An asked curiously,

“Are you planning to go into the Crack and get a profession card on your own?”

That was exactly his intention. Chen Qi nodded,

“Yes, I want to see if there’s a profession that suits me better.”

An looked a little helpless, like watching a top student veering off track, choosing to become a slacker.

But after all, she wasn’t his parent and had no right to choose his Transcendent path for him.

Most Tier 1 professions were the kind you’d hear about in everyday life, or ones that included the word “Apprentice.”

She laid out all the information she had gathered on Transcendent profession card Cracks.

“There’s a Crack up north on Devil’s Island that’s Blade-aligned. Based on my investigation, it might contain a Tier 1 Transcendent profession card: Recruit.”

After saying that, An looked at Chen Qi.

Many hot-blooded young people chose Recruit as their profession.

Chen Qi’s expression twitched slightly.

The Blade alignment symbolized honor, conquest, challenge, and combat.

Recruit, a Tier 1 Blade-aligned profession, increased combat knowledge and came with a Courage Surge skill—one that boosted physical potential and reduced the sense of pain, giving decent combat power.

Not bad overall. A common pick for reckless players, Chen Qi thought.

Seeing he had finished pondering, An continued:

“In a cellar of a village that was infected with Black Death, there may be a Tier 2 Physician...”

“Old merchant Yule from Damarro Town discovered a giant belly-up fish corpse in the southern seas.

From my initial investigation, this is a low-level Crack and might yield a Cup-aligned Chef profession card.

The Mayor of Damarro is even planning to send his son to explore it.”

Wait a second—Cup-aligned Chef!

Chen Qi’s eyes lit up. Finally, a strong early-game Transcendent profession.

As a strategy content creator, he had some understanding of every profession.

Chef had a powerful cooking skill that could make food to enhance attributes.

In terms of skill strength, it could rival even some Tier 2 professions!

With enough food sources, a Tier 1 Chef could achieve shockingly high base stats.

Chen Qi had personally witnessed a Recruit shouting things like, “Master of all martial arts! My fists are invincible!” and “Now witness real skill!”

He launched into a flashy combo, only to get knocked out in one punch by a passing Chef who shouted, “Control you!”

No fancy skills—just raw stats.

As long as a Tier 1 Chef had access to Transcendent ingredients, their stat panel was solid.

And the profession could fully digest monster materials.

The more ingredients, the stronger the Chef.

That’s why many players even gave the Chef the badass nickname: “Monster Hunter.”

However, the orthodox Chef path, leading into “Glutton” and “Monster Gourmet,” had questionable late-game potential.

So to many Transcendents, it wasn’t seen as a strong profession.

Simply put: no real future.

In contrast, professions like Mage Apprentice or Physician Apprentice were weak early but strong later, earning broader recognition.

Most people in this world valued a profession’s long-term prospects more.

But as a strategy-focused player, Chen Qi felt that Chef was severely underestimated.

A Tier 1 profession’s main function was to serve as a transition.

Chef could consume monster materials and boost stats—perfect for bridging the early game—and it still had value in the later stages.

Plus, with his Deep Sea Affinity, he’d be able to easily obtain rare deep-sea ingredients.

The synergy between the two was excellent.

After An finished, she asked,

“So, which profession are you interested in?”

Chen Qi smiled and answered,

“The Cup-aligned Chef.”

“Hm?”

An was a bit surprised. That wasn’t the answer she had expected.

When she first met Chen Qi, she had smelled a faint scent of blood and assumed he’d choose the Blade-aligned Recruit.

Maybe he’s more mellow than I thought… An made a note with her pen.

“Alright, got it.”

Then she continued,

“This Cup-aligned Crack is the lowest danger level, but right now, you don’t have any weapons.

More importantly, it’s your first time exploring a Crack—you lack experience.

If something unexpected happens, it could still be dangerous for you.”

As she said this, An smiled,

“But there’s good news. The Mayor of Damarro hired a Hunter to help his son explore the Crack in two days.

I can talk to them and arrange for you to join the team for your first Crack trip.

Having help will make your first experience much smoother.

And of course, I’ll also negotiate with them—if they find that profession card, I’ll ask them to try and save it for you.”

“Huh?”

Chen Qi blinked.

This was just a normal conversation with a newbie guide from the starter town.

But for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was mooching off someone.

She had already arranged a team for him.

Now Chen Qi fully understood why players called her “Mama An.”

Unbearable!

A real man lives between heaven and earth—how could he settle for such dependence?

He was a transmigrator with boss-level talent. How could he lean so much on others?

Besides, he wasn’t weak. His high stats, and the two weapons—Collector and Black Knife—were great for early exploration.

He already had the power to clear low-level Cracks on his own.

And even if he did team up with others, even if they did give him the Cup-aligned card, he’d likely owe a huge favor.

More importantly, splitting loot afterward would definitely be a headache.

Chen Qi stood up and said gratefully,

“Miss An, no need. I’ll take care of it myself.”

An’s intel had been incredibly useful.

If he had gone to the tavern rats who sold info, it would’ve cost a lot.

And if it had been one of those arrogant newbie guides, someone like him—no background, no money—wouldn’t have gotten this much info for free.

“Teacher”… An’s face flushed slightly. This was the first time a peer had called her that.

She just had slightly more talent than others her age.

And as a student herself, she didn’t consider herself that capable yet. She still had a lot to learn. Being called “teacher” was—

Kinda nice… An blushed, fingers interlocked and trembling a little,

“No need to call me that… This is just part of my duty…”

“Your help was really valuable. Thank you again, Miss An.”

An stood up happily, but suddenly turned serious,

“By the way, don’t leak any of this Crack intel. For now, this information is for people in Damarro Town only.

If you run into trouble, come find me.”

“Okay.”

Chen Qi nodded, got the coordinates for the Crack, and said goodbye to An.

Before long, he left the tavern and walked alone down the muddy, damp cobblestone path.

As he walked, he looked around the nighttime town.

It hadn’t been long since he arrived in this world.

Yet it felt like ages had passed.

Chen Qi looked up at the empty, starless sky—at this brand new world.

Though it appeared peaceful, this was still a post-apocalyptic world built by the top Transcendents.

Beneath the surface order, ordinary people were still treated like firewood.

The disaster from the border was on its way, and every nation hid its own undercurrents.

A world on the verge of collapse.

Chen Qi gave a small smile.

His beginning had already decided it—if he wanted to grow stronger, he’d have to pass through one Crack after another.

But strangely, he didn’t feel afraid at all.

Beneath his cold exterior, he felt a heat inside—a heat stronger than fear.

This kind of world… might not be so bad—

Chen Qi quickened his pace and walked forward.

On this island, he had a little home. A rundown little home.

He needed to change out of his wet clothes and get a good night’s sleep.

Then in the morning, he’d find a boat, head to the Crack, and claim the Transcendent path that belonged to him.

And while he was at it, earn a little money.