill Window]

Basic Skills

◇ Magic Sense – ON

◇ Presence Detection – ON

Job Skills

1. Beginner Knight

◇ Beginner Knight’s Agility – ON

◇ Single Strike Enhancement Lv. 1

It was not certain, but the system naturally did not explain the effects of the new skills. According to Doyugeon, the Beginner Knight’s Agility simply improved bodily movements. The Single Strike Enhancement gave a feeling of sharpening the blade on a single strike.

Looking at the magic power, there was no visible change, indicating that the Beginner Knight’s job skills seemed non-magical, even supernatural-like, akin to a level-up effect.

“Single Strike Enhancement!”

Doyugeon yelled the skill name as he slashed a slime core. No, there was no need to yell so loudly… Doyugeon blushed momentarily while covering his face with a magic book. It was embarrassing to be around him.

The Single Strike Enhancement skill required an activation word, meaning the skill name had to be spoken out loud to activate the active skill. While there was no need to shout like Doyugeon, it was necessary to say the skill name aloud to use the skill. If you formed a party, you would need to say the skill name in front of others. Did that mean you couldn’t avoid using active skills?

If the common sense of fantasy was to shout skill names, then pursuing the uncommon was preferable. There was no real need to follow common sense. Though I now muttered things like ‘status window’ or ‘login’ without much thought, I still wanted to resist the idea of shouting skill names in the future, no matter how accustomed I might become.

Fortunately, muttering skill names in one’s mind didn’t activate the active skills, otherwise it would be a cosmic horror to have the system read minds. That future was too bleak.

After changing his class, Doyugeon experimented and searched the internet but couldn’t find any helpful information related to his job choice. If pressed, perhaps the takeaway should be to avoid jobs with annoying active skill names.

Time flowed aimlessly until the 21st of September, the date of the Exploration Union’s first regular meeting. Doyugeon left the subway and moved towards the meeting place.

“Don’t go around bragging that you’re a prodigy or anything. Let’s just quietly watch.”

“Yeah, alright. I don’t know how many times you’ve said this, but what exactly do you think I am?”

“Someone who might act like Doyugeon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Something good.”

Upon arriving at the venue, they looked around to see a screen at the front, tables in the middle, and shelves of snacks at the back.

After receiving a name tag and pamphlet from the Exploration Union staff and grabbing some snacks, they sat at a suitable table. It felt more like an event rather than a meeting, suggesting significant corporate backing.

While enjoying snacks, conversing with Doyugeon, and eavesdropping on other tables, the union leader stepped onto the podium to greet everyone. Reflecting on it, the Exploration Union seemed small to be called a union just yet.

The union leader explained future visions for the Exploration Union: mediating systems for trade between companies and explorers, preparing for otherworld invasions, and more.

Skimming through the core points, it seemed the Exploration Union was focused on securing income sources for explorers. It was a natural progression considering some have quit their jobs to join the Exploration Union.

“What’s this ‘system trade’?

“Exactly that. It’s about using the system for delivery and shipping.”

“How does it work?”

“It utilizes the weak points of the party system. If you form a party, no matter where you are, logging in will bring you to the preparation room where you can hand over items. When the other person logs out, the item is easily moved to another location.”

A revolution in transportation capable of reaching anywhere in the world, regardless of time and cost.

If the Exploration Union leads this initiative, there will surely be money to be made, though major corporations have long recruited explorers during the early stages of the fantasy phenomenon, so it’s uncertain how successful it will become.

The union leader then mentioned the sponsoring companies before stepping down. According to the schedule on the brochure, next, named explorers would share their expertise and case studies, followed by a free discussion time.

Listening briefly to a named guildmaster discussing the impact of wizards’ injuries on party composition, I got up.

“I’ll go wash my hands.”

Returning from the restroom, Doyugeon was nowhere to be found. Spotting him talking with someone in a wizard robe among the snacks at the back, I approached.

“Wow, impressive.”

“Haha, not really.”

What was he flaunting?

“No, it’s truly impressive. I’ve always avoided close combat out of fear, so I’ve stuck to being a wizard.”

“Magic is great. I wanted to try being a wizard, but I gave up after seeing my friend’s talent.”

I nudged him in the ribs, worried he might randomly start boasting about being a prodigy. He subtly dodged using presence detection.

Ignoring the wizard’s gaze, I grabbed some snacks.

“Is this the friend you were talking about?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s tough hunting as a wizard, huh? Your friend’s chosen a hard path. Though, I shouldn’t talk.”

