Chapter 374: lv3 [Heavy Tide] Multiclass Path

"Dream ended."

"Returning..."

The warm ashes drifting leisurely in the air turned into finer fly ash and dissipated into the invisible; the crimson sparks with a sorrowful meaning no longer appeared as the flame flow on the body surface extinguished.

The battle had ended, and the sixty-second duration of 【Ember Echo】 had also come to an end.

The scorching heat transmitted from the hilt of the 【Cinder Meteor】 straight sword in his palm was gone, and along with the sword body that was originally surrounded by flame light, it turned into the grey-black coldness of the present.

Xia Nan stood in place, his pitch-black eyes dazed, digesting the massive amount of information that had appeared in his mind in an instant.

"It was actually Moxi..."

Perhaps it was because of the experience in the dream after activating the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 that made him misjudge.

Xia Nan originally thought that he would be like last time, incarnating as the creator of 【Gravity Etching】, and walking through the complete process of creating this combat technique with the other party in the memory that had already been buried in the long river of history.

But he didn't expect that the owner of the dream he experienced this time was actually the elderly priest with crystal attachment whom he had personally defeated just a moment ago.

He couldn't help but recall the several pieces of information about "retrieval failed," "associated individual of the Dream Weaver detected," and "substitute simulation in progress" given by the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 before the dream started.

A thoughtful expression couldn't help but appear on Xia Nan's face.

Why did the file retrieval fail?

Was it that the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 really didn't find the dream memory about 【Gravity Etching】, or was it that this combat technique had no story worth remembering because there were too few masters, or was there some invisible force blocking it?

Moxi was killed by himself just now; was this the so-called "association" between him and the other party?

Then how did the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 extract those meticulous memories, even the embroidery on the bishop's robe, from the other party's brain and turn them into the dream he experienced?

Countless doubts filled Xia Nan's heart, making him feel that this technological creation from another realm was even more mysterious.

Fortunately, he was not the type of person who liked to get to the bottom of things; since he couldn't figure it out anyway, he wouldn't increase his internal friction.

And compared to these problems that could be thought about slowly later, what was more important at the moment was the large amount of professional knowledge that had been instilled into his brain like force-feeding as the dream ended.

How to control field energy to make the explosive power stronger, how to use 【Gravity Etching】 more efficiently on objects of different types and sizes, five small tips to improve the release speed of 【Gravity Etching】...

Perhaps it could not produce a mutation that brought enough special specialties due to the experience in the dream like 【Wolf Tooth Hunt】, but there was no doubt that the instillation of this knowledge allowed him to master everything he could know about 【Gravity Etching】 at an exaggerated speed.

Reflected on the realistic level, it was a line of translucent characters flashing in Xia Nan's mind like a screen refresh:

"Proficiency +1"

"Proficiency +1"

"Proficiency +1"

"..."

"Proficiency +171"

"【Gravity Etching】 lv3 (29/100) -> 【Gravity Etching】 lv5 (max)"

"Perception +1, Strength +1, Agility +1"

"【Meteor Blade Hunting】 lv2 -> 【Meteor Blade Hunting】 lv3"

"Combat technique 【Heavy Tide】 unlocked"

"..."

While raising the proficiency of another combat technique to the "Mastered" level, allowing Xia Nan to take a step up on the path of a professional,

he gained a full three points of attributes!

His body, which felt slightly weak and somewhat unaccustomed because he had just broken away from the 33% overall bonus of 【Ember Echo】, was like drinking a powerful supplement, suddenly becoming full.

From "11" to "12," his already keen perception ability went a step further; he could clearly hear the sound of blood spurting and flowing at the wound of the corpse on the ground ahead, smell the scent of orange pulp deep in the rich blood smell in the air, and even see the slight water mist scorched by high temperature remaining on the edge of the breach where the church door was pierced in the distance.

The 9-point strength bonus made Xia Nan feel that the metal equipment he was fully armed with suddenly became lighter; the 【Cinder Meteor】 straight sword he gripped in his palm also seemed to become lighter.

His muscles did not swell, but instead shrank slightly inward, becoming increasingly tight and full of explosive power; even through his clothes, one could see the smooth and silky muscle lines.

