The "Mechanic Master’s Certificate" originates from the Dragon and Dungeon worldview, where the threshold for using Power Seeds is quite low, and it doesn’t strictly require that the user’s life essence be that of a flesh-and-blood creature.
Jiang Zhihui herself didn’t use the Power Seed of the Mechanical Master, probably because she’s already a Shikigami Summoner, which conflicts with being a Mechanical Master.
At the same time, she’s stuck in an environment of "self-centered magic," unable to sell it to other players for resources—in selling to the killing field system, she’d only get the recycling price, which is too much of a loss.
After some thought, Li Cheng decides to use it himself. He adds a Free Attribute point to Intelligence, then opens his laptop to search for universities in the United States related to Mechanical Engineering.
Gray Rain asks curiously, "What are you doing?"
Li Cheng, without looking up, replies, "Buying a university diploma."
Gray Rain expresses surprise, "You can buy diplomas?"
"That’s what they’re for. They have a price tag, don’t they?" Li Cheng smirks, "Let’s not even talk about domestically. Internationally, you tens of millions, and you can go to any university you want.
Don’t have tens of millions? No problem, you can find middlemen.
1.2 million US Dollars guarantees a spot at Yale or Harvard. 200,000 US Dollars for the University of Southern California. 75,000 US Dollars to ensure American college entrance exam scores meet the mark. 15,000 US Dollars for a 400-point increase on the SAT."
Li Cheng’s tone is somewhat nonchalant as those elite universities don’t hide their donation culture but take pride in it as a strategy to maintain their status and wealth, accepted by society,
and even as a form of charity to the poor—the donations made by the wealthy to get their children into good universities enable the construction of more infrastructure, improving educational quality, which in turn helps students from poorer backgrounds gain professional skills and join the elite class.
After the onset of the Slaughter Field Game, those prestigious schools added a secret rule—children and relatives of high-level Transcendents can enter the university unconditionally. In China, it translates to bonus points for the national college entrance exam...
Li Cheng is not interested in buying a diploma from a famous university; it would take too much time.
He finds some unaccredited ’diploma mills’ based in California, with polished official websites and respectable Facebook and Twitter pages, and clicks in.
The right to operate a university in the United States comes from the states, not a federal grant.
California and Hawaii are most lenient in regulating the registration of universities—a registered email address can be considered an address for operating a school in these states. As a result, there are more diploma mills here than anywhere else in the world, with 95% of their diplomas going to foreigners, led by Chinese students, and the rest sold to U.S. government officials—since federal employees need degrees for promotions.
These diploma mills have high-sounding and professional-sounding names, like the American International East-West University, Honolulu University, Western Pacific University, New York Central State University, Asian University...
Li Cheng picks and chooses, and purchases from a slightly more legitimate diploma mill approved by the U.S. Department of Education to issue diplomas, paying with Bitcoin without even having to send a photo.
The person on the other end of the customer service is exceedingly enthusiastic, quickly sends over a photo of the certificate, and promises that the actual diploma will be mailed out within a week.
Once Li Cheng got the photo of the certificate, he meets the degree requirements for the "Mechanic Master’s Certificate" and is able to use it—truth is, having read so many textbooks with the Multi-threaded Brain Domain Method, he just needed the diploma.
From his Backpack, he takes out the blue hardcover book, his palm resting lightly on the pages, lost in thought.
Seeing him silent, Gray Rain tiptoes away from the game controller, sneaks into the study, and starts looking up websites where elementary school diplomas can be bought.
Hum— Chapters first released on novel(ꜰ)ire.net
In the spiritual world, Li Cheng’s mind embarks on a strange journey.
He awoke from the depths of bedrock, laying eyes on a giant steel machine reminiscent of a tunnel boring machine, mining ore and excavating tunnels.
As his thoughts soared upwards, he found himself over the vast ocean, where several hundred-thousand-ton steam battleships, billowing plumes of black smoke, cut through the waves as if tsunamis were nothing. The deep booms of their main cannons, ten at 460mm caliber and twenty at 155mm caliber, firing in unison, even overshadowed rolling thunder.
Main battle tanks of riveted steel charged like lightning across the muddy battleground, the magic arrays etched into their riveted armor deflecting anti-tank rounds.
Metal cooking robots with magic crystals embedded in their chests prepared meals in the kitchen for the homeowners returning from work.
Airships with shark paint schemes silently traversed through anti-aircraft fire networks using invisibility spells, arriving above bustling cities and dropping heavy bombs.
Mechanical and magic, war and peace.
The illusion faded away quietly, and the clock on the wall showed that less than ten minutes had passed.
Li Cheng took a deep breath, feeling a slight burning sensation from his right hand, looked at the back of his hand— a gear seal inlaid with a magic crystal had appeared out of nowhere on that patch of skin.
The most basic mark of a Mechanical Master.
Li Cheng didn’t modify the mark immediately but chose to hide it, turning his attention to his new abilities.
As the note said, a Mechanical Master utilizes ingenious ideas and magic to make items exhibit extraordinary performance. A Level 1 Mechanical Master automatically activates two traits: Basic Spellcasting and Magic Craftsmanship.
Basic Spellcasting: Mechanical Masters have grasped the operational principles of magic, knowing how to invoke magic. Unlike traditional spellcasting, they excel in guiding magic into objects.
To others, it seems as though they are creating miracles through items.
Such as using a hairdryer to cast the Dancing Wind Skill.
Using a Samsung phone to unleash Magic Energy Burst.
Using a refrigerator to release freezing rays.
It all depends on the Mechanical Master’s own ingenious inspirations, or, to put it bluntly, brainstorming.
Magic Craftsmanship: Mechanical Masters know how to embed the spark of magic into ordinary items, endowing them with a degree of temporary extraordinary traits.
Such as making a broken machine temporarily work for a while, charging a dead power bank out of thin air, or causing an overloaded power outlet to spontaneously combust.
Magic Craftsmanship is not limited to mechanical creations; it works with ordinary items just as effectively.
Such as making still photos come to life, giving eyeglasses an intrinsic telescopic function, or enabling toilets to flush automatically.
A Mechanical Master can bestow magic power upon multiple items, with the maximum number dependent on the Intellect Attribute and Spiritual Power level. Each item can only bear one magic attribute at a time.
As a profession under the world view of Dragon and Dungeon, where all magic originates from an energy field-like Magic Net, spellcasters need to draw energy from the Magic Net to cast spells.
Earth has no Magic Net, and magic attributes are encapsulated within the Spiritual Power Value by killing field.
Li Cheng conducted a series of experiments until every electronic device in his house was dismantled into parts, finally stopping with satisfaction.
Moreover, his Spiritual Power Value limit, originally at 450, had risen to 465 and was still subtly increasing.