Chapter 152: Extraordinary: Legends and the Path of Advancement

Evening.

Baishanque Tavern.

Xia Nan habitually sat in a corner seat of the main hall, with several steaming bowls of food placed on the table before him.

Stewed meat, mushroom soup, white bread... no need to look closely; naturally, it was his favorite No. 3 set meal.

His identity as a Professional, and the growing reputation of "Gray Sword" in River Valley Town, perhaps meant he received more attention from some Adventurers in daily life.

But for Xia Nan himself, the rest time between missions was not much different from before.

He got up at dawn, ate breakfast to fill his stomach, then went to the sparsely populated outskirts outside town to train for the entire morning, returned to the tavern in the middle to drink a bowl of mushroom soup, rested for a while, then continued training.

In the evening, he might have a small drink, order a few dishes, sit in the tavern for several more hours, listening to the Adventurers around him brag and chat, collecting useful information.

Then, depending on the specific situation, if there were Bards among the tavern patrons that day, or seasoned Adventurers who liked to talk when drunk, he would keep listening until just before sleep.

If there were no guests worth paying attention to in the tavern, he would not return to his room to rest early, but instead use this time to train his combat skills a bit more, increasing his Proficiency.

Anyway, with Xia Nan's current Constitution, resting six hours a day was enough to fully recharge, ensuring he had abundant energy and a full spirit the next day.

The remaining eighteen hours could all be used for his own affairs.

After a whole day like this, although it seemed somewhat monotonous and dull, it was also considered fulfilling.

At least, watching the Proficiency of his combat skills increase bit by bit on the Attribute Panel was very rewarding for him, even vaguely bringing him joy.

And his ever-expanding small treasury, along with good habits of avoiding gambling and drugs and not squandering money easily, allowed him to maintain a quite decent standard of living while undergoing arduous training.

Today seemed to have no obvious difference from the past.

"Rock Hammer" Iron Hammer Shop, "Fairy Wind", the Adventurer Association; after spending the entire day wrapping up the previous mission.

Xia Nan returned to the Baishanque Tavern.

It was just that, compared to the gloomy wine he drank alone in the corner of the main hall over the past few months.

Now, two figures sat before him.

"I think six Gold Coins is still a bit expensive; I should have asked him to give me two more sheets of sandpaper then, that would have saved some money."

Abi took a gloomy gulp of beer, his face full of regret, wearing a brand new Leather Armor on his upper body.

"Do you think if I go back now and ask for it, the boss of that Iron Hammer Shop will give it to me?"

This mission yielded rich rewards; even after distributing according to the team's contribution ratio, Abi had earned nearly a few dozen Gold Coins.

This was the largest sum of money he had ever seen, having only recently shed his farmer identity and become an Adventurer less than a year ago.

Enough to equip himself with a decent set of gear.

But perhaps because he had never possessed such wealth before, this rookie Adventurer was instead hesitant and constrained when spending.

He lingered in the "Rock Hammer" shop for quite a while, but in the end did not make up his mind to buy that high-quality Leather Armor he had already set his sights on.

Instead, he went to the other side, to the "Walnut Furnace", and bought a cheap item for six Gold Coins.

Of course, the so-called "cheap item" was compared to the expensive and high-quality equipment in the Rock Hammer shop.

The actual quality was actually quite good; at least it was far superior to his previous "antique" that had seen many battles.

"Go back now?"

"Don't forget, you and that poor Iron Hammer Shop boss haggled for a full two hours, forcing the price of the Leather Armor, originally eight Gold and five Silver, down by twenty-five Silver Coins."

"If you can get out without him kicking you out, I'll treat you to this meal."

Beside them, Adeline reached out to wipe the beer foam from the corner of her mouth and replied with a strange expression.

As for why she knew so clearly... naturally, it was because she had been on the scene at that time.

She had watched with her own eyes the expression on the Iron Hammer Shop boss's face gradually stiffen from its original kindness and politeness, until finally turning flushed red.

If Adeline had not forcibly dragged Abi, who was trying to continue haggling, out of the shop at the end, and bought a small Dagger at the original price, she even suspected the other party would not have been able to walk out of the shop.

Xia Nan sat opposite the two, saying nothing, simply scooping up his mushroom soup spoonful by spoonful.

