Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 290: Comprehending Skill: Iaido Flash

The Molten Rock Fire Lion is a type of demonic beast that is quite easy to locate, especially during the autumn and winter seasons. The areas where they are active... have very distinct characteristics.

In a certain part of Area 33 of the Silent Forest, a miraculous scene unfolded.

It was clearly deep autumn, a time when plants and trees should be withering, and the forests seen previously were indeed mostly yellowed and bare. Yet, this small patch of land before them was completely different. The trees here were not only not withered, but were thriving, as if it were early spring.

This was obviously not a normal phenomenon, but one caused by some external force.

That's right, it was precisely due to the presence of the master of this territory, the Molten Rock Fire Lion.

This type of demonic beast has an extremely high body temperature, and its fur and excrement continuously retain and emit this scorching heat. Therefore, in areas frequently roamed by such beasts, the temperature becomes noticeably higher, and plants and trees naturally remain evergreen as a result.

It seemed they had come to the right place.

Lin Mo looked to his side and, sure enough, a grave expression had appeared on Ellie's face as she kept sniffing the air.

This time, it wasn't just her; even Lin Mo and the others faintly caught a whiff of a subtle, elusive scent.

"That thing... it's heading this way!" Ellie sensed something and immediately spoke up to warn them.

Everyone's expressions instantly turned serious as they entered combat readiness.

Before the opponent arrived, Lin Mo had ample time to cast buffing skills on everyone.

Of course, it wasn't just him; Finnie's skills were also applied. For a moment, every member of the small team was covered in various buffs.

Just as they finished all their preparations, a furious roar echoed from the forest not far away.

Solitary demonic beasts like the Molten Rock Fire Lion often have a very strong sense of territoriality.

Once they discover creatures daring to invade their territory and challenge their authority, they will spare no effort in hunting them down.

From the earlier roar, one could tell this guy was already in a towering rage.

Dense, heavy footsteps sounded nearby. The Molten Rock Fire Lion was not a demonic beast adept at concealing its form. When hunting, it never hid or skulked, but always attacked head-on, overwhelming opponents with pure numerical superiority.

Soon, a colossal creature, standing over 5 meters tall with a very robust build, appeared before them.

Thick limbs, sharp claws and fangs, hot breath exhaled from its mouth rising like swirling smoke.

Its deep crimson mane fluttered in the wind like dancing flames.

One had to admit, this demonic beast looked quite impressive.

Lin Mo observed his opponent with interest. According to the bestiary records, this type of demonic beast wasn't actually very high-level, as it was still a creature from the outer regions of the Silent Forest. Upon reaching adulthood, their level generally hovered around 10.

However, the Molten Rock Fire Lion was much stronger than ordinary demonic beasts of the same level.

The threat level designation for demonic beasts refers to the conventional situation where a team of Professionals of the corresponding level is needed to subdue them.

But when facing a demonic beast with exceptionally powerful individual combat strength, it would likely require at least two, or even more, Professionals of the same level to defeat it.

Even those geniuses who had reached Level 10 and were participating in this Hunting Competition would probably find this demonic beast quite a headache to deal with, right?

Lin Mo made a quick comparison. With Eve's strength, and with the help of her other team members, it would still take her a long time to kill this beast, and she would definitely get injured.

If she had no help and fought it solo, the result would most likely be a narrow victory, and she would likely be severely wounded as a consequence.

And that was the performance of a top-tier genius of the Kingdom. If an average Level 10 Professional came with their own adventuring party, the result would probably be a total wipe.

This was actually a pretty good practice target...

Lin Mo thought to himself, abandoning the idea of killing it quickly.

During this period, Ellie and the others had improved their strength considerably and had gained some practical combat experience, but they were still relatively lacking in experience facing such powerful demonic beasts.

After all, in the past, Lin Mo would usually just step in and resolve things directly.

Always doing things that way wasn't ideal either. It would be good to use this guy to test them and give them a chance to gain experience.

He shared this idea with everyone. Ellie's face immediately lit up with delight as she agreed.

Actually, she quite enjoyed combat, especially facing powerful opponents. But ever since meeting Lin Mo, she rarely had such opportunities.

Sherfilia nodded, her expression seemingly calm, but her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

Finnie tightly gripped her staff. "Mr. Lin Mo, we will defeat it!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her staff, and a Light Orb flew towards the Molten Rock Fire Lion.

