Chapter 16: Apprenticing Under Lucia and Changing Profession to Demonic Rune Mage

"Name your price for giving me this student."

Lucia staring intently at Franklin, ready to make a significant offer.

Franklin, however, waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "As long as he's willing, I don't mind."

Just as players could have multiple professions, they could also have multiple teachers.

Franklin knew he couldn't guide Luca in every aspect, so he wouldn't restrict Luca from seeking more capable mentors. As he had mentioned before, he was merely introducing Luca to the path of the Witch Doctor; the rest was up to Luca.

With that, Franklin patted Luca on the shoulder and turned to leave, heading downstairs. 

Just without another word.

Lucia then turned her gaze to Luca, her expression serious. "Young man, would you be willing to follow me, Lucia Elizabeth, in the study of the arcane arts? "

"With your aptitude and the resources of the Mages' Association, I can definitely nurture you into a Transcendent mage!"

[Ding! Your aptitude has impressed Lucia Elizabeth, and she wants to take you as her student.]

[Do you agree?]

Hearing Lucia's words, Luca felt a surge of excitement.

Unlike Franklin, who lacked strong combat abilities, Lucia was a bona fide purple-gold grand mage!

Moreover, as the president of the Mages' Association, she had access to vast mage resources.

With her support, his path would undoubtedly be much smoother!

Without much hesitation, Luca respectfully said, "Student Luca, greets the teacher!"

[Ding! You have become the student of Lucia, the president of the Mages' Association!]

[Ding! Lucia's favorability towards you +500, favorability level reaches 'Trust'!]

Seeing Luca's response, Lucia nodded and smiled.

Handsome, talented, and polite!

Taking him as a student was one of the best decisions she had made in years.

After a moment's thought, Lucia said with a smile, "Since Franklin was willing to give you a Platinum Grade elemental potion, I, as your teacher, can't be stingy either."

With a wave of her hand, a platinum-colored light flew into Luca's arms.

Upon closer inspection, Luca saw that it was a high-level spell skill book!

[Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire: High-level skill, mage class can learn. Upon use, the player can control thunder fire to deal 200% magic skill damage to enemies, with a 30% chance to inflict paralysis or burn status, lasting for 5 seconds!]

Reading the description of the Heavenly Thunder Purple Fire, Luca felt a surge of uncontrollable excitement.

A high-level lightning magic spell given so casually—this teacher was incredibly generous!

Just this skill book alone would save him years of effort!

"Thank you, teacher!" Luca immediately expressed his gratitude.

Lucia waved her hand dismissively, her tone generous, "It's nothing. Unfortunately, your level is too low right now. Once your level increases, I will give you even better things!"

A genius with max-level aptitude like you would be heavily nurtured by any faction. What's one high-level skill book compared to that?

Luca was astonished.

These big shots truly were lavish beyond belief!

Lucia smiled and asked, "So, what profession do you plan to change to next? With your talent and strength, it doesn't matter if you participate in the association's profession change trial or not. I can personally ensure your profession change."

The profession change trial was typically an assessment by the Mages' Association.

After the trial, the association would offer different profession crystals based on the mage's performance and choices.

As the president of the Mages' Association, Lucia could facilitate Luca's profession change with a mere word.

"Thank you, teacher. I want to change to Demonic Rune Mage!" Luca felt a surge of joy.

Initially, he needed an exceptional performance to obtain the Demonic Rune Mage profession crystal.

Now, Lucia's intervention saved him a lot of effort.

Indeed, having powerful connections made a world of difference!

Hearing his decision, Lucia frowned slightly and cautioned, "You should think it through. I'm an elemental mage specializing in thunder and fire, not well-versed in magic runes. If you choose Demonic Rune Mage, I won't be able to offer you much guidance."

Different mentors excelled in different fields. Lucia only had a superficial understanding of Demonic Rune Mage.

If Luca pursued this path, he might have to figure out much on his own after the initial stages.

