Name: Cecilia
Race: Human
Combat Occupation: Magic Apprentice (Tier 2)
Personal Attributes - Strength: 3 (13); Endurance: 6 (15); Agility: 4 (14); Intelligence: 21 (30); Willpower: 20 (28)
When Sean initially saw Cecilia's personal attributes, he was astonished. On the Miracle Continent, the normal personal attributes of an adult human were "5 (10)."
The number five represented the current state, while the number ten represented the current growth limit.
The growth limit would only increase when advancing in occupation, although it could also be improved through other means. On the other hand, the current state would gradually increase depending on different circumstances.
For example, intelligence could be enhanced through extensive reading, but this extensive time was measured in months.
Therefore, in the game, most players who sought shortcuts would often choose to spend proficiency points to enhance their current attributes.
In the present world, Sean was the only one capable of doing so.
Hence, Cecilia's extraordinary and extreme personal attributes truly amazed Sean.
If it were just exceptionally high intelligence, Sean could understand, but when willpower was also so high, it became perplexing.
In Sean's impression, willpower was the most difficult attribute to improve. While reading books for a month could increase intelligence by a bit, it would take three to four months of training to make any progress in willpower.
However, this was not absolute. Sometimes, under certain intense mental stimulation, as long as one could endure through that period of mental trauma, their willpower could be greatly enhanced.
All of this indicated that Cecilia, this little girl, definitely had a story behind her. Yet, Sean didn't care about the hidden secrets behind her. He valued Cecilia's potential more.
After all, Cecilia was still underage, and once she reached adulthood, her current attributes would each receive an additional two points.
In other words, upon reaching adulthood, Cecilia's intelligence and willpower alone would have sixteen and seventeen points respectively in basic attributes.
During Sean's previous gaming days, he had never heard of a mage NPC with such high-grade attributes.
Although Sean was curious about what Cecilia had experienced to possess such high willpower, after one unsuccessful inquiry, he stopped asking.
At least he understood that, with his current first-tier occupation, he probably couldn't be of much help to Cecilia. Despite his reluctance to admit it, the truth was that Cecilia surpassed him in terms of theoretical knowledge.
This made Sean somewhat helpless.
Occupation was the benchmark for assessing a person's strength on the Miracle Continent.
However, this judgment method was not absolute, and Sean's situation couldn't be measured by this standard.
The reason is simple.
On the Miracle Continent, the higher the occupation tier, the stronger the individual's strength and the more powerful their abilities (skills).
Although there are rare cases of lower-tier occupations defeating higher-tier ones, this usually occurs in lower-level tier battles, typically below Tier 3.
However, Sean can obtain proficiency points through level advancement and allocate them to different skills and personal attributes to maximize his own abilities.
Additionally, he can see the personal attributes of his opponents, rendering the occupation tier criteria irrelevant to Sean.
If there is someone in this world who absolutely violates the common laws of the Miracle Continent, it would undoubtedly be Sean.
However, this does not mean that Sean cannot improve his occupation tier. The Miracle Continent and the game "Miracle" are identical.
Therefore, for Sean, who reached Tier 9 in the game, the advancement of his occupation tier is not a secret.
The real obstacle to his occupation advancement is experience points because Sean has discovered that gaining experience in this real world is not an easy task.
In the game, he could gain experience by simply killing creatures like wolves and wild dogs at his level. But here, besides being able to fill his stomach, he has no experience at all.
Instead, he gained some experience from the small tasks he did to earn money previously, and later, he accumulated a significant amount of experience by completing various tasks with Cecilia.
After clearing the "Wandering Darkness" mini-dungeon, he also received a large amount of experience points.
This made Sean wonder if acquiring experience points can only be done by accepting various mission requests.
However, as soon as this thought arose, Sean dismissed it because he gained experience points when killing zombies and black knights in the ruins, which was enough to refute his previous idea.
After briefly contemplating but failing to discern any patterns, Sean decided not to dwell on it. He believed in the rule of "Cross the bridge when you come to it."
...
The next day, before dawn, Sean woke Cecilia up. After tidying up, the two of them left the small village.
This village in "Miracle" became a popular place for low-level players to visit after the "Wandering Darkness" dungeon opened. It gradually developed into a bustling town.
However, in the Miracle Continent, Sean and Cecilia have already dealt with the "Wandering Darkness," and unlike the game, the dungeon cannot be repeatedly cleared.
Therefore, it is unlikely that this small village will ever become a bustling town, as it lacks special products.
However, for the village itself, this might actually be a good thing.
Due to its remote location and the fact that the Sievier territory is not particularly prosperous, Lord Damien, the ruler of this region, doesn't pay much attention to this place. The villagers can continue to live carefree lives without being burdened by excessive taxes.
With the experience gained from clearing the "Wandering Darkness," defeating the black knights, and receiving the villagers' gratitude, Sean's level has increased from Level 5 to Level 6. He is just a little short of reaching Level 7.
However, due to using a significant number of proficiency points earlier, he only has five remaining.
For players in "Miracle," it is common sense not to use up all proficiency points. Even though the Miracle Continent is a real world, Sean still retains the mindset of a player from the beginning.
Especially after a month of various experiences, Sean understands that using proficiency points strategically when necessary yields much greater advantages compared to using them all at once, just like when he used the skill "Blade Snatch" to successfully take Charles' sword.
If he had already used up all his proficiency points, he wouldn't have been able to easily take Charles' sword when dealing with the black knights.
After leaving the village, Sean and Cecilia walk along the path towards the nearest town, Hadas.
Although it is the closest town to the village, it would still take about three days to reach on foot.
Cecilia is naturally unhappy about this and believes they should have some means of transportation, such as a horse or even a carriage. However, reality is often harsh, and Sean currently cannot afford horses.
Although the Kingdom of Seria is a wealthy and prosperous kingdom, not every piece of land within its borders is fertile.
The Sievier territory, where Sean resides, is a relatively underdeveloped region.
The lord of this territory, Lord Damien, has no intention of developing it. Apart from plundering the wealth of the villagers, he does nothing else in terms of governance.
Fortunately, this lord understands the concept of not exhausting the resources completely, so the villagers can still manage to make ends meet, although prosperity is unlikely.
Sean, living in this area, doesn't have much money either. The reason he hasn't left this region so far is simply because it was the most suitable area for players below the second rank to operate in the game.
Therefore, Sean won't consider changing regions until he takes on a second-rank profession.
On the way back, Sean and Cecilia have a pleasant conversation, making the journey less monotonous.
The previous village wasn't particularly affluent, so Sean didn't take too much with him when he left.
However, they occasionally come across some wild animals on the road, so they don't have to rely solely on dry rations for food, which improves their meals somewhat.
After two days of walking, Sean and Cecilia rest near a forest close to the road as night falls.
They will reach the town of Hadas the next day. Sean has rented a small house there. Although the house is small, it is clean.
When Sean doesn't have any commissions, Cecilia takes care of cleaning the house, while Sean handles the heavier chores.
Although this lifestyle is frugal and doesn't quite match Cecilia's obvious noble status, it's undeniably warm and cozy.
Sean, roasting a rabbit over the fire, smiles and says to Cecilia, "Alright, stop complaining. When we get back, I'll heat up a big tub of water for you so you can take a good bath and soak as much as you want."
"Hmph," Cecilia responds noncommittally, "Can we trust the words of a liar?"
Sean chuckles wryly, deciding not to respond to that remark. After all, children's moods come and go quickly.