Chapter 5

His tired body was drenched in sweat, and with every step, Lu Pingan felt as if his feet were filled with lead.

"Hah, hah, this is the stamina of a man who has been bedridden for half a year, really quite hilarious..."

Still having the energy to mock himself, it seemed the situation wasn't too dire.

[Obtained a small amount of running experience, experience points +0.1.]

Lu Pingan stopped, having struggled for almost an hour, nearly dying, to finally get his "system" to accumulate enough for the first report, the efficiency was truly abysmal.

The "small amount" of experience divided from Lei Huaren was far greater than the "minute amount" in terms of physical sensation.

But thinking about it, it made sense. The results of a professional doctor's two or even three days of research, even after a discount, far exceeded what a beginner could achieve in a day.

This was a difference in level, the distinction between a professional and a novice.

The countless years of investment and the accumulation of talent that experts had before becoming professionals meant that the same "day" for an expert and a novice yielded vastly different results.

This also subtly revealed the dominant nature of Lu Pingan's innate ability. Everyone has their talents and specialties, as well as the knowledge accumulated over the years.

He, however, could bypass these "foundations" and directly obtain a share of the "results," a growth akin to cheating, but...

"...At this efficiency, even if I had two runners sharing their experience with me, I doubt I could complete two transformations within half a month to become a real runner, a first-tier superhuman."

The "Running Technique LV1" and "Breathing Technique LV1" on the status panel were almost like a mockery.

If Lu Pingan understood correctly, Level 10 in various professional skills was the threshold for taking up a profession.

According to Xia Qin's information, the supernatural powers in this world, in a certain sense, were a form of "pollution." If left unchecked, one would eventually sink deeper and degenerate into a monster or an alien.

Thus, by borrowing the growth path of a powerful entity, setting specific growth coordinates and stages, the pollution became slightly more controllable, forming the existing Night Watchman's conventional advancement system.

"Pollution is chaos, to purify it to order, one needs the power of the gods as a harmless lens (filter), and their growth trajectory as coordinates. Then, what better representation of order and an individual's position in society and history than human 'professions'?"

Ignoring the overly complicated and intricate theories, the profession system based on so-called gods was the current ladder for the Night Watchman's advancement.

In the data Lu Pingan had seen, there were 53 common paths.

Thus, at least 53 deities' powers were being utilized by humans.

Or, from another perspective, the deities were interfering with the normal life of modern society.

Glancing at the statue in the center of the track, Lu Pingan felt increasingly conflicted. As a former materialist, he was really not used to such a world.

"The Church of the Divine Chasers, with sixteen large enterprises under its umbrella, including sports equipment, health care, transportation, and sports sponsorship. What is this, capitalist theocracy?"

The statue in the stadium was a humanoid figure with outstretched arms, running. He couldn't see the face clearly, but there were faint lightning bolts around it.

The full name of this stadium was "Ancient City Chasers' First Sports Arena."

It was called "First" because there were five other large stadiums in the ancient city, from "Second" to "Sixth."

It was said that the hospital where Lu Pingan had stayed was also the property of a certain church.

Lu Pingan had never had a good impression of deities, but now, he needed to borrow the power of these "gods."

He needed to connect with the deities, channeling his pollution into a controllable path, commonly known as "job setting."

"Hah, they say the runner's job setting ceremony is simple, but for someone like me who has been bedridden for half a year, it's still quite deadly."

This wasn't Lu Pingan's first attempt to become a 0th-tier runner, but the previous attempts had all failed logically.

The ceremony was actually quite simple, just recite the name of the "Chaser" and run the specified distance within the specified time.

"Run five kilometers in fifteen minutes, not hard at all... right? The world record for five kilometers is twelve minutes, this is at least the standard for athletes!"

Each deity seemed to have its own preferences and quirks. This "Chaser" liked those who ran fast.

Lu Pingan had asked Xia Qin about the significance of such a bizarre ceremony to the deities, and the answer was quite subtle.

"...It has no meaning to the deities, but it has meaning to you. To the great beings in the clouds, any human action is meaningless, but the action itself is a form of expression, 'I am here, watching you'..."

"Can't understand? Well, what ants think, humans don't care about. But if ants gather together, using leaves and their bodies to spell out your name and mimic your actions, you would also be curious and look more closely."

"And that attention creates a connection between ants and humans, humans and deities. And our job setting only needs that little bit of connection."

The runner's job setting ceremony only required the "polluted" to recite the deity's name and run a certain distance in a circle, known as the simplest job setting.

But Lu Pingan had already failed twice, even after consuming several days of runner experience, he still hadn't met the job setting standards, and was about to fail for the third time...

"Very tired, almost at my limit, so, let's cheat a little... life's deferred payment."

A silver glow enveloped Lu Pingan, and his eyes regained their focus.

[Sub-ability of the Life Bank 1, Life's Deferred Payment: Divide the life cost into installments, the current limit is six installments over six months (6/months).]

[The cost type is specified as 'stamina,' the installment unit is days, the number of installments is 3.]

[The current time is 10:20:27 AM on May 19th, the next installment payment time is 10:20:27 AM on May 20th. Please maintain your physical condition. If your stamina is insufficient to pay the cost, double the life points will be deducted directly.]

Instantly, Lu Pingan felt much better.

When the fatigue instantly reduced to one-third, he immediately felt more relaxed.

He suddenly accelerated, the feeling was like he had just started running.

