Chapter 100 - 99: Awakening Specialty

Chapter 100: Chapter 99: Awakening Specialty

This was Gaode’s first time seeing such a massive Earth Vein Creature, and also his first time witnessing a 2nd Ring Earth Vein Creature with his own eyes.

He felt both shocked and somewhat emotional. The shock came from the incomprehensible size and strength of the Purple Worm, creating an exaggerated visual impact. It felt quite like a sci-fi movie playing out in reality.

His emotional sigh, however, was due to the obvious and fatal flaws of such a giant Earth Vein Creature. Because of their massive size, their movement speed was incredibly slow, making them highly conspicuous targets. Consequently, they were basically unable to dodge a Magic Attack and could only choose to endure it head-on.

If they could withstand it, they were invincible—if you couldn’t break their defense, what could you do to them? But if they couldn’t, they would end up like this Purple Worm, being toyed with at will by Mage Viersa, who was also at the 2nd Ring.

This thing looked terrifying, but its combat prowess among 2nd Ring Earth Vein Creatures was likely at the very bottom.

The sudden appearance of the Purple Worm resulted in the deaths of five people, including one unlucky Mage Apprentice. However, this did not cause much of a stir. The people of this world possessed an absolute numbness to death that Gaode’s past life completely lacked. Human lives were treated as worthless as grass.

Gaode still harbored some complex emotions in his heart. A soul from an era of order ultimately could not achieve such indifference toward life in a short period of time. Yet, Gaode found that he was gradually blending into this atmosphere, slowly learning to accept this environment. People always had to adapt to their surroundings.

Following that, the guards first hastily reorganized the temporary campsite, which had fallen into utter chaos due to the Purple Worm’s appearance. Several other guards stepped forward, dissecting the Purple Worm along the cracks in the keratinous armor of its corpse.

Half an hour later, the corpses of the five unfortunate souls swallowed into the Purple Worm’s belly were dug out by the guards. Despite being inside its stomach for less than an hour, their bodies had already been corroded beyond recognition. It wasn’t surprising; considering the Purple Worm’s stomach could corrode and digest Leather Armor, human flesh didn’t stand a chance.

After the guards simply retrieved the belongings from their bodies, they found an empty plot of land, dug a pit, and buried them all together. As for the recovered belongings, they would be returned to the families of the deceased once they went back. This was already considered quite humane. Since they couldn’t bring back the bodies, returning their belongings at least left their families with a memento.

Harvest Month, 9th.

Last night’s accident did not affect the continuation of the land reclamation. They still proceeded in batches, systematically clearing out the Earth Vein Creatures dwelling in the dense forests on both sides of the official road. Everyone was already thoroughly familiar with the entire process.

"We are so far from the location of the Hogan Earth Vein, so under normal circumstances, a 2nd Ring Earth Vein Creature shouldn’t have appeared. We’re lucky Mage Viersa is leading the team this time; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been as simple as just five people dying," Maciej, a rather talkative Mage, sighed to the group during a lull before they spotted any new Earth Vein Creatures.

"Mage Viersa is inherently a Combat Mage, and it has been over a decade since she succeeded in Rising Ring to the 2nd Ring. That’s why she could take down a 2nd Ring Earth Vein Creature so effortlessly." Whenever he talked about Viersa, his face was full of admiration.

"Combat Mage? Why is there such a distinction, and what is it based on?"

This was already the sixth day of land reclamation. The relationships within their temporary team had grown much more familiar. Hearing Maciej take the initiative to speak, someone immediately picked up the conversation and prompted a new topic.

Maciej didn’t mind imparting some knowledge that was considered "common sense" to him. "It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it. This is generally something you only come into contact with after Rising Ring to the 1st Ring," he explained. Aside from him, everyone else in the team was a Mage Apprentice.

"Every time a Mage succeeds in Rising Ring, they will randomly Awaken a special ability.

"This special ability can target a single Magic, only enhancing the power of that specific Magic.

"It can target a certain type of Magic. For example, obtaining certain buffs when Casting Defense School Magic, enhancing the effects of Summoning Magic, or boosting the power of all Damage Magic. All of these are possible.

