Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 422 [Fishbone Snail]

"Proficiency +1"

"【Gravity Control】lv1: (35/100)"

"..."

"Proficiency +1"

"【Chongchao】lv1: (72/100)"

"..."

Semi-transparent characters flashed before my eyes.

Xia Nan only glanced at it briefly before paying no further attention.

Staying alert, he took two steps forward, panting, to confirm that the shark beast whose head he had blown off with his force field energy was completely dead and there was no possibility of it going to "stage two".

Only then, with one foot planted on the opponent's thick, muscular chest, did he pull the [Emberfall] straight sword, which had pierced the monster's forearm, out of it.

As a system combat skill that is automatically learned when the [Meteor Blade Hunter] class advances to level 3, this skill has become a major part of Xia Nan's daily training since he started learning [Re-Tide].

It was indeed a difficult situation. Ever since [Fang Hunt] was upgraded to the maximum level, Xia Nan had fallen into a state of powerlessness and emptiness, and to some extent, he could not find a direction to strive for.

He considered himself incredibly self-disciplined. The tangible existence of his extraordinary power and the clear path to advancement provided by his attribute panel made him more diligent than ever before in his previous life.

They get up earlier than the sun every day, and the sweat they shed during training seems to nourish the desert.

However, after he advanced to level 2, and continued until level 3, his daily training entered a relatively awkward state.

In the past, the main training items, [Spinning Slash] and [Fang Hunt], no longer provided a sense of accomplishment from improving proficiency after mastering them, so they were no longer the main focus of training. Instead, daily training focused more on developing and expanding the ways to use them.

[Gravity Etching] has usage limitations, so it's impossible to practice it extensively.

The long cooldown of [Echoes] means that it can only be trained through a method similar to meditation, which can be done in an inn, and the progress is quite limited.

As for [Gravity Control], it goes without saying that its extremely slow rate of proficiency improvement is the most frustrating of all the combat skills Xia Nan has mastered. No matter how hard he trains, he can't feel any improvement at all, and it only occasionally grants him one or two points of proficiency.

In this context, a combat technique emerged that had no usage restrictions, consumed relatively little energy, and even had few requirements for the training environment.

For Xia Nan, it was like a lost soul in the desert finding an oasis.

It has been forty-five days since he advanced to level 3 in Giethoorn and acquired a new combat skill.

He managed to raise his proficiency in [Chongchao] from "1/100" to "72/100".

Forty-five days, 71 points.

On average, my proficiency improves by 1.5 points per day.

The efficiency is simply outrageous.

It should be noted that during these 45 days, the majority of the schedule was spent traveling, and after arriving at Suoyu Bay, a lot of energy was devoted to familiarizing themselves with the environment and gathering intelligence.

The fact that Xia Nan could still improve at such a rapid pace under these circumstances shows his strong desire for combat skills that can be repeatedly trained.

He took out a gauze from his pouch and carefully wiped his two longswords.

Aldon, the halfling, had blood and mud on his clothes. His serious and focused expression during the battle gradually relaxed as his enemies died. He stood next to Xia Nan, cleaning the bloodstains left on the surface of his twin swords.

Nick, the captain of the "Silver Claw Osprey" squad, had his head crushed by the shark beast and had no chance of survival; the half-elf Leda, who was bitten in the middle, still had the echoes of her shrill screams reverberating in the cave, almost dying along with the shark beast.

In some hells, in terms of survival time alone, she actually outlived Nick.

Unfortunately, the healing spells enchanted by [Tears of Spring] do not have the effect of limb regeneration. It is completely useless against severe injuries such as being cut in half at the waist. Otherwise, the half-elf might have had a chance to survive.

"Hurry up, we need to clean up the battlefield."

Alton whispered a reminder from the side.

The cave is located by the sea, and the pungent smell of blood inside can easily spread with the sea breeze.

If another monster were to be attracted, it would become very troublesome for the two on the field. It would be best to finish up and retreat as soon as possible.

For Xia Nan, his only loss in this battle was one thing.

The battle-hardened [Purgatory Pulse] finally met its end in a fierce battle, becoming unusable.