At first, he thought his ability only divided the cost of injuries and illnesses.

For example, a knife wound divided into three installments, settled with life points... from the results, it seemed to act like an immediate healing ability, touching the wound and reducing the pain to one-third or one-sixth.

The potential as a "healing" ability seemed quite high, as long as one didn't die on the spot, they could be healed.

The only drawback was that other rule-based abilities at the initial stage only had one ability, and to avoid too much attention, he didn't dare to use it too much.

Later, he realized his understanding of "life cost" was too simplistic.

"The ability is marked as 'life cost' rather than injury or illness. Since pain and illness are costs that life must pay, they can be deferred. Then, isn't fatigue from exerting oneself also a cost? If it's possible, wouldn't I effectively have two stamina bars?!"

So, he tried it.

To his surprise, when the fatigue significantly decreased, he was quite excited and immediately went for his second attempt at the runner's job setting.

"...Damn, two stamina bars (actually 1.66) are still not enough."

Recalling the recent predicament, Lu Pingan felt quite helpless.

But this time, the third attempt, and possibly the last before the college entrance exam, was different.

He had already consumed five days of professional runner experience, significantly improving on this path.

Unlike the first attempt, "Running Technique" allowed him to use the most standard and energy-efficient running posture, with each step and rhythm subtly reaching professional levels.

And "Breathing Technique" adjusted the body's internal circulation to conserve stamina.

Combining internal and external factors, Lu Pingan acquired the running skills a runner needed through the experience shared by professionals.

With the "software" in place, the remaining "hardware" was supplemented by the system's "extra stamina bar."

Ordinary "polluted" individuals often needed three months to half a year of basic training to successfully job set, and Lu Pingan's last attempt was not far off.

When a five-kilometer run became two 2.5-kilometer runs, the difficulty decreased significantly.

"...Persist, persist."

His body was drenched in sweat, but his breathing remained steady and rhythmic, and his steps and arm swings maintained a fixed rhythm. Lu Pingan imagined himself as a machine, striving to forget his depleted stamina.

"Almost there, almost there..."

Just as he thought he couldn't run anymore and was about to give up, the system's notification sounded, like a heavenly voice.

[Ding, congratulations, the job setting ceremony is complete, you have obtained the rank 'Runner'.]

[Runner profession adjustment: slight increase in physique, minor increase in reflexes, slight decrease in mental strength.]

[General skill 'Running Technique LV1' converted to profession skill 'Light Chasing Run LV1'.]

[General skill 'Breathing Technique LV1' converted to profession skill 'Swift Flash Breathing LV1'.]

Lu Pingan stopped, taking deep breaths, and finally smiled.

"Finally succeeded!"

If that was all, Lu Pingan wouldn't be so excited.

After successfully job setting, his status panel was updated.

[Lu Pingan, 16 years old, male. Life points 4960 (-6000)]

[Status: Physique (human), Reflexes (human), Mental (human)]

[Profession: 0th-tier Runner]

[Profession ability: None.]

[Profession skills: Light Chasing Run LV1, Swift Flash Breathing LV1.]

[General skills: Cooking LV2, Cleaning LV1...]

Successful job setting, the improvements were minimal, and the status panel didn't show significant changes, just that the previously empty profession and profession skills now had content.

But the most important part was the profession ability, the true superhuman ability.

[Black Iron-level spell 'Earth Contraction' knowledge, current progress 58/100.]

After a bunch of general skills, Lu Pingan flipped to the "miscellaneous" section, where this item was... and now it was clickable, with more detailed information.

Earth Contraction is a supernatural ability that 1st-tier runners can have.

Initially mastering it allows one to take an extra step for every five steps run.

This means in combat, there could be a "one-step teleport," which, though it sounds unimpressive, has high practical value.

Professional experience summarized into profession skills, profession skills refined to professional levels to become profession abilities.

Under normal circumstances, only by practicing "running technique" and "breathing technique" to the extreme could one awaken the supernatural profession ability "Earth Contraction."

And only by mastering a supernatural profession ability could one advance to a 1st-tier profession, truly considered a beginner.

In Eastern terms, it's "Pao Gong's Ox Slaughtering, from skill to the Way."

This often requires a flash of inspiration, the favor of fate, and sometimes the awakened ability isn't what one wants.

The Lei siblings paid a high price to gain a good state and a breakthrough opportunity.

But after Lei Huaren used "Earth Contraction" for a long time, he naturally shared his insights and experiences with Lu Pingan.

[Black Iron-level spell Earth Contraction: every five steps, an extra step is added.]

Lu Pingan tapped the virtual screen, and more information was displayed.

[Usage requirements: Light Chasing Run LV4, Swift Flash Breathing LV4, spatial awareness LV1, Earth Contraction knowledge 100/100.]

"Surprisingly not LV10?"

The requirements were much lower than expected, and Lu Pingan smiled. No wonder many people said that becoming a 1st-tier runner wasn't hard; the hard part was the flash of inspiration.

The rest was just addressing the shortcomings.

Creating something from nothing, filling in the gaps, was not a difficult task.

Thus, becoming a true professional within fifteen days was truly possible.

At this moment, Lu Pingan looked at the two high-quality clients on the track... who hadn't stopped since the buff was applied.

Collecting the cost wasn't just to fill his empty wallet; after paying the cost, the clients would naturally value the bought time and state more, making his share of the experience even better the next day.

"Strive, fight, for a better tomorrow!"