There was no concept of time in the Settlement Space.

  After an unknown period, Xia Lin woke from his slumber, and the system prompt sounded again.

  [Job change complete.]

  [Please open the attribute panel to view more details.]

  He stretched, feeling refreshed, but there were no immediate changes.

  The job change didn’t seem to have enhanced Xia Lin’s attributes, and even the temporary buffs from the previous Ember Zone were gone. He had returned to being the ordinary guy with 6 points of Strength...

  The good news was that he could be human again.

  The bad news was that, as a human, he was very weak.

  Following the Ember Zone’s prompts, Xia Lin opened the attribute panel, and his personal attributes came into view.

  [Name: Xia Lin]

  [Level: 1]

  [Occupation: Shadow of Indeterminacy]

  [Occupational Talent 1: Uncertain Constant (S-class talent):]

  There is a constant amidst change, just like the constant in mathematics.

  Uncertain Constant provides the Shadow of Indeterminacy with three additional constant skill slots. Skills placed in the constant slots (whether normal or mutated) will not continue to mutate and will not be observed by any skills.

  You can swap the skills in the constant skill slots before the start of each Ember Zone and in the Settlement Space after the end of the Ember Zone.

  [Occupational Talent 2: Unstable Mutation (SSS-class talent):]

  (Individual talent converted to occupational talent. Talent upgraded due to job change stimulation.)

  Unstable Mutation: Whenever you acquire a skill or enter the Ember Zone, all of your skills that are not in the constant skill slots will randomly mutate. The buffs you receive will also randomly mutate.

  However, you can choose whether to retain the mutated effect. If you choose no, the skills and buffs will not mutate.

  [Basic Attributes:]

  [Strength: 6]

  [Stamina: 6]

  [Agility: 6]

  [Spirit: 10]

  Constant Skill Slots: 3

  Current Skills: 0

  Normal Skill Slots: 1

  Current Skills: 0

  Note: You will gain one normal skill slot for each level you reach.

  Xia Lin let out a small sigh.

  No skills...

  Until the system prompt sounded again.

  [Congratulations on your promotion to Shadow of Indeterminacy.]

  [When the Ember Zone completes the job transfer, it will randomly grant 1-3 occupation-related skills (S-level and below).]

  [The occupation of Shadow of Indeterminacy does not have any S-level or below related vocational skills, so random selection is in progress...]

  [Selection complete!]

  [You have obtained three skills.]

  What does it mean to have good news coming from nowhere!

  What does it mean to have a silver lining after a dark cloud!

  And he had directly drawn the maximum of three skills!

  Xia Lin’s eyes widened, and even his breathing slowed.

  Until three capital letter Fs fell into his vision.

  [You have obtained the skill: Backstab (Level F skill):] Passive skill. Attacks from behind deal increased damage.

  [You have obtained the skill: Light Footsteps (Level F skill):] Passive skill. Your footsteps become quieter, while movement speed is slightly increased.

  [You have obtained the skill: Nourishment (Level F skill):] Active skill. Consumes 1 Spirit. After activation, it can nourish a single target, relieve fatigue, heal minor injuries, and cure minor illnesses. This skill has no cooldown time.

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  Xia Lin’s smile froze on his face.

  The good news: he really drew three skills.

  The bad news: all three skills were the lowest-level F-class skills.

  “So, what’s the point of having a level like F in the Ember Zone?”

  Just look at these “three great skills”...

  Backstab and Light Footsteps felt more like tricks than skills.

  Nourishment did have the flavor of a skill... but its effect was roughly equivalent to Red Bull + antibiotics + Yunnan Baiyao.

  Xia Lin had just finished complaining when a bright light flashed in front of him.

  Three spherical crystals appeared before his eyes out of thin air.

  [You do not have enough normal skill slots, so the skills are issued in the form of skill crystals.]

  Skill crystals are the manifestation of skills.

  As long as there is an empty skill slot, you can automatically master the skill by crushing the skill crystal.