"It can also be a universal enhancement applicable to all Magic, such as reducing the Casting Time of all Magic, or increasing the Casting Distance of Magic.

"Alternatively, it could be an enhancement targeted at oneself, such as increasing resistance to certain Elements, improving reflexes, boosting proficiency with a certain type of weapon, or even a simple and crude increase of one’s own Mana and Spiritual Power.

"It might even enhance a craft, such as increasing the success rate or speed of crafting Alchemy Items...

"It could also provide some bizarre auxiliary effects, like accelerating your cultivation speed...

"Beyond that, it can directly allow you to master a bizarre piece of Magic.

"In short, special abilities that you can or cannot imagine are all likely to appear during Awakening.

"These incredibly diverse, varied, yet extremely miraculous special abilities are collectively known as specializations.

"There is no universally accepted standard for judging the high or low of a specialization’s Same Tier, after all, finding two identical specializations in the world is exceedingly difficult.

"However, based on the effects of the specializations, they can be divided into multiple categories.

"Namely, Combat Specialization, Creation Specialization, Super Magic Specialization, auxiliary specialization, and unique specialization.

"Among them, specializations that can significantly enhance a Mage’s combat prowess are categorized under Combat Specialization.

"Once someone Awakens a Combat Specialization, studies multiple Damage Magic, and excels in combat, they can be called a Combat Mage."

Although these were merely trivial common sense to Maciej, they were extremely precious knowledge for the Wild Mages in the team who had yet to touch the realm of official Mages. Everyone listened with keen interest.

"Every time a Mage undergoes Rising Ring, they can obtain a random specialization. As a 2nd Ring Mage, it is said that both of the specializations Mage Viersa Awakened were Combat Specializations," Maciej continued. "Therefore, even within the Law Enforcement Team, she is a highly ranked Combat Mage."

Hearing this, the crowd finally understood why Maciej had sighed in relief that Viersa was leading the team.

Someone in the team suddenly voiced the very questions Gaode was also pondering. "You mentioned that the Awakening of specializations is random; does that mean it relies entirely on luck?

"Wouldn’t that mean it’s possible for a Wild Mage to Awaken a specialization far superior to that of a genius Mage?

"Or perhaps a genius Mage might Awaken a useless specialization? Wouldn’t that heavily depress those Mages with outstanding talent?"

Maciej shook his head and explained in detail. "Saying it’s random is definitely not wrong, but it’s not entirely random; it should be called pseudo-random.

"It’s certainly impossible to control what specialization you Awaken, which is why it is considered random.

"However, the Awakened specialization is also linked to the knowledge and Magic a Mage has mastered, as well as the Guiding Technique and Meditation Technique they cultivate."

"How exactly are they linked?" another person couldn’t help but ask, still unable to grasp the specific concept of specializations.

Maciej showed no signs of impatience as he continued. "To give a few of the simplest examples: if the Magic you’ve mastered is entirely utility-based and you haven’t mastered any Damage Magic, then you basically won’t Awaken a Combat Specialization.

"If you have mastered multiple Defense School Magic and possess your own unique understanding of their application, there is a very high probability you will Awaken a Super Magic Specialization for Defense School Magic.

"Alternatively, if you are an outstanding Alchemist and your mastery of Alchemy knowledge far exceeds that of other subjects, it is highly likely you will Awaken a Creation Specialization.

"In short, based on experience, there is a consensus: the more numerous and profound the Magic a Mage masters, the broader their knowledge, and the stronger their Mana and Spiritual Power, the higher the possibility of Awakening a powerful specialization of a certain type.

"Therefore, while it is random, it actually falls within a controllable range of randomness.

"Those genius Mages far surpass ordinary Mages in both the knowledge and Magic they have mastered, so in ninety-nine percent of cases, the specializations they Awaken will be exceptionally powerful."

"So that’s how it is," everyone present thought, not just the person who asked the question.

Everyone grew thoughtful, subconsciously beginning to consider what kind of specialization they would Awaken after Rising Ring to become a 1st Ring Mage based on their own circumstances.