The Runner

His exhausted body was drenched in sweat. With every step, Lu PingAn felt as if his feet were filled with lead.

"Ha... ha... is this the pathetic stamina of a shut-in who spent half a year in a hospital room? What a joke."

He still had the strength to mock himself, so things did not seem too terrible yet.

Gained a trace amount of running experience. Experience +0.1.

Lu PingAn stopped. He had struggled for nearly an hour, practically run himself to death, just to accumulate enough for his "system" to make its first announcement. The efficiency was ridiculously low.

The "small amount" Lei Huo Ren had shared with him before, rather than a "trace amount," had felt vastly different.

But that made sense. What a professional PhD could gain after two or even three days of research, even discounted by ninety percent, still far exceeded what a novice could achieve in a day of hard work.

That was a difference in level, the difference between a professional expert and a layman.

Before an expert became a Professional, their countless years of investment and accumulated talent meant that even if both an expert and a rookie spent "one day" on something, their gains would be on entirely different levels.

This also vaguely revealed the overbearing nature of Lu PingAn's talent. Everyone possessed talents, specialties, and knowledge accumulated over the years.

Yet he could bypass all those "foundations" and directly obtain a share of the "results." It was practically cheat-level growth, except...

".At this rate, even if two Runners were sharing their gains with me, I probably still wouldn't complete two transformations within half a month and become a true Runner—a Tier 1 superhuman."

The "Running Technique Lv1" and "Breathing Technique Lv1" on his panel seemed like outright mockery.

And if Lu PingAn had understood correctly, every profession skill had to reach Lv10 before one could change jobs.

According to Xia Qin's information, the supernatural power in this world was, in a sense, a kind of "pollution." If left unchecked, one would inevitably sink deeper and deeper, eventually degenerating into a monster or an alien race.

Thus, borrowing the growth path of a powerful existence, establishing coordinates and stages of growth, and making the pollution somewhat controllable had become the standard advancement system of the current Night Watchers.

"Pollution is chaos. To purify it into order, one needs the power of the gods as a harmless lens—a filter—and their growth paths as coordinates. Then what better represents order, and an individual's place in society and history, than humanity's 'professions'?"

Setting aside the overly cumbersome and complicated theories, the profession system modeled after the so-called gods was the ladder by which the current Night Watchers advanced.

Among the materials Lu PingAn had seen, there were fifty-three common paths.

That meant at least fifty-three deities had their power harnessed by humanity.

Or from another angle, the deities had interfered with the normal life of modern society.

Glancing at the statue in the center of the track, Lu PingAn's feelings grew increasingly complicated. As a former materialist, he truly was not used to this kind of world.

"The True God Chaser Church has sixteen major corporations under its control, covering industries such as sports equipment, healthcare, transportation, and athletic sponsorships. What is this, capitalist theocracy?"

The statue before him was a humanoid creature running with its arms spread wide. He could not make out its face, while faint lightning seemed to trail around it.

The stadium's full name was Gu City Chaser First Sports Stadium.

And it was called the "First" because Gu City also had five major sports stadiums numbered from the Second to the Sixth.

Apparently, the hospital Lu PingAn had stayed in before was also owned by some church.

Lu PingAn had never had a favorable impression of gods, but now he needed to borrow the power of these "deities."

He needed to establish a connection with a god and guide the path of his pollution-induced mutation onto a controllable track—commonly known as setting one's path and changing jobs.

"Ha, they say a Runner's Job Change Ceremony is simple, but for someone like me who spent half a year bedridden, it's still rather deadly."

This was not Lu PingAn's first attempt to become a Tier 0 Runner, but his previous attempts had failed exactly as one would expect.

The ceremony itself was quite simple. He only needed to recite the Chaser's God Name, then run the required distance within the designated time.

"Five kilometers in fifteen minutes. That doesn't sound hard, right? My ass! The world record for five thousand meters is twelve minutes. Isn't this at least an athlete's standard?"

