Chapter 609: Players and Job Advancement
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 609: Players and Job Advancement
"Do you know why I called you here?"
Seeing the newcomer arrive, I temporarily set aside the work in my hands and turned to look at Wan Zhuang, who had come alone. "Just you?"
"Yes, just me."
"Not bad. I’m referring to your talent. Talent determines many things; not everyone is qualified to master transcendent power. Is Ley Energy fun to play with?"
I asked while checking his information. Players created from the fruit of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree have their data shared within the network. Since the Main Network Tree is part of my Tree of Great Knowledge system, I have absolute top-level authorization to access this information.
"Uh... I'm not too familiar with it yet..." Wan Zhuang replied humbly. He naturally didn't dare say it was "fun." Such an answer would be too flippant, and he was afraid of being seen as having a poor attitude. However, when he first discovered he could command Ley Energy, he had been so excited he couldn't sleep!
He had spent a long time exploring it on his own.
"Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter. You already know what Ley Energy is, but it doesn't count as the transcendent power I’ve prepared for you all." I didn't mind his white lie; after all, I truly didn't care about Ley Energy.
The predecessor of Ley Energy was Ley Line energy, which had a very low energy level. Its primary characteristic was a sense of regional belonging. After being converted and refined, Ley Energy's greatest trait was its ability to carry information with almost zero loss; its other properties were mediocre.
If one wanted to rely on this energy to cast spells, they would be better off just manipulating the elements.
Furthermore, the ability to control Ley Energy was a characteristic of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree itself. Its fruit granted players a near-instinctive ability to drive it.
This was merely a side benefit. What I truly wanted them to master was the Power of Knowledge.
One could say that the fruits they ate were experimental subjects—the very first products. Through constant trial, error, summary, and induction, I would eventually iterate new versions.
As for them, the first generation of players, no one could say whether being "first" was good or bad. In these matters, the first generation is either unique—with everything following being a poor imitation—or it is a sacrificial lamb of iteration, gradually falling behind and being eliminated as innovation marches forward.
How to bestow transcendent power upon these players remained the difficult problem I was currently trying to solve.
The skill derivation of the Great Knowledge Sharing Spell had not met my expectations.
Theoretically, I could see that the Power of Knowledge could be shared using the Great Knowledge Sharing Spell, but I currently couldn't break through the barrier between theory and physical manifestation.
Therefore, I could only settle for the next best thing.
Since the fruit of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree couldn't grant players the ability to directly command the Power of Knowledge, I would let the "fruit" itself carry that power. This didn't have a particularly difficult threshold.
Relying on this characteristic, I designed another special stage for the players.
The "Job Advancement Ritual."
In this step, "Job Advancement" was merely a descriptive term; the "Ritual" was the core component.
This ritual would determine how a player's "game account" utilized my Power of Knowledge.
For the current job advancement, I had set up two classes: the "Swordsman" and the "Mage."
The realization of these two class characteristics relied on the concept of "Game Profession Equipment."
By utilizing the Power of Knowledge through a game equipment system, I could bypass the need for players to directly command the power while still allowing them to use the effects it brought.
This was not the first time I had used such a "bug-exploiting" method. The last time was when I bypassed the stage of commanding Ley Line energy to complete the Ley Line Identification Art.
Lest we forget, the most well-developed skill within my Power of Knowledge currently was the "Annotation Technique," which was the perfect skill to pair with the Book in the Box.
The "Swordsman" class was essentially a martial artist who could use a blade or a sword.
The martial artist wasn't the focus; the weapon was. The annotations of the Power of Knowledge granted their weapons extraordinary properties, such as "Sharpness," "Heavy Strike," "Solid," "Lightweight," and so on.
These annotation abilities bestowed upon the weapons by the Power of Knowledge could generate a "Skill Tree" on the player's skill panel.
Once they became proficient, I would also open a DIY mode to let them explore freely. As for the combinations they discovered... those would naturally belong to me.
After all, to these people, I was no philanthropist.
As for the Mage class... it similarly used the Annotation Technique to generate magic rituals. Don't forget that the Power of Knowledge had long been able to deduce rune rituals.
With rune rituals and the operational method of annotations, a person wouldn't need to construct magic rituals themselves. The process of "manually casting spells" required almost no participation from the caster; they only needed to wait for the "casting bar" to finish to release the spell.