To be honest, this green-quality armor was more durable than he had expected.

After all, according to past practice, it should have been destroyed in its battle against the Crystal Priest in Goat Horn.

In his opinion, the fact that he has managed to hold on until now and play such an important role in the battle is well worth the price.

As for the harvest...

First and foremost, the most conspicuous item was the ritual staff in the hand of the merman priest, whose head had been severed by Xia Nan's sword at the very beginning of the battle, and whose body had been cut into three pieces.

……

【Fishbone snail】

Type: Staff

Level: Common (White)
effect:

1. When the user is in seawater, casting speed +10%;

2. Evocation (Water) spell damage +5%.

Introduction:

A primitive staff made from fish bones and conch shells—to unleash its full power... you need to learn to swim first.

Remarks:

"Garu!"

……

A white-quality staff.

Xia Nan wasn't particularly disappointed.

In fact, he was already very satisfied to find such a spellcasting equipment on a Shahua Murloc Priest with a challenge level of only "2".

After all, not every monster in this world can be like the goblin bear I encountered when I first transmigrated, carrying enchanted accessories of green quality.

Otherwise, given the exaggerated efficiency adventurers display when it comes to wealth, high-quality equipment wouldn't be so rare and expensive on the market.

The only slight regret he had was that he later realized it might have been better to let Alton touch the corpse.

From a metaphysical perspective, the other person, being favored by Lady Luck, is definitely much luckier than the average person. I only found a white-grade staff; if it were them, they might have gotten a blue or purple one right away.

Who can predict luck?

At the same time, it's cold and realistic.

The two weapons left behind by Nick and Leda, from the wiped-out Silverclaw Osprey squad, also became part of his loot.

Both are white-quality equipment, and their effects are similar to Xia Nan's former [Decapitation Sword], with some durability bonuses and other improvements.

But ultimately, they are secondhand goods from the battlefield, and neither Nick's twin swords nor the half-elf's wooden bow will likely fetch a high price.

Let alone auctions, even consigning a product to a blacksmith's shop involves haggling over the price, and the time and effort required to get a satisfactory selling price are disproportionate to the returns.

After all, they were teammates who had fought alongside him, and he wasn't that short of money right now.

If Xia Nan can find the families of his two temporary teammates after returning to Sucker Bay, he wouldn't mind returning the two weapons to their families as keepsakes.

If no relevant clues are found, he's not exactly a pushover; he'll find a blacksmith shop that offers a reasonable price and sell the item directly, using the money as food expenses.

Xia Nan certainly hadn't forgotten Alton.

This little guy made a significant contribution to the battle just now. The stirring and melodious music improved Xia Nan's efficiency in battle to a certain extent, and his distraction of the shark beast at the crucial moment created an opportunity for him to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

He never hesitates to give away such trustworthy and reliable teammates.

But when Xia Nan wanted to seriously discuss the distribution of profits with the other party, the short man just waved his hand with a smile, just like when he fought the pirates before, indicating that he didn't need anything.

For Alton, money was only necessary for food and lodging, and its only other purpose was to please the goddess.

Based on the other party's performance in the casino, there is actually no difference between 100 gold coins and 1 copper coin.

Xia Nan felt a little embarrassed, thinking that the other party had come all this way for nothing and had taken too much advantage of him.

Seemingly sensing Xia Nan's mood, the short man cheerfully offered to let Xia Nan treat him to meals at various famous restaurants in the city after they returned to Suoyu Bay, as payment for his time there.

There is nothing wrong with that.

With the equipment harvest processed, the next step is the biological materials.

The Shahua fishman is very common on the beach, and there are no valuable parts on its body, so it's not worth considering.

But the shark beast whose head Xia Nan blasted off was different.

The challenge level is estimated to be at least level 4. If the surrounding environment were changed to water, its actual combat power would probably increase significantly.

Just looking at that body of flesh, it's definitely worth some money!
However, the problem is that this kind of monster does not appear in the monster encyclopedia that Xia Nan has seen.

Just like that armored monster he picked up a long time ago, he didn't even know which part of its body was more valuable.

