Reporting the Status.

Meld stopped again to take a breath. Then, he continued, "Next, do you all see that little box that says 'Job' in it? To put it simply, it refers to your natural aptitude. It's directly linked to the skills box at the bottom, and your 'Job' determines the kind of skills you can learn. By the way, few people possess a job."

According to Meld's explanation, not everyone in Tortus possessed a Job. Rob couldn't help but wonder what the Status Plate would show if someone didn't have a job.

However, Rob didn't want to attract attention by asking Meld some questions at that moment. As such, he decided against it and kept his curiosity to himself.

Rob came back to reality when Meld continued, "Jobs are split into combat-based and non-combat-based disciplines. Combat jobs are exceedingly rare. Only one in every thousand - or ten thousand depending on the Job - people have a combat-based Job. Non-combat jobs are technically rare too, but... Well, one in every hundred people has one. Some are even common enough that one in every ten people has one. There are a lot of people who have non-combat production-related jobs."

That made Rob think again. If combat-based Jobs were that rare (and uncommon in the case of production-based Jobs), did that mean not all soldiers in the Heiligh kingdom possessed combat-based jobs?

Or not all productive members of the society in this world possessed production-based Jobs?

Rob remembered that even someone without a Job related to some disciplines could learn those disciplines. For instance: Hajime in the original story could still cast elemental magic despite having no affinity.

Rob also remembered how Hajime created fire using magic to warm himself right after falling into the true Orcus Great Labyrinth. However, having no affinity for elemental magic, Hajime wasn't good at it, nor was he efficient using his small magic power.

'Does this mean I can learn Transmute despite having no Synergist Job?' Such a question flashed through Rob's mind, giving him an idea.

If he could learn Transmutation, Rob believed he would have a chance to follow Hajime's path in the original story.

'Isn't it ironic?' Rob mused in his mind suddenly.

Rob was the type of reader who liked it when the fanfic he read deviated from the source. However, here he considered following what happened in the original story.

Could you blame him, though? This world was no longer fiction to him. It was his new reality!

Rob preferred to be successful no matter what path he would take.

On top of that, following the proven and tested path was more convenient.

Again, Rob came back to reality when Meld continued his speech, "Next... Well, your stats are what they say they are. The average for most stats at level 1 is around 10. But you're all heroes, so you surely have far higher stats than that! Man, I'm so jealous of you guys! Oh yes, don't forget to report your stats to me. I'll need to know them to decide how to best train you guys!"

After Meld ended his speech, he asked the summoned heroes to report their status. Kouki took the first turn, approaching Meld confidently.

"Whoa, you really are a hero! You already have stats in the triple digits at level 1! And most people normally only get two or three skills! You're way beyond normal. What a reliable hero!"

"Well, you know how it is... Ahaha..." Kouki blushed and scratched his head as Meld praised him.

Their interaction piqued everyone else's curiosity about Kouki's status, including Rob.

When a student asked Kouki to share his status, he showed his Status Plate to everyone because he was such an Ally of Justice with overflowing kindness (lol!).

By the way, Kouki's Status Plate displayed something as follows:

[ Kouki Amanogawa - Age: 17 - Male - Level: 1

Job: Hero

Strength: 100

Defense: 100

Vitality: 100

Agility: 100

Magic: 100

Magic Defense: 100

Skills: Elemental Affinity - Elemental Resistance - Physical Resistance - Advanced Sorcery - Swordsmanship - Superhuman Strength - Armor Proficiency - Foresight - Increased Mana Recovery - Detect Presence - Detect Magic - Limit Break - Language Comprehension ]

When Rob saw Kouki's stats and skills, he couldn't help but feel envious.

Kouki's stats were very high, and he had so many Skills from the start! He was overly powerful, wasn't he?!

By the way, Rob had approached Kouki and Meld without them noticing his presence. He didn't even try to hide from them!

Isn't his Presence Isolation overpowered?!

Back on topic, Rob eventually stopped envying Kouki's status. He remembered that it was a part of Ehit's nefarious plot for Kouki.

After recalling the bleak future waiting for Kouki, Rob wondered what kind of price he had to pay. He was sure that nothing was free in the world, including his current opportunity.

For now, Rob guessed the price is becoming entertainment for the mastermind behind his current situation. He hoped that there was no worse price than that.

By the way, despite knowing Kouki's dark future, Rob didn't have the intention to do anything about it, such as helping the wannabe Ally of Justice.

Why would Rob do that? Kouki was not his responsibility!

