You have chosen option one.
You have obtained the skill: Mozambique Drill (Beginner).
You have obtained the skill: C.A.R Shooting Method (Intermediate).
You have obtained the life skill: Precision Mechanical Manufacturing (Expert).
Mozambique Drill (Beginner): A close-quarters Gunfight Technique, rapidly firing two shots at the target's body, followed by a headshot.
C.A.R Shooting Method (Intermediate): Grants an additional 1 Agility. A self-contained Gunfight Technique that integrates close-quarters and long-range attacks, moderately increasing your combat power.
Precision Mechanical Manufacturing (Expert): No one in this world understands precision machinery better than you.
"Alright then." Zhou Ning looked relieved.
In the game "Apocalypse," you can never have too many skills, because in addition to almost all skills being useful, it also involves a special gameplay mechanic in "Apocalypse": Skill Fusion.
Players can consume experience to fuse two or more skills of Intermediate level or higher, creating a new Beginner skill.
Fusion has a chance of failure, with an initial success rate of 60%. The success rate increases with the level of the initial skills.
For example, fusing two Advanced skills is almost 100% successful, while fusing two Intermediate skills has a 40% chance of failure.
After a successful fusion, the new skill isn't necessarily powerful, but it will definitely combine the characteristics of the fused skills.
And even if the skill isn't powerful, there's still a chance to try again, because the original skills remain, only their proficiency resets to zero.
For example: Warrior Department players have a mandatory skill recipe that was practically essential for everyone in his previous life.
The Warrior Department has a combat skill [Slash]. If it's fused with the general skill [Evasion], it will generate a brand new skill: [Evasion Slash]. It's considered a divine skill that combines offense and defense.
Zhou Ning was very interested in the general skill Evasion, but the prerequisite for comprehending Evasion was reaching 10 Agility. When Zhou Ning first transmigrated, his Agility was only 8 points, but now it has met the standard.
This is also one of the most attractive aspects of "Apocalypse": as long as you have enough experience, you can combine countless new skills. Once new skills form a system, you can even create new professions with NPCs.
However, in the more than four years the game ran in his previous life, no one succeeded.
Zhou Ning's goal lay precisely here.
This body's Natural Force Affinity was zero, and Arcane Affinity was also zero. He couldn't be a Warrior or a Mage. So he might as well create a new profession and play it himself.
Now, there is still a month and a half until the closed beta begins. He wants to try to complete his new profession within this month and a half. As for the name, he is tentatively considering Wandering Gunner.
A profession that primarily uses firearms for attack, incorporates Mysticism and Mechanical Engineering, and is extremely adept at fighting dark creatures.
Of course, the most crucial thing is to be cool, so that he can better fleece players.
The game panel changed again.
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Strowell
Race: Human
Template: NPC [Closed Beta Countdown: 47 Days 12 Hours 22 Minutes]
Level: 2
Profession: Student / Teaching Assistant [1 / 10]
Sub-profession: Linguist [2 / 10]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talent: Tony Stark (Purple)
Personal Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 13, Stamina 8, Willpower 9, Spirit 9, Charisma 99
Health: 80 / 80
Stamina: 96 / 96
Willpower: 9 / 9
Mana: 0
Life Skills: Alchemy (Beginner), Mysticism (Intermediate), Precision Mechanical Manufacturing (Expert), Gambling (Advanced)
Normal Skills: English Mastery (Expert), Pickpocketing (Intermediate), Shooting Mastery (Advanced), Flirting Mastery (Expert), Ripple Breathing Technique (Beginner), Mozambique Drill (Beginner), C.A.R Shooting Method (Intermediate).
Others temporarily omitted.
In the quest log, the progress of the previously accepted hidden quest [literary life] also reached 523 / 1000. It seems he read a lot in the previous world.
The harvest was quite good. Zhou Ning contentedly opened a book borrowed from the library, thinking, learning makes me happy.jpg.
This was a knowledge book about the Alchemist sub-profession, titled "Equivalent Exchange, The Origin and Development of Alchemy," authored by Tom Chambers, an unknown Alchemist.
The content of the book was entirely dry and boring Alchemy theoretical knowledge, along with some obscure terminology and illustrations. Zhou Ning patiently read it carefully. Half a minute later, the panel finally displayed information.