Adeline had previously revealed her intention to retire to him; after all, her inner obsession was gone, and her savings were enough for her to live a quite decent retired life.

But having worked in the Adventurer profession for so many years, she was not yet old in age, nor had she suffered any serious injuries affecting her daily movements.

She had long been accustomed to this life of shuttling between River Valley Town and the Wuwu Forest.

Forcing her to suddenly return to the state of rising with the sun and resting with the moon in the fields was by no means something she could easily adapt to.

After considering during this period following the mission's end, Adeline should continue to operate in River Valley Town as an Adventurer.

It was just that her previously exaggerated mission frequency among ordinary Adventurers would likely be significantly reduced.

She would space out each adventure by ten days or half a month, gradually adjusting her pace.

And Abi, though currently in the passionate period unique to new Adventurers, bewitched by money and power, wishing to rest not a single day and take missions non-stop.

But judging by his personality, he would most likely not leave the Green Blood Squad, but instead follow behind Adeline, growing slowly.

"By the way, you just asked me if I had ever been to Niumu, is it..."

Adeline looked at Xia Nan, her tone carrying some inquiry.

"There is a mission to go there." There was nothing to hide, so Xia Nan nodded and replied, "But the specific content of the mission is still unclear."

After learning from the Receptionist "Moli" at the Adventurer Association that the destination of his Professional advancement mission was most likely the large city near River Valley Town, "Niumu".

Xia Nan then thought about whether he could gather some related information through various channels.

After all, before this, his entire knowledge of "Niumu" consisted only of one-sided and shallow impressions like "prosperous", "developed commerce", and "the residence of the Ban Jingling Haian".

Therefore, when he met Adeline in the tavern just now, he mentioned it.

Unfortunately, for the sake of revenge in recent years, the other party had basically stayed in River Valley Town and the Wuwu Forest.

If you asked her about the characteristics of Goblins and Hunting methods, she could talk endlessly for a whole night.

But knowledge unrelated to that, she would not know much more than himself.

"Niumu..." Abi sighed, following the topic, "I heard that every building there is built as magnificent and splendid as the Sun God Church in Kalanfur."

"That's an exaggeration; at most, only a few core streets in the city center should be planned quite well."

Adeline shook her head, a subtle smile playing on her lips.

"However, Amanata's Church should also be within that half of the city district which was destroyed back then."

"Saying that is rather inauspicious."

"What's wrong?" Abi stuck out his neck, stubbornly retorting in a classic fashion, "Niumu is not some small village like Kalanfur that can only barely develop by sucking the blood of River Valley Town."

"It is a proper major city!"

"The proportion of Adventurers inside might be a bit low, but there are plenty of large organizations like the Church."

"Just that Druid at the very top of the Association's quest board you showed me earlier; he merely dirtied some water, yet was posted with a Reward of such a high amount."

"I simply don't believe anyone would dare to cause trouble in a place like this!"

Seeing Abi's cheeks flushed, arguing with Adeline, he looked somewhat drunk.

Xia Nan no longer participated in the two of them's topic.

He scooped two more spoonfuls of mushroom soup, pondering in his mind that when he went out to train later, he should allocate more time to 【Tooth Hunt】, striving to level it to lv5 max as soon as possible.

Or should he continue developing the skill applications of 【Gravity Control】, at least being able to... during combat.

"Creak."

The cold autumn evening wind howled in through the door crack, rushing into the tavern.

Two figures, one thin and one burly, appeared at the tavern entrance.

His gaze instinctively turned towards them.

After only a glance, he immediately withdrew it.

Indigo hemp robes, a Wooden Staff, an elegant appearance with no discernible age; red short hair, full heavy armor, a resolute and stern expression.

Without a doubt, the ones entering the tavern now were precisely that team of Advanced Adventurers he had encountered in the Association Hall back then.

Except...

"Why are two missing?"

He remembered that when he first met them, there was also an Orc and a blonde Elf.

Now, only the Mage and the Human Warrior remained.

"Have they already completed the quest and disbanded the team, or is it because..."

He guessed in his heart.

Deep within Xia Nan's heart, however, an odd feeling inevitably arose.

When he first met them previously, he had not yet obtained a Professional Level, being merely an ordinary low-level Adventurer.

He knew they should be highly skilled Advanced Professionals, but exactly how strong they were, and how large the gap was between them and himself, he could not judge at all, as if shrouded in a layer of mist.

