Chapter 144: Chapter 144
Just now at the auction, the host had said that the Advanced Blade and Sword Manual could lead to a rare job transfer—this was indeed true.
But it was also stating the obvious, because Second Job Change already had a high probability of yielding rare professions. It’s just that, given people in this world could only default to the first job option, Yan Qing suspected there were still quite a few Messengers who ended up with common jobs. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⟡fire.net
Yan Qing, in fact, didn’t know much about the job system in The Messenger. After all, he hadn’t truly played the game before transmigrating. But the blade-and-sword job transfer was one of the few things he did remember—because it was one of the most powerful Second Job Changes, nearly all meta-chasers would pick Blade and Sword Messenger at Second Job!
The requirement to become a Blade and Sword Messenger was simple: one had to use the Advanced Blade and Sword Mastery Manual during the First Job stage. But let alone in this world, even in the game that manual was quite rare, because it only had a chance to drop in the treasure chests of Second-Stage Secret Realms.
A Secret Realm would only have a few treasure chests, and they specifically had to be from Second-Stage Secret Realms. Only grinding studios would farm this stuff deliberately. Hence, this was also the only advanced manual in the game that fetched a high price.
Yan Qing had never dreamed he’d get his hands on this manual. In a place where all important resources were monopolized by the royal families and noble clans, how could such a rare manual be obtained through regular means? And yet not only had he bought it, he’d only spent 200,000—still a hefty sum, but given the precedent of the Advanced Footwork Manual, it suddenly felt like a bargain.
After the job change, Yan Qing could vaguely sense his new characteristics, but ultimately nothing as detailed as a system description. He logged out from Bunny Heroine’s alt account and selected the ‘Yan Qing’ profile.
Even though he couldn’t log in to his own account, there was still plenty of information shown on the login screen, including his level and profession: 「Lv22·Blade and Sword Messenger」. He’d even leveled up two more times.
When the cursor hovered over “Blade and Sword Messenger,” the game popped up a detailed profession description:
「Attribute Bonus: Vital Energy and Blood +10, Divine Soul +4, Dexterity +10」
「Exhaustive Martial Arts (Blue Trait): When leveling up via secret techniques (Secret Technique EXP must exceed 75%), Vital Energy and Blood and Dexterity increase by 1 additionally.」
「Blade and Sword Master (Blue Trait): When using any Blade or Sword Token, Token damage +15%.」
Yan Qing’s spirits lifted. Firstly, other Second Jobs gave 20 attribute points, but the Blade and Sword Messenger gave 24!
But that alone wasn’t enough. The Exhaustive Martial Arts trait allowed Yan Qing to get an extra +1 in Vital Energy and Blood and Dexterity whenever he leveled up using Secret Technique EXP. Unfortunately, Yan Qing was already at level 22, which meant he could only gain 8 more levels this way—yielding 8 points each in Vital Energy and Blood and Dexterity.
In other words, by the time he reached Third Job, Yan Qing’s total stats would exceed other Messengers’ by 20 points—basically a whole Second Job’s worth of attributes!
Base attributes didn’t just influence Foundation-Building success rate—they even caused exponential effects during Foundation Building. That’s why Yan Qing had never planned to switch to some aggressive build like Storm Messenger. Before Foundation Building, it was all about building a solid base. As long as he ensured his job’s growth potential, the more attributes, the better!
Just based on stat differences alone, Blade and Sword Messenger was undoubtedly the strongest Second Job, not to mention it could evolve into a Rare Job or even Legendary Job later on!
Take Jiang Ten’s Wandering Messenger—it did grant a lot of stats, but its traits had very little development potential. After Fourth Job, it might offer both stats and mechanics, but to meta-chasers who prioritized mechanics even more than numbers, it was still a dumpster-tier pick.
Besides that, the Blade and Sword Master trait was also very practical. All Blade and Sword Tokens had their damage boosted by 15%. Obviously, this trait would shine most with dual-wielded weapon Tokens. But one, Yan Qing rarely did dungeon runs; and two, even when he went out, he seldom dual-wielded. After all, he wasn’t a player—he had to keep a hand free to absorb Spirit Jade. This trait probably wouldn’t see much use.
