Chapter 154

"Squeak-bang."

The carriage door painted with brownish-red paint was gently closed from the outside by the caravan leader with a flattering face.

The soundproofing was quite good.

The shouting, yelling, and even cursing that originally filled his ears suddenly decreased in volume with the closing of the carriage door.

For a time, the only things echoing in the carriage were the long and slow breathing sounds and the fine sound of coins rubbing and colliding with the flesh of the palm.

As if specially selected, the silver coin had a full luster, there was no dirt between the surface textures, and there were basically no traces of wear.

Being tossed up and down by the palm, it seemed there was nothing special about it.

But if you stare at that seemingly ordinary coin without blinking, you can discover.

The speed and trajectory of its rising and falling seem to have some discrepancies with what it should be in the impression.

At the tip of the slender index finger with distinct joints, the silver-white coin shook slightly, and the thumb under the coin suddenly exerted force.

Shoo——

The silver coin flipped and was flicked up gently.

Under normal circumstances, this coin that had already left the hand should have its speed gradually slow down under the combined influence of air resistance and gravity, and approach zero at the highest point.

But right now, when the silver coin was flipping and rising, it strangely maintained a constant speed.

As if in this brief fraction of a second, it had escaped the control of gravity.

Then, there was a pause.

The coin rising at a constant speed seemed to hit an invisible wall, and stopped again at the highest point where the speed should have been reduced to zero due to the influence of various forces.

It's just that, compared to the natural trajectory where the coin gradually decelerates and finally stagnates under the action of normal physical laws.

The pause of this coin now appeared particularly abrupt.

So much so that it gave people the illusion of hovering in the air for a long time.

Suddenly falling!

Without any acceleration process, the silver coin suspended in mid-air turned into a silver-white light and fell violently at an equally anti-common-sense speed.

The speed was so fast and the force was so great that it even made a quite clear muffled sound when it collided with the palm.

Five fingers closed, grabbing the coin in his hand.

The pitch-black eyes reflected the finger bones that turned slightly white when gripping the fist.

Xia Nan leaned back against the soft seat in the carriage, his expression calm.

Right now, five days had passed since he returned from the Adventurer Association.

Having just finished a hard adventure, he naturally used this time to give himself a good vacation.

He didn't take any more bounties, just stayed in Hegu Town to rest, waiting for the Association's professional promotion task.

Of course, his so-called "rest" did not mean lying on the bed in the hotel, doing nothing but sleeping and eating.

In daily basic training, Xia Nan felt that he was still quite diligent.

In five days, the proficiency of combat techniques including 【Tooth Hunt】 and 【Gravity Etching】 had all improved to a certain extent.

And after leveling up, the suddenly soaring physical fitness and related passive specialties were also further familiarized and mastered by him.

It is worth mentioning that for the third combat technique he learned, 【Gravity Control】.

Perhaps because its development prospect was too bright, and the temptation of "manipulating gravity" was too huge.

Xia Nan specially set aside a large part of time to train this combat technique.

Even when eating, walking, and resting, he trained anytime and anywhere in a way similar to controlling the speed of the coin's rise and fall just now.

——If it weren't for the fact that Gravity Control was still only Lv1 and could not exert influence on the whole body for a long time, he even thought about adjusting his own gravity to accelerate the improvement of physical fitness.

And after Xia Nan's day and night hard training these past few days, in terms of combat technique proficiency, he also made "effective" progress.

Staring at his reflection in the carriage window, the attribute panel slowly emerged before his eyes:

【Gravity Control】 Lv1: (2/100)

You just say whether it added or not!

Even if it only added one point of proficiency, it was a great... for Xia Nan.

Well.

Shaking helplessly, Xia Nan dissipated the attribute panel floating in his line of sight.

Even because of the exaggerated effect of 【Gravity Control】, he already had expectations for its high quality.

But after practicing diligently for so many days, it only increased by one point of proficiency, which was still a bit unexpected for him.

He could naturally use rhetoric like "at least it increased by one point" and "better than not increasing at all" to comfort himself in his heart.

But when he really looked at the pitiful "(2/100)" numbers on the panel, he still couldn't stop a deep sense of powerlessness from emerging.

