Chapter 38: Changing Professions

After cleaning up the battlefield, I used a teleportation scroll and, in the next moment, found myself back in Dragon City. This time, my gains were considerable, and my face could not contain anything but joy.

I had picked up 200 gold coins, a set of armor, a pair of greaves, gloves, war boots, and a red staff reminiscent of Sun Wukong’s golden cudgel. There were also two skill books, a crystal core the size of a fist, and a strange crystal. Through the crystal, I could clearly see crimson magma-like fluid flowing inside, and I could sense the immense energy it contained. Holding it in my hand was like cradling molten lava, yet the surface was icy cold—a curious paradox. Its attributes were marked with a huge question mark, its purpose a mystery. Still, it was clearly a rare treasure, though I’d have to wait for an appraiser to identify its name and use. Meanwhile, my mud serpent was absorbing experience and beginning to evolve. I was dying to see what it would become.

I grinned foolishly as I entered Dragon City and strode straight to the quest hall, where I handed in all twenty-three of my completed quests in one go.

The quest NPCs stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief. Soon, countless players in the hall were turning to look at me, their faces full of shock and amazement.

The rewards for the twenty-three quests amounted to 142 gold coins, sixteen pieces of blue and red equipment, and a large sum of experience. Afterward, I left the quest hall and went to the general store, where I dumped a pile of crystal cores and various materials of all sizes from my secondary backpack. The shopkeeper was stunned but soon regained his composure and paid out 50 gold coins for the cores.

I casually inquired about the price of the strange crystal, and the shopkeeper offered 500 gold coins for it. I was tempted, but ultimately decided not to sell. I was convinced it would be incredibly useful. Next, I sold the blue and red equipment at the plaza, earning a heap of gold coins. Now, with 450 gold coins on me, I felt well on my way to wealth. Yet I wondered why my "Focused Training" ability hadn’t activated—maybe it required a job change first.

After that, I logged off to sleep. I had been grinding levels like mad for days and hadn’t rested properly. Now it was time to make up for it. That night, I felt like I was smiling even in my dreams.

———

The next day, I slept until one in the afternoon. After eating, I logged on immediately and checked the date—just two days left until the competition began. My excitement was through the roof.

I headed to the appraisal hall first and handed the five pieces of equipment to the appraiser. He examined them and said, “Appraisal fee: 400 gold coins.”

“You might as well be robbing me!” I shouted.

“If you’re not getting them appraised, then leave,” the appraiser replied coolly.

In the end, I reluctantly handed over the 400 gold coins. My pouch felt much lighter, with only 50 gold left—enough to get by. I checked the attributes.

First, the armor—

Serpent Soul Battle Armor
Grade: Amethyst Gold
Defense +420
Strength Proficiency +10
Armor Proficiency +10
HP +2000
Overall Defense +15%
Required Level: 45

After reading the long list of attributes, I was left speechless. The armor’s stats were staggering—over 400 defense, a 2000 boost to HP, and a 15% increase to total defense. This was top-tier gear for any warrior.

The warrior class was the mainstream in Second World, and the value of rare, high-quality gear didn’t need to be stated. Among hundreds of millions of players, there were always wealthy people willing to spend a fortune to satisfy their vanity. Though this armor had a high level requirement, that was only a temporary barrier—it wouldn’t be long before players reached it. I decided to hold onto it for now; once player levels caught up, I’d make a killing selling it. Containing my excitement, I picked up the next piece for appraisal.

Next were the greaves, which gleamed with a faint, mysterious light—clearly not ordinary.

Wind and Thunder Greaves

Grade: Amethyst Gold
Defense +50
Agility Proficiency +11
Wind Resistance +12%
Lightning Resistance +12%
Movement Speed +7%
Required Level: 30

Not bad—I’d keep these for myself. Next were the gloves:

Hand of Destiny

Grade: Amethyst Gold
Defense +15
Attack +35
Agility Proficiency +5
Luck +1
Required Level: 38, with a 20% reduction in level requirement.

When I took the Hand of Destiny from the appraiser and saw its properties, I was nearly brought to tears. This was the best piece of equipment I’d obtained since starting my journey in Second World, and the +1 Luck was something every player dreamed of. The required level of 38 gave me a start, but the additional level reduction was a relief.

