"You have one year to become a novice apprentice. Of course, that's just the deadline. The earlier you become one, the higher your spiritual aptitude is considered to be—and the better your treatment will be once you're officially part of the faction."
…
Robb felt like his mind had been tossed into a washing machine—memories churning and crashing, fragment by fragment coming together.
This confusion had lasted for several days, but now, it finally seemed like the fusion of his soul was complete.
One part of him was a regular university student who had died from staying up all night gaming. Now, he had woken up in the same videogame he had been playing last night!
And not just anyone, he had woken up as the fifth son of Count Reyne.
Without any inheritance rights, this person had spent his days in the castle indulging in wine and women, fantasizing about seducing the maids.
Of course, those carefree days of indulgence only lasted until his fifteenth birthday.
Robb rubbed his temples as his memories unfolded like an ink-drenched scroll: vivid and slow.
In the grand hall, the candlelight trembled slightly in an unnatural silence.
Black candles formed a circle. The flickering flames cast twisted shadows over the masked figure in white robes.
The white-robed mage spoke, her voice cold and metallic, scraping like steel on stone. "Spiritual aptitude: just barely meets the minimum threshold."
Her slender fingers brushed across a crystal orb. Within it, dark red mist swirled and slowly formed a symbol—its color extremely dim.
At that moment, Robb saw his father's expression freeze. His always-straight back slumped slightly, and he seemed to age ten years in an instant.
Sure, having spiritual aptitude was a good thing. But only if it was outstanding. Otherwise, it just meant being handed over as experimental material for the mages.
"According to the contract, your kingdom's seed quota for the 'Black Mist Forest' is still short a few. I'll take this one too."
The white-robed mage wasn't negotiating—she was just informing them. Then she turned to Robb and waved her staff.
…
The memories became repetitive after that. The white-robed mage took him, along with other "seeds" from various kingdoms, to the Black Mist Forest.
They were granted mysterious knowledge, but only a single book—Basic Meditation.
Day after day, he meditated relentlessly, but with little success.
Robb looked at the tattered Basic Meditation manual in front of him. Next to it were well-worn books like Abyssal Travels, Records of the Star Gate…
Aside from one titled Foundations of Alchemy, they were all essentially worthless.
The rules of the Black Mist Forest were simple: the school provided free lodging, food, and public facilities, along with paid classes—but there was a one-year probation period.
Fail to become a novice apprentice within that year, and you had two choices: become a living experiment, or get tossed into the dangerous wildlands and fend for yourself.
And now, there were only three months left.
"Meditation. Focus. Form the will-symbol…" Robb closed his eyes and tried to guide his spiritual energy according to the book's instructions.
Since fully fusing with the soul from the other world, he felt his mind becoming much sharper.
Suddenly, a strange feeling surged through him—and a translucent interface appeared before his eyes:
[Robb Reyne]
Age: 15
Current Profession: None
Stats:
Constitution: 0.4
Spirit: 1.1
Mana: 0.1
Skills:
Basic Meditation (Beginner)
Slime Splash (Beginner)
Basic Alchemy (Beginner)
Special Talent: Dual Soul (Enhanced perception; when spirit reaches a certain threshold, enables dual-casting)
Power Tier: Normal Human
"This is… my cheat ability?"
Robb was overjoyed, though not especially surprised.
After all, if something as crazy as transmigrating to another world had happened, getting a cheat-like system interface wasn't exactly far-fetched.
"Just like the character status screen in the game I played before I died. Wonder if it works the same way."
Looking at the data on the panel, he quickly felt a sense of familiarity.
He tried focusing his thoughts and opened the skills subpage:
[Skills Acquired:]
Basic Meditation (Beginner 22/100)
Slime Splash (Beginner 19/50)
Basic Alchemy (Beginner 5/50)
Since there was an experience tracker, it seemed like the panel functioned exactly like a game. Time to test it through another meditation session.
Following the process he had repeated countless times in memory, Robb adjusted his breathing and entered a meditative state.
In the dark void of his consciousness, training spiritual power began with drawing the most basic rune—a symbol made of three arcs overlapping like crescents.
This symbol represented the gathering of scattered spiritual energy into a cohesive form.
"Deep breath. Empty the mind. Visualize the shape…"
Robb's awareness became an invisible pen, carefully sketching in the darkness.
The first arc twisted and faded instantly. He had to start over.
After more than a dozen tries, the full three-arc rune finally held its shape—though it trembled like a flame in the wind.
At that moment, Robb felt a faint flow of spiritual energy respond to the rune's call and begin drifting toward his consciousness.
It felt like finding a flickering flame in the cold of night—something instinctively comforting.
"So this is what spiritual growth feels like…"
As time passed, sweat beaded on his forehead. Keeping the rune stable required intense focus; even the slightest distraction would undo everything.
Eventually, when he could no longer maintain his focus, a notification popped up:
[Basic Meditation EXP +1]
[Current Progress: Basic Meditation (Beginner 23/100)]
[Training cap for the day reached. Rest recommended.]
Robb exhaled deeply and wiped his sweat.
Only a single point gained—but he could clearly feel that his control over spiritual energy had improved.
"That's the advantage of the system—it gives a clear sense of progress and helps build consistency."
But given his current situation, this alone was far from the life-saving miracle he had hoped for.
Looking at the panel, Robb frowned. "At this rate, I might not reach the next stage in time. If I can only meditate once per day, I'm in serious trouble…"
Time was running out. Three months left, and he'd only gained about a fifth of the needed progress in meditation.
If he couldn't level up by the deadline, his fate was sealed:
Either end up on an experiment table, or get dumped in a wilderness crawling with mutated beasts.
Robb took a deep breath and turned back to Foundations of Alchemy—the only other valuable book he had besides Basic Meditation.
It had cost him quite a few magic stone fragments.
[Basic Alchemy (Beginner 5/50)]
[Profession: Alchemy Apprentice (1-Star)]
After Advancement:
Stat Growth:
Mana Growth: ★
Constitution Growth: ☆
Spirit Growth: ★★½
Unlocked Skills:
Potion Crafting
Herb Identification
Special Bonuses:
Faster alchemy EXP gain
Increased spiritual energy accumulation
Increased mana affinity
[Promotion Requirements:]
Basic Alchemy EXP → Proficient
Complete one crafting session
Finally, Robb let out a sigh of relief. This profession system was one of the most iconic features of the game.
He remembered that the game had hundreds—possibly thousands—of supernatural professions with countless branching upgrade paths, like a digital monster's evolution tree.
And if he remembered right, he had even hacked his character's system panel back then…
Heart pounding with excitement, Robb gently swiped his mental focus over the profession tab.
"Windspirit Moonshadow—Activate!"
Next second—
[Current Profession Slots: 0/∞]
"Wahoo! I was worried the hack wouldn't transfer to this world…"
"This is insane!!!"
Robb grinned so wide his jaw almost cramped.
In the original game, players could only pick up to three professions—and once chosen, they couldn't be changed. Only upgrades were allowed.
But he could now load an unlimited number of profession slots!