The truth is that Rob believed allowing Ehit to snatch Kouki's body would make the self-proclaimed God an easy target. Besides, it would be better if Ehit took over Kouki's body instead of Yue's body.

Or Aleytia as she's called at the moment since she still has her original name.

Anyway, it is better to sacrifice the hero-wannabe than the main heroine!

Nevertheless, the students began reporting their status. Ryoutarou took his turn after Kouki, then Shizuku after that, and then Kaori.

After Kouki's usual group finished, Aiko reported the content of her Status Plate next, followed by the rest of the students.

Rob also looked at the status displayed on the Status Plates of the students who reported to Meld.

However, Meld and the reporting students couldn't perceive Rob even though he stood there. For goodness sake, he was standing beside them, not trying to hide!

Rob couldn't deny that Presence Isolation was one heck of a skill. 'If only it wasn't so troublesome,' he added in his mind.

Anyway, Rob decided to take his turn after Jugo. He called out to Meld, "Excuse me."

"Hah?! Who- You- How- No! Since when have you been here?!"

Meld stammered in surprise. His hand was even trying to reach for something next to his hips, probably his sword. Luckily, he didn't have his sword with him at the time.

Rob flinched in fright when he saw Meld's overreaction. Also, he was quite annoyed by it. It was too much, didn't you think so?

However, Rob hid his annoyance. Snapping at Meld would attract suspicion from the summoned heroes, which he didn't need at that moment.

"Kousuke?! So, you're there, huh?!" Jugo, who was still standing before Meld, also added pointlessly.

Since Jugo was one of Kousuke's close friends, Rob didn't snap at him. He didn't want to make Jugo suspicious of him. However, he preferred if Jugo didn't add more into the confusion at that moment.

The commotion Rob had unintentionally caused made the other summoned heroes turn their attention to the source. When they saw him, they had their usual reaction and teased him.

As the students teased him, Rob felt that they tested his patience to the limit. However, he decided to ignore those potatoes and gave his Status Plate to Meld. "This is mine," he flatly said.

"Oh? Alright! Let me see..." Meld accepted Rob's Status Plate and checked the contents. He did it casually and showed no open reaction if he sensed Rob's displeasure.

Nevertheless, after checking the Status Plate of 'Kousuke,' Meld nodded and murmured as if he finally understood something. "So that thin presence of yours is because of this skill, huh? It's as if you were born for this Job!"

Then, Meld said to Rob jubilantly, "Be happy with your talent... Kousuke Endou, right? Anyway, this Presence Isolation skill is frightening. It may not have high destructive power. However, this skill is perfect for an Assassin. I couldn't even feel your presence before. If we are enemies, you can get rid of me easily! Fortunately, you are one of the heroes summoned to save humanity! Hahaha!"

Meld could still laugh jovially after saying something scary. Rob looked at Meld silently while wondering what he was thinking.

Inwardly, Rob wondered if Meld was hiding his nervousness with his cheerful demeanor and laughter. After all, Presence Isolation, combined with Assassination Techniques, was a dangerous anti-unit combination.

Even though the target was Meld, who had stats over 300 points on average, Rob might be able to defeat him if Rob was smartly using his abilities. A frontal fight wasn't his way of fighting, and ambushing his target to deal with a deadly attack was how he should do it.

"Anyway," Meld continued once he stopped laughing, "It seems like you were born to be an Assassin, and your Presence Isolation skill is proof of that! You have the potential to become the best Assassin in the history of Tortus! Be happy for it, okay?!"

Rob pressed his lips into a thin line as he couldn't help but feel displeased at Meld's praise. He felt dissed rather than praised!

After that, Rob's turn was over. Then, Jugo pulled him who had just gotten his Status Plate from Meld.

"Come with me!" Jugo said so as he dragged Rob to where Kentarou was.

By the way, Jugo's Job was 'Heavy Knight' that focused on defense. Meanwhile, Kentarou's Job was 'Geomancer.'

Though he didn't want to, Rob had to entertain Jugo and Kentarou. Otherwise, they'd become suspicious of him.

When Rob entertained Kentarou and Jugo with small talk, a commotion happened and took their attention. They checked what was happening over there and found it was coming from around Hajime.

It appeared that Hajime's commonplace stats and skills became known, and Daisuke Hiyama and his gang began deriding him.

When the students laughed at Hajime, Rob was among the rare people who didn't laugh at him. He looked at Hajime with a pondering look as he considered something seriously.