Career: Fengling Yueying

"You have one year to become Primary Apprentices. Of course, that is the deadline. The sooner you become apprentices during that time, the greater your aptitude for spiritual power, and the better your treatment will be after entering the School."

Ron felt as though the memories in his brain had fallen into a tumbling washing machine, churning back and forth without end as fragmented memories continuously pieced themselves together.

This chaos had lasted for several days, and only now had the fusion of his souls finally been completed.

On one side was an ordinary college student from Earth who had stayed up gaming and died suddenly;

On the other was—the fifth son of Count Ralph.

With no inheritance rights, he had indulged in wine, women, and pleasure within the castle, spending every day fooling around with beautiful maidservants.

Of course, that blissful, indulgent life had lasted only until after his fifteenth birthday.

Ron rubbed his temples. His memories slowly unfurled in his mind like a painting stained with Ink:

In the hall, candle flames trembled amid an unnatural silence.

Black candles formed a circle, their flickering light casting twisted shadows across the White-Robed Wizard's mask.

The White-Robed Wizard spoke, her voice like grinding metal and utterly devoid of warmth. "Spiritual power aptitude, barely meeting the minimum standard."

Her slender fingers brushed across the Crystal Ball. The dark red mist churning within gradually condensed into a symbol, its color extraordinarily dim.

The moment he heard the verdict, his father's expression froze. The back that had always stood ramrod straight now bent slightly, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Possessing spiritual power aptitude was certainly worth celebrating, but only if that aptitude was outstanding enough. Otherwise, one would merely become experimental material regularly supplied to wizards.

"According to the Contract, your kingdom is still short a few seeds for delivery to the Black Mist Forest, so I'll be taking this one as well."

The White-Robed Wizard was not asking for permission. She was merely informing everyone present. Then she turned toward Ron and waved the wand in her hand.

From there, the memories became monotonously repetitive. The White-Robed Wizard had brought him, along with the other "seeds" from the kingdom, to the Black Mist Forest. The only free mystical knowledge provided was that copy of Basic Meditation Method.

He had meditated diligently day after day, yet achieved very little.

Ron looked at the battered Basic Meditation Method before him. Beside it lay dog-eared copies of Abyss Travelogue, Star Gate Records...

Aside from Basics of Potionology, they were all worthless old books.

The rules of the Black Mist Forest were simple: the School would provide them with free lodging, food, and basic public facilities, as well as various paid courses, but there was a one-year assessment period.

If they failed to become Primary Apprentices within a year, they would either become experimental materials or be driven directly into the dangerous wilderness and left to fend for themselves.

And only three months remained until the deadline.

"Meditate. Condense the will rune." Ron closed his eyes and tried to guide his spiritual power according to the book's instructions.

Ever since his soul had completely fused with that of another world, he had felt his mind become sharper.

Suddenly, a strange sensation rose in his heart. A translucent information panel unfolded before his eyes:

Ron Ralph

Age: 15

Current Career: None

Attributes: Physique 0.4 Spirit 1.1 Magic Power 0.1

Skills: Basic Meditation (Beginner), Slime Splash (Beginner), Basic Potionology (Beginner)

Special Talent: Dual Soul (Increased comprehension; when spiritual power reaches a certain threshold, Dual Casting can be performed)

Power Level: Ordinary Person

"Is this... my cheat?"

Ron was overjoyed, though not overly surprised.

Since something as bizarre as transmigrating to another world had already happened, having a game-panel-like cheat did not seem all that shocking, did it?

"It looks like the character panel from that game I played before transmigrating. I just don't know whether it works the way I think it does."

As he looked over the various character details, he quickly became very familiar with them.

He began operating it with his thoughts and opened the skill subpage on the character panel:

Skills Mastered:

Basic Meditation (Beginner 22/100), Slime Splash (Beginner 19/50), Basic Potionology (Beginner 5/50)

Since it had so-called experience value indicators, the panel's effects should be just as he imagined. He decided to try meditating once.