Every deity seemed to have its own preferences and twisted sense of humor. This Chaser happened to favor those who ran fast.

Lu PingAn had asked Xia Qin what such a bizarre ceremony meant to the gods, but the answer he received had been rather subtle.

".It means nothing to the gods, but it means something to you. To the great existences above the Cloud Top, any human action is meaningless. But actions themselves are a form of expression—the expression of 'I am here, looking at you.'"

"Can't understand it? Uh... humans don't care what ants think either. But if a bunch of ants gathered together, used leaves and their bodies to spell out your name, and even imitated your movements, you'd probably look over with curiosity too."

"And that attentive gaze creates a connection between ants and humans, humans and deities. Our job-change path-setting only needs that tiny bit of connection."

A Runner's Job Change Ceremony only required the "polluted" to recite the God Name and run around in circles for a certain distance. It was praised as the simplest job change.

But Lu PingAn had already failed twice. Even after consuming several days' worth of Runner experience, he still had not met the standard. It looked like he was about to fail for the third time.

"I'm so tired. I'm almost at my limit... then I'll cheat a little. Life's Delayed Payment."

Silvery light settled over Lu PingAn's body, and clarity returned to his eyes.

Life Bank Sub-Ability 1, Life's Deferred Payment: Pay the price that life must bear in installments. The current limit is six installments over six months (6/month).

Price type designated as 'stamina.' Installment unit: days. Number of installments: 3.

Current time: May 19, 10:20:27. Next payment time: May 20, 10:20:27. Please maintain your physical condition. If your stamina is insufficient to pay the price, double the Life Points will be deducted directly.

In an instant, Lu PingAn felt much better.

When his fatigue was instantly reduced to one-third of what it had been, he immediately felt lighter.

He abruptly accelerated, feeling as though he had only just started running.

At first, he had thought this ability merely allowed him to pay injuries and illnesses in installments.

For example, if a knife wound were paid in three installments and settled with Life Points, then in practical terms it resembled an instantly effective healing ability. Touch the wound, and it would be reduced to one-third or one-sixth of its original severity.

Its potential as a "healing" ability seemed quite high. As long as he did not die on the spot, he could heal himself back up.

Its only drawback was that other rule-based abilities only had one function in their early stages. To avoid attracting too much attention, he did not dare use it too often.

Later, he realized that his understanding of the "price of life" had been far too simplistic.

"The ability says 'the price of life,' not injuries and illnesses. Since pain and sickness are prices life must pay and can be deferred, then what about fatigue from expending stamina? If that works, wouldn't I effectively have two stamina bars?!"

So he had tried it.

And indeed, when his sense of exhaustion really dropped drastically, he had been quite excited. Then he immediately went to attempt the Runner job change for the second time.

".Damn it. Two stamina bars—actually 1.66—still weren't enough."

Thinking of the embarrassing situation from a few days ago, Lu PingAn felt quite helpless.

But this time, the third attempt—and likely his last attempt before the college entrance exam—would be different.

He had already consumed five days' worth of experience from a professional Runner and improved considerably along this path.

Unlike his first attempt, "Running Technique" allowed him to use the most standard, least exhausting running posture. The rhythm and stride of every step had vaguely reached professional standards.

And the "Breathing Method" adjusted his body's internal circulation as much as possible, conserving stamina.

One internal and one external—through the experience he had gained by "sharing" with a professional—Lu PingAn had acquired running techniques that would ordinarily take a Runner years to polish.

With the "software" in place, all that remained was the hardware, which was supplied by the system-enhanced "extra stamina bar."

An ordinary "polluted" person usually needed three months to half a year of basic training to successfully change jobs. Lu PingAn had actually not been far off during his last attempt.

When a five-thousand-meter run became two sets of twenty-five hundred meters, the difficulty did not merely drop by a little.

".Keep going. Keep going."