[You are self-studying Alchemy. Given your Willpower, your proficiency has increased by 2 points (Extreme Calm + 0.2)]
[You are self-studying Alchemy. Given your Willpower, your proficiency has increased by 3 points (Extreme Calm + 0.3)]
[You have comprehended a new Alchemy recipe.]
"It's just like in the game," Zhou Ning thought with joy, settling down and turning the pages of the book one by one.
Flipping through a 150-page book, he continuously gained nearly 200 points of proficiency. So Zhou Ning picked up the second book... until he had read all the books he brought, and his basic Alchemy proficiency reached about halfway.
As for new recipes, he also comprehended two: one was the Beginner Brute Potion, which increases attack power after drinking, and the other was the Beginner Stone Shield Potion, which increases defense.
Just then, someone knocked on the door outside.
It must be John, right? Zhou Ning ran out to open the door without his outer shirt.
Opening the door, he saw a rather pretty girl standing outside. Brown hair, light brown eyes, around her teens, wearing a Blystone-style dress. Her legs were long, making the hem of her skirt seem a bit short, revealing a pair of straight, tender white long legs, which made him unconsciously look twice.
So it was her... the second wife in the hearts of future players, the Alchemy genius Rosie Lily. The reason she was crowned wife was simple: high Appearance (high appearance value), cute, and long legs. After all, who doesn't love a long-legged cute girl?
In his memory, although this girl and he both followed the same mentor, Professor Wesley, they didn't interact much, and she was quite shy. Although she usually looked serious and earnest, every time she met him, she would blush and hide away like a startled fawn.
"Ah..."
Rosie Lily covered her mouth in shock, looking at Zhou Ning, who was shirtless. She indeed lowered her head again, rubbing the corner of her clothes, her pair of straight long legs shifting uneasily. "Senior Wayne, could you please put on some clothes?"
Zhou Ning didn't make it difficult for her. While putting on his shirt, he asked, "Is there something you need?"
Mentioning the serious matter, Rosie rubbed her face, thought seriously, and imitated Professor Wesley's tone, saying, "Professor Wesley asked me to tell you that you can make any other potions you want, but don't make healing potions anymore. Also, you'll be solely responsible for the freshman welcome event in four days."
Honestly, her imitation was quite good. Zhou Ning nodded with a slight smile, "I understand. Is there anything else?"
"Hmm? Want a red bean bun?" Rosie subconsciously pulled out a red bean bun from her embrace and asked.
"Yes." Zhou Ning took the red bean bun from her hand, felt it, and it was warm.
"..."
Coming back to her senses, Rosie hung her head in shame. She had a bad habit: when she got nervous, she liked to eat, and the more nervous she got, the more she liked to eat. As a result, she accidentally said the wrong thing.
After seeing Rosie off, Zhou Ning shook his head with a smile. He didn't expect this girl to be so cute.
For the next two days, Zhou Ning continued his routine of going from the Alchemy Building to the library and his apartment. Although his memory was still fragmented, he gradually became familiar with his predecessor's social circle. His best friend was John, his roommate, and Fred, a Fat Man (fatty) from the next room, also had a good relationship with him. Indeed, every protagonist seems to have a fatty as a good friend.
These two days, Zhou Ning didn't make as many potions as he did on the first day. On the first day, he made Beginner Mana Potions and Beginner Brute Potions. On the second day, he made some Beginner Mana Potions and Beginner Stone Shield Potions. So, by noon of the second day, his Alchemy leveled up, followed by the long-awaited panel notification.
[Your proficiency has reached 100%, Alchemy has reached Intermediate level.]
[You have gained the sub-profession: [Alchemy Apprentice], Willpower + 1. You have gained 1 free attribute point.]
[You have comprehended new skills: [Potion Blending], [Item Transmutation], [Conversion].]
[You have comprehended new recipes: Intermediate Healing Potion, Intermediate Mana Potion, Gold to Iron.]
The benefit of Alchemy reaching Intermediate level wasn't in these three somewhat mediocre new recipes, but rather that he finally met the threshold for learning a divine Alchemy recipe.