novelraw Chapter 279: Another instance of stealing food and the combination of three skills
Chapter 279: Another instance of stealing food and the combination of three skills
"Sorry, Mr. Lin Mo, I'm so stupid, wuwu..."
To be fair, compared to criticizing the academy instructors a few days ago, Lin Mo had been quite gentle and patient with Finnie.
But this girl Finnie clearly had much thinner skin than those instructors. Whenever she failed to perform according to Lin Mo's guidance, she would immediately apologize with a tearful voice, which in turn left Lin Mo at a loss.
In terms of talent, Finnie's talent was actually quite exaggerated, clearly stronger than all the academy instructors except Flora.
Even Flora couldn't be sure if she could surpass Finnie.
But alas, in front of Lin Mo, the talents of both Flora and Finnie could only be considered as "Lolita" at best.
"It's okay, Finnie, just take your time..."
Lin Mo stroked her head, comforting her.
Finnie nodded, leaning into his embrace, comfortably half-closing her eyes. It took her quite a while before she was willing to get up and continue practicing.
Sherfilia occasionally glanced over here, revealing a satisfied look.It felt like the clumsy child she had raised had finally grown up...
The night gradually deepened, and practice time ended here. After arranging the night watch personnel, everyone rested.
The carriage seemed a bit crowded. Lin Mo used fire element to raise the temperature inside the carriage. Combined with the more enclosed environment compared to a tent, it remained warm even on the cool autumn night.
As for those students, they were much more uncomfortable in comparison.
Although the tents they used were also of relatively high quality, considering portability, they ultimately couldn't be too thick. The sleeping bags or bedding were in a similar situation, which was fine earlier, but as autumn gradually set in, it became somewhat cold.
However, they were all physical-based Professionals, with abundant Qi and Blood. It was cold, but they basically didn't need to worry about getting sick.
The only magic-based Professional, Milun, was also a mage who practiced fire element and had her own ways to keep warm.
The night was as tranquil as water.
In her drowsiness, Finnie groggily opened her eyes, hearing faint, indistinct sounds in her ears.
Was someone eating?
Finnie rubbed her eyes, didn't pay it much mind, and turned over intending to continue sleeping.
This, however, made the midnight snacker notice, and the sound abruptly stopped.
The sudden cessation of sound made Finnie also open her eyes in realization. For a moment, their eyes met.
???
...
Sherfilia's image had collapsed.
At least, in Finnie's heart, it had shattered into pieces.
But Sherfilia didn't mind this at all, stating that she was merely fulfilling her professional duties, and invited Finnie to have a midnight snack together another day.
By the way, while saying these things, she remained expressionless, as if talking about something perfectly natural.
Regardless of Finnie's inner thoughts, as soon as the sky began to brighten slightly, everyone hurriedly got up. With only a few days left until the Hunting Competition, they needed to complete their tasks as quickly as possible to avoid wasting time.
The carriage was left at a nearby post station. After a hurried packing up, the students munched on food brought from the city as they advanced into the forest.
Lin Mo's group, having nothing much to pack, had time to make a few Little Burgers to eat, at least getting something warm.
Actually, with his current Constitution, he could go without eating for several days while adventuring outside, but he was more accustomed to maintaining a three-meals-a-day rhythm. Such days had more of a "life" feel to them.
After entering the Silent Forest, the magical creatures they encountered on the road became much more numerous than yesterday.
Moreover, their strength was also relatively higher. After venturing slightly deeper, they often encountered magical creatures with threat levels 3 or 4.
However, these magical creatures didn't count as formal combat for their team. Even excluding Lin Mo, it was the same for the other students.
The weakest among these students was Level 5, and they could resolve them in a few moves.
Lin Mo conveniently used these magical creatures to grind the proficiency of those low-grade skills.
[Multiple Returning Arrow] Proficiency +20
A student from the Knight Academy, watching Lin Mo steadily catch his shield, clicked his tongue and said, "This knight skill is used more proficiently than by me, a dedicated knight..."
He wasn't wrong. Lin Mo's proficiency in this skill was indeed very high.
