Chapter 295 Perception +1

"Proficiency +1"

"[Gravity Etching] lv2 (100/100) → [Gravity Etching] lv3 (0/100)"

"Perception +1"

...

Xia Nan's gaze flicked unobtrusively over the translucent text floating in the empty air before him.

His face revealed no particular emotion, but a faint ripple of excitement stirred within him.

'Finally leveled up!'

'That wasn't easy...'

Among all his current combat techniques, [Gravity Etching] was arguably the most torturous to train.

Not because it was particularly difficult, or because the training itself was physically painful.

It was purely due to its "3/3" charge limit.

This stood in stark contrast to [Fang Hunt] before it reached max level. That technique had demanded massive amounts of time each day, but directly converted all invested effort into proficiency.

It also contrasted with [Gravity Control], which refused to budge no matter how hard he trained, only mercifully granting a point or two of proficiency during occasional moments of "epiphany" or when he stumbled upon a "clever trick."

The unique nature of [Gravity Etching]—recharging once every six hours with a maximum of three stored uses—meant that if Xia Nan wanted to level it as efficiently as possible, he had to set a strict biological clock.

He had to track that six-hour recharge window with absolute precision. The moment the charges ticked from "2/3" to "3/3," he had to immediately burn one on training to ensure he always kept two in reserve for emergencies (though this routine had to be adjusted if he was in the middle of a quest).

In the beginning, Xia Nan thought training [Gravity Etching] was almost too easy. Unlike other combat techniques that required repetitive drills, he just needed to use it on schedule.

Over a full twenty-four-hour day, he spent no more than ten minutes on it.

Yet its proficiency still shot up. Nothing could be more effortless.

It wasn't until a few months ago, when [Gravity Etching] was on the verge of leveling up from lv1 to lv2, that Xia Nan finally tasted the torment.

The fixed recharge timer and strict usage cap meant that no matter how perfectly he optimized his schedule, he could only train it a maximum of four times a day.

Even factoring in his two reserve charges, that was only six total uses before he was forced to wait for another cooldown.

Under these conditions, the proficiency gains were regular and stable, but strictly capped.

He received a fixed trickle every day—not exactly meager, but never any more than that.

It was hard to describe the sheer frustration of watching the proficiency hit "99/100," knowing he only needed one tiny push—just two or three more sword swings—to complete the level-up.

Because of the usage cap, he was forced to wait an agonizing six hours instead.

In fact, his [Gravity Etching] proficiency had already stalled at that critical "lv2 (99/100)" bottleneck before he even set out on this quest.

Relying entirely on his willpower, he had held back until now, taking advantage of the multiplied proficiency gains during actual combat to finally unleash that agonizingly overdue strike.

Hum—

The residual ochre light of the force field gradually dissolved into the air, and thick, viscous blood dripped from his blade.

Xia Nan stood rooted to the spot, perceiving everything around him with unprecedented clarity.

The gurgling rush of blood pumping from the stump of the corpse's neck; the microscopic rustle of unknown insects' legs tapping against the soil; the insignificant specks of dust stirred by a passing breeze; the intricate veins of a fluttering leaf in the distance...

Going from "10" to "11" was a mere 1-point increase to his Perception attribute.

Yet the change felt even more drastic than his jump from "5" to "7."

Once his base attributes reached a certain threshold, every single point of growth triggered a qualitative transformation.

As the core attribute of his [Meteor Blade Hunter] class, it was a given that his finesse and control over gravity would strengthen accordingly.

The judgment thresholds for related Feats, including [Tidal Stabilization] and [Heart-Guided Vision], had become far more forgiving, and their durations had increased.

Of course, Xia Nan would still need to carefully test the specifics during his daily routines.

Footsteps approached from the side.

Xia Nan turned and blinked at Adeline as she walked toward him, her face full of shock.

"See? I told you to ask me for help."

Adeline didn't answer. As she drew closer, her eyes darted back and forth between Xia Nan and the Petrification Lizard corpse behind him.

She had realized back during last year's Hunting Day that Xia Nan's strength far exceeded that of an ordinary adventurer.

