Chapter 269 The Ascending Staircase and Unexpected Guests

As it turned out, Axe Beak meat was not very good. Despite being the largest and thickest muscle on the bird's body, the breast had an extremely low fat content. Its texture was tight, dry, and incredibly fibrous.

Without sufficient seasoning and targeted cooking methods, eating it was almost indistinguishable from chewing on tree bark.

The thigh meat was slightly better, but only barely. The meat was too tough, and once the moisture evaporated, it became dry and coarse.

Fortunately, when Xia Nan butchered the carcass, he had extracted the two strips of tenderloin from along the inside of the spine.

Their delicate, juicy texture and pure, mild flavor made them exceptionally delicious, even when prepared with the simplest of rustic cooking methods.

As for the offal, he had specifically carved out an Axe Beak heart before leaving. Unfortunately, even though Leon's sister, Janice, had some experience handling animal organs, the sliced and cooked result still carried the heavy, metallic tang unique to hearts.

The texture itself was decent—springy and chewy—but without spices, only someone with an incredibly heavy palate would enjoy it.

Of course, all these conclusions were based on Xia Nan's past life, judged by a harsh palate accustomed to the delicacies of modern society.

Leon's family didn't think nearly as much about it. For them, it all boiled down to three simple words:

"Meat is delicious!"

Xia Nan could clearly sense their heartfelt love for the meat, along with their gratitude toward him for bringing back the flesh of monsters they usually wouldn't dare approach.

This was especially true after Leon vividly recounted their encounter in Ash Valley, adding embellishments to highlight Xia Nan slaying the Axe Beaks.

The way Tom and Janice looked at him had changed; their gazes were now filled with awe and a deepened respect.

In contrast, the little girl beside them, Lily, seemed largely oblivious. Her stuffed cheeks bulged like a squirrel's as she tilted her head, staring up at Xia Nan with big, pure eyes.

Amused by her reaction, he shared a piece of the tenderloin Leon's family had specifically saved for him and casually patted her head.

Xia Nan turned his gaze to Tom across the table and asked, "So the fog in Ash Valley is definitely abnormal, right?"

"At least, I've never heard of it before," Tom answered with a heavy nod, his tone serious.

"In fact, many years ago, Ash Valley wasn't a restricted area where villagers were forbidden to go. Whenever people built houses or needed to construct something, they would go there to haul stone."

"There was even a chance to develop a quarry there once. I remember it was almost finalized, but a group of monsters came out of nowhere and interrupted the development."

"The merchant in charge of the project was killed in the attack, and the development plans were simply left unresolved."

As he spoke, Tom glanced at the steaming Axe Beak meat on the table, his eyes taking on a complicated light.

"But regardless, most of the village knows what Ash Valley used to look like. Anyone over thirty probably even went there as a kid."

"Not a single person ever mentioned a thick fog deep inside, or architectural ruins with an exotic style."

"All these changes must have appeared in recent years."

Hearing this, the somewhat uncertain guess in Xia Nan's mind instantly grew clear and definite.

After all, when he had inspected Ash Valley during the day, the dilapidated state of those ruins wasn't something that could have formed in just a few short years.

His suspicion that a secret realm was hidden deep within Ash Valley only grew stronger with his investigation.

"Then what about Faded Fire or the Ash Ember Church? Have you heard of them?" Xia Nan asked.

After trying hard to remember, Tom shook his head.

"Perhaps you could ask the village chief?"

"He's the most knowledgeable person in the village, after all. If even he doesn't know, I'm afraid no one will."

"Alright." Seeing that it was already late, Xia Nan figured he would find a chance to ask at daybreak. "Then tomorrow—"

"Right now works!" Tom casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve and stood up. "The chief definitely hasn't gone to rest yet. I'll take you to him."

Surprised by Tom's proactive attitude, Xia Nan found no reason to dissuade him.

He stood up, instructing Leon beside him, "There's no training tomorrow. Consider it a short holiday. Get a good rest tonight."

