Nfirea turned to the old woman approaching them, a look of embarrassment on his face. "Grandma."
"This is no place for your charity," Lizzie Bareare said, her hands clasped behind her back. Her wrinkled face showed impatience, and her tone was sharp with reprimand. "During the Royal Tournament, you should be focused on buying and collecting medicinal herbs."
"Yes, Grandma," Nfirea replied softly, reaching up to scratch his short golden hair.
Hearing their brief exchange, Irvine Wolf finally understood why this grandmother and grandson, who should have been in the border city of E-Rantel, were here in the Royal Capital. The thought flashed through his mind, but he maintained a calm expression.
He knew better than to be fooled by Lizzie's unassuming appearance. Though she seemed like a harmless old woman and held little presence in the grand scheme of things, she was E-Rantel's most famous alchemist and a genuine third-tier magic caster. In terms of level, she was likely above 15, making her a formidable figure among humans . At the very least, the current Irvine could not afford to offend her.
Lizzie's gaze fell on Irvine, her eyes briefly noting the short sword at his waist and his slightly muscular arms before she turned away dismissively. "Let's go, Nfirea," she said expressionlessly, turning to leave with her hands still behind her back.
"Alright, Grandma." Nfirea quickly agreed. He took a step toward the street but then paused, hesitated, and turned back to Irvine. "You must be here to watch Sir Gazef and Sir Brain's match, right? I heard the arena seating is very expensive." He unhooked a waterskin from his belt and held it out. "Here, take this. It's easy to choke if you eat rye bread without water."
This guy… is a bit too kind, Irvine thought, his cheek twitching slightly. Had he not known Nfirea's genuine personality, such unsolicited kindness from a stranger would have immediately put him on guard. Moreover, as an orphan, Irvine had always been wary of inexplicable generosity.
"No, I—" Irvine began to refuse, but Nfirea had already pressed the waterskin into his hand.
A sudden jolt ran through him.
Irvine's expression shifted imperceptibly. It wasn't due to Nfirea's forceful gesture but because, at the moment of contact, his status panel suddenly lit up with new information.
'Buzz—'
'Contact with special dual basic job holder — Alchemist (Genius), Pharmacist (Genius). General job acquisition condition triggered.'
'Acquired general job: "Genius." Do you wish to take up this job?'
'Note: This job is a general job and does not provide attribute bonuses.'
Irvine's arm trembled slightly as he read the text. In YGGDRASIL, jobs were divided into combat jobs—Basic, Intermediate, High-Tier, and Special—and non-combat general jobs, which could be understood as production or life jobs . These included roles like Pharmacist, Alchemist, Blacksmith, Farmer, and Merchant, which offered no direct combat benefits.
However, in the New World, general jobs were far more varied. They included not only production jobs but also many that didn't exist in the game, such as Slave, Maid, Noble, Prince, King, and Princess . These were often acquired passively based on one's station or life experiences, representing a fundamental difference between New World natives and players: players could actively choose their jobs, while natives acquired them automatically .
"Take the job!"
Almost without hesitation, Irvine mentally confirmed. The same Irvine who had been agonizing over whether to choose a warrior or caster basic job now unhesitatingly selected a general job that offered no combat attributes. His excitement was palpable.
While general jobs didn't directly enhance strength, that didn't mean they were useless—especially those unique to the New World.
'Job acquisition successful — Genius: Lv 1'
'Genius (General): This job can replace any basic job or general job and can transform into the required job based on demand.'
'Note: Due to its special nature, this job does not increase basic attributes when leveling up and does not confer job-specific characteristics after conversion.'
Irvine read the information, barely containing his exhilaration.
"Are you alright?" Nfirea asked, looking confused and concerned as he noticed Irvine's sudden grip and emotional shift.
"Sorry, and… thank you," Irvine said, releasing Nfirea's hand and taking the waterskin. His gratitude was genuine.
"No problem," Nfirea replied with a simple nod before hurrying off to catch up with his grandmother.
Watching Nfirea leave, Irvine took a deep breath, his eyes alight with excitement. He had never expected to accidentally acquire such an incredibly rare general job!
With the "Genius" job, Irvine no longer needed to worry about committing to a basic job prematurely. It eliminated a major headache in his long-term build planning and dramatically increased his margin for error.
As far as he knew, only one other person in this world possessed the "Genius" job: the Golden Princess, Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself of the Re-Estize Kingdom, also known as the "Princess of the Fallen Kingdom." Her "Princess" general job had been transformed from "Genius" . In the hands of New World natives, this job was underutilized, but in the hands of a player like Irvine, it could unleash its true potential.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Irvine felt a surge of relief, as if a tightly wound coil within him had finally loosened. The despair that had clung to him began to recede. Though he had only acquired a general job, it felt like a pivotal turn in his fortunes.
"I also gained another crucial piece of information," Irvine mused, his mind racing.
The fact that contacting Nfirea had triggered a job acquisition condition was unexpected. Combined with his earlier discovery that touching weapons could also activate job prompts, he had now uncovered two key methods for acquiring jobs through his Player Talent.
However, the fact that he had only acquired the general "Genius" job—and not Nfirea's specific Alchemist (Genius) or Pharmacist (Genius) jobs—suggested that ordinary contact with people did not normally trigger job acquisition.
"Was it specifically because Nfirea possesses the dual 'Genius' traits that it unexpectedly triggered the general 'Genius' job?" Irvine wondered, deep in thought.