Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 33 Conditions (4k)

The Misty Forest is vast and boundless, and the rich magic in the air makes this mysterious land covered with dense forests and bushes breed countless creatures.

Four rust monsters, five adventurers, and a tense battle that could decide life or death.

In the entire forest, it is just one of the countless cycles of life and death, hunting, eating and being eaten, that happen every second.

The bonfire flickered.

The orange-red flames seemed to blend into the night, transforming into a misty fog that surrounded the body and floated slowly in the air.

After the battle, Xia Nan and others packed their luggage urgently, and under Wood's command, they quickly completed the transfer of the camp before the sun completely sank into the sky.

"Hiss! Gently, gently."

Larry's forehead was covered with sweat. With the help of Doris, he was carefully untying the bandage on his arm that was temporarily wrapped in a hurry.

The venom of the Rust Monster is the natural enemy of metal equipment. If left unattended, even a few drops of it will be enough to corrode a large gap or dent on the metal equipment, just like an ant nest.

When applied to the human body, its toxicity is much lighter.

It's like a burn, just a burning pain, not fatal.

Faced with Larry's frightened performance, as if he had suffered a serious injury, Doris showed disgust and muttered something, but she still carefully helped him change the bandage.

In the center of the camp, the half-elf was discussing tomorrow's itinerary with his guard in a low voice. The atmosphere between the two was no longer silent, and the previous dispute seemed to be forgotten with the end of the battle.

Xia Nan was still alone, leaning against a tree trunk, sitting by the fire.

But at the moment, he did not maintain the shiny beheading sword in his hand.

Instead, he was roasting the jerky in front of him with great concentration.

After a day full of twists and turns, he needed to replenish his energy by eating.

As a novice adventurer at the bottom of the society who has not even completed a few missions.

Even because of the three views of modern society in the previous life and the relatively rich family background at that time, he was willing to spend a few more coins on supplies.

All he brought with him on this trip was a pile of hard black bread, a few large pieces of smoked meat, two pieces of dried fish that were so salty that they made his throat ache, and some other miscellaneous food - a total of about five days' worth of food.

It’s not that Xia Nan is so stingy in this regard, but because of the special environment of the Misty Forest, fresh food spoils much faster than usual.

I thought I was just going to pick some firefly garlic vines and spend at most one night outside, so I just followed the advice in the Adventurer's Handbook and made some simple purchases according to the list in the grocery store.

Now that I think about it, maybe I should spend a few more silver coins and see if there is anything else to eat that I can bring with me.

Shanan used a dagger to cut the hot bacon into pieces and put them into his mouth.

"Well...at least it's hot."

Feeling the indescribable strange taste in his mouth, he comforted himself in his heart.

But he couldn't help but recall the feast he had at the White Tit Tavern a few days ago, spending a "huge amount" of 3 silver coins.

"That bowl of mushroom soup is really delicious."

He smacked his lips subconsciously.

By the way, although I haven't seen one yet, there must be real wizards in this world.

Maybe there is something like a "space ring" or a "storage spell".

If I have the chance to get similar items in the future, not only will it be convenient to carry all kinds of supplies, but trophies like today's "Rust Monster Shell" should also be easy to bring back to the city.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan suddenly laughed at himself.

I feel like I am the protagonist in the joke "The Emperor's Golden Hoe" in my previous life.

"Xianan? What are you thinking about?"

The deliberately suppressed call sounded in my ears.

Shanan then came back to his senses and looked over, only to see that Larry had changed the medicine at some point and came to his side.

He was holding a small basket in his hand.

"Here, this is for you."

Before he could reply, the basket was forced into his arms.

With a quick glance, I found a palm-sized glass bottle and several packages covered with fine cloth in the basket.

"I bought the honey from the Elf Leaf bakery. It's very famous. You can try it."

Larry pointed to the glass bottle filled with golden thick liquid in the basket, and his vivid expression was like that of a salesman in the live broadcast room in his previous life.

