Harvest and Silver Treasury Rewards

"Scene: Viper's Divine Realm... bzzz... $#%&..."

"Difficulty: Hard."

"Current scene exploration: 78.9%."

"Sce... $#%&... mode: Non-peaceful."

"Triggered quest: Investigate the truth behind the yokai and ghosts causing chaos in Viper's Divine Realm."

"Completed quest..." Bzzz... $#%&...

"Overall evaluation: C-."

"Based on the overall evaluation, bonus rewards: 25% universal experience, Silver Key ×1."

...

The Viper's Divine Realm scene came to an end, and the group returned to Sagiyama Castle.

Not wanting to disturb the old man's family reunion, Gu Mo returned to his room, somewhat exhausted, and began checking the Idiot System's scene settlement. He was a little surprised to find that he had received an overall C- rating this time.

Though he had mostly coasted along this time too, he had surely performed far more reliably than during the trip to Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, right? Back then, he truly couldn't do anything and had nothing, yet he still rode Axiu's coattails through the entire scene and got a B-grade rating.

So why had his rating dropped this time, when he hadn't been as miserable and passive as before? He had taken the initiative, gained more skills and tactical options, and his kill count had clearly risen... Even if he couldn't call it some "textbook pioneering strategy," it had definitely been much better than his performance in Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village, right?

Why had the rating fallen instead, leaving him with only a C grade—actually, even a C-...

Was it because the scene difficulty had increased? Or did the scoring criteria change dynamically somehow? Or perhaps combat wasn't really the main factor affecting the overall evaluation at all, and what truly mattered was participation in the plot and the scale of the butterfly effect?

If that was the case, then it made sense. In fact, even getting a C-grade overall evaluation now was probably thanks to the old man.

—If that viper hadn't suddenly slapped its forehead and wildly imagined things, the plot deviation might not have been so obvious.

Of course, these were only guesses. Gu Mo couldn't confirm anything for now. Before the Idiot System gave him an instruction manual, he would have to figure out many things out himself, then compare and verify them. Whether he was right or wrong, only time could provide the answer.

His attention returned to the basin before him. Using the reflected surface of the water, he skillfully manipulated it with his thoughts and exited the inbox history page. He had already roughly reviewed the settlement contents, and there was nothing else worth noting.

Switching back to the level-up page, Gu Mo was pleased to see that his Life Level had finally reached LV6. It had still been a little short, but the extra experience bonus from the scene settlement had pushed it through that final gap and completely filled the progress bar.

Another level gained, another precious allocatable attribute point...

He seriously considered where to invest it. With a normal person's value of 10 serving as the standard reference, every point provided quite a substantial boost. Since he had already invested two or three points into Strength and Constitution respectively, it seemed he could continue reinforcing them.

After all, being well-rounded often meant being mediocre. Choosing a specialized path and concentrating resources was also necessary.

But was that really what he needed right now?

Most of the skills he had begun learning were talismanic Mystic Arts. His close-combat skills could only be described as usable, and he had yet to truly master even the most basic stance. Considering the proportion of his skills, shouldn't he be prioritizing the attributes needed for magic instead?

Besides, physical ability and all that—

With a Guardian Spirit that allowed Possession Fusion and direct Yokai Transformation, he wasn't without cards to play if he truly needed to fight at close range... The boosts to Strength, Agility, and Constitution brought by Yokai Transformation were extremely high. An ordinary human body could become as tough as forged steel, like a battle machine that knew neither pain nor fatigue.

"Huh? When did this..."

As Gu Mo pondered, he suddenly noticed that the Profession Level below had changed at some point. The progress bar had unknowingly filled up, and a faintly glowing "+" symbol had appeared after it.

It had a presence, but it wasn't especially conspicuous.

He had paid close attention to it before. After all, precious core resources like allocatable attribute points could be gained once every time his Life Level increased, and he had yet to discover any other way of obtaining them... Yet beneath "Life Level" was also "Profession Level." How could he not care about it?

But he had never found a way in. The progress bar wasn't completely motionless, but the rate at which it accumulated experience was atrociously low. Besides, no matter how he looked at it, "Civilian" didn't seem like a real profession... Unfortunately, the Idiot System had offered no response at all. After puzzling over it for a long time without success, he had temporarily given up.

