Chapter 1776
Chapter 1776 - 1772: Paving the Way
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7 min read
"I thought I was here to make money. How did it turn into actually doing work, and work that concerns the fate of the nation at that..."
Some positions may look prestigious from the outside, but once you’re in that role, many things are no longer in your control.
Becoming the Executive Deputy Director of that temporary committee effectively meant that Lu Ping’an became the de facto authority figure. Some tasks could be delegated to subordinates, but others had to be handled personally by him.
"...I understand. You only wanted to focus on product quality, but these tools are now directly tied to the future employment choices of newborns. This is no longer just an economic issue; it’s a societal one."
Lu Ping’an had already realized that the quality and price of the so-called Newbie Sets might not only affect the survival rates of future newborns and militia but could even directly influence the profession composition.
Lu Ping’an had attended a university specializing in training professionals, going through the same procedures that had nurtured talents like Mei Yuge. He was very familiar with the process for newcomers as well.
The most basic path was the battle-profession route. First, spend a few months training in introductory swordsmanship and shooting to develop professional skills. Then, try to awaken a Professional Ability through grueling practice or even real combat to become a true first-tier professional and step into the gate of the Extraordinary.
At this stage, university-backed Extraordinary individuals received a series of networking and resource supports. Those who fared well could acquire basic weapons and equipment through Special Service Teams, Churches, or companies. Those who were more mediocre could scrape together funds to buy a cheap weapon in the "logistics disciplines."
That was the originally normal professional system. Wild professionals had it even tougher, but they managed to get by... However, when professionals numbered in the billions and entered the Extraordinary World, this entire system was utterly shattered.
Don’t even talk about growing pains—this was an earth-shattering collapse.
It was clear that "pain relief" had to be applied at the root, at the very least to prevent the entire Extraordinary World from completely avalanching.
"Our deliberations concluded with the establishment of four major primary systems: Swordsman, Lancer, Fighter, and Spearman, with proportions of about 4:3:1:2," explained during the lecture. "We’ll coordinate and guide during the teaching process, and in terms of weapon pricing, we hope you can lower the prices for bladed and polearms while significantly increasing the prices for Fighter equipment."
Adjusting entry costs to control the proportions within an industry was considered a classic approach.
When Lu Ping’an presented an initial plan, a joint meeting was held involving the security and education departments because they needed to intervene in the proportion of professionals in advance.
"I can understand most of it, but significantly increasing the price of Fighter weapons and equipment to make them the most expensive—doesn’t that seem excessive? They barely rely on weapons in the first place. A claw or a pair of gloves, accompanied by some basic protective gear, should suffice."
"The death rate for Fighters has always been the highest, even double that of the Swordsman system and quadruple that of the Lancer system."
The Eastern Country’s official side seemed to have access to large-scale data that outsiders could not touch. This vaguely confirmed some assumptions: the longer the weapon, the longer the life expectancy.
"...I always thought Fighters had the highest survival rate. Uh, the ones I’ve encountered were quite strong."
Recalling past encounters with Wang Hai and Big and Small Cat, Lu Ping’an had a deep understanding of the upper limits of this profession.
Most Fighters belong to the "Transformation System." They don’t rely on armor because "Beastification," "Metalization," or "Evil Ghost Transformation" of their bodies already serves as their best weapon. In fact, armor tailored for humans often became a hindrance to them.
In Lu Ping’an’s impression, this was a battle profession that didn’t really require Newbie Sets...
"The ones you’ve encountered couldn’t possibly have been the weak ones. The majority of transformation-type abilities, especially in the early stages, aren’t very practical..."
Early-stage petrified skin was like a thin wall coating; a hammer would completely shatter it on impact.
The recovery power and extraordinary physical capabilities that Beastmen took pride in were negligible during the primary stage... The stronger the degree of Beastification, the more it required high-level Extraordinary professions for balance. A newbie professional’s degree of Beastification was inevitably low (any excessive degree of power would result in disastrous loss of control), meaning their enhancements were fairly limited.
Although their physical abilities were several times that of ordinary people, they still held little advantage against Extraordinary Swordsmen or Lancers. On the contrary, their close combat style, often unarmored, made them especially prone to death.
Being unarmored was partly to maintain agility, but also because their bodies served as weapons... High-end custom armor could compensate for mobility and defense weaknesses, but it was unlikely for newbies to afford it.
Including custom armor in Newbie Sets was also unrealistic.
"I understand. Let’s set Fighter sets as the most expensive and minimize the number of people opting for this path... This is effectively a waste of resources, isn’t it?"
No decision comes with purely pros or cons. Such an approach could circumvent numerous casualties, but it would also push many Transformation System users toward the Swordsman and Lancer paths.
"We’ve repeatedly discussed this. Our final conclusion was that, rather than letting everyone take the path most suited for them, it’s better to let everyone find the path most likely to keep them alive..."
The low survival rate of rookie Fighters was a fact. The official representatives made it clear: they preferred more people to survive in this era over cultivating more top-tier powerhouses.
Now that the Plane War had come to a temporary halt and the Eastern Country had some margin for error, promoting universal access to the Extraordinary was more about enhancing civilian survival rates. A little "waste" of resources for rookies was considered acceptable.
"...Besides, any seedling truly capable of becoming a top-tier powerhouse can always switch to being a Fighter after some Swordsman training. Who knows? This detour might even help preserve many promising talents who would have otherwise died prematurely."
There was some merit to this argument... but Lu Ping’an knew it was largely just rhetoric.
"All right, let’s do it this way."
After contemplating for a moment, Lu Ping’an didn’t veto the plan.
The four main professions would account for 80% of rookie professionals, with Lancers and Swordsmen making up 70% of that share. This meant that roughly half of all professionals would be Swordsmen and Lancers.
The advantage of these two professions lay in their "balance," offering decent damage with their blades and the ability to stack armor.
Why were shooters like Spearmen and Archers so few? In fact, these paths had always been unpopular in the professional system. After reaching the middle tier, their offensive capabilities sharply declined, and even the rare strong performers relied heavily on expensive Extraordinary firearms.
Shooter systems often combined with systems like Sailors and Tamers to form combat systems reliant on "external tools."
"Perhaps I could stock up on some high-level swords, long-handled weapons, and polearms. I’m bound to make a fortune eventually..."
Lu Ping’an stroked his chin and smiled subtly. Was this insider trading based on advanced intelligence?
What offered him some relief was the attitude revealed by the officials this time...
"...The situation across the various battlefronts seems to be relatively stable. There’s no urgent need to nurture more combat power. Besides, this prioritization of survival rates is quite reassuring."
— End of Chapter 1776 —