"And these pieces of goat cheese are made by Doris and her family. They taste great, especially when paired with dried meat. Tsk, that taste..."

"Oh..." Xia Nan held the wooden basket and looked a little surprised, but still nodded in thanks, "Thank you."

I wanted to exchange a few more pleasantries with the other party and chat about some things related to this mission.

Unexpectedly, Larry seemed to have come all the way here just to deliver something to her. He only left a sentence, "When we get back to Newme, please come and have fun in the city for a few days." Then, at Doris's urging, he ran back in small steps.

Zira——

Under the burning flames, the cheese cut into thin slices by a dagger half-melted and stuck to the reddish-brown dried meat, emitting a fresh milky aroma.

When you put it in your mouth, the salty and sweet taste of the cheese from another world makes the originally dry and tasteless jerky seem to become another ingredient.

Xia Nan's eyes suddenly brightened, and his tired body and mind also felt relieved a lot.

Looking at Larry and Doris who were whispering something in the distance, his eyes were a little complicated.

When he first joined the team, he thought that the two of them were just in the clichéd but common relationship of "pursuer" and "pursued" in his previous life.

After all, with Larry's fawning look and Doris's indifferent attitude, it's hard not to think that way.

But now, as we spend the whole day together.

However, Shanann discovered that although Larry always acted in a flattering manner, he was not so flattering without any bottom line; and although Doris often disliked him, she was not so distant at certain times.

"can't read."

He shook his head in confusion.

"It's very strange, right?" As if noticing Xia Nan's gaze, the half-elf on the side smiled and spoke.

"What if I tell you that they actually grew up together?"

Hmm? Childhood sweetheart?

Xia Nan couldn't help but feel more confused, and asked subconsciously:

"Then why are they..."

"It looks awkward, doesn't it?" Hai An looked at the two from a distance and lowered his voice, "The actual situation is indeed a bit complicated."

"Larry's father was a well-known wealthy businessman in Newham, and Doris's parents were once the stewards of Larry's family before they opened the cheese shop."

"That's why they knew each other since childhood, and then..."

At this point, the half-elf seemed to realize that his current behavior was not very appropriate, so he stopped talking and ended:
"What happened afterwards were the stories in the stage play." Xia Nan still didn't understand.

But since Hai'an didn't intend to continue, he stopped asking questions and instead turned the topic to the other person himself.

"What about you? Why did you come to the Misty Forest?"

Hearing this, Haian couldn't help but pause.

There was a flicker in his silver-gray eyes, and he hesitated for a moment, then he let out a long breath as if he had let go of something.

He took out the inky black wooden sign from his waist bag.

He gently stroked its surface with his fingertips and whispered:

"When I was little, I always pestered my mother to tell me stories before going to bed."

"Although there are only a few of them, and they are not as lively as Aunt Polly's."

"But..." The evening breeze blew, revealing the slender ears hidden by the half-elf's silver hair, "Those stories all come from my mother's hometown."

"Flower fairies who like to play tricks on people, tree people who guide lost people, dreams woven with emerald and jade..."

"Only at those nights, with my mother's gentle voice, could I stop thinking about the looks of others during the day, and stop caring about... myself."

The silver-gray eyes, unique to elves, reflected the flickering firelight in front of them.

Hai'an suddenly turned around and glanced at Wood, who seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Sighed.

"I actually know that the shape of this wooden sign is different from the style passed down by my mother's clan."

"But this is my last chance, I have to try."

"After this mission is over, regardless of whether I gain anything or not, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to leave the house, right?"

"No, Master!" Wood replied firmly, but as if he had thought of something, his expression showed a hint of hesitation and struggle, and he repeated in a murmur, "No."

It was just a casual question, but I didn't expect it to make the team atmosphere quiet again.

Xia Nan glanced at the two of them, his brain working rapidly, and changed the subject:
"Oh right! I've always wanted to know, Wood, you should be a professional, right?"

“The kind that really got to the pro level,” he added.

Wood looked a little strange about this.

