According to Jiang He, not even students of Southwind Academy were completely exempt from the restriction on leaving the city.
The recent assassination attempt meant the mastermind behind it wasn't likely to give up. That, combined with the little game he was playing with Jiang He, made him feel a pressing sense of urgency.
'Becoming a Warrior has at least given me the means to protect myself, but...' His gaze fell upon "Secret Magic Apprentice."
A Tier One Advanced Profession. He had already witnessed how powerful it was.
Two Professionals, who had even used poison beforehand... Even without him, they probably would have struggled.
As for "Rope Master," he thought for a moment with some disdain.
When hit by the area-of-effect Mental Attack, that old codger's performance was even worse than the big guy's. No wonder Jiang He called it a useless profession.
'Controlling ropes probably doesn't use Spiritual Power. It's somewhat useful, but not by much.'
'I need to become a Secret Magic Apprentice as soon as possible...' Su Chen made up his mind.
But just as he was about to begin the Candle Fire training, a few more lines of text suddenly appeared on his panel.
[Detecting the host's inner contempt, Rope Master flew into a humiliated rage. It reached out its demonic claws toward Secret Magic Apprentice, intending to viciously devour it. Secret Magic Apprentice responded with scorn and devoured it instead.]
[Obtained Tier One Top-level Profession—Secret Artifact Master. Possesses the combined Professional Traits of Rope Master and Secret Magic Apprentice. You may take up this profession upon meeting the advancement conditions.]
Su Chen stared, dumbfounded, as the two professions gradually merged. After a long moment, he managed to choke out, "It can... do that?"
He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.
'After all, this is a Tier One Top-level Profession. Jiang He is only a Tier One Upper Secret Magic Apprentice. This is Top-level, two whole tiers higher than a Warrior. I should be excited.'
But the way he'd obtained it... left him speechless.
After studying it carefully, his gaze fell on the two words "Professional Traits."
Out of that whole block of text, those were the only words he didn't quite understand. 'What do "Professional Traits" represent? I'll probably have to find the answer at Southwind Academy.'
His gaze shifted to the advancement conditions. Both Rope Master and Secret Magic Apprentice had two, but Secret Artifact Master had three.
[Secret Artifact Master Advancement Condition 1: Obtain a Tier One special item (Vein Hemp Rope acquired).]
[Secret Artifact Master Advancement Condition 2: Raise the Candle Fire Spirit Training Method to the "Master" level.]
[Secret Artifact Master Advancement Condition 3: Endure the Delirious Words Trial for one minute.]
[As it inherits from Secret Magic Apprentice, all conditions must be met before taking up the profession. For this reason, an additional reward will be granted.]
'So it's a combination of the two, but with increased difficulty. The item requirement isn't limited to a rope, though. Other Tier One Items should also work.'
'What an unexpected gain...' Su Chen still had a strange feeling, unsure of what special abilities this new profession possessed.
Suppressing his emotions, he decided he couldn't get used to sleeping here anyway. He might as well start his Spiritual Power training, constructing the Candle Fire in his mind.
After just one attempt, he felt his mind clear slightly, as if some impurities had been wiped away.
[Candle Fire Spirit Training Method—Skilled: 1%]
It had already advanced from beginner to Skilled.
'That feels pretty good...' Su Chen savored the sensation, still wanting more, and quickly immersed himself in the training.
DOOONG~~
A long, reverberating hum made Su Chen open his eyes. He felt a little tired.
[Candle Fire Spirit Training Method—Skilled: 55%]
'The progress is really fast.' He had returned late in the night, so it had only been a few hours.
It was the morning bell, heralding the start of a new day.
Su Chen rubbed his face. He felt hungry; his Warrior profession had improved his physical constitution, but it had also increased his metabolism.
He couldn't help but open the cloth bag Xiao Gezi had delivered yesterday. After wolfing down most of the contents, he felt much better.
'Southwind Academy...' Su Chen cleaned himself up a little, preparing to find Jiang He and take care of the enrollment procedures.
When he stepped out of his shack, people were already milling about. A few of them stared at him in surprise; the visibility had been poor last night, so they hadn't gotten a clear look at him.
Now that they could see him clearly, they couldn't help but look him up and down with a hint of jealousy.
Their faces were familiar: Huang Peng, Black Dog... a few of the guys from last night.
The group wasn't malicious enough to rush over and mock him, but they weren't friendly, either. They had clearly ostracized him, or perhaps were waiting for him to realize his predicament and come crawling back with an apology.
