Chapter 106: Break Through
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Soran grew excited because of the 5000 Slaughter EXP that was credited to him.
He now had more than 10,000 Slaughter EXP. This was enough to raise the levels of his Wizard and Rogue profession at the same time. However, he managed to endure the impulse increasing his level. He didn’t need to increase the level of his basic profession since his current abilities were still good enough to deal with the Earth Elementals. Also, it was better to keep the EXP for the more advanced professions in the future.
Furthermore, it was only a matter of time before he would be able to activate an advanced profession. Even if he hadn’t met the requirements yet, he was sure that he could reach them easily. Take, for example, the advanced profession, a.s.sa.s.sin.
Advancing into a.s.sa.s.sin had only three preconditions: 100 Sneak, Murderous Heart (a.s.sa.s.sinating 100 targets), and 50 in Alchemy (Toxicology).
He already had enough points in Sneak, and the Murderous Heart was a pa.s.sive ability.
The a.s.sa.s.sins were cold-blooded killers. As long as the number of targets a.s.sa.s.sinated reached 100, you would automatically grasp the pa.s.sive ability Murderous Heart, and in turn gain 1 in Will. Soran had a.s.sa.s.sinated quite a number of people already, so in time, taking a hundred heads was possible. As for the last 50 points in Alchemy, he would have to spend sometime learning poison crafting. Previously, the a.s.sa.s.sin was one of his preferred advanced professions, but in the end, he chose the more covert, Sneaker. (The NPCs could become trainee a.s.sa.s.sins, but they were not required to have the ability Murderous Heart, instead they needed complete a series of a.s.sa.s.sination tasks before they can formally advance to the profession.)
The battle ended.
Just as Soran was picking up the Elementals core for its body, a row of data appeared in front of him:
Battle ended
You’ve dealt 7 (+2) Slash Damage to the Earth Elemental! Target eliminated!…
Extracting soul energy from the target.
Received 2550 Slaughter Experience Points.
…
Through countless battles, your abilities have improved!…
You’ve learned the ability [Reflex Evasion]
You’ve learned the ability [Mobile Movement]
…
More information had appeared!
Soran was stunned. The Halfling next to him reached out and patted him, then picked up the Elemental core which Soran dropped, “What’s the matter with you? Come on, let’s get rid of the next b.u.g.g.e.r. There are lots more inside!”
Soran snapped out of his daze and then examined the data.
Soran didn’t know whether it was because he had the necessary conditions or because of the battle, but he got two rows of information suddenly. It was all about the advanced abilities for the profession Rogue. If he didn’t spend his Ability Points to acquire the ability, then he could only master it through combat. Usually, an increase in combat experience would also correlate to an increase in abilities, regardless of profession. Even though people have the same level, their real combat effectiveness might be completely different because of this.
Reflex evasion [Personal Ability]: Your reflexes have been gradually conditioned and developed after years of training and battle. When you encounter a Sneak Attack, a.s.sa.s.sination, or a sudden attack, you won’t be caught off guard; your reflexes have been trained to cope with such emergencies. When encountering AOE attacks and magic attacks, you could also rely on your reflexes to avoid the brunt of the attack and reduce damage taken. [Conditioned Reflex +1, Evasion (Rolling) +5]
“Mobile Movement [Personal Ability]: After countless battles, your footsteps have become more and more flexible, and you can easily avoid most attacks. Your movements on the battlefield are as agile and graceful as dancers. People would say that you have nimble feet. When facing an enemy’s attack, you would be able to avoid them. [Evasion + 1, Evasion (Body-s.h.i.+fting) + 5.]
Soran was familiar with both skills.
But he was still shocked by the information that appeared.
He had fought so many times, but he seldom had information about his profession abilities. Soran was certain that it wasn’t just a coincidence that two abilities appeared at the same time. There was probably a reason. Perhaps it was because he was buffed with Greater Grace and Haste, or because he didn’t get hit by the Earth Elemental while fighting it.
Back when he was training his Extreme Dash ability, he also needed magic for training. At that time, he was buffed with Lighten Object and Greater Haste, then ran across a river for training. He fell into the river more than ten times. It was only then did he finally master the combat ability Extreme Sprint.
Although he fought many battles in the past, he never felt this much risk and energy while fighting. Soran’s attention was highly focused throughout the fight because getting hit by an Earth Elemental would be disastrous.
Soran glanced at the Halfling beside him and murmured, “Let me deal with the next one alone. I feel like a breakthrough in my fighting abilities about to come”.
