Chapter 20
The difference between special talents and ordinary villagers lies in this innate attribute.
The NPC template and player template share the same life skills; any villager wishing to become a professional must engage in a specific job, activate the skill progress bar for that job, and then improve their proficiency through long-term work until they meet the standards for becoming a professional.
For instance, when Ye Bai previously unlocked the skill of [Adventure], it was akin to increasing the proficiency bar for the ‘Hunting’ life skill for all villagers. They can hunt, but that doesn’t mean they have become [Hunters].
Low-level professionals like [Hunters] can automatically take on their profession once they reach the required proficiency. However, higher-level professionals need to break through ‘bottlenecks’ and complete specific [Personal Promotion Tasks] to successfully transition.
Take Ka Li’s [Advanced Engineer] profession, for example; she must advance from the prerequisite profession of [Engineer] and complete a promotion task to obtain it.
Cultivating professionals is a crucial gameplay element in managing territories in "Wan Jie." A professional can achieve work efficiency that surpasses ten non-professionals. While non-professionals can work, they are akin to apprentices compared to masters, only meeting the needs of ‘mortals.’ In a fantastical world, being ‘extraordinary’ is the key to distinguishing levels.
To cultivate professionals, the lord must invest considerable resources and effort. Low-level professionals are manageable, much like how ordinary people can reach industry thresholds through experience; it just takes time.
Once a villager becomes a professional, if the lord wishes to continue their development and push them toward higher professional levels, simply repeating previous work will no longer suffice. The lord must provide high-level materials to enhance proficiency. When faced with promotion tasks, professionals within the territory may also choose to issue tasks to the lord.
The high-quality beast meat and angry horned beast skins that Ye Bai kept in her backpack were reserved for boosting proficiency during the cultivation of professionals.
What? You say the lord should be lounging in the castle, enjoying the offerings of the villagers?
Ahem... Have you ever heard of a profession called ‘Public Servant’? In our Wan Jie, it’s pronounced ‘Lord.’
Although cultivating professionals is no easy task for the lord, the rewards are substantial. The items produced by a high-level professional are invaluable. If the professionals are cultivated within the town, it’s akin to a long-term employment arrangement; the lord only needs to pay them wages and provide production materials, while all outputs belong to the lord.
Currently, Ka Li’s situation falls into this category. However, since the territory is still at a low level, the wage system hasn’t been established yet, which means there’s no need to pay wages for now. Ye Bai has effectively exploited a bug; once the territory level rises, wages will have to be paid.
Moreover, if the territory develops well, it may attract outside professionals to settle. In such cases, it wouldn’t be employment; rather, they would open shops in the territory. The lord could tax these professionals or provide materials for them to craft items, usually receiving corresponding discounts based on their satisfaction and loyalty to the territory.
So, when it comes to return on investment, cultivating your own professionals is undoubtedly the best option.
The efficiency of cultivating special talents is entirely different from that of ordinary villagers. Special talents not only improve their proficiency in related professions quickly, but some high-level professions cannot even advance without innate gifts. For instance, certain magical talents require specific energy affinities to transition.
In the early stages of a normal territory, the chance of encountering special talents is extremely low, only 1%. To increase the likelihood of special talents appearing, the minimum technology required is the [School] building, which can only be found in level 2 villages. Ye Bai initially didn’t consider this until she recalled that she had an achievement title effect, which made her realize the situation.
Especially Lucy’s two talents are quite impressive.
[Plant Affinity] enhances work related to plants, increasing quality by 30%; Wood-type spell damage +1.
[Healing Light II] boosts work efficiency in medical-related tasks by 40%; increases healing effects by 20% during work and combat.
The medical buildings in the territory also come in different types, with the conventional route being ‘Barber Shop - Clinic’ and the magical route being ‘Herb Shop - Potion Shop.’
