Chapter 4: Striptease
2015-01-14
Author: Floating Tower
(How did you all know I overslept today…囧… Second update.)
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Outside the Ocean Temple.
Soren’s figure emerged from the darkness, with a mark now in his palm. This was given to him by the Naga Sea Monster before he left. It is an extraordinary item with special effects, and it is also a tool for commanding the pirates controlled by the temple to assist him. This is a hidden special mark, which has no characteristics of the Ocean Temple, merely inscribed with a few jellyfish-like runes. Before leaving, the Naga had bent down to kiss Soren’s forehead, softly murmuring a passage in the language of the ocean.
This is a blessing ritual.
Not a blessing like that of the Goddess of Misfortune, but a weaker version of a temporary blessing.
It is said that being kissed on the forehead by a priestess of the Ocean Goddess makes it possible for you to avoid attacks from fierce sea monsters after entering the ocean.
Such blessings offer no attribute bonuses, only formal blessings from the Ocean Goddess do.
That kind of divine blessing is true protection, ensuring that you won’t encounter violent storms at sea. Even if you do, the ocean will lift your ship, protecting you and your servants, and the ocean giants will stay away from you, ignoring you, and will never主动攻击你. Even to a certain extent, after meeting certain conditions, you can command those ocean giants in the name of the Ocean Goddess. Currently, one of the three Pirate Kings of the Soros Archipelago has the ability to command sea monsters.
If the Naga Sea Monster hadn’t kissed Soren, he would immediately be attacked by the giant octopus raised in the pond outside if he jumped in. But now, if he jumps in, the giant octopus will just ignore him, and in the future, if he encounters sharks or sea monsters, these ocean creatures might also ignore him. This is the blessing bestowed by the Ocean Priestess. Generally, such blessings can only be gained through the offering of divine sacrifices or after donating a significant amount of wealth.
This is a temporary enhancement, lasting about a week!
The mark Soren obtained is special; it is an extraordinary item with a permanent constant spell, which almost does not enhance combat power but is occasionally a very useful item.
“Item Type: Mark of the Non [Defective Item]
Item Level: [Second Tier Extraordinary Item]
Item Description: This is a special mark accessory permanently inscribed with the [Underwater Breathing] spell by the priestess of the Ocean Goddess. When wearing this equipment, no creature will die from drowning, and it also has a special ability that helps the wearer access deeper waters while reducing the effects of deep-sea regions on the wearer. This mark seems to be just a part of an item and is evidently part of some equipment.
Equipment Requirement: None.
Equipment Effect: Permanent constant [Underwater Breathing] spell. The wearer can breathe in any water environment.
Special Effect: Deep Sea Area Resistance +2, Diving Ability Increased. Resistance Against Special Ocean Environments +2.”
………………
In the shadows of the night.
Soren furrowed his brows, fiddling with the Mark of the Non, unsure why he felt an odd familiarity with the pattern on it, as if he had seen it somewhere before. Anything that leaves a strong impression on him is not simple, especially items near ocean areas, as high-tier legendary items have appeared near the Soros Archipelago in his memories. He just doesn’t know if the mark in his hand is related to that item; it is clearly part of something, and without other parts, Soren cannot determine its identity.
If it truly is part of that item, then it is worth the risk to try.
Because that item’s power is almost comparable to an artifact, and it can summon a legendary-level deep-sea monster at crucial moments.
That thing is simply unearthly at sea!
To exaggerate, it could single-handedly take down a Pirate King’s naval fleet.
In a complete state, Soren seemed very energetic, even without a hint of sleepiness. Therefore, he didn’t rush back to the inn but instead tested his abilities a little. His fingers pinched a Gind, which rolled continuously on his fingertips with astonishing speed, eventually becoming nearly a blur. When he clenched his palm, the Gind vanished and then reappeared from his other hand.
It had already surpassed the capture limit of the retina!
Even Soren couldn’t see his own small and speedy movements. His dexterity now was comparable to the top magicians of his previous life.
This is just part of the legendary skill, Universal Skillful Hand.
The tests certainly don’t stop there.
Soren still couldn’t test Universal Skillful Hand’s application on any equipment. So he could only try to see how much it improved his thief skills after recovering his abilities. Theoretically, under the effect of Universal Skillful Hand, even if his stealing skills aren’t very high, it’s possible to reach abilities similar to that of a master thief, because his dexterity is simply too high. The flexibility it provides is more impressive than skill points.
