Choice

"Letters were professions.

Once opened, they would determine my future growth path,

my treatment in Zion City, my life, and the limits of my subsequent exploration of the world. To some extent, they would even determine the maximum length of time I could survive in this world.

I couldn't rush this. I had to think it through slowly and make a decision.

Neither Chamberson nor the clerics in the mansion had mentioned any time limit. I should be able to stay here as long as I needed."

Yi Chen also tried calling Little Grape, hoping it could offer him some advice.

Unfortunately,

the only consciousness body that had come here was his.

He calmed himself and summoned the focused state he had once used while conducting research.

He first examined the Blue Letter.

"An evergreen vine encircling branches shaped like a person... It's clearly related to the 'Pathogenization Trait' inside me, and must correspond to a plant-related growth path.

Once I choose it, I'll be able to develop the plant system further.

Besides, Mr. Wilbert said that the Diseased Crystallization I swallowed was top-grade, both in quality and shape.

During the Green Lake Town assessment, I also experienced firsthand the convenience plants could provide.

Still, I'll look at the others first."

His gaze shifted to the Black Letter.

When Yi Chen carefully examined the skeleton riding a boat on it, wisps of fine Black Gas actually seeped from the parchment envelope and were inhaled through his nose.

In an instant,

his thoughts were drawn toward a black sea, where a skeleton floated atop the waves in a lone wooden boat.

When the skeleton turned its head,

half of its face was still covered by a rotting visage... identical to Yi Chen's.

The sudden shock brought him back to reality.

"A black sea... I saw a similar scene when I accepted the First Gentleman's skin. There's a strange sense of familiarity, as if I've been there before. It seems to be related to death.

When I first arrived in Zion, I encountered the Doctor on an arched bridge. He also said that death flowed through me.

Could it be because I crossed over?

Is the appearance of the Black Letter related to my experience of crossing over through death?"

Recalling Chamberson's description of the Black Letter, he associated it with the Nightmare Profession. Once selected, he would receive special training from the organization and become an executioner.

Yi Chen himself did not reject such a title.

His instincts told him

that the growth path granted by the Black Letter would surely give him even greater strength.

"No need to hurry... I'll look at the Purple Letter."

Compared with the first two,

the Purple Letter, made of white card stock, was thicker and more exquisite.

Together with the book emblem engraved on its surface,

it resembled a purple gentleman reading in a library.

"There seem to be tiny words written on the book emblem on the envelope... If this were in the real world, it would probably require an extremely precise micro-engraving machine to inscribe them.

Without the visual enhancement Little Grape provided, I wouldn't be able to see them at all.

Wait~ If this is an area that only consciousness bodies can reach, can I understand the so-called Old Hall as another consciousness-based area, like a dream?

If that's the case,

could my subjective thoughts influence objective factors?"

With that thought, Yi Chen widened his eyes as much as possible, nearly pressing his round eyeballs against the Purple Letter.

However,

his prolonged stare actually caused his vision to magnify.

The words that had been impossible to make out gradually became clear.

When he could see them completely,

"This..."

Yi Chen was so startled that he stumbled backward repeatedly.

At the same time, he pinched his own cheek, confirming that what was happening before him was not a dream.

To verify that he was not seeing things, Yi Chen returned to the stone table and used the same method to look again... This time, he stared longer and more carefully.

"Why... is my thesis printed on it?"

Among the book emblem on the Purple Letter, the tiny words were precisely the graduation thesis Yi Chen had painstakingly written during his lifetime.

The words on the left side of the book corresponded to the thesis cover, including the title and the names of Yi Chen and his Mentor.

The right side of the book corresponded to the thesis abstract.

Those all-too-familiar words instantly dragged Yi Chen back into his painful memories, and for a time, he gave up on the Purple Letter.

Not long afterward,

Yi Chen, having regained his calm, began considering the situation as a whole once more.

"The Blue Letter corresponds to the 'Pathogenization Trait' I just acquired here.

The Black Letter seems related to crossing over and corresponds to some kind of Death Trait.

The Purple Letter corresponds to my experiences before I died.

Just as Mr. Chamberson said, the letters are closely connected to me.

Broadly speaking,

the first two are better.

But... plants represent vitality, while black represents death.

If I choose either of them as my growth path, the balance inside me will be broken. Choosing one side will suppress the development of the other, perhaps even completely eradicate it.

If I want to develop both together, the Purple Letter is my only choice.

Should I take this risk?"

Yi Chen looked at the Purple Letter again,

his gaze focusing on the Book Emblem on the envelope.

For a moment, he recalled the fragments of his life before death. Whether he had been in the hopeless Orphanage or attending the local school after escaping,

Yi Chen had never let any opportunity to study pass him by.

It was the lines of text in books that had encouraged him to survive in the world before his death,

shaped his correct 'worldview' throughout his later education, and given him the opportunity to become a 'person'... He had fought his way along the relatively fair path of learning, earning the scholarship every year until he reached the graduate level.

Books had been the dawn of his life before death.

"Purple, corresponding to a unique profession... Books and reading were also the most important things in my life, and the things I was best at."

As Yi Chen gradually made up his mind, an instinct formed at the same time.

He no longer hesitated.

He picked up the Purple Letter from the surface of the stone table.

And opened it!

The textual information recorded inside the letter transformed into an intense, searing beam of light. It shone into his eyes and shot into his brain.

He could even faintly smell something like roasted brain.

Buzz!

When he opened his eyes again,

he had returned to the ritual chamber.

Huff~ Huff!

Yi Chen dropped directly to one knee and gasped heavily... Thick clouds of white smoke continuously rose from his entire head.

The other examinees had also completed their "letter selection."

The emblem of their chosen letter had appeared on various parts of their bodies, such as their palms, necks, and chests.

On the right side of the blond Edmund's neck, the image of 'interwoven gun and sword' had been branded into his flesh. It was still smoking, as if it had just been seared there.

On the giant Dagobert's upper right arm, the image of 'an arm flexing its biceps' had been branded. It was clearly a profession related to strength.

Julianna's emblem had been branded around her waist and abdomen. It depicted a 'dagger plunged into a skull,' perhaps relating to assassination.

The person in charge of this assessment—George Chamberson—

swept his owl-like gaze across the emblems on everyone's bodies and revealed a highly satisfied expression.

"This batch of newcomers is excellent. The proportion of Rare Professions is quite high, and the acceptance process went very smoothly. A few of them could be worth cultivating as priorities... Hmm?"

When Chamberson's gaze finally landed on Yi Chen,

he could not find any "emblem," no matter what angle he viewed him from.

"Did he fail!?"

Yi Chen was the newcomer Chamberson had thought most highly of, and he had even earned the First Gentleman's favor.

Chamberson stepped directly into the formation

and prepared to conduct a full-body examination on Yi Chen, whose head was smoking.