Chapter 1955 - 1954: Chameleon

[Age 25: You found a job escorting a caravan, introduced by a fellow soldier. Such caravans are very willing to hire soldiers retired from the Wilderness Cleanup Brigade, especially Transcendents like you who have earned merits, making you a hot commodity.

This job is definitely much more dangerous than staying in the city, but the pay is substantial, allowing you to save a considerable amount.]

[Age 26: You successfully entered Eins Law School for studies. Your school is not large, only a small area, yet it’s one of the oldest law schools in the Federation. In comprehensive rankings, it falls short of Dawn University, but in the single field of law, it’s among the Federation’s top five law programs, with a large number of outstanding alumni who are spread across politics, judiciary, and top law firms.

This school has produced more than ten Presidents of the Federation and countless Senators.

Of course, this is information you only learned upon enrollment. Your mentor is a highly respected authority in law, an honorary professor at multiple universities, a board consultant for several consortiums, and a legal expert specially appointed by the Senate and House of Representatives.

His titles are so numerous that you can’t read them all in one breath.

This world here is completely different from the world you’ve experienced before, different even from Vitran Grammar School—although it is in Vitland, it’s far from the hustle and bustle of Vitland’s world.

Eins Law School, however, is right in the heart of Eins.

In this small school, there are even antiques over eight hundred years old, with histories longer than the Federation itself.

Sometimes you might bump into some well-dressed people in school; those people are often Senators or Congressmen, sometimes even Cabinet officials you only see in the news.

Of course, the most notable person you met this year was the Vice President of the Federation. He came to the school to give a speech and brushed past you as he left.

You never thought you would be so close to such a significant figure.

In Eins Law School, celebrities are not considered celebrities because they are everywhere.]

[Age 27: Most of your classmates come from wealthy middle-class families. Some are children of top executives, others descendants of mayors. The least of them come from major cities like Wint City.

You are completely different from them.

When they hear the name Keskein, they always show surprised expressions, and they’ll open a map of the Federation to search carefully. Each time they find this small city in the Midwest wasteland, they cheer intensely.

They are keen on hearing your stories of Keskein, about the drug addicts on the streets, the elderly in the neighborhood, the gang members on the street, and your high school classmates who brought illegal drugs to sell at school.

To them, these seem like things from another world.

They live in a world with nowhere near as much turmoil and distress, living happy and fulfilling lives.

Sometimes you also talk about family. You would say your mother is a Pharmacist, as is your grandmother.

The profession of Pharmacist does not appear among your classmates’ parents, their parents are generally famous Doctors.

You are the only university Student in your neighborhood.

Your grandmother never went to high school, and your mother stopped at high school. You are the only university Student in your neighborhood.

You haven’t met any fellow townspeople from Keskein at Eins Law School; it’s a small city. The closest person you know to Keskein is a friend of yours from Vissen, a prosperous commercial city.]

[Age 28: Everything at Eins Law School feels like a dream. You don’t have to painstakingly look for part-time jobs paying less than ten federal coins. Many excellent law firms and companies come here specifically for recruitment fairs, offering you a variety of internship opportunities.

Of course, effective advice from professors, seniors, and classmates is also needed—many classmates come from families where their parents are major Lawyers or Judges, they can help you discern which internships are good and which are not.

Maintaining good relationships at school is very important, even though you’re just a poor kid from the countryside, yet everyone speaks highly of you.

Thus you received several excellent internship opportunities, not only enriching your resume but also providing substantial pay. Some project incomes even count in tens of thousands of federal coins, which if your grandmother knew, she would say she never saw so much money at once in her life.

Eins Law School has many professors, and most of them don’t really esteem a poor kid from the Midwestern countryside, they prefer students graduating from Vitran University or Dawn University.

However, you’re always able to make them shut up with your excellent grades, some professors have even admitted to having certain prejudices before.

You also found your love at school, your classmate Vina, a humorous, witty, and intelligent girl. You fell in love.]

[Age 29: You finally graduated successfully from Eins Law School and obtained your degree. However, you didn’t pursue a legal career, instead, you entered the financial circle, accepting employment with Noder Finance.

You met your girlfriend’s parents. They both work for Evis Spatial System, both as executives at Evis Spatial System. Perhaps your job is respectable enough, they did not trouble you for being a poor kid. After a simple exchange, they agreed to your marriage.

You successfully married Vina.]

[Age 30: You made significant achievements in your work in the financial industry, receiving a promotion at Noder Finance. Sometimes you and your wife would return to Keskein to visit your uncle and attend family dinners. Your mother finally succeeded in quitting, and now works as a cashier at a chain supermarket under Note Intelligence.]

[Age 31: You left Noder Finance, creating a small investment firm to make investments.

You realized that given your background, everything you can achieve now is the limit. Large companies have almost monopolized all transactions; no matter how many more years you work, your life won’t improve much.

In winter, you received news that a senior had successfully been elected as a Congressman. You knew he could succeed; his outstanding ability and having a Congressman father played a role. But among the Congress members, there are also some purely of civilian background.

You realized that elections might be your excellent opportunity for changing fate.]

[Age 32: Your first time running for Senator ended in failure. Your competing opponent was an old Senator with widespread connections and the support of consortiums. You realized there was a problem with your strategy.

You obtained a ’Pharmacist’ Secret Medicine from the black market, a follow-up in the ’Medicine Gatherer’ Talent Sequences. The Secret Medicine was costly, even now, it’s a bit of a stretch for you. You originally didn’t want to continue promotion, but your wife supports you in further advancing on the path of Transcendence.]