The Priest class didn't have many offensive methods, and Finnie hadn't learned many either. She only knew the simplest offensive magic like [Light Orb].

A very human-like look of contempt appeared on the Molten Rock Fire Lion's face. Finnie's attack instantly lowered its estimation of these humans. Its originally somewhat cautious attitude immediately became casual.

It casually swatted the light orb away. Just as it was about to mock them, a chill suddenly assaulted it from the side.

Sherfilia's figure was like a ghost, flashing past its side. In the next moment, blood sprayed into the air, leaving a deep wound on the Molten Rock Fire Lion's back.

Sherfilia hadn't reached Level 9 yet, so theoretically, she was a full 2 levels lower than the demonic beast before her.

But under the enhancement of Finnie and Lin Mo's buffing skills, her current attributes had already reached the standard of Level 10!

Just Lin Mo's single [Attribute Enhancement] increased her Strength, Agility, and Constitution by a full 25 points each. Combined with Finnie's skills, her Agility attribute was even higher than that of an average Level 10 Assassin. As for Strength and Constitution, that went without saying.

The Molten Rock Fire Lion was suddenly wounded, still somewhat bewildered. At this moment, Ellie had already made her move, sending a massive ice-blue Sword Energy flying straight towards the opponent's head.

Previously, Lin Mo had already learned Ellie's [Frost Slash] skill through the [Shared Cultivation] skill and used it as a medium to discover the method of combining Mana and Qi and Blood.

After officially becoming a Spellsword, although he no longer needed to use basic combination forms like [Frost Slash], the [Shared Cultivation] process could still help Ellie increase the proficiency of this move.

Now, Ellie had completely maxed out this skill, reaching a masterful level. Its power was also much greater than before.

However, the Molten Rock Fire Lion was, after all, a very powerful demonic beast. Once it regained its senses, it wouldn't just wait to be killed. It roared, and at the same time, spewed scorching flames from its mouth, engulfing the ice-blue Sword Energy.

The two forces canceled each other out, and a wave of hot air blew towards them, making it hard to keep their eyes open.

Ellie leaped sideways, dodging the Molten Rock Fire Lion's massive palm.

The foot, over half a meter wide, instantly left a large crater in the ground. As the Molten Rock Fire Lion lifted its arm, the crater glowed a deep red, leaving behind a pool of flowing molten rock.

If someone got hit by that... it would probably hurt quite a bit.

Of course, if they actually messed up, it would likely just be a minor injury.

After all, Ellie's base Constitution attribute wasn't low anymore. Combined with all sorts of BUFF enhancements, and the protection of Lin Mo's [Unyielding Body] and Finnie's [Light Protection]...

And if she did get injured, there were two healers waiting to cast healing on her.

With such a luxurious setup, it was enough for a Warrior not even at Level 8 to engage this monster head-on!

Sherfilia's rich combat experience allowed her to remain completely at ease now. No matter how the Molten Rock Fire Lion attacked, she could always dodge with extreme efficiency and minimal movement, reducing her stamina consumption while also reserving more space to launch quick counterattacks.

Ellie was much weaker in technique, but it was still sufficient to allow her to hold her own against the opponent.

The equipment skill [Call of Blood] on her Epic-grade equipment, the "Blood Tiger Hide Boots," had long been activated, further enhancing Ellie's Strength attribute. She fought more and more courageously, like a Berserker, constantly launching attacks.

Her speed wasn't as fast as Sherfilia's, so of course, there were times when she couldn't dodge the opponent's attacks. But Ellie showed no fear, swinging her Steel-Cleaving Sword to clash head-on with the beast.

Greatsword met sharp claws. Ellie was knocked back, sliding several meters on the ground, but she quickly regained her balance and launched another attack.

The battle had entered a white-hot stage.

The Molten Rock Fire Lion had long lost its initial air of ease. It roared incessantly, its body already covered in wounds.

Although none were serious injuries, as they accumulated, they had already begun to cause a noticeable decline in its condition.

Of course, correspondingly, Ellie and Sherfilia weren't unharmed either. Sherfilia had been accidentally scorched by the beast's flames, and Ellie had been wounded more than once.

But the problem was, there were two "healers" constantly watching from the side. Often, the moment they were injured, a Healing Art would arrive, not even affecting their movement. The pain would just start, and the wound would already be healed. It was like fighting while carrying a mobile fountain.