Their group didn't have many ways to make a living, mostly taking on menial tasks posted by the city. The high-and-mighty Professionals certainly wouldn't dirty their hands with such jobs, so they served as supplemental labor.
That was why sticking together was so important; otherwise, they wouldn't get a single scrap of opportunity.
"Is that Su Chen? He looks completely different."
"Why does he look so much like one of those upper-class folks? Did he get that lucky?"
"Nah, I heard from Wang Gou and his crew that she kicked him out after one night. All he got out of it was a new set of clothes."
The chatter grew. If nothing else, his new attire and clean-shaven face were enough to draw everyone's attention.
"Make way, make way!" a brutish voice bellowed. A few men, a full head taller than the crowd and wearing municipal uniforms, pushed their way through.
The leader was a brawny man, reminding Su Chen of the hulk from last night.
"It's Captain Zhang..."
Huang Peng, standing nearby, greeted him enthusiastically.
"Get lost!" The man shoved him aside and walked straight up to Su Chen.
"The money. Give it to me." The man was taller than Su Chen, his shadow blanketing him. He looked Su Chen up and down before unceremoniously holding out his hand.
Su Chen's eyes narrowed. This was Zhang Man, the man in charge of this area. He was the one who had connected him with Jiang He.
The man wouldn't have helped him for no reason.
Of course, Su Chen had nothing of value himself, but Zhang Man had told him that if Jiang He took a liking to him but he still couldn't get into Southwind Academy after sleeping with her...
...he was to demand a sum of money from her. And Zhang Man would take eighty percent of it.
"Su Chen..." Zhang Man said nonchalantly. Seeing no response, he added with a threatening edge, "Don't get any funny ideas."
This wasn't the first time he'd acted as a pimp. A lot of refugees spent one night with an upper-cruster and started thinking they were special. Whenever that happened, it was his job to give them a rude awakening.
Su Chen reached into the inner pocket of his clothes, pulled out a black and gold Card, and said coolly, "You should recognize this."
"You..." Zhang Man glanced down, his nonchalant expression instantly replaced with stunned disbelief. He couldn't help but cry out, "You really got into Southwind Academy!?"
The area fell silent, then erupted in a low buzz of whispers. In the distance, Huang Peng and the others stared in shock, their eyes wide.
"Su Chen... my friend..." Zhang Man's attitude softened considerably. He leaned in, discreetly examining the emblem on the Card to confirm it wasn't a forgery.
"Tsk tsk, I knew you were destined for great things, my friend." Zhang Man grew more and more amazed. 'That vixen... she actually took a real liking to this kid.'
'A student of Southwind Academy already has real value. With a little training, becoming a Tier One Professional is a sure thing. Hell, I'm only a Tier One Professional myself.'
That was why, in his deal with Su Chen, the payout was different if he actually managed to get into Southwind Academy.
"So... about that 500 gold..." he whispered, rubbing his hands together with a sly grin.
"Do you think I have that on me right now?" Su Chen retorted calmly.
"I'm not in a hurry. Just don't forget, my friend," Zhang Man said, his tone perfectly amicable.
Su Chen remained noncommittal. "I'm going to Southwind Academy to complete my enrollment."
"This way..." Zhang Man immediately pointed the way, then barked at the onlookers, "Scram! All of you! What are you staring at?"
He turned back to Su Chen with a grin. "Need me to show you the way?"
Su Chen shook his head. He knew the general direction and walked straight through the crowd.
Watching Su Chen depart, Zhang Man couldn't help but click his tongue again. He muttered under his breath, "I've dangled that enrollment chance to scam countless guys, and someone actually made it. Good, very good..."
These refugees were a resource, but it took a keen eye to spot the valuable ones. He found "prey" for plenty of wealthy clients in the city, both men and women.
But these little brats, who knew where they learned it from, all deliberately made themselves look filthy and spoke in pinched, whiny voices.
"Boss, what if he goes back on the deal?" one of his men asked.
"Go back on it?" Zhang Man snorted. "Then he goes back on it. What can I do? He's under the protection of Southwind Academy now."
"I already got paid for setting it up, so it's no loss to me. All I did was make an introduction."
With that, he glared at the surrounding refugees again and roared, "Stop staring! Get your fucking asses back to work! You envy him? Take a good look at your own damn faces first!"
The crowd gradually dispersed. Huang Peng and his friends were silent. Seeing someone from their own circle about to skyrocket to success left them deeply unsettled.