Chapter 19
A new Job. A new power.
An 'Advanced Job.' And a Derivative Job—a Second Job.
That was what had been presented to me.
Seriously, this system is just like a game.
I wonder if there's something like a Job tree?
"Woof!"
"Yeah... I know, Momo. Let's move somewhere we won't be interrupted for now."
Prompted by Momo, I entered a vacant house that didn't seem to have any monsters inside.
The door had been broken, so maybe a monster had already gotten in?
Since 'Hostility Detection' and 'Danger Sense' hadn't picked up anything, the monster had probably already left.
The inside had been ransacked.
It was a good thing there were no corpses. I didn't want to worry about the smell.
If there's anything useful, I'll take it with me later.
"Heave-ho."
I sat down on a sofa with stuffing poking out of it and opened the status screen.
I clicked on the currently selected Job, 'Spy.'
≪You can change to an Advanced Job. Please select a Job.≫
Assassin
Agent
Thief
The voice from heaven rang out, and the choices appeared.
So these three are the Advanced Jobs for 'Spy'...
'Agent' feels like a complete upgrade from 'Spy' somehow. Like it would just strengthen what I already have?
'Assassin' is exactly what it sounds like: a Job specialized in assassination.
It seems like it would be useful for ambushes.
'Thief'... somehow, it doesn't feel like a combat Job. In RPGs, it was a Job specialized in bypassing security measures, like picking locks and disarming traps. I wonder how it works by this world's standards?
"Hmm, this is when I'd really love to have 'Appraisal'..."
The classic fantasy Skill, 'Appraisal'-sama.
Since I have the Item Box Skill, it wouldn't be strange for it to exist, too.
Well, there's no point wishing for something I don't have.
"Oh, right. I can choose a 'Second Job' now, can't I?"
I think a Derivative Job had become available, too.
When I checked, a new Job had been added to the selectable Jobs.
'Informer,' 'Hunter,' 'Disaster Looter,' and 'Beast Tamer.'
Apparently, I could choose a second Job from these, along with the other Jobs that had been available from the beginning.
The remaining Initial Jobs were as follows.
Citizen, Adventurer, Office Worker, Negotiator, Shut-In, NEET, Ascetic, Cook, and Jockey.
It seemed changing to an Advanced Job cost 3 JP, while selecting a Second Job cost 2.
Since I currently had 5 points, I could use them all up exactly.
"...This is a tough choice..."
Depending on the combination of Advanced Job and Second Job, I could probably get more powerful Skill combos and effects.
For my second Job, my choices were probably 'Hunter' or 'Beast Tamer'.
'Hunter' seemed likely to give me Skills more specialized in detecting enemies than the ones I had now, while 'Beast Tamer' would probably make my teamwork with Momo even stronger.
"Hmm..."
What should I do?
Which combination would be best for surviving—and, more than anything, standing against the threat posed by monsters?
There was a limit to how long I could keep running away.
When the time came to fight, I had to fight.
I'd learned that the hard way recently.
After agonizing over it, I decided on the Advanced Job 'Assassin' and the Second Job 'Hunter'.
Considering that I'd be fighting monsters, 'Assassin' should be better suited to combat than 'Agent' or 'Thief'.
Besides, it suited my style.
Ambushes, surprise attacks, and dirty tricks were my standard tactics.
For my Second Job, I chose 'Hunter'.
I thought combining it with 'Assassin' would let me hunt monsters more efficiently.
I had considered 'Beast Tamer', too, but I decided to pass on it this time.
Why?
Because Momo and I are already the perfect team!
We don't even need Job bonuses anymore!
...But enough joking around.
Seriously, I thought 'Beast Tamer' was based on ordinary animals.
Momo clearly didn't fit within the category of an 'ordinary animal'.
Momo actively hunted monsters, leveled up, and was far smarter than other dogs.
If we discussed our plans beforehand, we could pull off combos at a high level, too.
