Chapter 186

Regarding this promotion mission of his—which didn't even mark the most basic information like "mission brief," "type," or "number," and looked exceptionally casual, as if they had just temporarily found a pending commission of similar difficulty and sent it to him as a threshold for moving up—

Xia Nan had already considered it on the road from Hegu Town to Niumu.

The mission itself had no time limit for completion and absolutely no failure penalty.

No one had even mentioned the rewards he might receive after completion.

Compared to the bounties he had accepted before, it could be said to be as simple as it gets.

Of course, this might be due to it being a "shoddy operation" or the dereliction of duty by the relevant personnel.

But thinking of the Association's attitude toward professionals in his impression, and the wording used by the Association staff member when handing him the small note with the mission address:

——Investigation.

Yes, not the "handle," "exterminate," or "kill" commonly used in the bounty information on the mission wall...

But the ambiguous "investigation."

To some extent, did this mean he didn't need to kill the core figure of this event, "Baku," and that the mission would be considered complete just by synthesizing the information obtained from the exploration and reporting it to the Association?

Perhaps the so-called promotion mission was just a formality?

Xia Nan felt a bit subtle about it.

Involving high-level professionals, Niumu's upper echelons, the church, and other forces, plus that golden-haired Elf with powerful and eerie abilities, this was clearly not an event he could participate in at the moment.

Therefore, after escaping from the Secret Realm and returning to the real world,

The first thing he did after calming his mood slightly was to handle the scene with the most meticulous and serious attitude.

He wiped away the remaining traces of the battle on the ground; even a mane hair caught in the cracks of the gravel was picked out by him and burned into ashes.

To avoid being discovered by others that he had contact with the golden-haired Elf and left unscathed, which would lead to a series of troubles later.

He even threw Baku's corpse—which was only a skeleton frame left—into the rat pack in the sewer without any nostalgia, which could have served as proof of mission completion.

He watched with his own eyes as those hungry grey-skinned rats swallowed even the bone fragments into their stomachs.

He checked the scene in detail again before leaving the slums.

Otherwise, if he brought the corpse back to Hegu Town and someone asked why Baku's head had become such a clean brown bear skull without a shred of flesh, it would be hard for him to explain.

It didn't matter.

A total of four attribute points, plus a precious and powerful feat.

Compared to the rewards the mission might bring, his harvest was already rich enough.

Even if it turned out differently than he guessed after returning and the promotion mission wasn't completed,

Then he would just accept another one.

The proficiency of several combat techniques was in the stage of accumulation and improvement, so he wasn't in a hurry for these few days.

Xia Nan's patience had always been quite good.

He also believed he had done everything he could think of in a short time.

If, even to this extent, someone could still discover his traces in this event... then he would just have to admit defeat and tell the truth.

But on the other hand, come to think of it, he had only been an adventurer for a little over half a year.

One mission after another, with the gaps mostly spent in the White Tit Tavern, his growth path was clear and definite.

And he was just a "novice" who had just obtained a professional level; there was no way he could be involved with an existence of this level.

Even if...

"Meow!"

In the night, a cat's meow that suddenly came to his ears brought Xia Nan's attention back to reality.

His gaze followed the direction from which the sound came.

What came into view was a small cat with an elegant posture and a pitch-black body.

The extremely bright moonlight on the night of the "Moon Feast" allowed him to even see the fine fur on its body and the slender tail swaying slightly behind it.

It was currently sitting obediently on the eaves by the road, looking at him from afar.

Staring at those bright yellow eyes that glowed slightly in the dark, for some reason, Xia Nan felt as if he could perceive the vague emotions hidden beneath its pitch-black exterior.

Wariness, caution... and a little hunger?

A sudden realization dawned on him.

It wasn't that he had awakened a natural talent like a "Druid."

The reason he could have such a feeling was most likely because, after the encounter in the Secret Realm loft, his Perception attribute had reached the highest point of his six-dimensional attributes—a high of "10."

As a digitized manifestation of observation and insight, and the degree of coordination with the surrounding environment.

"Perception" might not be as easy to understand as "Strength" or "Agility."

But in reality, the application of this attribute in real life was reflected in every aspect.

