Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 463 Improvement and Conclusion

"Proficiency +1"

“【重潮】lv1（100/100）→【重潮】lv2（0/100）”

"..."

"Proficiency +3"

"【Gravity Control】lv1 (40/100)"

"..."

The plate chainmail armor with remaining scratches on its surface rose and fell slightly with each breath. Xia Nan, covered in merman blood and bits of flesh, stood still, with semi-transparent characters flashing before his eyes.

As a companion combat skill obtained when upgrading [Meteor Blade Hunting] to level 3, [Re-Tide] is currently Xia Nan's only combat skill that has not yet been upgraded to the maximum level but has considerable training value and speed, and has become the main content of his daily training.

The speed at which proficiency increases is very fast.

In addition, the battles he experienced after arriving at Harlequin Bay were of decent quality, and he could often go to the goblin lair to catch up and do some extra training, which made his proficiency in this combat skill rise rapidly at an average rate of one to two points per day.

Now, it's a natural progression to break through that critical "100" point and upgrade from lv1 to lv2.

Although Xia Nanfang has only just upgraded, he hasn't had a chance to test the changes after the upgrade.

However, based on the past patterns of combat skill advancement, the change from lv1 to lv2 can only be considered a minor quantitative change, allowing Xia Nan to become more proficient in using combat skills and slightly increasing their power.

The first real qualitative change should come at level 3.

If all goes well, he will receive a valuable attribute bonus.

【Tide】As a class-specific combat skill, it plays a very important role in daily combat. It is at least on par with 【Gravity Etching】 and 【Fang Hunt】, so Xia Nan has no doubt about the qualitative change at level 3.

Every bit of proficiency from 0 to 100 is the result of hard work and dedication; it's something I've personally witnessed improve little by little.

A few days ago, when his proficiency with [Chongchao] broke through 90, Xia Nan had already prepared himself for the advancement of this combat skill.

Upgrading to level 2 now is a natural progression and won't bring too many surprises.

What truly surprised him was the three points of proficiency in [Gravity Control].

Xia Nan wasn't sure what quality [Gravity Control], an ability that had transcended the level of normal combat skills, belonged to, but he was almost certain that for [Gravity Control], each level of improvement was a qualitative change.

Otherwise, it would be a disservice to the name of this combat skill and its speed of improvement.

It's worth noting that Xia Nan started learning [Gravity Control] at the same time as [Gravity Etching], which was a class-specific combat skill. The latter has already been mastered to the maximum level, while the former hasn't even reached level 1 with 50 proficiency points yet, even after Xia Nan has integrated the practice of this combat skill into his daily life.

On the other hand, he also clearly remembered that one of the requirements for a certain advanced profession in the future, which came from the attribute panel, was that [Gravity Control] must reach level 2.

To be honest, it's probably because the quality of this combat skill is so high that the speed at which he gains proficiency is so slow that it's almost hopeless. Relying solely on daily training, it would take many days to barely increase his proficiency even a little.

Only occasionally, during battle, when a sudden inspiration strikes and an unconventional maneuver is achieved through gravity, can one make an improvement.

Xia Nan guessed that the sudden increase of three points in proficiency might be due to his short-term manipulation of gravity to reduce the burden on Hein's flight, followed by increasing gravity upon descent to enhance attack power. Simultaneously, he used gravity to interrupt the merman priest's spellcasting. This precise application of the [Gravity Control] combat skill from different angles in such a short time, combined with his previous accumulation of [Fang Hunt] water-walking skills, resulted in a total of three points being added to his proficiency.

Seeing that the proficiency of [Gravity Control] had finally broken through the forty mark and the upgrade progress was approaching fifty percent, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

Even if there are no loot after this battle, the three precious points of proficiency are totally worth it.

The thoughts in my mind were fleeting; the battle was not yet over.

My attention was only briefly glanced at the prompts in the attribute panel before I returned to reality.

There were a total of thirty-six Sawa murlocs, including a spellcaster priest and six elite murloc guards who were significantly more robust in size.

At the moment, at the cost of slightly damaged plate chain composite armor, the [Death Line] ring entering cooldown, and the consumption of four uses of [Gravity Etching], Xia Nan, who broke into the battlefield from the air, successfully completed the decapitation tactic.