Skill proficiency wasn't just a "progress bar"; it genuinely reflected the level of skill application.
The proficiency of the [Multiple Returning Arrow] skill, right after completing its evolution, was directly raised to Level 5. Lin Mo's understanding of this skill was as if suddenly enlightened, directly changing from a beginner's grasp to mastery.
And now, only one last magical creature was needed for this skill to reach max level.
And they had also arrived at the edge of the target location for this mission—Area 37 of the Silent Forest.
"Unlike those clan-based areas, the main magical creature in Area 37, the 'Frostwing Tiger', is a relatively scarce creature that tends to be solitary. So, Area 37 is merely an area where they are densely distributed, not strictly a territory completely belonging to the Frostwing Tiger clan."
This knowledge was something Lin Mo specifically studied on the way here.
The "domains" in the Silent Forest were divided into two types. One was the territory of group-dwelling magical creatures or humanoid creatures like Goblins. This type of domain was a strict territory, basically not allowing foreign magical creatures to enter, and the area was relatively small.
The other type was an "open domain." Their owners were mostly solitary magical creatures with little clan consciousness. The area was more expansive, but the domain's "master" or main magical creature wouldn't prohibit other magical creatures from entering, as long as they didn't enter their own small territory.
"To put it bluntly, for such magical creatures with little clan consciousness, there isn't really a 'regional' division. They only care about the small territory where they live. As for other places, they don't prohibit magical creatures of other races from stepping in. On the contrary, they are happy about it, as it makes their hunting easier."
"That is to say, places like Area 37 have relatively complex ecosystems. It's very likely to encounter other magical creatures within them..."
Halfway through his words, Lin Mo suddenly looked up, gazing ahead.
A wild bull covered in iron armor was charging rapidly towards them. Its body was extremely large, like a small mountain.
"Ironclad Savage Bull."
Lin Mo immediately named it—a lower Lord Level magical creature, not to be underestimated, with levels generally between 8-10.
In the Silent Forest, this could be considered a relatively powerful magical creature, right? To encounter it just like that, who knows if they should call it good luck or bad luck...
Seeing Eve preparing to make a move, Lin Mo hurriedly sped up, stepping out before her.
Simultaneously, all the applicable BUFF skills were applied, even including [Light's Assistance] from Finnie.
The next moment, a dazzling blue light appeared in Lin Mo's hand. His whole body soared into the air. The instant he reached the sky above the Ironclad Savage Bull, his figure plummeted like lightning.
"Boom—!"
A tremendous roar raised clouds of dust. The surrounding space trembled, and leaping electric arcs continuously appeared in the air.
This was the result of Lin Mo's research during this period—not a dual-skill combination, but a triple-skill one!
The foundation was the green excellent-grade [Furious Leap Cleave] as the starter. Mid-air, he adjusted his Qi and Blood flow, changing the ordinary descending slash into [Void-Shaking Fist]. Then, on this basis, he resonated with the Lightning Element, integrating [Lightning Strike] into it.
This formed a combination skill—[Thunderous Descent].
As the dust settled, nearly half of the struck Ironclad Savage Bull's body had directly disappeared, crushed into fragments by the powerful force of this skill.
The group of students behind him now wore somewhat "bewildered" expressions.
What kind of miraculous skill was this again?
They really wanted to go back and ask their instructors; this didn't match the knowledge their instructors taught them at all!
Clearly, the Ironclad Savage Bull was also a not-so-weak magical creature. If it were before, with only their student team, encountering a magical creature of this level, they'd probably have to tangle with it for quite a while to take it down, and even then, they'd mostly rely on big sister Eve's strength.
But now, Lin Mo's skill hitting such a powerful magical creature made them feel like using a cannon to kill a mosquito...
Eve stared at that slowly rising back, her gaze growing increasingly "intense."
This was precisely the strength she yearned for, the true Powerful Expert she dreamed of becoming!
Lin Mo looked at his arm, which still carried faint electric arcs, and smiled with satisfaction.
It seemed his "scientific research" was very successful.
