Chapter 204: The Strange State of Jhin, the Virtuoso

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: The Strange State of Jhin, the Virtuoso

Ella looked down at the tail wagging happily.

An image of the two stray dogs downstairs wagging their tails and begging Lance for scraps instantly popped into her head.

In an instant, a powerful sense of shame rushed to her head.

The Wolf Girl grabbed her tail and dashed into the house.

BANG!

The wooden door slammed shut.

The blast of air forced through the crack in the door ruffled the hair on Lance’s forehead.

Lance gave a dry laugh and rubbed his nose in resignation.

’Oh well. Since I can’t borrow a mirror, I’ll just find a clear puddle or a clean glass window when I go out later. Then I can see what’s changed about my appearance.’

’I should give Ella some time to cool down.’

Just as he turned to go downstairs, the main door on the first floor was pushed open.

Rein walked in from outside, leaning on his crutch.

The old veteran looked up and saw Lance standing at the top of the stairs. His very first words stunned Lance, freezing him in place.

"The Summer Crown ceremony has started early."

"Pack your things tonight. You’ll leave for White River City first thing tomorrow morning to register for the Heroic Spirit Baptism."

"Early? Wasn’t there still a whole month before it was supposed to start?"

Lance hurried down the stairs, his mind full of questions.

His original plan had been to use that one-month gap to get some solid training in the Underground City.

He wanted to master the Professional Specialty and Essence Traits he had just obtained and get used to the rhythm of combat as a Professional.

He never imagined that his first foray into the Underground City would be a dive straight into the high-end games.

Rein saw his concern and explained.

"Plans can never keep up with changes."

"I suspect this sudden change might be related to that confrontation you and Chaos had in the Star Realm. The will of the gods can often trigger turmoil in the Material Realm."

"Things like this have happened before."

"But you don’t need to overthink it. If the sky falls, the bigwigs in the Royal Capital will be there to hold it up."

"The first week of the Summer Crown is basically a time for the various elite squads to probe one another and gather intelligence."

"You can use that week-long window to go to White River City, get the baptism done, and then hurry back."

The old veteran sighed.

"The truly brutal competition happens in the last two weeks."

"But this sudden development is very disadvantageous for you personally. The biggest problem is that you won’t have time to form your own Underground City team."

According to Rein’s original plan, that one-month grace period was full of possibilities.

In the first week, he would have let Lance get acclimated to the environment of the Underground City’s outer areas.

That place was like a combination of the Material Realm and the Star Realm, fraught with danger.

During the remaining three weeks, Rein could have used the connections he had built up at the Veterans’ Guild to find him a few experienced and well-coordinated teammates.

By forming a logically structured combat squad, they could have participated in the Summer Crown at the Underground City outside Gray Rock Town.

With the right tactics, Lance would have had a great chance of winning an honorary title in his first attempt.

After all, in this Underground City, teamwork offered a much higher survival and success rate than going at it alone.

"It’s alright, Uncle Rein."

Lance shook his head, his tone relaxed.

"My original plan was to explore the Underground City alone anyway."

In Lance’s view, a proper team had to be built on a foundation of absolute trust.

With a hastily thrown-together team, backstabbing was a common occurrence when a crisis hit in the Underground City. It was better not to form a team at all.

Besides, he had far too many secrets.

Whether it was his Talent for resurrection or his overpowered abilities, exposing even a hint of them during a team battle would attract huge trouble.

Rein was slightly taken aback by Lance’s words.

But the old veteran quickly made the connection to the True Dragon Species Essence Lance had just acquired.

’Perhaps the Essence Lance condensed came with some powerful ’Lone Wolf’ buff, allowing him to be stronger when acting alone,’ Rein guessed internally.

In the circle of Professionals, such lone wolves who refused to team up due to their own unique traits were not uncommon.

With that thought, Rein nodded in understanding and didn’t press the issue.

"Since you’ve got a plan, just go at your own pace."

Gray Rock Town was not too far from White River City.

The most reliable route was to travel a stretch by land and then transfer to a river-faring merchant ship heading downstream.

If all went smoothly, he would reach his destination by tomorrow evening.

Lance was actually looking forward to the trip.

He had been in this world for so long, yet he had been cooped up in this small border town the whole time.

He had heard that in a truly large city, everything from the prevalence of Alchemy and the level of luxurious consumption to the local customs and street life was a world apart from Gray Rock Town.

Night gradually enveloped the small town.

Lance returned to the quiet attic on the second floor and lit a faint kerosene lamp.

He sat on the wooden bed, which was covered with a coarse linen sheet. He remembered that he still had a special Heroic Profession to deal with.

Jhin, the Virtuoso.

Unlike the complicated and strict ritual requirements for a Main Profession, the process of taking on a sub-profession was much simpler.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and directly contacted the Star Realm in his mind, trying to start the initiation process.

However, the moment the ritual started, everything came to an abrupt halt.

He received a notification from the panel.

[Initiating Profession: Jhin, the Virtuoso...]

Lance’s eyes shot open, filled with confusion.

The guidance he had just felt was identical to when he’d taken on the Pale Guard Profession. He clearly sensed that a strange star belonging exclusively to [Jhin, the Virtuoso] had been successfully drawn into his body.

But just as that star tried to merge with his Source Melting Furnace, Lance felt as if his body was a cup already filled with water.

It was packed full of the Pale Guard, with no room for anything else.