He hadn't expected this thing to seemingly unlock at this moment. It was truly an unexpected delight.

He decisively tapped the plus sign. A new page opened before him, slowly unfolding. It was a square interface bordered by flowing cloud patterns, with a texture resembling an ancient ink-wash scroll. At its center was the silhouette of a man wearing a tall hat and a hunting robe, his features indistinct.

Below it was the description—

"Onmyoji."

"Practitioners of yin-yang and the five elements. A cultivation profession originating from the Chinese concept of the Yin-Yang School, gradually formed from yin-yang philosophy and the theory of the five elements. During the Tang Dynasty, the concepts of the Yin-Yang School and others spread to Japan, and onmyoji began to appear as state-appointed diviners. Combining Japan's native art of spell prohibition with Onmyōdō developed from Shintoism, they reached the peak of their development during the Heian Period."

"It has been detected that the player has fulfilled the professional requirements to become an Onmyoji. Would you like to select Onmyoji as your primary profession?"

Below were options to confirm or decline, leaving Gu Mo somewhat troubled for a moment.

Fortunately, his sharp eyes spotted a small question mark icon at the far edge of the lower-right corner. When he focused on it, a hidden sub-tab popped up, containing basic explanations and descriptions of the profession system.

—The Damn System had finally done something decent!

Gu Mo let out a breath of relief and carefully read through it. According to the Damn System's annotations, Profession Level was distinct from Life Level. The latter represented repeated refinement and sublimation of one's life essence, while the former was a direct reflection of one's mastery, understanding, and attainment within a specific system of knowledge and abilities.

Profession Level could also increase basic attributes. However, rather than rewarding freely allocatable points that could be distributed as one wished, it directly increased one point in the relevant attribute affected by the profession whenever the profession leveled up.

Perhaps this was because Life Level represented the direction chosen by life itself, while Profession Level directly reflected the player's adherence to a mature, specific system of knowledge and abilities, which would inevitably be shaped by that school's characteristics.

After all, setting aside the influence of one's profession, a person could choose to train physical strength or mental ability however they pleased. There were no restrictions.

—But if someone was an athlete or a laborer, the results of their training would manifest in their body; if they were a lawyer or designer engaged in mental work, with little physical exertion but constant nervous strain, then naturally they would only train their mind.

It was impossible for the reverse to happen—for someone who worked out every day to develop their brain, or for someone who used their brain every day to grow physically stronger... The result simply didn't match the target. It was as absurd as saying, "Working out consistently makes the barbell stronger."

That was how it worked. Profession Level also increased basic attributes, one point per level. But they couldn't be freely assigned. The key attribute affected was determined the moment one chose the profession, and it couldn't be easily changed afterward.

Of course, there seemed to be a way around that, because the difference between Profession Level and Life Level was obvious. A person only had one life, but could have many professions... The Damn System also stated that part-time professions were allowed. In other words, if he took on several different professions and matched them to all six basic attributes one by one...

The moment this eager thought surfaced in his mind, the contents of the next hidden tab ruthlessly shattered his dream, just like that earlier illusion—the system explained that total Profession Level was treated as a whole. The more part-time professions one held, the harsher the experience penalty became.

He sighed. Sure enough, there was no loophole that easy to exploit.

As he continued reading, he frowned slightly and sank into thought. Choosing a profession gave him another way to raise precious basic attributes. Beyond that, it made learning skills from the corresponding professional school easier, and using related professional skills accumulated experience more efficiently...

That was basically all there was. There were no other extra bonuses, at least not in the detailed annotations the Damn System had unusually provided.

The attribute corresponding to the Onmyoji profession was "Spirit." It seemed like a good choice. After all, Gu Mo was currently studying Onmyoji Magic and urgently needed to increase his magical power. Choosing the profession would add one point, and he could add another through his allocatable point, bringing it directly to 12. His talismans would definitely become much stronger than before.

At the very least, his crafting ability would improve. He wouldn't be limited to squeezing out only three to five talismans in a day, since insufficient energy naturally restricted his output.

But choosing a profession seemed extremely important, and the penalty for part-time professions was especially severe. He couldn't make the decision lightly... With a soft sigh, his gaze passed over the final hidden sub-tab, and he froze for a moment before letting out a relieved breath.

