Chapter 289: Perception 1

"Proficiency +1"

"【Gravity Etching】 lv2 (100/100) → 【Gravity Etching】 lv3 (0/100)"

"Perception +1"

Xia Nan's gaze swept unobtrusively over the translucent text floating in the void before him.

His face appeared to have no special expression, but his heart fluctuated slightly.

"Finally leveled up!"

"It really wasn't easy..."

【Gravity Etching】 could be said to be the most torturous one to train among the combat techniques he currently possessed.

It wasn't that it was particularly difficult, or that the training process required enduring any pain.

It was purely because of its "3/3" charge limit.

Compared to 【Tooth Hunting】, where he had to spend a lot of time every day but all the energy invested could be reflected in proficiency before it reached max level;

and 【Gravity Control】, which wouldn't budge no matter how he trained, only occasionally having an "epiphany" or hitting upon some "little clever idea" to mercifully add a point or two of proficiency;

【Gravity Etching】 charged once every six hours, with a special property of being able to be used at most 3 times in a row, which meant that if Xia Nan wanted to improve this combat technique most efficiently, he had to set a physiological alarm clock.

He had to precisely control its six-hour charge time; as soon as the usage count jumped from "2/3" to "3/3," he would immediately consume this charge for training, while ensuring that he always had two chances to use it (if in the middle of a mission, the training mode would have to change accordingly).

At the beginning, Xia Nan only felt that 【Gravity Etching】 was too easy to practice; he didn't need to repeatedly train like other combat techniques, just practice at the right time.

Adding up the twenty-four hours of a whole day, the time spent on this combat technique was at most ten minutes.

Yet its proficiency rose steadily, and it couldn't be more effortless.

It wasn't until a few months ago, when the proficiency of 【Gravity Etching】 accumulated and was about to upgrade from lv1 to lv2, that Xia Nan gradually felt the torture in it.

The fixed charge time and limited usage count meant that no matter how hard he tried and utilized time to the extreme, he could only practice at most four times a day.

Even with the two backup chances, it was only six times, and he would have to wait for additional charges afterward.

In this situation, although the acquisition of proficiency was regular and stable, it also lost its upper limit.

There was only that much every day; it wasn't considered little, but there was no more.

It was hard to imagine the indescribable torment in his heart when Xia Nan watched its proficiency reach "99/100," just that little bit away, and he could complete the upgrade by swinging his sword two or three more times.

Yet because of the usage limit, he had to wait for six hours.

In fact, long before this mission set off, the proficiency of his 【Gravity Etching】 had already reached the critical point of "lv2 (99/100)."

He had endured it with his own incomparably firm willpower, waiting until now to swing that itch-inducing sword by utilizing the mechanism of doubled proficiency acquisition efficiency during combat.

Hum—

The ochre-red light of the remaining field energy gradually dissolved into the air, and viscous blood drops dripped from the sword body.

Xia Nan stood in place, feeling that everything around him was incomparably clear.

The gushing sound of blood pumping out from the broken neck of the corpse, the tiny sound of unknown insect limbs landing on the mud, the inconspicuous mud dust stirred up by the breeze, the veins revealed by a swaying fallen leaf in the distance...

From "10" to "11," it was only an increase of 1 point in perception attribute.

Yet the feeling it gave him was even more exaggerated than from "5" to "7."

After the basic attributes reached a certain level, every point of improvement was a qualitative change.

And as the core attribute of the 【Meteor Blade Ranger】 profession, it was foreseeable that Xia Nan's precision and control ability in manipulating gravity would also be strengthened accordingly.

Including 【Tide Shaping】 and 【Heart-Drawing Vision】, the judgment range of related specialties would be more relaxed, and the duration would be increased.

Of course, the specifics would still require Xia Nan to experience and summarize in his daily process.

Footsteps came from the side.

Xia Nan turned around, his gaze looking at Adeline, who was walking toward him with a face full of surprise, and blinked:

"Didn't I say you should come to me for help?"

Adeline didn't answer; she just walked closer while looking back and forth between Xia Nan and the Shihua Xiyi corpse behind him with great effort.

She had realized that Xia Nan's strength far exceeded that of ordinary adventurers as early as the hunting day last year.

Whether it was that Gnoll tribe or that Red-maned Hobgoblin that had once become her nightmare, they had all died at his hands.

This was definitely not something an ordinary adventurer could do.

And after the hunting day ended, Xia Nan, who had officially become a professional, suddenly became much further away from her.

It wasn't because he was superior after obtaining a professional level; in fact, after experiencing life-and-death battles, their relationship had become even closer after the mission ended.

It was just that the circle of professionals was too far from them; so-called promotion missions and the second floor of the association only appeared in rumors. In these few months, she only knew that Xia Nan had completed several commissions, changed his armor set after set, and his own temperament had become more profound and difficult to see through.

His strength should have improved.

But right now, when this young man with black hair really chopped off the head of a Shihua Xiyi with a challenge rating as high as "3" in front of her with one sword,

Adeline's eyes couldn't help but look a little dazed.

Seeing this scene, who could have imagined that a few months ago, the two were still teammates at the same level who could support and rely on each other?

"Bang."

Her calloused right hand clenched into a fist, lightly touching the metal armor on the man's chest. Adeline slowly opened her mouth, her expression complex:

"I owe you again."

"If there is anything I can help with in the future... you know what I mean."

"Of course." Understanding the meaning in her words, Xia Nan waved his hand, "But it was just you delaying for two more seconds, otherwise I really wouldn't have made it in time."

Just now, Xia Nan, who had come to check after sensing the movement from afar, originally thought the Shihua Xiyi was chasing some prey, thinking of hiding his figure first and giving it a fatal blow after it succeeded and relaxed its vigilance.

But he didn't expect that a familiar figure would appear before his eyes.

Naturally, he couldn't watch one of the few friends he had in this world die just like that.

Xia Nan acted decisively, utilizing the two seconds of delay the other party created in a rush to include Adeline in the release range of his 【Gravity Control】.

While reducing the gravity on her body and letting her speed soar instantly to dodge the lizard's attack, he relied on 【Tooth Hunting】 to step forward, actively putting his own body into the range of the lizard's "Petrifying Gaze."

Perfect resistance.

The silently effective "Petrification Resistance Potion," coupled with his now completely different, strong physical fitness, allowed him to easily offset this most deadly ability of the Shihua Xiyi.

And next, the Shihua Xiyi, whose petrification ability was no longer effective and whose challenge rating instantly dropped by more than half, became a living target for Xia Nan.

Its bloated and fat body appeared powerless and ridiculous under the effect of the exaggerated mobility granted by 【Tooth Hunting】. ===== CHAPTER 290 =====