  Xia Lin shook his head and took a skill crystal in his hand.

  [You have learned the skill: Nourishment (Level F skill).]

  The Nourishment skill appeared in the normal skill slot.

  Then, a flash of light appeared in the skill description, and Unstable Mutation took effect!

  [Your skill: Nourishment (Level F skill), mutated into Extreme Nourishment (Mutated).]

  [Extreme Nourishment (Mutated):] Active skill. Consumes 4 points of Spirit. Targets any single living creature and fattens the target to their genetic limit in a short period of time! This skill has no cooldown time.

  Xia Lin froze on the spot.

  “This...”

  He knew that Unstable Mutation was very strong—extremely strong!

  But he hadn’t realized that this talent also had a humorous side.

  The appearance of Extreme Nourishment seemed a bit... off.

  Xia Lin’s mind was in chaos, and for a moment, he couldn’t think of a practical use for this skill.

  But that didn’t stop him from placing Extreme Nourishment (Mutated) in the constant skill slot.

  He then picked up another skill crystal and crushed it.

  [You have learned the skill: Backstab (F-class skill).]

  The light flashed again, and Unstable Mutation took effect.

  [Your skill: Backstab (F-class skill), mutated into Backstab (Mutated).]

  [Backstab (Mutated):] A limit-breaking passive skill. When you backstab an ally of the opposing faction, permanently increase all attributes based on the impact caused.

  “Limit-breaking skills...”

  As he muttered these words, the Ember Zone system quickly provided an explanation.

  [Limit-breaking skills are a special type of skill in the Ember Zone.]

  The attribute limit of an Ember Zone traveler is directly related to their level.

  The attribute limit for a Level 1 Emberwalker is 10 points, 20 points for Level 2, and so on.

  However, the attribute bonus provided by limit-breaking skills can break through this limit, surpassing the level cap, and can be retained permanently.

  This means that a Level 1 Emberwalker can use limit-breaking skills to push their attributes to 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 or 100,000!

  Xia Lin thought of the Limit Breaker profession.

  “Attributes are power, and numbers are the truth!”

  Without hesitation, he moved Backstab (Mutated) into the constant skill slot and crushed the third skill crystal.

  [You have learned the skill: Light Footsteps (F-class skill).]

  [Your skill: Light Footsteps (F-class skill), mutated into Farewell from a Thousand Miles (Mutated).]

  [Farewell from a Thousand Miles (Mutated):] Active skill. Consumes half of the remaining Spirit (minimum 5 points). The skill is activated after saying goodbye to the target and making a waving motion. After activation, you will immediately be transported to any location within 1,000 li of the target that can accommodate you. The cooldown time for this skill is half a month.

  Xia Lin’s tense nerves finally relaxed.

  He had obtained what he needed most.

  ...

  “Return.”

  After lingering in the Settlement Space a while longer and scanning the Ember Zone Mall to confirm that 100 Ember Zone Points couldn’t buy anything he needed, Xia Lin decided to return.

  This time, the Ember Zone system finally provided a detailed explanation of the return process.

  [Returning from the Ember Zone will bring you back to the Ember Zone entrance.]

  [Additionally, because the time flow in the Ember Zone is different from reality, no matter how long you stay in the Ember Zone, only one hour will pass in real time.]

  This means that survivors who enter the same Ember Zone from the same entrance will return to the same place at the same time.

  Li Peipei had been telling the truth.

  [At the same time, you must find the Ember Zone entrance on your own within one month and enter the Ember Zone again.]

  [Those who exceed the time limit will be eliminated.]

  The Ember Zone was like a tiger and a wolf, forcing Ember Zone travelers to keep entering, keep falling into deadly situations, and keep struggling for survival.

  There was a reason why the original owner of the body hadn’t wanted to be an Ember Zone traveler.

  No one likes to live a life of near-death.

  “But I, Xia Lin, would rather take my fate into my own hands.”

  He slowly clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and returned completely to reality.