"This tastes better than I expected..."
On his way, Su Chen smacked his lips and corked the glass bottle. The hunger in his stomach had completely vanished; he even felt full.
And he still had two-thirds of the Nutrient Liquid Bai Fengxi had given him left.
'It doesn't look like much, but the taste is pretty good,' Su Chen thought, putting away the Nutrient Liquid.
After asking for directions a few more times, Su Chen found his dormitory. The security was surprisingly strict, and the guard at the entrance looked fierce.
He had to swipe his student ID on a machine before he was allowed inside.
Thankfully, he had managed to secure a private room when registering. It wasn't large, but it had everything he needed. At the very least, he could stretch his legs out on the bed.
'Ugh, I need to pay back that Warrior loan as soon as possible...' Su Chen pulled out the hemp rope and the Shadow-avoiding Robe he had stuffed in his clothes and tossed them under the bed.
He immediately got into a stance and began to train, panting heavily.
The [Body Refining Trial] required him to break his physical limits ten times. For the people of this world, that wasn't considered too difficult.
The harder part was achieving Mastery in a physical-type Skill, which required constant, persistent training.
The trouble was, however, that he was already a Warrior. His physical constitution was exceptionally strong, making some of the training methods from his past life highly inefficient.
It wasn't until around eight or nine in the evening that Su Chen felt his Physical Strength was nearly depleted. His body was pushed to the point of extreme exhaustion, his heart pounded like a drum, and his skin was slick with sweat.
HUFF, HUFF, HUFF...
Suddenly, he felt his body relax. A warm current surged from an unknown source through his already exhausted frame.
He opened his panel and, sure enough, saw that he had broken his limit once.
'This... this is too hard...' Su Chen lay on the bed, not wanting to even lift a finger.
On the panel, a number had appeared after [Warrior].
[Warrior: 1%]
'So this is the Profession development progress? It's quantifiable, not bad.'
Even though he had advanced to his Profession early, he still needed to complete the advancement conditions. But now, it also helped increase his Profession's development level. It was a win-win.
Developing a Profession improved one's strength in all aspects. Once developed to a certain stage, one could even unlock other Professional Abilities.
'But I still need to find a Training Technique related to my Profession. This brute-force method is too slow,' Su Chen thought.
As one's Profession advanced and physical attributes improved, ordinary physical training methods became less and less effective. One needed corresponding High Tier Training Techniques.
From what he had learned in the library, a suitable Training Technique could multiply the efficiency of Profession development, but such techniques were also extremely rare and valuable.
'High Tier Training Techniques are secrets. It'll probably be hard to get one under normal circumstances,' Su Chen panted, lying on his bed.
After resting for a moment, he stripped off his clothes, took a shower, and returned to bed. He then began his Candle Fire Spirit Training.
Physical and mental fatigue assaulted him simultaneously. A Tier One Professional was, after all, still human.
Going without sleep was clearly not an option.
However, just as dawn was breaking, Su Chen's body trembled slightly. He let out a long breath, feeling as if he were reborn.
[Candle Fire Spirit Training Method -- Mastery: 10%]
In just one night, he had entered the Mastery stage. The resulting improvement washed away the mental fatigue from staying up all night.
The night's exertion brought a wave of hunger. After a moment's thought, Su Chen drank half of the remaining Nutrient Liquid and continued to train.
By mid-afternoon, he had broken his limit once again. He lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The exhaustion made him not want to do anything at all.
In a daze, a notification suddenly popped up on his panel--
[The Scholar has witnessed your diligent practice and feels pleased. It has decided to reduce the required years of study.]
Su Chen watched as the twenty-year requirement for [Scholar] changed to nineteen years and eleven months.
'It finally reacted...' He sat up abruptly, the fatigue in his body seeming to fade slightly.
'So it seems the harder I work, the more 'pleased' it gets...' Su Chen was speechless. Although it was only a one-month reduction, he had only been training for a single day.
At this rate, he could shave off three years of the requirement in just over a month.
He couldn't help but feel a flicker of curiosity about what kind of abilities a special Profession might have.
Thinking of this, he looked at [Secret Artifact Master]. He had already figured out what "Professional Traits" were.
Professional Traits determined a Profession's advancement path. For example, the Warrior Profession could only advance into other strength-related Professions.
The [Secret Artifact Master] shared the Professional Traits of both Rope Master and Secret Magic Apprentice, which meant he could choose to advance into the Upper-tier Professions of either of those two paths.
'This stuff gets used up so fast...'
