Chapter 23: Intermediate Alchemy
[You have chosen Option One.]
[You have acquired the skill: Mozambique Drill (Beginner)]
[You have acquired the skill: C.A.R. Shooting Technique (Intermediate)]
[You have acquired the life skill: Precision Machinery Crafting (Expert)]
Mozambique Drill (Beginner): A close-quarters gunfighting technique involving two rapid shots to the target's torso followed by a finishing shot to the head.
C.A.R. Shooting Technique (Intermediate): Grants +1 Agility. A self-contained gunfighting style integrating both melee and ranged combat, moderately enhancing your combat capabilities.
Precision Machinery Crafting (Expert): No one in this world knows precision mechanics better than you.
"Well, that's not bad," Zhou Ning said with a satisfied expression.
In Apocalypse, you can never have too many skills. Not only are most of them useful, but they also tie into a special gameplay mechanic unique to the game: skill fusion.
Players can consume experience points to fuse two or more intermediate-level (or above) skills together to produce a new beginner-level skill.
Fusion can fail, with a base success rate of 60%, which increases depending on the levels of the source skills.
For example, fusing two high-level skills has almost a 100% success rate, while two intermediate-level skills carry a 40% failure chance.
Even if the resulting skill isn't particularly powerful, it will always inherit traits from its component skills. And even if the fusion fails or yields a mediocre skill, you can still try again—your original skills remain, though their proficiency resets.
Take this classic fusion recipe as an example: a must-have for warrior-type players in the previous timeline.
There's a warrior combat skill called Slash. When fused with the general skill Dodge, it creates an entirely new skill: Evasive Slash, an exceptional move that balances offense and defense.
Zhou Ning had been eyeing the general skill Dodge for some time. The requirement to learn it is 10 Agility. When he first transmigrated, his Agility was only 8. Now, he finally meets the threshold.
This is one of Apocalypse's biggest attractions: as long as you have enough experience, you can mix and match your way into a vast variety of new skills. If the new skills form a coherent set, you can even create a new class by presenting them to an NPC.
That said, even after more than four years of the game running in the previous timeline, no one had managed to create a class this way.
That's precisely what Zhou Ning is aiming for.
His current body has zero affinity for Natural Force and Arcane Power, meaning he's cut off from the warrior and mage paths. So he might as well carve out a brand-new class for himself.
There's still a month and a half before the closed beta starts, and he plans to use that time to complete the framework of his custom class. As for the name? For now, he's tentatively calling it Wandering Gunslinger.
A class that uses firearms as its primary attack method, combining elements of occultism and mechanics, and specializing in combating dark creatures.
Most importantly, the class has to look cool—after all, that's how you get players to spend money.
The game interface updated once again.
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: NPC [Closed Beta Countdown: 47 Days 12 Hours 22 Minutes]
Level: 2
Class: Student / Teaching Assistant [1/10]
Subclass: Linguist [2/10]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talent: Tony Stark (Purple)
Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 13, Endurance 8, Willpower 9, Spirit 9, Charisma 99
HP: 80/80
Stamina: 96/96
Willpower Points: 9/9
Mana: 0
Life Skills: Alchemy (Beginner), Occultism (Intermediate), Precision Machinery Crafting (Expert), Gambling (Advanced)
General Skills: English Proficiency (Expert), Pickpocketing (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Advanced), Flirting (Expert), Ripple Breathing Technique (Beginner), Mozambique Drill (Beginner), C.A.R. Shooting Technique (Intermediate)
Other stats hidden.
The hidden quest "Literary Life" had also progressed to 523/1000. Clearly, he did quite a bit of reading in the previous world.
All in all, a satisfying haul. Zhou Ning happily opened a book he borrowed from the library. Learning makes me happy.jpg.
It was a book on the alchemist subclass titled Equivalent Exchange: The Origins and Evolution of Alchemy, written by a relatively unknown alchemist named Tom Chambers.
The content was dry alchemical theory, filled with obscure terminology and diagrams. Zhou Ning forced himself to read carefully, and after about thirty seconds, a notification popped up.
[You are self-studying Alchemy. Based on your Willpower, your proficiency increased by 2 points (Extreme Calmness +0.2)]
[You are self-studying Alchemy. Based on your Willpower, your proficiency increased by 3 points (Extreme Calmness +0.3)]
[You have learned a new alchemy formula.]
"Just like in the game," Zhou Ning thought with delight. He focused his mind and continued turning the pages.
After finishing the 150-page book, he gained nearly 200 proficiency points. Then he picked up the second book… and continued until he'd read all the books he'd brought. By then, his basic alchemy proficiency had reached about halfway.
He also unlocked two new formulas: a Basic Bull Potion that boosts attack power, and a Basic Stone Shield Potion that increases defense.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Probably John, Zhou Ning figured. Without bothering to put on a jacket, he went to open it.
To his surprise, standing outside was a pretty teenage girl with chestnut hair and light brown eyes, dressed in the Bryston school uniform. Her legs were long, making the hem of her skirt look short. Her straight, pale legs caught Zhou Ning's gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
So it's her… the second wife in the eyes of future players—Rosie Lily, a prodigious alchemist. Players dubbed her "wife material" for obvious reasons: she's cute, has long legs, and honestly, who doesn't love a long-legged moe girl?
From his memory, although they both studied under Professor Wesley, they hadn't interacted much. Rosie was shy and usually wore a serious expression, but every time she saw him, she'd blush and dodge like a startled fawn.
"Ah…"
Rosie gasped, covering her mouth in shock when she saw Zhou Ning shirtless. Her head lowered, fingers fidgeting with her sleeve hems. Her long legs shuffled nervously. "Senior Wayne, could you please… put on a shirt?"
Zhou Ning didn't give her a hard time. As he pulled on a shirt, he asked, "How can I help you?"
Rosie rubbed her face, then imitated Professor Wesley's tone as she said, "The professor asked me to tell you: feel free to make any potions you like—just stop making healing potions. Also, you'll be responsible for the orientation in four days. Alone."
She actually did a pretty good impression. Zhou Ning chuckled and nodded. "Got it. Anything else?"
"Um… would you like a red bean cake?" Rosie asked instinctively, pulling one from her coat.
"I'd love one." Zhou Ning took it from her hand. It was still warm.
"…"
Realizing what she'd just done, Rosie lowered her head in shame. She had a bad habit of stress-eating—and the more anxious she got, the more she wanted to eat. This time, she'd gotten so nervous she offered it without thinking.
After she left, Zhou Ning shook his head with a smile. He hadn't expected her to be this cute.
The next two days followed a routine of alternating between the alchemy tower, the library, and his dorm. Though his memories remained fragmented, he was becoming more familiar with his predecessor's social circle. His best friend was his roommate John, followed by a chubby guy named Fred from the neighboring dorm—of course, every protagonist needs a fat best friend.
Unlike his first day, Zhou Ning didn't mass-produce potions. On the first day, he made both basic mana and bull potions. The second day, he crafted basic mana and stone shield potions. By midday of the second day, his alchemy skill had leveled up, triggering the long-awaited system prompt.
[Your proficiency has reached 100%. Alchemy has advanced to Intermediate.]
[You have gained the subclass: Alchemy Apprentice. Willpower +1. You have received 1 free attribute point.]
[You have unlocked new skills: Potion Blending, Item Transmutation, and Conversion.]
[You have unlocked new formulas: Intermediate Healing Potion, Intermediate Mana Potion, Gold-to-Iron.]
The real value of reaching intermediate-level alchemy wasn't in those underwhelming formulas—it was that Zhou Ning finally qualified to study a divine-tier alchemy formula.
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