"You have one year to become junior apprentices. Of course, this is the deadline. The earlier you become an apprentice, the higher your spiritual aptitude will be, and your treatment will be improved after you enter the school."
...
Ron felt as if his brain's memories had fallen into a washing machine, being constantly churned and agitated, with fragmented memories being pieced together.
This chaos had lasted for several days, and only now has the fusion of souls been completely completed.
On one hand, there are ordinary college students on Earth who die from overwork while playing games all night;
On the other side is—the fifth son of Count Ralph.
Having no right to inherit the throne, he indulged in a life of debauchery within the castle, spending his days indulging in illicit affairs with the beautiful maids.
Of course, this blissful period of indulgence only lasted until after his fifteenth birthday.
Ron rubbed his temples, his memories unfolding slowly in his mind like a painting soaked in ink:
In the hall, the candlelight flickered in an unnatural silence.
Black candles formed a circle, their flickering flames casting distorted shadows on the white-robed man's mask.
The white-robed wizard spoke, his voice like the friction of metal, devoid of any warmth: "Your mental aptitude has just reached the minimum standard."
Her slender fingers traced the crystal ball, and the swirling dark red mist within gradually condensed into a symbol, its color extremely dull.
The moment the verdict was announced, the father's expression froze. His once straight back was now slightly hunched, making him look ten years older in an instant.
Having mental aptitude is certainly something to be happy about, but only if that aptitude is outstanding enough; otherwise, it's just experimental material that's periodically supplied to wizards.
"According to the contract, your kingdom is just a few seeds short of the quota for the 'Black Mist Jungle,' so I'm taking these with me."
The white-robed wizard wasn't using a consultative tone; she was simply informing those present. Then, she turned to Ron and waved her staff.
...
The memories started to become monotonous at this point. The white-robed wizard brought him and the other "seeds" from the other kingdoms to this black mist forest, offering only the book "Basic Meditation Method" as a free piece of mystical knowledge.
He tried to meditate day after day, but with little success.
Ron looked at the tattered "Basic Meditation Method" in front of him, next to which were the worn-out "Journey to the Abyss" and "Stargate Chronicles"...
Apart from a book titled "Fundamentals of Potions," the rest were all old books of little value.
The rules of the Black Mist Jungle are simple: the school provides them with free accommodation, food, and basic public facilities, as well as various paid courses, but there is a one-year probationary period.
If one fails to become a junior apprentice within a year, they will either become experimental subjects or be directly banished to the dangerous wilderness to fend for themselves.
With only three months left until the deadline, there are only three months left.
"Meditate, focus your will runes." Ron closed his eyes and tried to guide his mental energy as described in the book.
Since fully merging with the soul of another world, he felt his mind had become more acute.
Suddenly, a strange feeling welled up inside him, and a semi-transparent information panel suddenly unfolded before his eyes:
Ron Ralph
Age: 15
Current Occupation: None
[Attributes: Constitution 0.4, Spirit 1.1, Magic 0.1]
[Skills: Basic Meditation (Beginner), Slime Splash (Beginner), Basic Potions (Beginner)]
[Special Talent: Dual Soul (Increased comprehension; when mental strength reaches a certain limit, dual spellcasting is possible)]
[Skill Level: Ordinary Person]
"This is... my cheat code?"
Ron was overjoyed, but not overly surprised.
Since something as bizarre as traveling to another world has already happened, having a cheat code that looks like a game panel doesn't seem like anything to be surprised about, right?
"It looks like the character panel in the game I played before I time-traveled, but I don't know if the effect will be the same as what I imagined."
He looked at the various character information displays and quickly felt very familiar with them.
I started trying to control things with my mind, and opened the skills subpage in the character panel:
Skills already mastered:
Basic Meditation (Beginner 22/100), Slime Splash (Beginner 19/50), Basic Potions (Beginner 5/50)
Since it has so-called experience point prompts, the panel should work as he imagined. He decided to try meditating on it.
Following his memory of meditating hundreds of times, Ron adjusted his breathing and entered a meditative state.
In a dark space of consciousness, the method to train one's mental power is to inscribe the most basic runes—a simple symbol composed of three arcs that looks like three crescent moons overlapping each other.
According to the book, this rune symbolizes the condensation of scattered spiritual energy into a form.
"Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and imagine the shape of the runes..."
Ron's consciousness transformed into an invisible pen, carefully sketching in the darkness.
The first arc he drew began to twist and dissipate as soon as it was completed, forcing him to start all over again.
After trying more than ten times, the three arcs finally maintained their shape in my mind, but they trembled like candle flames being blown by the wind.
Just then, Ron felt a faint spiritual force responding to the rune's call, slowly converging into his sea of consciousness.
This feeling is like finding a faint flame in the cold, dark night, making you want to get closer.
"So this is what it feels like to have increased mental strength..."
As time went by, beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead. Maintaining the shape of the runes required extreme concentration; the slightest distraction would lead to failure.
Finally, when he could no longer concentrate, a prompt appeared on the panel:
[Basic Meditation Experience Points +1]
[Current Progress: Basic Meditation (Beginner 23/100)]
[You have reached your maximum training time for today; a rest is recommended.]
Ron let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Although he only gained 1 experience point, he could clearly feel that his control over his mental power had improved significantly.
"That's the advantage of the panel; it allows you to clearly see your progress and solidify it."
But given his current situation, such an ability is far from the life-saving medicine he imagined.
Ron frowned as he looked at the data on the panel: "At this rate, I don't know if I can reach the next stage before the deadline. Meditation can only be done once a day, which makes things difficult..."
Time is of the essence; the deadline is in three months, and the experience points for basic meditation are only just over one-fifth.
If he cannot complete the promotion before the deadline, he will only have two options:
You either become a piece of meat on someone else's chopping board, or you are thrown into that wilderness full of mutated creatures.
Ron took a deep breath and refocused his attention on the "Fundamentals of Potions" in front of him.
This book is currently the most valuable thing he owns besides the book "Basic Meditation Methods," and it cost him quite a few magic stone fragments.
[Basic Potions (Beginner 5/50)]
[Life Skills - Potions Apprentice (One Star)]
After changing jobs:
1. Attribute growth:
Magic Growth (One Star)
Physical growth (half a star)
Personal growth (1.5 stars)
2. Unlock basic profession skills – potion making and herb identification
3. Special bonuses:
Potions-related experience points gained faster
The speed of mental power accumulation increases
Magic affinity increased.
Job Change Requirements:
1. Basic Potions Skill Experience Points - (Proficient)
2. Complete a refining process.
Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief; this class panel was arguably the most unique system in the game.
I remember when he played it, there were hundreds or even thousands of extraordinary professions, from low to high, and the various advancement paths were extremely complex, like the evolution chain of Digimon.
And if I remember correctly, he even used a cheat program to create a backdoor in his player panel...
Ron, feeling both nervous and expectant, gently swiped his mind across the profession bar.
"Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, activate!"
The next moment—
[Current Occupation Slot: 0/∞]
"Wow! I originally thought this kind of modification wouldn't be brought over with the class panel..."
"We've made a killing this time!!!"
Ron felt that the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than AK's at this moment.
It's important to know that players can only choose a maximum of three classes in the game, and once chosen, they cannot change their class; they can only advance to higher ranks.
As for myself, the number of job slots I can load is... unlimited!