Suppressing his excitement, Saelran stared at the ability panel floating before him:
[Ability Tabel]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: Lv 1
Experience Bar: 0/100
Basic Class: Genius
Skill Points (Lv 1): 3
Passive Skill: Inventory Box
Active Skills: None —
He had officially obtained the "Genius" class, raising his overall level from 0 to 1. Along with it came three precious skill points.
Saelran's heartbeat quickened.
This felt like the beginning of something big.
As expected, the innate talent [Player] he possessed was slightly different from what the in-game players of Oblivion Gate had.
In the game, players normally obtained class skills whenever they reached a certain level threshold. By level 100, an average player would typically have around thirty skills.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Monsters such as the Demon King possessed as many as 718 skills—a rarity even within the game. Thanks to the unique skill Dark Knowledge, the Demon King could endlessly learn new magic without limit.
"Only skill points, but no skill list? That's bad," Saelran murmured. "This means I have to learn skills some other way."
He let out a long sigh.
His mind immediately felt clearer.
Crunch!
His teeth cracked through the black wheat bread. In less than half a minute, most of the hard loaf had disappeared.
"Cough!"
Saelran choked, his throat dry from eating too fast.
He grabbed the black water pouch given by Eidar, tilted his head back, and gulped it down. Only then did he exhale in relief.
If the pouch had come from someone else, Saelran wouldn't have drunk it. But because it was from Eidar, he had no reason to hesitate.
Saelran hung the pouch back at his waist, stood up, and began walking toward the center of the capital, moving with the flow of the crowd.
With so many people around, this wasn't the time to stash the water pouch into his Inventory Box.
"If I've already come this far, I might as well go watch that epic battle," he thought, feeling a spark of excitement.
The Nine Gate of Helldusk would arrive in about four years. Not too long, but not too short either.
Sharpening the axe would never delay the woodcutting.
Although Gareth and Serik hadn't yet reached their future power from four years later, they should already be around level 25—close to the limit of Super Human.
Later, both would surpass level 30, a realm attainable only by a tiny handful of humans where talent and effort alone no longer mattered.
The realm of Heroes.
For players, such a level was nothing. But for the inhabitants of this world, those levels represented their national power.
By watching that fight, Saelran could gather extremely valuable information.
Before acquiring the "Genius" class, he would've felt no interest. But now, he was beginning to formulate ideas for his future job pathways.
The duel between the" Strongest Knight" and the "Barber" would become a legend retold across nations for years to come. The match drew attention not only from the people of Avendele but also from neighboring countries.
Gareth Bramwell and Serik von Valtieri had been recognized as prodigies long before the duel even began.
If his memory was correct, Serik also possessed the "Warrior (Genius)" talent.
Within the crowd, discussions about the match echoed from all directions.
Most were speculations—who would win in the end?
The fervent excitement… made Saelran's eyes suddenly gleam.
Everyone was wondering about the winner, but he already knew.
For an event of this scale, there had to be betting somewhere. If he wagered on Gareth early—even with low odds—he would still profit. Right now, Saelran was nearly broke; even food and lodging cost money!
Thinking this, Saelran turned to a young man walking past him, wearing thin leather armor—seemingly an adventurer.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where the nearest betting stall is?" Saelran asked directly.
Based on his experiences in his previous life, Saelran knew that in this lively atmosphere, asking people directly was better; a polite but drawn-out approach would only inconvenience them.
The young man blinked in surprise at the sudden question. He turned around and looked Saelran up and down.
A slight tone of disdain slipped into his voice.
"An outsider?"
Saelran's gray-black clothing, short sword on his left hip, and water pouch on his right made him appear almost like a local. But his short black hair and facial features instantly revealed he wasn't from around here.
"That's right, I just arrived yesterday," Saelran replied casually.
The young man lifted his chin. "As I thought. There's no betting anywhere."
"No betting?" Saelran was genuinely shocked. An event this big should've been a gold mine.
The young man chuckled. "Because of Princess Sera's decree. You've heard of her, right? The Pearl of the Kingdom—the most beautiful, brilliant, and kind-hearted person in the entire realm. She proposed banning all forms of gambling during the Royal Trial."
He spoke with such enthusiasm that his admiration for the princess was obvious.
"Some nobles opposed it, but the King eventually approved her proposal. Princess Sera truly is incredible!"
Saelran stared at the young man for a moment, then stepped back and left without another word.
He understood enough.
"So Princess Sera is still in the capital? And she banned gambling?" he muttered.
Officially, gambling might be banned. But it would never truly disappear. The nobles would definitely continue gambling in secret.
What it really meant was only one thing—
commoners were banned from participating.
Saelran's hopes of making a quick fortune were crushed.
Remembering the young man's obsession over the Princess, he could only sigh. It seemed the "Jewel of the Kingdom" was deeply adored by the people.
"Kind-Hearted?? Using those words to describe that princess…" Saelran shook his head.
There was a massive gap between the Princess Sera he remembered from the future and the one idolized by the people now.
If his memory was correct, two years before the new calendar began, the current King would die unexpectedly. That event would trigger a fierce struggle for the throne between the First Prince and the Second Prince.
In the chaos, Princess Sera—sickly since childhood and with no political influence—would eventually be exiled to a remote region.
And after that… her fate would change completely. She would be discovered by Gurath Goat Govenant and transformed into the being later known as the Witch of Destruction.
With her newfound power, she would return to the kingdom and exact unimaginable vengeance.
Aside from the Nine Gate of Helldusk, Princess Sera was the human who had slaughtered the most humans. Because she herself was human yet chose to betray humanity, she was the one Saelran despised the most.