Chapter 57: [Scholar]! (5000-word chapter)
After raising the level of the Shadow profession, Soren still had more than sixty thousand points of Killing Experience.
He spent all of this Killing Experience on his Wizard profession level in one go, preparing to gain another attribute point. This would be the last attribute point he could acquire in advance. From profession level 9 onwards, the Killing Experience required to increase the Wizard’s power begins to increase exponentially, and once the profession level reaches 15, the Killing Experience required to advance the Wizard’s profession is higher than any other professionist. Unless Soren can successfully slay a god, the speed of accumulating Killing Experience will be far from sufficient in the future.
“The Wizard profession has been raised to level 8.”
“Gained 25 (Intelligence 20 + (Intelligence 20 – 10) * 0.5) points of skill points, life points increased by 10 (profession life 4 points + (Constitution 21 – 10) * 0.5).”
“Gained one free attribute point.”
………………
“The Wizard profession has been raised to level 9.”
“Gained 25 (Intelligence 20 + (Intelligence 20 – 10) * 0.5) points of skill points, life points increased by 10 (profession life 4 points + (Constitution 21 – 10) * 0.5).”
“Gained one specialty point.”
………………
One attribute point every two levels, one specialty point every three levels.
Soren undoubtedly allocated the free attribute point to agility, pushing his agility value to 24 points, and then placed the gained specialty on Advanced [Enhanced Dual Wielding]. Although Soren really wanted to use this specialty point to master the Wizard’s Super Magic specialty, after some thought, he still felt it was better to invest it in combat specialties. The Wizard’s combat power is formidable, but it is an extremely time-consuming, money-consuming, and energy-consuming profession. Soren did not have enough time to learn spells, conduct research, or hone his casting skills, so he prioritized his combat in the area he was most familiar with—the Wanderer field.
The Wizard’s spells are merely an aid to his combat abilities!
“Advanced Dual Wielding [Personal Specialty]: As your combat experience grows, your dual-wielding combat skills become more proficient. You have become a master of dual-wielding combat; even in the Underdark, there are few who are better than you. Among a thousand dual-wielding fighters, you rank first. You have mastered and comprehended the advanced skills of dual-wielding combat, which allows you to perform dual-wielding combat without any error penalties. [Attack count per round +3, no hit penalty. Agility 18 points.]”
Finally obtained [Advanced Dual Wielding].
Soren looked around and then walked to the edge of the ship. He held two curved blades in his hands and lifted a wooden plank.
Clang!
Blades flashed like cold light.
Soren drew both curved blades at the same time, and the wooden plank was enveloped in a flurry of blade light. By the time Soren completed one round of attacks and sheathed his blades, the plank had turned into twelve broken wooden pieces. They fell to the ground with a thud. He had just made a total of 8 cuts, with 5 from the right hand and only 3 from the left hand. Since he hadn’t mastered the [Legendary Dual Wielding] combat specialty, Soren couldn’t perfectly replicate the attack speed of using both hands, so his current limit was just that.
Currently, his accumulation of specialties was still insufficient. At his peak, Soren could deliver 18 cuts in one round. [Note: One round refers to the speed of strikes within one second; in actual combat, it may not be possible to maintain such speed. Interested individuals can try with a small kn*fe; an average person can achieve two to three cuts in a second, but going beyond that becomes very difficult.]
………………
After allocating the free attribute points and specialty points, Soren turned his attention to the skill points. After holding back for so long, he finally met the conditions to master the background specialty [Scholar] today.
Heaven opened its eyes!
After persevering for so long, he finally reached a breakthrough. To meet the conditions for mastering the Scholar, he hadn’t invested skill points into his main Wanderer skills and had only relied on gradual improvements from combat. The speed of improvement was genuinely quite slow. Soren’s main skills as a Wanderer hadn’t even reached 50 points yet. If it weren’t for the need to master the background specialty [Scholar], he would have likely raised all his main skills to over 100 points by now.
