For a few minutes, Orion wondered if he had made a mistake. But after a short walk and using this new profession, he realized things weren't as bad as they had seemed.
For example, he used his bare hands to collect a few leaves from nearby trees.
[Prod...+2 Points]
[Prod...+2 Points]
When he checked the system's main window, he saw that the newly added Essence Point section now showed a total of 25 points.
At the same time, he could feel his stomach growing steadily hungrier. His interest in lunch kept rising. For the first time in a long while, he heard his stomach growl.
Orion ran back to the small pool of water he had used before and took a few quick gulps. After that, he started walking slowly toward the exit of the Hunting Zone.
As he walked, his eyes kept drifting back to his new profession.
[Base Job (Tier 0): Gatherer Level 1 - Experience: 0/10
"The eye that finds, the hand that takes."
-Helps the user to notice, see and collect resources better.
+10% Resource Yield, +10% Perception, +10% Carrying Efficiency, +1% Rare Material Chance
-Unlocks Tier 2 Job with full mastery: Fabricator]
At first, seeing the word "Gatherer" had irritated him to no end. However, after reading the text and thinking about it carefully, he accepted the logic behind it.
If you wanted to produce anything, gathering materials was fundamental. After mastering this, he would move on to a second profession called Fabricator. That one was likely where real creation began.
A simple plan for the future had already started to take shape in his mind.
Tapping the green "Market" text at the top-left of the Production Essence page, he examined the countless items displayed on the equally ugly green interface.
The market list was interesting, but most items didn't show any description or explanation. Just a picture and a price written in red text.
Other entries appeared blurred and locked.
The most important thing about this Essence Market was simple.
Everything was too damn expensive.
An engine, for example, was 100,000 points. A magical mining tool that worked with three different energy sources cost 2 million points.
Orion even spotted something that looked like a computer GPU. He wasn't sure if it was meant as a building component or something else. He wished he had never looked at the price. It was 5 million Essence Points.
Gardening tools, construction tools, primitive equipment… almost everything related to building was in the market. Some were clearly meant for construction, while others served different purposes.
There were sections for grinding, construction, synthesis, distillation, mining and machine manufacturing.
The strange part was the sheer scale of it. There were thousands of items in total, and roughly seventy percent of them were related to magic, or at least appeared to be.
High-tech mechanical parts that looked like they belonged on a space station also appeared on the list, so he scrolled further down.
At the bottom, the prices ended with eight, nine, or even ten zeros. Just looking at those numbers made him feel poor.
His gaze drifted back to the very top of the list. The cheapest and most modest-looking items were there.
Stone Garden Knife: 3 Essence Points.
Just three points, huh. No problem for me.
Ever since losing the "Cheat Your Death" passive ability, he had been feeling different. The confidence granted by his stat-enhanced body had been steadily eroding.
Hunger was becoming unbearable. He had already drunk water twice more, yet even his thirst hadn't eased.
I don't feel that strong anymore. Maybe using all of my stats on STR wasn't the greatest idea.
It felt as if his increasingly powerful body was beginning to rebel. He couldn't remember the last time his stomach had growled this often. In fact, he was certain he had never felt hunger like this before.
With a quick tap, he selected the knife and purchased a single unit using the multi-buy box.
[1 Stone Garden Knife: 3 Essence Points]
[Production Essence Points: 22 (-3)]
"So doing things related to your job gives Essence Points. And with these Essence Points, I can buy tools."
Whoever designed this system had a cruel sense of humor.
The moment the purchase completed, a knife identical to the small picture appeared in his hand.
A stone blade was fixed to a wooden handle with a single nail. It was crude. Gray, thick and rough. Its only saving grace was that the edge was sharp. But he could probably snap this with one hand.
Using the knife, Orion circled several nearby trees and cut off thin branches. Surprisingly, the blade held up far better than expected and proved genuinely useful.
Thick grass near the base of the trees was gathered as well. Watching his Production Essence Points steadily increase helped distract him from his stomach.
[Production Essence +3 Points]
[Prod...+3 Points]
[Prod...+5 Points]
Occasionally, the point increase was larger than expected.
So how do I actually level the profession?
[Gatherer Level 1 - Experience: 0/10]
Touching the experience number next to the stats, his finger slid over the "0."
Essence Points drained automatically as the profession's EXP filled up. The feedback was strangely satisfying.
Eventually, he stopped fiddling and carefully added exactly 10 EXP, confirming it with two taps. Figuring out how to confirm took far longer than it should have, even for someone from the modern world.