The teenager hadn't fully developed yet, and his physical constitution was limited. Overly intense training would only backfire; balancing work and rest was important.

Leon had been training under him for many days, and Xia Nan had seen exactly how hard he worked. It was time for him to rest, and a day off was well-deserved.

Of course, Xia Nan was also planning to delve deeper into Ash Valley at daybreak to search for a possible entrance to the secret realm.

The level of danger inside remained a mystery, and there was no telling what monsters he might encounter.

Monsters like the Axe Beaks were fine, but if he encountered something with a higher Challenge Rating, he wouldn't be able to guarantee Leon's safety.

It was better to let the kid stay in the village and rest. If Xia Nan really ran into some unmanageable danger, his current Agility and the displacement effect of [Fang Hunt] gave him a high probability of escaping on his own.

It was still early in the evening, and the afterglow of sunset lingered on the horizon.

Even though Ash Valley Village lacked streetlamps, visibility was decent enough to clearly make out the road.

Following Tom, Xia Nan let his gaze sweep casually over their surroundings.

Beneath the veil of night sat the blurry silhouettes of dilapidated buildings lining the dirt path.

The crisp evening breeze carried the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves, mingling with the intermittent chatter of villagers drifting from the houses on either side.

After advancing to Level 2, Xia Nan's physical constitution had received another boost.

With so many days having passed since then, he could naturally feel the changes in his body.

But it wasn't just a simple matter of being stronger or running faster.

As a whole, the wooden barrel theory didn't quite apply to the six attributes.

An outstandingly strong point would imperceptibly pull up the weaker attributes, bringing them to a matching level.

To give the simplest example, a human with a Constitution as high as 20 points would undoubtedly have vitality and endurance reaching the absolute limit accessible to an ordinary Class Holder. At the same time, under the influence of such exaggerated vitality, their Strength definitely wouldn't be low, or else it wouldn't conform to the laws of nature.

Similarly, a powerhouse whose five attributes—Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, and Perception—all reached above fifteen points would never have a Charisma that fell below a certain threshold.

After all, the Charisma attribute didn't simply mean "looking good and speaking nicely"; it was heavily tied to aspects like "leadership" and "affinity."

To a certain extent, a creature ugly to the extreme might actually possess a much higher Charisma than glamorous men and women, seeing as "intimidation" was also a component of the Charisma attribute.

Presently, Xia Nan's total across the six attributes had reached 47 points, exceeding the ordinary person's average of 30 by a full 17 points.

If placed in his previous life, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a "little superman."

This was already evident in his daily life.

Right now, for example, Xia Nan was absolutely certain that his sight, hearing, and sense of smell had undergone earth-shattering changes compared to when he first transmigrated.

The textures of objects he could never have glimpsed before, the tiny sounds normally ignored, and the faint, complex scents lingering in the air were all incredibly clear.

He was even more sensitive to the taste of food; back in the modern world, he might have been able to work as a food critic.

In addition, his physical enhancements included a degree of darkvision.

Although limited by his human lineage—meaning it wasn't quite as exaggerated as the subterranean creatures in the Underdark—it still exceeded the scope of a normal person.

It was worth noting that the one point of Strength and two points of Agility he had gained earlier were purely the milestone rewards granted when [Fang Hunt] reached max level.

His own class, [Meteor Blade Hunter], had advanced from Level 1 to Level 2, but aside from the change in numbers, he hadn't received any other enhancements.

However, considering that an increase in Class Level was bound to be accompanied by a combat technique being elevated to the Mastery tier, it wasn't wrong to say that his overall physical constitution grew a bit stronger with every level.

Based on the information Xia Nan had gathered on the Association Second Floor, a "class" was more like a deep system that unified the scattered combat techniques one practiced—an ascending path, or rather, a cornerstone.

If combat techniques were stones of varying sizes, colors, and shapes, then a class was the ascending staircase built by piecing those stones together.

