Chapter 912
Chapter 912 - 898 Understanding Your Enemy
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7 min read
During the encounter, Lu Ping’an realized that the "Circus" Path was somewhat irregular, with many of its Professions not being "pure."
The three choices before him seemed like a combination of composite Professions.
".....You feel something is off because you’ve always been circulating within low-level circles, and at the same time, you’ve always followed the standard Path of a Proper God. Ultimately, what is called a Profession is actually a scaled-down version of a God level being, a mini model stripped away from themselves. It’s Its way of implementing an evolutionary ladder, making it easier for others to become more ’like’ It..."
The data on the "college entrance examination" that Lu Ping’an saw originally contained over sixty common paths..... But in reality, that was the result of meticulous selection, standardization, newbie-friendliness, and generalization.
Normally, if at the end of a Path a one-eyed Giant-like enormous Magic Monster was squatting, and you were only seeking efficiency in getting straight to the end, its evolutionary path could have become Demonized from the first-tier, turning directly into a green and huge Magical Beast..... In fact, such an Advancement path would be smoother and easier to reach higher levels.
Just as small Magical Beasts grow into large ones, when most Deities don’t have human forms to begin with, the "young" that are compatible downwards naturally don’t need to look human either.
Professional above the fourth-tier have themselves become "Contamination," where their humanoid form might just be an illusion, or even a kind of "habit."
On Earth, as it faces a vast number of Earthling newcomers, the pathways, especially those below the third-tier, naturally lean towards standardization and normalization to facilitate beginners’ entry and to avoid the premature emergence of irreversible "Magic Monsters."
"I discovered back then when I fought them that the ’source’ of the circus wasn’t a single Deity, but at least a group of five...."
When a group of "Big Bosses" lie on the upper edge of the Path, forming the upper echelons of the ecosystem, the pathway upwards becomes even more chaotic.
"What did you do before? Did you kill them all?"
"...How could that be possible, we didn’t even know if the other High level beings were on Earth; back then, we killed a suspected source existence on Earth, got rid of their Church backbone, and it was over."
In that moment, Lu Ping’an fell silent, recalling a certain existence.
"Playful Boy?"
"Possibly, it’s similar, but there’s no evidence. Dwelling on this is pointless."
That Deity had left a profound impression on Lu Ping’an since that was his first trip on the "Divine Boat." Especially since he was under strict orders not to go out at the time, the Divine Envoy and the Family Clan’s appearance were too unusual.
𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
At the time, some were dressed as clowns, others like circus performers, and some like Doll-forms. If this is still just a coincidence...
"Joy Dancer....."
This "God of Play" provides Professions...or at least the Professions openly provided were starting from the third-tier, and "Joy Dancer," which tops at fourth-tier, shares too many similarities with the "Joyful Sisters’ Circus" in many aspects.
Is it a coincidence? Or are they sharing the same name? For them, a name has some mystical significance; it is unlikely to be a mere happenstance.
Lu Ping’an shook his head, delving into these past events was pointless, as he had already embarked on this path with higher level powers. To research or use as a reference, in a sense, was beneficial.
"How to choose?"
Lu Ping’an checked the 2-tier situation, and it was truly an eye-opener.
"Aerial Acrobat" was clearly an Advancement leaning towards the "dance steps" series, and it also hinted at the Runner flavor, being a Path that excels in "movement" and even has a short-range high-speed flying capability.
The performer was even more interesting. Although it was the same physical "dance steps" series, it amalgamated a great deal of ritualistic powers and mystical aspects and was adept at using a series of Props, looking somewhat like a Tamer to Lu Ping’an.
The last "Playful Clown".... Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but feel this was part of the "Playful Boy" synchronous Paths.
And this ability seemed to provide a "Resonance" feature with opponents, both oriented towards the "rhythm" series abilities, along with a variety of chaotic Props and spatial characteristics, also the Tamer series?
"No need to categorize so finely, many High level Professions are composite types; they are just higher level, truncated versions for newbies to enter the field."
Alright, in Big Cat’s eyes, only above fourth-tier is considered truly entering the door.
The first three tiers are finely divided merely to clarify the basic Knowledge in categories, but at higher levels, acquiring a "trait" often requires a combination of various abilities, so it’s even less necessary to make a clear distinction.
Lu Ping’an nodded, but the focus was still on his own choice.
"Which should I pick?" The data was overwhelming, but Lu Ping’an decided to ask Big Cat nevertheless.
After all, she had really fought against these Professions and knew the specifics.
"With normal Path evolution, naturally you would pick the one that best matches you, the one with the most promise.... But is this a normal part-time for you?"
Big Cat replied to his question with a counter-question, and indeed, that was reason enough.
This wasn’t a main Profession for Lu Ping’an; he came here to "enhance attributes."
"So, should I pick the one with the most Reflex points? The one that feels the most agile?"
"You could also look at what useful core Professional Abilities they have. Normally, when supplementing a part-time, the first priority is the Professional Abilities. Most people have sufficient attributes; it’s just that your growth was too quick and too specialized...."
With that, Lu Ping’an immediately understood.
At 2-tier, he was prepared to go for "Aerial Acrobat," a Path significantly reinforcing body control, and for the third-tier...
"Playful Clown it is, if I’m not guessing wrong. Combined, at fourth-tier they would become the so-called ’Joy Dancer’..."
Reflecting on past battle Memories and comparing with the descriptions of "Joy Dancer" abilities, Big Cat became more certain, recognizing her old acquaintances.
Officially provided data and intelligence were limited; nothing was available above fourth-tier (possibly because of insufficient authority).
But if you could indeed jump directly from these two Professions to fourth-tier, it would also resolve the issue of their upper limit. Lu Ping’an’s main Path had already consumed too much time and Resources. For a part-time to supplement attributes and abilities, there wasn’t much need for originality.
"Both Professions lean towards the Tamer... You are lacking in this area, and it’s a good chance to make up lessons. Moreover, the core abilities of these two Professions are quite......annoying! They suit you really well."
With that said, Lu Ping’an became interested, and just the mere description made him curious.
But the problem was, these Paths were still incomplete, and what the Official provided was just a watered-down simple version of the data.
Just relying on these partial "Concepts" and "Rituals," it wouldn’t even be realistic to walk this path under normal circumstances, not to mention the internal features and Professional Abilities of these two Professions.
"Should I try visiting the Playful Boy’s Church? If It really doesn’t have data below third-tier, how could It mass-produce fourth-tier."
And indeed, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
— End of Chapter 912 —