Jake met her gaze and nodded. "…Yeah, I need information."
"What kind of information?" she asked smoothly and patiently, as if she had done this a thousand times.
Jake paused for a second. There were a lot of things he wanted to ask. But one stood above the rest.
"…I want to know how to awaken a class."
The moment those words left his mouth, the woman behind the counter's smile finally cracked a bit as she looked at him strangely.
But like a professional, she immediately regained her smile.
"…A foundational inquiry," she said after a brief pause, her tone still composed. "That information is categorized under basic awakening knowledge. It will cost five copper coins."
Jake nodded and took out five copper coins, placing them on the table.
Outwardly he looked composed, but inside he couldn't help gritting his teeth.
After all, that was five days' worth of ship-cleaning salary.
'If I'd known it would cost this much, I would have been more thick-skinned and asked Captain Henry…'
The coins made a soft clink as they touched the counter.
The woman's gaze dropped briefly to them before she smoothly swept them aside with practiced ease.
"Thank you."
Without wasting a second, she reached beneath the counter and pulled out a thin booklet, placing it neatly in front of Jake.
"This contains the basic methods of class awakening," she said. "Concise and to the point."
Jake picked it up, feeling the light weight of it in his hand before flipping it open.
The pages were filled with clean writing, divided into clear sections.
He skimmed quickly and finally reached the awakening part.
"…There are three methods, huh," he murmured.
The woman nodded. "Yes. These are the most common paths for awakening."
Jake's eyes moved across the page as he read.
Surprisingly, he could actually read the words too... and he wasn't complaining as it saved him a ton of trouble.
Then he finally finished the first path.
"Natural Awakening…" he muttered.
He paused briefly. "…So some people just… awaken on their own?"
The book basically summarized that under certain special conditions, some people could awaken suddenly without any external help.
And when it happened, it seemed the class was guaranteed to be a powerful one.
"It happens," the woman nodded and replied. "It usually occurs under extreme conditions, prolonged training, or sudden realization. However, it is neither predictable nor reliable as it's far too random."
She added, "There was even a case of some stubborn fellow who wanted to awaken through this method but ended up dying of old age without ever awakening one."
Jake blinked and mentally crossed this method off his list.
He wasn't patient enough for that.
Then he continued to the second method. "Hmm, External Awakening?"
This section had far more notes.
Apparently, with rare items, special locations, or rituals, one could force an awakening.
There even seemed to be some items that could evolve an existing class.
Of course, all such items were extremely rare, usually treasures found in dangerous areas.
And those who awakened through this method typically received a Unique Class.
The woman smiled. "This method is also a bit unreliable. The Unique Class can be a hit or a miss. Some are extremely powerful… while others are just useless."
Then she look teasingly, "There was a case of a noble son who awakened through this method in hopes of getting a powerful Unique Class. And guess what class he awakened?"
Jake's eyes grew curious. "What is it?"
"He awakened a Unique Class called… Clam Catcher. It basically makes catching clams much easier."
The woman replied completely seriously.
Jake sighed at the ridiculous class and couldn't help but murumred, "Yeah… it definitely is a unique class."
Jake wasn't sure what a Unique Class really meant, so he decided he'd figure that out later.
For now, he shook his head at this method.
He had nothing on him... no money, no connections.
He couldn't afford some extraordinary, ultra-rare item, and besides, it sounded way too much like gambling.
Then he resumed reading and finally reached the last section.
"Awakening Stone?" he murmured.
The woman nodded and smiled. "Yes. This is the most common and most reliable way to awaken. And it's quite cheap too as you only need three gold coins."
Jake nodded as he read the page.
It basically explained that one could purchase an Awakening Stone directly from the Merchant Guild.
There was no mention of the stone's exact origin, but according to the book, they seem to came from deep mines beneath the sea where the Merchant Guild had joined forces to extract and refine them until it become a specially processed stone capable of stimulating both body and soul… guiding them to form a class.
It was safe, stable, and… cheap.
Jake frowned slightly. "…Sounds convenient."
"Because it is," the woman replied calmly. "Compared to the other methods, this is the most accessible option for the majority of people."
Jake tapped the page lightly with his finger. "…And I just need to buy one?"
"Yes."
"That's it?"
"For the basic version, yes."
Jake's brows lifted. "…Basic version?"
The woman gave a small nod and smile. "There are variations," she explained. "Higher-grade Awakening Stones can slightly influence the quality of the class that forms… or improve the awakening process itself."
Jake narrowed his eyes slightly. He had a feeling this was where the catch was hiding.
"…How much is the higher-grade Awakening Stone?"
The woman didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she studied him for a brief moment, just a second longer than necessary before speaking.
"…That depends on the grade," she said calmly.
Jake leaned slightly against the counter, waiting.
"The lowest tier costs three gold coins. It guarantees a stable awakening, but offers no influence over the result."
Jake nodded.
But inwardly he lament as he didn't have nearly enough gold to buy even that lowest one.
"But if you want a higher probability of obtaining a better class…" she went on, her tone still smooth, "the price increases significantly."
Jake's eyes narrowed a fraction more.
The woman raised one finger. "Low-grade Awakening Stone... three gold."
A second finger. "Mid-grade... five hundred gold."
A third. "High-grade... one thousand gold."
Jake: "…"
For some reason, he had the strong suspicion that the three gold coin stone might just be… a trash-tier product they pushed on people to make the real ones look even more tempting.
He wouldn't even be surprised if there was some shady markup or hidden scheme going on behind the scenes.
Almost as if she could read his mind, the woman smiled faintly and said, "Of course, there are two free options as well, if you prefer."
Jake looked at her cautiously. "...What might those be?"