Chapter 52: Letter (4k)

Half a month later.

Woodland near Hegu Town.

The morning breeze with a hint of chill brushed past, the oak branches swayed, and the lush green leaves rubbed and collided, making a soft "shasha" sound.

Leaves drifted down leisurely, fluttering and floating.

*Swoosh—*

A black-brown dark light burst forth suddenly from somewhere under the tree, fleeting.

Extremely precise!

The falling leaf, floating uncertainly under the influence of the invisible airflow, was still spinning in the air a second ago.

The next second, it was nailed straight into the rough tree trunk by the moist and sharp sword tip.

"Clatter!"

The strong force transmitted from the sword body made this towering oak tree seem to suffer a heavy blow.

The tree trunk shook violently, shaking down countless fallen leaves.

Forcing the sword tip out of the tree trunk.

Xia Nan casually flicked a sword flower and put the wooden sword back into the scabbard behind him.

By now, it had been another fifteen days since he finished his mission and returned to Hegu Town.

To some extent, these days were almost the most relaxed and pleasant period since he transmigrated to this world.

When sleeping, he didn't have to worry about being hit in the head with a wooden stick by some green-skinned rat that popped out of nowhere;

when walking, he didn't have to be afraid of suddenly turning into a stone statue.

Every day, he ate and drank at the inn, not to mention big meals every meal, but it was far more comfortable than living in the wild.

Of course, he hadn't retired yet.

Xia Nan naturally couldn't be completely slack.

While relaxing his body and mind, he also carried out the plan he had formulated before in an orderly manner.

First, the 【Green Pine】 scabbard custom-made by the blacksmith was completed.

Made of rock carbon steel, it was gray-black all over, simple and low-key.

While fitting the sword body, it also effectively masked the wooden material of the sword.

Every detail perfectly met the requirements he had put forward before.

Xia Nan was very satisfied with this.

It is worth mentioning that during the period of getting used to it, he also had a certain understanding of the only "blue gear" on his body.

In terms of sharpness, 【Green Pine】 was slightly inferior to the decapitation longsword, only at the level of ordinary metal weapons.

It wasn't particularly outstanding in terms of sturdiness either; although he hadn't tested it at high intensity for fear of damaging the sword body, the feeling after use was probably just a bit better than ordinary standard weapons.

It seems that the reason 【Green Pine】 could reach the quality of "blue rare" on the attribute panel

was clearly because of the two damage entries on it against "undead creatures" and "snake and scorpion enemies."

In other situations, Xia Nan still used the decapitation longsword as his main weapon.

Then, there were the two combat techniques.

Uh...

How should he put it.

It wasn't to the point of gaining nothing, but the progress wasn't satisfactory either.

His talent was good, whether it was in on-the-spot combat or combat technique training, he had already proven it.

【Frontal Thrust】 and 【Block and Upward Slash】, he mastered both combat techniques very quickly.

In just half a day, the training methods recorded on those thin sheets of paper were firmly mastered by him.

But strangely, unlike the feeling when his predecessor practiced 【Spinning Slash】, which had almost become muscle memory, and every move was as precise and stable as a machine,

when practicing these two combat techniques, Xia Nan always felt something strange.

Either the force was short and lacked explosive power, or the center of gravity was unstable and his body was trembling.

Every training session had new problems.

The key was that he couldn't find a suitable way to solve them.

After finally correcting the original shortcomings through a lot of practice, new problems would pop up, and all previous practice would be in vain.

It was like plugging holes, one after another, never-ending.

This made Xia Nan suspect whether these two seemingly simple combat techniques were actually the kind of "fakes" circulating on the market.

Not sure.

After all, his predecessor had also practiced day and night for many years to reach the level of 【Spinning Slash】 close to full level.

"Practice with more heart for a while," Xia Nan thought to himself, "If it's still the same situation after a while, I'll change to two more to try."

Ending a morning of training.

Xia Nan didn't return to the inn first, but took a turn and strolled to the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop.

*Ding! *

The metal hammer head landed fiercely on the burning red molten steel.

The knotted muscles expanded and bulged, and sweat flew and splashed like starlight along with the sparks.

*Sshh—*

Thick smoke rose, and the burning red ironware was immersed in water, making a harsh sound.

Until the whole process was finished.

This burly man finally caught his breath.

"You're here?" Looking at Xia Nan, who was watching him from afar by the shelf, Ba'en casually picked up a rag to wipe the sweat from his forehead and put the forging hammer in his hand on the anvil. "Your arm shield should take another seven or eight days."

