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Over the Infinite Chapter 16 Part 1

Volume 2 Episode 3 “Classes”

-1-

 

Several tasks must be undertaken before we can make our debut as adventurers.

Firstly, we must conquer the Trial Dungeon.

While it probably goes without saying, this is a challenge where one must clear all 5 levels of a beginner’s dungeon. Nothing really begins unless we clear this first. Although termed as “for beginners”, there are some parts that make us question its appropriateness. For instance, the boss of the fourth floor, the Lizardman, doesn’t usually appear as an old man, and there are no cheap tricks like hidden stages. The boss of the fifth floor, if not encountering it for the first time, isn’t an “enhanced” Minotaur. A reasonably strong party of around six can manage it.

Next is the Beginner’s Lecture.

Due to timing, we did things out of order, but by attending this lecture and clearing the Trial Dungeon, we earned the right to debut. The content is merely an explanatory meeting where we hear various things about being an adventurer from that annoying vampire. Apart from the fact that it’s only held once a month, it’s a challenge anyone can clear.

Most outsiders are often shocked by the image of an adventurer in the Labyrinth City, and not necessarily in a good way.

And once you’ve cleared those two steps, it’s time for the Debut Lecture.

This challenge is like watching an endless stream of videos you’d find in a driving school and battling the formidable enemy known as drowsiness. I nearly succumbed to the difficulty, but Yuki helped me pull through. I wish the guild would consider making it a bit more manageable for the participants. After the Debut Lecture, there awaits a hell of endless paperwork where you just keep filling out the required items.

It’s genuinely challenging. The sheer volume of text makes you feel like maybe you should just sign your name without reading, like some incompetent small-business owner who stamps contracts without reading them. We can read Japanese, so we’re fine, but those who can’t have to have the contents read out to them by a staff member before signing. Having to listen to the overly decorative Japanese language, even when it’s not that deep, is almost torturous. I’m glad I can read Japanese. Whoever created those documents really should’ve been more considerate of the locals.

Although that should be the end of the order of things, there’s still one more task we must complete. Before the Debut Lecture and during the time until the Beginner’s Lecture is held, we are supposed to attend a lecture about classes. To put it simply, a “class” is like a job or profession in RPG terms. While you could call it a job, our official “job” is that of an adventurer, so I guess “class” refers more to our roles. For the record, our current (Class) is (None). Not a blank slate.

By attending this lecture, determining our immediate class, and finally earning our G-rank adventurer status, we can debut. Due to clearing the trial dungeon on the first day, our order got mixed up. We ended up starting our challenges in the “Infinite Corridor” at the last possible moment. But that’s everything we have to do before debuting, excluding minor things like card renewals.

With all that said, Yuki and I arrived at the third-floor lecture room of the guild hall to take on this final challenge. This course, which usually hosts many students, was specially opened for us, making the lecture room deserted. It was just Yuki, me, and that darn vampire.

The room felt even less populated than during the previous beginner’s lecture.

「Although this is an unscheduled lecture, let’s begin the class seminar. First off, congratulations on clearing the Trial Dungeon. I truly didn’t expect you to clear it on the same day I held the beginner’s lecture. 」

「Thank you.」

「Thank you very much!」

「Why does Tsuna seem so out of it? What happened? 」

「Don’t mind it too much. He had an… interesting experience yesterday and seems a bit exhausted. 」

I think I’ve left my motivation somewhere before attending this lecture, probably with the milk pudding. The main culprit is right in front of me, so there’s no room for enthusiasm. The fact that this vampire didn’t actually do anything makes it even more irritating.

「When I saw him in the hall yesterday, he seemed normal. What on earth happened? 」

「It seems Werner’s blog is to blame. And the bulletin boards. 」

「Mine? It’s about my daughter… oh, wait, not that. Did he possibly visit a brothel? 」

「It seems he did. But he got turned away due to age restrictions. 」

「…Tsuna, I don’t know about the outside world, but in this city, 15 is still considered a minor. Going to such places at this age is out of the question. 」

It’s so annoying.

「I could potentially use my shareholder authority to get you in, but 15 is pushing it. I’d get arrested. Please wait until you’re at least 20. 」

「Sure. 」

Why am I so irritated? I haven’t done anything wrong, yet I’m being lectured like this. Shareholder authority, huh? I’m surprised shares even exist in this city, but it’s not strange for here. Not anymore, at least.

Perhaps if I bought a ton of shares in Milky Pudding and became a major shareholder… I guess it’s expensive, after all. I wonder if they have any shareholder benefits…

「Well, we won’t get anywhere talking about this. Let’s start the seminar. Most participants usually do some research before attending the lecture, but how familiar are you two with the concept of “classes”? 」

「We don’t know much about the specifics. Only that it determines the direction of an adventurer’s growth. 」

「The Dungeon Master mentioned that skills can be acquired through classes.」

「Dungeon Master? You met him? 」

「Yeah, as a bonus from the Trial.」

It’s not surprising that she doesn’t remember since even the receptionist struggled to recall.

「I see… the first clear bonus, right. Let’s start from there. When adventurers attain a class, they can acquire skills and abilities unique to that class. These generally get strengthened as the level set for the class increases. 」

So, there is a level system for classes after all.

「So, is this level different from the one mentioned on our status card?」

「It’s different. It might not be commonly known, but that level is sometimes referred to as the “Base Level”. It’s a bit hard to understand, but… this Base Level seems to represent one’s racial level. For you two, it would mean the level of the (Human) race, whether it’s 5 or 10. For me, it would mean the (Vampire) level. 」

Why not just say it represents an individual’s foundational level?

「Is there a particular reason you specified ‘race’?」

「Under normal circumstances, it doesn’t matter, but this resets when one’s race changes, so it’s been treated as such for convenience. The most common example would be monsters. 」

「Monsters?」

Well, of course, they’d be in a different category from humans.

「To give an explanation using my situation as an example, the vampires that appear in dungeons such as the ‘Infinite Corridor’ are labeled with a dual designation: (Monster-Vampire). While the (Monster) designation by itself carries powerful racial skills, it comes with the limitation that they can’t take on a class. Therefore, when a monster wishes to become an adventurer, they change their race, transitioning from (Monster-Vampire) to just (Vampire). That’s my case. So, (Monster-Vampire) and (Vampire) are treated as distinct races. When this change happens, the racial level (Base Level) is reset to 1. While they don’t lose the skills and abilities they had as a monster, they do become significantly weakened. 」

That’s confusing, but I think it means that if a dungeon monster wants to become an adventurer, they must start from scratch. While I can’t quite understand a monster’s feelings, it sounds like a significant commitment. I wonder if creatures like ‘Gobtaro’ are designated (Monster-Goblin) rather than just (Goblin). It’s probably unique to this world. The concepts of Levels and Classes are unique in themselves.

「Anyways, that’s just background knowledge because such instances exist. The main point here is that apart from the racial level, classes possess their unique level. 」

So currently, our status is at Lv10 for the <Human> race, and our class level is nonexistent.

「As this class level increases, you learn skills specific to that class and receive ability modifiers. For example, if you take the (Swordsman) class, you can learn a sword technique called ((Power Slash)) at Class Level 10. The (Scout) class allows you to learn the ((Lockpick)) skill at Class Level 5. 」

Wait a minute.

「I’ve already learned ((Power Slash)). Is that a skill unique to the (Swordsman) class? 」