After all, Xia Nan clearly knew that according to the laws he understood, the higher the proficiency of a combat technique, the higher the difficulty of obtaining it.

If it increased so slowly just after starting, when the proficiency reached 50, 60, or even 70 or 80 points later... he didn't even dare to think about it.

Of course, there was good news. Being optimistic, from another perspective.

The reason why the proficiency of 【Gravity Control】 was so difficult to obtain was precisely because of the powerful potential and exaggerated efficacy of the combat technique itself.

It could be foreseen that the improvement brought by the upgrade of this type of combat technique from Lv1 to Lv2 might even be much more than 【Spin Slash】 from level 1 to 5.

Every level is a qualitative change.

Besides that, in five days, there was also news from the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop.

It's a pity.

The bone club from the Red Mane Hobgoblin was not compatible with the Snake Scale Arm Shield.

If he wanted to forcibly combine the two materials, at least with Ba'en's technology, it was impossible to control, and the output would only be inferior goods.

Since the other party said so, Xia Nan naturally couldn't force it.

After considering it, he chose another plan given by the blacksmith that day.

Sell part of the bone club material to the other party to offset the manual fee.

And Ba'en would make the remaining part of the bone club into a piece of defensive magic equipment suitable for him.

Xia Nan only needed to bear a little expenditure for auxiliary materials, which was very cheap.

——500 gold.

It can only be said that when he stood in the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop and heard this quote from Ba'en's mouth, he really thought he had heard it wrong for a moment.

After all, the bone club used as the main material for the equipment was provided by himself, and the expensive manual fee had also been offset.

It can be seen that Ba'en had a look of helping him discount the price, which was already the lowest price.

Recalling the heavy plate armor with a price tag as high as "1500 gold" in the blacksmith shop, and the exaggerated numbers involving the selling price of enchanted equipment that he had heard from drunkards in the tavern.

Xia Nan's heart gradually calmed down.

"If you really want to say that, then my 【Deathline】 ring, wooden sword 【Green Pine】, etc., if sold, should all be sky-high prices, right?"

Selling these few pieces of equipment, with his consumption level, he could really retire directly.

Shaking his head, he dissipated the distracting thoughts in his mind.

In the world he was currently in, if there was no sufficient "strength" support behind "wealth," for himself who came from a farmer's boy background, it would only be more dangerous.

His gaze looked out the window, watching the dusty adventurers coming and going in the post station, his fingertips rubbing and feeling the fine texture on the surface of the silver coin.

The Snake Scale Arm Shield had been retrieved from "Rock Hammer" and was currently worn on his arm.

And the "quality guaranteed" equipment made of bone club that Ba'en mentioned would probably not be finished until after this task was completed at the earliest.

"Knock knock."

A crisp knocking sound suddenly sounded from outside the carriage, and the wooden door was carefully pulled open a crack, revealing the respectful face of the caravan leader.

"Mr. Xia Nan, we plan to set off, do you have anything else to order?"

"Let's go." Xia Nan shook his head, signaling that he didn't need to care so much about him, and replied.

Having worked for many years and come into contact with countless types of adventurers, he could see that this "Grey Sword" in front of him was not a talkative personality.

The caravan leader didn't say anything more and gently helped him close the carriage door.

"Keep your luggage well, if it's lost, our caravan won't be responsible!"

"Jack, Jack, damn it, where is this bastard!?"

"Over there, stay away from my horse!"

The suddenly high-pitched voice outside the door gradually went away.

Xia Nan sat in the carriage and felt the effect of so-called "fame" once again.

Huoya Beinite, Hobgoblin... outstanding combat achievements combined with the identity of a "Professional," plus some outrageous rumors that were half-true and half-false.

His nickname "Grey Sword" also gradually fermented and spread, especially for people like the caravan leader who had been in contact with bottom-tier adventurers for many years, it had quite a good reputation.

Of course, this kind of reputation is short-lived and superficial.

Just like an outdated star who hasn't had any works for a long time, if Xia Nan leaves Hegu Town and never comes back.

It wouldn't even take long, at most two months, in Hegu Town, besides Adeline and Abi, I'm afraid only Ba'en would remember that he had once received a god-man with a high probability of exploding armor.