"Don't you know? I thought you'd already figured it out."

"Haha, this is only my second mission after all." Xia Nan scratched his head and laughed.

"I have never come into contact with a true professional before, so I am a little curious."

"The second time!?" As if catching a key word, the half-elf's ears instantly pricked up.

"So what you said to Larry before that you were the new guy, was that true?"

Without waiting for Xia Nan to respond, Hai An looked at the iron-gray beheading sword beside him with surprise.

"The fighting skills you used just now don't seem like those of a rookie."

Hearing that the half-elf seemed surprised by his [Spin Slash], Xia Nan couldn't help feeling a little confused.

"What's wrong? Fighting skills...don't you all know them?"

Hearing this, Hai An was as surprised as if he had discovered a new world.
"Wait! Didn't your mentor teach you these things?"

"Mentor? I've never had a mentor."

"Where did you learn this fighting skill?"

In Xia Nan's opinion, there was nothing worth hiding about his previous life's experience, and the half of the skill book that recorded the training method of [Spin Slash] was fed to the old cow in the shed many years ago after the whole family made no progress.

He told them all about how his predecessor obtained the skill book and the sudden changes that occurred after years of hard training.

!! ?
"So, you mastered it by swinging your sword at half a piece of paper for a few years!?"

Wood's face showed a wonderful expression that had never appeared in the battle just now.

Hai An beside him had stopped talking and just stared at him without blinking, as if he were an alien.

It’s not that I’m wrong. After all, to some extent, Xia Nan is indeed an “alien”.

At this point, no matter how slow his reaction was, looking at the performance of the two people, Xia Nan realized that something was wrong with this body.

It was obvious that he was just an ordinary office worker in his previous life and had hardly ever had a fight. But after traveling through time, he could directly fight with all kinds of monsters.

Although I am a little unfamiliar with it, every time I review it, I find that the choices I made following my instinct in battle are often correct and accurate.

In addition, when I first crossed over to this world, I had already practiced [Spin Slash] to the maximum level...

Could it be that this body, and my previous self, do have some talent in fighting?
I saw that Xia Nan’s reaction didn’t seem fake.

Although there was still surprise on Wood's face, he quickly regained his original composure and took the initiative to introduce him to the knowledge about "combat skills" in this world.

According to Wood, due to the differences in professions and effect types, the number of combat skills on the continent of Ephra is as numerous as the stars in the sky.

However, neither the Adventurer's Guild nor other organizations have developed a clear and definite grading system for these combat skills.

It is just roughly divided into three levels according to proficiency: entry-level, skilled, and masterful.

Even the line between "entry" and "proficiency" is particularly vague.

"What about 'mastery'?" Xia Nan frowned and asked.

In response to this, Wood, who had already let down his guard and accepted the other party in his heart, smiled vividly and said mysteriously:
"Compared to the first two, the 'mastery' level combat skills are actually the easiest to distinguish."

"Because as long as you hone a real combat skill to the level of 'mastery', all your previous efforts will be rewarded to you in that instant."

"In short, the moment you master a combat skill, you will clearly feel that a certain aspect of your body will suddenly increase dramatically."

"Even some combat skills will give you some special skills in related areas after you master them."

Hearing this, Xia Nan immediately thought of the time a few days ago when he faced the bear goblin and upgraded [Whirl Slash] to the maximum level of "lv5", and gained two attribute points and a specialty called "Chopping Master".

So the level 5 on the system panel corresponds to the so-called "mastery" in the real world?
So correspondingly, lv1-2 is "entry level" and lv3-4 is "proficient"?
Xia Nan understood in his heart, and couldn't help but ask:
"So, 'Mastery' level combat skills are rare?"

As soon as the words fell, Hai An's eyes widened and he said:

"Of course!"

"Mastering a related combat skill is one of the prerequisites for obtaining a professional level!"

Career level! ?
Xia Nan felt a surge of excitement and even his breathing became heavy.

"What else? What are the other conditions?"

“How do I become a professional?”

(End of this chapter)