Chapter One: This interface... can add points?

In the head teacher’s office, standing before the desk.

"Teacher, can I not join the Support Department? I feel like the Warrior or Assassin paths would be quite suitable for me. I’m sure I could achieve great things in those fields."

Old Li glanced at him sideways, tossed the file in his hand onto the desk, and said, "Heh, wanting to join the Warrior or Assassin departments? That’s fine. But if you transfer, your benefits will be downgraded, and you will be treated as having no talent. After all, your talent has nothing to do with Warriors or Mages; it only has value when trained within the Support Department."

"How much would the benefits drop?" Ye Mingqiu asked.

"Not much, just the immediate cancellation of your special subsidies, the loss of free access to cultivation equipment, the removal of extracurricular tutoring allowances, and the revocation of direct admissions to prestigious universities upon graduation, that’s all." Old Li replied with a cold sneer.

He then patted Ye Mingqiu on the shoulder and switched to a comforting tone. "Although the early transition phase for the Support Department is difficult, as long as you pass successfully, you will have an incredibly bright future. After all... among the population of Psionicists, supports are quite rare. A powerful support can easily find teammates far stronger than themselves."

"Uh... alright then."

Ye Mingqiu sighed as he walked out of the office, left with no choice but to accept reality.

Outside the office, a tall, thin student wearing glasses stood nearby, watching him with a grin. "Transfer failed, right?"

"Yeah."

"I knew it. Our whole school doesn't have many good seeds with attribute-boosting talents; how could Old Li possibly let you go easily? You should know that elite supports are directly guaranteed a spot in top-tier universities. And you wanted to bail on that?" Chen Ran laughed.

"Heh, you’re not saying a word about the suffering one has to endure as a support," Ye Mingqiu said with a dark expression.

The reason the Support Department offers good benefits is that those with mental specializations are scarce and difficult to cultivate. Only those who demonstrate an outstanding mental specialty during their first trial in the Spirit Realm have a chance to receive a promotion quest for the Support Department.

Of course, if that were the only hurdle, the number of support students wouldn't be so low. The real problem is whether they can successfully complete their promotion quest.

As is widely known, the Support Department requires a mental specialty. When a person first enters the Spirit Realm, they have no skills, and the effect of their mental attribute is effectively zero. Furthermore, the basic requirement to enter the Spirit Realm is a total base attribute score of just over 20.

And here lies the problem: with a total attribute score of 20, the higher your mental attribute, the lower your other attributes are, making your combat capability weaker. Since the first promotion quest must be completed solo in an indiscriminate Spirit Realm trial, can a support student even succeed?

This makes the task difficulty for the Support Department far higher than for other combat departments. The margin for error is extremely low, and the demands on one's own physical and mental quality are exceptionally high.

Under these circumstances, the school and even the state provide additional compensation to support students to incentivize the cultivation of more supports. But even so, their numbers remain extremely rare.

After some more banter with Chen Ran, Ye Mingqiu left, feeling melancholy.

"Open panel."

Ye Mingqiu muttered to himself.

Talent awakening is a major unified event held at the start of the third year of high school. Those who successfully acquire a talent gain the favor of the Spirit Realm’s consciousness, which unlocks a temporary panel allowing them to view their talent and data until they officially enter the Spirit Realm trials.

If the trial is successful, they officially become a Psionicist. If they fail, the temporary access disappears, and barring any accidents, they will have no further connection to the world of Psionicists.

Temporary Panel:
Vitality: 26
Psionic Energy: 27.5
Base Attributes: [Strength: 2.3, Agility: 1.9, Constitution: 2.6, Spirit: 5.5, Total: 12.3]
Talent+
Psionic-Surplus
Rank: C
Effect: When Psionic Energy reaches 100%, Strength and Agility increase by 30%. Once Psionic Energy drops below 100%, this effect gradually fades over one minute. When Psionic Energy returns to 100%, the effect gradually increases to its maximum value over two minutes.

Yes, you read that right. This is a talent that boosts Strength and Agility.

So-called "support-compatible" talents are those that, while having a high mental attribute, also provide boosts to other base attributes or directly enhance combat power. Otherwise, a support student would struggle to even pass the most basic Spirit Realm trial.

"It's a pity my family has no money," Ye Mingqiu said painfully.

The path for those with mental specializations isn't limited to just Support; there is also the Mage path. However, Mages are usually affectionately referred to as "Mage Lords."

This is because before entering the Spirit Realm, "Mage Lords" usually spend millions on skill scrolls to learn attack skills in advance, and then use guidance from professional teachers to raise their specialization levels early, easily and happily obtaining the Mage-class profession they desire. The rankings for the Mage Department are often jokingly called the "Mage-bes Rankings."

In short: you want to be a lord without money? You must still be living in a dream!

Because of this, even when Ye Mingqiu wanted to change majors, he didn't dare to apply for the Mage Department, which better suited his mental specialty, because that is a domain no ordinary person can step into.

Why are Mage Lords considered "lords"?
Because they don't just need talent; they need to spend money, they need to grind, and they need to master a massive amount of theoretical knowledge regarding basic spells. Without being cultivated from a young age, a self-taught mage isn't a Mage Lord; at best, they are a magician. The gap in practical effectiveness between those who understand spell theory and those who don't is immense. This profession is not for the average person to just coast through.

"Eh? Am I seeing things? Why is there a plus sign after this talent panel?"

Ye Mingqiu squinted. He was one hundred percent certain that when he looked at the panel earlier, there was definitely no plus sign after the talent; otherwise, he would have noticed it long ago.

When did it appear?
Why would something like this appear?
Since it's here, why not click it and see?

Filled with curiosity, Ye Mingqiu reached out and gently tapped the plus sign on the talent panel.

[Second talent awakening in progress...]

Huh?

The next moment, Ye Mingqiu felt a familiar ripple surge through his body—the very same ripple he had felt during his first talent awakening...

Holy crap!
Talent awakening!

Accompanied by this came the pain and weakness inherent in awakening a talent. It felt like the struggle of a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, shattering chains to release suppressed power.

Shortly after, Ye Mingqiu collapsed onto a roadside bench, unable to squeeze out a single ounce of strength, feeling as though he might pass out at any moment.

But he was still incredibly excited. He had actually unlocked a second talent! And it was an even more powerful B-rank talent!

Talent: Psionic-Limit Break
Rank: B
Effect: Psionic Energy cap increased to 200%, Psionic recovery speed increased by 50%. When total Psionic Energy exceeds 100%, the efficiency of accumulating energy is halved.

"This talent seems to synergize with my first one, potentially creating an even stronger effect... but the problem is I have no skills! This is agonizing!" Ye Mingqiu muttered to himself in distress.

Forget it.
I should just focus on settling in for now.