Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 252: Blood Moon Sky Charge

[Blood Qi Blade] proficiency +20!

[Blood Qi Blade] proficiency +30!

A string of proficiency notifications kept popping up before his eyes.

Before this, the skill was already very close to leveling up, and with these proficiency gains, the final progress bar was filled.

"Skill [Blood Qi Blade] Lv6 (300/300) upgraded!"

"Current skill [Blood Qi Blade] Lv7 (Max)"

This was one of the older Exceptional-Grade skills he had acquired early on, and it was finally maxed out.

"Base attribute gained: Strength +5"

"Automatically evolved into a new skill — Blood Moon Sky Charge!"

"Learned skill [Blood Moon Sky Charge]! Base attribute gained: Strength +5!"[Blood Moon Sky Charge] Lv1 (0/20): Consumes a large amount of qi and blood, condensing it into a crescent-shaped blood sword energy that attacks enemies, dealing massive damage.

Note: Casting this skill will deal 10% damage to the caster!

Another new Epic-Level skill.

Normally, even elite-level experts like Flora would master very few Epic-Level skills;

many elite experts have none.

If they do, it's usually just one;

having two or more is a rarity.

But Lin Mo now already had five full Epic-Level skills!

Even some Transcendent-Level experts wouldn't have that many.

Returning to the newly acquired skill, this ability called Blood Moon Sky Charge, judging just from its description, seemed highly similar to its predecessor, Blood Qi Blade.

The skill's form was almost identical: a streak of blood-colored sword energy. Compared to Blood Qi Blade, the sword energy of Blood Moon Sky Charge seemed fuller, forming a crescent shape.

Also retained was the self-damage effect that came with Blood Qi Blade.

Moreover, compared to the original Blood Qi Blade, the new skill's self-harm effect seemed even harsher, more severe.

When casting this skill, the caster would suffer damage equal to 10% of the skill's power.

The greater the skill's power, the higher the self-damage.

Of course, such a self-damage trade-off must yield extremely powerful output.

Lin Mo guessed that purely in terms of raw power, this skill might even surpass the recently acquired Demonic Light Piercing Kill!

However, the two skills probably had distinct specialties. Demonic Light Piercing Kill offered stronger penetration and concentrated power.

Blood Moon Sky Charge, on the other hand, likely produced greater total damage and possibly affected a wider area... as for that, the actual effect would need to be seen in practice.

Until he tested it in real combat, this was still only Lin Mo's speculation.

Compared to the old fixed and relatively heavy self-damage effect, the new skill's roughly 10% self-damage was at least within the realm of consideration.

After all, Lin Mo's total Strength attribute had already reached 172, while his total Constitution attribute was only 111, a difference of a full 61 points.

Add the Strength bonus from the Frost Dragon Scale Sword and various damage-increasing effects...

Using the skill once and taking self-damage shouldn't be fatal, but it certainly wouldn't feel good.

All in all, the skill was a double-edged sword.

He should check the evolution route options first.

Please choose an evolution direction —

Evolution Route 1: Steady 1: Reduces Blood Moon Sky Charge's self-damage by 50%, power unchanged.

Evolution Route 2: Brutal 1: Increases Blood Moon Sky Charge's self-damage by 100%, power increased to 120% of original.

Even the evolution choices were very similar to Blood Qi Blade... though more extreme.

Previously with Blood Qi Blade, Lin Mo had always chosen Route 2 to boost power. Even when Blood Qi Blade hit max level, his final evolution choice had been the same.

But for the new Blood Moon Sky Charge, he had to be more cautious.

Ten percent self-damage already—if that increased by 100%, it would become twenty percent;

using it once might seriously injure him.

However, if he could choose both evolution routes in succession later, it would effectively leave self-damage unchanged while granting a 20% power increase.

Either way, the enhancement from the second evolution wouldn’t be as dramatic or generous as the first.

In the end, Lin Mo chose Evolution Route 1 first.

Although he also had the Priest profession and knew Healing Art, and could heal himself if injured, was it really necessary to take that risk?

He already had multiple Epic-Level skills. Even if this skill’s power was a bit higher, how much stronger could it be compared to his other Epic skills?

He rarely got hurt in all these fights;

deliberately injuring himself would be unpleasant.

He’d wait until the second evolution choice to add the Brutal effect.

Once he increased Constitution and raised his Knight profession level later, the 10% self-damage wouldn’t be a worry, and he could use the skill without restraint.

After selecting the skill evolution, Lin Mo checked his status panel.

After gaining a total of 10 base Strength from the recent upgrades, his base Strength had reached 112, only 8 points away from promoting to Elite.

Ironically, his base Mana was only 108.

At present, Strength had outpaced Mana.

He needed to plan carefully next...

Lin Mo thought for a moment. The two newly acquired Epic warrior skills should be raised to level 3 first;

together they would grant 10 base Strength, pushing him over 120.

So other warrior skills should be left alone.

In previous fights he had avoided using skills like Whip Kick and Furious Leap Cleave, which were still far from granting base attribute points, because using them risked failure.

On the mage side, Lin Mo inspected proficiency progress for each skill and decided to prioritize Blazing Fire Spear, a very useful skill that was close to leveling and evolving. He would max this Exceptional-Grade skill to Lv7 first, which would grant 10 base Mana.

After that, he could choose any other skill to get two base Mana.

With a clear plan, the skills to use in future fights were definite.

Lin Mo conjured up a blazing spear and continued to effortlessly slay monsters.