On the other hand, the reason why the person in charge of the caravan performed like this was also because Xia Nan's gold coins were in place.

From Hegu Town to Niumu City, including the time for rest and replenishment in the middle, it would take at least half a month.

And besides carrying people, the caravan also had to carry a lot of goods——this was also one of their main sources of income.

In this case, a carriage would basically be crowded with four to six passengers, and the space was closed and extra crowded.

If you encounter a fellow traveler who doesn't pay much attention to personal hygiene, then you will have a hard time along the way.

Plus the reason why Xia Nan might need to practice combat techniques on the way and the equipment he carried was relatively precious.

He spent a few gold coins directly to charter an entire carriage.

To be honest, after experiencing the 500 gold consumption in the Rock Hammer shop, he had become a bit numb to this amount of money and didn't feel any heartache at all.

And the spacious private room he was sitting in alone right now also gave people a feeling of value for money.

"I don't know if the Adventurer Association will reimburse these expenses during the task."

"I'll go find Moli to ask later."

Xia Nan pondered in his heart and took out a small note from his arms.

【West District - Ravenbeak Street - Grey Tree Lane No. 32】

This was the destination of his task this time.

Unlike every breath in the Mist Forest being fearful, and two or three minutes feeling like several hours.

The journey from Hegu Town to Niumu passed very quickly.

One is a major adventurer town stationed by the Association, and the other is the core city of the Pan Yun Province of the Servia Kingdom.

There are a large number of merchants and adventurers coming and going all year round, and the roads are smooth.

Except for a few special areas, let alone magical beasts, even robbers were rarely encountered.

Between sunrise and sunset, seven days had already passed.

Evening.

The carriage stopped on the side of the road, forming a carriage array to guard against possible attacks.

On the open ground next to it, tents were scattered, surrounding the bonfire, and one could vaguely hear the noisy voices of travelers.

Sharing a ride, the carriage space was cramped and not enough for all passengers to rest.

Therefore, whenever night fell and the caravan stopped to rest, the vast majority of travelers would also get off the carriage and camp for the night.

"Crackle."

The bonfire flickered, and Jimi held two roasted cakes that had just been heated over the fire in his hand.

Carefully passing through the travelers sitting by the bonfire on both sides, he came to the front.

"Brother, eat."

He called out softly, but didn't get a response.

His gaze looked over.

He saw his cousin holding the package in his arms tightly with both hands, his eyes staring at the orange-red fire in front, his eyes scattered.

He didn't think much, Jimi reached out and shook the other party's shoulder, and spoke again:

"Brother, eat!"

"Oh... oh, oh."

Seeing the other party react just now, picking up the roasted cake and burying his head in eating,

Jimi couldn't help but feel confused in his heart.

He didn't know why, but he felt that his cousin had been prone to distraction recently, and it was getting worse.

Before, it was only when he just woke up in the morning, or slightly distracted after lunch, but in the past two days, it had gradually spread to any time point of the whole day, and sometimes he had to shake the other party's body like just now to wake him up.

"Maybe the mental pressure is too great?"

Jimi thought so in his heart.

After all, his cousin had to send money home every month, and the amount was not small. He originally thought he earned a lot as an adventurer. After observing for these days, he found that his net worth was far from as thick as he imagined. He probably sent most of his income back.

Even his own outfit was sponsored by his cousin for a small part.

A few days ago, he went to the White Tit for a big meal, and then various purchases, he should have no money left.

And recently, it happened to be the end of the Hunting Day.

The number of Goblins in the forest decreased significantly, and many fierce magical beasts that originally fed on Goblins became more violent and irritable because of hunger.

Some even dared to leave the protection of the mist and hunt for food in human villages near the forest.

The clever adventurers in Hegu Town naturally would not go out on tasks during this time when the danger increased sharply.

His cousin, therefore, lost his source of income recently.

"I hope this trip to Niumu will be fruitful."

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the stone-like grey statue that his cousin showed him at that time.

Jimi thought it was strange and ugly before.

Now think about it again.

It was like a swarm of mosquitoes on the surface of a pond on a summer evening, ripples and buzzing, countless small black dots swaying under the reflection of the twilight.

He actually felt an indescribable strange beauty.

(End of chapter)