"So far you've passed on the first four options, haven't you?" Lilith asked to make sure while keeping her eyes on him and studying every change of expression on his face.
Bai Zemin hesitated for a long time before nodding. His eyes moved erratically as he scanned the second, third, and fourth options over and over again; these three had attracted his attention greatly.
Especially Heavy Warrior.
Even if he knew it probably wouldn't be the optimal, something inside him told him that it would probably suit better to his vicious battle style where he sought to destroy and crush his enemies in the shortest amount of time possible with overwhelming power.
It was extremely difficult for him to stick to his initial idea of choice. He would be lying if he said that he was not tempted to choose another job for his Second Order.
"If I could just pick and choose several jobs at the same time.... How good would that be?" He sighed and let himself fall onto his back. His body shivered gently from the bedsprings of the mattress and his gaze focused on the luxurious chandelier in the center of the room hanging from the white ceiling.
"Pffft..." Lilith almost laughed when she heard his muttering and couldn't help but look at him dumbfounded as she said with a big smile, "If such a thing were possible, then probably the universe would have already been destroyed by some extraordinary monster before you or I were born.... Besides, do you think it's possible to walk at the same time on two completely different paths located in opposite places?"
At first, Bai Zemin felt that what Lilith said made a lot of sense. After all, existences at the level of the eight leaders of Higher Factions or even beings at the level of Lilith herself who possessed at least one Firmament Fragment already possessed the power to annihilate an entire world; so if they could choose several jobs for each Order they advanced everything would probably be destroyed in a careless move. But after hearing her last words, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Of course, walking two opposite paths at the same time was impossible. How was anyone supposed to do such a thing?
In the end, he sat back down cross-legged and calmly said, "All right, let's continue."
"That's the spirit I like to see in you." Lilith nodded with a satisfied expression. "Since you rejected the previous options, then something inside you must be guiding you to the only one still viable. Isn't it?"
He didn't respond with words and simply nodded.
"Since your instinct is telling you to do something, then just do it without hesitation~" Lilith advised with a smile that an older sister gives her little brother as she guides him through life. "Besides, since you are willing to let go of such powerful jobs, it can only mean that somehow or other you firmly believe that the option you have in mind is not only the right one for you but will also be the one that will lead you to victory. Right?"
Bai Zemin took a deep breath and nodded with a serious expression, "Yeah."
"Blood Mystic, huh..." Lilith whispered softly with a slight frown as she looked at the fifth and final option available to Bai Zemin: "The word mystic is related to mysticism. The default definition of a mystic person is one who aspires to achieve or who believes to have experienced the union or contact of the soul with divinity.... I must say that's a pretty interesting name for a job aimed at an existence that wishes to advance to the Second Order."
"I know nothing of other worlds but here on Earth, Mystics are beings with great magical powers and whose skills have always been mysterious." Bai Zemin pointed and said gravely, "Besides, since this fifth option has the word 'Blood' in it, I can get some idea of what awaits me. I am at least 70% sure that even if this job is not exceptionally powerful, it will be the one that will lead me to where I want to go."
Each choice of job before advancing to the next Order meant a new path. All these paths link to each other to guide an existence to a certain point, and a divergence from the main path would cause that destination to change completely.
For example: If Bai Zemin were to choose another job instead of Blood Berserker back then, the advancement options he would receive this time would be very different from the ones he received because the path he would have walked on would have been completely different from the one he had walked on up to this point.
A single change, a small slip or oversight, and everything would change in its entirety.
Lilith nodded with a smile brimming with pride and said in a complicated voice, "You have matured a lot, Bai Zemin."
Bai Zemin gently closed his eyes and a faint smile grew on his face as he said softly, "I wonder about that."
Back then, during the early days of the apocalypse, while Bai Zemin's choices were mostly calculated with a clear head and always based on what he believed was for the best, there were many times when he went crazy and his decisions were affected.
The fact that he didn't get carried away in this moment and didn't choose the option that would give him the most power showed how much his character had grown over the course of 47-48 days. Lilith was naturally proud as she was well aware that she had played what was probably the most important role in such a growth stage.
"I hope we can teach each other for a lot of time more." He opened his eyes after remembering the not so distant but strangely remote past and smiled.
Lilith's eyes glittered unnaturally when she heard this and she nodded with a beautiful smile: "Of course. There are many things I want to teach you, many things I want you to teach me, many things I would still like to live.... You may not know it but let me tell you that you are currently one of the only two people I consider a true friend."
Bai Zemin chuckled and said in an understanding voice, "Well, I think you already know this but I'll say it anyway.... You are my first friend, one of only two friends I have, and my trust in you is on the same level as my trust in my family."
"That other friend is that woman named Shangguan Bing Xue, isn't she?" Lilith asked with a smile, to which Bai Zemin replied with a nod.
"Indeed. She is." He replied calmly. "Isn't destiny ironic? The person I least thought I'd get along with and who I thought I'd end up killing at some point, but in the end turned out not to be as bad as she seemed."
Lilith chuckled and pointed out, "Many times it's best not to judge a book by its cover.... Who knows? Maybe we'll find ourselves in for some pleasant surprises after we see the contents."
"The irony here is that you and I are two very anti-social characters." Bai Zemin laughed out loud, releasing for the first time in a long time the mental tension that filled him every day. "Isn't it sad to have only two friends?"
