"Then I'll give you a quick rundown of the basics about professionals."
Gron closed the door, casually pulled out a chair, and motioned for Gauss to sit down with him.
"In this world, there are all kinds of races. I'm sure you've noticed in your daily life, the most common are dwarves, dwarves, halflings, and half-beastmen. These races are basically not much different from us humans, except for some differences in size and appearance."
"But there are also some special races, like Dragon Descendants, elves, beastmen, merfolk, banshees, giant dragons, and the like. They are innately gifted with powers far beyond humans, a gift from their bloodline."
"Aside from the innate power from one's race, those who later develop and train extraordinary abilities are called professionals."
"Countless people have forged ahead to blaze many unknown professional paths, most of which have vanished into the dust of history, waiting for someone fated to uncover them. The most common mainstream professional paths have been passed down through generations to this day."
Gauss listened intently.
He knew how rare it was to get this sort of knowledge imparted—finding a professional, and one who's willing to teach everything he knows.
"Warrior, Warlock, Mage, Ranger, Druid, Wanderer..."
"These mainstream professions have the highest stability and a relatively high ceiling, so they're suitable for advancement among all races."
"But suitability here is only relative; in reality, crossing over from an ordinary person to a professional is still a very difficult process."
"Out of ten adventurers with decent aptitude, maybe only one has a chance to become a professional, maybe even fewer."
"I suppose you've already started learning some prerequisite skills for professionals, right? Like sword skills, combat skills, magic, and things like that."
Gron's throat was a bit dry from talking, so he poured water for both of them and looked at Gauss with an assured gaze.
Gauss nodded.
Nothing to hide here.
Since Boss Gron was willing to explain the knowledge of professionals for free, hiding things would just be impolite.
"Yeah, I've already mastered a 0th ring trick, Mage's Hand—oh, and a 1st-level spell, Magic Missile."
"Cough, cough—"
Gron, who had been calmly drinking water, immediately choked on his drink.
"Looks like your talent is even better than I thought."
He took a moment to compose himself, and now looked at Gauss with more complex emotions.
"I'm guessing you awakened your magic power and just suddenly mastered those two spells, right?"
Gauss nodded.
Even though it was a reward from the Adventurer's Handbook, it really did happen very suddenly.
Gron seemed to have found confirmation, wearing a 'just as I thought' expression.
"Kid, your luck and talent are both quite something. Maybe you don't understand where your magic actually comes from."
No, I do. Gauss thought to himself, but he didn't interrupt Gron.
"Some people say this kind of flash of insight is a blessing from the gods; others say that our world is already filled with all sorts of inherited combat and magical powers, it's just that most people never encounter it even once in their lives. Every now and then, a lucky person like you gets a chance to inherit."
"Aside from sudden insight, though, for most people to learn things like combat skills or spells, they need to study books or have another professional teach them, and then practice a ton before they might get it."
The reason Gron guessed Gauss had suddenly comprehended his spells, rather than learned them, was simply because Gauss didn't have the resources to study magic.
"So, manager, if I master combat skills or spells like these, does that make me a professional?"
"No, no, of course it's not that simple." Gron shook his head. "That's only the first step, the absolute basic threshold. We usually call this stage being a professional apprentice."
"To become a full professional, you first need to practice your chosen skill until you're extremely proficient at it."
"How proficient, exactly? There's no quantitative standard, but rather it's up to your own sense."
"And once you practice the skill to the right degree, you'll start to feel a mysterious force in the world guiding you."
"That guidance is called your professional path."
"The professional path will condense an intangible presence within your body: the Profession Tier."
"The Profession Tier is the source of a professional's power. Even today, we still can't give it a precise definition."
"The mainstream view is that it's like a rule created by the world. When we step onto a professional path and keep dedicating ourselves to it, we'll become stronger and stronger."
Gauss half-understood, half not, but couldn't help but feel a surge of joy inside—his Adventurer's Handbook could quantify his skills, giving him an advantage no one else had.
"So what I need to do now is train a spell until I'm extremely proficient, and then I'll get the guidance I need to step onto the Mage professional path?"
"Put simply, that's the gist of it, but in reality, it's not that straightforward." Gron nodded. "To practice a skill to the guidance stage takes a ton of time, and many people never achieve it in their whole lives."
"That's when you need a famous teacher's guidance."
"And even after you reach that stage and get guidance, there are still some tricky bits."
"The professional path will start subtly transforming a quasi-professional's body. Some can't adapt to those changes, so you might need magic potions, reagents, a profession-changing ceremony, or some special treasure to help. The specific advancement aids depend on your profession and your own body. Only when your Profession Tier is fully condensed are you truly a 1st-level professional."
"Becoming a professional, normally, can take as little as a year or two, or as long as decades."
...
"Thank you, Boss Gron!"
When Gauss got up to leave, his mind was already packed with knowledge about professionals.
He stood up and gave Gron a deep bow.
In this world, no one is nice to you for no reason.
Even if Gron's a pretty nice guy, knowledge about professionals—usually professionals are really unwilling to teach that stuff for free.
The reason's pretty obvious—professionals need outside resources to cultivate, whether it's armor, weapons, or auxiliary potions.
But resources are limited; teaching another person to become a professional means one more competitor.
Gron probably thinks I'm worth betting on, wants to cultivate a good relationship, or maybe it's because of my short time working here before—either way, Gron shared tons of insider information on professionals with me.
For example, if I want to be a Mage, it's best to have a magic wand.
A magic wand is a huge boost for a Mage—not just for combat strength, but even for daily training, a magic wand can help speed up daily spell practice.
And that Life Magic Stone I presented is actually a material used to make a magic wand.
Towards the end, Gron seemed to realize he'd said a bit too much and quickly added that he'd only heard that from a professional friend.
Gauss wouldn't expose him, of course.
The two of them tacitly kept up the act.
"Manager, I'll head off now."
"Sure, come back and see me sometime."
Gron waved, watching Gauss's figure retreat into the distance, his gaze a little dazed.
As if he was looking back decades, at himself when he'd left home with passionate dreams.
Back then he too was so proud and ambitious.
Professionals—or you could say adventurers—are people like that: extraordinary, always chasing thrills and living a life others wouldn't dare touch.
"Boss! I've decided, I want to be an adventurer just like Gauss! I don't want to be a blacksmith anymore!"
"Marlin... I'm going to say something that might hurt your feelings."
"I think you're better suited to being a blacksmith."