Chapter 2 Teaming Up with the School Belle
Golden Finger! The essential cheat for every transmigrator had arrived!
Xu Han was inwardly ecstatic, though his expression remained calm as he walked down from the podium.
As usual, the homeroom teacher came over to offer a few words of comfort. Xu Han responded perfunctorily, his mind far too preoccupied to care about any consolation. What he truly wanted to know was: what functions did this Gourmet System possess?
Soon, the mechanical synthesized voice sounded again.
“Gourmet System fusion successful. D-rank civilian profession ‘Gourmet’ has advanced to SSS-rank Omnipotent Grand Gourmet.”
“Received Newcomer Gift Pack. Would you like to open it?”
Xu Han was left somewhat dazed by the barrage of prompts. But he quickly came to his senses and nodded, “Open it!”
The system notification chimed: “Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a portion of Mysterious Exotic Beast Meat, a Gourmet’s Compendium, and a Special Skill Book.”
Xu Han’s heart pounded so hard it nearly stopped.
SSS-rank Omnipotent Profession?!
Just now, Su Li’s awakening of an S-rank combat profession, Holy Priest, was enough to stun the audience. If anyone found out he’d awakened an SSS-rank profession, they’d probably drag him off for dissection.
Before he grew stronger, it was best to keep a low profile.
In his mind, Xu Han asked, “System, what’s special about this Grand Gourmet? Give me an introduction.”
The system responded, “When the Grand Gourmet tastes the flesh of exotic beasts, they gain experience or attribute enhancements. The amount gained depends on the quality of the meat. The first tasting yields a significant boost.”
“Additionally, when tasting exotic beast meat, there is a chance to randomly acquire one of the beast’s skills. Only one skill can be obtained from each species.”
Xu Han was stunned.
Incredible!
This was simply too incredible!
No wonder it was an SSS-rank omnipotent profession!
All he had to do was eat meat to improve his attributes and level up.
Most importantly, he could potentially acquire exotic beasts’ skills!
It was practically a divine ability!
Every profession had a limited number of skills. The higher the profession’s rank, the more skills one could possess. Beyond that, skills could only be obtained through skill books.
But every skill book on the market sold for at least a million credits, and sometimes they were priceless.
Moreover, each person could only use five skill books in their lifetime.
One could only imagine how precious skills were.
Yet, what others considered treasures, Xu Han could acquire simply by eating meat.
If anyone else knew, they’d probably jump up and curse.
Right. Besides the profession advancement, there were also the three items from the Newcomer Gift Pack.
He wasn’t in a hurry to check the meat for now.
He asked, “System, what is the Gourmet’s Compendium?”
The system replied, “To be a qualified gourmet, one must be knowledgeable about everything—what’s edible and what’s not, what tastes good and what doesn’t. All must be catalogued in the compendium.”
“Whenever the host tastes the meat of an exotic beast, it can be recorded in the compendium.”
“Completing entries in the compendium achieves certain milestones, which grant mysterious rewards.”
“For every one hundred entries completed, you will receive a grand mysterious prize!”
Excellent!
Compiling the compendium was a simple task, and he could earn achievement rewards in the process! And every hundred entries brought a grand prize!
Xu Han’s anticipation grew.
What wondrous things would these mysterious prizes be?
“Can the Special Skill Book be learned now?”
“Yes. Would you like to learn it immediately?”
“Learn.”
“Congratulations, Host. You have acquired the special skill: Eye of Appraisal.”
Xu Han opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Xu Han]
[Race: Human]
[Profession: SSS-rank Grand Gourmet]
[Level: 0]
[Strength: 7]
[Constitution: 9]
[Agility: 6]
[Spirit: 8]
[Skill 1: Eye of Appraisal LV.1 (Can view target’s attributes; 1% chance to discover target’s weakness; target’s level must not exceed your own by more than five)]
His attributes were decent. For a newly awakened professional, the maximum for each attribute was ten. His stats placed him above average.
As Xu Han reviewed his panel and considered which exotic beast’s meat to try first, the man in the black robe spoke, “Everyone has completed their awakening. I’ll now hand the podium back to the principal.”
He nodded slightly to the principal, then stepped down.
The principal strode to the podium, his face beaming with joy.
He took the microphone, unable to contain his smile. “Dear students, congratulations on completing one of life’s most important ceremonies.”
“There is one week left until the college entrance examination. The school will not hold any more classes; the time is yours to use as you wish.”
“I hope you all work hard to level up, improve your strength, and get into the vocational university of your choice.”
“Homeroom teachers will help form teams for those with civilian professions, so you needn’t worry.”
“If you have any needs, feel free to bring them to your homeroom teacher. They will do their best to help.”
The assembly ended, and everyone returned to their classrooms.
Many boys who had awakened combat professions clustered around Su Li, eager to win the goddess’s favor.
Faced with their enthusiasm, Su Li seemed a bit embarrassed, keeping her head down in her book.
Seeing no response from her, the others retreated in disappointment.
Meanwhile, Xu Han sat calmly in his seat, already impatient to get home and see exactly what kind of exotic beast meat the system had gifted him.
After a while, the homeroom teacher entered, holding a list.
“Now, I’ll announce the group assignments.”
“Zhao Xiaowei, Qin Liang, Niu Dali, Dai Guangyi—you four are a group.”
Xu Han glanced over.
Qin Liang had awakened as a D-rank combat profession, Archer.
Niu Dali had awakened as a C-rank combat profession, Strongman.
The other two were civilian professions.
With two combat professionals, leveling up wouldn’t be a problem.
However, Qin Liang and Niu Dali were not happy.
“Teacher, I object! I’m a combat profession, an Archer. If I team up with other combat professions, we’ll level up much faster. Why do I have to carry two dead weights?”
Qin Liang stood up, disgruntled.
The homeroom teacher glared at him. “This is the school’s arrangement: four to a group, two combat professions and two civilian professions!”
“You think civilian professions are useless? Look down on them? Without them, you’d struggle to live a normal life!”
“If you don’t follow the arrangement, your college entrance exam eligibility will be revoked! We need talent to fight exotic beasts, but not those who refuse to obey orders!”
Qin Liang instantly deflated, slumping in his seat, dissatisfied but with nowhere to vent.
The teacher snorted and continued announcing the groups.
“Next group: Su Li, Li Bin, Xu Han, Tian Fangchao.”
Xu Han was stunned.
He was in a group with the school beauty?
He could feel the unfriendly stares directed his way.
“Why does Xu Han get to be in the same group as the school beauty? What’s so special about him?”
“How does a loser like him deserve to team up with her? There’s definitely something shady going on!”
“Hmph, I think Xu Han shouldn’t even be allowed to level up with them! Even if he does, what’s the point? He’ll just become a bigger loser! Hahaha…”
“A grown man needing a girl to carry him while leveling up—if I were him, I’d go buy a block of tofu and bash my head in!”
…
Hearing these remarks, a faint smile appeared on Xu Han’s face.
He stood up slowly, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
“Are you all envious?”
The crowd fumed, gritting their teeth, wishing they could rush over and give him a beating.
Xu Han grinned. “Since you’re all so displeased, you’re welcome to challenge me at the college entrance exam in seven days. I hope you’ll leave me battered and bruised, a total mess!”