The wizard continued smiling.

“But since you’ve changed your job after the update, hunting has become more enjoyable. Oh, how about I show you some magic? I’m a fire mage, so it’ll be worth watching.”

“Sure.”

A fire mage. I’m curious about the skill. Moving away from this crowded area back to our original table, the wizard adjusted system settings and showed the skill window.

[Skill Window]

Basic Skills

◇ Magic Sense – ON

◇ Presence Detection – ON

Job Skills

1. Beginner Fire Mage

◇ Beginner Fire Mage’s Magic Sense – ON

◇ Fire Magic – Fireball Lv.1

The structure is not much different from what was collected online. Job skills consist of passive and active skills, one of each.

Magic Sense is likely a shared wizard skill that expands the basic Magic Sense range.

“Fireball.”

As the fire mage spoke, magic power moved, formed a certain pattern, and turned into flames that gathered into a fiery lump on the palm of the fire mage’s hand. Doyugeon applauded.

This also seems to be the transformation of the nature of magic power. Apparently, Fire Magic operates similarly to Healing Magic, altering the properties of magic power.

However, the system automatically handled everything just by speaking—no direct manipulation of magic power was required. Isn’t this too system-dependent?

“Fire Magic is impressive!”

“Isn’t it?”

“I should’ve been a wizard.”

“You don’t understand the struggles of wizards. Things have improved after the job update, but it’s still not easy these days.”

“In what way?”

“Since wizards are so specialized, though they’re strong, they are often avoided as party members. Magic is easy to use but hard to control, sometimes unintentionally harming party members.”

It’s understandable since the system handles it.

The wizard continued.

“For instance, say you’re a fire mage. If sparks start a forest fire, parties will refuse to take fire mages because dozens of monsters, like goblins or slimes, will swarm.”

“Hey, wait a moment. Then why not set fires in forests for hunting?”

“We already tried that. For some reason, both goblins and slimes handle it really well and don’t die even when the forest burns.”

The wizard, while opening a cookie packet, went on.

“The game balance is messed up.”

“At least you chose the right job as a knight.”

“Everyone likes swords, but I prefer swords. Honestly, if I could only do melee combat, I would’ve chosen the knight class. Oh, life… By the way, what’s your level?”

“I’ve been at level 9 for a while, so I’m about to hit level 10.”

“Leveling up really fast, huh? How about your friend?”

The wizard looked at me.

“Yes.”

Answering, I grabbed a cookie.

After staring for a moment, the wizard leaned toward Doyugeon and whispered quietly so it wouldn’t reach me.

“Forgive my nosiness, but did I do anything offensive to the young lady?”

Unluckily, I heard it all.

“No, that’s just how she is.”

Since there was no ill intent, I hope it wouldn’t be taken personally.

Relaxed, the wizard straightened up.

“Oh, then it’s fine. That’s good. What were we talking about?”

“You asked about levels.”

“Ahh, 9 levels? At level 9, you probably haven’t met an orc yet.”

Though I’d already learned from the internet that level 10 monsters were orcs, I had no reliable information, mostly because bare fists without weapons seemed too unrealistic.

“Can you imagine how shocked I was when I first met an orc? This muscular orc appeared and started punching, as if trained in martial arts. Every time I tried to stab with a spear, it got stolen, and when I cast magic, it easily dodged. How were we supposed to fight?”

Bare fists really? Observing the wizard’s expression, it didn’t seem like an exaggeration. Ugh, fantasy can be so annoying. Follow basic common sense, will you?

As I continued listening, the guildmaster on the podium stepped down, and a new speaker took the stage for an introduction. There was loud applause from the tables filled with wizards dressed in robes. The speaker was a 20m Wizard.

When coming to this meeting, I hoped the Exploration Union might uncover some hidden genius wizard, but it turns out to be a wasted hope. Either the Exploration Union is incompetent, or the geniuses are too good at hiding. If geniuses are so common, where have all the geniuses gone?

“The Exploration Union asked me to give a speech, and I was quite surprised. In truth, I’m not that special. It’s just good luck that my magic sense range is 20m; there’s nothing extraordinary about it.”

The wizard was right. Both him and myself have a wide magic sense range due to pure luck, but there’s nothing particularly outstanding about either of us.

“That’s why I initially refused. But upon careful thought, I realized there was something I could share. Due to the recent job update, wizards gained a wider magic sense range, enabling many new possibilities. However, it seems many wizards haven’t fully adapted yet. So, instead of offering something from a more talented wizard, I want to share how to effectively use a wider range from the perspective of someone who has already gained experience.”

