Lionheart City had three main professional guilds: the Magic Guild, the Melee Guild, and the Gunner Guild.
Under these three main guilds were several smaller factions. The place Jiang Qiao brought Zhao Mingwei to was the Fighter's Guild of the Melee Guild.
The NPC Chao Yuan, who was in charge of job changes in the Fighter's Guild, let out a sigh when he saw Zhao Mingwei coming to apply for a job change task.
"Your body strength is too weak. Wanting to become a Qi Refiner is a wrong decision, but I see another possibility in you," Chao Yuan said.
Zhao Mingwei glanced at Jiang Qiao upon hearing this. According to the script, shouldn't this NPC recognize a rare talent and offer him a hidden quest?
However, after reallocating his points, Zhao Mingwei's strength was only five. This level of strength made him essentially useless in the Fighter's Guild.
"You remind me of my weak self in the past. Young adventurer, even though your body is so weak, do you still want to pursue the path of Qi Refinement?" Chao Yuan asked.
No, I want to change to a Boxer...
Under Jiang Qiao's suggestion, Zhao Mingwei still nodded. After all, he was just a weakling with a strength of only five.
"I see no confusion in your eyes. Very well… Your body harbors a powerful magic talent capable of withstanding this power." As Chao Yuan spoke, he removed his upper clothing, revealing sturdy muscles marked with old scars, and on his back was a tattoo of a roaring lion.
This tattoo seemed almost alive. Zhao Mingwei could feel the roar of the lion tattoo.
"This is called the Telekinesis Beast Tattoo. It is a power I inherited from a distant ancient country. As long as you pass the beast's test, you can gain abilities not inferior to those of a Qi Refiner. But the process always entails the risk of death. Do you accept?"
At the moment Chao Yuan finished speaking, a series of system prompts appeared in front of Zhao Mingwei.
'Hidden Job Task Triggered: Mind Energy Master.'
'Task Description: Enter the telekinesis beast instance alone and pass the challenge to complete the job task. The instance is limited to three challenges. Requirements: Level 25, Intelligence above 250 points, and Charisma above 15 points.'
"A limited task?" It was the first time in eight days that Zhao Mingwei had received an NPC task with a failure condition.
The greatest advantage players had was that death just meant losing some experience and money. Zhao Mingwei could simply try again. But with a limit on challenge attempts, failing three times could mean never being able to change to the Mind Energy Master class again.
"Accept. With a hidden instance, we must give it a try."
Zhao Mingwei and Jiang Qiao were both hardcore gamers. They always played at the highest difficulty and would not start the next game until they had uncovered every secret in the current one.
Greater challenges were not hardship for Zhao Mingwei but a process of enjoyment.
"Your current strength is only five points. Can your output keep up?" Jiang Qiao reminded Zhao Mingwei, as he had put all his attributes into Intelligence.
"Trying is better than doing nothing." Zhao Mingwei accepted the job change task. Jiang Qiao watched as he disappeared from view, transported into the job change instance.
"Hai Lan, open a portal; I want to watch."
Jiang Qiao had nothing to do while waiting at the Fighter's Guild, so he decided to see how well Zhao Mingwei understood the game.
"Let me find it. It should be here." Hai Lan waved his hand, opening a cerulean portal. Jiang Qiao entered the portal in his Soul Body form.
The other side of the portal was a deep space like the cosmos. At the center of this space was a platform made of pure white stone.
Zhao Mingwei had already assumed a battle stance, waiting for the instance monsters to spawn. But after two seconds, the platform's stones suddenly crumbled.
A tall tower rapidly rose from the center of the platform. The stones floated randomly in the air under an unseen force.
Jiang Qiao understood the challenge of this special instance: ascend to the top of the tower.
"Isn't this just a jump challenge?" Jiang Qiao glanced at the tower. The tower's interior was solid. To ascend, one had to jump from one floating stone to another.
The stones were arranged without any order and often changed positions.
"He seems to be smiling." Hai Lan noticed the expression on Zhao Mingwei's face when he saw the task condition. It was a relaxed smile.
"Probably because professional players train for this kind of thing." Jiang Qiao spun in circles in the air in his ghostly state.
For regular people, climbing the tower by stepping on the floating stones was a great challenge to their reflexes. Clumsy individuals would most likely fall into the abyss after just a few meters.
But professional VR game players like Zhao Mingwei had physical training regimes that often rivaled those of professional gymnasts.
Zhao Mingwei was evidently among the best professional players. Utilizing the agility boost from the Fighter class, he leaped and landed on a floating stone.
The stone sank slightly under his weight. Using the force from his feet, he jumped again and easily landed on a higher stone.
Zhao Mingwei demonstrated the expert maneuvering of a jump challenge enthusiast to Jiang Qiao.
His movements were continuous. Each second after landing, he would instantly leap towards a higher stone, exhibiting a seamless and impressive technique.
The challenge had a five-minute time limit. As Zhao Mingwei ascended, fewer stones were available to use, and when he was ten meters from the top, he finally made a mistake. The floating stone he stepped on was too small, causing him to slip.
The consequence of this mistake was dire. He plummeted from a height of one hundred meters, crashing to the ground and losing all his health.
He chose to revive on the spot and immediately started his second attempt.
The second attempt was more cautious. He no longer dared to take it lightly but still encountered the same issue near the last ten meters: a dearth of footholds.
Seeing that the stone beneath him could not support his weight and was about to fall.
In a split second, Zhao Mingwei grabbed a floating stone above, found a new foothold to the left, and leaped onto the edge of the tower, then struggled to climb to the top.
Waiting for him at the top was a creature made of lightning and thunder, somewhere between a dragon and a tiger.
Zhao Mingwei prepared to fight, but upon seeing the creature's level at LV50, the thought "screw this" crossed his mind.
However, the dragon-tiger did not attack him.
"Challenger, you have outstandingly completed my trial." A majestic voice rang in Zhao Mingwei's ears. "You are qualified to inherit my power!"
'Mind Energy Master job change task complete. Do you wish to complete the task?'
Seeing the system prompt, Zhao Mingwei clicked accept without hesitation. The massive creature transformed into lightning and thunder, pouring into Zhao Mingwei's body.
At that moment, Zhao Mingwei clearly felt a unique power emerging within him, revitalizing his body.
He immediately opened his stats and skill panels to check the new skills available after the job change.