Is that even possible?!, the Halfling thought to himself then asked, “You sure?”
Soran nodded.
People used to believe that if a person was in a state of high attributes, the speed at which you could grasp abilities would significantly increase. Many abilities needed the corresponding physical conditions to be mastered. Soran now had 24 Agility and this was higher than when he was first training and mastering skills. After all, at that time, there was no magic user willing to waste precious spells to help with his training.
Wizards often buffed themselves with Smartala Wits when they were learning high-grade spells because high Intelligence helped to learn spells efficiently. Similarly, Soran may have reached a critical point of ability breakthrough.
The training effects of a high attribute status on abilities was probably estimated to be several times higher than usual. That’s why two ability data appeared consecutively. The Agility buff bonus of 4 points was equivalent to a.s.signing all Free Attribute points of a level 8 Rogue to Agility.
It was more dangerous to face the Earth Elemental alone.
When Soran attracted an Earth Elemental, he immediately felt the. Without the Halfling to cover and attract its attention, Soran’s frequency of attack dropped dramatically. He had to devote more energy to avoid incoming attacks. Previously, he could get 7 to 8 attacks in per minute, now the maximum attack he was able to deal was 2 to 3.
Gloria was puzzled by his actions. She asked the Halfling for Soran’s motive, but she still looked at Soran weirdly.
A breakthrough in abilities while in battle?!
Only the legends were supposedly able to do this, right?
How could he know he was close to having a breakthrough in his original abilities?
Could he be a descendant of a deity too?
Impossible!
His talents were only slightly better than ordinary people. He may be a genius in some areas, but there is still a big gap compared to a real Son of G.o.d!
Tang, Tang, Ting.
Soran attacked it with patience. He didn’t rush his attacks. He just wanted to ensure that he didn’t get hit.
He danced around the Earth Elemental and only attacked after the enemy had attacked. He would counterattack when the Earth Elemental withdrew its arm.
Although his window of opportunity was only second, it was already enough for Soran input damage. He slashed the Earth Elemental’s arm with his sword, jumped on its shoulder with a sudden twist, and slashed again at the enemy’s neck before landing on the ground.
The fight continued for some time.
Soran’s movements were obviously more flexible, and He could grasp the rhythm of the Earth Elemental’s attacks. Gradually, the tide of battle began to favor Soran.
Tung, Ting, Tang.
Again, Soran slashed at the neck of the Earth Elemental. The enemy’s tall body collapsed, and the rocky structure of his body began to weather away. In a blink of an eye, it became sand and stones on the ground.
Soran didn’t immediately take out the core of the Earth Elemental. Instead, he closed his eyes to recall the battle and breathed out a long breath.
A row of data appeared again:
Battle ended.
You’ve dealt 8 (+2) Slash Damage to the Earth Elemental! Target eliminated…
Extracting soul energy from the target.
You’ve received 2600 Slaughter Experience Points.
…
Because you were able to appreciate your own movements in battle!…
You’ve learned the ability [Reflex Evasion]
You’ve learned the ability [Mobile Movement]
…
This was the second time this information appeared.
According to his previous experiences, he would be able to master an ability after the next data prompt. That was to say, the next fight would likely enable him to comprehend two abilities at the same time.
He waved his hand again to the Halfling beside him, indicating that he wanted to fight alone. The Halfling was obviously slightly displeased about it, but Soran wasn’t in the mood to care.
He took a slow breath and attracted another Earth Elemental. He remembered the rhythm of the Earth Elemental’s attacks and calculated the period of time where he could attack.
Tang, Tung, Ting.
Slas.h.i.+ng sounds continued for a while and Gloria’s expression was gradually getting serious.
However, after a few minutes, Soran’s movements and attacks became more efficient. He was able to avoid the attacks of the Earth Elemental in advance. Sometimes he was even able to strike the joints before it attacked, in order to interrupt the next attack of the Earth Elemental.
The Halfling’s looked as if he had been stunned. As a fellow Rogue, he knew how demanding and difficult it was to attack in such a way. Soran’s skills had improved significantly in just a few minutes. He was taken aback.
Finally.
When Soran had eliminated the Earth Elemental in front of him, the long-waited flow of data appeared:
Battle ended.
You’ve successfully mastered the ability [Reflex Evasion]!
You’ve successfully mastered the ability [Mobile Movement]!
You’ve acquired data for an advanced profession [Shadow Dancer]!…advancement requirement [Reflex Evasion],[Mobile Movement], Sneak 100, Evasion 50.