"Excuse me, Dean."
"Sorry for calling you in so suddenly, Mistin."
"No, it's no problem at all. I understand the reason."
It was the day after the summer vacation ended. The clock was ticking late, and the brightness of sky was replaced by sunset hue, when a man came to visit the Dean's office.
The man was Chief Miston, one of the nation's leading researchers of professional jobs, representing the pride of the National Dungeon Exploration & Support Academy, Main School.
Welcoming him in the Dean's office was Vandam Fagner, the Dean of the National Dungeon Exploration & Support Academy - Main School.
The atmosphere sure had been turning dark and heavy, but that wasn’t to be said about Chief Miston’s gait.
He seemed to be in a humorous mood, linking to some good happening. Vandam, who knew the reason for this, had his expression relaxed a moment before quickly turning serious.
"What we anticipated has become reality. I am still in disbelief that it’s finally happening.”
"Indeed, indeed! This will push our research even—whoops, but first, Dean, if you can.”
"Hmm—'Information Conceal!' Now nothing we discuss here will leak outside."
"It's such an enviable skill! Lately, more and more people in our research lab have been getting loose-lipped. I understand their desire to boast about their achievements, but still..."
With Vandam's skill, nothing that happened within the Dean's office could be leaked outside. Not only would communication be blocked, but it also became impossible to intrude into the office uninvited. It was an incredibly useful skill.
And Mistin, lately getting the key information about jobs from his research, couldn’t help but feel envious toward it.
"Now then, shall we get to the main topic?"
"Of course! To be frank, I am absolutely thrilled! I never had expected my wild hypothesis— that the <Brave> would be the guiding presence— would come so close to being proven true!"
"Today, in the <Brave>’s conducted <Advanced Job Rank Up>, all participants have advanced to high-ranking jobs. The total number is six. This is an unprecedented happening in the history of the academy ever since its founding. Moreover, there seems to be many that we have never heard about.”
The reason Chief Miston had come to the Dean's office at this hour was precisely to discuss the mass <Advanced Job Rank Up> led by the <Brave>'s guild, <Eden>. It could only be assumed that the «Brave» had guided this event.
And then comes the present. The job transfer system had finally started to take shape and was scheduled to be implemented next month. The high-ranking officials must have been breathing a sigh of relief at the departure of workload from their shoulder.
But what would happen if news broke that some of the conditions for the emergence of «Advanced Jobs» had been discovered?
Vandam closed his eyes for a moment and pressed his fingertips against the corners of his eyes.
"The 'information bombs' brought by the «Brave» are tremendous enough, trulyl."
"I've heard about the situation. Apparently, this had spurred a lot of senior students to rush into the «The Mountain of Fierce Demons Dungeon» today, haha."
"Ah, yes. It did happen. It's good to challenge oneself, but they all came back in tatters. Oh, how I wish they'd plan and prepare a bit more before diving in."
"But, It’s going to bring a positive outcome for sure. Now, many would rather jump on the bandwagon to challenge the <Rank 8> dungeon then remain stuck in the strange custom, to not wait for guilds to reach B-rank just to challenge <Rank 8> dungeon.. Now, many students are pouring their energy into conquering «Rank 8» dungeons."
"That's indeed so."
"The students sure looked desperate! Hahaha!"
Indeed, the «Brave»'s influence was immense. He was an one-of-a-kind catalyst for others, shocking even, and has a peculiar charisma that moves many people to action.
However, most of this influence has been positive. That's why Vandam and the others had not tried to stop it. Instead, they've focused on supporting and guiding it in a way that doesn't negatively impact the «Brave».
But they could only do that much before reaching their limit. Vandam pondered for a moment and then spoke to Miston.
"It’s not yet the good time for it to come out. We must keep this matter confidential until we have «Job Transfer System» established and things returned to their calm state."
Realizing the conversation had returned to the main issue, Chief Miston let out a groan.
"Ugh... it's frustrating. So frustrating! To have such excellent research material right in front of us! But with the research on the conditions for the emergence of lower-ranking jobs just beginning, and the current experiments to see if higher-ranking jobs will emerge in the upcoming mass «Job Transition», we can't take on anything more right now."
"For now, keep this to yourself and me. Don't reveal it. Also, no call to «Brave» either."
"Ugh. Understood! I, Miston, will focus all my efforts on setting the «Job Transfer System»!"
"I'm counting on you, Miston."