Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Detection complete. Host has successfully Awakened Consciousness Shallows and is eligible for the Upper-tier Profession: Juggler.

Requirements: 3 Power, 6 Agility, 5 Spirit, 3/3 Tricks of any Level mastered, 100/100 total Tricks cast.

Accept Profession?

"Accept!"

Profession change successful. Current Profession: Juggler.

Received Attribute Bonus: Power +1, Agility +3, Spirit +3.

Compared to the Spiritual Attribute Bonus he had received from the Student Profession, the boost from the Juggler Profession was a full six times greater.

However, unlike the immediate physical changes from the Power and Agility Attributes, the enhancement to his Spiritual Attribute was far more subtle.

Roland only felt a cool stream of thought trickle through his mind, and memory fragments that were once blurry suddenly became sharp and clear.

If he had to describe any other particular sensation, it would be that his thoughts seemed to flow with extraordinary smoothness, and his stamina felt more abundant.

After shaking his head, Roland focused on the golden text that appeared next.

Acquired Trait: Dazzling and Enchanting.

Dazzling and Enchanting: When others witness you perform a Trick, they will suffer a Spiritual Shock, entering a controlled state such as Charm or Daze. The actual effect depends on the relative strength of your Spiritual Attribute versus theirs.

’A Trait that adds a Spiritual Attribute attack to my Tricks!’

After reading the description for Dazzling and Enchanting, Roland clenched his fists in excitement.

Aside from his Flaming Arrow—which was already powerful due to his Fire Elemental Affinity—his other three Tricks were little more than flashy sleight of hand and didn’t do much to increase his actual combat strength.

But with this Trait, everything was completely different!

Spiritual Shock! Charm! Daze!

This meant that even the harmless Light Technique, as long as he cast it, would now carry a mental attack.

As for the last part of the Trait’s description—that the actual effect depended on the relative strength of their Spiritual Attributes—Roland wasn’t too concerned.

If he faced an opponent much weaker than himself, he wouldn’t need this Trait to kill them anyway.

But against an opponent of similar or slightly greater strength, this Trait could be the key to victory if it caused even a momentary lapse in their focus.

Roland grew excited just imagining himself fighting an enemy while surrounded by his Light Technique.

’Upper-tier Professions are truly something else. Their Traits are so much more powerful than those of Basic Professions!’

As he was marveling at this, more lines of golden text appeared before his eyes.

Upper-tier Profession Warrior detected. Professional Resonance can be triggered.

Professional Resonance

Juggler + Warrior

Acquired Extra Benefit: Twin Martial Arts.

Twin Martial Arts: Your body becomes as fluid and flexible as water, allowing for extreme dodges and counter-joint maneuvers. Both hands achieve perfect synchronization, with neither being dominant. When dual-wielding, your precision and force are identical in both hands, enabling you to execute completely different combat actions simultaneously.

Before the text had even fully materialized, Roland felt an unfamiliar heat shoot up from the base of his spine, slithering like a snake through his muscles and bones.

It wasn’t pain, but a strange, tingling numbness, as if every sinew was being reshaped by an invisible force.

"This is..."

He looked down, watching his fingertips tremble slightly.

The next second, the heat erupted!

His body tensed violently, and it felt as if countless tiny arcs of electricity were dancing beneath his skin.

His bones made a faint crackling sound. His joints felt as if they were being softened, extended, and then instantly reassembled by some force.

After the heat subsided, Roland stared blankly at his own hand. At his command, his knuckles folded as if boneless, then instantly snapped back into place with almost unnatural flexibility.

He turned to the side and whipped his right arm out like a lash. The muscles and joints of his entire arm seemed to have lost their rigidity, carving a smooth arc through the air, his fingertips nearly touching his own back.

Then, his left arm twisted like a snake, his elbow joint turning outward, allowing his palm to press easily against his own shoulder blade—a feat impossible for an ordinary person.

"This is... a bit much..."

Roland gazed at his own unnervingly flexible body and slowly relaxed his hand.

As he watched it gradually return to normal, a chill involuntarily ran up his spine.

But soon, this discomfort receded like a tide, replaced by an irrepressible excitement.

’This level of increased flexibility is completely unnoticeable from the outside. If I suddenly use it in a fight, how could an enemy possibly defend against it? Right...’

Looking at the latter part of the description for Twin Martial Arts, Roland’s eyes sharpened, and both of his hands shot to his waist.

His right hand drew his Longsword, while his left hand gripped his Dagger in a reverse hold.

In the next instant, his arms moved like mirror images, then immediately split into two completely different attacks.

His right hand thrust the Longsword upward, its blade carving a sharp silver arc with the fierce power of a falling Thunderbolt.

At the same time, the Short Blade in his left hand struck out like a viper’s tongue, its tip aiming for an imaginary enemy’s throat with terrifying precision.

Both attacks erupted simultaneously without the slightest hint of hesitation.

The heavy chop of the Longsword and the vicious thrust of the Short Blade seemed as if they were controlled by two separate minds.

Even more unnerving, the force behind both blades was perfectly balanced. The intersecting paths of the two weapons nearly sealed off all the space in front of him.

With a sudden change in tactics, his right hand’s Sword Momentum transitioned into a horizontal slash before the initial move was complete, while his left hand’s Short Blade pressed downward, silently aiming for the back of the imaginary foe’s knee under the cover of the flashing blade.

One hard, one soft. One overt, one covert.

Two different combat rhythms merged perfectly in his hands, as if two martial artists of completely different styles inhabited his body, sharing a single form built like a killing machine.

As he brought his movements to a halt, both blades stopped in mid-air, less than an inch from each other, their tips perfectly still.

Like a puppet controlled by invisible strings, the precision was chilling.

"This feeling... is just too wonderful..."

After sheathing his Longsword and Dagger, Roland stroked his smooth chin, still wanting more.

’This level of dual-wielding proficiency is like suddenly gaining a second self. With my left and right hands working together, the effect is truly greater than the sum of its parts!’

’The Extra Benefit from Professional Resonance between Upper-tier Professions really didn’t disappoint!’

Just as Roland was about to see what Extra Benefit would arise between Blacksmith and Juggler, the heavy thud of footsteps suddenly sounded outside his door.

The ill-timed noise made him frown, and he instinctively glanced out the window.

A deep darkness had long since fallen over the entire Distant Harbor.

Based on his observations over the past few days, the guests at this inn should all have been fast asleep by now.

While he was still pondering this, Roland realized the footsteps were getting closer, finally stopping right in front of his door.