With the skill point allocation, Soren’s knowledge finally reached 250 points.
A line of data accordingly appeared:
“Special conditions triggered!…”
“Prerequisite specialty [Photographic Memory] achieved!… Prerequisite knowledge 250 points achieved!…”
“You automatically gain a new background specialty [Scholar]!…”
………………
As soon as the data prompt appeared, Soren couldn’t wait to check his new background specialty.
“Scholar [Background Specialty]: Your knowledge has become increasingly impressive, allowing you to understand nearly any field. As your knowledge accumulates, you can make connections across most topics, and your learning speed is several times faster than others. This is not limited to knowledge, but also extends to various combat techniques. You understand how to calculate the weight axis of weapons, how to calculate the time gaps in casting spells, and thereby maximize their power. However, what you understand is not limited to just this; the accumulation of knowledge at your current level can directly translate into true power! [Knowledge +10]”
(Prerequisites: Own [Photographic Memory] specialty, Knowledge 250 points.)
(Special Specialty [Master of Knowledge] prerequisites.)
(Special Specialty [Astral Traveler] prerequisites.)
(Special Specialty [Planar Explorer] prerequisites.)
………………
“What is this!?…”
Since he had never pursued a spellcasting profession in the past, Soren’s previous knowledge was not very high, and he didn’t possess the talent specialty of [Photographic Memory].
Therefore, when he saw the subsequent triggering prerequisite specialty prompts, Soren couldn’t help but be surprised. Among them, [Master of Knowledge] goes without saying, as it is an advanced specialty of [Scholar]. However, the last two prompts seemed quite remarkable; just looking at their names indicated they were impressive, especially [Astral Traveler], which is a renowned background specialty. Many incredibly powerful legendary Wizards even carry the [Astral Traveler] background specialty; it belongs to the legendary ranks of background specialties.
As for the other one, [Planar Explorer], Soren didn’t know much about it.
Having allocated the knowledge skills, Soren surprisingly still had 12 skill points remaining, so he simply allocated them all to Stealth. After all, a Wanderer’s stealth skill could never be too high.
At this moment, Soren’s overall attributes were drastically different from the past, and he finally entered the ranks of remarkable individuals.
“Name: Soren.
Race: Half-Elf [Son of Slaughter].
Attributes: Strength 14 (+2), Agility 24 (+1), Constitution 21, Intelligence 20 (+1), Perception 15, Charisma 18 (+2).
Faction: Lawful Evil.
Profession: Level 10 Civilians / Level 7 Thief (0/63500) / Level 3 Shadow (0/75500) / Level 9 Wizard (0/68500) [Third Tier].
Life Points: 254/254.
Experience Points: 3075 (Killing Experience), 545 points (Profession Experience) [Unallocated].
Skill Points: None.
Attribute Points: None.
Legendary Points: 21.
Divinity Value: 9.
Status: Normal.
Base Skills — Stealth 185, Knowledge 250. Theft 45, Lockpicking 55, Traps 60, Concentration 30, Negotiation 45, Appraisal 30, Deception 18. Intimidation 42, Taunt 15, Performance 15, Listening 20, Evasion 85. Parry 25, Block 18, Medicine 45, Search 20. Detection 25, Copying Scrolls 25. Spell Identification 20, Wilderness Survival 15, Use Magic Devices 20, Cooking 30. Alchemy 15.
Legendary Skill — Universal Skillful Hand.
Special Specialties — Blessing of the Goddess of Misfortune, Blessing of the Ocean Goddess, Heart of Slaughter, Butcher, Ascetic, Scholar.
Personal Specialties — Nimble Left Hand, Photographic Memory, Tenacity, Photographic Memory, Reflex Evasion, Agile Movement, Evasion from Sight, Dark Vision, Spell Control, Spell Amplification, Cold Resistance, Advanced Dual Wielding, Regeneration Level 2.
