Chapter 1
Tremble before this very Job list.
I felt it in my skin: the enormous gymnasium shuddered.
The Job assessment so many students had dreamed of and eagerly faced at the entrance ceremony.
A Job is a partner you share your whole life with.
At sixteen, everyone chooses one Job.
But the options weren’t the same for everyone; they varied from person to person. The Job you wanted didn’t necessarily appear among them. That was normal.
“No way that’s true.” I was about to prove it in no uncertain terms.
I could feel all those gazes focusing on my Job list.
“Hey, what’s that?”
“Just how many are there...?”
Some stared at the Job list on display as if they couldn’t believe their eyes, while others simply gaped at it in stunned silence.
“No way. There are even high-tier Jobs!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! There are even ones I’ve never heard of. Is that 【Hero】?”
“Who is that guy...?”
Some trembled at the sight of high-tier Jobs they’d always admired and dreamed of finding.
Others spotted a slew of Jobs they’d never seen or heard of and stared as if they were hallucinating.
And others stared in astonishment at me, the one who’d caused it all.
The commotion swelled by the second.
You’ve got it all wrong.
In this world, everyone can become the Job they want!
Behold! One of the 1,021 Jobs Dan-Katsu has to offer!
My Job list!
◇ ◇ ◇
“Isn’t this the Nameless Village of Beginnings?”
When I came to, I was in an unfamiliar place—or rather, a place I’d seen on the game screen.
I couldn’t believe it, but I’d put an estimated 8,000 hours into this game. There was no way I could mistake it at this point.
The game was called Dungeon Job-Hunting Guide.
It was a ridiculous title that deserved people asking, “Couldn’t they have come up with something better?” But the game itself was an incredibly content-rich RPG with an enormous amount to dig into—a legendary game so addictive it was known for turning players into gaming addicts.
I, too, had been swept up in it, becoming a hardcore gamer and sinking countless hours into the game.
No—had been, I suppose.
“Ugh, my head!”
The moment I started to remember that, my brain rejected the memory.
But the image flashed through my mind anyway, as though my brain’s objections didn’t matter.
It was the worst thing imaginable for a gamer—a nightmare, the sort of thing that felt like the end of your life.
A calamity had befallen me.
The last thing I remember is my reflection in the mirror: me collapsed and foaming at the mouth, wearing an expression that made me look like I’d taken some seriously dangerous drugs.
That was probably the end of me.
My face had been that messed up.
“Huh? Then what about me now?”
Why am I still alive?
I patted myself down, and something felt off.
“Was my body always this small? And, wait, isn’t this outfit from the game...?”
It was supposed to be my body, but it was a toned physique that couldn’t possibly be mine.
The villager outfit I knew so well from the early game.
I touched my face, but couldn’t really tell what was different... Someone get me a mirror.
By now, though, I could more than guess what was going on.
“Could it be... Could this really be happening?”