Su Chen's heart trembled as he looked at the massive shadow in the sky. He could even hear a faint, rumbling roar.
The shadow appeared irregular in shape, as if split down the middle.
"Why does it look like a pair of... wings?" Su Chen swallowed hard. This oppressive sensation did not last long before the shadow gradually disappeared.
All around him, the students who had collapsed to the ground scrambled back up. Rather than showing any embarrassment, they began discussing the event with great excitement.
"What tier of professional do you guys think that was? Such a colossal shadow, it must be a powerful physical-type professional."
"It looked like wings. I've heard that some incredibly strong professionals undergo physical mutations."
"The last time a powerful professional passed through here was about five years ago. Thank you..."
Many students bowed toward the direction the shadow had disappeared, expressing their gratitude.
Cities were not absolutely safe havens. The dangers lurking within the fog would sometimes launch attacks on the human settlements.
The passage of a mighty professional could serve as a powerful deterrent against certain entities, completely eliminating potential threats.
"A truly powerful professional can cross the fog?" Su Chen muttered under his breath. He had over a decade of the original owner's memories, but without specific environmental triggers, many of those memories were difficult to recall.
This firsthand experience was far more visceral and concrete than simply sifting through memories.
"Of course. What many powerful professionals can achieve is simply unimaginable," a voice suddenly rang out from behind. Su Chen jumped in fright and whipped his head around, only to see a middle-aged man with a broad, honest-looking face.
"Uh..." Su Chen sized the man up. He felt completely unfamiliar, and Su Chen had made it a point to memorize the faces of all the key academy leaders.
'The foundation of this year's key training class is quite good,' the disguised Yuan Chenyang thought, looking at the youth before him with a gaze full of appreciation.
Even if the life authority of a high-tier professional was only casually emitted, it was not something ordinary people could withstand.
The vast majority of the students had collapsed, yet this young man stood perfectly straight.
'Class is over?'
Su Chen looked at the group of people emerging from the building. They were likely students from the mental training class.
'Does this guy also think I'm part of the mental training class?'
'But where is Old Bai?'
Su Chen looked left and right, noticing that the bald man next to him was also scanning the crowd, presumably looking for someone as well.
He activated his Spiritual Comlink and discovered that Bai Fengxi had replied to his message at some point.
"Just keep it with you for now. I have some matters to attend to these next few days."
Since Old Bai was absent and Su Chen felt mentally exhausted, he decided to just go back and sleep.
"Little Bai isn't here?" Yuan Chenyang's thick eyebrows twitched, his expression changing slightly. "I've been so focused on investigating that thief recently that I almost lost track of time. Little Bai is probably about to complete her class advancement."
"She must have already started. Going to find her now would be useless." Yuan Chenyang shook his head helplessly. When he turned to look, he realized the youth from earlier was nowhere to be found.
"He left?"
He had intended to ask the nearby students about the young man, but found them staring at him with deep vigilance.
Only then did Yuan Chenyang realize that because he had been hunting the thief, he had been moving around in disguise this whole time.
If he were to reveal his signature bald head and have this group of students immediately flock to him with expressions of reverence, calling him Principal, it would be quite awkward.
"Well, he can't run away anyway."
Discovering a promising seedling significantly improved Yuan Chenyang's foul mood, which had been thoroughly ruined by the elusive thief over the past few days.
"Hmm..." As his thoughts shifted, he remembered Su Chen, the student he had arranged to be placed in the training class, and his face instantly darkened.
"Whatever, just in case he turns out to be decent material to mold, I should go take a look."
Yuan Chenyang made his way over to another teaching building and called out Instructor Zheng, who was in the middle of teaching a class.
"Minister Yuan?" Instructor Zheng asked in surprise, instinctively standing at attention.
Yuan Chenyang had already restored his true appearance. He did not waste time with pleasantries and simply said, "Call that student, Su Chen, out here."
"Su Chen?" Instructor Zheng's gaze darted away evasively.
"What is it?" Yuan Chenyang frowned.
"He... didn't come," Instructor Zheng replied helplessly.
"He didn't come today?" Yuan Chenyang's expression turned sour.