Profession Specialties — Shadow Weaving, Military Weapon [Mastery], Curved Blade [Mastery].
Combat Skills — Summon Shadows, Gaze of Fear (Divinity), Fear Spell (Divinity), Shadow Assassination, Shadow Travel, Spell Counter, Sword Intent [Heavy Split], Sword Intent [Decapitation].”
………………
The three components that make up combat power.
First is attribute points, as one’s attributes are the most direct indication of combat power. Those with high strength have greater destructive power, those with high agility are more nimble, those with high constitution can endure more attacks, and so on.
The second aspect is the base skills, which represent overall abilities in various situations, and this is also where the most obvious weaknesses can be found. Often, base skills cannot be too low. If one’s parrying and blocking skills are insufficient, one cannot engage in hard battles; if evasion is weak, one will be finished when faced with a barrage of arrows. Poor detection, listening, and wilderness survival skills can turn one into a tragic figure; even Goblins might successfully ambush you. Additionally, if search abilities are too low, you might not even find the spoils of battle. Skills like performance, deception, and intimidation are also very useful base skills, as there is a great need for negotiation, appraisal, and medicine in adventures.
Thus, seemingly unremarkable base skills often determine one’s fate!
Finally, there are specialties!
This component is highly time-consuming and difficult to train and master, yet it is the most powerful part of combat capability.
Theoretically, the vast majority of individuals who can overpower higher-level professionists typically have clear advantages in specialties. The combined strength of these three parts constitutes your overall combat power. In the process of fighting enemies, as long as one aspect can become an advantage, your odds of winning will increase significantly.
Soren likes to estimate his winning rate with each action!
Often, his perceived probability of success is based on these three conditions; if there is no clear winning rate, he tends to forfeit the fight.
………………
Time passed slowly.
Sailing at sea is indeed a significant waste of time, and most of the time it is rather dull.
Soren consumed nearly all of his Killing Experience and then began training his combat abilities. Earning Killing Experience is only part of enhancing his strength; honing combat skills and mastering specialties is also extremely important. Adele Isabella continued to be Soren’s sparring partner, but this time Soren raised the difficulty by covering his eyes with a black cloth. [Blind Fighting] is a very important special specialty, and its usefulness comes up frequently; Soren must master it in advance.
Clang clang!
The two quickly began a tentative exchange.
Due to his eyes being covered, Soren spent most of the time on defense and was clearly at a disadvantage while facing Adele Isabella, but he did not appear to be losing. On the contrary, as the battles increased in frequency, he gradually managed to hold his ground. Whether it was a trick of his perception or not, after mastering the specialty [Scholar], it felt as if his mind had become clearer. He was able to summarize Adele Isabella’s attack patterns, habitual techniques, and instinctive directions of attack during combat, among other things.
He could even summarize and remember the techniques of ‘Wind Listening and Positioning,’ including which sounds indicated which actions.
This was not an increase in intellect!
In Soren’s view, it was more like his calculation and summarization abilities had been further enhanced, akin to an accumulation of knowledge reaching a certain threshold that suddenly began to connect in unexpected ways.
He could mentally predict the next attack direction of Adele!
That sensation was somewhat akin to [Intuitive Evasion].
Clang clang!
A series of combat sounds rang out. Soren gradually began to feel at ease, and at times he could even counter-attack the Red-Haired Pirate Woman using the techniques of Blind Fighting.
Adele before him was clearly finding the battle increasingly strenuous. She breathed heavily, lifted her fiery red hair, and gazed at Soren with a look of awe and disbelief, as if she were viewing a monster. She had seen individuals with extraordinary talent and learning abilities before, but someone who could reach Soren’s level of mastery was unprecedented in her experience. Initially, she had spent nearly one to two years just training to master the techniques of [Blind Fighting].
But how long had Soren been doing this now?
Barely three days.