In less than five seconds of falling from the sky, he killed the murloc priest, the core of the enemy team, and two elite guards.

This reduced the enemy's core fighting force to only four elite murlocs, with the rest being ordinary minions with a challenge level of no more than "0.5".

The battleground is an open beach, with druids who have transformed into short-tailed albatrosses in the sky, taking advantage of the altitude and providing support and control from the side; the teammates fighting side by side are experienced professionals with a class level of lv5 or above, wielding blue-armored scimitars.

The course of the battle that followed was then predictable.

In fact, as soon as Xia Nan landed, many more fish-man corpses appeared on the other side of the distant beach.

Lorraine is a powerful adventurer who has made a name for herself in the Southern Islands through her own strength and is moving towards the path of "extraordinary".

With the support of equipment, combat skills, and physical prowess, facing these noisy, savage fishmen was like cutting melons and vegetables.

The surrounding "Scorching Temperature Domain" weakened their fighting ability by more than half when these fish-people, who had always lived in the water, stepped into it. The scorching temperature, which scorched even their scales, weakened them.

The fiery scimitar, encircled by blazing flames, was like a sickle in the hands of a farmer in a field; with a single sweep through the air, it would leave behind a trail of blood and severed limbs.

Without the threat of distant spellcasters, Lorraine can fight with complete freedom.

Three minutes? Or five minutes?

Even without any further assistance from the airborne Hein, the sound of the fishmen disappeared from the beach amidst the howling of wolves and the sizzling of moisture evaporating in the air.

Severed neck, cut in half at the waist, head ripped open...

The fish-men's blood stained the surrounding beach a fluorescent blue, and the ground was littered with twitching, broken limbs.

"Crackling sound".

Sparks exploded.

The scorching heat of the curved blade completely dried the filth on it, and a slight wipe restored it to its original spotless state.

With a nasal twitch, Lorraine exhaled a puff of white smoke and casually tossed the cigarette butt into the body of the merman corpse whose chest and abdomen had been ripped open during the battle, right at her feet.

His gaze fell upon the black-haired youth who had just sheathed his sword and beheaded the last Shahua fishman on the field, a hint of concern flashing in his reddish-brown eyes.

Although he had already learned about Xia Nan's strength through his crew and Hera, the three-legged sea dog, he knew that Xia Nan was a very capable professional who had made a name for himself in the town of "The Hague" shortly after arriving in Barracuda Bay.

But this was the first time I had actually fought alongside them.

The result... was somewhat unexpected.

Regardless of the ability the other party used to allow Hein, who was wearing metal armor, to fly after her transformation, the sword strike that Xia Nan delivered as she fell from the sky was something that no one in the entire Blade of Vengeance team could withstand except for himself.

Even Lorraine herself, if caught off guard by such a sudden attack, would likely have suffered severe consequences. With her extensive combat experience, she knew exactly what it took to deliver such a swift and devastating blow.

On-the-spot judgment and the courage to fall are prerequisites for everything, while physical fitness sufficient to withstand the damage from the fall is fundamental.

Then, the illusory black wolf head that resembled a shooting star, and the sharp sword light that seemed to be force field energy that slashed three times in a short period of time, were definitely not something that ordinary warriors could possess.

The enemy's actual combat strength is probably already in the top tier within the fleet, second only to our own.

That means there are only a few months left until this year's "Moonlight Feast". Otherwise, with Xia Nan's strength, if he took on a few more missions with the association, he could quickly make a name for himself in the Southern Islands and get an invitation to the banquet.

"Splash..."

A surge of air and the sound of flapping wings overhead brought Lorraine back to reality.

The battle was over, and the druid no longer needed to maintain his previous wilderness form to avoid being targeted. He flapped his wings and landed.

hum-

The same emerald green light as during the transformation covered its entire body, its wings rapidly shortened with each flap, the wingtips blunted and separated into fingers, the bird's claws extended and transformed into human feet, and its center of gravity quietly shifted upwards.

In the blink of an eye, she reverted to her original form as a human woman with brown hair and brown eyes.

It's worth mentioning that, unlike the beast-like girl named "Mint" that Xia Nan encountered before, the druid's Wild Form transformation is a type of magic, while the former is a physical change caused by infection with a curse.