Lin Mo, who had been observing from the sidelines for a while, could roughly draw a conclusion.

Under the numerous BUFF enhancements, both Ellie and Sherfilia could already perform at the level of Level 10 Professionals, even stronger and more well-rounded than average Level 10 Professionals. Especially Sherfilia; she felt like she could already be compared to those top-ranking geniuses.

Of course, compared to Eve, she was still weaker...

But the two of them together could definitely handle Eve.

As Lin Mo was pondering this, the Molten Rock Fire Lion had finally had enough.

These two humans were already troublesome. When it finally managed to seize an opportunity to inflict damage, it was always instantly healed. How was it supposed to fight like this?

Therefore, it very cleverly shifted its focus to the other two humans standing a bit further ahead.

It saw very clearly that those healing magics were being cast by those two!

So, enduring the injuries, it recklessly took hits from Ellie and Sherfilia, roaring as it charged towards them.

Lin Mo was momentarily stunned. Watching the massive figure closing in on him, a look of confusion briefly flashed in his eyes.

Is this thing's target... me?

I'm being treated as the soft persimmon to be squeezed...

Lin Mo shook his head with a very helpless, bitter smile and placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

But, this is actually perfect...

In the next moment, his figure moved. A dazzling flash of blue light streaked by. A bitingly cold wind instantly cooled the originally scorching temperature around them.

"Hoo—"

Lin Mo gently exhaled a breath of turbid air, landed, and sheathed his sword, all in one smooth motion.

The Molten Rock Fire Lion's head subsequently rolled onto the ground, its massive body collapsing with a thunderous crash.

The cut surface on its neck was extremely smooth. A layer of frost sealed the wound, not a single drop of blood seeping out.

Wispy white smoke lingered in the air.

Clean, decisive, swift as lightning.

Sherfilia looked at that figure, her calm eyes filled with obvious pride.

This was the Master she had watched grow with her own eyes, accompanying him every step of the way.

"Congratulations on comprehending the skill [Iaido Flash]. Basic attributes gained: Strength +1, Agility +2."

That's right. That move just now was a skill Lin Mo had figured out on his own.

Actually, he had been thinking about it recently. As his strength increased, many of his Warrior skills had evolved into "Sword Energy" type attacks. While there was nothing wrong with that—long range, great power—it still lacked some of the charm of close-quarters combat.

So, based on some settings from movies and anime in his memory, he had figured out this move himself.

A blue, Exceptional-Grade skill.

This skill leaned towards the agile type, essentially an agile-type Warrior skill.

Of course, Lin Mo's attributes were very well-rounded, so he didn't have to worry about incompatibility.

And, as expected, this skill could also be enhanced through various elements.

For example, just now, Lin Mo simply infused it with Ice Element Mana. The slash then carried powerful frost energy and also gained a very cool "blue light special effect."

In terms of pure strength, this was actually just a slightly stronger Exceptional-Grade skill, not comparable to Lin Mo's current Epic-grade skills. But Lin Mo was very satisfied with the form of this skill.

After all, looking cool is a lifelong pursuit.

[Iaido Flash] proficiency +90.

The proficiency from this demonic beast seemed to be a bit more than from ordinary Level 10 demonic beasts.

90 points of proficiency directly raised this newly comprehended skill to Level 4.

"Skill [Iaido Flash] Lv3 (40/40) has leveled up!"

"Current skill [Iaido Flash] Lv4 (20/100)"

"Gained basic attribute points: Strength +1, Agility +2!"

By the way, this skill naturally also had "Evolution Direction" choices.

Please select evolution direction—

Evolution Route 1: Iaido I: Skill activation and movement speed increased by 20%.

Evolution Route 2: Flash I: Skill power increased by 20%.

Simple and straightforward enhancement directions, essentially the Proficiency Panel's further strengthening of this self-created skill. Both were very useful, nothing much to say. Just choose one of each.

Comprehending and leveling up the skill just now increased Lin Mo's base Strength attribute by another 2 points and his base Agility by another 4 points. At this moment, his base Agility attribute had just reached 100 points, meeting the requirement for Level 10.

"Promotion conditions met. Profession Assassin (Lv9) promoted — Current profession Assassin (Lv10)."