I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

After the two strolled around the library, Armitage led Ivan back to the square outside.

"You have now become an expert, and your next step, becoming a master, is the pinnacle of countless witchers over the years."

His eyes held a deep expectation: "I hope you can break this limit and lead the Witcher to even greater heights."

Ivan patted his chest and grinned, "Don't worry about that, Doctor. I've already brought my talent to the Witcher!"

"I will definitely break through the limits of a Witcher! Become a lord, or even a high-ranking one... uh..."

"Doctor, what are the different levels of attainment beyond those in higher positions?"

Armitage looked at Ivan's incredibly confident demeanor and sunny smile with a kind look in his eyes.

"Above the superior are the transcendent; above the transcendent are the immortals; above the immortals are those who reach the origin."

"Reaching beyond the Originator..."

He pointed to the sky: "Then it qualifies to become a landmark."

"The sun god, the moon god, the god of life, the god of wishes, the god of wealth."

Ivan quickly wrote down this valuable information; this was the first time he had learned about all the realms in all his years in the industry.

Armitage continued speaking after recounting all the realms.

"You should know a little about why the skill ceiling for the mage, sorceress, and demon hunter classes is so low, right?"

Evan nodded: "Yes, these three professions encompass too many concepts."

"This makes the path forward too complicated, and it's hard to find a clear direction."

Armitage nodded: "However, that's only one reason. You need to understand what these three professions encompass in order to go further."

The two sat down on a stone bench at the edge of the square.

Armitage casually waved his hand, and several stone teapots and teacups appeared out of thin air.

Without him even lifting a finger, the stone teapots and teacups automatically poured out warm black tea and served it to the two of them.

The aroma of the black tea was exceptionally strong in the air of this dreamlike realm, as if amplified by some force.

Ivan was quite surprised, but Armitage calmly said, "You can do something similar once you reach the lord's territory. You can do it too later."

Chapter 179: The Dilemma of the Three Sewer Giants, the Birth of Gold

Evan nodded: "It's really cool, and it's also very convenient."

As he spoke, he took a sip of his tea.

The warm liquid slid down my throat, carrying a rich flavor I had never tasted before in the material world.

Armitage took a sip of tea and then continued his explanation.

"For many years I have been studying the future directions of three professions."

"Based on what my colleagues and I have summarized, the core problem for these three professions is the lack of standards."

“Standard?” Evan looked up.

Armitage nodded: "Because there are no standards, all sorts of concepts tend to converge on these three professions."

"Now I'll ask you a question: What is a witch?"

Evan blinked, opening his mouth several times, unable to quite explain what a witch was.

Armitage calmly stated, "Any woman can be a witch."

"This word, which originated in the Dark Ages, is itself a product of people's hatred for evil."

"As long as people are gripped by fear, as long as they see something unknown, and then with simple guidance from the church."

“Any woman in the vicinity can become a witch at any time, and then die in flames bearing all the people’s curses and scorn.”

"This is what has been crammed into the profession of witch over the years."

"It contains all of people's fears and hatred, making its path forward full of venomous thorns and madness."

Ivan immediately recalled what he had read before about medieval witch hunts and various legends about witches.

I discovered that this thing is almost never associated with any positive words.

The ignorant people back then were more willing to believe the theory that killing one person would allow everyone else to live happily ever after.

Armitage continued, "Now I'll ask you another question: What is a mage?"

Evan immediately said, "Of course, a mage is someone who knows magic."

Armitage countered, "What is magic?"

"Just as I told you in class before, magic can represent all kinds of extraordinary power."

Ivan thought about it carefully and nodded: "It seems that's indeed the case."

Armitage continued, "So in that ignorant era, as long as you could do something that others couldn't, you could be called a wizard."

“Swindlers who cheat and deceive, merchants who pretend to be gods and ghosts, and alchemists who turn stones into gold can all be called sorcerers by the people.”

"All knowledge, methods, and even unknown natural phenomena related to the extraordinary can be categorized as belonging to the realm of the mage."

"This makes the profession of mage encompass all of people's desires and fantasies about the extraordinary, filling its path with distorted desires and fantasies."

