6 Class Change -> Adventurer!

A handsome, blonde-haired young man leaned his body against the glossy wooden counter. Two beauties of the demihuman race, both of which could easily be crowned Miss Universe back on Jun Long's Earth, were smilingly chatting with him. The trio watched, as the loli guild manager and the black-haired teenager walked through the door to the back area.

"What a stange boy that was," Shirley, the bunny-girl said, poking her own chin in thought. "It's not every day you see such an aura on a human."

"Hou?" James Tarker wanted to ask. "So he really was a mage?"

"I thought you already knew," Jackie, the fox-girl exclaimed. "Didn't you guys come in together?"

"Mr. James did say that he was a newbie, Jackie," Shirley said matter-of-factly.

"Haha!" James Tarker laughed out loud. "The guy literally couldn't do anything in front of a horned rabbit! If he's not new, then I don't know what he is!"

The trio had a short laugh, together, and moved onto a different topic.

"So, Mr. James," Jackie started. "Have you managed to find any clues as to the disappearance of your sister?"

…

In the backroom, Jun Long had already been shown to a counter near the back wall. Kiko was standing a few feet away, and was instructing him on how to activate the clear orb in front of them.

"Alright, Mr. Jun," Kiko started, her smile still as bright as the morning sun. "All you need to do is reach out your dominant hand, focus your energy, and put your hand on top of the orb!"

The Scrying Orb, or so it was called, was as clear as a fresh window pane. Jun Long couldn't see a reflection, or even a glint of light, as he stared at the glass orb. It was laying on top of a purple pillow, as if it were something out of a fortune-teller's shoppe. Jun Long couldn't help but be a little fascinated by it.

Jun Long was a little confused, though, as he didn't know just how to focus his energy. It wasn't like he ever had to do such a thing back on Earth. Choosing to give it a try, and hope for the best, Jun Long closed his eyes and reached for the orb. It was cold to the touch, which made him flinch a little, but he wasn't allowed to pull his hand back.

Without opening his eyes, Jun Long stood there, his right hand outstretched, seemingly glued to the Scrying Orb. Kiko watched from the side as a bright blue light shone from under Jun Long's hand. She tried not to turn away, but still had to shield her eyes with her hand.

As the light dimmed, and Kiko was able to look into the Scrying Orb, Jun Long was finally able to let go of it. Jun Long pulled his hand away so hard that he had to take a step back, just to balance himself.

"What was that?" Jun Long cried.

"The Scrying Orb," Kiko replied without a pause.

"It felt like my hand was melded onto the glass!"

"Hehe! That's just how the Scrying Orb works!"

"You didn't warn me, so I was kind of nervous…"

"Well, it's all done, now!" Kiko pushed Jun Long to the side. "Let's see what job you're most suited for!"

Jun Long stood to the side, and inspected his right hand. It wouldn't be funny if some sort of burn or rash were to appear out of nowhere. Handling glue isn't always fun. Kiko, on the other hand, had already tilted her head to the side, as she looked deeply into the Scrying Orb for Jun Long's result.

"Hmm," she pondered, rubbing her chin with her finger. "This hasn't happened, before…"

Inside the orb, the dimmed light looked like it was slowly pulsing. After pulsing a few times, the light then started flickering. After flickering for a small while, it started showing a shadowy shape in the middle of the light. The shape looked like a pair of wings.

"What is it?" Jun Long asked.

"Well, there's something you should know about the way the Scrying Orb works," Kiko replied, her face no longer smiling. "There are a set of different reactions that the orb can show, when someone uses it:

1. The Pulsing Light: this shows that the user would best suit using magic! Magic users are usually known as 'Mages' and will usually demonstrate an affinity to the elements.

2. The Flickering Light: this shows that the user would best suit a more physical style of combat. This includes using weapons such as the sword and spear, but also includes proficiency in using bows and crossbows! Most aspiring adventurers will have this result!

3. The Shadow: this shows that the user would best suit a certain supportive role, depending on what kind of shape is shown. In most cases, this result would show a circle, or a square, or a triangle. A circle means that the user is more suited to using healing magics, the square means that the user is more suited to using life-style magics, the triangle means that the user is more suited to using spirit magic.

"Most of the time, adventurers will already know what jobs they already have, so it's not every day that I'll see many people using this here Scrying Orb! But I've still seen my fair share of appraisals, and this has definitely not happened, before!"

Jun Long listened to all this, his face slowly changing to show a worried expression. Because of his status as someone from a different world, the best thing to do would be to not stand out from the crowd. Who knows just what kind of danger would befall on someone like him, who had such a high value of novelty.

"So," Jun Long started timidly. "What did I get?"

"You got them all," Kiko replied. "And that has never happened in front of me, before!"

"Does that have any sort of special meaning?"

"I'm not sure! Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't hehe!"

"…"

"Oh, you! Don't look so worried! Just because it hasn't happened, before, doesn't mean it could never happen! You must be something really special!"

"'Special' huh?"

