Chapter Four: Awakening of Talent—Spatial Refraction

Every so often, the instance absorbs Source Energy and refreshes, restoring everything inside to its original state—monsters and indigenous creatures alike are resurrected. The smaller the world of the instance, the faster its refresh rate; the larger, the slower. Instances with a refresh time under one month are considered small; those between one month and one year are medium; anything over a year is large.

Yuntai City Second High School, where Chu Cheng studied, ranked second among the city's dozen or so secondary schools, boasting abundant resources. It possessed five medium-sized instance worlds and thirty-eight small ones. The instance he had just trained in was called Black Sails Pirates, one of the thirty-eight small worlds.

He exhaled softly, anticipation bright in his heart. “Finally, it’s time for my job change.”

In the Chaos Realm, the strength of a Descender at level ten and that of someone above ten who has undergone a job change are worlds apart. For one thing, from level one to ten, you gain only three free attribute points per level. After the job change, it’s five points per level, plus numerous class specialties and skills—a transformation in power.

To change jobs, you need a job certificate or must venture into a major instance world and seek guidance from its native inhabitants. The Chaos Realm offers a dizzying array of professions—countless variations; even among common warrior classes, there are dozens of subdivisions. If you include rare hidden professions, the total likely surpasses a hundred.

Schools typically provide basic job certificates, but if a family can offer a better one, you’re not obliged to use the school’s. Chu Cheng was born into a mid-tier local family in Yuntai City. The clan was competent, controlling several medium and small instance worlds. As a direct descendant, he could access better job certificates than those offered by the school—though not the very best.

This led to his awkward position in the family. Chu Cheng was one of the third-generation direct heirs of the Chu family in Yuntai, but his birth mother had passed away, and his father remarried. Thus began the familiar drama of powerful families: under the influence of his stepmother, his fortunes dwindled year by year. Especially after the birth of two half-brothers, his status and resources plummeted, no longer resembling that of a direct heir.

Having lived two lives, Chu Cheng never made a scene. He knew that protests would achieve nothing and might erode the little paternal affection that remained. His plan was to quietly finish his studies, wait until adulthood or admission to a prestigious academy, and then leverage what affection and guilt lingered to secure a significant sum of resources—after which, he would forge his own path.

Back in his dormitory, his golden finger seemed on the verge of awakening. Chu Cheng opened the Chaos Realm’s network to browse the flea market for level ten equipment. He currently owned only a level six hard leather armor, green-quality, with +5 defense. Both his scimitars were green-quality, each with an attack of eleven: one granting +2 extra attack, the other +1 extra strength. All were sub-ten level equipment, far weaker than items above level ten; replacements were in order, and fortunately, he had saved some money.

Over the years, he had amassed twenty-eight silver and fifty-five copper coins—loot from leveling, either dropped directly as Chaos copper coins or gathered from selling miscellaneous items. Gold, silver, and copper coins were the universal currency in the Chaos Realm, not ordinary metal coins, but ones infused with a trace of Chaos energy, recognized by all races, native or otherwise.

One hundred Chaos copper coins equaled one Chaos silver coin. One hundred Chaos silver coins equaled one Chaos gold coin. One thousand Chaos gold coins equaled one Chaos Stone. The Chaos Stone, also known as the Life Stone or Resurrection Stone, could restore body and soul upon death by drawing upon its power. It was exceedingly rare and almost never seen on the market.

Browsing the flea market, Chu Cheng quickly set his sights on two level ten scimitars and a level ten hard leather armor, all green-quality. Chaos equipment, ranked from lowest to highest, was: gray junk, white standard, green excellent, blue superior, red rare, purple epic, orange legendary, and gold mythic. Purple epic was a turning point—those items were few and powerful, owning one could vastly increase one's strength. But they were exceedingly rare and expensive; Chu Cheng had never seen one in his life. The best he’d seen was a pair of rare boots, once displayed by a specially recruited senior—extraordinary speed and jump bonuses, plus water-walking effects, dazzlingly strong.

He hadn’t bought anything yet, only added them to his cart. He needed to wait for his golden finger to awaken, see which talent aligned with his chosen profession; if not, he’d have to switch professions—and weapons. Buying now would be premature.

It wasn't long before, at a certain moment, his golden finger finally awakened. The orb of light in his mind exploded, and an indescribable power swept through him, as if he’d been thoroughly cleansed, reborn—his whole body brimmed with strength.

In that instant, clarity flooded his mind, and he opened his attribute panel at once.

Name: Chu Cheng.
Race: Human.
Level: 10.
Talent: Not yet chosen (1%).
Primary Attributes: Constitution 10+8, Strength 10+10+1, Agility 10+10, Perception 10+2, Intelligence 10, Spirit 10.
Secondary Attributes: Toughness 3, Reflex 4, Willpower 2, Life Regeneration +1/sec.

Health: 180 points.
Stamina: 180 points.
Mana: 100 points.
Melee Attack: 21+15 (slash), 21+14 (thrust).
Ranged Attack: None.
Physical Defense: 9 points.
Skill Resistance: 0.
Movement Speed: 110 points.
Skills: Dagger Basics, One-Handed Sword Mastery.
Life Professions: Novice Fishing, Novice First Aid, Novice Cooking.

His talent had awakened, but none was selected—what was that about? With a puzzled mind, Chu Cheng focused on it, and a light screen popped up before him, displaying:

“Notice: Please choose one of the following three talents as your personal talent within 60 seconds, or it will be randomly assigned.”

“Option One: Spatial Refraction LV1—forms a layer of spatial crystal wall around you, absorbing 30 points of all damage and reflecting it to up to ten enemies within a thirty-meter radius.”

“Note: Reflected damage is pure, ignoring physical defense and spell resistance, and is full value.”
“Note: Talent can be toggled on/off, reflection targets can be selected.”
“Note: This talent cannot be dispelled or sealed, priority level: domain.”

“Option Two: Rage Strike LV1—each attack applies a Rage Mark to the target, causing them to receive more damage from subsequent attacks for fifteen seconds.”

“Note: Each hit increases damage by twenty points; every hit refreshes Rage Mark duration, only applies to physical attacks.”
“Note: Rage Mark can be dispelled, priority level: domain.”

“Option Three: Mercy’s Release LV1—your attacks have a chance to apply a Destruction Mark to enemy units; this attack will deliver a devastating critical blow.”

“Note: 15% chance to apply Destruction Mark; critical hit deals 300% damage, applies only to physical attacks and related skills.”
“Note: Destruction Mark can be dispelled, priority level: domain.”