[Age 33: Returned to Keskein, chatted with old friends from those days, got in touch with the higher-ups of Note Intelligence.]

[Age 34: Announced your candidacy for Congressman in Keskein. This time you still didn’t succeed, but you managed to show your face in front of the Keskein public.]

[Age 35: Invested in a wilderness transport project run by a retired comrade, whose abilities you greatly trust. Your grasp of extraordinary abilities was far less smooth than when you were in the military.]

[Age 36: Ran for Congressman in Keskein again, receiving many more votes than before.]

[Age 37: Your former employer, Noder Finance, heard about your situation, contacted you, and offered some political support, even providing a ’goodwill’ gesture by telling you how to quickly master the Talent Sequences.

You started offering free medical consultations and medications on the streets of Keskein. Note Intelligence also reached out to you.]

[Age 38: The wilderness transport project of your comrade was developing very well, receiving an acquisition offer from Menshu Group. You advised him to agree, but he was unwilling to let go of the company he founded so easily.

After intense persuasion failed, you chose to sell your shares and cashed out.

You ran for Senator of Keskein, receiving support from Noder Finance and Note Intelligence, and were successfully elected, becoming the Federation’s youngest Senator at the time.]

[Age 39: Your comrade died in an exotic beast attack during a transport, and the bank quickly took over the project, which was sold at a near-basement price to Menshu Group. Menshu Group invited you to be the project manager, but you refused.

You set aside a sum from the project profits for his widow, as they did not gain much from the sale and were left with some debts. You promised your comrade’s child that you would write a recommendation letter for university admission.

You realized you almost mastered the Pharmacist Talent Sequence and began searching for the subsequent talent sequences in the black market, obtaining the ’Talent Sequence 71: Pharmacologist’ formula.]

[Age 40: Realized you could monetize your extraordinary abilities and started cooperating with Stars Pharma, who provided the extraordinary materials while you helped them prepare Secret Medicine. As an exchange, they supplied you with materials related to the Pharmacologist talent.

Now being a significant figure in the Federation, you mainly attended various gatherings in Ains, fostering good relationships with old families and large consortiums.

You understood Ains’ rules well; a good network is essential, and your in-laws often provided support and assistance.

The Federation’s upper echelon held a high opinion of you, drawing numerous projects and collaborations, and you realized you had become one of the Federation’s rulers.]

[Age 41: You were promoted to Pharmacologist. Secured notable investments from Note Intelligence for Keskein, though complaints about the high work intensity and low wages kept surfacing through your assistant’s reports.

Sometimes, you felt those voters lacked discipline, were lazy, and unwilling to work hard.]

[Age 42: On occasions, you had to admit that the Federation’s internal situation changed rapidly. When visiting Dawn City, you met a city council member named Christos, whose radical viewpoints were hard for you to accept.]

[Age 43: Life in Ains went well, and you maintained a good relationship with Stars Pharma. A friend of yours, Tetis, was running for office and invited you to join his campaign team, which you recognized as an opportunity.]

[Age 44: Tetis finally won the presidential election and invited you to join the Cabinet as Health Minister. You were aspiring for the Treasury Secretary position, but you knew it was already reserved for Noder Finance.]

[Age 45: Working under Tetis wasn’t easy. Despite his ambitions, the Federation was a quagmire; the more you tried to accomplish, the deeper you sank. Noticing something amiss, you considered escaping, but Tetis persuaded you to stay.]

[Age 46: Transferred to the Ministry of Justice—a crucial yet simple department. Tetis rarely meddled in federal justice.

But the Federation was not peaceful; your first case was the suicide of Saint Joen City’s Mayor. Mishandling such a significant case could trigger a storm, but fortunately, you defused the situation.

After all, it was indeed a suicide.

Your old professors heard you became the Justice Minister and visited, recommending various candidates. You carefully assessed and placed outstanding ones in different positions.

When you were young, your professors evidently recommended you in the same way. The school frequently invited you to give speeches, and the allure of power was indeed captivating.

When Tetis needed to appoint a federal judge, you recommended a senior from the academy.]

[Age 47: Your work was well-accomplished, and Tetis intended to promote you, increasing your exposure. The public’s perception of you was favorable, making it clear you wouldn’t face issues pursuing a Senate position again.

Yet at this point, your ambitions had grown beyond a Senator.

Your mother passed away, and you returned home for the funeral. Surprisingly, she stayed with her last husband till the end, despite you meeting this stepfather only a few times.

The Keskein Mayor personally attended the funeral, and the old neighbors in the neighborhood stood up straight, offering smiles and warmth like never before, acknowledging you as the highest official the city had produced.

Power had you enthralled.]

[Age 48: The situation started to grow peculiar; Dawn City witnessed several incidents involving the Evil God, and various abnormal churches surfaced consecutively. A propagandist named ’K’ stirred up some odd theories.

Your previously relaxed work at the Ministry of Justice quickly became hectic.

Fortunately, Tetis won re-election, and you learned Christos became Mayor of Dawn City, prompting you to realize changes were brewing in the Federation. You began searching for the next step in extraordinary power.]

[Age 49: Stars Pharma provided you with the subsequent Talent Sequence ’Talent Sequence 143: Secret Medicine Master’ formula, and after collecting enough materials, you were promoted to ’Secret Medicine Master’, gaining a B-level extraordinary ability that brought some peace in this chaotic world.

The Federation, however, was not peaceful; scandals erupted among consortiums, and financial markets fluctuated rapidly. Established local consortiums like Rock City Mining collapsed overnight, coupled with cult scandals.

The Ministry of Justice became suddenly very busy.

The knowledge and experience you previously mastered seemed less effective.]