I entered my job title as "Dark Mage" without hesitation since there was nothing else to hide aside from my scout trait.

'Hopefully, being a Dark Mage won’t bring any disadvantages...'

Honestly, it would feel unfair if there were any penalties. After all, the job selection only included "Dark Mage" and not just "Mage."

A staff member approached us and spoke.

"If you have finished submitting your forms, please take a seat and wait. Shortly, we will inform you where you need to go based on your job categories."

"Yes, understood."

As we sat and chatted, Kang Iseo approached us.

"Did you guys write everything properly? I just put "Archer." That should be fine, right?"

"It should be fine. I just put "Dark Mage," too."

"I only wrote down my job title."

"Damn, this is nerve-wracking..."

"It's only the first day of training, it won’t be anything major. Honestly, the ones who skipped through the tutorial should be more worried than us."

"True..."

Looking around, I noticed that most people didn’t seem too happy. There were likely a few who had obtained jobs like us, but the majority hadn’t fought monsters, meaning they remained jobless.

Curious, I stopped a passing staff member.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"

"Ah... Yes, what would you like to know?"

"I understand that those who obtained jobs will be trained accordingly. But what happens to those who didn’t get a job?"

"Ah... Now that you mention it, we haven’t explained that yet. Those without jobs will be gathered separately for a forced job change."

'...How are they going to change jobs?'

"Is that... possible?"

"The first job change you undergo is called the First Advancement and it can be done artificially. The training facility has an artifact that allows First Advancement."

'Wait, then did we go through all that effort fighting monsters for nothing?'

Seeing my expression, the staff member continued as if they could read my thoughts.

"Haha... But of course, their job change won’t be the same as yours. When you changed jobs, you must have experienced a stat increase, right?"

"...Yes."

'No way.'

"Those who obtain jobs artificially won’t receive a stat boost upon job change. In other words, there’s a significant difference between you and them."

According to him, fighting monsters for a job was clearly the superior method.

Anyone who had seen the status windows of the strongest individuals knew that a single point in stats was immensely valuable.

Simply put, they were behind us from the start—not just in experience but also in stats.

"That’s not all. Although it’s rare, there are cases where people obtain jobs without fighting monsters or using artifacts. We call this phenomenon Awakening."

'...That’s exactly how Yu-hyun obtained his job.'

"Awakened jobs tend to be significantly stronger than ordinary ones. We believe Awakening is triggered by extreme crisis or intense emotions. However, those who gain jobs through artifacts lose their chance at Awakening."

"I see."

"Of course, saying they 'lose their chance' is just a technicality. Statistically, less than 0.1% of people ever Awaken."

Basically, the staff member was telling me that this didn’t really matter because it was so rare.

Lowering my voice, I asked cautiously, "...Would revealing an Awakening bring any disadvantages?"

"...Wait, did you experience Awakening?"

He widened his eyes in shock, looking at me as if he couldn't believe it.

"......"

I didn’t answer him.

Noticing my reluctance, he spoke again.

"Hah... To clarify, there’s no official disadvantage to revealing it. However, whether you or someone in your group Awakened, my advice is to only disclose it to your clan once you’ve joined one."

"...May I ask why?"

"...While there aren’t any explicit penalties, other clans might try to suppress you if they find out."

So, if Yu-hyun’s Awakening became public knowledge, the clan that recruited him would be thrilled, but rival clans might try to interfere.

"Alternatively, if you don’t receive any offers, you could subtly reveal it to attract interest. But if you can enter a clan smoothly, it’s best to keep it quiet until your safety is assured."

This staff member was surprisingly helpful. He had no obligation to explain all this in such detail.

'...Or maybe he’s trying to make an impression on us.'

He probably saw our group as a promising party with high potential.

'Well, he’s not wrong, considering we have a regressor among us.'

"Thank you for your detailed explanation, you’ll be blessed for your kindness."

"Haha... It’s just part of my job."

After finishing my conversation, I turned to Yu-hyun and Kang Iseo.

"Yu-hyun, Kang Iseo."

"Yes?"

"Huh? What?"

"...Yu-hyun’s job acquisition without killing a monster is a secret. Don’t mention it anywhere and Yu-hyun, you especially mustn’t tell anyone. Understood?"

"Yes, hyung."

"Wait, Yu-hyun got a job without killing a monster?! How the hell did th—"

"You... idiot!"

I made a mistake.

I hadn’t remembered Yu-hyun’s job advancement before meeting Kang Iseo.

Panicking, I clamped my hand over Kang Iseo’s mouth.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

"Idiot! Keep your voice down!"

I let go of her mouth.

"Pwah! Ugh, fine..."