Ivan memorized this information, then asked eagerly, "Doctor! What about Witchers? That standard should be easy to set, right?"

Armitage asked with a half-smile, "What do you consider the standards for a Witcher?"

Ivan immediately replied, "Of course, it's the people who hunt monsters."

Armitage then asked, "If a hunter uses his trap to kill a monster while hunting in the mountains, and the villagers venerate him as a monster hunter, do you think that's reasonable?"

Ivan nodded: "Of course it makes sense."

Armitage continued, “A butcher, enraged that his livestock had been attacked by a monster, killed the monster, and his neighbors, seeing this, worshipped him as a monster hunter.”

Do you think this is reasonable?

Ivan blinked, lost in thought.

Armitage continued: "If a merchant is attacked by a monster while on his business journey..."

"He fought desperately to save his own life and killed the monster. Afterward, he took the monster with him to do business and promoted himself as a demon hunter. Do you think that's reasonable?"

Ivan fell into deep thought.

Armitage continued, "In that ignorant and dangerous era, many people could not distinguish between wild beasts and monsters."

"Most ordinary people are in a daze, fearing the unknown and monsters."

"But as soon as they find someone willing to step forward and deal with the unknown, they are very happy to make him their leader and then give him the title of hero."

"The original essence of the Witcher was simply those patrolmen in the village who protected children from wild animals."

"Then, as time progressed, monsters appeared, and people's fear of those monsters gradually led them to promote monster hunters."

"In those times when people were terrified and disoriented by monsters, they would cling to anyone who could offer them shelter."

"And so the Witcher was born in this process."

“They were not born into the noble knightly class, but rather from the common people at the bottom of society.”

"It has been stuffed with many concepts such as hero, brave man, strong man, and wandering knight."

"This also gives modern witchers an essential spirit of chivalry and heroism, and they will do their best to help the weak."

Evan considered Hill and Richard's qualities and nodded in agreement.

Armitage's explanation continues.

"Therefore, the entire profession of Witcher embodies people's fantasies and expectations of heroes who fight against monsters, beasts, and even bad guys and killers."

"Your path is filled with the curses of monsters and the fear of people."

"These are the reasons why witches, mages, and witchers don't last long."

"These crammed, complex, and distorted concepts will become a huge obstacle to your advancement."

"It's alright before you become a master, but when you're about to advance from master to higher levels, you'll realize how crazy and twisted it is."

Evan nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "Wait! Doctor! I can understand that Witchers are cursed by monsters when they hunt them."

Why do people still fear witchers?

Armitage sighed, "You must have heard a similar proverb: 'He who slays the dragon becomes the dragon himself.'"

"Heroes who are able to hunt monsters gradually gain great power, which leads to a sense of self that surpasses that of others, resulting in the enslavement of ordinary people."

"At the same time, people only need a hero to step forward and protect them when their own survival is threatened."

"But once the threat is over, they would prefer the hero to leave or die."

At this point, Dr. Armitage said meaningfully, "After all, people don't like being ridden on by a hero and ordered around."

Evan sighed, "Human nature! It's really complicated."

Armitage nodded: "It has always been so; humanity can unleash unimaginable brilliance in times of crisis."

"It can also reveal indescribable madness and ugliness amidst various calculations of interests."

"In fact, both of these situations can often occur in the same person."

As he said this, he looked at Evan intently.

"I hope you can maintain this mindset in the future and not let some local issues negate the whole picture."

“I have met many upright, sunny and cheerful people like you. They all once had great enthusiasm and a strong sense of justice.”

"Then, while traveling and gaining experience, he witnessed a great deal of human evil in a certain place, and began to deny the entire world."

"Then, in a state of extreme fanaticism, he embraced the evil god, believing that only by destroying everything could humanity be saved."

It's clear that the person who fell into depravity for this reason must have had a good relationship with him.

Ivan remained unfazed, still smiling: "Doctor, please rest assured about this. I am not the kind of person who wants to save the world with fairness and justice."

“I have a fairly flexible moral bottom line, and I also have a fairly flexible double standard.”

"I also like all kinds of beautiful women, and I have all sorts of selfish motives."