Chapter 403
Whilst feeling the familiar sensation of weightlessness, Meng Zhihan found herself back in the game once more.
However unlike before when she was immediately immersed within the game world, a new cutscene appeared before her view this time around.
The intro animation began with same old cutscene which depicted how all first-beta players' was summoned into the realm of Seigües.
However, compared to its previous iterations, this particular cutscene played out much faster.
As usual, the scene depicted players being summoned one by one as they gradually built their cities from the ground up and expanded their forces. This was shown in just a few frames as the narrative quickly moved to recent events, highlighting the arrival of the fourth-beta players.
Next came the expansion of the Chosen City, followed by the exploration efforts of the fourth-beta players and the onset of the underground war...
Various cutscenes of certain noteworthy players in action were once again turned into beautifully crafted cinematic scenes, accompanied by a stirring music soundtrack that filled Meng Zhihan's view.
Then, as these scenes unfolded, a deep voice laden with ancient vicissitudes began narrating alongside the advancing cinematic intro:
"With the help of the Chosen Ones, the Elvenkind finally regained their foothold in the realm of Seigües..."
"As their goddess's power steadily recovers, the civilization of the elves began to thrive anew, with the name of the Goddess of Life rapidly spreading across the land of Seigües..."
"—Yet, a new crisis is brewing across the continent."
"With the resurgence of mana, a myriad of mysterious existences are awakening one after another, heralding the onset of a tumultuous age..."
"In this upcoming new era, only those with considerable strength can truly forge a legend for themselves."
The cinematic scene then focused on inside the goddess's temple, wherein a male and a female player knelt before the statue of the Goddess Evé in devout prayer.
Their reverent voices echoed within Meng Zhihan's ears:
"Praise be thy nature, praise be thy life, praise be thy great Goddess Eve!"
"We are willing to become the sharpest sword and the strongest shield, to faithfully protect thee! To protect... our homeland!"
"Please oh merciful goddess... grant us even greater strength!"
Then, as their prayers concluded, a brilliant light enveloped them, making them both radiate with a dazzling glow.
When the light eventually faded, the two were adorned in magnificent, stylish gear and exuded a much more prominent appearance.
One wore an impressive mage robe, whilst the other were adorned in an imposing warrior equipment.
What followed was a highlighted line of golden text appearing across the center of the screen:
"Silver Jobclass Advancement, now officially launched!"
The cutscene finally ended there as Meng Zhihan promptly returned to her room inside her abode in Chosen City.
However, she remained still in her bed as her mind drifted back to the scene where the impressive appearance of the two elves, after advancing their job class, continued to linger within her mind.
"Those two were wearing an equipment I haven't seen before...and their craftsmanship looks to be even more intricate and beautiful! Could this be the new set of 'uniforms' only available to Silver-ranks?"
She murmured excitedly to herself, with her eyes brightening considerably.
In the game, the term "uniform" usually referred to the epic purple-grade equipment sold in the exchange store.
These items were not only beautifully crafted and cost-effective but also came in a coordinated unified appearance.
They were commonly seen as the standard top-level equipment for players at their peak, hence the nickname "graduation uniforms."
"Those definitely must be for the Silver-rank..."
Meng Zhihan speculated.
With that, she finally jumped out of bed, quickly put on her equipment, and, without waiting for her friend Yuanjuan, who seemed to have not logged in yet, rushed out of her house and headed straight for the Temple of Life.
Nearly two hours had passed back on earth, and dawn had already arrived in the land of Seigües.
The update had only been implemented moments ago, yet many players had already awakened in Chosen City.
As Meng Zhihan approached the vicinity of the temple, she immediately noticed a crowd gathering at its entrance, looking around with curious and expectant expressions.
There was no doubt within Meng Zhihan's mind that these people were likely waiting to see the players who had already completed their job class advancement.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a slight sense of superiority, as a small smile appeared upon her lips.
With her head held high and each step radiating grace, she entered the Temple of Life.
She had long prepared for her job class advancement and had already saved up the 30,000 contribution points needed in her account.
After walking deeper into the Temple, she knelt on one knee before the goddess's statue, as Meng Zhihan took a deep breath and began to pray earnestly:
Praise be thy nature, praise be thy life and praise be thy great Goddess Eve!
