After Shen Xingyan walked his sister to school, he returned to his room and continued his training. After his Awakening, his body seemed to be freed from its previous limitations—after each exercise, he felt a small but noticeable improvement.
Although such growth might seem insignificant in the eyes of those with combat professions, for Shen Xingyan, who was full of hope, every step forward was a cause for joy. He trained continuously, completely immersed in the process and forgetting the time, just as he used to in school. However, due to the limited space and lack of special equipment, the efficiency wasn't as high as in the school gym.
The training continued until noon, when Shen Xingyan began to feel his strength decline and his stamina drop. Such a state could only be restored with sleep. Stopping to catch his breath, he decided to prepare some food to replenish his energy before his upcoming trip to the Star Source world.
Although his consciousness was transferred to the virtual world, his body remained in reality, and these 12 hours were a serious test. Mental fatigue could be restored with rest in the Star Source world, but physical stamina could only be replenished by returning to reality.
Shen Xingyan had heard of high-level alchemical products and pills that allowed the body to slowly restore stamina, achieving a balance between expenditure and replenishment. But their price was prohibitively high for his current situation, so he didn't even consider it.
On his way to the kitchen, Shen Xingyan suddenly felt his star card begin to vibrate. Puzzled, he looked at it and saw Chu Wei's image. When his gaze fell on the picture, a voice sounded in his ears:
[Chu Wei is requesting a conversation. Accept call?]
Only then did Shen Xingyan remember that the star card had a communication function. Using it for a conversation for the first time, he felt a sense of novelty. Before his Awakening, his life was simple—home and school—and he rarely needed the communication function. He only knew about the ability to communicate via the card from his teachers' explanations and from casual conversations with other awakened individuals, but he had never used it himself.
Mentally accepting the call, he heard Chu Wei's energetic voice:
"Shen Xingyan, long time no see! How are you?"
"We've only not seen each other for two days. How is that 'long time'?" Shen Xingyan replied with a smile, surprised by her exaggeration. "I'm doing well, and you?"
"Hehe, this is the first time we've gone so long without seeing each other, so it really is a long time! I reached level 2 yesterday, all my stats increased by one point, plus I got two free attribute points and put them into spirit. Now I have 14 spirit points! The cooldown time for my professional skill also shortened a bit. But transferring skills and stat points to the real world is so expensive! Everything I earned in these two days from killing monsters—equipment, materials, and money—is not even a drop in the bucket!"
As if she had opened the floodgates, Chu Wei's words came pouring out. She talked about her adventures over the past two days, as if she had finally found a listener and was in a hurry to share all her experiences.
Shen Xingyan listened in silence, occasionally analyzing the situation and offering small bits of advice, just like they used to do in school. The only difference was that back then, they talked face-to-face, and now he was communicating with a card.
"Shen Xingyan, you seem a lot calmer. More mature than before," Chu Wei noticed, watching his reaction.
She had called not only to share her experiences but also to find out how he was doing. No one understood better than her how much he had wanted a combat profession. Seeing that he was calmly listening to her stories of combat adventures, without any emotional outbursts, as if he had truly come to terms with his fate, she felt relieved. She was glad that he seemed to have returned to his usual state.
Shen Xingyan, of course, heard the concern in her words and quietly replied:
"After some events, one has to grow up. A person has to look forward."
He didn't say anything more. He couldn't reveal his secrets to anyone, not even his sister. The consequences would be too serious—by not telling them, he was protecting them.
Hearing this, Chu Wei nodded vigorously and said with relief in her voice:
"Now that's the Shen Xingyan I know! I feel relieved now."
Agreeing to meet in a month for the trial, they ended the conversation.
This conversation gave Shen Xingyan a chance to evaluate the power of combat professions based on firsthand experience. Even with his unique professional skill, he couldn't compare to the speed of development of combat specialists, not to mention ordinary representatives of domestic professions.
Combat professions could level up every two days, while it took farmers a minimum of 9 days to grow even the simplest level 1 seeds. And even after harvesting, there was no guarantee of a level-up—the Star Source evaluated the value of the produce and gave the corresponding experience.
The comparison was disheartening: in 9 days, combat specialists could reach levels 3 or 4, significantly increasing their stats. The gap between domestic and combat professions was enormous.
Shen Xingyan sighed involuntarily, but remembering his two powerful skills, he quickly pushed those thoughts away.
I have to be grateful for what I have. With such strong skills, there's no point in wishing for the unattainable. It's better to focus on farming and self-improvement, he reminded himself.
Hurriedly preparing and eating lunch to satisfy his hunger, Shen Xingyan returned to his room and lay on his bed. Setting the entry time for the Star Source world, he decided to take a short nap to restore his strength.
However, as he habitually placed the star card to his forehead, he suddenly noticed a change in his stats:
Name: Spark of the Steppe Fire (Shen Xingyan)
Number: 9527
Profession: Farmer
Professional Skill: 1. By consuming a certain amount of Primal Energy points, increases the growth progress of crops in the specified area by 10%. The larger the area, the greater the energy consumption. 10-hour interval, 24-hour skill cooldown.
Strength: 10 points
Agility: 10 points
Constitution: 11 points
Spirit: 10 points
Health: 110/110 points
Primal Energy: 18/18 points
Stamina: 8/11 points
Physical Attack: 10 points
Magical Attack: 10 points
Defense: 11 points
Speed: 10 points
Talent: Summon Skeleton—summons a skeleton monster with all айfree_dom characteristics equal to 1 for combat (cooldown time: 24 hours)
Money: 0 gold, 0 silver, 6 copper
Log into the Star Source World → (3-hour countdown)
Shen Xingyan, who was about to close his eyes, suddenly opened them and checked his stats again. He confirmed that he wasn't imagining it—his Constitution had indeed increased by one point.