Spirit Mediumship

Chapter 40: Spirit Mediumship

"[Medium], a gender-neutral magic-class profession! So... should I take it?"

Sulu gripped the parchment.

This time, reading it hadn't earned him any experience. It seemed the material and the energy it contained made a difference.

After all, the first two pages had been forcibly taken by Rhode from someone else's Holy Scripture, while these few sheets of parchment were more like an ordinary diary.

[ Ding! First-tier profession information detected—Medium! Taking the profession requires Spirit 1.5 and Constitution 1.0!... Requirements met! Spend 200 experience points to take this profession?]

"Just as I thought... I can take the profession directly!"

Seeing the message pop up on the Attribute Panel, Sulu's face lit up. "With experience points, I can advance incredibly fast, and take on multiple professions..."

Of course, experience points were hard to come by.

During this time, Sulu had tried asking Rhode to tie his own hands and feet, or deliberately lose a match to him.

But the Attribute Panel wouldn't count it.

He didn't know whether it was because Rhode meant him no harm or because Rhode had deliberately held back his strength.

"Wait... this judgment of hostility is so subjective! The supernatural world has all kinds of bizarre abilities. Someone might be able to manipulate another person into feeling that way... Would that mean a huge haul of experience points?"

Sulu's eyes lit up. "Or... does the Attribute Panel judge based on the threat to me personally? There might be loopholes I can exploit... No! If I keep looking for loopholes, one day I'll get myself killed."

In truth, he already knew how to gain a large amount of experience: kill.

Personally carrying out a large-scale, terrifying massacre would be enough to earn a substantial amount of experience.

But Sulu had lived two lives and had never killed anyone with his own hands. His worldview had been shattered, but he hadn't yet reached the point of going completely off the rails.

Besides, this world—at least the human world—was largely peaceful. If a Butcher suddenly appeared, the various factions would surely hunt him down.

"A large-scale massacre... Do I have to enlist? Or... join an expedition team?"

This world was vast. Humanity had discovered and settled less than ten percent of it, leaving vast regions yet to be explored and discovered.

All kinds of strange creatures lived in those dark regions, and some had become forbidden zones where no life could survive. They were extremely dangerous.

Expedition teams suffered heavy casualties, but they were also an excellent source of experience.

"Still... with my current abilities, exploring the frontier would be tantamount to suicide... Humanity's great geographical discoveries all happened during the Twilight of the Gods. Now that supernatural powers are awakening, we'd be lucky just to hold on to what we've already gained."

Sulu shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. "Whatever the case, I don't have enough experience to advance right now!"

He read on.

He discovered that ordinary people who wanted to become a [Medium] first had to take large quantities of drugs to heighten their "perception" and gradually bring it up to the level the profession required.

This step was extremely dangerous. People with weak wills, or those who became addicted to hallucinogens, often truly went mad. They might see things they shouldn't, suffer mental disturbances, or even die on the spot.

Once an applicant's perception finally reached the level required of a [Medium], they would perform a "spirit mediumship ritual." The specific requirements were to stay alone in a completely sealed room without any sound or light. A military detention cell would be ideal.

Then, they would create an environment spirits liked best and perform a dangerous ritual to summon one.

The spirit's stimulation would cause the candidate's mind to undergo a qualitative change, advancing them to become a [Medium].

Of course, the failure rate was high. Those who failed were often possessed by an Evil Spirit or transformed into monsters.

"Going by this description... the success rate is about fifty percent. You're practically gambling with your life..."

Sulu sighed.

Advancement was never easy for any supernatural being.

Of course, Rhode had told him that for [Soldier] and [Apprentice], as long as a person underwent strict, rigorous training and study, had a certain degree of talent, and possessed a strong will, the success rate was around sixty to ninety percent—far higher than for most first-tier professions.

As for [Demon Contractor], the success rate was only forty percent, even worse than that of a [Medium]. It really was a high-risk profession.

"To become a [Medium], I have two options. The first is to spend 200 experience points and advance straight to the first tier! The success rate is one hundred percent—or, even if I fail, there probably won't be any danger!"

"The second is to follow the instructions and proceed step by step, raising my 'perception' like a madman before completing the 'spirit mediumship ritual'... Even if everything goes smoothly, it'll take three months to half a year..."

Sulu certainly wasn't willing to spend that long just to become a "supernatural being."

Of course, if some ordinary person—Donald, for example—knew such an opportunity existed, his eyes would probably turn red with envy.

Having a profession that could make someone supernatural at all was already a blessing. Who could afford to be picky?

Only Sulu Portley, with his family's resources, the complete Witch Hunter legacy, and a second-tier [Witch Hunter] for an older brother, had the luxury of choosing a little and avoiding a few major pitfalls.

Sulu composed himself and continued reading.

There wasn't much on the parchment. After recording these details, the writing came to an end.

"...Catherine and Alanis are like two angels... Darkness, forgive me for using that word, but I can't think of a better description..."

"Catherine's strength is growing quickly. I can see her ambition, and what lies beneath her fiery exterior makes me wary. Perhaps I should rein her in before it's too late. By comparison, Alanis is very docile... Her advancement is even faster than Catherine's. I think I should consider the next step beyond [Medium]—the [Occultist] profession... Kira Gales is easy to get along with. The [Medium] profession path is powerful enough in its later stages, and may even involve a secret advancement!"

Sulu's eyes narrowed as he read this. "The next step for a [Medium] is [Occultist]? And that information is in Kira Gales's hands? That name sounds familiar..."

He tried to remember, and immediately recalled where he had seen it.

It was in the university library: Folklore and Belief Studies, published by Sunflower Publishing House. The author was Kira Gales, a renowned expert in the occult and an adventurer!

"I already thought there was something unusual about him. So he really is a supernatural being, and... he's connected to this mysterious person. That gave the other person confidence that they could get the [Occultist] profession information from Kira. Maybe they're both members of the same mysterious organization?!"

Sulu was excited. "The [Medium] profession path looks like it can reach at least the third or fourth tier, which is enough to deal with the situation right now. And its later stages seem promising too! It's also a gender-neutral profession, leaning toward spellcasting, and may have particular strengths against the dead..."

Spirits and Evil Spirits undoubtedly belonged to the realm of the dead!

Sulu had to admit that, in his mind, the scales were already tipping toward [Medium], while [Apprentice] remained an unknown possibility somewhere in the distance.

He had the Attribute Panel, after all. Even if he chose the wrong path, he could always start over!

As long as he had enough experience points, he could afford to be confident.