Following the meditation he had performed hundreds or thousands of times in his memories, Ron adjusted his breathing and entered a meditative state.

Within the dark space of his consciousness, the method of training spiritual power was to draw the most basic rune—a simple symbol formed from three arcs, resembling three overlapping crescent moons.

According to the book, this rune symbolized gathering scattered spiritual power into form.

"Take a deep breath, empty your mind, imagine the shape of the rune..."

Ron's consciousness became an invisible pen, carefully sketching through the darkness.

The first arc twisted and dissipated as soon as it was drawn, forcing him to start again.

After more than a dozen attempts, the three arcs finally held their shape in his consciousness, though they trembled constantly like a candle flame buffeted by wind.

At that moment, Ron felt a faint thread of spiritual power begin responding to the rune's summons, slowly gathering within his sea of consciousness.

It felt like finding a weak flame on a freezing night, making one instinctively want to draw closer.

"So this is what it feels like for spiritual power to grow..."

As time passed, beads of sweat gradually formed on his forehead. Maintaining the rune's shape required extreme concentration; the slightest distraction would ruin everything.

Finally, when he could no longer focus, a notification appeared on the panel:

Basic Meditation experience +1

Current progress: Basic Meditation (Beginner 23/100)

Today's training time has reached its limit. Rest is recommended.

Ron let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Though he had gained only 1 point of experience, he could clearly feel that his control over spiritual power had improved further.

"This is the benefit of the panel. I can clearly see my progress and consolidate it."

But given his current circumstances, such an ability was nowhere near the life-saving remedy he had imagined.

Ron looked at the panel's data and frowned. "At this rate, I don't know if I can reach the next stage before the deadline. I can only meditate once a day, so this is going to be difficult..."

Time was extremely tight. Three months later was the deadline, yet his Basic Meditation experience had only just passed one-fifth of the way.

If he could not complete his advancement before then, only two choices awaited him:

Either become meat on someone else's chopping block, or be thrown into that wilderness filled with Aberrant Creatures.

Ron took a deep breath and refocused on the Basics of Potionology before him.

Other than the Basic Meditation Method, this book was the most valuable thing he currently possessed. It had cost him quite a few Magic Stone Fragments.

Basic Potionology (Beginner 5/50)

Lifestyle Career—Potion Apprentice (One Star)

After changing careers:

1. Attribute Growth:

Magic Power Growth (One Star)

Physique Growth (Half Star)

Spirit Growth (One and a Half Stars)

2. Unlocks basic career skills—Potion Brewing, Herb Identification

3. Special Bonuses:

Increased Potionology-related experience gain speed

Increased spiritual power accumulation speed

Increased magic affinity

Career Change Requirements:

1. Basic Potionology skill experience—Proficient

2. Complete one brewing

Only then did Ron finally breathe a sigh of relief. This Career Panel was the most distinctive system in the game.

He remembered that when he played it, there had been hundreds or even thousands of extraordinary careers, ranging from low to high rank. The advancement paths were incredibly complicated, like Digimon evolution chains.

And if he remembered correctly, he had even used a cheat tool to open a backdoor in his player panel...

Nervous yet expectant, Ron lightly swiped the career tab with his consciousness.

"Fengling Yueying, activate!"

The next moment—

Current Career Slots: 0/∞

"Woohoo! I thought this cheat couldn't come over together with the Career Panel..."

"I've hit the jackpot this time!!!"

Ron felt that the corners of his mouth had to be harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

In the game, players could choose at most three careers, and once chosen, they could not be changed—only advanced.

But his available career slots were... unlimited!

Although this is a fantasy setting, some expressions may lean Chinese in habit. If I write it in translationese, I'll feel uncomfortable writing it, and you'll feel uncomfortable reading it. If you feel it lacks immersion, just think of yourself as a higher-dimensional Observer.