Chapter 41: Soul Attrition
Although Flora hid her face behind a book, her ears were perked up high.
When she heard Lance looking at potions by himself, clearly with no intention of placating her, she couldn’t help but secretly lower the book just a little, revealing a pair of resentful eyes.
She saw Lance with his back to her, seemingly engrossed in studying a low-grade antidote potion.
The girl felt even more aggrieved. She slammed the book down hard on the table with a dull THUD.
Lance heard the noise and knew the time was right.
If he kept teasing her, the good-natured girl was really going to fly off the handle.
With a soft chuckle, he turned and walked to the counter. He gently placed the paper bag he’d been hiding behind his back on the book in front of Flora.
"Alright, don’t be mad."
Lance’s voice was placating.
"I was held up by something urgent yesterday. I made sure to get up extra early today to wait in line for this."
Flora wanted to maintain her aloof act, but her nose betrayed her, twitching a couple of times.
A rich, creamy aroma mixed with the sweetness of honey wafted from the seams of the paper bag.
Lance knew the preferences of all three girls in Gray Rock Town like the back of his hand.
Nia liked sweets, but she loved shiny trinkets even more. Amber was a tomboy who was never happy without a drink in her hand.
And Flora, well, she was a die-hard dessert lover with absolutely no self-control when it came to sweets.
"Really?"
Flora huffed in disbelief a couple of times, but her gaze uncontrollably drifted toward the paper bag.
She reached out, pulled the bag toward her, and peeked inside.
A moment later, the girl’s eyes, hidden behind her glasses, lit up as if she’d just seen a priceless treasure.
It was Gray Rock Town’s new seasonal special: the Forest Berry Tart.
The tart was so precious because the plump red berries that decorated its top had to be express delivered every morning from distant towns in warmer climates.
The shop only sold a few dozen of them in a limited run each day. If you got there too late, you wouldn’t even see a crumb.
She had only complained offhandedly once while playing cards about wanting to try one but missing her chance. She never thought Lance would actually remember.
Flora’s dimples instantly appeared.
Watching the girl beaming with joy as she held the dessert, Lance breathed a silent sigh of relief.
’So easy to please.’
He pulled out a high stool and sat down, his gaze traveling over the counter to the semi-circular archway at the back of the shop.
It led to the core of the potion shop: the Alchemy Workshop.
Whenever he’d visited in the past, he could hear the gurgling of boiling concoctions in cauldrons or the crisp clinking of glassware, even from a distance.
But now, it was completely silent inside. Not a single sound.
"Is Aunt Mowenna not in?"
Lance asked casually.
Flora had already taken a huge, eager bite of the berry tart, smearing bright red jam on her lips.
She explained, her voice muffled by the food:
"She went to the Guild."
"Aunt Mowenna went first thing this morning. She took some samples to bid on the procurement contract for that joint sweep operation."
"Aunt Mowenna tested that Potion of yours overnight. The Effect was fantastic, so she’s already added it to our list for the bid."
"Do you want to wait here for her? She shouldn’t be long."
Hearing this, Lance nodded expectantly.
"Alright, I’ll wait."
This was a major issue that would determine how full his wallet would be in the future; waiting a little while was only natural.
With nothing else to do, Lance watched Flora devour her treat with gusto and began to idly tap his fingers on the tabletop.
A key question about his own development suddenly popped into his mind.
It was about the [Potion Research] function on his panel.
If he was set on taking a combat Profession like [Pale Guard], would this production-oriented Potion function become a useless dead end?
After all, a person’s energy was finite.
It would be one thing in a game, but this was reality.
"Flora."
Lance chose his words carefully before asking.
"You know I have a personal Talent for enhancing Potion Effects, but my future plan doesn’t involve becoming an Alchemist."
"If I don’t choose a related Profession, will this Talent of mine just go to waste?"
"Is there some way to have the best of both worlds?"
By this point, Flora had already devoured the berry tart like a whirlwind.
Still not satisfied, she pulled a second dessert from the bag: a chocolate lava ball dusted with powdered sugar.
Hearing Lance’s question, she took a bite of the chocolate ball, getting brown crumbs all over her mouth, and said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world:
"Of course not. You can just take a secondary Profession."
"A secondary Profession?"
Lance froze.
That was something his ridiculously expensive copy of the *Basic Guide for Professional Employment* had never mentioned.
That book was all about specializing and honing Attributes; it never touched on something as abstract as holding multiple Professions.
’It seems that book was just a simplified, basic guide for newbies. This must be a path you only learn about after you officially become a Professional.’
Flora took another bite of her dessert and began to explain like a little teacher.
"You’ve probably never read *Professional Origin Discussion*. It analyzes the fundamental nature of Professions in great detail."
"Choosing a Profession, in essence, is the act of making your soul adapt to and embody one of this world’s fundamental rules."
"But a person’s soul has a finite strength."
"After you choose your Main Profession, you can then take on a secondary one."
"But there are strict limitations. The Level of a secondary Profession can never exceed the Level of your Main Profession."
At this, the girl’s expression grew a little more serious.
"And you have to be extremely careful when choosing a secondary Profession."
"You have to choose Professions that are vastly different from each other. Otherwise, you’ll suffer severe soul attrition."
"For example, if your Main Profession is combat-focused, then your secondary one should ideally be a crafting or lifestyle-type Profession, or maybe some kind of social-class Profession."
"If you get greedy and try to take two combat-type Professions..."
Flora shook her head.
"The two similar sets of rules will clash within your soul, causing immense attrition."
"The most direct consequence is that your rate of growth will be drastically reduced by a certain percentage."
Lance got it instantly.
’It’s like an experience penalty in a game. Where you’d normally get 100 experience for killing a monster, with a secondary Profession you might only get 70, or even less.’
"You’ve read books about this?"
Lance looked in surprise at the girl with a mouthful of chocolate.
Flora gave him a look that said, ’Is that supposed to be strange?’
"Of course! I’m getting ready to become an Alchemist, so naturally I have to do my research."
Lance suddenly realized something and asked, his voice trembling slightly:
"Then... have you read the *Basic Guide for Professional Employment*?"