Downing the last of the Nutrient Liquid, Su Chen let out a satisfied burp.
That stuff could sustain an ordinary person for several days, but for him, it only lasted a day and a half.
'I have to find Jiang He soon, or I'll be starving again,' he calculated. Repaying the Warrior loan required constant training, which also meant he burned through nutrients faster than usual.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past three in the afternoon.
After resting a little longer, Su Chen left his dorm. At this time of day, there was hardly anyone in the hallway.
He walked to a rectangular device at the end of the hall. It had an iron-brown casing and an LCD screen in the center.
Finding a long, narrow slot at the bottom, he inserted his student ID, and a schedule appeared on the screen.
It was his class schedule. He didn't have many classes. He had just registered yesterday, so he had no classes today.
He only had three classes tomorrow. Jiang He's Mysticism class was the second period in the morning.
'Looks like I'll have to find her tomorrow, then...' Su Chen frowned. 'It's a real pain not having an easy way to contact her.'
He figured there must be one in this world, but he just hadn't encountered it yet.
"Tomorrow it is, then. I'll just have to go hungry for one more night," he said, shaking his head, preparing to go back and continue his training.
The sound of thumping steps echoed from the stairwell. A young man ran up, glanced at him, and then looked from side to side at the room numbers, muttering, "301, 301..."
Su Chen's expression turned strange. 'Isn't that my room number?'
He didn't say anything, just followed behind the young man. After finding Room 301, the young man knocked on the door.
"Are you looking for me?" A voice suddenly came from behind, making the young man jump.
"Who?!" he yelled instinctively as he turned. His gaze turned resentful. "You're the owner of this room?"
"Yes." Su Chen glanced at the student ID on the other person's chest--Li Ming.
He then swiped his card to open the door, proving his identity.
'What's wrong with this guy? He must have heard me muttering just now, but he just followed behind me without saying a word.'
Li Ming complained inwardly but said aloud, "You're Su Chen, right? Someone's downstairs looking for you."
"Who?" Su Chen asked instinctively, then immediately corrected himself, "A man or a woman?"
"A man," Li Ming answered. "He's right downstairs."
With that, he tried to leave, only to find himself held in a tight grip.
"What does he look like?" Su Chen stared at him. 'If it were a woman, it could be Jiang He or Bai Fengxi. But a man...'
"He's right downstairs, just go down and see for yourself," Li Ming said, a little impatiently.
Su Chen didn't speak, but his grip gradually tightened.
"FUCK, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Sir! Sir!" Li Ming wailed, hurriedly explaining, "He's well-dressed, pretty handsome, and had a great attitude. He asked me to come up and find you and even gave me a Gold Coin."
"He's not from the school. Oh, right, his eyes are blue."
'The aggrieved party has come knocking!'
Su Chen's eyes flickered, and the strength in his hand relaxed. "Then go down and tell him I won't come down unless he gives me 100 Gold Coins. Wait, I'll give you another Gold Coin afterward."
Li Ming was stunned. 'Wait... what kind of game are you two playing?'
"I'll go, I'll go..." Li Ming felt a phantom pain in his arm and quickly agreed.
"Fucking psycho..." Li Ming muttered, but only after he had gone downstairs.
Rubbing his elbow, he exited the building and prepared to leave. He wasn't about to be a messenger for some lunatic.
"Excuse me, fellow student..."
"FUCK!" Li Ming flinched and spun around. The man who had sent him upstairs was standing right behind him, a faint smile on his face. His pair of blue pupils were incredibly deep.
"Where is the person I asked you to get?" he asked gently.
"He's... he's not here..." Li Ming didn't want to get involved.
"Lying is not a good habit," the man said, seemingly seeing right through him. "You should think carefully."
Li Ming clearly saw flames burning in the man's eyes. This was a Professional.
'Just my rotten luck,' he cursed inwardly before saying helplessly, "He told me to tell you that he won't come down unless you give him 100 Gold Coins."
Li Ming noticed the man's expression freeze. The smile vanished from his face, and he glanced up at the building.
After a long moment, he took out a special wallet from his coat, poured out a handful of Gold Coins, and said flatly, "Tell him this is all I have. I'll be waiting for him."
'He actually fucking gave them!?'
Li Ming was dumbfounded as he dazedly walked back into the dormitory.
A moment later, Su Chen stared at the Gold Coins in front of him. They were only the size of a fingernail and weren't gold as he understood it. They felt warm and smooth to the touch and faintly radiated a certain glow.
He sank into deep thought. 'The aggrieved party is at my door. What should I do?'