Chapter 18

Chapter 18

In the game, aside from the openly available Profession Tokens, there were also Hidden Profession Tokens. These hidden tokens were few in number—only a hundred in total. Aside from their unique passive effects, they all boasted a growth multiplier of seven times—stronger than top-tier professions but weaker than Saint-level ones.

Not only were these Hidden Profession Tokens extremely difficult to obtain, but each one was also unique across the Myriad Realms.

In his past life, players who managed to acquire Hidden Profession Tokens mostly stumbled upon them by sheer luck or accident. Some fished one up while casually angling, others had one drop unexpectedly while grinding monsters, and a few even obtained them after getting lost in dungeons or wild zones, somehow triggering and completing obscure quests.

In short, at least ninety percent of these Hidden Profession Tokens were impossible to replicate. It all came down to pure luck!

At their core, Hidden Professions were just a special perk the game granted to players across the Myriad Realms. Whether from a low-tier or high-tier civilization, every player had an equal chance of obtaining one.

Thus, for players who already held a Saint-level token to acquire a Hidden Profession Token, the odds were about as likely as winning the lottery jackpot ten thousand times in a row—utterly inconceivable.

This was also why, in his past life, there had been no Divine-level Professions at all.

However, exceptions always existed.

Qin Han remembered that one Hidden Profession Token was located in a hidden spot within the Wild Bull Grassland. The difficulty of obtaining it wasn’t particularly high. From what he recalled, this token had been accidentally acquired by some lucky player about a week after the game’s launch. He had even read the guide the player later wrote.

Now, with less than a day having passed since the game’s start, he was confident he could secure it.

"First, I’ll grab the Hidden Profession Token. Only after Job Changing into a Divine-level Profession will I have laid a solid foundation."

At the altar, Qin Han stowed the Blade Saint Profession Token into his inventory and turned to leave.

Yet, when he stepped out of the altar, he still didn’t see the Village Chief anywhere. This struck him as odd. Under normal circumstances, as soon as a player brought a Profession Token to the altar, the Village Chief would arrive within minutes, no matter the time.

After all, the Village Chief and the players had a mutually beneficial relationship. The stronger the players, the greater the Village Chief’s future achievements. Conversely, if the players underperformed and the village was overrun by others, the Village Chief’s fate wouldn’t be much better. Their fates were intertwined—prosperity for one meant prosperity for the other.

The birth of every professional player was a significant boost to the village, so the Village Chief couldn’t possibly neglect it.

But now, from the time Qin Han entered the altar to synthesize the token until his departure, at least fifteen minutes had passed. There was no reason for the Village Chief not to show up.

"Where there's smoke, there's fire. Something must be going on here."

With his sharp instincts for the game, Qin Han immediately sensed something unusual. When NPCs acted out of character, it almost always involved a quest. For the Village Chief to skip something as major as a Job Change, the quest in question must be significant.

Puzzled, Qin Han left without further delay.

The moment he was gone, the gray-haired Village Chief and the Blade Hall Master emerged from the shadows together. Leaning on his cane, the Village Chief watched Qin Han’s retreating figure.

He sighed and said, "Ah, I was hoping to tease the kid a bit and make him obediently return to the Blade Hall to accept the task you gave him. But who would’ve thought that in the Beginner's Village—almost the weakest place in the Myriad Realms—someone could actually obtain a Saint-level Profession Token? No wonder he completely ignored you when you assigned him the task. But without his help, who’s going to rescue my dear granddaughter? If all else fails, we’ll just give him the Teleportation Token. Maybe there’s still a sliver of hope then?"

The Blade Hall Master, now uncharacteristically humble, nodded in agreement. "It seems that’s the only way."

...

Before leaving the village, Qin Han stopped by the general store to purchase Fire Oil, torches, and other miscellaneous items. He also casually bought some food and other essentials from other shops before swiftly exiting the village.

At this time, most players were either searching for their Job Change locations or resting in the village. On the southern road leading to the grassland, there were hardly any figures in sight. Seeing this, Qin Han no longer bothered to conceal himself. He directly summoned Nightmare and galloped at full speed toward the Wild Bull Grassland.

Before long, he arrived in the heart of the grassland.

Under the moonlight, the entire grassland was bathed in a silvery haze. A cool breeze carried a faint chill. Scanning the vast expanse, he noticed that the Wild Bulls had been nearly wiped out—hardly any remained in sight.

In the Game of Eternal Life, the beginner village’s wild beasts had a fixed spawn limit. Once killed, they wouldn’t respawn for another three days.

Even so, a few scattered players still wandered the grassland, searching for the scarce remaining Wild Bulls.

Riding Nightmare, Qin Han let the moonlight guide him as he raced across the plains. Soon, he reached the central area of the grassland—a seemingly ordinary spot where no one would suspect that five meters underground lay a hidden tomb.

"According to that player’s guide, there’s one way to open this place—kill ten or more players here to trigger the formation and unlock the passage underground."

Killing? Qin Han didn’t care.

In his past life, his hands had been stained with the blood of countless players—enough, perhaps, to dye the Yangtze River red.

But besides killing, he had other methods.

As a veteran player, cracking this formation wasn’t particularly difficult.

All he needed to do was burn away the grass here with Fire Oil, locate the formation’s energy veins, and make slight adjustments.

At most, it would take him an hour to solve it effortlessly.

He urged Nightmare to take a few steps back, then pulled out the Fire Oil he had prepared earlier, ready to toss it onto the ground.

But just then—

A frantic shout suddenly rang out behind him.

"Brother, run! Someone’s chasing us!"

Qin Han turned around and saw three stumbling figures desperately sprinting in his direction. Not far behind them, a dozen armed players were in hot pursuit.

With the enhanced Night Vision from his ancient-tier set, he could clearly make out the trio’s appearances.

Two of them were unmistakably the same brothers he had encountered at the start of the game—the ones who had been knocked over by Wild Bulls.

The village had free healing spots for beginners.

It seemed these two had been saved.

However, the sight of them being chased and hacked at by over a dozen players in the dead of night left him somewhat puzzled.

Still, it was none of his business.

He had no intention of meddling.

Stowing away the Fire Oil, he rode Nightmare a few steps to the side

and simply waited quietly, ready to let both groups pass.

Compared to their grudges, the hidden location was far more important.

But as the trio ran past him, they still took the time to warn him, "Run! Don’t just stand there!"

"Those guys are out for blood—if you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!"

Qin Han remained calm, still mounted on Nightmare, unmoving.

As if nothing in the world could faze him.

Seeing this, the three prepared to keep fleeing—

but just then, five or six sharp arrows came whistling from behind.

One of them struck a player square in the knee.

With a thud, one of the three collapsed.