Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 235: Embarking on the Journey, New Skill "Increased Strength"

Dirk and his team sat in the Adventurers' Association hall, continuing to wait while carefully studying the map for this mission.

After all, they were heading to a dangerous area like the Blackwater Swamp and would pass through sections very close to the Core Area. Even though this mission was relatively simple among C-rank missions, since Dirk had never personally led a team for a mission of this level before, he was still somewhat nervous and therefore extremely cautious.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo went to the second floor of the Association. Similar to the Silverstream City Adventurers' Association, the second and third floors of the Fargard Adventurers' Association were also places selling equipment, alchemical items, skill scrolls, and other things.

However, whether in terms of scale or the quantity of equipment and items, the Fargard City Adventurers' Association was clearly superior by more than just a small margin.

Lin Mo looked around and saw various items neatly arranged by type, clearly priced with brief descriptions.

These detailed aspects were also more refined than in smaller cities.

However, after browsing around, Lin Mo didn't find what he wanted, so he went to the second-floor counter and asked the staff member there: "I'd like to purchase a Priest class skill scroll. Does the Association currently have any?"

"There should be some. Please wait a moment."

The staff member checked a database and quickly responded: "Adventurer, there are currently three Priest class skill scrolls in stock. Please go to cabinet number 21 in the eastern section of the third floor to view them."

"Okay, thank you."Lin Mo nodded and went straight to the third floor.

This mana system is quite convenient. It can not only record data but also perform quick queries... I've heard that in some cities of the Empire, there are trendy magical technologies different from these independent mana systems that can connect these mana systems through remote resonance between mana, enabling information sharing and transmission.

Many mana systems interconnected resemble a dense network, hence this trendy technology is also called the "Mana Network."

From Lin Mo's perspective, this thing bore a high similarity to the internet from Blue Star.

He was also very curious about the "Mana Network." He heard that personal Mana Network accounts were already in trial operation, and he could experience it when he went to the Empire someday.

But back to the topic. Following the staff's directions, Lin Mo went straight to the eastern section of the third floor. Every cabinet and shelf in the Adventurers' Association had clear numbers. Following these numbers, Lin Mo quickly found cabinet number 21.

There weren't many items on cabinet number 21, only those three Priest class skill scrolls.

Lin Mo examined them one by one. The first skill scroll was the most basic and common Priest skill—Healing Art.

He had learned this skill long ago, so he put it down directly.

The second scroll was a green excellent-grade skill scroll named Light's Inspiration.

This was also a skill Lin Mo had learned before. He shook his head disappointedly and looked at the final one.

This scroll couldn't be [Sustained Healing], could it?

Although the few Priest skills he had learned were indeed the most common ones for the Priest class, it would be quite frustrating if all three were duplicates.

Then he could only wait until he leveled up one Priest skill to evolution, or try his luck at the black market again.

Holding onto this somewhat resigned thought, Lin Mo checked the label on the third skill scroll.

[Strength Increase]

"Oh?"

Lin Mo immediately raised an eyebrow.

This was not only because it was a skill he hadn't learned, but also because of the skill's name.

Strength Increase... Could this be a skill that boosts the Strength attribute?

Priest class skills can generally be divided into four categories.

The first category is naturally the biggest hallmark of this profession, the well-known healing skills. The second category consists of various buff skills, such as Finnie's [Light's Assistance], or like [Light's Inspiration] which Lin Mo had already learned.

The third category comprises defensive skills, such as the [Shield Against Demons] that Lin Mo recently learned.

The final category is the opposite of buff skills—debuff skills, commonly known as curse skills, which are relatively scarce.

These four categories of magic are not absolutely independent;

some higher-level magic can serve two purposes simultaneously.

For example, during the Silverstream City defense battle, Bishop Fletcher of the Silverstream City Holy Light Church displayed a massively wide-range healing and defensive magic—[Holy Light Barrier].

While that magic couldn't be said to have directly changed the outcome of the battle, it at least temporarily halted the Goblins' advance, buying the Silverstream City soldiers precious breathing space, and it even provided some healing effects.

A powerful Priest can play a significant role on the battlefield, sometimes even surpassing that of a Mage.