"Sad?" Lilith shook her head and smiled gently, "I don't think so. Quality over quantity."
Bai Zemin blinked a couple of times, and after a moment, he nodded, "Quality over quantity.... Bing Xue told me something similar the night before."
Just as the two were chatting, someone knocked on the door of the room and the two immediately fell silent.
"Bai Zemin, are you still sleeping?"
A voice came from the other side and Bai Zemin was quick to identify the other party.
"Bing Xue? I am awake. Do you need anything?" he replied calmly and looked at Lilith to indicate to her not to make any sound.
Lilith nodded and obediently sat there without any mischief, which relieved Bai Zemin secretly as he somehow expected her not to behave well.
"Do you mind if I come in? We still need to discuss the matter of last night's loot." Shangguan Bing Xue asked from the outside. Her voice was slightly lazy, which indicated that she had probably also just woken up not long ago.
Bai Zemin suddenly realized that they still had to study the previous day's loot. However, considering the current situation, it was not good to let Shangguan Bing Xue enter the room.
After thinking about it for a moment he replied calmly, "I'm not properly dressed right now. How about waiting for me downstairs or in your room? I'll be there in like 20 minutes."
Outside the room, Shangguan Bing Xue was wearing a one-piece dress that reached just below her knees and despite being considerably loose-fitting it could not really cover the delightful curves of her body.
Hearing Bai Zemin's reply, she frowned slightly and unconsciously asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
20 minutes? Why would he take so long to get dressed properly?
Bai Zemin's brain flashed with lightning speed and in an instant, he found an answer.
"I still need to study the records of last night's battle. As you know, I got a lot of stat points and I need to reconfirm my status window and stuff."
Outside the room, Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and the slight frown on her face disappeared as she said calmly, "I see. In that case, I'll wait for you in the living room."
"All right." Bai Zemin replied from inside.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at the door and somehow she felt there was something wrong but couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her feminine instinct told her that things were not as simple as they seemed but she shook her head after a few seconds and left without saying much more.
Hearing the light footsteps clearly of a woman walking further and further away, Bai Zemin turned to look at Lilith and said calmly, "Then, I will choose Blood Mystic as the job for my Second Order."
"Okay. Do it and let's see how crazy the evolution requirements are this time." Lilith laughed softly and Bai Zemin rolled his eyes.
The matter of the evolution requirements was what was bothering him the most at the moment and to be honest he didn't want to see them. Unfortunately, it was something he couldn't escape so in the end he ended up letting out a big heavy sigh and finally chose the fifth and final option.
Blood Mystic!
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[You have chosen as your second advancement job 'Blood Mystic'.]
[The one who uses the power of its enemies against them and the one capable of controlling extremely strong bloodlines and bonds that even death can't break, that is the Blood Mystic. If you can master the skills of the unique job Blood Mystic, your enemies will be your greatest ally and your allies will be your strength. However, to be able to use the power that does not belong to you, you must first prove that you are worthy of going against the universe and its very laws.]
[Unique time mission has been activated. You must complete the following conditions within 1 year from now on.]
[Kill Second Order existence single-handedly using Blood Manipulation: 0 / 2000.]
[Evolves Blood Manipulation to Third Order: Incomplete.]
[Kill Third Order existence single-handedly: 0 / 100.]
[Third Order Soul Stone: 0 / 10.]
[Get control over China: Incomplete.]
[You will not be able to advance to Blood Mystic if you do not complete the unique time mission within the set time limit, and you will be able to choose another job at that time.]
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"Oh well, I was already expecting something like this." Bai Zemin nodded with a refreshing voice and calmly stood up.
"..." Lilith looked at him with wide eyes and her heart filled with commotion as she observed the absurdly high requirements that Bai Zemin needed to fulfill this time.
Seeing how he acted so calm, she asked in a slightly stiff voice, ".... Do you really think that way?"
"Hmm?" Bai Zemin walked to the window and looked out. The sun and rainbow were shining high in the sky, illuminating his handsome face as he said with a big smile, "Haha, of course I do."
".... For some reason I feel like this is the calm before the storm," Lilith muttered under her breath and unconsciously turned away from Bai Zemin.
While he had never been a big fan of video games, Bai Zemin had played his share of them. However, in no RPG he had ever played before did he see or even hear anything as crazy as GMs putting such stupid requirements in there.
But, hey! This is reality, everything is reasonable, right? RIGHT?!
Oh well, at least I don't have to kill a Third Order in one hit. Bai Zemin thought with a refreshing smile.
Fuck your mother! Bai Zemin gritted his teeth in his mind and the more he thought about it the angrier he got.
There was absolutely no good point in all this bullshit! Who the hell dares to screw him up like this?! The culprit must at least lose some skin or else he won't be able to die happily!
Lilith saw that the refreshing smile on his face didn't stay on for too long as his face rotted and he ran towards the balcony while screaming skyward:
"Shit! You want to kill me!! I, your grandfather, challenge you to a death fight you little bastard who hides behind a shitty name!"
And so, the world exploded.
The end.
* * * * * * *
A/N: Just in case but... It is not the end >.>
Thank you very much to everyone who voted for Blood Warlock with their Golden Tickets! <3