The professions teacher was the only person who could draw my interest in the school. He himself dabbled in forging, but as he had no cultivation, the things he made were little better than those of an average blacksmith.

For the later half of the year, I had pestered him with questions regarding all the different professions.

“Mister, what’s forging like?”

“Mister, can you teach me about formations?”

“Mister, have you ever seen anyone who is a master in their profession?”

Through all the inconveniences Alius gave him, the man would smile and patiently answer the questions posed to him. He always seemed delighted to meet someone who shared his interest for the various professions, and although his dream was to become powerful, just like the rest of the world, he wanted power so he could show the world the potential of a profession. Regrettably, he had no talent at all for cultivation, and his dream would go forever unrealized.

All the other children had set their sights on what they considered to be a “higher calling”, and Alius was the only one who ever got to know him.

The reason he wanted to learn more about the professions of the world was not purely based on interest. The reason for his confidence in the success at learning a profession was because of a mysterious book.

_____

Why were forgers, alchemists, pill-makers, formation experts, and all the professions rejected from society?

One, pursuing one of these paths blocked off your road to cultivation, resulting in you losing your chance for power. Ordinary humans just didn’t have the mental fortitude or talent to have achievements in both paths. Those talented enough didn’t take the path either, for who would choose being mediocre in both paths over having exceptional power?

Two, teachers were rare. With so few stepping onto the path, finding someone skilled enough to teach you the tricks of the trade was next to impossible. Even if someone who wasn’t quite right in the head wanted to learn a trade, it would take them ages just to find someone competent enough to teach them. Even if you could find someone, who would be willing to teach you? A professionalist rarely made enough money to cover their costs, because all of their products were only effective on people who had no cultivation, mortals. The materials they used for their products were too expensive to allow the product to make much of a profit, if any at all. And no one would give you materials. Even directly eating spirit herbs often had a greater effect than taking the pills made by a pill master, as none of them were powerful enough to enhance its effectiveness. The struggles of these people resulted in fierce competition, and who would want to nurture someone who would eventually take a bite out of their already pitiful market?

Third, being a worker made you weak. Almost all professions allowed one the ability to supplement the combat ability of others. Through preparation, countless rare materials, and more preparation, they could raise the combat standards of one person a tiny bit. All this work caused their personal power to stagnate, or in extreme cases, having their cultivation regress.

Losing their power meant that the resources they created became even less effective, but taking the time to cultivate meant that their skill would fall instead. Either way, ordinary people taking the path of forging, alchemy, formations, or any profession related skill would gradually become less skilled in one of their aspects.

It was hopeless. Any path you took would eventually lead to ruin. Why did professions still exist?

Nobles.

To be exact, rich people. The saving grace of the professions did not rely on nobility, but the children of nobility. The doting fathers and mothers had money to spend, and it flowed like water in order to give their children a tiny edge, outfitting them with equipment just a little bit better than others.

Paying for professionalists to supply them with weapons, pills, talismans, every time they were needed would be a massive waste, even in the eyes of the spoiled. Therefore, they were offered an opportunity to join the houses of the nobles and work for them, in exchange for being provided materials and money to support their endeavors.

All the souls who tried to learn a trade fell into glorified slavery or ruin.

_____

Alius took a deep breath to calm himself down as he cautiously approached the tired professions teacher. He had his head down, almost as if he was immersed in deep thinking.

“Mister?”

The man kept his head down, his brows furrowed and his lips mumbling something to himself. He was obviously so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn’t notice me. Alius tried again, speaking a little louder this time.

“Sir?”

Alius’s attempts at probing the man were promptly met with a curt snore. The man’s head dropped even further down between his legs.

“...”

Alius stared, his mouth opening slightly. He had taken all this time waiting for the teacher to respond to him, and the man was asleep!

Stepping forward, Alius nudged the man lightly, the professions teacher immediately waking up.

The teacher groggily looked up at Alius.

“Hmm? Oh, yes, little one?”

Alius frowned.

“Sir, I would like to learn more about the professions of this world.”

This made the man look up, seeming a little more awake. His eyes held a question, waiting to be asked.

“And may I be so rude to ask why you wish to learn of these insignificant things?”

This made Alius pause, as he had no plausible explanation for why he was so interested in what everyone thought to be useless. Speaking carefully, Alius replied.

“Sir, I believe that the professions held by people have great potential-”

At this sentence the teacher cut him off.

“No. Absolutely not.”

The intensity of his voice made Alius back up a little. The once soft eyes that looked at him became as hard as rock.

Letting out a quiet chuckle, the professions teacher continued, his tone becoming quietly defeated once more.

“Look at me. I once thought the same as you did, child. I thought I would be the one to show the truth to the world. The one to show them that we are not useless. But look at me now. Teaching children who have no respect for the professions, no respect for us.”