novelraw Chapter 248: Upgrade, Level 10 Warrior!
Chapter 248: Upgrade, Level 10 Warrior!
Leaving the guides and escorts by the carriage, Lin Mo and Dirk each led their respective squads forward along the path.
Just as the escort had reported, if they continued along the damaged mine tunnel for a while, they would reach a huge opening at the corner ahead.
This cave used to be a mining site, but now it had been occupied by monsters.
They reached the cave entrance and peered inside.
Most of the mana lamps that had been hung on the walls were already broken, only a short stretch near the entrance still gave off some light, and beyond that it was pitch black.
“This kind of place isn’t the best to rush into recklessly.”
Although the mission intel said the monsters occupying this mine weren’t very strong and wouldn’t pose much threat to them, as adventurers they still had to remain cautious at all times.
If the intel was wrong, charging in headfirst could easily lead to casualties.
“We should try to lure some of those monsters out.”
Luke suggested from the side.“That’s too troublesome and might not work. I’ll go check it out...”
Lin Mo said as he created a clone using Shadow Split.
Dirk watched the suddenly appearing other “Lin Mo” with a face full of astonishment.
He had seen Lin Mo use this trick before, so he roughly knew Lin Mo could do it, but he didn't know the exact mechanics and had never watched Lin Mo cast it in real time.
“Is that a clone-type skill?” Luke asked curiously.
“Something like that...”
Lin Mo didn’t explain further, and Luke, being sensible, didn’t press the matter.
The “Lin Mo” clone entered the mine ahead.
The real Lin Mo activated Eagle Eye, and the vision and night-vision it provided were shared with the clone.
So the cave, which had originally been pitch black and blurry, gradually became clear.
The mine tunnel was a mess, chaotic. Broken ore littered the ground and occasional leftover mining tools could be seen.
As the clone moved deeper, it soon heard faint sounds.
According to the mission description, the monsters they were hunting this time were Shattered Rock Golems.
As the name implies, these are semi-elemental beings made of shattered rock.
This life form was strange, somewhat similar to Slimes and Black Mud Monsters—creatures that emerge under specific conditions—but compared to Slimes, Shattered Rock Golems were clearly more advanced.
The “Lin Mo” clone followed the sounds and soon spotted the targets.
With Eagle Eye’s night vision, he clearly saw the monsters: very tall, rock-bodied creatures like stone giants, roughly three meters high and very burly.
The chunks of rock forming their bodies stacked into a slightly bulky humanoid shape;
the protruding stones looked like robust muscles.
Ellie didn’t rush in. Instead, she stayed back and continued counting the “giants.”
“One, two, three...”
There were exactly thirteen Shattered Rock Golems, far more than the two required by the mission.
Logically, they didn’t need to kill them all. As Luke said, they could lure a few out, or lie in wait nearby and strike when they left the group, killing just two.
- If they were ordinary adventurers, they would likely choose that approach.
If these Shattered Rock Golems were Mid-Level Lord-Level monsters, Lin Mo would have to choose the safe route.
But they were not.
The mission data had been precise: the strongest of these monsters had only a threat level of 5.
Most were level 3 or 4, and monsters at those levels posed little threat to them.
Dirk’s team were all veterans, each above level 5.
On Lin Mo’s side, Ellie had already reached level 4 earlier, and with Lin Mo’s careful training she had now firmly stood at level 4 and was pushing toward level 5.
Compared to ordinary warriors, Ellie also had considerable advantages in Agility and Constitution, so even Luke, who was already level 5, might not necessarily outmatch her.
Not to mention Ellie was a Half-Orc with strong bloodline traits from the Ice Wolf Clan, giving her notable innate talent. Her Frost Slash, in terms of raw power, was even approaching some Exceptional-Grade skills.
Back with the real Lin Mo, he said, “Let’s go. It’s safe, go in directly.”
“All right!”
Luke cheerfully responded and strode into the cave first.
He was immediately grabbed back by Dirk by the collar, “How many times do I have to tell you? Keep formation!”
“Oh...”
Luke shrank his neck and obediently stood behind Dirk.
He wasn’t really a reckless rookie, just easygoing and casual by nature. Since Lin Mo said it was safe, he’d gotten a little carried away.
Lin Mo, however, was one step faster. After saying those words, he swapped places between his real body and the clone.
Then he focused on one of the Shattered Rock Golems in front of him.
Mountain-Shaking Fist!
In the next instant, dense qi-and-blood gathered in his right fist, and Lin Mo threw a punch. The tremendous force instantly echoed throughout the mine.
“Boom—”
Like an explosion, that single heavy punch blasted through the golem’s body, leaving a huge hollow in it.
Chunks of broken rock flew everywhere. The golem’s body slammed into the wall behind it, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear in the rock.
Mountain-Shaking Fist proficiency +25
What power!
Lin Mo’s eyes brightened;
he was quite pleased with this new skill.
As for the other, stronger one...
Lin Mo glanced at the cracked wall and decided to hold off.
In a relatively narrow and unstable mine, it was better not to use excessively destructive skills.
If the cave collapsed, that would be disastrous.
Lin Mo checked a message that had been left pending for a while.
After that test, he finally knew what to choose.
Please choose evolution direction—
Evolution Route 1: Diffusion Punch I: Punch range +30%
Evolution Route 2: Piercing Punch I: Punch penetration +30%
When he had first seen these two evolution routes, he hadn’t known the exact effects or feel of the skill, so he couldn’t choose at once.