But the strangest part was that the star representing [Jhin, the Virtuoso] hadn’t dissipated due to the failed initiation. Instead, it remained in a very peculiar state.

Lance immediately opened his panel to find the reason.

A line of red text solved his confusion.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t met the prerequisites, but that his current soul capacity was simply too small.

’Come to think of it,’ he thought, ’searching through the continent’s history, I’ve never heard of any Level 1 rookie taking on a sub-profession right away.’

’It seems Flora’s analogy back then wasn’t quite right.’

A sub-profession wasn’t just dye; it also contained immense rules and would genuinely occupy space in one’s soul.

Therefore, the sub-profession [Jhin, the Virtuoso] could not be forcibly taken on. He had to wait until his Main Profession Level increased, expanding his soul’s capacity to a certain point before it could be accommodated.

But it wasn’t as if he had no way to solve this right now.

Cecilia’s [Spiritual-Desire Coexistence: Source Material Harmonization] could completely help him shoulder the soul capacity required for [Jhin, the Virtuoso].

However, after carefully weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Lance decisively abandoned the idea.

[Jhin, the Virtuoso] was an extremely rare and special sub-profession that did not cause wear and tear on the soul.

Cecilia’s research Trait, on the other hand, could help offset the cost of soul-wear once when taking on a sub-profession.

Using such a precious opportunity on a safe sub-profession would be a colossal waste.

He could just wait until he encountered a sub-profession that caused severe soul-wear and then play this trump card.

However, what Lance found incredibly novel was that the Jhin, the Virtuoso Profession was truly bizarre in an indescribable way.

The Professional star that had fallen into his body had not disappeared.

Lance could only find a very abstract word in his mind to describe the current situation.

The incomplete Profession, [Jhin, the Virtuoso], had unreasonably "stuck" itself onto his Main Profession of Pale Guard.

The feeling was a bit like when he drank milk tea at a cold drink shop in his past life, and the barista sprayed a thick cap of whipped cream on top.

It clearly exceeded the cup’s internal capacity, piling up over the rim without completely dissolving into the milk tea below.

The Jhin, the Virtuoso Profession was currently in this semi-independent state.

Lance closed his eyes and sensed carefully. He could perceive that this star was emitting some extremely subtle fluctuation; it was indeed already having some kind of Effect.

But he couldn’t see exactly what part was being affected.

He had read so many books on the Extraordinary Domain, but he had never heard of any Profession exhibiting such a roguish state of limbo. It was completely illogical.

However, Lance was certain that its effect was related to fate. And wasn’t the upcoming Heroic Spirit Baptism he was about to undergo also related to the fate of a Heroic Spirit?

Perhaps then he would find out what its specific effect was.

...

「In the Royal Capital of the Iris Kingdom, within Princess Elvira’s private training grounds.」

The wide field was paved with countless Alchemy Metal Blocks.

This metal ground could perfectly withstand the direct impact of Ether, preventing it from collapsing during daily high-intensity training.

At this moment, a young woman holding a Cross Longsword stood in the center of the training grounds.

She had long, golden hair as brilliant as the sun, tied back neatly with a Blue ribbon.

She wore a lightweight suit of interwoven silver and white armor, including a Battle Skirt. The edges of her Chest Armor were engraved with the shadow pattern of an Iris Flower, representing the Royal Family.

The young woman’s appearance was exceptionally refined, her features a masterpiece a sculptor would devote a lifetime to carving.

Her snow-white skin had a healthy reddish glow, and her emerald-green eyes shone with determination.

It was well-known that the Red Dragon Bloodline provided an extra bonus to charisma; successive monarchs had all possessed a charm that was unparalleled in the world.

She was the princess of the Iris Kingdom, Elvira Pendragon.

And standing opposite Elvira was a robust, white-haired old man dressed in plain gray clothes.

The old man held only a training Blunt Short Sword in his hand, his posture casual.

This old man was the Royal Legendary Sword Saint responsible for instructing the Princess in Martial Arts.

"Your breathing needs to be steadier, Your Highness."

"You have only just stepped through the threshold of a Professional. Your Ethereal Melting Furnace is still in its adaptive phase."

The old man spoke, offering on-the-spot guidance as he walked around slowly.

"You need to learn to control the release and retraction of your Power the moment you swing your sword. Don’t let excess Ether Energy be wasted in the air."

"Understood, Teacher."

Elvira responded softly.

In the next second, a formidable surge of Ether Energy erupted from her body, unreservedly coating the Cross Longsword.

A high-pressure airflow, visible to the naked eye, immediately coiled around the slender blade, letting out a piercing hiss.

The young woman’s long legs suddenly pushed off, shattering the air beneath her feet as her figure turned into a golden afterimage, shooting straight toward the old man opposite her.

"Watch out, Teacher!"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The explosive sound of metal clashing rang out in rapid succession across the training grounds.

In an extremely short time, Elvira had unleashed four consecutive slashes as fast as a thunderclap.

The old man raised his Short Sword with one hand, precisely parrying every single slash.

But he could clearly feel that the blade in the young woman’s hands was growing heavier and heavier.

This was the special Specialty granted by the Pandragon Royal Swordsmanship: [Glorious Linked Slash].

This Specialty allowed the user’s continuous attacks to stack an additional ten percent of force with each successive strike.

Combined with the immense, surging Power that completely belied Elvira’s petite frame, the stacked might of these four slashes was nothing short of terrifying.