An's room was right at the back of the tavern, typical minimalist style, with only a bed and a desk chair aside from her work materials.
Oh, and two large wooden magical staffs that stood 1.8 meters tall.
If not for the runes on them, Chen Qi would have thought they were hammers capable of smashing his head.
The two found a place to sit down.
"Your inspiration is quite high, which means you have better talent in certain transcendent professions."
As An spoke, she fetched a form,
"But before that, I need to fill in your information."
"Okay."
Chen Qi sat down patiently.
Then, like an interviewer, An began to ask:
"Name?"
"Qi."
"Gender?"
"Male..."
Was it that hard to tell? Chen Qi was slightly stunned.
An suddenly realized something and explained:
"Well... I'm not questioning your gender, nor your appearance, nor do I want to check your gender...
In the capital, I've met many burly women and soft, cute men. Of course, I'm not referring to you... It's hard to describe..."
She was stuck again, not knowing how to explain her thoughts to Chen Qi.
"Simply put, you shouldn't easily assume someone's gender, I understand."
Chen Qi summarized for her.
In the transcendental world, that was not unusual. Sometimes, you couldn't even assume the other party's species.
"Yes, yes, that's a perfect summary... ahem. The topic has gone off track..."
An coughed a couple of times. Although she had considerable transcendent power, speaking to strangers still made her a bit nervous.
After asking the questions, she immediately redirected the conversation:
"Qi, according to my observation, your inspiration should be quite high.
This means that you are very suitable for choosing the 'Rule of the Book' and becoming a mage apprentice.
Our Shell Country officially also has some unassigned 'apprentice' occupation cards.
Normally, these occupation cards are allocated to outstanding spirit awakeners.
But given your high inspiration, according to the regulations, you can even get the apprentice occupation card in advance.
And to get the occupation card in advance, you just have to complete the tasks assigned by the government.
Of course, you won't be shortchanged of a single penny for these tasks."
Getting an occupation card in advance! And not deducting any task rewards!
One could say this was a secret benefit only for those with excellent talent in spirit awakening.
Spreading this secret benefit might even provoke others' envy.
Most people would need at least half a year to get a transcendent occupation card from Shell Country's official hands.
That's why she chose a private room to discuss this.
An silently waited, looking forward to seeing Chen Qi's shocked expression.
However, to her surprise, he showed no big reaction, instead looking thoughtful.
Another lousy profession... Chen Qi thought to himself.
An apprentice, a first-tier book phase occupation card, only slightly enhancing memory and increasing the comprehension of magical knowledge without any attached skills.
With an excellent magical staff and extraordinary inspiration, a first-tier apprentice could cast some weak spells.
It was a pretty weak transcendent profession in the early stages.
But undeniably, as a precursor profession to a mage, the apprentice had great future potential.
However, like a doctor apprentice, this profession required a lot of time and substantial knowledge accumulation in the early stages.
An had been noticed by transcendents since she was a child and had a vast knowledge reserve; that's why she became a novice mentor and a powerful mage at such a young age.
But for Chen Qi, choosing the apprentice path meant entering a school and spending a lot of time studying books.
In a world facing the threat of destruction.
By the time he graduated, the world might already be gone.
No, Chen Qi looked up at An.
Why the hesitation? Did I not explain clearly enough? An added:
"Don't worry, this advance occupation card doesn't come with additional costs.
On the contrary, if you perform well, you will receive extra nurturing resources.
If you can reach the second tier within half a year, we will provide you with a custom magic staff.
If you reach the third tier within three years, you can apply to go to our neighboring country, the White Tower Federation, where book-oriented individuals flourish, to learn more profound magic techniques!"
An described her journey, depicting it for Chen Qi in a future-oriented manner.
Chen Qi chuckled helplessly.
Everything comes with a price.
If he accepted Shell Country's occupation card, it meant he would officially become a part of Shell Country's system from then on.
He would follow the path Shell Country's government laid out for him.
If he didn't have the talent for Deep Sea Affinity or wasn't aware of the impending catastrophe in the New Sun World, this might have been a decent choice.
A relatively stable choice.
Got to think of a way to decline... Chen Qi pondered.
For now, though, there was indeed a good reason to refuse.
That was an important aspect of the transcendent profession system in the New Sun World:
The Rule of Uniqueness.
The transcendent system in New Sun was quite complex, with thirteen nature forms, and each occupation card typically had one, two, or even three nature forms.
Thus, there were a multitude of transcendent professions in its system.
Apprentice of the Book Phase, Travel Mage of the Lamp Book Phase, Herbalist of the Flower Cup Phase, Recruit of the Blade Phase, Forest Hunter of the Blade Flower Phase, and so on.
These professions didn't follow a simple linear progression; each advancement offered multiple choices.
But regarding advancement, from the second tier onwards, every Transcendent had to obey a rule called the 'Rule of Uniqueness.'
The Rule of Uniqueness dictated that from the second tier onwards, every profession had to have the chosen 'nature form.'
For example, a first-tier Doctor Apprentice didn't have to advance to a second-tier Doctor; they could become another advanced profession.
A Cup Phase Doctor Apprentice could advance to a second-tier Cup Phase Glutton and then to a third-tier Cup Book Phase Blood Flesh Mage.
Although advancing from Doctor Apprentice to Blood Flesh Mage deviated significantly from 'medicine,' looking quite bizarre,
since each profession involved the 'Cup' phase, it was a coherent transcendent path.
And this represented their Rule of Uniqueness as 'Cup.'
Of course, considering the skill synergies between professions, such advancement was generally avoided.
As a former game player, Chen Qi hadn't paid much attention to these settings.
But now, he had to take these things seriously.
In the transcendent world of New Sun, there was an old saying.
Every Transcendent, before stepping onto the transcendent path, must, at the starting point on the Sea of Spirit Trees, cut out their heart and place it there.
Finally, they must tie a string to their heart to continue forward.
The Rule of Uniqueness is the heartstring; to deviate from it meant certain loss.
Chen Qi organized his thoughts and declined tactfully,
"Teacher An, I lack the professional knowledge system and might not be suitable for adhering to the Rule of the Book..."
An's eyes slightly widened; she did not expect Chen Qi to refuse such luxurious benefits.
One couldn't waste talent for this reason... She urged again:
"You are a spirit awakener and have not reached the second tier yet. You have unlimited potential; there's no need to decide your rule too early.
Apprentice is a first-tier profession and matches well with many mage professions.
Your inspiration is high, which means you are a natural mage.
As for professional knowledge, you're still young and can learn. If you encounter difficulties, I can also tutor you..."
My mind is made up. Please don't persuade me anymore! Chen Qi coughed twice:
"I'll think about it...
By the way, Teacher An, apart from the apprentice, are there any other transcendent professions I can choose from?
Or any information about the cracks in transcendent occupation cards."
This was a rare opportunity... An showed a helpless expression, shook her head, and took out a notebook:
"Indeed there are. Recently, many fishermen have encountered cracks."