"He hasn't come at all." Instructor Zheng stole a glance at Yuan Chenyang. "Ever since selecting a profession during the very first class, he hasn't shown up once."
"What!" Yuan Chenyang flew into a rage, rebuking him, "A student behaves like this and you don't even manage him?"
Instructor Zheng hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue. He had genuinely wanted to manage the situation, but after contacting Wei Zhigao, he learned that Su Chen had pulled strings through this very Minister Yuan.
Since he was originally a man from the Supervision Department, he thought better of it and decided to drop the matter.
Yuan Chenyang also realized this fact. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he suppressed his rising anger and asked, "What profession did he choose?"
"Gale Walker."
"A high-first-tier?" Yuan Chenyang's face darkened, a sudden realization hitting him. 'Could this punk be planning to illegally resell the profession information?'
"Have him..." Yuan Chenyang had never expected the boy to use such a deceitful trick to fool Little Bai.
Information regarding a high-first-tier profession could fetch a handsome price in the black market.
He initially wanted to have the boy expelled immediately, but on second thought, he was the one who had arranged for Su Chen to enter the class. Having him expelled mere days later would be somewhat humiliating.
"Do this instead. When his evaluation period arrives, target him with the absolute strictest standards!" he ordered.
Instructor Zheng blanked for a second, unsure if the minister was being sarcastic or completely serious.
"Don't overthink it. Just do exactly as I say," Yuan Chenyang added.
"Understood," Instructor Zheng replied solemnly.
Yuan Chenyang departed in displeasure. Swiping across his armband, he pulled up a virtual holographic screen and dispatched a message: "Keep a close eye on the city's black market. If anyone tries to sell the profession information for the Gale Walker, inform me immediately."
"Understood!"
Yuan Chenyang thought of an even better way to handle the situation and sighed. "I'll use you to teach Little Bai a lesson. She is just too kind-hearted and blind to the sinister nature of this world."
He did not invest too much energy into the matter, however, as his primary mission was still to catch that thief.
...
Mid-afternoon the next day, Su Chen, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed, suddenly jolted. His forehead felt as if it had been smeared with mint, and everything around him became unprecedentedly clear.
Faintly, he felt as though he could observe the contours of the room straight through his closed eyelids.
"Hmm?" Su Chen opened his eyes, and the panel materialized before him.
[Candlelight — Master]
[Trait Acquired — Spiritual Vision: Grants the ability to vaguely perceive the surrounding environment through mental power.]
Two pieces of information were evident. It seemed proficiency could only be upgraded to the Master level.
Furthermore, reaching the Master level granted a special trait.
Su Chen thought back to [Basic Combat], which had been consumed by the [Strongman] profession.
"Spiritual Vision... Not bad." Su Chen closed his eyes, savoring the miraculous sensation. He wondered if this was a unique feature of his panel, or if anyone who trained [Candlelight] to the absolute limit would gain this ability.
"With this, I'm only one step away from becoming a Mystic Artificer... the Trial of Whispers." Su Chen could not help but feel a bit anxious.
Up until now, while his class advancement conditions had been varied and bizarre, he had never faced one so directly dangerous.
The Trial of Whispers carried a very real risk of losing control. In the worst-case scenario, he could be reduced to a raving lunatic.
But if he wanted to become a Mystic Artificer, walking this path was inevitable.
Having just elevated [Candlelight] to the Master level, his mental energy was brimming. He did not hesitate for long and immediately began his preparations.
He thoroughly sealed the curtains, the gaps beneath the door, and every other crevice, ensuring the entire room was plunged into absolute silence.
He had initially considered hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on his door, but ultimately decided against it.
He didn't know many people to begin with, and under normal circumstances, no one would look for him for a day or two anyway. Hanging a sign might just tempt someone into knocking on purpose.
With everything prepared, Su Chen took a deep breath. Stripping bare to the waist, he sliced open his palm and used his own blood to trace an inverted cross upon his chest.
The process itself was not difficult. Su Chen even maintained a highly skeptical mindset; drawing an inverted cross on his chest to hear some low whispers would have undoubtedly been classified as a cult ritual in his past life.
However, the moment he finished drawing, before he could even lower his bloody finger, a sudden rustling sound echoed in his ears, like the scuttling of rats.
