Eidar turned toward the elderly man approaching, embarrassment evident on his face.
"Grandpa."
"There is no place here for you to show kindness."
"During the 'Royal Tournament', buying and gathering alchemical materials is what you should be doing."
Maray placed his hands behind his back, his wrinkled face showing clear impatience as he spoke in a slightly irritated tone.
"Alright, Grandpa."
Eidar extended his hand, scratching his short blond hair as he muttered.
Hearing their brief conversation, Saelran finally understood why this grandfather and grandson who should have been in the border town, "Antara" were now in the capital.
This thought flashed across Saelran mind.
Saelran tried his best to remain calm.
He must not be fooled by the simple appearance of Eidar's grandfather, Maray, who looked like an ordinary old man by his lack of presence in the game.
He was the most famous alchemist in "Antara" and a genuine Tier 3 Magic Caster.
Judging from his level, he should be at least level 15, making him a formidable figure among humans.
At the very least, Maray was clearly not someone Saelran could afford to offend right now.
Maray's gaze fell on Saelran. He glanced first at the short sword hanging at Saelran's waist, then at his slightly muscular arms.
"Let's go, Eidar."
Maray shifted his gaze without expression and turned away, hands still behind his back.
"Okay, Grandpa."
Eidar responded immediately, turning to leave the street only to pause and look back at Saelran.
"You're here to watch Sir Gareth and Sir Serik fight, right? I heard arena seats are super expensive."
"Here take this waterskin first. You'll choke if you try eating black wheat bread without soaking it."
Eidar unfastened the waterskin at his waist and handed it to Saelran.
This guy... really annoying.
Saelran's jaw twitched.
If he didn't truly understand Eidar's personality, sudden kindness from a stranger like this would immediately raise suspicion.
Moreover
As an orphan, Saelran never liked unexplained kindness.
"No..."
He was about to refuse when Eidar suddenly grabbed his hand and shoved the waterskin into it.
The abrupt action made Saelran's expression shift slightly.
Not because Saelran insisted on giving him waterskin, but because at that moment of contact, his status panel suddenly displayed information.
『Buzz』
**『Contact with dual-specialized basic professions Alchemist (Genius), Basic Magic Caster (Genius) has triggered conditions to acquire a General Job.』
『General Job "Genius" obtained. Accept this job?』
『Note: This is a general job and does not grant attribute bonuses.』
Saelran's arm trembled slightly as he read the notification.
In Oblivion Gate, combat Jobs were divided into Basic Jobs, Intermediate Jobs, and Advanced/Special Jobs. In addition, there existed non-combat General Jobs.
These jobs could be seen as production professions
Apothecary, alchemist, blacksmith, farmer, merchantgeneral jobs that offered small benefits in direct combat and were considered support roles.
But general jobs were not limited to production. They included completely non-combat identities such as slave, servant, noble, prince, king, and princess.
These were even less valuable than production professions. "Prince" and "noble" were innate roles, while "slave" was automatically acquired later in the game.
If Saelran interpreted the NPCs of this world as living beings from another world, it meant that they automatically gained general jobs based on their daily lives like Eidar, who held both Alchemist and Basic Magic Caster.
That was the difference between him (a player) and NPCs or rather, the people of this world.
Saelran could choose what Job he wanted.
"Take the job!"
Saelran spoke inwardly without hesitation.
He had been agonizing over choosing between the Basic Warrior Job and the Basic Mage Job yet without hesitation, he chose a general job that provided no combat power.
That alone showed how thrilled he was.
General Jobs didn't directly increase strength, but that didn't mean all general jobs absent from the game were useless in another world.
『Job Acquired Genius: Lv 1』
『Genius (General): This job can substitute for any basic or general job and can be freely changed as needed.』
『Note: Due to its special nature, leveling this job does not increase basic attributes, and no job characteristics will be added when changing professions.』
Saelran held back his excitement as he stared at the information.
"Are you okay?"
Eidar asked, confused and slightly worried as he saw Saelran gripping his hand tightly, emotions shifting abruptly.
"Sorry and thank you."
Saelran snapped out of it, quickly releasing his grip, taking the waterskin, and speaking earnestly.
The gratitude was genuine.
"It's fine," Eidar replied casually, unaware that anything had happened, before turning to leave.
Watching him go, Saelran took a deep breath, eyes shimmering.
He never expected to suddenly obtain such an extremely rare general job!
With the "Genius" Job, he no longer needed to worry about choosing a basic job solving one of the major problems of class progression.
More importantly, his margin for error in Job selection increased dramatically.
As far as Saelran knew, aside from Eidar, there was one more NPC in the kingdom who possessed the "Genius" Job:
The most beautiful jewel of the kingdom, Princess Sera.
Calling her the "Witch of Destruction" was also appropriate.
This rare general job was practically wasted in the hands of Princess Sera or rather, in the hands of someone from this world.
Only in the hands of a player could this Job truly unleash its power.
Saelran suddenly felt relieved, as though a taut string had loosened.
The despair he'd been carrying eased noticeably. Even though he had only obtained a general job, he no longer felt lost.
"I also gained another important piece of information."
Saelran's eyes lit up.
His contact with Eidar had triggered the general job, something completely unexpected.
Combined with the fact that touching weapons could also trigger job acquisition, he now understood two key mechanics about the "Player" ability to obtain jobs.
But
Judging from the fact that he gained only a general job, not Alchemist or Basic Magic Caster, normal contact with others probably couldn't trigger job acquisition.
"Is it purely because Eidar possesses two 'genius' traits, Alchemist (Genius) and Basic Magic Caster (Genius) that it unexpectedly triggered this general 'Genius' trait?" Saelran wondered.