Chapter 197 Mint, the Healer and Spellcaster

Misty Forest, outskirts.

"Crash!"

Shredded leaves and grass seeds danced as they fell. The unique, fresh scent of plant sap in the air was masked by a foul, rotting stench.

The tough, wire-like thorny shrubs that normally made movement impossible were easily crushed to a pulp, leaving only a mess on the ground.

Bellow—

A furious, bestial roar erupted through the woods. The terrifying soundwaves it sent out caused even the dense, dome-like canopy above to tremble and sway.

It was a massive wild boar, nearly nine chi long and with a shoulder height reaching an adult man's shoulders!

Its entire body was covered in coarse, brown bristles, with parts of its hide wrapped in a layer of hardened mud like armor. Scalding breath snorted from its snout, and two tusks curved upward. The sharp glint at their tips left no doubt of their destructive power.

The dense bristles caked in mud, the thick and tough hide, the razor-sharp tusks, and the bulging, knotted muscles...

Coupled with the intense aggression unique to wild boars.

Even the apex predators at the top of the food chain in an ordinary forest would rarely provoke such a crazed and furious creature unless driven to the absolute brink of starvation.

Under normal circumstances, a boar of this size would hardly ever face anything capable of threatening its life, barring exceptional situations.

But right now, this boar's condition looked rather terrible.

A large chunk of fur and hide had been sliced diagonally off its back, exposing the twitching pink muscle underneath. Two deep wounds overlapping in an "X" shape marred its flank, and as its legs pumped, blood sprayed out, faintly revealing the outline of its organs.

As for the source of these gruesome wounds... it wasn't the exaggeratedly strong, vicious monsters of the Misty Forest.

Instead, it was the grey-black figure it was currently chasing.

"Thud!"

A thick, tough leather boot slammed onto the ground, accompanied by the faint clinking of metal from above.

The weight of the body combined with the heavy equipment instantly stamped a small crater into the soft, damp forest floor.

Yet those legs, which weren't particularly thick compared to the boar's stubby limbs, seemed to contain an explosive power far beyond that of ordinary men.

With just a slight gathering of force, the figure vanished from the spot.

"Boom!!!"

Like a matador losing his target in the arena, the boar's mini-tank of a body couldn't stop its charge. Carried by its own momentum, it crashed headlong into a towering, thick oak tree.

Its two sharp tusks sank into the bark almost instantly. It bellowed and twisted its body, struggling to break free.

Right at that moment, several barbed, bright-green thorny vines burst from the soil beneath it, winding up around its four legs to bind and restrict it.

The boar's massive body also seemed to suddenly suffer some invisible crushing weight, sinking down as its movements turned sluggish.

The iron-grey blade reflected the emerald green and blood red ahead, while the palm gripped the cold handle of the sword.

The opportunity lasted only a fleeting moment, and Xia Nan didn't hesitate.

Before his body even had time to shed the momentum of his sprint, he had already leaped high toward the boar.

The balance bonuses provided by [Tidal Stabilization] and the "Bone-Bound Iron Greaves" made his leather boots land on the boar's uneven back as firmly as if he were stepping on flat brickwork.

His calm, pitch-black eyes aimed for the vitals, and he held the longsword in a reverse grip with both hands.

He abruptly stabbed downward!

Squelch—

The bristles and fat were instantly pierced by the razor-sharp blade, which was maintained daily. The tip followed the pre-aimed gap through the spine and plunged into the back of the neck.

He gave it a light twist.

"Thump!"

The ear-piercing beastly wails that had been echoing endlessly since the fight began ceased in an instant. The enormous carcass crashed heavily to the ground, twitching as it snapped countless thorny bushes.

The blood-stained blade was forcefully yanked out.

The grass clippings and blood droplets, which had been faintly swirling around the sword tip in the air due to the escaping invisible force, quietly drifted down, returning to normal.

His chest heaved slightly, but not a single drop of sweat could be seen on his cheeks.

Xia Nan casually spun his sword with a flourish, flicking away the blood clinging to the blade.

A flash of contemplation crossed his eyes.

It had now been three days since he joined the "Sea Thorn" squad as a temporary member, departed from Rivervale Town, and entered the Misty Forest.

He had also been through a few battles.

