So Ye Su was thinking the same thing as the middle-aged man: he’d just forced a whole new setting onto himself, huh?

“Anyway, everything looks fine. This kid really is human. If he were a monster, the word ‘Monster’ would be listed before his name... Hm?!!! No way! This kid’s class is Novice?” The middle-aged branch director looked like he’d seen a ghost.

When he’d suspected Ye Su of being a monster, he’d been stern and cautious. Now, there wasn’t a trace of that in him.

“Novice? It really does say that! Little guy, you...” Big Sis Fiona had also noticed the attributes displayed on the Philosopher’s Stone. Clear as day, it read: Novice Lv. 2.

Sure, he was only level two, but the important part was those two words in front: Novice.

In this world, ordinary people were assigned a class at birth based on their circumstances and talents. For example, someone born into a farming family might start out with a low-tier class like Villager. If their family were soldiers, or they trained regularly, they might be given the Warrior class.

So a person’s class determined their future from the very beginning.

From birth to death, a person could have only one class.

But Novices were the exception!

Novice was practically a dream class. According to legend, the ten Heroes of this continent all started out as Novices. The class’s initial attribute bonuses were weak, but it had limitless potential. Anyone with the Novice class could change into all kinds of other classes—which meant they could have multiple classes.

Even more incredible, all those classes complemented one another and combined to form a person’s overall strength. Anyone with the Novice class had a chance—however slim—of becoming a Hero!

That was why the Novice class was also known as the Hero reserve.

Still, that didn’t mean every Novice would grow up to become a Hero. Novices were rare, but a country could still produce hundreds, maybe even thousands of them. Yet throughout the long course of history, only ten Heroes had ever been recorded. That showed just how hard it was to become one.

Looking at their astonished faces, Ye Su had no idea what they were so surprised about. Come on, you two! Novice players have dignity too! You’re an Axe Warrior and a Blood Knight—those sound way cooler than mine, okay?

“Ye Su, right? Why don’t you register as an adventurer with my guild? We’ll give you excellent benefits!” The branch director immediately tried to recruit him. Even if a Novice didn’t amount to much, he’d at least become a B-Rank adventurer, right? And if he was strong, he might even become an A-Rank adventurer someday!

As for becoming a Hero, that hadn’t even crossed his mind. There weren’t all that few Novices in the world, but Heroes were few and far between. The odds were frighteningly low.

“Tch! Don’t try to fool him. I brought him here to find his family. How can a kid this young become an adventurer? Do you even have a brain?” Fiona was tempted to kick the guy again. He was just too awful.

Ye Su still didn’t understand why the middle-aged man’s attitude had changed so much. Then it finally dawned on him.

Right. I’d just followed Big Sis Fiona here without thinking, only because I wanted to reach somewhere with people. Finding my family was just an excuse.

I’m really sorry, Fiona... I’ve been lying to you this whole time.

“I’m sorry, Big Sis Fiona... I don’t have any family here. I was just scared to be out in the wilderness, so I followed you to the city... I’m sorry.” Ye Su lowered his head and bowed to Fiona.

With a little sob, Fiona burst into tears.

Hearing that, the only thing she could think was that the little guy’s family must have died. And since he’d been alone in the Forest of Magical Beasts, maybe monsters had killed his family... Left all alone in the Forest with no one to rely on, he could only cry softly, helplessly...

Fiona started making up extra drama in her head, working herself into an unbearable state of sadness.

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Even if your parents are dead, Big Sis Fiona will raise you! From now on, you’re my little brother!”

Ye Su: “...???”

Seriously, where the hell did you get that weird idea from?! Hey!!!

To be continued...