"...What are you two doing?"

Turning towards the voice, I saw Seo Yuju standing nearby, looking at us suspiciously.

"Ah... Nothing important."

"..."

After some time, staff members appeared and distributed papers to everyone, including our group.

"These sheets indicate the locations of your assigned classrooms. If you haven’t received one, please wait as you do not have a job."

Looking at my sheet, I saw a map with classroom locations. Some of my teammates were in the same class, while others were assigned separately.

"If you have received your sheet, please proceed to your designated classroom within 20 minutes."

Seo Yuju addressed us.

"It seems the classrooms are divided based on job categories. Tae-woo and I are in the same class, so we’ll head there first."

"Yes, Yuju-ssi."

I was grouped with Song Ha-eun and Yu-hyun. Since all three of us had magic-focused jobs, it made sense to receive the same training.

"Shall we get going?"

Arriving at the classroom, we found that aside from the three of us, only five others were present.

"Yun-seong oppa, there are so few people here."

"It's probably because this class is for those who use magic as their primary ability."

If those without jobs undergo job changes through artifacts, more people might join us later.

Some of them would surely get jobs like Mage.

After about ten minutes of waiting, a woman who appeared to be the instructor entered the classroom.

What stood out was her long silver hair and her striking appearance.

I opened her status window.

[ Name: Ha Yuri ]

[ Age: 30 ]

[ Job: Ice Witch (Legendary Rank) ]

[ Titles: Ice Witch, Master of the Magic Tower, Magic Comprehender, Demon Hater ]

[ Unique Trait ]

Cold Mana (Legendary Rank) - Your mana is optimized for learning ice magic. Ice magic proficiency increases dramatically. Additionally, permanently increases Mana by 10, but reduces Stamina by 2.

[ Traits ]

Archmage (Legendary Rank) - Greatly enhances comprehension of magic.

Evil Hater (Heroic Rank) - Temporarily increases all stats by 3 when facing Dark Mages and demons.

[ Stats ]

Strength - 54 Agility - 62

Stamina - 68 Luck - 80

Mana - 94 Resistance - 51

'...Ha.'

There was only one thought in my mind upon seeing her status window.

'I'm screwed.'

Nothing else stood out, only her titles and unique traits caught my eye.

'Demon Hater...'

It was uncertain if her hatred extended beyond demons to include Dark Mages, but it was clear she wouldn’t be fond of them.

Ha Yuri spoke in a cold voice.

"...It looks like everyone is here, we'll begin the training. But first, I will verify your jobs."

She flipped through a stack of papers, then suddenly her gaze sharpened as she spoke.

"...There is a Dark Mage here?"

'Fuck...'

Ha Yuri's gaze, seemingly colder than before, landed on me.

"Is there a particular reason you chose to become a Dark Mage?"

"...The job selection screen only had Dark Mage available, not Mage, so I had no choice but to select it."

I emphasized that it was out of necessity.

'Fuck, she wouldn’t actually harass a newbie just for being a Dark Mage, right? Right?'

However, Ha Yuri's next words made my mind go blank.

"If the only option was Dark Mage and not Mage, then the likelihood is high that your heart is tainted with evil."

'...What? Is this crazy woman serious?'

"Did you commit any crimes during the tutorial? There must be a reason the job selection recommended Dark Mage to you."

I just stood there, mouth agape. I never expected someone to say something like this to a newbie on the first meeting.

Yu-hyun and Song Ha-eun, sitting beside me, seemed to sense the tension and began glancing at me anxiously.

"...I did nothing, I simply cleared the dungeon."

Ha Yuri didn’t seem convinced. Her gaze toward me was noticeably different from how she looked at the others.

As she continued reviewing the papers, she suddenly looked surprised and turned to Song Ha-eun.

"...We have a Spirit Summoner here?"

"Huh? Uh, yes..."

'...This bitch.'

Unlike the way she looked at me, Ha Yuri smiled warmly at Song Ha-eun and spoke.

"A Spirit Summoner must have a pure and untainted heart. The spirits choosing you means your heart is as clean as a pristine crystal."

Song Ha-eun looked uncomfortable, stealing a glance at me before responding.

"T-Thank you..."

"And... how surprising... we have a Priest? And it’s... Heroic Rank..."

Ha Yuri turned to Yu-hyun in disbelief.

"How is this possible? Starting with a Heroic Rank job?"

Judging by her reaction, starting with a Heroic Rank job must be extremely rare.

After finishing her review, Ha Yuri spoke.

"Very good, everyone is perfect... except for one. The Dark Mage... well, I hope you can keep up with my training. Though, I doubt you will."

"......."

I seriously wanted to kill this woman.