And now, when Xia Nan, having filled the final missing requirement for advancement with 【Gravity Control】, had truly become the Professional he once dreamed of.

Setting aside everything else.

Just the two "Perception" attribute points granted upon leveling up allowed him to break through his previous visual limitations, clearly sensing the strength intensity of the two.

Hmm, very strong.

But not to the extent of the Barbarian Fugang, where they were so strong they were beyond reach.

"I wonder if they have reached Transcendence."

Fugang had mentioned this to him before.

Professionals on the Aifala Dalu are roughly divided into three levels:

lv1-10, lv11-20, and lv21 and above.

Among these, the first type, "lv1-10", which is the layer he currently occupies, needs no further explanation; it belongs to the starting stage of Professionals, the base and lower-middle layers of the pyramid.

The latter two are respectively called "Transcendence" and "Legendary".

To some extent, if the heroes in the mythic Epics told by Bards truly exist, their strength basically falls into these two tiers.

Fugang had not introduced to him in detail the specific strength ranges of Transcendence and Legendary experts.

But merely through the battle aftershocks that nearly destroyed Kalanfur at that time, it was enough to prove the terror of experts of this caliber.

Calling them mobile "human-shaped natural disasters" would not be an exaggeration.

Thinking of this, even though Xia Nan was usually so realistic, his heart inevitably indulged in some reverie.

If his future self could also reach such a level.

Setting aside other things, just the single combat skill 【Gravity Control】, if he trained it to Proficient lv3, or even lv5, should be able to cause a similar effect.

After all, it is one of the four fundamental forces of nature; if he truly let it develop, let alone a rural town whose scale couldn't even compare to a fifth or sixth-tier small county in his past life, even going further up...

Xia Nan suddenly shook his head.

The crystal-clear wine reflected his young face; the Attribute Panel that flashed forth afterwards, with the pitiful "1" on the Proficiency progress bar of 【Gravity Control】, pulled him back to reality.

As the foundation of everything, the prerequisite for all fantasies.

Whether Transcendence or Legendary.

First, what he must know is:

— How to level up.

Yes, even now, five days after becoming a Professional, Xia Nan still had not figured out exactly how to increase his Professional Level.

Although he possessed an Attribute Panel similar to games from his past life, the Experience Point system had not come along with it.

Killing monsters only increased his combat experience and honed his combat skill proficiency; there were no other direct combat power benefits.

Behind the Professional slot 【Meteor Blade Hunt】 lv1, there wasn't even a progress bar.

Although he had heard Fugang mention that Professional Level advancement is also related to combat skills, the exact relationship between the two was unknown.

And beyond that, involving class changes, was an even more troublesome matter.

As mentioned earlier, basic professions like "Warrior" and "Ranger" are widely spread across the continent precisely because of their applicability and clear advancement paths.

The conditions required for advancing a profession, whether assistance from relevant rituals is needed, and the distinct characteristics of each advanced profession—all are recorded in the profession book with meticulous accuracy and absolute clarity.

As for his own 【Meteor Blade Hunter】, though it appears highly niche, it seems to possess great professional potential under the enhancement of 【Gravity Control】.

Yet, regarding how the path ahead should be walked and what preparations he must make, Xia Nan knew nothing at all.

He did not even know if anyone else in this world possessed a profession identical to his own.

Considering the three combat techniques and related specialties required by 【Meteor Blade Hunter】 upon promotion...

the possibility of such a thing was infinitesimally small.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan could not help but feel a contradictory sensation of relief and worry.

The relief stemmed from the excitement of accidentally triggering a hidden profession like in a game from his past life, along with fantasies about the profession's future potential;

while the worry naturally arose because the road ahead was unclear, requiring him to feel his way across the river.

However, considering the regulation that only professionals may enter the second floor of the Association, and the 【Adventurer's Guide】 he had purchased at the Association entrance beforehand.

for a professional of his wild, self-taught background, the Association should provide some guidance.

Regarding this point, Moli had hinted at it indirectly when they communicated this afternoon.

Therefore, his immediate priority now.

was to travel to Niumu in five days to complete the mission assigned by the Association.

Then ascend to the second floor to clarify the method for upgrading his profession.

It would be best to also gather some information regarding class changes to prepare for his future path of advancement.

(End of this chapter)