"Sorry, my orders here are indeed a bit many. They are all customers who have paid real money, so it's not good to let others cut in line."

"It's fine, it's fine, you go ahead, I'm not in a hurry."

He hadn't intended to urge him anyway.

The other party had told him before that the snake scale arm shield was different from the scabbard; the shape was special, there was no mold, and it needed extra customization, so the finished speed might be much slower.

Xia Nan came over just to check the progress and confirm the time.

Since Ba'en gave a rough time limit, he didn't talk nonsense, said hello, and planned to leave.

Unexpectedly, the other party called him back before he left.

"How are you considering the caravan guard mission?"

Ba'en gulped down a few mouthfuls of water and asked:

"We're leaving in a few days, if you want to join..."

"One word, I'll squeeze you in."

"Of course, if you're busy, I won't force you, it's up to you."

Xia Nan hesitated slightly.

"The day after tomorrow, I'll give you a definite answer the day after tomorrow."

So many days had passed, and the caravan guards had actually been recruited almost completely.

One more of him wasn't much, and one less wasn't much.

He didn't want to deliberately hang the other party either.

After all, the most important thing now was that the half-elf hadn't replied to him yet.

Xia Nan wasn't sure when the professional contacted by Haian would come to Hegu Town.

Without an accurate time, he was afraid of missing it, so he didn't dare to leave town easily.

Now half a month had passed, if there was no reply in these three days, he would simply refuse the caravan guard job and wait patiently in Hegu Town.

This way, it wouldn't delay other people's caravan work, and he would just earn a few less gold coins, which was completely acceptable.

Coming out of the blacksmith shop, it was already noon.

Xia Nan returned to the White Tit Tavern, planning to have lunch first, take a nap if the situation allowed, and then continue training in the afternoon.

It was still the classic combination of mushroom soup, stewed meat, and white bread.

But the specific portion of food on the plate was much larger than before.

This was something he had paid extra to add.

The increase in physical fitness also increased his appetite.

With the white bread, he stuffed a large piece of stewed meat into his mouth; accompanied by the rich salty aroma, the soft, rotten meat chunks full of juice were easily chewed and swallowed into his belly, turning into a faint warm current to provide energy for his strong body.

Although Xia Nan didn't have a clear understanding of his current physical strength.

But it was certain that after absorbing that drop of golden dew, the 3 points of Constitution that surged had allowed his body to obtain an all-around improvement.

Yes, all-around.

Even if the "Strength" and "Agility" on the attribute panel were still the 6 points reached after 【Spinning Slash】 was full level.

But he could clearly feel that after returning to the city this time, his explosive power and muscle strength had all increased.

Clearly, the various attributes on the golden finger panel were not the independent and clearly distinguished types like in the game.

In the real world, the increase of a single attribute point should be a more complex change for the whole body.

For example:

If one day, Xia Nan's "Strength" attribute suddenly increased by one point, correspondingly, his muscle explosive power would also be improved to a certain extent.

And the improvement of muscle explosive power also meant that he could obtain more rapid movement speed.

Then, to a certain extent, could it also be considered that his "Agility" attribute had been enhanced?

Living in a fantasy world with a background similar to the Middle Ages, without the scientific testing of modern society, Xia Nan could only vaguely guess the changes in his body through his own actual experience.

*Creak. *

The crystal-clear liquor covered with foam swayed gently, and the wooden wine glass was pushed in front of Xia Nan.

"Your ale."

Tavern owner Chaputun reminded.

Xia Nan, who was chewing food in his mouth, nodded gently.

*Snap. *

A snow-white envelope was pinched by Chaputun and placed on the table, handed over.

"It arrived this morning, your name is written on it, is it yours?"

Xia Nan's eyes lit up instantly, and he forced down the food in his mouth.

"Yes, yes."

"Many thanks!"

Taking the envelope, his gaze scanned its surface.

There was no extra decoration, only the recipient's address and Xia Nan's name marked in the lower right corner.

The pattern on the wax seal of the letter was a kite-shaped shield decorated with silk cloth and tassels.

"Should be the family crest of Haian's family?"

Xia Nan guessed inwardly.

Just as he wanted to open the envelope, a burst of noise suddenly came from the tavern hall on the side.

He frowned and looked over.

What came into view were two familiar figures.

"Bernie?"