Next, the boots:

Godspeed Walker

Grade: Emerald
Defense +30
Agility Proficiency +10
Movement Speed +20%
Jump Power +20%
Evasion Rate +20%
Additional Skill: Soaring Wings—Consumes 200 mana to instantly boost movement speed by 300% and evasion by 30% for 5 seconds; cooldown 3 minutes.

These green-tier boots were powerful, especially the bonus skill—perfect for both escaping and pursuing. Now, time to check out that staff; hopefully it was valuable as well.

Diamond Cudgel (Sealed Equipment)

Grade: Emerald
Attack +300
Strength Proficiency +10
10% chance to ignore defense.
10% chance to stun opponent.
On attack, 13% chance to reduce opponent’s defense by 20% for 4 seconds.
Additional Skill: Havoc in Heaven—Consumes 3000 mana, swings the cudgel to unleash a hurricane that deals 7000 fixed non-elemental damage to all nearby enemies, launching them into the air and stunning them for 3 seconds. Each enemy can only be launched once per use. Cooldown: 10 hours. Required Level: 50.
Required Level: 40. [Expertise]: Lowers equipment level requirement by 10.

This weapon was terrifying, formidable, and unrivaled. I had no words for its power. 300 attack would make it a nightmare for any class, and the additional skill was utterly overpowered. Though it required level 50 to use, it was the bane of fragile classes like mages. But what did “Sealed Equipment” mean? I couldn’t figure it out, so I set that thought aside, put on my new gear, and prepared for my job change.

I spent 10 gold at the Dragon City teleportation station to transport to the Sanctuary, where that mechanical synthetic voice echoed in my mind.

“Welcome, adventurer. You’ve grown much stronger since last we met. Congratulations on reaching the second-tier experience. At your second job advancement, every class has three branches. Your choice will determine your future abilities. Each class offers three job advancements. As a Summoner, you may choose Beast Tamer, Beast Warrior, or Druid. Please select your desired path.”

I hesitated and asked, “What are the differences among the three? What are their respective advantages?”

“You may see for yourself.” As the voice faded, my body floated automatically in the white light and soon landed on the third floor of the tower. Here, three black doors stood before me, each inscribed with three words: “Beast Tamer,” “Beast Warrior,” and “Druid.”

I opened the introduction for Beast Tamer: Beast Tamers primarily rely on their summoned beasts for combat. Their own attack is weak, but their skills focus on enhancing their summons—skills such as Beast Frenzy, Ultra Beast Rage, and Magical Beast Descent are all terrifying support moves. If I chose this class and gained these buffs, my summoned beasts’ power would surely double—an intimidating prospect.

Next, Beast Warrior. This was a more balanced class, with some passive support for summoned beasts but far stronger personal attack skills—ten moves in all, a mix of melee and magic that the player themselves used. It was something like a warrior version of a summoner.

Finally, the Druid. Its third-tier skills also consisted of ten moves, three of which were particularly intriguing. The first, Transformation, allowed the Druid to take on a fused form with their summoned beast. The second let the Druid mimic their summon’s skills. The third, Beast Form, transformed the player into an animal for scouting; monsters wouldn’t attack unless provoked, except for bosses. Other skills were a mix of magic attacks and support, but this class consumed a lot of mana—its potion costs rivaled those of mages. After transformation, Druids had stacked attributes. On paper, they were the strongest of the three. Many would find this enticing, but I didn’t like the idea—too little health, and like a mage, you were useless without mana.

So Druid was out. As for Beast Tamer, though its support skills for summoned beasts were tempting, I couldn’t accept hiding behind my pets for everything, and its weapon was the whip—using it to spur on my summoned beasts was unappealing, especially with my Hurricane Wolf King. I couldn’t bear to do it.

That left Beast Warrior. This class boasted powerful personal combat abilities and, most importantly, allowed me to fight alongside my summoned beasts. It was tough and not easily killed. After thinking it over, I made my decision: “I’ve decided! I want to become a Beast Warrior!”

The door swung open, and a surge of power flooded through me. As the energy coursed through every part of my body, I felt as though I possessed the might to rival heaven and earth itself—a sense of absolute control and destructive force.