At its simplest, people with high Perception could easily distinguish whether someone was lying through details like changes in movements and tone, and gain insight into their true thoughts and attitudes.

Or, like a great detective, discover subtle traces at a crime scene, detect traps and hostility during a mission, and improve alertness to the surrounding environment.

If combined with corresponding knowledge, it could also be applied in fields such as "Survival," "Medicine," and "Animal Handling."

It also determined the spellcasting strength of professions like "Ranger," "Priest," and "Druid."

According to the data on the attribute panel, on the Aifala Continent, the attributes of an ordinary adult should all be around "5" points.

Even if individual differences caused specific values to fluctuate, they basically wouldn't exceed one or two points.

And Xia Nan's current Perception attribute had already reached a proper double-digit—10 points!

Compared to the attributes of ordinary people, the gap was far more exaggerated than a literal doubling.

Walking along this way, Xia Nan already had a very profound realization.

Whether it was earlier at the entrance of the Moon Goddess Church, where he discovered the nervous mood of the passing guards at a single glance, and perceived the disheveled state of the priest and mage as if they had just finished a fierce battle;

Or the panicked residents awakened by the noise from the houses on both sides of the street, the unknown birds and beasts flying in the night sky overhead, the small mice foraging in the trash heaps in the corners of the alleys...

Details that he would never have noticed before were now so clear, captured by his five senses.

It was foreseeable that in his future adventure career, unless he encountered enemies with deep concealment methods, it would basically be difficult for him to be ambushed by magic beasts without noticing, as he had when he first crossed over.

Even if he had to go deep into an unknown cave, he could make judgments about the situation inside in advance through his high Perception.

Of course, these were just some relatively conservative predictions Xia Nan made based on his own cognition and his current vague feelings.

After experiencing it for a long time in reality, he would definitely be able to further realize the changes in his body in daily life.

Just like the three points of Constitution provided by the Gourd Vine Drop before; he originally thought it would just be a bit more physical energy and stronger combat endurance.

Later, he discovered his quietly improved sleep efficiency, as well as his resistance to various effects like toxins, plagues, and cold.

A Perception as high as "10" would clearly also have a huge impact on his daily life.

Right now, facing the black cat on the eaves before him.

Xia Nan was not a Druid and did not possess the ability to communicate directly with animals.

But he could rely on his high Perception to passively and instinctively observe the details of the cat's movements all over its body, and summarize and analyze them in his brain in an instant, thereby drawing a conclusion.

His right hand brushed lightly over the pocket at his waist, and a strip of small jerky was already in his hand.

He took two steps forward and, under the black cat's wary gaze, placed the jerky on the ground.

He stepped back slightly, leaving some space.

Then he watched as the cat cautiously jumped down from the eaves, staring at him with its golden eyes while tentatively approaching, its nose twitching as it sniffed the surface of the jerky twice.

Xia Nan originally thought that this small creature traveling in the night would, like the arrogant and cautious peers he had in mind, snatch the jerky and find a safe place undisturbed by anyone to enjoy it slowly.

But what he didn't expect was.

The black cat before him, with pure fur without the slightest flaw, actually took the jerky in its mouth and took the initiative to come up to his feet.

Its long tail wrapped around him as it arched its slender, delicate waist, rubbing its body lightly against Xia Nan's pant leg.

It even made a comfortable "purring" sound in its mouth.

Feeling the warm and soft touch on his lower leg through his pants, Xia Nan's face showed a thoughtful expression.

It had been over half a year since he crossed over, and he had seen plenty of stray dogs and cats in Hegu Town.

He knew he didn't have much affinity for these small animals.

Sometimes, because of the bloody smell and magic beast aura he carried after an adventure, they wouldn't even dare to meow, fleeing far away the moment they saw him.

The black cat before him was behaving so abnormally.

Was it its naturally affectionate personality, or...

The influence brought by that 1 point of Charisma?

Xia Nan pondered inwardly, thinking he might find two acquaintances to ask later if there were any obvious changes in his temperament and appearance.

He bent down, wanting to stroke the black cat's head.

Before his fingertips could touch that fine, soft fur, a loud noise suddenly came from afar.

