Chapter Five: A New Path—The Dual Blade Warrior

“Hiss!”
The moment he saw the three selectable talents, Chu Cheng was utterly dumbfounded, then overwhelmed with joy.
Each of the three talents was more powerful than he had ever imagined; any one of them alone would be an extraordinary skill he had never seen before.
In that instant, countless combat systems formed around these talents flashed through his mind. He imagined himself, relying on this talent, achieving outstanding results in the upcoming midterm exam, and even, further in the future, stunning everyone in the college entrance examination and entering one of those top-tier academies.
Top academies determined future resources. To put it simply, the most obvious difference was that these elite institutions possessed some powerful dungeon worlds. Whether it was leveling up at higher ranks or pursuing advanced class changes and top-tier loot, they far surpassed ordinary academies.
Yes, for class changes beyond the extraordinary, and even for advancing to legendary status, you had to venture into those top worlds; at the level of ordinary academies, such resources were extremely scarce.
But his daydream didn’t last long, because he could only choose one.
He had to pick from these three talents, each so powerful that he was practically drooling.
One was both offensive and defensive, the other two were purely offensive, with the last one being focused on explosive power—all were absurdly strong.
Yet Chu Cheng didn’t hesitate for long before making his decision.
“Spatial Refraction!”
With a single thought, the Spatial Refraction talent among the three lit up, while the other two gradually dimmed and vanished.
The reason was simple: survival comes first.
No matter how many tricks you have up your sleeve, you only have one life; preserving it is the top priority. As long as you live, anything is possible.
Spatial Refraction at level one could completely absorb up to 30 points of damage. Around level ten, wild monsters’ attacks only dealt thirty or forty points of damage; after absorbing thirty points, the remaining damage, reduced by defense, was negligible. With this kind of survival ability, there was no need to hesitate.
After reviewing his talent, Chu Cheng looked at the other changes on his status panel.
The changes were minor—just a slight adjustment to his initial attributes, all set to 10 points, the human racial limit.
Beyond that, there were no other changes.
But Chu Cheng knew this wasn’t the full effect of his golden finger; the other effects were hidden and would be triggered once certain conditions were met.
Additionally, the golden finger could be upgraded, though the requirements were currently unknown. He sensed that it required some sort of item, but without having seen it, he couldn’t be sure what exactly was needed.
He had a strong premonition that the golden finger was only just unlocked and only had basic functions for now; once fully unlocked, it would bring him immense surprises.
“It’s time to change class.”
Chu Ze immediately opened his contacts and sent a message to his father, Chu Huaisheng.
“Dad, I’m ready for my class change.”
It was a while before Chu Huaisheng replied:
“Which class?”
“Dual Blade Warrior!”
Silence again, until finally there was a response:
“Wait.”
And then the call ended.
...
With just that brief sentence, Chu Cheng could almost see his father’s cold, indifferent face behind the signal, and he couldn’t help but feel dazed; even the excitement of awakening his golden finger was dampened.
When had things between father and son become like this?
He vaguely remembered that before his mother passed away, his father had loved him dearly and often played with him.
After his mother’s death, his father became more reserved, but still cared for him.
But once his father married another woman, the affection began to wane.
By the time his first younger brother was born, he no longer felt any of his father’s love.
“As expected, it’s better to rely on myself than to ask for help.”
He chuckled softly and closed the communication interface.
Before long, his class certificate arrived, transmitted instantly through the Chaos Network.
Chu Cheng opened his inventory to find a palm-sized jade tablet engraved with an image of a warrior wielding twin blades.
Class Certificate (Intermediate): Dual Blade Warrior—a warrior who wields two light weapons, skilled in close combat and renowned for agility.
Classes were divided into Common, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior.
A Common class change granted 10 free attribute points and one specialty.
An Intermediate class change granted 15 free attribute points and two specialties.
An Advanced class change granted 20 free attribute points and three specialties.
A Superior class change granted 30 free attribute points and five specialties.
The school only provided Common classes; although the Dual Blade Warrior certificate from his family couldn’t compare to the Advanced classes his two younger brothers received, it was already quite decent—certainly better than what ordinary civilians got.
He was rather fortunate that the class he had previously reserved did not conflict with his newly awakened talent, so there was no need to change.
“Dual Blade Warrior class change scroll detected. Proceed with class change?”
Chu Cheng nodded in his heart:
“Yes!”
The next second, the class change scroll in his hand shattered, transforming into a stream of warm energy that poured into his body. Then, a translucent screen visible only to him unfolded before his eyes, displaying a series of data.
“Notice: Using Dual Blade Warrior class change scroll—class change successful.”
“Notice: You have successfully changed class and received the specialty ‘Dual Wielding Novice.’”
“Notice: You have successfully changed class and, as per your class rank (Intermediate), gained 15 free attribute points.”
“Notice: You have successfully changed class. Choose two specialties from the following five to become your class specialties.”
“Specialty One: Barbaric Physique (Rare): HP +200, Defense +5.”
“Specialty Two: Swiftness (Common): Movement Speed +20.”
“Specialty Three: Barbaric Strength (Common): Base Attack +20.”
“Specialty Four: Weakness Perception (Rare): Critical Rate +2%, Critical Damage +20%.”
“Specialty Five: Frenzied Life (Excellent): HP +300, HP Regeneration +3/sec.”
This was the difference between changing class and not changing class: the extra free attribute points and class specialties—how could those without a class change ever hope to compete?
Chu Cheng’s gaze lingered on these five specialties, ready to select two, when suddenly the light sphere in his mind shone, sending streaks of light from his eyes onto the screen before him. In the next moment, the screen flickered and all the data blurred.
Chu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then gaped in astonishment.
In just a few seconds, the screen cleared again, but the data had completely changed, utterly different from before.
Specialty One: Transcendent Physique (Epic): HP +500, Defense +5, HP Regeneration +5, Resilience +5.
Specialty Two: Transcendent Agility (Epic): Movement Speed +50, Jump Distance +100%, Reflex +5.
Specialty Three: Transcendent Strength (Epic): Base Attack +50, Strength Check +20, Critical Rate +3%.
Specialty Four: Transcendent Perception (Epic): Perception Range +100%, Perception Check +20, Critical Rate +3%.
Specialty Five: Transcendent Life (Epic): HP +1000, HP Regeneration +10.
“Well now, that’s quite a trick!”
At that moment, Chu Cheng was truly astonished by his own golden finger.
Just a moment ago, he was wondering what the hidden feature was—so this was it? Incredible...
“I absolutely love it!”
He gazed up and down at the five specialties with undisguised delight, growing more and more excited the longer he looked.
But excitement didn’t last long before he was caught in a dilemma—he couldn’t choose them all.
“If only I could pick them all.”
He scratched his head, hesitating for a long while.
Transcendent Physique was a must, perfectly matching his talent.
The only struggle was over the second specialty—two, three, or five were all tempting.
By process of elimination, the fifth was dropped first; with the first, the need for the fifth, Transcendent Life, was greatly reduced.
Then came the choice between speed and strength. After a brief struggle, prioritizing survival, he chose Transcendent Agility.