While the latter requires a long-term supply of herbs, it is stable; if a treatment fails, it simply has no effect, unlike the [Barber Shop] where ‘bloodletting’ could directly kill a patient. Once herbs are upgraded to potions, their effectiveness is rapid; a single bottle can restore a villager to full vitality.
With Lucy’s [Plant Affinity] paired with the essential [Healing Light] for healing professionals—oh, and it’s the second level of Healing Light—she is practically a born [Potion Master]!
“I know what you’re suited for now. For the next couple of days, you’ll take care of the fields, and after some time, I’ll assign you a more suitable job.”
Upon realizing that Lucy was a special talent, Ye Bai immediately changed her work arrangement.
“Yes, my lord.”
This time, Lucy had no objections. She set down her axe and headed to the fields as Ye Bai instructed.
Thanks to her Plant Affinity, working in the fields was somewhat ‘on point’ for her, and it would also improve the quality of the crops. Although it felt like a bit of a waste of her talents, this arrangement would prevent any dissatisfaction from triggering. Otherwise, as a punishment for the lord’s ‘failure to recognize talent,’ Lucy’s satisfaction with the territory would drop, ignoring policy card effects until it reached 0, prompting her to leave.
Once the territory upgrades to a level 1 village, Ye Bai will immediately construct a Herb Shop and begin Lucy’s cultivation.
Next, without delay, Ye Bai went to open another ‘blind box’ for Sean.
Sean was a sturdy man in his thirties, and his talents were somewhat inferior to Lucy’s.
[Strong and Healthy] increases efficiency in physical work by 20%; physical damage +5%; speed of proficiency gain in physical work increases by 10%.
Ye Bai switched Sean from gathering work to the mine. If no more suitable special talents appeared among the third wave of migrants on the tenth day, she would train Sean toward the territory’s blacksmithing direction.
While both Lucy and Sean could transition to combat professions, Ye Bai believed that life-type professionals could contribute far more to the territory than combat-type professionals. Moreover, during the first month, the territory didn’t require military construction, which would only delay development.
...
“Ding!”
On the eighth day of establishing the territory, four more days passed in reality. After sleeping on the streets for several days, Ye Bai spent 8 star coins to book a night at a capsule hotel.
The capsule hotels of this era are quite different from the concept of a millennium ago. Upon arriving at the designated location, a standard 8-cubic-meter capsule pod descended from the sky, opening its door.
Capsule hotels cater to different races with varying sizes; this 2-meter cube pod is the smallest and cheapest model.
Ye Bai stepped inside, finding it very simple, seemingly lacking even a place to sit. However, with a thought directed at her personal terminal, a foldable sofa bed dropped from the wall and unfolded.
With another thought, the sofa bed retracted, and a showerhead extended from the corner ceiling, with a drain on the floor.
As for toiletries and towels, those were absent. The water from the shower was merely a ‘service’ to enhance the bathing experience; the real cleaning was done by molecular washing technology, which automatically dried after use, so towels were unnecessary.
Interestingly, these services, once considered high-tech luxuries in Ye Bai’s time, are now affordable and commonplace. In contrast, using towels and bathing products for a ‘ceremonial feel’ is a configuration only found in high-end hotels, representing the premium service of this era.
After taking a shower, the sensation of water flowing over her body left Ye Bai feeling refreshed.
The capsule hotel also provided a bottle of nutrient solution, saving her another star coin, making it quite economical.
Lying on the sofa bed, Ye Bai checked her current mental power.
[Mental Power Level Quantification Assessment in Progress, Current Range: 30-35 nans, Rating F]
Ye Bai is now level 15 in Wan Jie. Comparing the changes in her in-game attributes, she couldn’t find an accurate ratio between the two. Although the standards for mental power in the game and the Star Alliance differ, she still felt that the mental power in reality doesn’t necessarily correspond to the ‘Mental’ attribute in the game.
In Wan Jie, a character’s mental attribute affects non-physical damage bonuses, including magical and telekinetic damage, resembling the intensity of energy rather than the quantity of energy.
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