Agility also reached 11 points, and his reaction speed, balance ability, and keenness all soared accordingly.

Three points of attributes, from a literal point of view, did not seem to be too many.

But one must know that on the Aifala Continent, the average value of a single attribute for an ordinary person was only 5 points.

And every improvement thereafter was by no means a simple one-fifth, but a fine number after synthesizing a large number of actual factors, far higher than 20%.

Two people who were exactly the same in other aspects, but had strength attributes of 6 and 5 respectively, arm-wrestling—the latter had a high probability of not even lasting a second before being completely pressed down and defeated.

And for Xia Nan, the simultaneous increase in strength, agility, and perception attributes also meant a surge in his actual combat capability.

Even if he used the already full-level 【Spinning Slash】 and 【Wolf Tooth Hunt】, with the support of higher-intensity physical fitness, the power he could exert was far stronger than before.

At the same time, 【Gravity Etching】 from lv3 to lv5 completed the last qualitative change on its own conventional promotion route!

Not only did it gain huge improvements in release speed, combat technique power, and control detail, but even the original "3/3" usage limitation was pulled to "5/5."

The usage limit directly increased by two more times!

At the same time, the charging time was greatly shortened, from the original once every 6 hours to the current "4 hours."

It could be fully charged in less than a day.

This made 【Gravity Etching】, a consumable combat technique with a small trump card nature, almost instantly become a conventional means for Xia Nan in battle.

A full five consecutive opportunities to release—if there was really any enemy that could withstand five "Mastered" level 【Gravity Etching】 strikes, unless the other party really had corresponding resistance to field damage, it could only mean that Xia Nan's strength was significantly different from the other party.

If he were to return to just now and face Moxi after crystallization, with a little better planning, he might not even need to open the second phase of 【Ember Echo】.

Relying on the enhanced physical fitness and the two extra 【Gravity Etching】 strikes, he could defeat him.

Not only that, Xia Nan's 【Meteor Blade Hunting】 from lv2 to lv3 also reached the key node of the professional path as he guessed, obtaining a brand new, powerful combat technique that was completely adapted to the profession itself:

—【Heavy Tide】!

Although combat techniques of this kind did not have a physical form and did not support an attribute panel, Xia Nan still referred to the information about this combat technique in his mind and roughly made one according to his own habits:

【Heavy Tide】

Type: Combat Technique (Active)

Introduction: Guide gravity to make your next strike carry a "heavy" momentum, causing considerable damage and interrupting the enemy;

Specific effects:

1. Your next melee attack damage is increased by 25%—100% (depending on the degree of gravity application);

2. During the release process, the gravity you apply will take advantage of the situation to interrupt the enemy's current action (such as light-level spellcasting or attack pre-swing);

3. After hitting, there is a probability of making the enemy fall into an "unbalanced" state (Agility check).

First of all, it must be emphasized.

【Heavy Tide】 has no usage restrictions!

Unlike consumable combat techniques like 【Gravity Etching】, which need to be used selectively according to the situation on the field and the enemy's state.

【Heavy Tide】 is like 【Spinning Slash】 and 【Wolf Tooth Hunt】, a conventional combat technique that can be used normally in battle.

Although it does not have its own unique stance like the latter two, or can be used as the core of a combat style.

But its own universal effect of using gravity to increase attack damage also means that it can almost perfectly integrate into every corner of the battle.

Punching, kicking, sword slashing, shield bashing—as long as it is close-quarters combat, Xia Nan can attach 【Heavy Tide】 to every attack.

In this case, combining it with other combat techniques is even more natural and effortless.

And what is even more terrifying is that Xia Nan suddenly realized that the several combat techniques he currently mastered seem... to be able to combine with each other.

In the 【Ember Echo】 state, use 【Gravity Control】 to reduce body gravity to improve the speed of 【Wolf Tooth Hunt】, and with the help of the body inertia brought by it, swing the long sword to release 【Spinning Slash】 with 【Heavy Tide】 and 【Gravity Etching】 added.

Just one sword strike can synthesize a full six combat techniques.

Achieving an exaggerated burst in an instant. ===== CHAPTER 375 =====