This new verse was a slightly modified one from before, designed to conceal the goddess's true identity as the World Tree.
As Meng Zhihan inwardly prayed, a soft light emanated from the goddess's statue, enveloping her body.
Her consciousness then blurred momentarily, and she found herself in the character creation scene as the system's melodious voice resonated within her mind:
[❗ ]
[ Congratulations! You are eligible for Jobclass Advancement! Now Initiating Secondary Advancement Ceremony.]
[Your current Jobclass is "Druid." Please choose your secondary advancement path.]
[Cost for this advancement: 30,000 Contribution Points.]
[Available secondary advancement paths for Druid are:]
[Magic Specialization, Feral Specialization, Healing Specialization, Control Specialization.]
[Please select your specialization path.]
Secondary advancement?
Specialization paths?
Meng Zhihan was a bit surprised.
Although the users on the forums had previously speculated that the new update might involve further specialization of each jobclass, Meng Zhihan found herself hesitating now that it was her turn to choose.
Quite frankly, she wasn't quite sure which one to pick.
After a moment of thought, she began to carefully examine the descriptions of the specializations available for secondary advancement.
[Specialization Path: This allows you to focus on a particular development direction within your jobclass. All skills in this direction shall receive a significant enhancement percentage (30%) and skill proficiency gains would be doubled, and you may also randomly acquire a unique talent skill.]
[Talent skills can be cast instantly and consume half the usual MP cost.]
Skills that can be Insta-cast ?
Moreover, it will only consume half MP?
Why, this... sounds really powerful!
Meng Zhihan's eyes lit up.
But wait... a talent skill chosen at random?
Ugh, why does it have to involve luck again...
Meng Zhihan sighed.
She continued thoroughly reading the details, scrolling down through the descriptions of each specialization path:
[Magic Specialization: Enhances the druid's ranged magic skills, while boosting your spell effectiveness. This path is ideal for ranged magical DPS.]
[Feral Specialization: Enhances the druid's shapeshifting abilities, while boosting one's melee combat skills. Ideal for players who value melee DPS and tanking.]
[Healing Specialization: Enhances the druid's healing skills, while improving its effectiveness. Ideal for ranged healing.]
[Control Specialization: Enhances the druid's crowd control abilities, while improving one's control skills. This path is ideal for support roles.]
They're all quite tempting...
Meng Zhihan felt a bit conflicted.
However, all her time spent playing the game hadn't been for nothing.
After some thought, she first ruled out Magic Specialization.
With the presence of mages, she felt that druids, no matter how strong they became, still wouldn't be able to compete with mages in terms of magic ranged DPS.
Next, she eliminated Control Specialization.
This path seemed to be purely for support, and since Meng Zhihan rarely joined any teams, choosing this would not be very cost-effective for her.
That left her with either Feral Specialization or Healing Specialization.
After a moment of indecision, Meng Zhihan ultimately chose the path, Feral Specialization.
She chose this simply because half of her current skills were related to shapeshifting, such as the skills [Nature's Whisper] and [Cat's Grace.]
These skills would definitely be enhanced if she chose this particular specialization path.
As for the healing specialization path...
Unfortunately, even at level 40, she hadn't learned any healing spells at all so this one was obvious a no for her.
Additionally, if she excelled in shapeshifting, it would also benefit her forging abilities, as many elven blacksmithing techniques required a certain level of physical strength.
Finally, after much deliberation, Meng Zhihan made her decision with determination.
"I choose Feral Specialization!"
After she selected her path, her account's contribution points, which totaled over 50,000, instantly decreased by 30,000.
Then, a mystical light enveloped her body once again.
Meng Zhihan felt a gentle, sacred power entering her body, flowing through every part of her being.
As this warm energy circulated, her entire body began to heat up, and her strength began to surged forth in an instant...
[❗]
[Jobclass Advancement Successful.]
[Congratulations, Chosen One Meng Zhihan, for becoming an Archdruid specializing in the Feral Path!]
— 403 —
[ SILVER JOBCLASS ADVANCEMENT ]
Authors Note: The term "Archdruid" is an honorary title for Silver-ranked Druids.
NEXT
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