“It seems I have regained the skills for using daggers as well.”
Soren’s palm dagger traced shadows and then disappeared into his black silk gloves. His best weapon is the curved blade, but that is a combat weapon. Soren’s second best weapon is the dagger, not only in combat but also for many other uses. For example, in the current moment, two patrolling guards walked past him, and a glint of cold light flickered in his hand. His fingers turned into shadows in an instant, and then they nonchalantly brushed past each other.
Fifty meters apart.
A coin pouch appeared in Soren’s palm; he weighed it lightly and then put it away.
The patrolling guards continued moving forward, completely unaware of when someone cut the lining beneath their clothes, nor when someone deftly stole the pouch from their waistband. Their outer leather armor remained intact; only the lining near the pouch was cut. If he hadn’t suddenly recalled something, or if someone else hadn’t reminded him, he probably wouldn’t realize he had been robbed until after completing his patrol.
“Indeed, stealing as a profession requires Universal Skillful Hand to be effective.”
What Soren cares about isn’t the little amount of money nor the ability boost Universal Skillful Hand provides for stealing; the patrolling guards are nearly second-tier professionists. Just now, he was able to silently slice open an opening in the other person’s clothing. If Soren had wanted, he could have silently and instantly pierced the other’s kidney with a dagger, causing them to bleed profusely and then die shortly after from a rapid loss of vitality.
He wouldn’t even need to stealth!
He could directly injure or even kill the target before the other person could react.
This is the advantage of preemptive strikes.
Although there are no concrete data showing this, the 5-point preemptive bonus brought by Universal Skillful Hand seems to exist, as Soren’s speed when striking is far greater than others. Among all melee professionists, wanderers are the fastest in action, and even monks cannot surpass this; monks excel at short bursts of continuous techniques.
Soren returned to the inn.
The time was already late, but there were still many people in the front hall of the inn.
When Soren pushed the door open, several Amazon women, who appeared to have been drinking quite a bit, looked up. Among them was a robust woman who seemed to be the one who fought in the tavern during the day. She appeared to be recounting with a mocking tone how she had knocked those men down, leaving them all disheveled. The woman spoke in the Amazon dialect, which Soren could barely understand, only guessing the meaning from a few vague words.
One of the women was the executioner who had teased Soren today, and she had changed into a new outfit.
She was wearing a battle group-like attire, but without the outer iron armor. Inside was a leather shirt, revealing half of her full breasts. Amazon women are generally strong, embodying wildness; their breasts do not have the softness of other women, but are firm and elastic. This group of women almost had each muscle developed, not to the point of bodybuilder exaggeration, but definitely stronger than the arms of ordinary men.
The average strength of Amazon women can reach about 14-16 points.
This means that, despite their muscles not being overly exaggerated, most of these women have good bloodlines. Their strength is often quite considerably higher than Soren’s.
Upon seeing Soren, the corners of her mouth curled into a playful smile, and then she said something to the other women in the Amazon dialect. Soren didn’t understand what she said; anyway, the other women immediately burst into laughter for a while. Then they swept their eyes over Soren with mocking and curious gazes, with many women particularly staring at his lower body, whispering something with a teasing smile, followed by another round of inexplicable laughter.
Soren couldn’t help but frown.
The attitude of the others slightly displeased him— even female Drow know to respect powerful males; the Amazon women in front of him were too presumptuous.
He needed to showcase some of his strength, or else they’d think of him as an easy target!
A cold smile hung on Soren’s lips as he slowly walked in front of the executioner woman and looked into her slightly drunken eyes, saying slowly, “Interested in performing a magic trick with me?”
The woman with dark red hair stood up with great interest, seemingly unafraid of Soren. “Sure! Are you still a bard? Hehe! Can you sing? Want to give me a song?”
Soren didn’t speak.
As the woman stood up in front of him, he suddenly squinted his eyes, and his fingertips glided with a cold light, followed by several shadows. When Soren withdrew his finger and turned to leave, what remained were a group of astonished Amazon female warriors, as well as a woman completely nude, her expression showing confusion as if she had just sobered up. She had indeed been stripped clean, and the floor around her was scattered with clothes.
They didn’t even realize their companion had been stripped bare so swiftly before their eyes.
Soren calmly walked to the staircase and then, as if he remembered something, turned back and said, “Oh! By the way, this magic trick is called striptease.”
Having said that, he left calmly.
Only the group of Amazon female warriors remained, still in shock.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
