Chapter 119

"Proficiency +1"

Accompanied by a fleeting iron-grey arc of light, translucent characters flashed before his eyes.

His hands, gripping the sword hilt tightly, seemed to still be able to feel those three intermittent, sluggish sensations.

Air currents surged from behind him; the soft forest floor seemed to have been cleaved by an invisible plow, splashing up clods of earth and leaving behind a deep mark.

Following the inertia of the blade as it swept through the air, Xia Nan turned with the momentum.

The sword tip, flickering with a cold light, tapped lightly against the ground.

"Ssh-la!"

Blood sprayed from the severed necks as three heads spun into the air.

This was a special combat technique taught personally by a near-legendary transcendent powerhouse, passed down from an ancient Barbarian tribe in the Northern Highlands and guided by the cold wind.

Whether in terms of intensity or suitability,

it had almost reached the limit of Xia Nan's current capabilities.

It was like some kind of adhesive.

The instantaneous explosive power and displacement ability granted by 【Tooth Hunt】, combined with 【Spinning Slash】—which had been practiced to "Mastered" and become a physical instinct—plus the "5% Slashing Damage" and "5% Decapitation Damage" bonuses from 【Cleave Expert】 and 【Decapitation Longsword】.

In an instant, he poured out all his strength.

And the result brought about was three headless corpses.

The "Huoya" team, who had just been fantasizing about harvesting them, had lost three members—including their leader, "Bennett"—to just one sword strike from Xia Nan.

This turned the originally tense six-on-four situation into a three-on-four.

An instantaneous reversal!

"Drip."

Crimson blood beads splashed onto the reddish-brown scale armor, merging with the dried bloodstains already covering its surface.

Adeline still clutched her two single-handed hammers.

Her gaze, which had been highly focused while she struggled to find a way to escape the predicament, now appeared somewhat unfocused.

What does this mean!?

Just a moment ago, she had even steeled herself to pay the price of a serious injury, forcibly tanking the siege of the three men to drag Bennett in place and buy time for her teammates.

But now, the three corpses before her were like some kind of cooling agent, instantly chilling the heart she had prepared for death.

Her dark, yellowish-brown eyes subconsciously glanced toward Xia Nan in front, and the sounds of wolf howls and sword light seemed to linger faintly in her mind.

She suddenly snapped back to reality.

The trance lasted only a moment.

The battle was not yet over; she could not let her guard down.

As the squad leader, the experienced Adeline reacted before the corpses of the "Huoya" members in front of her had even hit the ground.

Without hesitation, she turned her undefended back to Xia Nan and charged toward the other side of the battlefield, where two hostile adventurers were blocking the way.

With thoughts flashing through his mind, Xia Nan also turned his body to support the archer, Berg, who was not skilled in melee combat.

It was only then that the newcomer, Abi, who had been stunned in place by the sudden shift in the situation,

shuddered violently, looked at the three headless corpses lying on the ground, and swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Slap!"

He suddenly slapped his own face, trying to calm himself down.

Gritting his teeth, he picked up the single-handed sword that had fallen to the ground and ran toward where Xia Nan was.

The battle ended quickly.

The three strongest members of the entire "Huoya" team, including Bennett himself, who had mastered two combat techniques, all died on the spot under Xia Nan's single, full-power explosive strike.

The remaining three, even though they were experienced adventurers,

stood no chance at all against Xia Nan and Adeline, who were both close to gaining professional levels and had already mastered two combat techniques.

Not to mention that Xia Nan's exaggerated performance, which was like that of a true professional, had completely shattered their psychological defenses.

Let alone fighting to the death, the moment they sensed a disadvantage, they threw down their weapons and knelt to surrender, showing not a shred of backbone.

Making a living in the Mist Forest, which was filled with dangerous magic beasts, they lived with death day and night.

For these "Hyena" bandits who had just been forcing them to hand over their equipment, even the rookie Abi, who had never killed a person before, felt not a shred of pity or sympathy.

Longswords severed vertebrae, hammers smashed skulls.

Just as the adventurer who had blocked their path earlier had mocked, they didn't torture them; they simply and cleanly sent them down to reunite with the rest of the Huoya group.

"Ssh-la."

The metal sword blade rubbed against taut muscle, bringing out a large spray of blood beads.

Xia Nan pulled his Decapitation Longsword from the chest of the adventurer before him, who had previously clamored to give him a quick death.

Compared to when the battle began, his chain mail had only a few more still-moist bloodstains; there wasn't even a scratch on it.

