Chapter 85: [Greasy Skill]

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: [Greasy Skill]

The first time he blew his cover happened much sooner than Hesia had expected.

But he had only used an alias to deal with the Infiltrator who had appeared in Print.

That person shouldn’t have any connection to Zoya.

And Zoya didn’t even ask him why he called himself Galen.

After Hesia simply explained that his real name was Hesia, she quietly committed it to memory, then lowered her head and began a new pronunciation exercise. "He... sia... He... sia... Welcome home."

Seeing her focused yet somewhat dazed expression, Hesia couldn’t help but chuckle.

He shook his head, stopped letting his mind wander, and asked, "Have the Captain and the others finished processing the materials from the Thorny Wild Boars?"

"Processed."

Zoya reached over, grabbed a bulging backpack from beside the bed, and pulled out two heavy little leather pouches, handing them to Hesia.

Hesia took the pouches, opened them, and counted the contents carefully.

He found that the number of coins in both pouches was identical: 154 glimmering Silver Scales each.

Together, that was equivalent to 3 Golden Shields.

’Could the materials really sell for that much? Multiplied by the five people in the party, wouldn’t the total price be 15 Golden Shields?’

It was only then that he realized and handed one of the Money Bags back.

"I finished counting for you. 154 Silver Scales. Put it away safely."

"For you." Zoya didn’t take it.

Hesia was a little confused.

"This is your share. Why are you giving it to me?"

"For you, Hesia." Zoya looked at him, her expression earnest. "Bruce said, he doesn’t need to carry money. Master pays."

Hearing this, Bruce nearly panicked again. "Woof! *My* master! Not *your* master!"

Hesia tried his best to understand Zoya’s meaning.

’So she wants the same treatment as Bruce?’

"Bruce is a dog. He’s my pet, so naturally, I’m responsible for his expenses. But you’re different. You’re an independent Adventurer, my partner at most. You should keep your own earnings."

Zoya tilted her head, only half-understanding, as if seriously trying to digest the relationship between "pet" and "partner."

A few seconds later, her purple eyes lit up as if she had reached a brilliant conclusion. "I want... to be a pet too. That way... I don’t have to earn money."

Hesia: "..."

He completely gave up on trying to reason with her. He counted out 11 Silver Scales from Zoya’s Money Bag and stuffed the rest back into her hands.

"Here, this is for this month’s rent and food. I’m taking it. You keep the rest safe! I can’t afford to support both of you by myself, so you’d better get out there and honestly earn some money!"

Zoya looked down at the Money Bag and obediently said, "Oh." Then, as if remembering something happy, she muttered to herself, "Creamy pumpkin soup... delicious."

Hesia then glared at Bruce. "And you! Don’t think you can just lie around the house like a lord all day. Before long, you might have to take on quests by yourself!"

Bruce immediately started yapping indignantly, "WOOF WOOF WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!" (Why?! I’m a dog! What kind of dog takes on quests?!)

Hesia’s eyes narrowed, his tone dangerous. "You want to keep barking? Believe it or not, I can make it so you never speak human words again."

Bruce’s tail instantly drooped, and his doggy face fell. He answered aggrievedly, "...Boss, I’ll listen to you."

After scolding the unreliable dog-teacher, Hesia went back to questioning Zoya. "Did the Captain say when we’ll be taking a new quest?"

"The henpecked weakling said..." Zoya tried hard to recall. "Tomorrow night, at the Oak Tavern. The Captain said we’ll discuss it then."

It was obvious who "the henpecked weakling" was, because the originator of this nickname was wagging his tail contentedly right beside them, clearly very satisfied with his teaching results.

Hesia didn’t linger. He dragged Bruce away, leaving this language class, which was heavily biased by its teacher’s personal opinions.

...

As someone used to staying up late and sleeping in, the quiet of the night actually made Hesia feel more energized and focused.

After raising his [Earth Spike Technique] to Level 3, his Wisdom Attribute had reached 14 points.

He decided to strike while the iron was hot and begin studying the next Magic tonight—[Greasy Skill].

According to the description copied from David’s notes, [Greasy Skill] belonged to the "Creation" subschool of the Curse Magic System.

Its effect was to create a slick layer of grease in a target area, centered on a designated point, thereby impeding the enemy’s movement.

A special note was jotted down beside it: "Ineffective against opponents who rely on agility. Use with caution."

An image of Zoya’s nimble, cat-like figure instantly flashed through Hesia’s mind.

The Infiltrator was one of the Professions that relied most heavily on agility.

’Looks like this move won’t work on her.’

Of course, he wasn’t learning this Magic to guard against Zoya.

As an extremely versatile crowd-control skill, it could prove wonderfully effective in many other situations.

On many previous nights, Hesia had read over the Spell, channeling methods, and practice notes for this Magic time and time again.

What was different now was that his Wisdom Points had barely met the requirement. Reviewing it again, many parts that were once obscure and difficult to understand suddenly became clear, and he quickly got a feel for it.

Although he had a grasp on it, he wasn’t confident he would succeed on the first try, and he certainly didn’t want to make his room a greasy mess.

He left his room and went to a secluded corner of Feipu Lane, where he began practicing on the stone-paved drainage ditch by the roadside.

He took a deep breath, recalled the key points of Spellcasting, awkwardly formed the hand signs, and softly chanted the Spell.

On the first attempt, the Magic Power merely stirred at his fingertips before dissipating.

On the second, a faint greasy feeling flickered at the bottom of the ditch for an instant but was far from taking form.

He didn’t get discouraged. He carefully savored the feeling of that fleeting moment of success, adjusting the output and form of his Magic Power.

...

Finally, on his seventh try, the Magic Power, guided by his Will, transformed into the shape he imagined in his mind.

SQUIRT.

A viscous, yellowish-white, oily liquid appeared at the bottom of the drainage ditch, covering an area about the size of a washbasin.

[Skill Acquired: Greasy Skill Level 1 (1/5)]

The familiar cooling sensation once again flooded his mind, but it was much weaker than when he had mastered [Earth Spike Technique], and it didn’t grant any Attribute Points.

Hesia glanced at the proficiency requirement and found that [Greasy Skill] only required 5 proficiency points to go from Level 1 to Level 2, far less than [Earth Spike Technique].

He guessed that [Earth Spike Technique] was probably more difficult to learn, which was why mastering it provided a greater reward.

However, just like with [Earth Spike Technique], the requirements to level it up would likely get higher and higher.

’I bet leveling it up again will probably grant 1 point of Wisdom, too.’

With that in mind, Hesia resumed his tedious practice.

[Greasy Skill Proficiency +1, Level 1 (2/5)]

...

[Greasy Skill Proficiency +1, Level 1 (3/5)]

The night deepened, then slowly began to fade.

Before he knew it, the drainage ditch at the alley’s entrance was filled with the translucent, yellowish-white liquid.

In the distant sky, a sliver of pale white had appeared.

"That’s enough for now. Time to go back and sleep."

Hesia rubbed his throbbing temples and turned to head back to the small courtyard.

As he neared the house, he heard a faint noise coming from the direction of the kitchen.