Soul Wear

Although Flora hid her face behind a book, her ears were perked high.

When she heard that Lance was actually examining potions on his own, with no intention of coaxing her at all,

she could not help secretly lowering the book a little, revealing half a pair of resentful eyes.

Only to see Lance standing with his back to her, seemingly seriously Researching a bottle of low-grade antidote.

The girl felt even more wronged. She slammed the book heavily onto the table with a dull thud.

Hearing the sound, Lance knew the timing was about right.

If he teased her any further, this honest girl might really bristle.

He chuckled, turned around, walked to the counter, and gently placed the paper bag he had been hiding behind his back on top of Flora's book.

"All right, don't be mad."

Lance's voice carried a hint of coaxing.

"Something urgent held me up yesterday, so I got up early today and lined up to buy this."

Flora had originally wanted to maintain her cool demeanor, but her nose twitched twice despite herself.

A rich milky aroma mixed with the sweetness of honey wafted out through the gaps in the paper bag.

Of the three girls in Grayrock Town, Lance knew every one of their preferences inside out.

Though Nia liked desserts, she preferred shiny little accessories, while Amber was a tough girl who never enjoyed herself without alcohol.

Only Flora was utterly defenseless against sweets.

"Really?"

Flora gave a couple of doubtful snorts, but her gaze kept drifting uncontrollably toward the paper bag.

She reached out, pulled the bag over, and leaned in to peek inside.

The next second, the girl's eyes behind her lenses lit up at once, as if she had seen some priceless treasure.

It was Grayrock Town's seasonal new offering, a Forest Berry Tart.

The reason it was so precious was that the plump red berries decorating its top had to be rushed in from the neighboring town every morning.

The tart was piled high with red berries, all of which were said to be urgently shipped in from other towns with warmer climates.

The shop only offered a few dozen servings each day. If you arrived late, you would not even see a crumb.

She had only casually complained once while playing cards that she wanted one but had failed to get it. She had not expected Lance to truly remember.

Flora's two little dimples appeared at once.

Seeing the girl happily cradling the dessert, Lance secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She was so easy to appease.

He pulled out a tall stool and sat down, his gaze passing over the counter toward the semicircular archway at the back.

It led to the potion shop's core area: the alchemy workshop.

Whenever he came before, he could hear the bubbling of cauldrons and decoctions from far away, or the crisp clinking of glassware.

But now, it was completely silent inside, without the slightest sound.

"Is Aunt Morwenna not here?"

Lance asked casually.

Flora had already impatiently taken a huge bite of the berry tart, and bright red jam stained her lips.

She explained indistinctly:

"She went to the guild."

"Aunt Morwenna took samples first thing this morning to compete for the procurement contract for that joint sweep."

"Aunt Morwenna tested your potion overnight yesterday. Its effects were excellent, so she added it to our bid list."

"Are you going to wait here for her to come back? She shouldn't be gone long."

Hearing that, Lance nodded expectantly.

"All right, I'll wait."

This concerned whether his future wallet would be full, so waiting a while was only proper.

With nothing else to do, Lance watched Flora eat with great relish and idly tapped his fingers against the table.

A crucial question concerning his own future suddenly surfaced in his mind.

It was about the [Potion Research] function on his panel.

If he was determined to advance into a combat class like [Pale Sentinel] in the future, would this production-oriented potion function become useless?

After all, a person's energy was limited.

That would be one thing in a game, but this was reality.

"Flora."

Lance considered his wording before asking,

"You know I have a personal talent that enhances potion effects, but my future career plans do not involve becoming an Alchemist."

"If I don't advance into a related class, will this talent of mine be completely wasted?"

"Is there any way to have the best of both worlds?"

By then, Flora had already devoured the berry tart like a whirlwind.

Still wanting more, she took a second dessert from the bag. It was a Chocolate Lava Ball dusted all over with powdered sugar.

Hearing Lance's question, she took a bite of the chocolate ball, scattering brown crumbs all over her mouth, and said as if it were only natural,

"Of course not. You can take on another class part-time."

"Part-time?"

Lance froze for a moment.

That had not been mentioned at all in the Basic Guide to Class Advancement that he had bought at great expense.

That book was all about how to specialize and refine one's attributes. It did not touch on anything as abstract as taking multiple classes.

It seemed that had been a simplified introductory textbook meant for newcomers.

This was probably a path one only encountered after officially becoming a class holder.

Flora took another bite of her dessert and explained like a little teacher.

"You may not have read Treatise on the Origins of Professions. It provides a very detailed analysis of the nature of professions."

"Class advancement is essentially the process of making your soul adapt to and solidify a certain rule of this world."

"But the strength of a person's soul is limited."

"After advancing into your main class, you can then advance into a secondary class."

"However, there are strict limitations. Your secondary class can never exceed your main class in level."

At that point, the girl's expression grew slightly more serious.

"And you must be extremely careful when choosing a secondary class."

"You have to choose classes that differ greatly from each other. Otherwise, it will cause severe Soul Wear."

"For example, if your main class is combat-oriented, then your secondary class should ideally be a life skill or crafting class, or some kind of identity-based class."

"If you're greedy and want to advance into two combat classes at the same time..."

Flora shook her head.

"Those two similar rules will fight inside your soul, causing immense wear."

"The most direct consequence is that the speed at which you grow stronger in the future will be heavily reduced by a percentage."

Lance understood instantly.

It was like an experience penalty in a game.

Originally, killing one monster could earn 100 experience points. After taking on a second class, he might only get 70, or even less.

"You've read books about this?"

Lance looked in surprise at the girl before him, whose mouth was covered in chocolate.

Flora wore an expression that said, Is that strange?

"Of course. I'm getting ready to advance into an Alchemist, so naturally I had to do my homework."

Lance suddenly realized something, and his voice trembled slightly as he asked,

"Then... have you read Basic Guide to Class Advancement?"