Lin Mo was actually quite interested in learning Priest class skills. After completing his advancement to Elite Level, he planned to dedicate more effort to practicing Priest class skills.

Lin Mo looked at the effect description noted on this scroll's label.

[Strength Increase]: Can slightly increase the Strength attribute of a designated target.

Just as Lin Mo had thought.

Without any hesitation, Lin Mo directly picked up this scroll and went to the counter to pay.

Sneakily learning was not feasible. The energy contained within a scroll is limited;

each learning attempt causes decay, and information about the scroll's energy is also recorded by the Association.

This information was even marked on that label paper.

Furthermore, the Association does not support rental methods.

However, after learning it, Lin Mo could completely resell this scroll through an auction to recoup a significant portion of the cost.

Sometimes the auction price wouldn't even differ much from the purchase price.

Of course, for most Professionals, it's unlikely they would sell a scroll shortly after obtaining it. Firstly, learning a skill requires a long time, and the scroll remains useful for subsequent skill practice.

The price of Priest class skill scrolls is generally similar to that of magic spell scrolls, or slightly more expensive.

For this excellent-grade skill scroll, Lin Mo ultimately spent 2000 Gold Coins.

Fortunately, it was 2000... if it were any more expensive, he would have had to go downstairs and borrow money from Ellie and the others.

That's right, the previously purchased equipment, scrolls, plus this current scroll had completely drained Lin Mo's savings. He now had less than 100 Gold Coins left on him, becoming "broke."

However, it was all worth it.

After the transaction was completed, Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry to open the scroll. Learning magic skills takes time and isn't that easy. It was better to first gather at the city gate with the merchant group;

there would be plenty of time on the road for him to study it slowly.

Putting the scroll into his Spatial Ring, Lin Mo went downstairs. Everyone was chatting at the moment, but whether it was Sherfilia, Finnie, or even Ellie, none of them could really chat comfortably with these Lion Adventuring Company members.

Sherfilia was the classic "three no's" type (no expression, no speech, no emotion), Finnie was also quite shy around strangers, and Ellie was a Half-Orc...

After a few slightly awkward sentences exchanged between the two sides, the conversation immediately died down.

Fortunately, Lin Mo returned relatively quickly, and the atmosphere immediately returned to normal.

"Brother Lin Mo, did you get what you needed?"

Dirk stood up to greet him as if relieved of a heavy burden.

Lin Mo nodded: "We can set off."

"Then let's go. It's getting late anyway."

...

The group headed straight for the city gate. Although they had taken on a merchant caravan escort mission, Lin Mo still went to retrieve his own carriage.

Even though this escort mission required vigilance all around and wouldn't allow them to sit in the carriage the entire time, when passing through non-dangerous areas, they couldn't just walk the whole way either?

Furthermore, they needed to consider the return trip. Renting a carriage in the Royal Capital at that time would also be troublesome.

Moreover, their carriage wasn't an ordinary one;

the two horses pulling it were both Lord-level magical beasts. Even if they were low-tier Lords, that was still equivalent to roughly level 6 or 7 Professionals, making them quite capable.

Dirk and his team didn't need to worry either. A large adventuring company like the Lion Adventuring Company naturally had many carriages stored in shops at the city gate, which they could directly use.

This was also one of the benefits of joining an adventuring company;

the group provided such public facilities, saving a lot of trouble.

Arriving at the city gate with the carriage, the Jade Merchant Group people were already waiting for them.

The timing was just about right. The middle-aged man leading the merchant group saw Dirk and immediately came over.

"Mr. Dirk, we meet again."

For escort-type missions like this, the parties involved would definitely have met and talked before formally accepting the mission.

"Are we late?"

Dirk smiled and bumped fists with him.

"No, no, the timing is perfect... We just finished our preparations here."

The man waved his hand, appearing very polite.

After all, these adventurers were the ones ensuring their safety for the journey ahead. Anyone who wasn't a fool wouldn't want to have unpleasant relations with them.

"And this is?"

He then looked at Lin Mo standing nearby, because unlike those behind Dirk who were also from the Lion Adventuring Company, Lin Mo's group clearly didn't seem to be with them.