And because of this, he had felt the deeper changes brought about by those 3 points in his Perception attribute.

The most obvious one, which Xia Nan had not anticipated earlier, was—

[Gravity Control]

Several days had passed, and the proficiency of this combat technique hadn't changed at all. It remained at (5/100), still a long way from leveling up.

But during the recent fights, he had made a discovery.

His precision, range, and even strength when manipulating gravity had clearly improved.

Evidently, as the primary attribute of the [Meteor Blade Hunter] class, an increase in "Perception" could also provide bonus effects to [Gravity Control], his core class skill.

It was foreseeable that in the future, when he raised his combat technique level to lv2, lv3... or even higher, his Perception attribute would also receive an enhancement.

The two complemented each other.

"Roar!"

A pain-filled beastly roar echoed from the woods not far beside him, followed by another heavy thud of a body hitting the ground.

He knew his teammates had also dealt with their enemy.

Xia Nan withdrew his gaze, bent down, and grabbed a boar leg.

He nodded toward a figure standing a short distance away.

Then, he dragged the boar's massive carcass back to the camp.

...

Perhaps it was because his battlefield was closer.

When Xia Nan returned to the camp, Cash was already squatting on the ground to the side, dissecting the corpse of his prey.

He looked at the yellow pelt with dark brown spots that had been neatly skinned and laid flat over the grass.

He guessed that his teammate's prey was probably some unlucky jungle leopard.

Meanwhile, seeing Xia Nan and the boar carcass behind him, Cash couldn't help but look delighted.

"Excellent! I thought we'd only be gnawing on dry rations tonight. I didn't expect a bonus harvest!"

"I've eaten wild boar meat a few times before. That taste..."

Hearing him say this, Xia Nan felt a bit puzzled.

He glanced at the bloody leopard carcass beneath the man and asked, "What, is leopard meat not good?"

"It definitely isn't as savory as boar meat! It's firm and richly flavored. If prepared well, you can even taste hints of nuts and pine."

As if recalling a wonderful past experience, Cash's rough face, weathered by the wind and sun on the open sea, revealed an expression of fond reminiscence.

"I remember when I was adventuring in the Falkor Region, I caught one and specifically asked the locals to cook it using their traditional method."

"Slow-cooked in an iron pot with bay leaves and rosemary, then poured over with half a bottle of leftover red wine from the tavern. That flavor... tsk tsk."

"Too bad we aren't prepared today, otherwise I'd definitely make it for you to try."

Saying so, Cash patted the leopard carcass on the ground, his tone tinged with pity.

"Actually, the meat of this kind of forest leopard isn't too bad either. It's quite chewy, and eating it occasionally doesn't get tiring."

"It's just..."

His gaze fell upon the side of the corpse's neck, where there was a fine wound about the length of a finger.

One could clearly see a deep, dangerous purple hue seeping and spreading from the cut into the surrounding flesh.

Even the saliva dripping from the leopard's teeth carried a faint purple tint.

"After this long, I'm afraid even its tail is tainted with poison. If we really ate it, we'd only end up lying right here next to it."

Hearing this, Xia Nan understood.

Over the past few days, he had gained a rough understanding of the combat styles and strength levels of his teammates.

Given his sailor-like background, Xia Nan had initially thought Cash played a ranged role, relying primarily on throwing spears.

But observing him these past few days, it was obvious the man vastly preferred close combat.

He used the spear's reach to control the distance and launched thrusting attacks.

He had seen it only once.

He had personally seen Cash hurl the spear in his hand into a moving horned deer, much like a fisherman on a ship.

Then, bursting forth with speed far beyond the ordinary, Cash was pulled toward the spear almost like a magnet. Using that momentum, he cleanly finished off the prey with the dagger in his hand.

It was likely some sort of movement-based combat technique developed around the spear.

Then there was their other teammate, the Half-Drow, Veris.

Her combat style matched Xia Nan's speculations.

She was an agile assassin who favored fighting with daggers.

However, it was worth noting that—perhaps due to the nature of the subterranean "Drow" race—even with only partial bloodline, Veris still excelled at using various poisons.

And she never shied away from doing so.

Every night during her watch, Xia Nan would see her openly smearing purple-green toxins onto her daggers right in front of everyone.