Therefore, even if Hein returns to her human form from her bird form, she will not experience any embarrassing situations like her clothes being torn off.

Her clothes and equipment, even the staff in her hand, will adapt and merge into her body during transformation under the influence of magical energy.

However, most of them will temporarily lose their original function and enter a silent state, with only a few still usable after transformation.

Xia Nan gazed at the druid who had regained his human form, and thoughts flashed through his mind.

The ability to fly is a rare and powerful ability, no matter what world you're in.

Its ability to move regardless of most terrain is enough to make countless people envious.

From Xia Nan's perspective, if he could also move freely in the air, even if the speed was a little slower than on the road, the time required to travel from River Valley Town to Sucker Bay could probably be reduced by more than half, without having to go through the hills and swamps along the way.

Unfortunately, the short-tailed albatross that the druid transformed into was still too small and had limited carrying capacity. Even though he used [Gravity Control] to reduce his body's gravity as much as possible, it still bounced up and down when he flew through the air, making it very difficult. He could only move short distances as before.

Otherwise, the tactical space would be much wider.

Xia Nan mentally reviewed the battle that had just taken place.

Good news: the decapitation tactic of descending from the sky, taking advantage of Hein's flight after transformation, has been proven to be feasible in practice.

The bad news is that, hanging in the air beneath the druid, he is practically a sitting duck, completely defenseless. Furthermore, carrying him along causes Hein's flight speed to drop drastically, making it difficult to dodge attacks from below.

If the enemy notices the two in the sky and has the means to attack from a distance, Xia Nan and Hein will be in a very dangerous situation.

Therefore, this kind of airdrop tactic cannot be his regular method in the Blade of Vengeance team.

It should only be used selectively in special circumstances.

Hmm... the tacit understanding between him and Hein still needs time to develop.

How are you? Do you need treatment?

After landing, Haiyin walked towards Xia Nan and asked with concern.

"Although we were already at a low altitude, I felt it was still too high and a bit dangerous."

Only those who actually possess the ability to fly can realize how dangerous it is to actually fall from that seemingly close distance.

Let alone ordinary people, even a regular adventurer would likely be severely injured and rendered unable to fight if they fell from that height.

And this black-haired youth in front of him, if he remembered correctly, had even accelerated himself in some way when he fell...

Xia Nan simply waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

The constant fall damage reduction from [Tidal Shaping] already offset most of the impact force upon landing. In addition, his current comprehensive physical fitness and strong muscles and bones are able to completely absorb the excess impact, so he will not be injured by the fall.

The only thing to consider is that I might not need to rush so hard before landing next time. The burst of power provided by [Fang Hunt] alone is enough, and there is no need to use [Gravity Control] for additional acceleration.

Otherwise, if the landing results in a frozen state, it could cause some trouble.

The battlefield was quickly cleaned up.

This is a group of Sawa fishmen on a mission, so they naturally wouldn't be carrying any valuables, nor would they be able to randomly drop a completely unrelated piece of equipment or item just by touching a corpse, like in a game.

The only valuable loot on the field, besides the simple and common armor and harpoons on their bodies, was the two strangely shaped conch shells that the murloc priest had been holding.

It doesn't display an attribute panel, so it can't be called equipment. According to Lorraine's guess, it should be a natural product of the deep sea, a medium for communicating magic.

Bringing it back to Suyu Bay might fetch a good price.

Of course, specific transactions and profit distribution will have to wait until after the mission is over; for now, they will be entrusted to Lorraine, the team leader, for safekeeping.

"These Shahua fishmen must have come from the Twin Oceans."

Hein squatted on the ground, her gaze fixed on the corpse of a fish-man in front of her.

On the body's arm, a very obvious circular notch can be seen.

"It wasn't just this one; many of the corpses had wounds caused by these spiral sharks."

Considering their recent experience in the storm, these Shahua fish people had obviously encountered those frenzied schools of fish as well.

Although there is a possibility of unexpected encounters, such a discovery deserves the attention of several people.

His gaze swept over the fishermen's corpses in the pit, and he recalled the sacrificial ritual that Xia Nanfang had just mentioned.

Lorraine's expression darkened.

"It seems... we should speed things up a bit more."

　It's the end of the month, everyone please vote with your monthly tickets! (whispering)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)