"This is Lin Mo... Mr. Glenn, don't be fooled by his youth. His strength surpasses mine."

"Oh?!"

Glenn's eyes widened in surprise: "Mr. Dirk, are you joking?"

Because he frequently traveled for trade between the two locations, he was relatively familiar with the adventurer situation in Fargard City. Dirk was a notable figure within the Lion Adventuring Company and counted among the prominent figures in the entire Fargard City, his strength only a step away from the Elite Level.

And this Lin Mo looked to be less than 20 years old. Could his strength really be greater than Dirk's?

However, Glenn didn't probe further, merely exchanged polite pleasantries, then turned to organize the merchant group and prepare for departure.

The entire merchant group consisted of nearly thirty carriages, each loaded with goods.

To take the risk of using Route 11, such a dangerous path, there must be items with strong time sensitivity in this batch of goods, such as certain medicinal herbs or alchemical materials.

Lin Mo wasn't concerned with these matters. He directly took Ellie and the others onto his own carriage, having the two Gale Steeds follow the merchant group.

The first large section of the road was relatively safe, with little chance of encountering magical beasts. Even if they did encounter any, they would be low-level creatures posing no threat.

It was only when nearing the Blackwater Swamp that the crucial phase of this mission would begin.

The merchant group set off, the carriages moving much slower than usual.

Actually, the Jade Merchant Group wasn't a small merchant group. Although they primarily operated in the Royal Capital area and their business scale in Fargard City wasn't large, the carriages they equipped were quite good.

The horses pulling them weren't ordinary horses either, but Gale Steeds.

However, elite-level creatures like Gale Steeds still paled in comparison to genuine Lord-level magical beasts like Gale Steeds.

The merchant group leader, Glenn, also noticed this and was quite surprised in his heart.

Those who could afford Gale Steeds were truly not ordinary people.

Even in the Royal Capital, only Dukes and a few Marquises had carriages with this configuration.

Just what was the background of this Lin Mo, who had never been heard of before and suddenly appeared?

At this moment, he somewhat believed what Dirk had said.

Regardless, he hoped this journey would proceed smoothly...

Sitting at the front of his carriage, he gazed in the direction of the Royal Capital, his expression changing from the previous ease and casualness to one of great solemnity.

Inside the carriage, Lin Mo took out the scroll he had purchased earlier and unfolded it.

Learning magic was now quite familiar to Lin Mo.

After reading it carefully, he began attempting to construct and connect the mana circuits...

In about half an hour, he successfully learned it.

"Learned skill [Strength Increase], gained attribute points: Mana +2!"

2 base Mana points, not bad. Error tolerance remaining is 14 points.

But the base Strength attribute was still a full 38 points away from the 120-point target.

The task was arduous and the path was long...

He checked the skill's effect.

[Strength Increase] Lv1 (0/10): Blesses with the power of Holy Light, increasing the Strength attribute of a designated target for a certain duration. The increase amount is 5%-10% of one's own Mana attribute (depending on skill level). Duration is related to one's own Mana, maximum duration 10 minutes.

Damn, not bad at all!

Lin Mo's eyes widened immediately.

It increases 10% of one's own Mana attribute—the Mana attribute, not the base Mana attribute. That means amplified attributes are included in the calculation.

Lin Mo's current total Mana attribute was 154 points. 10% of the Mana attribute would be roughly 15 points, which was quite a significant number.

And remember, this was only a green excellent-grade skill.

However, the number of buff skills that can be active simultaneously is limited. Only one of the same type can be active.

For example, for attribute-increasing skills, you can't have one increasing Strength and another increasing Agility active at the same time. Similarly, for characteristic enhancement skills, like those increasing physical or magical resistance, only one can be active.

But attribute-increasing skills and characteristic enhancement skills can be active simultaneously.

It's like in some games where only one attack-boosting food item can be active, and only one defense-boosting food item can be active, but attack and defense-boosting food items can coexist.

So, next up was the exciting level-up time.

As expected, the level-up prompt soon appeared before Lin Mo's eyes.

"Promotion conditions met. Profession Priest (lv5) promoted—Current profession Priest (lv6)"