IRE Chapter 35

“… Ha.”

A sigh filled with emptiness flowed out of my mouth.

What was intended to be a laugh turned into a meaningless sound that only conveyed a sense of futility.

“… Job selection.”

Uttering those words wasn’t a deliberate act of my will, but merely a reflexive action.

-The following job options that you can choose from will be revealed.

-Remember! You can only choose one job. Please think carefully and choose wisely.

Along with the sequentially appearing notification windows.

-Archer

-Hunter

-Spirit Arts Practitioner

-Sentinel (Race-specific Job)

-Diplomat

-Fighter

“Huh.”

Six job windows appear.

Six.

Six of them.

It was an overwhelming number that I had never seen in my 5 years of playing experience or in the game inventories.

Usually, there were one or two, and three was considered a lot. In the 5-year history of the game, there was only one instance where more than three job options appeared.

Even then, four was the maximum, and there was never a single instance where five or more job options appeared.

As if entranced, I moved my finger towards the job called Sentinel and pressed my finger as if clicking on it.

-You have selected the job ‘Sentinel’. This job is a race-specific job. Do you want to choose this job?

-Yes/No

A race-specific job refers to a job that can only be chosen by that particular race.

While the abilities of the job or the skills that can be learned aren’t significantly different from regular jobs, it’s a bit easier to raise skill proficiency due to the race bonus benefits.

And the performance of the skills learned is slightly higher than those learned from regular jobs, but only subtly.

However, it’s not to the extent where players placed great significance on race-specific jobs.

I pressed Yes.

Regardless of the job’s performance, from the beginning, I had never considered any job other than Sentinel for myself.

What other job would I, an elf, desire besides Sentinel?

From the start, I had been training and contemplating the direction of my growth to raise myself as a Sentinel.

Although my teacher’s early education and my mother’s influence played a significant role, I had set my sights on becoming a Sentinel from the moment I created this character.

I was surprised to see an unexpectedly large number of jobs, but they were essentially out of the question from the beginning.

By the way, the job Sentinel was the form that the regular job Hunter took when transformed into a race-specific job.

Perhaps even if I chose Hunter, the skills I could learn would be the same as when I chose Sentinel.

Unless I learned race-specific skills separately through the 2nd job advancement in the future.

-Job selection has been completed. Please open your status window to check your job.

-Job-specific skills have been created. Please check the skill window through the status window.

Only after hearing those words did I finally open my status window.

“Status window.”

Status Window

Name: Eldmir Arhitea

Lv: 1

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Race: Spirit Elf

Job: Sentinel

-Stats

Strength: 95

Agility: 103

Vitality: 91

Endurance: 82

Intelligence: 88

Wisdom: 100

-Skill Window

-Arrow of Will (Proficiency: Very Low)

Description: Consumes mental power to imbue arrows with willpower. The power and movement of the arrow change according to the amount of willpower imbued and the skill proficiency.

-??? (Proficiency: ???)

Description: ???

-Spirit Arts (Proficiency: Highest)

Description: Originally, it is a technique that allows the contractor to directly wield the power of nature through a contract with spirits. However, the current user has achieved a state of fusion with spirits, gaining the ability to possess the power that the spirits once held. Originally, the power of a high-ranking spirit was absorbed, but due to the compatibility between the spirit and the contractor and the contractor’s exceptional talent, the proficiency has increased by one level. This skill’s proficiency does not increase unless a special method is used.

-Tracking (Proficiency: Highest) (New)

Description: Allows for easier identification and tracking of the target’s traces. As proficiency increases, it becomes even easier to track the target’s traces.

-Archery (Proficiency: Highest) (New)

Description: Affects the ability to handle a bow. As proficiency increases, one becomes more skilled at handling a bow.

The first thing that caught my eye was my race.

Next was the stat values, and then the skill name “???” caught my attention.

However, before I could focus on those things, I had to tremble at the shiver that enveloped my entire body.

The moment the status window was opened and stats were activated for the first time in this world, an unprecedented power that I had never felt before began to overflow from my entire body.

It was the same as in the game.

Even in the game, there was a stark difference between characters with and without a status window.

As the stat values increased, the difference in a character’s abilities became drastic depending on whether a stat was one point higher or lower, let alone the difference between having stats and not having them at all.

Moreover, what were those numbers?

In the case of the orc I played until the ending, the value of strength, its main stat, was 109, but this character already had a main stat value of 103.

I couldn’t tell if the potential difference stemmed from the difference in ability values, but in any case, it was clear that I was now a monster-like existence.

Furthermore, the skills.

Usually, the only skills that can be acquired when the tutorial ends are the job-specific skills obtained through job advancement.

The proficiency of those skills varies depending on how well the tutorial was completed, and in most cases, a proficiency of “Medium” is considered well-raised.

And I had achieved the remarkable feat of having all my skill proficiencies at the “Highest” level.

However, what stood out the most was that in addition to the archery and tracking skills I obtained as job-specific skills, I also had a skill with the name “???” and the skills “Arrow of Will” and “Spirit Arts” that had saved my life several times.

As mentioned before, acquiring skills during the tutorial was virtually impossible.

