I was right now standing nervously at the gate of the Blade Family's Manor, waiting for my new tutor to show up.
Andrew Swan, the first mentor figure for Liam West, the protagonist of the novel.
After awakening the expansion of the Status Window at the start of the novel, Liam had a great power-up, receiving the EX Rank skill [Overdrive], but for a long time he was stuck in the G Rank profession, [Swordsman].
It was after meeting Andrew during one of his training outings that he was able to learn the true way to evolve a profession past it's Rank.
Now, having your profession evolve was not something uncommon, but still rare, and the way to do it was different for each case. But Andrew found a way to do so, regardless of the initial rank of the profession, what kind of profession you have, or your overall rank.
The method was quite simple: it was to reach 100% proficiency on all of its skills and then, with the use of a certain item, sever your connection with the Status Window temporarily. During the time that you are disconnected, you perform every aspect of the profession's skills that you have been provided.
That's how Andrew's [One-Time Mirror (D)] evolved into [Mimic (A)], and how Liam's [Swordsmen (G)] became [Knight (F)] and eventually evolved into [The Hero (EX)].
Now, I was not exactly hoping for, or even sure that he would reveal to me said method, not that it even mattered, considering he knew about it.
However, receiving that knowledge allowed me to be directly involved in the future plotline that would lead to his death and serve as the turning point to the whole story.
I normally tried to never think about the plot that much, afraid that it would twist my judgment, also because it was never pleasant to fall into the state of doubt, concern, and ignorance when his thoughts strayed onto my girlfriend, Daphne.
One thing that I always found awkward was when a transmigrator in a novel interfered in a plotline out of nowhere, like no one is supposed to question why.
Being transmigrated into an already existing character was already a huge help, but for the sake of saving face, I would at least find a way to be involved in stuff rather than just show up at the right time.
Otherwise I might die inside from shame.
Still, he was late.
Maybe he was not planning to show up?
Zoooom
A certain sound was heard from above as if air was being torn, and a figure zoomed in at high speeds.
Boom.
The figure landed with a loud impact right in front of me. I struggled to use mana and aura to reinforce my body in order not to fly away, making my best effort to see the figure inside.
*Cough* *Cough*
"Seriously, I should have practiced the part of actually landing. I always forget to do that... Hm? Who's this kid?"
"I-I . . ."
What kind of nonchalance is that? What kind of tutor doesn't even know what their student looks like?! And what kind of person just flies into someone else's yard like that? You are not the one who cleans stuff like this, are you?
"Hm . . . You look familiar, kid. Anyway, do you know a Marcus Blade? I was told that I would get a pretty big payment if I trained him, they say he is a pretty talented one, they all say that, but they put a lot of money in this tutoring shit, so they must not be afraid of spending that much on him."
"I'm right here, sir."
"Huh?"
He seemed perplexed for a moment before letting out a shaky laugh.
"Hahaha, I see, well, huh . . . Nice to meet you, kid?"
"You are asking me?"
"Don't read too much into it."
"It seems that you have arrived."
The voice of my grandfather suddenly resounded from behind me. Both Andrew and I looked at him. I immediately greeted him, while Andrew just waved his hand dismissively as a greeting.
Grandfather didn't take it to heart and instead stepped closer towards us.
"It seems that you have met my grandson already, Andrew. This is Marcus F. Blade, he will be your student for a few years."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it, old man. What exactly do I have to teach him?"
"He already is being taught about magic, forgery, and archery on his mother's side, and he is being taught swordsmanship and basic clan administration."
". . ."
Andrew fell silent for a second.
"So . . . What exactly is left for me to teach him?"
"Marcus' profession involves a great range of versatility, altough we can teach him everything he needs to know, we are not qualified to teach him how to properly balance it. I thought that someone like you, whose profession allows you to use several professions' skills vastly different from one another, would be the perfect tutor for him."
Andrew nodded in understanding and looked at me while in thought. His eyes suddenly widened.
"Wow! You only have two profession skills, and I can only copy one of them, that's insane. Just what rank are your profession skills? Forget that, what rank is even your profession?"
He seemed genuinely curious.
"My profession is of the SS Rank, and my skills' ranks are A and SS."
"What?!"
Andrew looked at my grandfather with a surprised and questioning look.
"Why didn't you tell me that your grandson had an SS Rank profession?! Do you know how rare these are?!"
This caught my interest. In the novel, it was never mentioned why Marcus never received the attention that was normally given to other wielders of SS Rank professions.
Having a profession of a high rank was as decisive as having a high enough talent rank. Someone with an S Rank Talent but had a shitty profession like [Swordsmen (G)] was not that valued.
But someone like Marcus, who had a Talent Rank of S+ and an SS Rank profession, was restricted to his clan's traditions and wasn't given attention at the academy for growth. How did that happen?
"We are trying to keep it a secret. Ever since I stepped down as Family Head, my son, young Marcus' father, cut off ties with the Awakened Association. Ever since we have been in a political clash with them, it is better to downplay Marcus' talents until he is able to stand his ground against their pressuring."
"..."
Andrew fell silent for a moment.
"So what exactly is his public talent?"
"An A Rank profession along with an A- Talent. We can't settle for anything more or anything less."
If it was below A rank, it would turn the whole custody situation quite suspicious, and if it was above A Rank it would be too close for comfort. After all, S Ranks are not as rare as SS Ranks, but they were still sought-after talents, and because of their numerous quantities, they served almost as a backbone to modern society.
"That makes sense, I guess."
Andrew scratched the back of his head.
"So, where exactly should we go? I believe the kid is ready for some training?"
"Yes, follow me."
Grandfather started guiding us towards what would be my training grounds. Andrew and I followed close behind. While I was a bit more reserved, I still snuck a few glances at him, mostly because he was side-eyeing me all the way.
The place we reached was an underground training ground perfectly built to keep what happened on the inside a secret.
*Whistle*"Do you put this much effort into all of his training sessions?"
"No. Your tutorship is getting special treatment, considering that you are going to shape young Marcus' whole combat style. It is better if it stays hidden until it's ready to be revealed."
"What about the rest?"
This time it was me who asked. Grandfather looked at me.
"If your other training sessions are public, it will be easier to convince any unwanted spectator that you are spreading your mastery too thin. They will get quite the surprise."
"Haha! What a good plan, old man. Well, let's go kid, it's about time we started this thing, no?"
Flashing a grin, he stepped towards the center of the training ground without looking back. I looked at my grandfather, he nodded, and I stepped forward.
"So kid, I was already able to tell that you have a profession skill that allows you to create a special fire that changes the shape and properties of an object that's influenced by it. Since it's something that I already copied, let's start with that, okay?"
"Yes, sir!"
Unbeknownst to me, this first interaction had done more than just put me directly involved with the future plot. In any world, whether they are from a novel or not, connections are extremely valuable.
And one such connection had been forged today, changing a lot to happen in the future.
******
Author's Note: One more chapter done. Sorry for the absolute mess of a schedule that I have, both in this novel and my other works. It's just that my life is kinda filled with more important things and my head can't stop filling me with more ideas to write about, which means that I will fill my list of works with more of them in the future.
Check out my other Novel: Unsealed Demonic Dragon goes to the Academy