He had disassembled and adjusted the Mana Circuits of [Lightning Strike], making this extremely fast-casting skill's circuits not limited to the skill itself but extending to Lin Mo's body. Utilizing the explosive power the moment [Lightning Strike] was released, combined with Lin Mo's own extreme speed, he turned the originally stiff and foolish movements of [Furious Leap Cleave] into a form of deception for the enemy. Then, at the critical moment, he struck like lightning, making it impossible for the enemy to react before being hit.
Commonly known as "fast-slow blade."
This combination could be noted down for frequent future use.
[Furious Leap Cleave] Proficiency +70
[Void-Shaking Fist] Proficiency +70
[Lightning Strike] Proficiency +70
Immediately after, three proficiency prompts appeared in succession before his eyes. Two of the skills directly leveled up.
"Skill [Furious Leap Cleave] Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"
"Current skill [Furious Leap Cleave] Lv5 (55/180)"
"Skill [Void-Shaking Fist] Lv3 (80/80) leveled up!"
"Current skill [Void-Shaking Fist] Lv4 (0/200)"
In addition, the proficiency of those BUFF-type skills used earlier also increased somewhat.
So satisfying!
This leveling efficiency was much higher than before.
It's just that the difficulty of multi-skill combinations was indeed higher. Dual skills were okay, but triple skills often had compatibility issues, requiring many adjustments to the original skills. This combination was one of the few successful concepts Lin Mo had managed to operate, also because both [Furious Leap Cleave] and [Lightning Strike] were only green excellent-grade skills, so the difficulty was relatively lower.
Of course, the consumption of such combination skills was also relatively high. Although it wasn't the direct sum of three skills, saving a portion, it was still quite wasteful.
When dealing with those low-level magical creatures, there was no need to use it.
Lin Mo glanced at [Lightning Strike], the only one that hadn't leveled up just now. Its current proficiency progress was (168/180), only one step away from leveling up.
Then he might as well level it up directly first, obtaining a useful Lightning Element magic.
He wasn't disappointed. Not long after, they encountered another magical creature with threat level 5, observing them from afar.
Lin Mo immediately cast a Lightning Strike at it. The blue lightning quickly engulfed it. The magical creature's body stiffened and then fell to the ground.
[Lightning Strike] Proficiency +30
"Skill [Lightning Strike] Lv5 (180/180) leveled up!"
"Current skill [Lightning Strike] Lv6 (Max)"
"Gained basic attribute point Mana +3!"
"Automatically evolved into new skill—Furious Thunder Spear!"
"Comprehended skill [Furious Thunder Spear]! Gained basic attribute point Mana +3!"
[Furious Thunder Spear] Lv1 (0/10): Consumes Mana to resonate with the Lightning Element, forming a powerful Furious Thunder Spear, dealing damage to the enemy and applying a "Paralysis" effect.
This was a relatively standard blue Exceptional-Grade skill. Its overall form was very similar to a same-level Fire Element skill Lin Mo had before, [Blazing Fire Spear].
Including the evolution routes, they were also very similar.
Please choose evolution direction—
Evolution Route 1: Thunderclap I: The "Paralysis" effect applied after Furious Thunder Spear hits is increased by 30%!
Evolution Route 2: Swiftness I: The travel speed of Furious Thunder Spear is additionally increased by 20%.
Lin Mo pondered for a moment and chose Evolution Route 2.
Fast projectile speed was a major advantage of Lightning Element skills, a benefit brought by the Lightning Element's inherent characteristics.
With damage close to Fire Element while having extremely fast speed, the strength of Lightning Element undoubtedly ranked at the forefront among all common elements.
Lin Mo also liked this characteristic of the Lightning Element, so naturally, he chose to continue strengthening its advantages.
"Look over there... at the entrance of that cave!"
"It seems to be Blood Orchid Grass, and quite a lot of it..."
After carefully observing the surroundings and confirming there were no traps or magical creatures, everyone hurried over and examined it closely.
"It really is Blood Orchid Grass, a full 23 plants, directly meeting the task quantity!"
Milun, however, looked up and surveyed the cave before them, somewhat worried.
