The warm water cascaded down my body, washing away the grime and sweat that clung to my skin like a second layer.
The sensation was oddly soothing, yet my mind refused to quiet down.
"Selena... who is she, really?" The name was unfamiliar. Someone of her caliber should have been known to me.
Yet she given me a Revitalizing Elixir like it was candy.
'Just how wealthy was she?'
If anyone saw a farmer's son casually drinking one, their eyes would pop out from sheer shock.
I exhaled slowly, a wry smile tugging at my lips.
"This is frustrating."
The steam curled around me, as if whispering secrets I had yet to uncover.
The Revitalizing Elixir was a natural treasure, something nobles hoarded, locked away in vaults, and fought over in bloody conflicts.
Celest was the currency used across Thalvoria, accepted by humans, elves, and dwarves alike.
Named after Celestia itself, it was backed by the strongest factions, making it the only currency that truly held power.
With the game's exchange rate of one Celest to ten dollars… this vial was worth more than I dared to count.
But the cost wasn't the real issue. For the wealthy, money was never a problem.
The real challenge was its sheer rarity, a treasure so scarce that even the richest struggled to obtain it.
Its healing potency was said to rival the legendary Elixir of Everwhisper, the sacred elven medicine known for its limitless restorative power.
But unlike the Everwhisper Elixir, which could heal wounds endlessly without losing effectiveness, the Revitalizing Elixir had a crippling drawback, its effects weakened after each use.
The first dose could restore a person completely. But if I took another after a serious injury, it would only heal me by 50%. Worse, once I broke through to the Awakened rank, its effectiveness would plummet, restoring only 25%.
And yet, despite this flaw, there was a reason the powerful hoarded it—
The Revitalizing Elixir could force a Mortal to ascend to the Awakened rank, regardless of their aptitude.
For the talentless, for those doomed to mediocrity, this was nothing short of a miracle.
That was why it was fought over. That was why wars were waged.
And yet… she had given it to me without hesitation.
I had once played Arcadia: Last Horizon, nearly completing it.
But now, I was trapped in its world, not as a player, but as someone who had always belonged here. And yet, the boundaries of my knowledge felt thinner than I had anticipated.
I had focused too much on the main storyline, overlooking many side paths that might have held crucial details.
I clenched my fist, frustration flickering before I exhaled, forcing myself to let it go.
'No use dwelling on it now.'
As I rinsed my hair, my thoughts churned like the water itself.
"I needed a plan. Survival depended on preparation."
"First, I need to change my profession."
Professions were more than just titles, they dictated a person's growth, technique mastery, and potential.
Everyone had only one, and each profession had a growth rate determined by Aptitude.
Aptitude defined how far a person's growth could go, the ultimate limit of their potential, shaping not just their current capabilities but the heights they could one day reach.
It was a measure of raw, innate potential, acting as the dividing line between those destined for greatness and those fated to remain average, no matter how hard they tried.
There were four levels of aptitude:
• Dull Star
• Bright Star
• Radiant Star
• Luminant Star
Higher-tier aptitude allowed people to cultivate at an unnatural pace. While it was possible to advance even with lower aptitude, the effort required increased exponentially.
That meant, although my Bright Star aptitude was just average, there was still one glaring issue.
My profession was Farmer.
…Absolutely useless in combat.
And I didn't even know any techniques related to my current profession.
I needed to fix this.
"Ahh, how did I forget?" A sudden flash of insight struck me. "Yes, that will do." I murmured.
An American player once stumbled onto a hidden dungeon at Skyveil Summit in the Sunfall Region.
Just his luck, inside he found something that let him swap professions.
Went from nobody to the greatest spear user in the game, even earned the title Spear Master.
A small chuckle escaped my lips.
"If I could get there… maybe I'd have a shot at a real combat profession."
Sure, there was a drawback to.
In an interview, he once explained that after switching professions, his former profession would no longer show in his status, meaning it essentially vanished as if it had never existed.
But so what?
The Farmer profession was dead weight anyway.
I had no clue how to cultivate on this path.
It was my best chance. No, it was my only chance.
The protagonist of this world already had a combat profession.
His techniques, and artifacts were tied to his class, meaning I wouldn't be able to steal them for myself.
Not that I wanted to.
But I had something else in mind.
"Second, I have to gather resources."
Even if I reached Skyveil Summit, success wasn't guaranteed. I'd need equipment, provisions, and, most importantly—strength.
Right now, I was far too weak. Not even Awakened.
'Although the Skyveil Summit Dungeon wasn't dangerous, what if I encountered some hidden threat there?'
I shook my head.
"Stop thinking such absurd thoughts. That won't do," I muttered.
I had to train, even if it was just the basics.
"This world wasn't a game anymore. I couldn't rely on respawns."
"Lastly, I still have to lay low."
Lucion Everhart was nothing more than an NPC, a nobody in this world. That anonymity was both a blessing and a curse.
As long as I stayed unnoticed, I could move freely. But the moment I attracted attention, everything would become more complicated.
"I had to be careful, especially with Selena watching over me like a hawk."
According to Lucion's memories, he aspired to enroll in Vortex Academy. Recalling the determination in his eyes... "Wow." Just thinking about it made my head hurt."
'I couldn't exactly refuse to go; that would immediately make Selena and his family suspicious.'
"…Well, it's fine."
"As long as I stay away from the main characters, it shouldn't be a problem,"
'Actually, attending the academy might even be beneficial. If I trained properly, I could grow stronger fast.'
But I had to prepare.
With my plans set, I turned off the water and stepped out of the bath. My long, damp hair clung to my back as I grabbed a towel.
The warmth of the bath still lingered on my skin as I dried myself and walked back into my room.
Then, I stopped.
My gaze locked onto the mirror.
A smile slowly tugged at my lips as I took in the reflection before me.
"Well, well… this—"
"Definitely not what I expected."