Fortunately, he didn't need to make a choice immediately.

Profession Level would still increase even without choosing a profession—it did seem to work that way. He remembered that the security guard uncle in his residential complex seemed to be a Level 2 Civilian. He hadn't been unable to level up just because he lacked a special profession. Based on the actions through which experience was gained before leveling up, new profession options might unlock, and those options would likewise determine which attribute this level-up enhanced...

Perhaps the Civilian path was a viable playstyle. Maybe it could even make the greatest drawback—being unable to freely allocate attributes—controllable?

The thought flashed through his mind, but Gu Mo immediately shook his head and rejected it himself. Based on his experiences these past days, it wasn't feasible.

Before selecting a profession, the efficiency of accumulating profession experience was incredibly low—outrageously low. Compared to his Life Level, which had risen to Level 6 during this period, he had only now truly unlocked the profession system page. This was probably no different from an experience penalty... Even the security guard uncle was only Level 2 at his age. The Civilian path clearly had no future.

The Damn System had left some room, but no loophole.

He decisively exited without making a choice, but saw that his Profession Level had still become LV1, and his Spirit Attribute had increased by 1 point as expected.

The increase in Spirit Attribute seemed different from physical enhancement. There was none of that pleasant sensation of every cell in his body soaking in hot spring currents. Instead, he could distinctly feel his consciousness sinking into a cool sensation within his body, his soul like a seed sprouting and growing, gradually becoming stronger.

Gu Mo also added the allocatable attribute point gained from raising his Life Level. The Mental Power increase brought by those two points was extremely obvious. His eyes became somewhat brighter, and he felt full of energy, as though he could work nonstop for two or three days without resting or sleeping.

"Not bad. It was basically two levels gained from this trip..."

He nodded with satisfaction, then took out the equally absurdly large, entirely silver, gleaming antique key from his inventory. Next came the time to open the treasury and see whether he could randomly get something good.

Though it was only Silver Grade this time, his expectations weren't as high as before.

The special effects were as usual, except the dazzling golden light had become a gleaming silver radiance. The gates of the void treasury had also changed from solid gold to solid silver—simple and crude enough that Gu Mo didn't even know how to mock it.

Within the magnificent treasury, decorated with countless treasures as its glamorous background—

Gu Mo, not knowing whether his body or consciousness had entered this space, froze. The reward at the center of the treasury was a... "person."

More precisely, it was the figure of a young monk draped in kasaya robes, holding a monk's staff in one hand and counting Prayer Beads with the other, his eyes lowered as he chanted the Buddha's name. The monk had red lips, white teeth, and handsome features. He seemed to be in the prime of his twenties or thirties, yet his aura was incomparably steady, towering like a mountain, carrying the bearing of a grandmaster.

As if sensing someone entering the space, the young monk slightly raised his eyes and looked ahead. He gazed directly into Gu Mo's eyes, smiled faintly, and pressed his palms together in greeting—

"Benefactor, watch closely. This humble monk will demonstrate it once."

The next instant, violent flames arose from nowhere, as though the entire treasury had been set ablaze in a single moment. Accompanied by a clear cry, a firebird wreathed in gorgeous flames, sacred and imposing like a phoenix, appeared beside the young monk.

It raised its head and cried, spreading its wings. Flames flowed outward from its body, swiftly spreading across the ground and turning it into a sea of fire.

More flames swirled around the young monk like illusory patterns of special effects. Fire danced into a whirlwind, howling and circling as blazing flames coiled around the monk's staff in his hand. With a solemn expression, the young monk raised the staff and spun it before him like a wheel of wind and fire, carrying the aura of a mighty heavenly dragon...

Damn! It was that Fahai... No, that Divine Monk Kukai!

Gu Mo finally recognized the bald bastard. Seeing him poised to attack, his face nearly turned green.

The next moment, surrounded by countless flames and fire dragons, the young monk opposite him charged forward with astonishing momentum! He rapidly enlarged in Gu Mo's vision in an instant!

Back in reality, Gu Mo jolted awake.

He looked around, let out a long breath, then hurriedly checked his system panel to see what reward he had received.

—"Skill Badge: Ninety-Nine Weapons Mastery (requires a Guardian Spirit)."