However... the power of these spells... was roughly at the level of "minor spells."
But since the Main World Great Weakening Spell wasn't suppressing things here, even a "Small Fireball Spell" among the minor spells possessed considerable power.
Currently, many of the players' skills were of the "mindless casting" variety. They learned almost nothing about why transcendent power worked the way it did.
It was much like the Witch Academy—everyone stared at their spellbooks, but did anyone actually study how to release a spell seriously?
Some did, but they were few.
Players, however, didn't need to consider such things. They only needed to wait for the casting bar or swing their weapons in battle. As the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, I was the one who had to consider the complexities.
"Alright, let's try it. Touch this with your mental strength." I reached out and looked at the man named Wan Zhuang.
Soon, a complex and ever-shifting ritual rune floated above my palm.
This rune was the free Job Advancement Ritual I would later integrate into the fruits of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree. Once the new fruits were cultivated, players would only need to meet specific conditions to begin their job advancement automatically.
But as the first generation of players, they naturally had to do things the hard way.
"This... what exactly is it?" Wan Zhuang knew he couldn't refuse, but out of fear of the unknown, he asked instinctively.
"A Job Advancement Ritual. It is the turning point where you truly master transcendent power," I explained simply.
"Job... Job Advancement? This... I'm really becoming a player? Just like those who once invaded our world..." Looking at the object, Wan Zhuang immediately associated it with a game, and then recalled his own world and civilization being invaded by that civilization that called themselves "players."
"No, it's different. This is fundamentally different from those players. Those guys were nothing more than parasites occupying the bodies of others, while you are players who truly master extraordinary power," I bluffed. "So hurry up. Touch this rune with your mental strength. This should be easy for you."
"Yes!" Wan Zhuang nodded firmly, then mobilized his meager mental strength to touch the rune.
The meditation method I taught them was just the most ordinary kind, not the Witch Meditation Method. The Witch Meditation Method could only be used by Apprentice Witches; it relied on the Primal Dream to condense mental strength into a thread. Ordinary meditation methods simply granted the mental strength necessary to interfere with transcendent energy.
As Wan Zhuang's mental strength touched the rune, it suddenly exploded, turning into countless tiny, glowing ritual runes that enveloped him.
His personal data panel popped up automatically.
Aside from the light of the ritual being a bit piercing and an invisible wind making his clothes rustle, Wan Zhuang felt nothing unusual other than some mental fatigue.
It was over very quickly.
At that moment, a UI interface he had never seen before suddenly appeared on his data panel.
His gaze swept over the information, seeing two very prominent icons and text displayed before him.
"Swordsman... Mage..."
He instinctively read the two class names aloud.
"Yes, those are the two classes you can currently choose from. One is melee, one is ranged. There isn't much difference in quality; choose according to your preference," I said.
However, for those who had never touched transcendent power, the Mage—a class that more perfectly showcased extraordinary power—would likely be more popular.
"Mage! I choose Mage!"
Wan Zhuang chose the class he yearned for most without hesitation, which was exactly as I expected.
"Very well. I hope you don't regret your impulsive choice," I said with a shrug. He pressed down on the job advancement panel without a second thought.
Once the selection was complete, he instinctively looked at his hands, hoping to see some visible change in his body.
"What? Expecting a physical mutation? Mages rely on spellcasting," I reminded him. "Open your personal info and take a look. You should have a new skill tree."
"There... there really is one!" Wan Zhuang looked at the additional panel, then at the pitch-black "skill tree," where only the very bottom skill, "Small Fireball Spell," was lit up.
"Take this. A Mage needs a casting medium—your weapon." I casually chopped a section of a wooden stick and tossed it over.
In truth, it was just an ordinary stick, but it could serve as a player's weapon.
A weapon held in the hand was actually a carrier for casting spells using the Annotation Technique derived from the Power of Knowledge, just as a Swordsman needed a weapon to release attacks.
A Swordsman could also use a wooden stick as a weapon, provided they weren't afraid of it breaking.
Of course, a Swordsman could also directly learn "Solid," so they wouldn't have to worry about a fragile stick snapping.
Wan Zhuang caught the stick hurriedly and was momentarily stunned.
The rough bark of the stick scratched his hand, and the cut was still damp with sap. It was clearly freshly cut and looked nothing like a "staff."
He didn't need to understand; I understood, and that was enough. He only needed to know how to use it.
