55: Chapter 55 Obtaining a New Profession

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Bartok had stood behind him at some point, looking down at the extinguished speck of light on his fingertip.

His expression hovered somewhere between "What did I tell you?" and "Just give up already."

He took a sip of his strong tea, then pulled a small pouch of coins from his sleeve—the reward for the quest—and shoved it directly into Richard's hand.

"Your trick... that speck of light, its effect is about equivalent to half a firefly."

"Sigh, to be honest, of all the apprentices I've taught or known, you're the slowest." The old mage pushed his glasses up to his forehead.

He comforted him again, "It's true that your talent is terrible, but your willpower is decent. How far you can go in the future is up to you."

Richard smiled and said nothing, casually stuffing the coin pouch into his shirt.

All of his attention was now focused on the Adventure Scroll that had just popped up in his mind.

The system panel was refreshing line by line, the text packed more densely than ever before.

[Spellcasting ability detected as unlocked! Through systematic learning and self-comprehension, you have mastered the Basic Mana Circulation!]

[New class unlocked: Mage!]

[Current Level: Level 1 Mage (0/100). Please allocate experience points wisely.]

[Obtained new attribute: Mana.]

[Current Mana: 5. Maximum Mana is related to the Intelligence attribute and meditation techniques. Recovery speed is affected by the level of your meditation technique, automatically restoring daily.]

[Obtained new skill: Basic Elemental Meditation Lv0 (1/100) — Improve your Mana and spellcasting ability by deeply studying natural elements and sensing the surrounding mana particles.]

[Current distributable experience points: 320 points (derived from the overflow experience of a Level 6 Brand Warrior). Experience points can be allocated to any combat class. Blacksmith-type sub-classes can only gain experience points through corresponding activities.]

[System Notification: This Adventure Scroll supports a maximum of 3 main combat classes simultaneously; there is no limit on sub-classes. Currently owned main combat classes: Brand Warrior (Level 6), Mage (Level 1); currently owned sub-class: Blacksmith (Level 1). Do not bite off more than you can chew.]

Leaning against the stone wall in the corner of the workshop, Richard allocated one hundred points of overflow experience from his warrior panel to his mage class.

The golden numbers on the mage level bar flickered, and then the entire line of text lit up again:

[Level Up! Congratulations, Adventurer! You have been promoted to Level 2 Mage!]

[Current Mage Level: Level 2 (0/300).]

[Obtained 1 free attribute point.]

[Please select one of the following skills:]

[Firebolt] — Fires an arrow composed of blazing fire, maximum range of 40 meters, consumes 1 Mana.

[Acid Splash] — Throws a corrosive ball of acid, maximum range of 10 meters, consumes 1 Mana.

Richard looked at the two skill options that popped up on the panel and pondered for a moment.

Acid Splash's range was relatively short.

On the other hand, Firebolt's maximum range was forty meters, which perfectly made up for one of his current shortcomings: a lack of long-range attack options.

If he encountered a highly mobile target that could fly or run fast, Charge wouldn't catch up, his halberd couldn't reach, and his handaxe couldn't be thrown that far. Firebolt was arguably a very suitable option.

After this consideration, he chose Firebolt.

How should he choose to allocate the remaining free attribute point?

He glanced at the various stats on his panel. The gap between his Strength and Intelligence was already quite large—Strength was eleven, Intelligence was five.

If he followed game logic, training as a mage would naturally mean putting points into Intelligence, but this wasn't a game.

When he had been stripped of his gear and bound to a torture rack in Golden Island's dungeon, what saved his life wasn't Intelligence, but the Strength that allowed him to snap the hemp ropes rawly.

It was the health he drained back using Bloodthirsty Brand after his abdomen was pierced; it was this savage, pure foundation of violence.

In this world, Intelligence could be slowly supplemented through various other means, whereas he should continue to enhance his strengths.

He proceeded to add this attribute point to Strength.

The number in the Strength column on the panel jumped from eleven to twelve.

A familiar warmth surged from the depths of his bone marrow, spreading along every muscle fiber.

He looked down at his hands.

There was no obvious change in the thickness of his palms, but the cracking sound from his knuckles when he clenched his fists was denser.

The muscle bundles in his forearms writhed beneath his skin, as if rearranging themselves into a more efficient fibrous structure.

He loosened his fists and clenched them again, feeling a very obvious increase in strength. The improvement brought by each attribute point felt exponential.

He flipped the panel to the overview page and carefully read through his current full stats from top to bottom:

Class: Level 6 Brand Warrior (220/3200), Level 2 Mage (0/300), Level 1 Blacksmith (15/100)

Strength: 12

Agility: 7

Constitution: 8

Intelligence: 5

Mana: 5 (restores daily, tied to Intelligence attribute and meditation technique level)

Talent: [Second Heart] In addition to your original heart, you possess a heart far stronger than that of ordinary mortals, accelerating blood supply and increasing vitality.

Warrior Skills: [Powerful Strike Lv2 (54/100)], [Appraisal Lv1 (45/50)], [Polearm Mastery Lv1 (85/100)], [Mortal Strike Lv0 (25/50)], [Charge Lv0 (30/50)], [Bloodthirsty Brand (Passive)]

Mage Skills: [Basic Elemental Meditation Lv0 (1/100)], [Firebolt Lv0 (0/100)]

Blacksmith Skills: [Dwarven Forging Lv0 (15/50)]

He closed the panel and stood up from the old carpet.

Having leaned his lower back against the wall for too long, his spine let out a series of crisp pops as he stretched.

He bent down to pick up the halberd resting against the wall, spinning it with one hand as the blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle.

Holding this halberd with twelve points of Strength felt completely different than before.

Previously, he needed both hands to wield it smoothly, but now he could effortlessly control its trajectory with just one hand.

Watching Richard's movements, Bartok said:

"Sigh, looking at your skills, you'd be better off just sticking to your warrior class. I'll give you one last piece of advice, young man: don't put too much energy into magic."

To this, Richard only replied with a smile, "Thank you for your advice. I hope to have the chance to help you out again in the future."

After bidding farewell to the old mage, he pushed open the workshop's stone door, and the cold evening wind of Blackwater City rushed to meet him.

The lighthouse at the distant harbor was already lit, its orange beam of light slowly rotating in the twilight, sweeping across the mast-filled docks and the scattered lights of fishing boats on the sea.

Standing on the steps of the tower entrance, he planned to go to the blacksmith shop tomorrow to begin his learning.

He would first return to his lodging to meet up with Cecilia, ask about her progress in training her vampire abilities, and then head to the apothecary to restock some basic supplies.