That saved him the cost of future repairs.

In terms of the duration of the battle and the losses they caused him, these scumbags were not even as good as the Goblins in the Goblin Lair behind them.

"Here, wipe it off."

Beside him, the "old hand" Berg reached out and handed over a piece of clean white gauze; the smile on his face was significantly more genuine than when Xia Nan had first joined the team.

His attitude had clearly changed quietly.

Abi, who had escaped death, slumped on the ground, panting heavily, covered in sweat.

Although there was still no interaction between them,

the look the other party gave him was no longer as distant as before.

For adventurers, nothing promotes a relationship more than a life-and-death battle fought side-by-side.

Carrying two hammers, Adeline walked over.

Her gaze swept over the last enemy on the ground who was already dead, moved up to Xia Nan, who was holding his longsword, and paused.

"You..."

When she first met him, the tragic scene in the Goblin Cave had already made her estimate Xia Nan's strength as highly as possible.

But she hadn't expected that she had still underestimated him.

If it weren't for the fact that he occasionally showed a lack of common knowledge about adventuring during the mission, she would have even suspected that she had recruited a professional into the team.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then shook her head.

"Forget it, let's talk after we get back to the city."

The battle was completely over, but the group was still in the dangerous Mist Forest.

They had to hurry and clean up the battlefield...

The harvest wasn't as high as imagined, but it was still pretty good.

They weren't the kind of desperate outlaws who would run away after one job; these adventurers couldn't possibly carry all their belongings with them at all times.

But even so, searching the six corpses one by one yielded nearly thirty gold coins.

And this was only a small part of the loot.

The real big haul was the armor and weapons on their bodies.

They were all experienced, veteran adventurers, and their equipment was excellent and well-maintained.

Even if they were all second-hand goods and sold for at most half price,

the total profit would still be far more than the sum of the rewards from several missions of the "Green Blood" squad.

One could only say that the principle of "killing and arson leads to golden belts" holds true in any world.

The mission was complete, and as the newcomer to the squad, Abi volunteered to take on the task of carrying the loot.

He knew in his heart that he was the weakest and hadn't helped much in the battle just now.

Therefore, he took the initiative to bear the burden of the heavy armor and ironware, lightening the load for the others in the team.

It is worth mentioning that, according to the rules set by Adeline's squad,

Xia Nan had undoubtedly made an outstanding contribution to the entire team in this battle.

Therefore, the loot collected from "Huoya" and the others would be divided with him in a larger proportion after being converted into gold coins.

It counted as an unexpected income.

Ten days later.

Baishanque Tavern, second-floor guest room.

Xia Nan sat on the bed, his hands hanging naturally on his knees, his body motionless.

On the wooden table in front of him sat a cup of clear water.

In his ears, mixed with the creaking of the old floorboards as travelers passed by his door, was the noise coming from the tavern lobby downstairs.

He was long used to it.

He simply treated it as white noise, like the chirping of insects or the sound of the wind, subconsciously blocking it out of his consciousness.

Xia Nan's eyes were tightly closed.

He sat quietly, as if a mage meditating.

It wasn't until the morning light outside the window grew bright and a light breeze blew against the window, causing it to make an abrupt noise,

that he slowly opened his eyes.

It was as expected; there was no expression of excessive disappointment on his face.

【Gravity Solidification】,

he had begun training in it three months ago after finding a wild mage's diary in the Goblin Lair.

He had not been slack.

These days, whenever he had free time after completing his daily combat technique training, he would always set aside a portion of time to find a quiet place where he wouldn't be disturbed and practice for a while.

It was just that progress was slow.

Even though he had followed the methods in the notes, kept his patience, and moved forward step by step,

there were still no exciting gains.

Xia Nan, however, did not intend to give up.

The progress was only "slow," not non-existent.

Referring to the ideas and methods provided by the wild mage in the diary, over the past three months, he felt that he had become easier to focus, and the time he could concentrate was gradually extending.

Sometimes, Xia Nan could even vaguely feel certain fine ripples of collision and flow in the surrounding air.

But when he really turned his thoughts to try to go a step further,

this strange feeling would disappear like a hallucination.

Looking back, perhaps those ripples were his breakthrough point.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A crisp knocking sound echoed in the quiet room.

"Xia Nan, it's time for us to go."

It was the high-spirited voice peculiar to the newcomer, Abi.

"Coming."

Responding, Xia Nan stood up and slung the two longswords leaning against the bed back onto his body.