Now he knew Mountain-Shaking Fist was a skill with strong penetration and concentrated power.
For such a skill, Lin Mo always enhanced its strengths. The extra range from Route 1 wasn’t important to him—he had plenty of ways to deal area damage.
So he didn’t hesitate and chose the Piercing Punch evolution.
As Lin Mo made his choice, the Shattered Rock Golems didn’t stand idle. Killing one of their companions angered them, and they charged Lin Mo together.
But their lumbering movements seemed slow-motion to Lin Mo and posed no real threat.
He strolled casually, dodging their attacks while finalizing the skill evolution.
“Should be about time to quiet them down, right?”
After choosing the evolution, Lin Mo refocused on the battle.
Blood Qi Blade.
This skill had been a staple in his warrior repertoire for a long time.
It had once been one of his go-to assault skills against powerful opponents, but as his mage level rose and he gained more powerful abilities, he used this skill less often and it hadn’t evolved yet.
Fortunately, it was already level 6, and its proficiency had reached 221/300—close to evolution.
The blood-red sword energy sliced through the Shattered Rock Golem like cutting tofu, effortlessly opening it up.
With Lin Mo’s current strength, dealing with monsters that weren’t even Lord-Level was far too easy.
Blood Qi Blade proficiency +30
Just as that notification appeared in his mind, Ellie, Dirk, and the others arrived and joined the battlefield.
Ellie swung her greatsword. Her arm was instantly covered by a layer of blue ice, and the blade itself became frosted.
Frost Slash!
An ice-blue sword energy burst forth, carrying cutting cold, and struck the enemy.
One Shattered Rock Golem, threat level 4 and the same level as Ellie, displayed a clear sword scar where it was hit.
The wound’s edges glowed ice-blue;
the intense cold coated the monster and slowed its movements noticeably.
Lin Mo watched Ellie’s execution of the move with interest.
This power stemmed from bloodline energy, so for Ellie it was quite natural and simple to use;
it came as second nature.
By the same logic, once Lin Mo conquered the combination of Mana and Qi and balanced those two energies into compressed spirals to form Demonic Qi, he would gradually master similarly powerful moves.
His effects might even surpass those born of bloodline talent.
The principle was the same as the Paladin and the “pseudo-Paladin.” One is a genuine inner power, the other is a special energy derived externally.
Which one is superior depends on how strong the external “special energy” really is.
For example, a pseudo-Paladin’s Holy Light comes from the Holy Light Church’s faith, and that power is often not weaker than a true Paladin’s.
But not every bloodline or blessing is that strong...
Ellie’s Ice Wolf Clan bloodline wasn’t especially potent.
He wondered if there would be a way later to strengthen her bloodline power.
Shaking his head, Lin Mo sidestepped a Shattered Rock Golem’s attack, grabbed its head with one hand, and crushed it.
Grab proficiency +20
Everyone joined the fight, and in this confined terrain Lin Mo’s combat was somewhat restricted.
So he decided to practice a simple Common-Grade skill that leveled quickly and showed results fast.
Lin Mo was only one point of base Strength away from reaching 100 points, the threshold for a level 10 Warrior.
It would be perfect to level this skill to 3 first and then raise his level.
As for Blood Qi Blade, there would be plenty of chances to use it later in this rocky mine—no rush.
Thus Lin Mo’s tactics became oddly straightforward.
No sword, no magic, no heavy punches—just intimately touching the Shattered Rock Golems’ faces, then crushing them by hand.
Whether the monster was level 3, 4, or 5 made no difference to Lin Mo;
he crushed them one by one.
Grab proficiency +20
Skill Grab Lv3 (40/40) leveled up!
Current skill Grab Lv4 (2/100)
Grab proficiency +30
All thirteen monsters were soon slaughtered.
Because Lin Mo actively stole aggro and kept fighting, Grab’s proficiency quickly filled and the skill reached max level.
Skill Grab Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!
Current skill Grab Lv5 (Max)
Gained base attribute Strength +1
Automatically evolved into a new skill — Assaulting Seize!
Learned skill Assaulting Palm Grab! Gained base attribute Strength +2!
Assaulting Seize: Rapidly strike and seize an opponent. If the grab hits a specific part (the neck), it also causes an interruption effect, capable of interrupting the opponent’s skill casting (only effective against units below the user’s level).
What to say... compared to raw power, the most important aspect of this skill is its interrupt effect.
What does interrupting a cast mean?
For example, against a Mage, ideally if their casting is interrupted they’d be like lambs to the slaughter in front of a Warrior.
But that’s the ideal.
In reality, Mages often have self-protection skills and aren’t easily closed in. And Warriors—even Swift Warriors—aren’t as absurdly fast as Assassins, so it’s a skill that looks great and can produce surprising results in critical moments, but isn’t always easy to pull off.
For Lin Mo, though, making this skill work was much simpler.
First, he had Assassin-level speed.
Second, he could Flash.
In short, it was a great skill.
Lin Mo continued to read the trailing information.
With Grab maxed and the new skill Assaulting Seize learned, Lin Mo’s base Strength rose by 3 points to 102.
He met the level-up requirement for a level 10 Warrior.
And as the Warrior profession was his original vocation, lack of skill slots was not an issue.
So...
“General level-up conditions met, Profession Warrior (lv9) promoted to current Profession Warrior (lv10)”
“Gained profession attribute increase: Strength +6, Constitution +3, Agility +2!”