When you climbed step by step, stepping on max-level combat techniques to reach the peak of your current staircase, you naturally needed to seek out stones of higher quality and look for a superior staircase blueprint to continue upward—this was class advancement.

Of course, increasing one's Class Level wasn't entirely useless on its own.

At least according to the book Xia Nan had read, the vast majority of classes would grant the Class Holder rewards during the advancement process, ranging from Feats and combat techniques to extra attribute points.

For example, wasn't the [Gravity Etching] he currently possessed a companion combat technique passively acquired upon taking the class?

Based on Xia Nan's observations over the past year, he had deduced a pattern to the rewards gained from leveling up combat techniques.

For an obscure class like [Meteor Blade Hunter], whose level cap was highly likely to be only Level 5, the critical milestones would probably be the same as combat techniques: Level 3 and Level 5.

Whether it was a Feat or a combat technique, he should be able to reap some sort of harvest.

Knock, knock, knock.

While he pondered this, Tom stopped in front of a similarly modest single-story house by the road and rapped lightly on the door.

A flurry of brisk footsteps followed.

Creak—the wooden door slowly opened from the inside.

It revealed the wrinkled, elderly face of Clapham, the chief of Ash Valley Village.

"Tom, why are you—"

Clapham frowned, seemingly surprised that Tom had come looking for him at such an hour.

But halfway through his sentence, he caught sight of the pitch-black figure melding into the night behind Tom. His expression faltered, and a second later, realizing that Xia Nan must have business with him, he hurriedly pulled the door fully open.

"Please come in, come in. Whatever the matter is, let's talk inside."

Although he was the chief of Ash Valley Village and held considerable prestige among the villagers, the layout inside Clapham's wooden cabin was completely out of touch with his status.

The furniture and decorations couldn't even compare to Tom and Janice's home; the place looked barren and sparse.

Stepping inside, Xia Nan subconsciously swept his gaze across the wooden dining table.

It seemed Clapham was in the middle of dinner. Steam rose from a small bowl of stew. Aside from that, the table only held two rock-hard loaves of black bread, a large bowl of beans, and half of a scorched smoked fish.

More importantly, there was only one set of utensils on the table.

With a thoughtful expression, Xia Nan spoke politely, "My apologies for interrupting your dinner."

"It's actually nothing urgent. I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"Also..." Xia Nan handed over the basket he had carried from Tom's house, which contained several pieces of fresh Axe Beak meat.

Although he was Ash Valley Village's benefactor for helping them break the goblin siege, showing up unannounced at this hour prompted him to bring a small gift, a habit from his past life.

Clapham appeared very surprised by this. He accepted the basket with an astonished face and enthusiastically invited them to sit on the nearby wooden chairs.

Thinking there was no rush, Xia Nan figured there was no harm in letting Clapham finish his dinner first. However, the chief claimed his appetite was small in his old age and that he was already full.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Xia Nan got straight to the point, asking about the ruined architecture and fog in Ash Valley, as well as any information regarding Faded Fire and the Ash Blaze Church.

"Ash Blaze Church?" Clapham shook his head thoughtfully. "If it's a question about Ash Valley, I might be able to give you some information the other villagers aren't aware of. When that merchant brought his guards to scout a location for the quarry, I accompanied him, so I heard a few things."

"But as for these churches and whatnot, I really don't know."

"Furthermore, when I followed them during that expedition, we explored almost the entirety of Ash Valley, and there were no ruins exposed along the main road like you described, nor was there any strange, thick fog."

'Since I can't get any useful information from the villagers, it seems I'll just have to investigate deep inside by myself tomorrow,' Xia Nan thought, planning to ask the chief for more intelligence regarding the terrain in Ash Valley and any monsters that might exist there.

But right at that moment, the sound of rushed, panicked footsteps suddenly rang out from beyond the door.

Before the person even came into view, their voice pierced through the wall.

"Chief, Chief... Huff, adventurers—"

"Another group of adventurers has arrived!"