Whether it was the Gnoll tribe or the Red-Mane Bugbear that had been her worst nightmare, they had all died by his hand.

That was absolutely not something an average adventurer could achieve.

But after Hunting Day ended, Xia Nan had formally become a Class Holder, suddenly putting him far out of her reach.

Not because gaining a Class Level made him act superior—in fact, after surviving life-and-death battles together, their relationship had actually grown closer once the quest concluded.

It was just that the circle of Class Holders was too far removed from her party. Things like Advancement Quests and the Association Second Floor were mere rumors to them. Over the past few months, she only knew that Xia Nan had completed several commissions, upgraded his armor multiple times, and developed a much deeper, more inscrutable aura.

His strength had certainly improved.

But right now, seeing this young, black-haired man sever the head of a Challenge Rating 3 Petrification Lizard with a single strike, right in front of her eyes...

Adeline's eyes grew dazed.

Seeing this, who would ever believe that just a few months ago, they had been at the same level, fighting as teammates who relied on each other?

"Clank."

Her calloused right hand clenched into a fist and gently bumped the metal armor on his chest. Adeline slowly opened her mouth, her expression complex.

"I owe you again."

"If there's ever anything I can do to help you in the future... you know what I mean."

"Of course." Understanding her meaning, Xia Nan waved a hand. "Though it's only because you managed to stall for two more seconds. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have made it in time."

Earlier, Xia Nan had noticed the commotion from afar and come to investigate. He had assumed the Petrification Lizard was chasing some random prey and planned to stay hidden, waiting for it to secure its kill and drop its guard before delivering a fatal strike.

He hadn't expected the prey to be a familiar face.

He obviously couldn't just stand by and watch one of his only friends in this world die.

Xia Nan had struck decisively. Taking advantage of the two-second delay Adeline had desperately bought, he brought her into the casting range of his [Gravity Control].

By reducing the gravity on her body, he allowed her speed to spike for a split second so she could dodge the lizard's attack. At the same time, he charged forward with [Fang Hunt], deliberately throwing himself into the range of the lizard's "Petrification Gaze."

Perfect resistance.

The silently active "Petrification Resistance Potion," combined with his drastically improved Constitution, allowed him to effortlessly shrug off the Petrification Lizard's most lethal ability.

After that, with its petrification rendered useless and its Challenge Rating plummeting, the Petrification Lizard became nothing more than a living target.

Faced with the absurd mobility granted by [Fang Hunt], the beast's bloated, massive frame appeared feeble and ridiculous.

[Gravity Etching]'s force field damage ignored physical defenses, effortlessly bypassing its tough scale armor and thick, resilient muscle. A single blast blew a massive, gaping wound into the creature's body.

Having probed its true strength in that brief clash, the moment for decapitation had arrived.

Aiming at the anatomy he had studied before setting out, Xia Nan drove his silver-white Custom Two-Handed Greatsword into the lizard's neck in a way that minimized damage to its harvestable materials.

Using the momentum of his fall, he guided the blade through the muscle fibers and bone gaps, carving smoothly downward to sever its head.

A single, fatal strike.

"Was this your target for the Advancement Quest?"

Xia Nan asked casually, studying the massive corpse that had collapsed on the ground like a small mountain of meat, still twitching and spasming.

"How could it be..." Adeline looked helpless as she pointed at her own body, which was covered in dirt and grass clippings, leaving her exceptionally disheveled.

"The Advancement Quests issued by the Association are famous for being simple. I only just gained my Class Level, so there's no way they'd assign me a target of this caliber."

"I just wanted to go into its nest and pick some mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" As if hearing a trigger word, Xia Nan suddenly turned his head and stared straight at Adeline.

"Gray-Paste Scaled Fungus," the woman added with a strange look. "It's an alchemical material. You can't eat it."

His fiery gaze instantly cooled.

That made sense.

For a lv1 Class Holder like Adeline, who hadn't even fully consolidated her professional abilities yet, the Association would naturally never assign a Petrification Lizard as a quest target.

If it was just a gathering quest, the location might be a bit dangerous, but as long as she had a little patience to observe the Petrification Lizard's activity patterns, she could easily complete the task without fighting.