"This place seems a bit like a magical creature's lair."
Even without processing, this herb had certain healing effects. Many herbs were like this, possessing functionality themselves, so they were often guarded by magical creatures.
Ellie sniffed the air's scent. "Don't worry, it's the scent of that guy Lin Mo just killed."
"So that's it..."
Only then did Milun breathe a sigh of relief, then remembered the scene when Lin Mo instantly killed that Ironclad Savage Bull earlier, feeling complex emotions for a moment.
They collected these Blood Orchid Grass, carefully wrapped them up, and placed them into the Spatial Ring.
This way, only 20 Blue Glow Flowers, 40 Blue Moon Cherries, and 1 Purple Moon Cherry remained to be collected.
The one issuing this task was the Noren Trading Company. These medicinal materials were probably used to concoct alchemical potions.
Lin Mo had a very good impression of this mysterious trading company. After all, their items were cost-effective, the variety was complete, the decoration and service attitude were good—basically a shop with few shortcomings.
Lin Mo was also somewhat curious about the owner of this shop.
Being able to openly seize the Morin Family's market share and making that arrogant Duke Morin not dare utter a single complaint—this wasn't something an ordinary background could achieve.
Of course, curiosity aside, Lin Mo wasn't the type who liked to show off, nor did he have the desire to actively contact such important figures.
Improving his own strength, empowering himself, and living a good life were his goals.
Blue Moon Cherry was a plant that only bloomed at night, so there was no rush for now. Blue Glow Flowers were mostly distributed in caves or shady areas, with clear growth habits, making them relatively easy-to-find plants.
Soon, they smoothly found a distribution site for Blue Glow Flowers.
"11, 12, 13... not enough, still short by 7 plants."
"There's still plenty of time, we can look some more."
Lin Mo looked at the sky. It was just past noon, still a long time until dark.
But from then on, the task didn't seem to go so smoothly.
After searching for several hours, encountering many magical creatures, they still couldn't find a single Blue Glow Flower. They did come across the remnants of roots and stems ruined by magical creatures a few times.
"No helping it, finding herbs is something that heavily relies on luck."
A male student said helplessly.
"It'll be dark again soon... by then, the Frostwing Tigers should also come out to move around."
That's right, Frostwing Tiger was a nocturnal magical creature.
"Let's rest a bit. It seems we'll have to work overtime tonight."
Everyone found a secluded corner to rest briefly and adjust their condition.
Night quickly fell.
Lin Mo extinguished the bonfire and stood up. "It's about time."
They were going to move under the cover of night.
In the vast majority of cases, adventurers would try their best to avoid moving at night. Even if the task's target was to eliminate some nocturnal magical creatures, they preferred to search for their habitats during the day.
After all, although these magical creatures were easier to find at night, dealing with them was also more difficult.
Humans with poor night vision were naturally at a disadvantage at night. Not being able to see clearly made both fighting and walking extremely challenging.
But this time, there really was no other way.
Blue Moon Cherry was a plant that only bloomed under moonlight. Once daytime arrived and the sun rose, it would quickly wither and wither. Moreover, its roots and withered flowers were no different from ordinary grass and flowers, making them hard to identify in autumn when vegetation generally withered.
And this flower just happened to only bloom in autumn...
Plus, the "Frostwing Tiger" also appeared at night, so they could only act at night.
Compared to daytime, the team at night stayed closer together.
The magic-based Professionals, Milun and Finnie, were surrounded in the center. Beside them were students from the Ranger Academy. The periphery consisted of Warriors and Knights.
Everyone advanced cautiously, but they weren't walking blindly in the dark either.
Blue Moon Cherry bloomed facing the moon, so it would appear in some open, high places. During the day, they had recorded many such locations and could check them one by one.
......
"Not here either, this is already the fourth location, right?"
"This thing is really hard to find..."
"But they are relatively dense. Once found, you can basically complete the task in one go."
"Maybe we can even find a Purple Moon Cherry along the way..."
"Shh—"
Ellie's sudden sound interrupted everyone's quiet conversation.
"There's the scent of a magical creature."