[Congratulations. Your profession has leveled up!]
[-Base Job (Tier 0): Gatherer Level 2 - Experience: 0/15]
Back on the Production Essence page, a quiet sigh escaped him when nothing new appeared.
At what level does this unlock the next job, Fabricator?
A bit more wood, stone and grass were gathered while he tried to measure the profession's efficiency. But when sharp pain twisted through his stomach, the experimentation stopped.
After a few minutes of running, he reached the entrance of the Hunting Zone. By the time he arrived at the giant gate, he had to stop and rest several times due to the stomach pain and hunger. The cramps had turned into a rhythmic, throbbing pulse.
Just as he passed through the gate and spotted Teacher Remy and Kalista, his thoughts returned to the new skill he still hadn't checked. He didn't know anything about it other than the name, "Hysterical Calculation."
But judging by how his mind felt, thinking had become easier after obtaining the skill, even when his body was filled with heat and feral emotions.
[Hysterical Calculation (Rare) - Passive Ability]
-The user thinks faster under extreme conditions like hysteria, concentration or death threats
-Thinking Speed +30%
WARNING: Effects may vary depending on skill level, danger level and user's mental capacity
He smiled with the happiness of having gained something that would be very useful to him in the future. But Teacher Remy thought that expression was directed at them.
Military teacher handed him a small glass of juice. "We stopped by the vendors on the corner while waiting for you. By the way, congratulations. You adapted better than I expected. But you still have a lot to learn."
Kalista watched the glass as he brought it to his lips. When she caught Orion's gaze, she simply nodded. Her expression carried the look of someone who had watched him and approved of his hunt.
Seeing Orion's clothes covered in sweat, blood and dirt, they returned to the dormitory first. Afterward, they headed to the Dining Hall and ate a meat-heavy lunch prepared personally by Leile.
With Teacher Remy present, the flirtatious girl no longer looked at him with the same bold gaze. She even seemed a little frightened.
Orion suspected that someone might have found out she had secretly given him her contact number.
But once the food arrived, all of his attention toward the girl vanished instantly. The sounds coming from his stomach were loud enough to surprise even the two warlords sitting across from him.
Orion didn't stop eating for a long time, surprising everyone in the dining hall. At one point, Teacher Remy was thinking something was wrong. He stood up from his chair and touched Orion's shoulder.
"Hey! How did you develop this fast?" He had spoken very quietly.
Teacher Remy moved behind the still-eating Orion as if he couldn't believe his senses. He placed both hands on the boy's back and checked again.
In that moment, Orion finally managed to satisfy the bottomless hunger in his stomach.
Drawing in a deep breath, he set down his fork and spoon and began to think about how to explain the tremors starting to ripple through his body. The trembling continued throughout his meal, as if the system wanted to finish what it had started in the Hunting Zone.
Now, seconds after Orion felt full, it disappeared. But something new about his system had been proven.
To make the stat increases fully effective, he needed to eat.
He didn't know if this energy requirement applied only to the stats he manually used or to all of them. But his body definitely felt more agile now than it had been in the Hunting Zone.
Furthermore, the way he perceived the hands touching his back, the body heat and the objects around him had changed.
Colors, sounds and everything around him felt different.
As he wiped his mouth with a napkin, Teacher Remy finally pulled his hands away and returned to his seat. "You let your body get far too hungry. But other than that, you've grown stronger. Normally, people develop by hunting, but you're on an entirely different level."
"There isn't a problem, is there? I felt myself getting stronger while hunting, but it felt like something was missing." Orion put on a curious face, though he didn't know how convincing he was being.
"No problem. But you need to get used to your body's current state before we begin your basic training. That's why we're postponing this afternoon's training until tomorrow." The man unbuttoned a single button on his military uniform, looking relieved. Still, his gaze toward Orion held a hint of suspicion.
"Your current level is at the peak of the Awakened rank. You're nearly as strong and healthy as a Kindled. I pity the other students in Monday's combat classes. Hahaha..." He slapped the table covered in empty plates and dirty glasses and continued laughing for a short while.
A few older-looking students nearby were staring at their table. Remy didn't seem to care at all.
"You can do whatever you want for today. But don't just lie down and sleep. Move, walk around and use your body. We're postponing your training so you can adapt. If you get lazy, I'll give you a punishment."
Teacher Remy, whose tone made it unclear whether he was joking or not, gave Kalista a nod of farewell and walked out.
Turning to his personal bodyguard, Orion smiled.
"How about we go shopping, Kalista?"