At this pace, he would master his Blind Fighting techniques within half a month at most. (Reaching three information prompts.)
An entire afternoon of training quickly passed.
After finishing today’s training, Soren received the prompt for his second ordinary specialty:
“Combat Insight!”
“With each battle at sea, your combat abilities within the maritime environment have improved, and your balance when dealing with the ship’s rocking has increased.”
“You have gained partial information about [Maritime Combat].”
………………
It might be because he hadn’t accumulated enough yet.
Soren only received one piece of information regarding [Maritime Combat]; the other specialties required further training and accumulation.
Two days quickly passed.
As the fleet gradually sailed towards the Overseas Islands, the creatures encountered along the route increased in number. They saw shoals of flying fish, numbering perhaps over a hundred thousand, as well as a dazzling array of flying scales, and various large fish schools. Due to dangerous marine creatures operating in the deep sea region, fishermen rarely venture deep into the ocean; here, schools of fish can move in the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
Yesterday afternoon, Soren saw the sea surface turn red!
He thought they had encountered some monster, and for a moment was frightened, only to discover it was a number of lobsters so abundant they were difficult to count. These lobsters were only about the size of three fingers, and this size was relatively common in this sea area. It was hard to say exactly how many lobsters there were, but some sailors cast nets and brought up over a hundred red-shelled lobsters. The taste seemed ordinary, not significantly different from lobsters he’d eaten in his previous life.
However, their claws were more powerful and tougher than those of the lobsters from his past life.
If one encountered a larger lobster, it could easily snap a person’s finger. One unfortunate sailor nearly had his finger broken by a large lobster.
By evening.
Soren sat on the deck, bored, cutting the large lobsters with a dagger. Most of these lobsters were about two fingers’ thickness, while some particularly large ones could reach the size of a human hand. The pirates below had caught more than a dozen large lobsters and hurriedly sent them over to curry favor with Soren. Soren then turned around and cooked the lobsters, feeding the oil-dripping Vivian.
The little girl was very happy today.
Because it was made by her brother, and also because her brother’s cooking was delicious!
Soren was now wealthy.
Naturally, he could use those exceedingly expensive seasonings. Cooking comes down to three key aspects: ingredients, seasoning, and cooking techniques.
Soren now had high-quality ingredients, expensive seasonings, and decent skills.
Naturally, what he made would not taste bad!
The little girl happily finished two large lobsters and then rubbed her round little belly in satisfaction. But at that moment, a lookout from a neighboring ship gave a suppressed exclamation and shouted, “Sea monster!… There’s a sea monster!…”
A flurry of chaos erupted.
Then, a huge shadow appeared in the distance, lurking beneath the sea, vaguely resembling a giant squid, looking to be over 50 meters in length.
It truly was a sea monster!
A chorus of surprised shouts rang out, and many people anxiously looked toward Soren’s position.
“Calm down!”
Soren stood at the bow of the ship and said in a deep voice, “Just pass by like this; no one make any sudden movements.”
The distance closed little by little.
That sea monster was indeed a giant squid, about 60 meters long, and its massive body was somewhat intimidating. It clearly discovered the fleet before it, circling around Soren, and then seemed to sense something, avoiding the fleet by swimming about a hundred meters away from them.
No surprises occurred, so there was no battle.
The two sides merely brushed past each other!
Soren kept his gaze on the retreating sea monster, and internally thought, “It seems the blessing of the Ocean Goddess is quite effective!”
This was the sea monster they encountered.
In the next two days, they encountered two more sea monsters, but they did not launch attacks against them. By the fifth day of overseas sailing, they were finally nearing their destination, and Soren began to see scattered islands in the distance.
The Overseas Islands were almost here!
………………
(Note: Fifth day of quitting smoking. Feeling some withdrawal symptoms and discomfort; should get better in another couple of days. I remember someone said it would be a lot better after seven days. 5000-word chapter.) (To be continued ~^~)