Yet, I had obtained three skills during the tutorial.

It was truly astonishing, and if this status window were seen in the inventory, it would be more than enough to be reported as a bug player right away…

“Ha. Hahaha.”

Laughter burst out for no reason.

Unable to find the reason for the laughter, I just laughed.

The laughter kept coming out.

“Hahahahaha!!”

That laughter held no joy, no sorrow, nothing.

It held no emotions at all.

It was just laughter that burst out.

The sound of laughter echoing in the night sky kept ringing in my ears.

The bizarre phenomenon of me listening to my own laughter while observing myself occurred.

I wanted to grasp that phenomenon because I couldn’t understand the reason for my own laughter.

“Hahaha…”

Finally, at the end of the laughter, what flowed out was, once again, tears of unknown reason.

“Ha… Ha.”

The laughter finally ceased.

The tears kept flowing.

I didn’t pathetically replace the sound of laughter with the sound of crying.

Literally, I just shed tears.

“…”

It was an overwhelming power.

Even now, I’m strong, but my Lv is still only 1.

There was no concept of a level cap in this game, but there were two walls that users considered a kind of limit.

The first was 30, and the second was 50.

In a game like this, growth definitely wouldn’t be easy, but I would undoubtedly become even stronger in the future.

Yes.

Really.

Really.

It was truly an overwhelming power.

“… I’ve gotten stronger.”

Should I call it the power I wanted?

Should I call it the power I had desired?

In a situation where I could no longer distinguish the difference myself, I had obtained power anyway.

No, I had received the reward of the tutorial growth system.

My main stat had exceeded 100, and my job skills had also achieved the absurd feat of having all their proficiencies at the highest level.

As time passed, I would quickly grow stronger, and there wouldn’t be many enemies who could stand in my way.

“… Ah.”

I had obtained overwhelming power.

I had already experienced the worst defeat of my life, but no more enemies would be able to stand in my way.

I had obtained overwhelming power.

I had already lost my family, whom I could consider my everything, but from now on, I would no longer suffer the pain of loss.

I had obtained overwhelming power.

I had already lost those I needed to protect, but from now on, I…

“Ah… Aaah.”

I mustn’t cry.

I don’t know why, but I made that resolve myself.

It felt like I had to do that.

As if someone was ordering me to, I bit my lip and swallowed the wail that was about to come out of my mouth.

It was as if someone was whispering to me.

Don’t cry.

A voice that mumbled in that unique calm tone was heard.

Saying that they didn’t want to see me crying.

It was as if someone was whispering to me.

“… Atir.”

The name of my other family member flowed out of my mouth.

Why did that name come to mind?

Why did his image come to mind now?

I couldn’t think of a proper reason.

My gaze just rose to my race once again, and I erased Atir’s name from my mind.

Spirit Elf.

I had seen the name Half-Elf before, but it was the first time I had seen a state where the names of two races were combined, like Spirit Elf.

Perhaps not only among players but also within the worldview of the game Omega World, an existence like me might be the first.

That thought occurred to me.

“… I should go back.”

I closed the status window.

I didn’t deeply examine any questions about my race or the description of the unidentified skill.

It was clear that this skill was the one that had been effective in the battle against the War Hammers, but I didn’t bother to question why its name was “???”.

Right now, for some reason, I just strongly felt that everything was unnecessary.

I didn’t want to think deeply.

I didn’t want to engage in the act of thinking.

Because there had been… too, too many things that had happened.

I stood up from my spot and wiped away my tears.

I walked.

I walked and walked, and I found the place where my mother’s corpse was.

Elven corpses do not easily decay.

Although they eventually decay over time, the children of El Lydarell, who are blessed by her, take a very long time for decay to begin.

Mother, she had the same appearance as the last time I saw her.

“I’m late, Mother.”

I calmly swept her hair that had fallen on her face as if combing it, covering her face.

Stiff and cold.

I could no longer feel that warm and gentle energy from Mother.

Only the remnants of death existed.

“… Let’s go back. To the forest.”

I lifted Mother’s corpse.

Being lifted in a stiff state made me realize once again that Mother had passed away.

After combing Mother’s hair back again, I took a step forward, facing straight ahead.

And so, I moved forward.

Continuously.

I moved forward.

The moonlight shone down on us.

Walking on the barren rocks, we, no, I slowly took steps.

As I did so, I began to recite the prayer that I hadn’t finished.

“To El Lydarell, my god, the guardian of the forest, and the father and mother of all elves, I offer this prayer.”

I, I moved forward.

With Mother’s corpse in my arms and the corpses of the dark elves behind my footsteps.

I kept moving forward.

Regardless of what had happened here, regardless of what would happen to me in the future.

Burying all of that in my heart, I kept moving forward.

“What the hell is the reason for reincarnating me into this shitty game?”

There was no answer.

I never expected one anyway.

Many times, many times, I had already failed to receive an answer.

That’s why I calmly swallowed my anger in my heart and walked forward.

Continuously.

Continuously.

In order to live.

No matter what, I, in this damned world inside the game.

Because I had been reincarnated as an elf.