The Hunting Day was not yet over, so he naturally hadn't left the team.

In ten days, he had followed Adeline and the others on several more missions.

They were all on the outskirts of the forest, and he hadn't encountered any more emergencies.

The harvest was just so-so.

A few points of proficiency, some gold coins.

Not much, but he was moving forward steadily according to plan.

"Bang."

The wooden door was slammed shut.

The room became quiet again.

He hadn't had time to clean up, and that cup of clear water still sat quietly on the tabletop.

Perhaps the movement when the door was closed was too loud, or perhaps it was some other reason.

The originally calm surface of the water in the cup, after Xia Nan left,

suddenly,

rippled with waves.

Xia Nan pushed open the door.

Abi was leaning against the wall, looking a bit bored.

Seeing him come out, he smiled and said:

"The boss is already waiting for us downstairs, let's go."

Since the battle with "Huoya," this newcomer adventurer who had just entered the trade had changed his previous shrinking, secretly competitive attitude toward him and truly regarded Xia Nan as a teammate worth relying on.

He revealed his original personality: obedient but stubborn, and sometimes a bit obstinate.

In contrast, Berg, who had been very enthusiastic toward him when he first joined the team, had become much quieter.

By now, it was actually Abi who was closer to Xia Nan.

Stepping on the wobbly stairs that seemed like they would collapse if he used just a little force, he arrived at the tavern lobby.

His gaze swept over; it was still that spot near the entrance.

Adeline was sitting at the dining table, chatting idly with Berg opposite her.

On the table were several bowls of steaming meat broth.

Holding a spoon, her thick arms were bent, muscles bulging.

She had cleaned herself up and was no longer as sloppy as she had been right after the mission, but one could still smell the faint scent of blood on her.

He greeted Chaputun, the tavern owner who was wiping glasses behind the counter.

Xia Nan stepped forward, went straight to the table, and sat down.

On the table in front of him was a bowl of cream mushroom soup that had been ordered in advance.

Clearly, over the past dozen days, his teammates had also learned of these little hobbies of his.

Nodding in acknowledgment, he seized the time, stirred it only slightly, and shoveled several spoonfuls into his mouth.

Beside him, Berg was laughing and teasing Abi about the new set of leather armor he had bought, saying he had overpaid by a few gold coins.

Abi still held his head high, stubbornly insisting that it was a boutique item from the shop and that it was normal for it to be a bit expensive.

Yet, a look of heartache and regret couldn't help but appear on his face.

"What are your plans for the future?"

A hoarse and short voice came from beside him.

Adeline had her arms crossed over her chest, her short hair, which clung to her scalp, clearly defined under the sunlight from outside the door, and her gaze was fixed on Xia Nan.

"Do you want to form a squad?"

The Hunting Day would not last too long, and when it ended, this young man before her, who possessed strength far beyond his young appearance, would also leave the team.

His strength was already close to that of a professional, and he was probably only one combat technique away from gaining a professional level.

It was only natural for him to continue developing upward.

She didn't expect him to stay in the team after the event ended and clean up those Goblins that seemed like they could never be killed off.

"For now... I guess not."

Xia Nan chewed the tender, crisp mushroom in his mouth and shook his head in reply.

He possessed an attribute panel, which seemed useless, only able to identify information about some equipment and combat techniques for him.

But in reality, the existence of the attribute panel had significantly increased his speed of becoming stronger.

Even if he formed a squad now, given his strength, those who joined would basically be bottom-tier adventurers without professional levels.

He would soon leave them behind.

Their combat power wouldn't match, and it would be very troublesome to consider many things whether taking missions or acting daily.

After hurriedly finishing the food on his plate, Xia Nan wiped his mouth and was just about to call his teammates to set off.

A burst of whispering suddenly came from the adventurers at the neighboring table.

He could clearly feel several gazes sweeping over Xia Nan's short black hair, young face, and the Decapitation Longsword on his back.

They seemed to have recognized his identity.

Xia Nan's expression was subtle; he just acted as if he hadn't seen it.

Such things had happened often since he finished off "Huoya" and returned to River Valley Town.

At first, he felt a bit uncomfortable, but later he slowly got used to it.

Also, it was a bit embarrassing to mention.

But just like "Green Blood" Adeline and "Huoya" Bennett,

as a substitute for his name,

he seemed to have also gained a nickname that was circulating among the bottom-tier adventurers near the Baishanque:

——"Grey Sword."

(End of chapter)