Luca responded without hesitation. 

"I'm certain!"

Demonic Rune Mage, one of the few professions in later times capable of standing against demon king-level monsters alone, was a choice he had carefully considered.

"Very well, as you wish," Lucia sighed. With a wave of her hand, a purple-black crystal the size of a fist appeared.

[Profession Change Crystal (Demonic Rune Mage): Upon use, the player will gain the hidden profession "Demonic Rune Mage"!]

"Thank you, teacher." Luca quickly took the inheritance crystal and expressed his gratitude.

Lucia shook her head slightly, not saying much more. She left the awakening room to let Luca undergo his profession change in peace.

After Lucia left, Luca didn't hesitate and immediately used the profession change crystal.

The inheritance crystal turned into a stream of light and entered his forehead.

The next moment, purple-black light burst from his body. 

It forming intricate, mystical runes that looked like purple-black lightning.

Soon, waves of magic rune energy emanated from Luca's body!

[Ding! Congratulations on changing your profession to the hidden profession "Demonic Rune Mage"!]

[You have gained the skills "Magic Rune Drawing (Exclusive)," "Turbulence (Low-Level)," and "Heavenly Charge (Low-Level)"...]

Luca opened his eyes, a faint black gleam flashing within.

His aura had become more profound and mysterious, and his strength had increased several times over!

"It's done!" Luca's eyes sparkled with joy as he felt the power of the magic runes within him.

Originally, Luca thought he would have to spend a lot of time and effort, but he easily obtained the Demonic Rune Mage profession. Having maxed-out charm really saved him a lot of trouble!

He then checked his newly acquired skills.

[Magic Runes Drawing lv1: Exclusive skill. A Demonic Rune Mage can use magical materials to draw 1 fixed magic rune and 1 temporary magic rune every 10 levels. Different magic runes will grant different enhancement effects or skills. Once drawn, a fixed magic rune cannot be changed. The higher the material grade, the stronger the magic rune's effect. No cooldown time.]

Seeing the skills before him, Luca clenched his fists, eyes shining with excitement.

"Magic Runes Drawing" is one of the core skills of the Demonic Rune Mage!

With enough materials, a Demonic Rune Mage can continuously draw magic runes to strengthen themselves.

Later on, a Demonic Rune Mage could have dozens of magic runes attached to their body!

In battle, under the enhancement of these runes, a Demonic Rune Mage can unleash earth-shattering power in an instant!

In addition, Luca obtained two low-level attack skills. 

"Turbulence" and "Heavenly Charge."

[Turbulence lv1: Low-level skill. After casting the skill, the Demonic Rune Mage can thrust a magic spear at the enemy, dealing 130% magic damage to the target. Cooldown time is 5 minutes, and it consumes 500 mana points.]

[Heavenly Charge lv1: Low-level skill. After casting the skill, the Demonic Rune Mage can instantly charge at the enemy with a magic spear, dealing 120% skill damage to the target. Cooldown time is 3 minutes, and it consumes 300 mana points.]

Demonic Rune Mages use a magic spear, a special type of melee spell weapon.

Therefore, besides magic rune skills, many of their skills are melee-focused.

However, this is not a concern. In Eternal Game, players can learn other skills as long as they meet the requirements.

With his max-level aptitude, Luca could quickly learn and expand his spell skill pool!

Calming himself, Luca began to ponder.

After completing his profession change, the next step was to create his first magic rune.

There are two types of magic runes: fixed and temporary.

Fixed magic runes must be carefully selected because once chosen, they cannot be changed.

Temporary magic runes, on the other hand, are consumables and need to be redrawn after a few uses.

So before obtaining his first fixed magic rune, Luca could draw some temporary magic runes for the time being.

As for his first fixed magic rune, he already had a plan.

Thinking about this, Luca's eyes gleamed with cold determination.

Nothing seemed more fitting for drawing his first fixed magic rune than the blood of Hydra!