Chapter 68: About the Druid

I did not take the money from Chaxi but only asked her to keep it for me, to be settled later. After learning that the equipment would take more than ten days to repair, I left the blacksmith's shop.

Looking at the time, it was already noon. I hadn't realized I had spent so much time with Chaxi. Next, I planned to visit Cain, hoping to get a free lunch at his place.

Unfortunately, my free meal plan was shattered at the central square. Cain was standing there, smiling and chatting with a few job changers. "Old man, are you an NPC? Don't you need to eat lunch?"

After the job changers left, I approached to greet him.

Cain welcomed me back with a warm smile. "Dear Wu, welcome back. It's been half a year, and I'm sure you've had great gains."

I was surprised by his excellent memory. After half a year, he still remembered me, someone he had only met once. Not bad, not bad, it saved me the trouble of introducing myself.

Unlike those rigid job changers, I looked at the bright sun and coaxed Cain into a restaurant. Better to fill our stomachs first, and I could also bribe the boss. It was a win-win situation.

"Cain, I have some questions about the druid that I'd like to ask you."

After a satisfying meal, I burped and got straight to the point. I'm not that easy to take advantage of. This afternoon, you'll have to work hard for me.

Cain seemed to have anticipated my intentions. He slowly picked up his cup, took a sip of fruit wine, and then said, "Dear Wu, do you understand the druid? Do you know the druid's position among the seven classes?"

I thought carefully but couldn't explain it, so I shook my head.

"Job changers are called job changers because they have skills. Otherwise, they are no different from mercenaries. Among the seven classes, the druid is the most versatile. It can summon like a necromancer, control elemental attacks like a wizard, and has powerful melee skills in the transformation category. However, when faced with these dazzling skills, you must first consider your role in the team. If you only specialize in one skill, choosing the summoning category makes you less useful than a necromancer; choosing the transformation category, you are inferior to a barbarian; as for the elemental category, do you think you can outperform a wizard?

In this way, how can you stand your ground in the team? If they need a melee attacker, they can choose a barbarian. If they need a bit more magic, a wizard is more suitable..."

Cain slowly explained the advantages and disadvantages of the druid, covering almost all aspects of the druid's insights and analysis, making me feel as if a door had opened in the darkness.

"In short..."

Cain licked his dry lips and finished the fruit wine in one gulp.

"The druid can be summarized in one word: 'all.' The druid is the only class that combines melee, elemental, summoning, and support skills. This is both the druid's strength and weakness. You need to leverage its versatility to give yourself an advantage that other classes don't have, but you also can't be mediocre and make all skills useless. Balancing this is crucial. As for how to choose..."

Cain looked at me seriously, "You need to judge based on your team's situation. Before choosing your skill direction, you must find a team, a suitable team, and then choose your direction based on the team's needs."

I inwardly sighed. Isn't that like not saying anything at all? Given my current situation, choosing a suitable team would have to wait until after level 30, when the bug amulet's effect is less prominent. Being a bit more careful, I could still hide it from others.

Next, Cain explained the rough aspects of the druid's skills and pointed out the key points for optimization. He even cited the signature skills of famous druid masters, showing his vast knowledge. If he were as familiar with every class as he is with the druid, calling him erudite would be an understatement.

In terms of skill optimization, Cain only gave me some basics, not because of his limited knowledge, but because he believed that only truly suitable optimized skills are the best. Sharing his experience and insights in advance, while saving me a lot of trouble, would also limit my imagination and creativity. Only skills that I develop and understand through battle are truly suitable for my style.

I agreed with this. The same skill could have a hundred different interpretations among a hundred druids. The insights of predecessors may not be suitable for me. Cain had pointed me in the right direction, and now I had to explore on my own. Although it was more troublesome, it was undoubtedly the best path to becoming a strong player.

"Cain, what do you think about our transformation skills?" This was the main reason I came to see Cain.