In the darkness, Ellie's keen sense of smell could play a bigger role than during the day.
"This way!"
Ellie walked in a direction. Eve, using Lin Mo's [Light] spell, looked at the map in her hand. About ten kilometers in this direction was precisely a point they had marked during the day.
Valuable plants were often occupied by magical creatures guarding the territory.
Could it be?
Everyone quickly followed Ellie's footsteps, moving forward. When they were about to reach the recorded location, they all tacitly slowed their pace. Lin Mo also withdrew his [Light] spell.
In the darkness, only their faint breathing and footsteps remained.
Gradually, not just Ellie, even they could smell that scent coming from the magical creature, along with a faint bloody smell.
Injured?
No wonder...
Normally, the magical creature should have long ago smelled their scent and become alert. The reason for treading lightly was only to prevent the other party from determining their position immediately.
But even so, at this distance, under normal circumstances, it should have attacked long ago.
Lin Mo looked ahead. With the enhancement of the [Eagle Eye] skill, he could vaguely see a huge figure crouching on the hillside ahead.
"Grrr—!"
A warning growl came from its mouth. Clearly, due to its injury, it didn't want to provoke these humans of unknown origin and uncertain strength, so it was trying to drive them away.
But its warning was obviously ineffective.
The Ranger in the team also had the [Eagle Eye] skill and confirmed the other party's identity. "It's a Frostwing Tiger!"
And also...
Lin Mo continued looking further into the distance. At the top of the hillside, he could vaguely see a small flower field.
The clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and moonlight spilled down, shining on the hillside. Dazzling blue light then shimmered brilliantly.
"Blue Moon Cherry!"
"And purple! It's Purple Moon Cherry!"
Everyone immediately became excited and no longer concealed themselves, walking out openly, advancing towards the injured Frostwing Tiger.
"Roar—!"
The Frostwing Tiger sensed their offensive intent and immediately stood up, roaring angrily.
Clearly, this was the final warning.
However, the humans before it obviously had no intention of fearing it. A golden-haired girl took the lead, attacking towards them.
The Frostwing Tiger supported its injured body, swinging a palm the size of a millstone, slapping towards the other party.
Eve's gaze remained locked on the other party's movements. The moment it struck, she had already accurately judged the trajectory of its force, narrowly dodging this claw by a hair's breadth. Simultaneously, the sharp blade in her hand had already plunged into the Frostwing Tiger's chest.
She didn't choose to leap up and attack its vital neck; that was too dangerous.
As an agility-type Warrior, Eve's frontal confrontation ability wasn't actually strong. If she risked an attack and was hit by the Frostwing Tiger, it wouldn't be a joke.
But this conservative fighting style also inevitably made it difficult to quickly inflict serious damage on the Frostwing Tiger before her.
Behind her, the team's Ranger's arrows were already shot, aiming directly at the Frostwing Tiger's eyes.
Finnie's [Light's Assistance] had long been applied, along with [Light Shield], making Eve's body carry a faint golden glow.
The Frostwing Tiger dodged the Ranger's arrow but also gave Eve an opportunity. The golden-haired girl used the Frostwing Tiger's arm that knocked down the arrow as a stepping stone. While disrupting the other's balance, she performed a backflip, landing on the Frostwing Tiger's back.
[Falling Star Sword Descent]!
The next moment, with Qi and Blood enhancement, the sharp sword tip pierced into its neck. Eve seemed to treat the Frostwing Tiger's back as a slide, sliding down, the blade in her hand leaving a wound several meters long on its body!
It was like drawing a "shrimp line" on the Frostwing Tiger.
After reaching Level 10, Eve's strength had clearly increased significantly. Facing this Level 11 Frostwing Tiger before her, she actually performed so excellently.
But, after all, Swift Warriors were somewhat inferior to strength-type Warriors in terms of output.
This wound looked scary, but for the large-bodied Frostwing Tiger, although serious, it couldn't be considered a fatal wound yet. The sword that pierced its neck just now only went in less than one-third of its depth.
The next moment, the Frostwing Tiger quickly turned around, its huge tiger paw striking again...