Su Chen's entire body went numb. He quickly held his breath and focused his mind, gaining a much more visceral understanding of this world's underlying dangers.
In the pitch-black darkness, time seemed to crawl. The rustling sound in his ears gradually morphed into a low, chaotic clamor, as if a multitude of people were continuously whispering right next to his ears.
He subconsciously tried to make out the words, but no matter how hard he focused, he could not hear them clearly. Instead, the effort only induced a bout of severe vertigo and left his stomach churning violently.
The dizziness grew increasingly heavy. Whether he kept his eyes open or closed, the encroaching darkness seemed exactly the same.
Su Chen's world spun out of control. The voices in his ears amplified into a roar, and his head began to throb with agonizing pain, yet he still could not distinguish a single coherent word.
It felt as though flames were blazing before his eyes, causing the entire world to tremble. In the haze, he vaguely saw something—an inverted cross, suspended and burning in the distant sky.
Suddenly, his body turned ice-cold, as if he had been entirely enveloped in a thick, viscous liquid.
At that exact moment, relying purely on instinct, he forced his eyes open.
Throwing himself toward the window with blinding speed, he slammed against the wall with a heavy thud. Ignoring everything else, he viciously tore down the heavy curtains. With a loud rip, the dim daylight flooded into the room.
Su Chen gasped for air, leaning heavily against the windowsill. His entire body was drenched in a cold sweat, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.
"Fuck me..."
He had an overwhelming intuition that if he had remained submerged in that freezing sensation for even a fraction of a second longer, he would have never returned. Fortunately, the panel had popped up just in time.
It was not merely the sensation of staring death in the face, but an indescribable, primal terror.
"That was so damn bizarre..." Su Chen cursed under his breath, venting his frayed nerves before opening the panel to shift his attention.
Behind the words [Mystic Artificer], two large, golden characters had appeared — [Class Advancement].
All of his bitter struggles had been solely for this moment. Without a shred of hesitation, Su Chen selected the option to advance his class.
In an instant, his body stiffened and his pupils dilated. It felt as if freezing water had been poured directly into his brain as his mental power rapidly expanded. The torn scraps of curtain he had just ripped down began to vibrate, even though the windows were tightly shut and there was no wind whatsoever inside the room.
[Mystic Artificer Class Advancement Successful]
[Class Ability Acquired — Mystic Artifact Control: Grants control over a designated special item.]
[Class Ability Acquired — Mental Piercing Spike: Allows the use of a mental attack against a target.]
A long time passed before the transformation finally concluded. Su Chen struggled to adapt to the new sensation. Everything before his eyes was clearer than it had ever been.
In the past, he could only focus his attention on one or two spots at a time. Now, he felt as though he could project his mental power across the entire room. Accompanied by this newfound awareness, however, was a throbbing pain in his head.
Even when he closed his eyes, the sensation remained.
Due to his surging mental power, everything observed through [Spiritual Vision] became vastly sharper.
At close range, it was virtually indistinguishable from having his eyes open. He figured he would need quite a bit of time to fully adjust to it.
At the same time, the panel popped up once more—
[Bonus Reward Triggered. Controlled Mystic Artifact, Azure-Veined Hemp Rope, upgraded to 2nd-Tier — Azure Iron Cable.]
This was the reward he had secured back when the Mystic Apprentice had retreated behind him.
The hemp rope, which he had hidden under his bed, was yanked by an invisible force and suddenly shot out. The tangled, azure-veined threads actually began to gradually disintegrate, turning into individual, fine fibers that swirled rapidly around him.
Then, as if soaked in some mysterious power, its very essence underwent a radical metamorphosis. A cold, unyielding metallic luster seeped out from deep within the fibers, swiftly spreading and solidifying.
The soft texture of the hemp rope gradually transformed into metallic wires radiating a cold gleam, which then twisted together to form a dense alloy cord barely the thickness of a pinky finger.
"It actually evolved into a second-tier item." Su Chen's heart fluttered in excitement. Staring at the dense, ice-cold alloy cable flashing with a dark metallic light, he had a profound realization:
"It seems that Mystic Artifact Control isn't just about making things fly around..."