Regarding this drunkard who almost made him draw his sword when he first returned to town, he had also learned the other party's name through the tavern owner and the drinkers in the shop later.

These days, it seemed he had no money for wine, so he went out on missions with the squad he was in and couldn't be seen, so Xia Nan was too lazy to find trouble with the other party.

Now, he was causing trouble again.

And the object of his dispute, that honest-looking middle-aged man with simple attire, he also looked familiar.

"Seems like I had a passing acquaintance with him the day I went to the blacksmith shop to custom-make the scabbard."

Xia Nan thought to himself.

Before his eyes, the situation was escalating.

Perhaps seeing that the other party was a new face in town, Bernie's face flushed red, and he leaned in, reeking of alcohol, and said a few words whose specific content he didn't know.

The honest man eating the cheapest combo meal had his face drop instantly.

But he didn't reply, just buried his head and accelerated the speed of eating, seemingly not wanting to have a direct conflict with the other party.

Seeing this, Bernie didn't restrain himself at all; on the contrary, he was high-spirited, loudly chanting some unclean rural slang.

The nerves paralyzed by alcohol made him unable to maintain his body's center of gravity.

While dancing and gesturing, his feet slipped, and he fell backward.

His arms subconsciously looked for support, pressing fiercely on the table of the next table.

*Bang! *

Food, accompanied by liquor, spilled all over the floor.

Xia Nan withdrew his gaze instantly.

Because he clearly saw that the moment Bernie overturned the next table.

That thin youth who was sitting on the side, suffering from unprovoked disaster, and was originally just drinking and watching the fun,

his figure suddenly distorted, as if teleporting away from the spot.

Not a drop of the splashing liquor touched him.

"Professional!"

Xia Nan affirmed inwardly.

*Bang—*

With limbs twisted, Bernie, who had already lost consciousness and fallen into a state of serious injury and coma, was thrown onto the street like a dead pig.

The thin youth asked the drinkers around him about the name of the squad Bernie was in quite amiably, then left a few silver coins and leisurely swayed out of the tavern.

And that honest and simple middle-aged man, after sweeping up the last bit of food in the tray, also hurried away.

A drunkard, after all, had provoked someone he shouldn't have.

Xia Nan shook his head.

Come to think of it, if Bernie's two teammates hadn't been present that night, maybe he would have cleaned the other party up, and there would be no need for a professional to take action.

Draining the last bit of ale in the glass.

No longer paying attention to the noisy and boiling tavern hall, he returned to his room and opened the envelope the half-elf had sent him:

"Long time no see, Xia Nan,

First of all, I want to apologize to you for replying so late. It wasn't procrastination, just that family matters were difficult and I couldn't get away, and only today did I get a moment of respite.

Since we parted that day, until I wrote this letter, half a month has passed, and I don't know if you are still in Hegu Town, or if you have started a new round of adventures.

Regarding the commission for the combat technique mentor, I was lucky enough to contact a senior professional through family connections.

He will pass through Hegu Town in the middle of the Month of Flowering (Lixi) at the earliest and stay briefly, at which time you can learn combat techniques from him.

See the letter attachment for detailed information.

No need to reply, I might find it hard to receive it, and I wish you to become a professional soon.

May the stars shine.

Your friend, Haian"

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the end of the letter, the half-elf's smooth and rhythmic signature.

He pondered inwardly.

As the other party said, the professional would only arrive in Hegu Town in the middle of the Month of Flowering at the earliest.

And now it was still the beginning of the Month of Flowering.

Referring to the calendar of this continent, there was even a whole Month of Summer Tide in between.

Nearly seventy days.

The time left for him was very generous.

To be honest, the two consecutive adventures in the Mist Forest, that dangerous and high-pressure environment, made Xia Nan feel a sense of resistance deep in his heart.

He didn't want to go in again in the short term.

Under these circumstances, finding a caravan guard job, slowing down, and going to the neighboring town to stroll for a few days was also a good choice.

Not only could he earn some pocket money to fill daily expenses, but he could also experience the local customs of this world.

And the most important point that made him change his mind was the bottleneck he had encountered in combat technique training these days.

Recalling before, his predecessor spent countless days and nights, many years, to practice 【Spinning Slash】 to lv4 (98/100).

And he had only just transmigrated to this world, and in a few days, he had filled in the two points of proficiency that were the most difficult before the full level.

What was the difference between the two, and what did it mean?

Xia Nan had some vague ideas in his heart.

Taking this opportunity, he planned to verify his guess.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 53 =====