Fearing that he might miss out on another rare organ, he felt a vague sense of uncertainty.

I guessed that its tough and thick sharkskin might be worth some money, and maybe it could even be used to make equipment.

But Xia Nan still felt uneasy about dissecting it now.

Finally, at Alton's suggestion, it was decided to transport the shark's carcass back to Cliff Village. The villagers there live by the sea year-round, and even if they have never seen such a monster, their understanding of fish-like creatures is certainly much deeper than that of the two of them.

Taking their advice into consideration and applying it to other situations is much better than relying solely on luck like we are now.

only……

Do you think this altar has anything to do with the shark beast?

Xia Nan stood beside the simple altar made by the Shahua fishmen, his dark eyes fixed on the primitive runes carved on the reefs and abandoned ship planks, a question lingering in his mind.

He clearly remembered that when his group entered the cave, the merfolk were performing some kind of ritual under the guidance of their priests.

On the altar were the corpses of orcs that the Shark Beast had snatched from the village, while the Shark Beast itself was hiding in the pool behind it.

Xia Nan himself didn't believe that there was any connection between the two and that it was just a coincidence.

But on their way there, they encountered many gruesome corpses with bite marks from sharks.

This made him increasingly suspicious of the relationship between this powerful and ferocious monster and the Shahua fish-men.

Alton simply shook his head at this.

The information gathered is too limited to determine the origin of the shark beast.

Even though this monster does look a bit strange, it's not so bad if you expand the context to the entire ocean.

Similar to the animals in Xia Nan's previous life who were constantly affected by nuclear radiation, the magical particles in the air of the world he was in now were extremely active, so it was perfectly normal for ordinary creatures to undergo abnormal evolution.

This can be seen in the monster encyclopedia that is updated almost every year at the general store in Harp Bay.

A powerful monster with a humanoid body and a shark's head was placed inside...

For the adventurers in the inn, it was at most a story they could brag about over drinks, not big news.

Xia Nan could only silently memorize what he saw and consider it later if he made any discoveries.

It is worth mentioning that it was precisely because of the unknown origin of this mutated shark beast that Xia Nan was worried about eating something unclean, and thus gave up the idea of ​​tasting its flesh and blood.

Of course, a large part of the reason is that the other party had recently eaten the lower half of the half-elf in front of Xia Nan.

If you hadn't seen it, it would have been fine, but having witnessed Leda's two little legs disappear into the monster's mouth, it's hard not to feel a little bothered and it affects your appetite.

Therefore, which is extremely rare for him, after the battle with the monster, he restrained his appetite and did not attempt to cook.

Using the cedar branches along the coast, Alton and I crafted several simple rafts for easy to tow, tied them with the hemp ropes we carried in our backpacks, and transported the monster and the corpses of the three adventurers out of the cave.

Having been teammates for a while, and since it was just a side job, Xia Nan didn't leave Nick and the others' bodies to rot in the cave. Instead, he planned to take them back to the village along with the shark beast's corpse and entrust the villagers to bury them.

His strong physique, coupled with his ability to reduce gravity through [Gravity Control], allowed him to easily drag the massive bodies of the monsters on the raft.

Looking from afar, the enormous blue-gray creature lying on the raft contrasted sharply with Xia Nan being towed in front of it, creating an indescribable visual shock.

Anyway, when Colin was called out of his hiding place by Alton, he was clearly stunned when he saw the shark carcass behind Xia Nan.

Then they saw the remains of Nick and the others.

Very sensibly, she didn't ask any questions. Just like when she came, her body trembled, and she silently followed behind the two like a nobody, without saying a word.

His eyes, filled with both fear and an irresistible urge to scrutinize the corpse, revealed an indescribable, strange expression on his face, which was already pale and bloodless from being exposed to the sea breeze for so long.

He didn't know whether he was grieving for the deaths of these three important figures whom he could never catch up to, or whether he was grateful for Xia Nan and the others' consideration in not letting him enter the cave.

Otherwise, I'd probably be just like the corpses of those three adventurers before me, reduced to broken limbs and mangled remains.

(End of this chapter)