[Blazing Fire Spear] proficiency +35!

[Blazing Fire Spear] proficiency +40!

Forty proficiency equated roughly to level 6, meaning Lord-Level monsters.

That suggested the creature they had just fought was indeed somewhat different from the previous ones.

But to Lin Mo, that difference hardly mattered;

it was still a one-shot kill.

"We're almost there. Ahead is Zone 6 of the Boulder Mine!" Dirk warned.

"Everyone, stay fully alert!"

For most of the team, the monsters potentially present in Zone 6 were very threatening;

a single mistake could lead to injury or even death.

Compared to the previous escort mission through the Blackwater Swamp, one advantage here was that it’s almost impossible to encounter monsters above level 10, reaching Mid-Level Lord-Level power.

Even without Dirk's reminder, these seasoned adventurers wouldn't gamble with their lives.

They gripped their weapons and readied themselves for battle.

The carriage slowed as it neared their objective, the crystallized spider nest.

This task didn't require a complex search;

they had a clear location.

"We're almost there, right up ahead."

Dirk lowered his voice. Using the mana lamp hung at the front of the carriage, everyone saw a pitch-black cavern ahead.

The cave entrance was huge, really huge.

At least ten meters wide and over five meters tall.

They could foresee the interior space would be deep and expansive.

The carriage stopped at the cave mouth.

They dismounted and, with practiced coordination, formed a line, placing Rangers like Hahn and Priests like Finnie within the formation.

Lin Mo was typically used as a frontline Warrior at times like this.

He stood shoulder to shoulder with Dirk at the front, leading the party into the cave.

The interior was pitch dark. Even with vision-type skills, what could be seen was limited in such an environment. Lin Mo snapped his fingers and cast Light for illumination.

He hadn't used that spell often, so at first he misjudged the brightness and nearly blinded everyone with an excessive glow.

Fortunately he quickly reduced his mana output and the Light returned to a normal level.

A damp chill struck them as they entered.

The cold, humid air was unpleasant;

Luke shivered, goosebumps rising across his arms.

Finnie gripped her staff nervously. Thankfully Sherfilia was beside her, helping to ease some of her fear.

"Drip—"

A sudden sound made everyone tense and stop, scanning the surroundings. After a long moment they found nothing unusual.

"Just water droplets."

Dirk reacted belatedly and pointed upward.

"You startled me..."

Luke exhaled shakily, palms slick with sweat.

Dirk wasn't as calm and relaxed as usual.

Although experienced and having completed countless tasks, he rarely encountered this level of oddity.

Lin Mo had already sent out a Shadow Split in advance to scout ahead.

So far, no monsters had appeared.

"Crystallized spiders are an uncommon diurnal species. They tend to go out during the day, especially adults, which also have a need to raise their young. So they usually won't be inside the cave during daylight."

If they did stay inside, the task wouldn't be just "scouting and material collection."

"If things go smoothly, what remains in the nest now should be a few guard crystallized spiders and some juveniles."

Dirk's homework was thorough;

perhaps these details came from stories he'd heard during his adventuring career.

It seemed they were lucky so far and hadn't encountered obstacles along the way.

As they advanced further into the cave, a strange stench grew stronger.

The keen-nosed Ellie had long since frowned.

"Smells awful..."

Luke muttered, "This is ten times worse than a goblin nest!"

Indeed, the scent was so foul it made people physically uncomfortable and nearly gag.

"Crystallized spider droppings have a strong pungent odor, and their secreted mucus has a certain paralyzing effect. That paralysis shows up in their silk..."

Lin Mo knew this.

Crystallized spider silk was remarkable;

like the creatures themselves, it looked crystal-clear and translucent.

The silk had decent magic conductivity and was both soft and tough, not easily damaged. The paralytic side effect could be removed by soaking in special solutions, so it was often used as material for cloth armor or mage robes.

Armor made from this material not only performed well, but also looked dazzlingly shiny and could emit brilliant light in dim places, making it popular among flashy nobles.

Thus the silk had become a premium material and was worth considerably more than ordinary monster materials.

Lin Mo had chosen a risky task.

High reward, theoretically significant danger, but not actually that perilous in practice.

Even if luck turned bad and something went wrong, it was within their capabilities to handle it.

"We're almost there..."

"Look up ahead!"

Luke lowered his voice, excitement and astonishment breaking through despite his attempt at restraint.

In the darkness of the cave, a brilliant colorful glow shimmered faintly.

As they approached, the stench intensified, but the sight before them grew more beautiful.

Beautiful, yes—beautiful.

Countless glowing webs hung on the cave walls, covering the rough stone completely. It felt like stepping into a crystal kingdom.

Moreover, the number of webs was enormous, spreading deeper into the cave with no end in sight.

"So many... judging by the scale, this has to be a medium-to-large crystallized spider nest."

Dirk used a disposable small magical recording device to capture images.

"Alright, hurry up and start collecting the webs. Remember to wear protective gloves, or you'll get paralyzed by the toxins on the silk."

Dirk spoke while carefully slicing a web from the wall with his sword.

"Get to work, get to work..."

The others moved as well. Sherfilia, Hahn, and Lin Mo's Shadow Split remained on guard, continuously monitoring the surroundings.

"We're gonna make bank!"

Luke excitedly cut down more silk. These materials were valuable;

showy nobles would pay handsomely for them. If they brought back a lot, the profits could rival a C-rank mission!