Free Web NovelChapter 117: Chapter 102: Sword Storing and Continuous Slash
"Skill [Cross Slash] Level 5 (180/180) has leveled up!"
"Current Skill: [Cross Slash] Level 6 (Max)"
As the notifications appeared before his eyes, Lin Mo glanced at the Goblin Race on the verge of collapse. He suddenly stopped his attack and turned to leave.
This left the Mutated Goblin, which had been at a loss and filled with dread ever since its clash with Lin Mo, completely dumbfounded. It had just been contemplating how it was going to die. ’Why did he suddenly leave?’
’Maybe that guy was just looking for some fun... Or maybe he actually ran out of stamina?’
However, watching Lin Mo’s retreating figure, it didn’t have the slightest thought of chasing him.
If even the Mutated Goblin couldn’t figure it out, the other ordinary Goblins were naturally even more clueless. All they knew was that the terrifying enemy had finally retreated in the face of their heroic resistance, so they all raised their arms and cheered as if they had won a great victory.
The jubilant atmosphere gradually affected their leader, so the Mutated Goblin stopped pondering and patted its chest, as if it had performed some great service, and joined in the celebration.
...
"Obtained attribute points: Strength +3!"
He hadn’t gone far, stopping after just over a kilometer to focus on the messages before him.
Just like the previous Green Excellent Level Skill [Stealth], maxing out Cross Slash had also increased Lin Mo’s Strength by 3 points.
But beyond that, what Lin Mo was truly looking forward to was the New Skill that came after this one.
"Automatically evolved into a New Skill—Sword Storing and Continuous Slash!"
"Skill Comprehension: [Sword Storing and Continuous Slash]! Strength +3!"
[Sword Storing and Continuous Slash]: Condense Qi and Blood to unleash a powerful Slashing attack, firing 3 waves of Sword Qi. Additional Sword Qi can be released based on charging time. Charge for a maximum of 3 seconds to release an additional 3 waves of Sword Qi!
’This Skill...’
Lin Mo stared at the Skill description before him, lost in thought.
’How should I put it... The pros and cons of this Skill are pretty obvious.’
’Literally speaking, it’s an upgraded version of [Cross Slash]. The baseline is releasing 3 waves of Sword Qi, which is 50% more powerful.’
’And its upper limit is the highlight. After charging for a maximum of three seconds, it can directly unleash 3+3=6 waves of Sword Qi. That’s some terrifying power, a full three times that of [Cross Slash]!’
’But the drawback is also obvious: it requires a 3-second charge time. In a real battle against an opponent of similar strength, that’s basically impossible to pull off unless you’re ambushing someone. It could serve as a burst damage tool in special situations.’
’Overall, it’s a Skill with very clear strengths and weaknesses. And even if I ignore the so-called "upper limit" and just look at the baseline, it’s still a pretty good Skill.’
Of course, just like the previous Excellence Level Skills, [Sword Storing and Continuous Slash] also had selectable Evolutionary Directions.
Please select an Evolutionary Direction—
Evolutionary Path 1: Quick Charge I: Reduces required charging time by 33%.
Evolutionary Path 2: Condensation I: Increases the upper limit of Sword Qi provided by charging to 4 waves (requires 4 seconds to reach the upper limit).
The two Evolutionary Directions corresponded to the Skill’s greatest feature, both revolving around its charge mechanic.
One increased the charging speed, while the other increased the upper limit...
If he chose Evolutionary Path 1, the time to fully charge his Sword Qi would drop from 3 seconds to about 2. If he chose Evolutionary Path 2, he could stack up to a maximum of 7 waves of Sword Qi.
After careful consideration, Lin Mo ultimately chose Evolutionary Path 1.
There were two reasons for this.
First, he noticed that all Evolutionary Paths for Excellence Level Skills had a level indicator.
’If there’s a Quick Charge I, there’s a high probability that there’s also a Quick Charge II or even III. Quick Charge I reduces the time by 33%, so what about II or III?’
’If I can continue to reduce the charging time, perhaps I can use this move more regularly.’
’In contrast, simply increasing the number of Sword Qi waves, while certainly an increase in power, would keep the Skill locked behind a very awkward usage restriction.’
’Besides, if a problem can be solved with 7 waves of Sword Qi, it can most likely be solved with 6. And in a situation where 6 waves aren’t enough, adding one or two more probably wouldn’t make a difference anyway.’
’As for the upper limit... this is only an Excellence Level Skill, after all. When it comes to potential, it can’t possibly compare to higher-tier Epic or even Legendary Skills. There’s no need to get hung up on that for a Blue Skill.’
Having made his choice, Lin Mo opened his panel and took a long-overdue look at his current Attributes.
[Name]: Lin Mo
[Profession]: Warrior Level 1, Knight Level 1, Assassin Level 1
[Attributes]: (Outside parentheses are your own Basic Attributes; inside parentheses are Attributes after Profession bonuses)
Strength: 18 (23)
Agility: 14 (20)
Constitution: 16 (23)
Spirit: 5
Magic Power: 2
Extra Attribute: Fire Element Affinity: 13%
After two consecutive "Strength +3" bonuses, Lin Mo’s Basic Strength value had reached 18, which was quite close to the level of a Level 2 Warrior Professional!
He only needed to raise [Sword Storing and Continuous Slash] to Level 3, or learn a few more Warrior Profession Skills, and he would be able to advance again.