Boom——

The sudden burst of noise seemed to startle the black cat beneath him.

Its small body recoiled violently, its long legs moving nimbly, and in a few leaps, it had disappeared into the depths of the night.

Xia Nan didn't care.

He just turned his head and looked in the direction the sound came from.

It was far away, and he could only vaguely see thick smoke rising accompanied by blazing firelight.

Without the slightest intention of getting involved, he turned around instantly and continued to walk slowly along the road back.

He hadn't had time to eat dinner and had hurried away from Jeff's house.

By now, he was inevitably a bit hungry.

"I wonder if Mrs. Daisy is asleep, and if I can borrow their kitchen."

"What did she put in that bowl of mushroom soup last time... cheese... or lemon?"

Niumu.

Outside the slums.

A small squad of guards, led by their captain, was guarding a certain empty and desolate intersection.

"Ah-hoo~~~"

A guard with a youthful face leaned against the wall beside him, stretching lazily.

The Moon Feast should have been a day for family reunion.

Being suddenly called out from home, he inevitably had some complaints in his heart.

"Captain, do you think there's any point in us guarding here?"

"If a powerhouse of that level wants revenge, they can just turn back and head to the city center; that's where all the nobles and wealthy merchants are."

"If they want to escape, they would definitely head toward the direction from the slums to outside the city."

"We aren't touching either end here; what can we possibly guard?"

Responding to him was a slap on the back of the head.

"How many years have you been working to become this lazy?" The captain, in his thirties or forties with a thick beard, glared and scolded.

"Don't talk nonsense to me; just do what you're told!"

Seeming to have quite a bit of prestige in the squad, seeing his reaction, the atmosphere of the squad, which had been full of complaints, suddenly became serious.

The air also became quiet.

Knowing that going too far was as bad as not going far enough, and that the timing was indeed special, being the night of the Moon Feast.

The bearded man changed his tone, grinned, and lowered his voice:

"Everyone keep a good watch for me; don't let anything go wrong."

"Once things are safely over, don't rush home; I'll take you to the Iron Barrel Toad for a couple of rounds!"

The atmosphere instantly became heated.

The young guard, who had been scolded into hanging his head, suddenly had a flash of excitement in his eyes, but as if thinking of something, he leaned in and hesitated:

"Captain, of course I want to go, it's just that the past two days... I stayed at the Nightingale's Nest for two days, and my funds... hehe."

"Don't worry." The bearded man patted his shoulder, "Going out for a drink with your captain, when would it ever be your turn to pay?"

"The Grey Badger Gang still owes us a few debts; you can drink until you vomit, it doesn't matter. I'll just have 'Stubborn Donkey' put it all on their tab then."

Hearing him say this, the last trace of worry on the youthful guard's face dissipated.

The corners of his mouth rose involuntarily, his gaze slightly unfocused, as if he were thinking about what to drink later.

"Patta."

Suddenly, from the end of the street.

The faint and clear sound of footsteps reached the ears of everyone on the scene at the same time.

Unanimously, the guards turned their heads in unison, looking toward the direction the footsteps came from.

They saw a tall and twisted figure staggering slowly toward them.

Under the moonlight, messy golden hair swayed, revealing two pointed, slender ears.

His Adam's apple rolled.

The middle-aged man with a full beard reacted instantly.

"Alert!!!!"

"Chris, go for reinforcements! Jack and Nuo Li, follow behind me! Conrad, take your shield!"

"Conrad!?"

The hasty and flustered arrangement echoed faintly in the cold air.

But there was no response at all.

The man suddenly sensed something wrong.

He glanced toward his side out of the corner of his eye.

What came into view was only a clean, flawless white human skeleton without a shred of flesh attached to its surface.

His heart froze instantly.

Subconsciously, he looked down at his own chest.

His sturdy armor had dissolved at some point, his skin was peeled back out of thin air, his muscle fibers were blown away by the wind, and his heart, along with his blood vessels and tendons, was compressed and twisted into a puddle of blood mud, revealing pale ribs and the spine behind them.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But he found that he had already lost control of his body.

Darkness swallowed the world before him like a tide.

"Clack."

It was the crisp sound of bones colliding and hitting the ground.

(End of chapter)