"Transformation skills? Tell me your thoughts first!" Cain always liked to ask for the other person's opinion before explaining. He was truly a meticulous scholar.

"In my view, unlike the necromancer's summons, the druid's summons are living beings. As far as I know, all living beings have the instinct to learn. So, I wonder if a summoned creature could become stronger through long-term training?"

After hearing my question, Cain looked at me approvingly.

"Good question. Generally, new druids don't think about this."

Not many? That means some have thought about it? And they were just new druids. What about the druid masters? I was shocked, and countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

"Regarding whether druid summons can become stronger through training, this has been studied before, and..."

Cain paused, seemingly to increase the credibility of his words, and suddenly pulled out a thick parchment book, flipping through a few pages.

"According to the research, we discovered an interesting fact. Over three thousand years ago, a druid named Gadorothes accidentally summoned a ghost wolf with a scar on its ear. When he dismissed the summon, and summoned it again, it was still the same ghost wolf with the scar. This phenomenon immediately caught the attention of druids at the time. After numerous experiments, it was confirmed that a summoned creature, if dismissed, would still be the same creature when summoned again, until it is killed. This conclusion provided favorable conditions for the possibility of summoned creatures evolving and becoming stronger through training, as a creature that can be repeatedly summoned as long as it doesn't die has more potential for improvement."

"However, the results were quite disappointing. Through numerous experiments, it was found that summoned creatures do become more skilled and brave through long-term training, but their strength does not increase proportionally to the effort invested. Therefore, many people gave up on this idea. They believed that the effort to train a summoned creature, which could still be lost at any time, was not worth it. It would be better to use them as cannon fodder from the start."

"So, this research eventually came to nothing. Even the knowledge that summoned creatures can be repeatedly summoned as long as they don't die gradually faded from people's memory. After all, if summoned creatures can't become stronger, this function is not very useful."

"Does training summoned creatures only make them more skilled and brave, without any other changes?" I asked, still unsure.

"Of course, if they could mutate and evolve, druids wouldn't have to worry about choosing skills, and necromancers wouldn't be the only ones excelling in summoning." Cain smiled.

I was a bit disappointed. I thought I had discovered something new, but it turned out that others had studied it over three thousand years ago. However, I was now more pleased—turns out, the ability for summoned creatures to mutate and evolve was my unique discovery.

I chatted with Cain for a while. I was now in awe of his knowledge. Anyone who still thinks of people in this world as fools can eat it. So far, I haven't found any superiority in being a穿越者.

At the end of our conversation, Cain said something unexpected.

"Wu, I know you have some secrets. Please rest assured, Akara and I have no ill intentions. Everyone has their own secrets, which even the gods cannot easily violate. However..."

"I have a suggestion that might help you. I think you should try to increase your fame among the Rogues. I know you don't like being in the spotlight, but I believe this can protect your secrets to some extent." Cain said meaningfully.

Although I knew Akara would tell Cain about my differences from other job changers, I was still taken aback by his words. I then carefully considered Cain's advice and suddenly saw the light.

Indeed, secrets can't be hidden forever. Since I can't guarantee that my secrets will remain hidden, why not build a reputation first? The Dark Continent is a land of heroes, and countless heroes are revered by the people. If I could become a hero in people's eyes, then even if I occasionally reveal some unusual abilities, as long as they're not too extreme, they could be explained under the halo of a hero. Heroes, after all, are supposed to be a bit different!

Realizing this, I felt a sense of clarity. Although I prefer a peaceful life, I wouldn't refuse becoming a hero. The feeling of being admired by thousands is something no young man can resist. As for the theory of being low-key and following the ancient principles of restraint, go to hell. This is a different world.

I bowed deeply to Cain and left the restaurant, humming a tune. The gains from today were even more satisfying than when I got the golden leather armor. Not only did I settle things with Chaxi, but I also learned a lot about druids from Cain, especially the fact that only my summoned creatures can mutate and evolve. With this, the summoning category is mine to dominate. What are necromancers compared to this...