The fire mage enthusiastically applauded. Other robe-wearing wizards followed suit in applause.

Doyugeon patted my arm as he clapped.

“You’re a wizard too. Clap, clap.”

“Sure, sure.”

While clapping, I glanced around. All the people who looked like wizards were clapping. Though I don’t know where the geniuses are, I now understand that the wizard on stage is an idol to his fellow wizards.

After the wizard’s speech, the meeting focused on a swordsman who introduced himself, and Doyugeon and the fire mage started chatting about how they hit it off.

Not interested in their conversation, I looked around at other tables. Many people were not concentrating on their own professions. Looking at the leader’s table, the leader was talking with someone who looked angry. It seemed like the Exploration Union was in a state of chaos as well.

Then what were the wizards who had been clapping doing? One fire mage was showing off by conjuring a ball of fire to display magic. Is boasting about fire common among fire mages or all wizards?

“What do you call it if that’s not self-interest!”

I was startled. The loud voice came from the direction of the leader’s table. It looked like an argument had broken out. Unfortunately for the speaker, it happened during the presentation, which was now paused awkwardly.

Doyugeon nudged me.

“Why?”

“Look over there.”

Where he was pointing, a wizard who’d just shown off fire recently seemed to have made a mistake while casting magic, catching a table on fire. Oh my.

Doyugeon asked the fire mage.

“What if fire breaks out while using fire magic?”

“Normally, the spellcaster controls it and it disappears, but…”

Looking at the wizard who caused the fire, it seemed like they were trying to put it out but were failing. Perhaps they were too flustered because many people were watching.

The heat from the table reached the ceiling, prompting the sprinkler system to activate.

In that brief moment, the fire mage who had been sitting and watching jumped up in panic.

“Hey, wait-”

When the sprinkler water hit the fire magic, the flames exploded and spread in all directions. Luckily, people were not injured because they were clear of the area. A nearby wizard who had been trying to extinguish the fire had been quickly saved by someone beforehand and was lying elsewhere.

What kind of fire magic gets bigger when water is poured on it and causes chaos? Someone used a fire extinguisher to suppress the flames, and some people left via the door. The atmosphere was completely ruined. We hadn’t even properly gathered enough job information yet.

It looked like extinguishing the fire magic with a fire extinguisher would be a challenge. Even if it were successfully suppressed, the fire extinguisher’s powder would surely disrupt the meeting.

We couldn’t wait for the fire truck, and it seemed it was up to us to put this out. Although I’ve never secretly used magic before…

I intercepted the fire extinguisher from an over-zealous person using magic power, then tossed it out the window. Observing the nearby fire mage, he seemed only perplexed, so it seemed he didn’t notice what I had done. Good, good.

“Hey?”

Doyugeon whispered. I subtly signaled for quiet by pressing my finger to my lips.

I believe the method to extinguish fire magic is similar to derailing healing magic. Perhaps. It could be different, in which case, I’d better fetch the fire extinguisher again.

The transformation of magic properties is a delicate process. If the magic arrangement isn’t precise, the property transformation doesn’t occur. Once the transformation happens, the magic stays firm unless interfered with artificially. For more complex transformations, it might be a different case, but for a Fireball Lv.1…

I disrupted the nearest magic arrangement. As expected, the flames vanished.

Because fire magic has the characteristic of producing identical magic arrangements, there are a lot more to deal with. The simplest method is to overpower it with pure magic power and disrupt everything at once, but that would be too noticeable. I had no choice but to be patient and steady.

I dismantled the magic piece by piece, suppressing the fire. As the flames diminished, the buzz increased and people clapped.

Doyugeon grabbed my hand, mimicking applause. What is he doing?

“Clap, clap.”

“Sure, sure.”

While feigning applause, I managed to put out the fire completely. Just as the applause was dying down, the fire mage cheered and shouted to the crowd.

“Did anyone record this?”

Really? Is this the mindset of the current era? That’s embarrassing.

The wizards descended on the 20m Wizard, interrogating whether he’d just cast magic. When the 20m Wizard denied it, the discussion escalated.

Great, the mood is good. There’s no going back now. Time to start gathering job information. Leading Doyugeon up, we approached the chattering wizards and said,

“Could it be some special skill? How about everyone reveals their skill screens?”

The wizards agreed, and Doyugeon applauded. Alright, alright. I know. So stop clapping and start eating more cookies instead.

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