Content with his job change, Yan Qing sat back down to keep playing.
But his mood now had lightened significantly. Even if this trip to Shu Mountain turned out fruitless, he’d still be content—just getting the Blade and Sword Messenger job was worth the five days of travel.
At that moment, Medicine Master Wen and the others had arrived at the only tavern in Eternal Joy City. And this tavern lived up to its martial reputation: the shopkeeper greeting guests at the front desk… was actually a Red-Named Messenger.
Though some patrons were drinking and rowdy, the tavern was overall orderly. Even the Demon-Path Messengers—known for their rugged demeanor—kept their tails tucked here. When the server slammed down bottles and dishes on their table, even if they got splashed, the Demon-Path Messengers didn’t dare complain.
「How much for lodging?」 Medicine Master Wen asked.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with dreadlocks. He leaned out from behind the counter to glance down at Bunny Heroine and said:「Five hundred per person. Two thousand for four.」
「Why’s it so expensive?!」 Shi Dong exclaimed.
「Ordinary folks only pay fifty Spirit Jade, of course. But you’ve pissed off Zhong Ji. Tonight, this is the only place where you can sleep peacefully,」 the man said listlessly. 「You can also choose not to stay. Zhong Ji probably won’t attack you in the city, but whether he throws poop at you is another matter.」
「Can you guarantee Zhong Ji won’t trouble us?」
「Not while you’re lodging here.」 The shopkeeper leaned his head back and tapped the wanted poster behind him:「I’m Funnan, disciple of Boreuo. As long as you can pay, I guarantee no one will lay a finger on you. I suggest renting for a full month—it’s not expensive, just sixty thousand Spirit Jade. You folks can afford that, right? After a month, Zhong Ji probably won’t remember you anymore. If you can’t afford it… with your strength, I’m sure Boss Boreuo will find a use for you.」
Bunny Heroine rose on tiptoe to peer at the wanted poster behind him, then looked at the shopkeeper:「Dreadlocks Uncle, is that you?」
「Back then I was skinnier. And I’m not dirty—this is just a northern hairstyle,」 Funnan replied calmly.「So, staying or not?」
Before Medicine Master Wen could answer, Bunny Heroine slapped down two strings of Hundred-Jade Tokens on the counter.
「Dreadlocks Uncle, since you promised security, you’d better keep your word,」 she said coolly.「If anyone ruins our sleep tonight, then no one will be sleeping.」
Funnan found that threat amusing. He was about to clap back with a snarky line, but when he looked into Bunny Heroine’s eyes, the words caught in his throat. It wasn’t until the group had gone upstairs that a server approached and asked:「Boss, stew or slice?」
“Stew” meant simmered soup—charged a bit higher, hoping the guest stayed longer. “Slice” meant carving the fish: squeeze every coin, gouge prices for food, bath, everything—just profit off tonight.
「Treat them as regulars,」 Funnan said.「Don’t mess around.」
The server was puzzled:「But Boss, they’re just outsiders. They didn’t even swear loyalty to our faction…」
Funnan recalled Bunny Heroine’s eyes—just a pair of calm and clear eyes. Yet he could see his reflection in them—scarlet.
Just as Bunny Heroine’s eyes looked to him, wreathed in scarlet light.
But how was that possible?
Blood-Eye Syndrome was a mark of Demon-Path Messengers. Even among them, not all were afflicted. Only those steeped in bloodshed, overflowing with guilt and evil, contracted this incurable malady!
Moreover, Blood-Eye Syndrome varied in severity. Funnan had spent the past year doing chores deep in the mountains, hardly ever leaving, and had killed fewer than five. His condition had lightened—others only appeared faintly red in his eyes.
But what he saw in Bunny Heroine’s eyes… that scarlet ran so deep it bordered on venomous—like she longed to rip his guts out!