In the offline rest area of the Divine Realm, Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes.
"Made it in time. Now I just have to wait for the system update to finish, then I can log right back in." The thought filled him with a thrill of excitement.
After all, even something like a medium-grade Magic Pulse Cannon had only warranted an advanced-grade trap pattern.
A place that could house a master-grade trap pattern was sure to contain some truly valuable treasures.
Shi Feng's gaze drifted to the large system screen displayed ahead.
The screen showed fourteen hours and forty minutes remaining until the system update completed—clearly, this update was going to bring significant changes to the Divine Realm.
"A nearly fifteen-hour system update. It's probably on par with when the Fallen Ark opened in my previous life." Shi Feng began piecing together the detailed information he remembered from his past existence.
Every system update in the Divine Realm would shift the direction of guild development to some degree. Just like previous updates—when previously overlooked life professions started to attract major guilds' attention, even prompting them to pour resources into training high-level life profession players—this update would likewise reshape the Divine Realm.
There were many life professions in the Divine Realm. Beyond Blacksmith, Engineer, Alchemist, Enchanter, Leatherworker, Tailor, and Chef, there were also quite a few niche life professions that most players dismissed.
Things like Diviner, Architect, Appraiser, Swindler, Breeder, Beast Tamer, Scholar, Magic Scribe, Locksmith—and many more niche side professions.
All of these once-neglected niche side professions were about to become far more important.
Before trap patterns in the Divine Realm had been refined, adventure-focused players exploring the wild had it relatively easy. The main challenge was the monsters guarding areas; as for the traps laid out, hardly any adventure player gave them a second thought. Disabling a trap pattern came down to two possibilities: either you could crack it, which just took some time, or you couldn't.
There was simply no scenario where failing to disable a trap led to any real consequence.
But after this system update, a third outcome would emerge.
You could crack it—but failure carried a risk.
If the attempt failed, the trap would trigger.
Trap patterns varied in power. Weaker traps might still leave a player alive even after triggering. Stronger traps could exact a price far more severe than simply losing a level.
Then there was the niche side profession Shi Feng himself had taken up—Magic Scribe. This profession involved inscribing magic scrolls, creating magic arrays, and the like. It might not rival Blacksmithing in importance, but it was an indispensable side profession in the Divine Realm, and its utility would only grow as one's strength increased.
Because of all this, various niche side professions were becoming increasingly important, and every major guild—looking to develop as effectively as possible—would naturally begin cultivating large numbers of niche side profession players.
"Once I log back in, I'll need to have Melancholic Smile start collecting Purple Dawn Dew and Five-Colored Flowers right away." After a moment of contemplation, Shi Feng laid out a training plan for niche side professions in his mind.
Unlike mainstream side professions, niche ones weren't difficult to level up. They didn't require huge quantities of raw materials to experiment with—reaching a certain proficiency was enough.
Take the Magic Scribe profession, for example. Being able to inscribe a basic magic array made you a basic Magic Scribe. Being able to inscribe an intermediate one made you an intermediate Magic Scribe. There was no need to accumulate proficiency through repetition—it all came down to personal skill. Either you could do it, or you couldn't.