If there was ever a possibility of them turning hostile in the future, he absolutely had to be careful.

"You can't blame me for that," Veris scoffed from the other side of the camp, her face showing a touch of indignation upon hearing Cash's regretful complaints. Raising her voice in a mocking pitch, she added, "If a certain someone hadn't missed his step and nearly offered his neck to that leopard's teeth, would I have even needed to step in?"

"It's so dark in these woods! My ancestors for three generations have been pure-blooded humans, so isn't it normal that I can't see clearly? You used to live in those burrows every day, so of course..."

Consciously tuning out their bickering, Xia Nan looked over at Veris.

Unlike him and Cash, who fought head-on but remained completely unscathed, this assassin, who should have been skirting the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, had suffered a minor injury.

There was a rather gruesome gash on her left arm.

Judging by its shape, it was highly likely left by that jungle leopard during the fight just now.

The wound was deep, almost exposing the raw flesh on both sides.

But right now, the bleeding had already stopped.

One could clearly see granular muscle tissue writhing vigorously, reaching out to bridge the gap from both sides of the cut.

It was healing at a visible rate.

This naturally wasn't because she possessed some exceptional Constitution, nor was it because she had drunk any Healing Potion.

Instead, it stemmed from a sphere of emerald-green light brimming with rich life energy, cast by a pair of pale hands hovering right above the wound.

Following those hands upward...

Slender, slightly trembling arms; a fragile neck that looked as if it could be snapped with a single hand; and thin lips pursed tight in intense focus from casting the spell...

This was a frail young girl whose appearance had absolutely nothing in common with a so-called "adventurer."

She had soft, short hair that fell to her shoulders, and her features could be called delicate and pretty. Yet her skin was so pale it bordered on sickly, and her slender frame looked as though a light breeze could blow her over, robbing her of the healthy beauty that should have blossomed there.

A pale green teardrop earring dangled from her left earlobe, swaying gently in the air.

Her simple, plain-colored robe dragged on the ground, its bottom hem stained with dirt and grass clippings. Not a single piece of armor capable of fending off monster attacks could be seen on her—well, except perhaps the small leather pouch at her waist, which might barely absorb a single claw swipe.

Whether in terms of her attire or her physique and aura, a girl as petite and frail as her simply did not belong in this perilous place teeming with lethal monsters and the graves of countless adventurers.

But all sense of incongruity and every trace of doubt...

When faced with that sphere of green light blooming from her hands, which healed the Half-Drow's arm in mere minutes...

They all vanished without a trace.

Mint.

The final member of the "Sea Thorn" squad.

And a Spellcaster.

Yes, a Spellcaster.

After transmigrating here more than two hundred days ago and fighting through many powerful enemies like Petrification Lizards, Bugbears, and Lycanthropes, Xia Nan had, for the first time in history, acquired a bona fide Spellcaster teammate.

According to this frail girl named Mint, her chosen path was supposed to be a special class under the "Druid" category.

Her primary abilities were healing and control.

As for the former, the ball of green light in her hands right now was proof enough.

Although Xia Nan had drunk Healing Potions before, he had never experienced this kind of magical healing.

Throughout his quests up until now, he hadn't suffered any real injuries, either.

Watching that green light now, he couldn't help feeling a bit curious, wondering what it would be like.

Judging by Veris's full-throated voice as she bickered with Cash while receiving treatment, it probably wasn't too intense of a feeling.

And as for the latter—"control."

Just now, when he was finishing off the boar, green thorny vines had sprouted from the ground to bind its four legs.

Although restricting the boar's movement mostly relied on his own [Gravity Control]...

To a certain extent, it still counted as lending him a helping hand.

The healing quietly ended.

Noticing the pain in her left arm dissipate, Veris enthusiastically pulled the girl into her embrace and exclaimed, "My little Mint, whatever would your big sister do without you!"

Sinking into that soft embrace and unable to break free, Mint squeezed out a smile; a thin layer of sweat had already beaded on her forehead from casting the spell.

Xia Nan casually withdrew his gaze, turning over the information he had gathered from his observations these past few days.

Compared to the remarkably enthusiastic behavior Cash and Veris had shown toward him...

This girl named Mint, on the other hand, was very normal.

Or rather, a bit too normal.