Harboring a bit of regret over the inedible mushrooms, Xia Nan shared his thoughts with her.

Adeline looked extremely puzzled.

"That's exactly what we did. We knew about the potential dangers in advance, so we made full preparations—even bringing a 'Petrification Resistance Potion.'"

"But I don't know what got into this Petrification Lizard. It was supposed to be its post-hunt hibernation period, but it suddenly charged out of its nest and pinpointed our exact location."

"Damn it! Was the scent-masking spray Kukunur sold us a fake? It shouldn't be; we tested it before coming here."

There were too many suspicious points, and Adeline couldn't figure it out.

But now that the Petrification Lizard was dead, the biggest threat to her Advancement Quest was gone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked at Xia Nan and the Petrification Lizard corpse behind him.

"Was this your quest target?"

"Yeah."

She nodded slightly. She knew Xia Nan was decisive; since she had clearly told him she didn't need help earlier, there was no way he would have anxiously trailed behind her out of misplaced concern.

This situation could only be a chance encounter during a quest.

"Those mushrooms of yours, you probably don't need too many of them, right?"

"Why? A few clusters will do."

"...I might need a little favor."

"Of course!" Adeline replied without hesitation.

...

Xia Nan needed Adeline to help him carry some of his loot back.

The gold coins required to reforge the Decapitating Longsword would clearly be an absurd figure.

The Arm Shield alone had cost a full 1,000 gold coins, even when he had provided the main material himself.

As a longsword with a higher crafting difficulty and a more complicated reforging process, the expenses would only be higher.

With the money Xia Nan currently had on him, it definitely wouldn't be enough.

Since he had the opportunity right now, he naturally needed to earn a bit more.

First was the gland located at the back of the Petrification Lizard's head. This was his main target for the quest, and he obviously couldn't miss it—the petrifying mucus it secreted would play a crucial role in the weapon's reforging process.

Second was the Petrification Lizard's heart.

As a massive and dangerous magical beast, its heart contained tremendous vitality and accumulated magic power.

Used in small amounts in alchemy, it could brew special potions that temporarily boosted Constitution or increased resistance against slashing and piercing attacks.

It also saw use in certain rituals.

An entire intact heart could sell for quite a lot of money.

Next was its stomach sac.

When extracted and synthesized by highly skilled alchemists, its secretions could be turned into a peculiar ointment that helped cure petrification.

It was a material the Rivervale Town Association Branch desperately lacked, and it could be sold for a price much higher than the market rate.

If Xia Nan knew an alchemist, he could even commission them to make the ointment and hold onto it for the right buyer. If someone urgently needed it in the future, it could sell for a jaw-dropping sum.

However, he currently had neither the connections nor the channels to liquidate such an item, and he urgently needed gold coins right away. Handing it over to the Association would do just fine.

Finally, there was the Petrification Lizard's skeleton.

From years of swallowing petrified prey, even though its stomach acids would revert those stones back into flesh, the bizarre beast's body had still been gradually influenced by that petrification magic, undergoing subtle changes.

Compared to magical beasts of the same level and size, the Petrification Lizard's bones were noticeably thicker and harder. Their color looked less like bone and more like whitewashed rock.

It was an excellent building material, and in some regions, it was even crudely crafted into bone clubs and bone hammers, which proved to be quite effective.

If he could bring the entire skeleton back, its total value might even exceed the stomach sac's.

But since Xia Nan currently had no spatial storage items, he could only ask Adeline to help him carry as much of it as possible.

If it weren't for the complex terrain of the Misty Forest, Xia Nan would have hired a caravan to transport the entire corpse back, not sparing a single toenail.

Glancing with some pity at the firm, tender fat and meat beneath the Petrification Lizard's rough exterior, Xia Nan moved efficiently. He extracted the petrifying gland from the back of its head, the heart from its chest cavity, and the stomach sac from its belly, carefully placing them into specially prepared wooden storage boxes and securing them firmly in his backpack.

Just as he was about to call Adeline over to start dissecting the corpse and digging out the lizard's bones...

A shrill, bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out from the direction they had come.