"Yeah! Like, maybe you can just be anything you wanna be! A swordsman! A soldier! An artisan! A mage! You might even be able to be a devout healer!"

"This is all a little overwhelming, Kiko, is there any job that's better than the others?"

"Well, there are a short supply of mages in this kingdom, I can tell you that much!"

"Why's that?"

"Mages usually come from noble families that have a complete lineage of mages, dating all the way back to the founding of the kingdom!"

"Does that mean commoners would never become a mage?"

"This is kind of strange, as it's very common knowledge, that you don't seem to know about how this world's structured, Mr. Jun!"

"Ah haha! I-I-I'm just wanting to broaden my horizons! Get to know things from all different aspects!"

"Well, it's not like commoners can't use magics. Magics can be used by anyone, as there are ways for people to learn the magics. The title of 'Mage' is just there to show that you're acknowledged as one who has studied and practiced your magics to a high degree."

"So, then, in the same respect, a mage could easily use a sword or spear to fight?"

"Naturally! Most do carry a small sword, or a dagger, with them. Using high leveled magics would quickly drain the user of their mana! You can't expect even the mages to continuously fire off magic after magic hehe!"

"So much like Final Fantasy…"

"Mr. Jun?"

"Oh, sorry! I was just thinking to myself."

"Well, with all this talk, how about you register yourself as a 'mage' and see how you do? It's not uncommon for the Scrying Orb to appraise someone as more suited to being a mage, but having the title on your Adventurer's Guild ID card might make things easier for you!"

"Well, then I'll take your suggestion, Kiko. I don't have much experience, so thank you for taking care of me."

"Not a problem!"

As Kiko lead Jun Long out of the backroom, she couldn't help thinking to herself that she had found a very interesting new guild member. As the manager of the Jovial Town branch of the Adventurer's Guild, it was her job to cultivate new talents, and raise the next generation of local heroes.

…

Waiting alone at the counter, James Tarker watched the door leading to the guild's backroom. The two guild employees had already left him to do their own jobs. It could be said that the Adventurer's Guild prides itself on the customer service aspect. It just wouldn't do to have two employees chatting with a customer all day.

James Tarker waved at Jun Long, as the two came out.

"How was it?" James Tarker asked, as he walked up to the pair.

"It was different!" Kiko replied, her face beaming with glee.

"It turns out I'm going to be a mage, James."

"Wow! That's definitely different!"

"You, too?" Jun Long scratched his head, feeling a little shy about it.

"Of course! Usually the only way I'll meet a mage is if I'm escorting them around the area!"

"I see…"

"Haha! Now I have a friend who's a mage! We're gonna make it big, Jun!!"

Jun Long could only force a smile, as he turned his head away in shame. Isn't this guy a little too proud of just being a friend of mage?

"Say," James Tarker said, as he wrapped his arm around Jun Long's neck. "Why don't we celebrate with a job?"

"A job?" Jun Long asked back. "Are you sure I'm ready?"

"We'll take on an E grade subjugation job! Something like hunting a few goblins or horned rabbits."

"…"

"It definitely won't be anything that you can't take on, Jun!"

"I guess you're right," Jun Long perked up. "Adventurers are meant to go on adventures!"

"That's the one!"

The two laughed together as they walked over to the job listings board. The afternoon was coming to a close, but there were still people of all different kinds looking for job they could start tomorrow.

James Tarker lead the way, as Jun Long had no experience in finding jobs in this way. He thought that it would be best to allow his partner to decide on the first job that they take together. As someone who was just dumped onto this world, how could he compare to someone who's been living the adventurer's life for years?

Jun Long saw that James Tarker was taking a while to scan through all the E grade job listings. As he was doing that, Jun Long wandered off to look further down the job listings board, the feeling of wonder and mystery building up inside of him, as he slowly reached the A grade job listings.

Though few, there were people standing in front of the A grade job listings, Jun Long decided to leave them be, as they didn't seem to care that he was standing there. He looked at the types of job listings that the A grade area had. Escort the court alchemist on a herb gathering quest. Get rid of these two-headed rabid demon dogs. Yearly subjugation of the wyverns in the mountain area.

Having read quite a few of these job listings, Jun Long started to get the general layout of the advert. To begin with, there would be a big stamp that showed the grade of the job listing. This would be on the top right. It looked kind of like a seal! Then it would show a drawing of some kind. Sometimes it would be an outlining of a monster, sometimes it would be a weapon or plant. Jun Long even saw one that had a drawing of a naked lady on it! That job listing was for nightly services…

Below the picture, it would then state the title of the job listing. This title would generally summarize the job in a few words so that people could easily figure out if they were willing to take on the job. Finally, under that, was the promised reward.

Rewards, from what Jun Long had seen, ranged anywhere from a couple of bottles of potion, all the way to slabs of monster meat, even going as far as to offer family heirlooms and such!

It's only normal for adventurers to want to take on a job based on the reward, and because of that, something caught Jun Long's eye. A job listing that was near the top of the board, which had the title: Subdue rampaging green dragon!