His entire body was soaked in sweat, yet his breathing remained long and steady, while his strides and arm swings maintained a fixed rhythm. Lu PingAn imagined himself as a machine and tried his best to forget that his stamina was running out again.

"Almost there. Almost there."

Just when he truly could not run any farther and thought he was about to fail again, the system notification sounded, like heavenly music.

Ding. Congratulations, Host. Job Change Ceremony complete. You have obtained the profession class 'Runner.'

Runner profession adjustment: Constitution slightly increased, Reflexes moderately increased, Spirit slightly decreased.

General skill 'Running Technique Lv1' has been converted into profession skill 'Light Chasing Running Method Lv1.'

General skill 'Breathing Method Lv1' has been converted into profession skill 'Swift Flash Breathing Method Lv1.'

Lu PingAn stopped and gulped in air, finally breaking into a smile.

"I finally succeeded!"

If that were all, Lu PingAn would not have been so excited.

After successfully changing jobs, his panel also updated.

Lu PingAn, 16 years old, male. Life Points: 4960 (-5000)

Status: Constitution (Mortal), Reflexes (Mortal), Spirit (Mortal)

Profession: Tier 0 Runner

Profession Abilities: None.

Profession Skills: Light Chasing Running Method Lv1, Swift Flash Breathing Method Lv1.

General Skills: Cooking Lv2, Cleaning Lv1

His successful job change had brought only minuscule improvements. There was not even any obvious change on the panel, only that the previously empty Profession and Profession Skills sections now contained something.

But the most important thing was still Profession Abilities—the true supernatural abilities.

Black Iron Grade Spell: Ground Shrinking insights. Current progress: 58/100.

After a pile of general skills, Lu PingAn had found it in the "miscellaneous items" section. And now, it had become clickable, with much more detailed information.

Ground Shrinking was a supernatural ability only available to Tier 1 Runners.

At the initial stage of mastery, it allowed one extra step for every five steps taken while running.

That meant a "one-step teleport" could occur in battle. It might not sound like much, but its practical combat value was extremely high.

Professional experience was condensed into profession skills, and profession skills were polished and improved into profession abilities at the professional level.

Under normal circumstances, only by refining the "running method" and "Breathing Method" to their limits could one possibly awaken the supernatural Profession Skill, Ground Shrinking.

And only by mastering a supernatural profession ability could one advance into a Tier 1 Professional and be considered truly initiated.

In Eastern terms, it was "Butcher Ding dissecting an ox, entering the Dao through skill."

This often required a flash of inspiration and the favor of fate. Sometimes, what awakened was not even what one wanted.

The Lei Family Siblings had paid a great price precisely to obtain a good state and a chance at a breakthrough.

But after using Ground Shrinking for a long time, Lei Huo Ren had naturally shared his experience and insights with Lu PingAn.

Black Iron Grade Spell: Ground Shrinking. For every five steps, one extra step.

Lu PingAn tapped the screen floating in the air, and more information came back.

Usage requirements: Light Chasing Running Method Lv4, Swift Flash Breathing Method Lv4, Spatial Perception Lv1, Ground Shrinking insights 100/100.

"It's not even Lv10?"

The requirements were much lower than expected. Lu PingAn smiled. No wonder so many people said becoming a Tier 1 Runner was not difficult; what was difficult was that moment of inspiration.

All that remained was to make up for his weaknesses with targeted effort.

Creating something from nothing and filling in the blanks once something existed were naturally not of the same difficulty.

Then becoming a true Professional within fifteen days really was possible.

At that moment, Lu PingAn looked once again at the two high-quality leeks on the field. Ever since the clients had received their buffs, they had not stopped running.

Collecting a price was not merely to fill his empty wallet. Once they had paid the price, they would naturally treasure the time and condition they had bought even more. That meant his share tomorrow would be even sweeter.

"Work hard! Strive on! For our better tomorrow!"