Besides, 'Beast Tamer' was a Job at the same level as 'Spy'.
Even if I chose it, things probably wouldn't change much from how they are now.
Besides, for the time being, I have no intention of adding any animal other than Momo to my party.
Incidentally, I ruled out 'Disaster Looter' and 'Informer' from the start.
Somehow, they both reeked of joke Jobs or trap Jobs.
All right, then. Time to change Jobs.
I spent 3 JP and changed to an Advanced Job.
≪Spy has changed to the Advanced Job 'Assassin.'≫
≪You became an Assassin. You acquired the Skills 'Silent Movement,' 'Night Vision,' 'Vital Point Strike,' 'Presence Concealment,' and 'Appraisal Interference.'≫
≪The Skill Sneak has been integrated into Silent Movement.≫
≪Silent Movement has increased from LV 1 to 3.≫
≪The Skill Stealth has been integrated into Presence Concealment.≫
≪Presence Concealment has increased from LV 1 to 4.≫
Oh, I seem to have acquired some pretty good Skills.
They're all upgrades of Skills I'd acquired before, too.
So acquiring a higher-tier Skill integrates the lower-tier one into it.
And the level increases to account for the integration, too.
That's pretty great.
All of them seemed specialized for assassination.
Combining them should make fighting easier than ever.
And the last Skill I acquired, Appraisal Interference, is intriguing.
If there's a Skill called 'Appraisal Interference,' that means the 'Appraisal' Skill really does exist.
And judging from the name 'Interference,' it seems like using Appraisal would let you see other people's statuses.
In other words, Appraisal itself probably isn't a Unique Skill.
It's a Skill anyone can learn.
The conditions are unknown for now, but perhaps it's an advanced version of another Skill.
In a way, I should consider myself lucky to have been able to acquire this so early.
All right, then. Next is my Second Job.
≪Select the Second Job 'Hunter.' It requires 2 JP. Is that acceptable?≫
I selected Yes.
≪Your Second Job became 'Hunter.' You acquired the Skills 'Enemy Search,' 'Telescope,' 'Agility Enhancement,' and 'Dexterity Enhancement.'≫
Oh, I acquired some good Skills here, too.
I'll need to test what each Skill does.
Kudo Kazuto
Level 6
HP: 27/27 → 30/30
MP: 5/5 → 6/6
Strength: 46 → 50
Durability: 43 → 47
Agility: 68 → 92
Dexterity: 67 → 90
Magic: 0
Magic Resistance: 0
SP: 22
JP: 5 → 0
Job
Assassin LV 1
Hunter LV 1
Unique Skills
Early Bloomer
Skills
Silent Movement LV 3, Night Vision LV 1, Vital Point Strike LV 1, Presence Concealment LV 4, Appraisal Interference LV 1
Enemy Search LV 1, Telescope LV 1, Agility Enhancement LV 1, Dexterity Enhancement LV 1
Observation LV 4, Keen Hearing LV 4,
Physical Enhancement LV 7, Swordsmanship LV 3, Stress Resistance LV 5, Fear Resistance LV 5, Hostility Detection LV 4, Danger Sense LV 5, Hide LV 2, Escape LV 1, Item Box LV 7
Party Members
Momo
Shiba Inu LV 3
Agility and Dexterity went up by a ridiculous amount. Is that because of Agility Enhancement and Dexterity Enhancement?
Unlike Physical Enhancement, which raises all my stats evenly, these seem to massively enhance just one stat each.
Judging by how much they increased, is it +10 per level?
Physical Enhancement gives +5 to each stat per level, so specialized enhancement is double that...
That's pretty reasonable, I suppose.
Now, my remaining SP is 22?
It would probably be best to check the effects of my new Skills first, then decide how to distribute my points between leveling up existing Skills and acquiring new ones.
Also, I just noticed that Momo's level had risen to 3.
When did that happen...?