"You all have one year to become an Elementary Apprentice. Of course, this is the deadline, and the sooner you become an apprentice during this period, the higher your Spiritual Talent is, and your treatment after entering the School will also be upgraded accordingly,"
…
Ron felt his brain memories were thrown into a washing machine, churned back and forth incessantly, with fragmented memories constantly piecing together.
This chaos had persisted for several days until this moment when the fusion at the soul level was finally complete.
On one side was an ordinary college student on Earth, who died suddenly from staying up all night gaming;
On the other side was—the fifth son of Count Ralph.
He didn't have inheritance rights and indulged in nightlife and women inside the castle, thinking all day about fooling around with beautiful maids.
Of course, this happy and indulgent life only lasted until his fifteenth birthday.
Ron rubbed his temples, memories unfolding like a scroll soaked in ink in his mind:
In the hall, candle flames shivered in an unnatural silence.
Black candles encircled, flames flickering, casting twisted shadows over the mask of the white-robed person.
The White-robed Mage spoke, their voice like metal scraping, devoid of warmth, "Spiritual Talent, just reaching the minimum standard."
Her slender fingers stroked the crystal ball, within which the swirling dark red mist gradually condensed into a symbol, extremely faint in color.
The moment he heard the verdict, his father's expression froze, his once always straightened back now slightly hunched, instantly seeming ten years older.
Possessing Spiritual Talent was certainly worth celebrating, but only if that talent was outstanding enough; otherwise, it was merely regular material for experiments provided to the wizards.
"According to the contract, your Kingdom has yet to deliver a few seeds to the Black Mist Jungle, so I'll take this one as well."
The White-robed Mage wasn't using a negotiating tone, merely notifying those present, then turned to Ron, waving the magic wand in her hand.
…
The memory images here started to become monotonous, the White-robed Mage took him along with other "seeds" from the kingdom to this Black Mist Jungle, providing only the free mystical knowledge from the Basic Meditation Technique.
He attempted meditation day after day, but the results were minimal.
Ron looked at the tattered Basic Meditation Technique in front of him, next to it lay Abyssal Travelogue, Star Gate Chronicles…
Besides Basic Magic Potion Theory, they were all worthless old books.
The rules of the Black Mist Jungle were simple: the School would provide free lodging, food, and basic public facilities, along with various paid courses, but there was a one-year assessment period.
If one could not become an Elementary Apprentice within a year, one would either become experimental material or be directly expelled into the dangerous wilderness, left to fend for themselves.
And there were only three months left until the deadline.
"Meditate, concentrate to forge the Rune of Will…" Ron closed his eyes, tried to guide his Spiritual Power according to what was described in the book.
Since completely integrating with the soul from another world, he felt his spirit had become sharper.
Suddenly, a strange sensation surged within him, a translucent information panel unfolded before his eyes:
[Ron Ralph]
[Age: 15]
[Current Profession: None]
[Attributes: Constitution 0.4 Spirit 1.1 Magic Power 0.1]
[Skills: Basic Meditation (Beginner), Slime Splash (Beginner), Basic Magic Potion Making (Beginner)]
[Special Talent: Dual Soul (Comprehension Enhanced; when Spiritual Power reaches a certain limit, can perform Double Casting)]
[Power Level: Ordinary People]
"Is this… my Golden Finger?"
Ron was overjoyed, yet not too surprised.
Since such an absurd thing as crossing to another world happened, having a game-like Golden Finger didn't seem too shocking, did it?
"Like the character panel from the game I played before crossing over, just unsure whether the effects are as I imagined."
He looked at the various character information displayed, soon feeling very familiar.
He began to try controlling it with his mind, clicked on the skill subpage on the character panel:
[Skills Obtained:
Basic Meditation (Beginner 22/100), Slime Splash (Beginner 19/50), Basic Magic Potion Making (Beginner 5/50)]
Seeing there were supposed experience point indicators, the panel's effect should align with his imagination, he decided to try meditating once.
Based on the meditation practices he had repeated hundreds of times in his memory, Ron adjusted his breathing, entering the state of meditation.
In the pitch-black Consciousness Space, the method to train Spiritual Power was to engrave the most basic rune—a simple symbol consisting of three curved lines, appearing like overlapping crescents.
As per the book's description, the rune symbolized condensing scattered Spiritual Power into form.
"Deep breath, clear thoughts, imagine the rune's shape…"
Ron's consciousness transformed into an invisible pen, carefully sketching in the darkness.
The first curved line twisted and dissolved immediately upon being drawn, requiring him to start over.
After numerous attempts, the three curved lines finally upheld their form in his consciousness, yet they trembled like candle flames swaying in the wind.
Just then, Ron sensed a faint trace of Spiritual Power responding to the rune's call, slowly gathering within the sea of consciousness.
It felt like finding a faint flame in the cold dead of night, naturally compelling one to approach.
"So this is the sensation of Spiritual Power growth…"
As time passed, sweat started oozing from his forehead. Maintaining the rune's form required intense concentration; any distraction would end in failure.
Finally, when he could no longer focus, the panel popped up a notification:
[Basic Meditation Experience Points +1]
[Current Progress: Basic Meditation (Beginner 23/100)]
[Daily Cultivation Time Limit Reached, Recommend Rest]
Ron exhaled deeply, wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Though he only increased by 1 point in experience, he could clearly feel he had advanced one step ahead in controlling Spiritual Power compared to before.
"This is the benefit of the panel, enabling one to clearly see progress and stabilize it."
But given the current circumstances, such capability was far from the life-saving medicine he imagined.
Ron looked at the stats on the panel, furrowed his brow, "At this pace, unsure whether I can train to the next stage before the deadline, meditation can only be done once a day, which is quite troubling…"
The timing was extremely urgent now, and three months later was the deadline, yet the experience points for Basic Meditation had just exceeded a fifth.
If he couldn't achieve advancement before the deadline, only two options awaited:
Either become a piece of meat on someone else's chopping block, or get thrown into that wilderness filled with aberrant creatures.
Ron took a deep breath, refocused his attention on Basic Magic Potion Theory before him.
This book was currently the most valuable thing he had in hand besides the Basic Meditation Technique; cost him quite a few Magic Stone Fragments.
[Basic Magic Potion Making (Beginner 5/50)]
[Life Profession - Magic Potion Apprentice (One Star)
Post-transition:
1. Attribute Growth
2. Unlock Basic Profession Skills—Magic Potion Refining, Herb Recognition
3. Special Bonuses:
Acelerated Magic Potion Making experience gain
Faster Spiritual Power accumulation
Enhanced Magic Affinity]
[Transition Conditions:
1. Basic Magic Potion Making Skill Experience Points—(Proficient)
2. Complete one refining]
Ron finally exhaled a long breath; this profession panel was the most distinctive system in the game.
Remembered when he played, there were countless hundreds to thousands of Extraordinary Professions, various advancement routes were extremely complex, akin to a Digimon's evolution chain.
And if memory served, he had even used a modifier to create a backdoor on his player panel during the game...
Ron was both anxious and expectant, lightly slid his consciousness over the profession bar.
"Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, initiate!"
The next instant—
[Current Profession Slots: 0/∞]
"Woo-hoo! I originally thought such modifications couldn't be transferred with the profession panel…"
"Hit the jackpot this time!!!"
Ron felt his mouth corners now were probably more difficult to control than an AK.
In the game, the player's profession could only be chosen three times at most, and once selected, couldn't be changed, only upward advancement was possible.
But he could upload professions to his panel… infinitely!