The annotations that could be carried on a staff included "Elemental Amplification," "Energy Convergence," "Elemental Activity," and so on.
However, the power of these annotations wasn't something an ordinary weapon could carry. If it were my Book in the Box, I could do whatever I wanted, but the wood in Wan Zhuang's hand... after he used a Small Fireball Spell once, the combined annotations would likely cause cracks to appear.
This brought up the issue of "Weapon Durability."
Eventually, they would be able to see durability values through the Identification Art.
It was quite a thoughtful design.
"Can this... really be a weapon?" Wan Zhuang asked, still finding it hard to believe.
"Why don't you try it and find out?" I said indifferently. "Cast a Small Fireball Spell at me."
"At... at you?"
"Yes. Hurry up. I don't want you starting a forest fire with one spell. I can extinguish the spell's effect instantly; that's all. You just need to familiarize yourself with the casting process," I explained.
"Alright. Please be careful." Wan Zhuang nodded quickly and began to cast the spell. This was his first time attempting to cast, but when he saw the casting bar representing the spell, he was momentarily dazed—this was nothing like he had imagined!
However, the branch in his hand began to glow with annotations evolved from the Power of Knowledge and the casting ritual for the Small Fireball Spell.
Fire element energy from the surroundings began to converge frantically, the trajectory of the convergence even forming a vortex of flames.
As the casting bar progressed, the mysterious runes at the tip of his "staff" formed a wondrous ritual. Then, a fireball nearly the size of a human head manifested in front of him.
The flickering light of the Small Fireball Spell was reflected in his eyes—it was the ultimate desire and joy for extraordinary power!
He! He had finally mastered extraordinary power!
Although in his excited state it felt like a long time had passed, the entire casting process had only taken about a second.
Considering there was no internal energy supply, no mental control, no mental construction of the magic ritual, and no variable adjustments common in manually cast spells, being able to release a Small Fireball Spell in one second was quite remarkable.
Of course, Wan Zhuang didn't have much of a sense of participation in the process.
One second was enough for a student at the Witch Academy to die once, but for a person who had never touched magic to learn a Small Fireball Spell with that efficiency—just the magic ritual alone would usually take a long time to figure out.
Thus, one second was the limit for an ordinary person with zero knowledge of magic. Of course, it was also my current limit.
But I didn't rule out the possibility that if my Annotation Technique broke through again, I could compress this casting interval further.
As the Small Fireball Spell flew toward me, I reached out and extinguished it directly. It was effortless, like patting out a tiny flame.
Without the suppression of the Great Weakening Spell, the power of a Small Fireball Spell was nearly equivalent to a standard Fireball Spell under suppression.
But to me, it was still incredibly fragile.
"This..." Wan Zhuang looked at the fireball being extinguished by a single hand in disbelief, almost doubting the power of the spell he had just released...
"Don't overthink it. The gap in our strength is too vast. The power of that fireball is enough to send an ordinary person to hell, or at least leave them severely injured. Well? How was your first casting?"
"It was... it was amazing! Is this transcendent power!"
"Yes, it is one manifestation of transcendent power." I nodded. Of course, it was a manifestation of the power I personally mastered. "But power is merely a tool to achieve a goal, not honey for you to indulge in, nor capital for you to show off. Do you understand? This power is a tool for you to establish a foothold on these ruins, to protect yourselves and your kin, and to rebuild your civilization."
"Yes! I understand!" Rebuked by me, Wan Zhuang quickly snapped out of it, followed by a wave of lingering fear. He really hadn't thought much just now; he was simply...
"If you understand, then leave. Don't get in the way here. You can explore the rest of your abilities on your own," I said, waving him away.
There was no point in keeping him. His data was completely under my control; where he was didn't affect me much.
"Yes, I'll leave immediately..." Wan Zhuang thanked me profusely, nearly kneeling to kowtow. He had thought he would have to stay behind to cooperate with some research, but he hadn't expected to be dismissed so easily.
Wan Zhuang had to admit that every time he faced this Calamity Witch, the pressure was immense. Since she was actively telling him to leave, he couldn't wait to get away.
As for transcendent power... with the system format, was he really afraid he couldn't figure it out on his own?
He would be a poor excuse for a person from a modern civilization if that were the case. Modern people could figure out a strange model of a smartphone just by tinkering with it for a bit, let alone an easy-to-understand system.