As for his other Attributes, his Agility of 20 and Constitution of 23, including Profession bonuses, were definitely what you’d call Excellent. It was just that his Spirit and Magic Power were really lagging behind the other stats.
This was precisely why Lin Mo had chosen not to wipe out the Goblin Settlement just now.
After Goblins form a settlement, it’s actually like a human village. They gradually develop a simple social structure and system and will construct some basic buildings at the settlement site. So, even if they encounter enemies, they won’t easily abandon their settlement unless it’s a last resort.
So, he didn’t have to worry about the Goblins running away. He could just wait for his Magic Power to fully recover, then go back to farm some Skill Level for his Magic...
The time was now around three in the afternoon.
Lin Mo’s Magic Power had more or less recovered, so he headed toward the Goblin Settlement once more.
This time, he encountered no one blocking his path along the way and went straight to the location marked on the map.
Just as described in the quest information, although it was a small, recently formed settlement, there were clear signs of "construction."
The settlement’s perimeter was simply enclosed by a circle of stones, with some sections starting to be built up into low walls using mud.
Within the "walls," one could vaguely see simple huts built from crudely chopped, uneven logs. Of course, given the Goblins’ intelligence, they could only lay a foundation; they couldn’t build very high, let alone add a roof.
But regardless, it was at least a "home."
Inside some of the "houses," you could see newborn Goblin whelps, huddled together in groups of a few to more than a dozen.
In the middle of the clearing was a huge bonfire. Most of the Goblins were gathered around it, celebrating boisterously with skewers of some unknown animal meat and foraged wild fruits.
The Mutated Goblin, surrounded by them, held a piece of roasted meat in one hand and juice squeezed by its subordinates in the other, pontificating with a smug look on its face.
In truth, right after Lin Mo had left, it had been quite anxious, afraid that he had only left temporarily and would be back soon. It had even considered abandoning the tribe and fleeing.
But driven by wishful thinking, it ultimately hadn’t done so. Now, after several hours had passed without any sign of the human, it finally relaxed completely. It reverted to its "King" mentality, bragging to its subordinates about the glorious tale of how it had repelled a powerful enemy with its own valor.
Although in reality, it had just done nothing at all, that wasn’t important.
In the world of Goblins, immense strength and bloodline were everything. Whatever a Goblin of noble blood said was the truth; they didn’t have the brains to distinguish right from wrong or fact from fiction.
"GRAHAHA..."
The Mutated Goblin laughed wildly, showing off its powerful muscles as it ate its meat.
Just as it was basking in its moment of glory, a glint of steel suddenly appeared at the edge of its vision.
It turned its head and clearly saw a dagger sink into the chest of one of its kind, immediately followed by a very familiar Fireball that left a charred crater in its place.
’That terrifying human is back!’
It shot to its feet. The two sub-adult Mutated Goblins beside it cast it a questioning glance.
They looked around, finally noticing their slain kin, and also grew wary.
However, the surrounding bushes were completely silent. There was nothing to be seen.
This atmosphere only heightened their anxiety. The leader, in particular, had already fought Lin Mo and knew his strength. It was now breaking out in a cold sweat, wanting to run but not knowing where to go.
Many of its tribesmen still hadn’t grasped the situation and were immersed in the celebratory atmosphere. Their noisy, strange cries made it increasingly agitated, so it let out an angry roar, forcing them into silence.
The leader’s anger was clearly effective. The Goblins all shut their mouths and looked quizzically at their boss.
And just as the surroundings fell quiet, an almost imperceptible sound reached its ears.
[Sword Storing and Continuous Slash]
The next moment, several beams of sword light shot out from less than five meters in front of it. There was no room to dodge. It had barely registered what was happening before its body was sliced into pieces by the light.
[Invisibility] Skill Level +8
[Sword Storing and Continuous Slash] Skill Level +8
’What a vicious Skill!’
Even Lin Mo himself was startled. Although [Cross Slash] had been very effective against the Mutated Goblin before, it was nowhere near this viscerally terrifying in its visual effect.
This was, of course, partly due to his own increased Strength, but the main reason was the sheer power of the [Sword Storing and Continuous Slash] Skill.
’Those six fully-charged waves of Sword Qi... I must have wasted at least three or four of them. Forget one Mutated Goblin, I could have instantly killed two of them stacked together.’
With their leader inexplicably slain, the remaining ordinary Goblins panicked. Some scrambled for weapons, others tried to flee. The scene descended into chaos as they crowded together, preventing even those who wanted to escape from getting away.
Even if they managed to squeeze out of the crowd, their path was blocked by the stones surrounding them. What was originally meant for protection and aesthetics had now become an obstacle to their escape.
Lin Mo unhurriedly hunted down the Goblins. His priority was, naturally, to practice his Magic Skill Level. He continued his method of striking them once with his blade before finishing them off with Magic. In no time, he had maxed out the remaining 9 Skill Level points.
[Fireball Technique] Skill Level +1, Current Skill Level (20/20)
"Skill [Fireball Technique] Lv2 has leveled up! Current Level: Lv3 (0/40)"
Obtained attribute point: Magic Power +1!
’Finally. Another point of Magic Power.’
As the notification appeared, Lin Mo immediately felt his nearly depleted Magic Power replenish slightly.
