Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 154 Eerie Beauty
"Squeak."

The car door, painted in a brownish-red hue, was gently closed from the outside by the convoy leader, whose face was full of obsequiousness.

The sound insulation is pretty good.

The shouts, yells, and even curses that had been filling the air suddenly subsided as the car doors closed.

For a moment, all that echoed in the carriage were the long, slow breaths and the soft clatter of coins rubbing against the skin of the hands.

As if specially selected, the silver coin has a rich color, with no dirt between the surface textures, and basically no signs of wear.

It was tossed up and down in the palm of the hand, seemingly without any special features.

But if you stare intently at that seemingly ordinary coin, you will discover...

Its speed and trajectory during takeoff and landing seem somewhat different from what one would expect.

At the tip of the long, slender index finger with distinct knuckles, a silver coin wobbled slightly, and the thumb pressing against the coin suddenly exerted force.

call out--

The silver coin flipped and bounced gently.

Under normal circumstances, the coin, once released from its grasp, should gradually slow down due to the combined effects of air resistance and gravity, and approach zero speed at its highest point.

But right now, as the silver coin flips and rises, it strangely maintains a constant speed.

It was as if, for that brief fraction of a second, they had escaped the control of gravity.

Then, there was a pause.

The coin, rising at a constant speed, seemed to have hit an invisible wall, and stopped once again at its highest point, where its speed had been reduced to zero due to various forces.

However, compared to the natural trajectory of a coin gradually slowing down and eventually coming to a stop under the normal laws of physics, this is different.

The pause of this coin now seems particularly abrupt.

It gives people the illusion of being suspended in the air for a long time.

A sudden drop!

Without any acceleration, the silver coin, suspended in mid-air, transformed into a streak of silvery-white light and plummeted down at an equally counterintuitive speed.

The speed and force were so great that when it collided with the palm, it produced a rather clear muffled sound.

Hold the coin in your hand with your five fingers together.

His dark eyes reflected the slightly white knuckles when he clenched his fist.

Xia Nan leaned back against the soft seat back in the carriage, her expression calm.

Five days have passed since he returned from the Adventurers' Guild.

Having just finished a grueling adventure, he naturally took advantage of the time to give himself a proper vacation.

He didn't accept any more bounties, but simply stayed in River Valley Town to rest and wait for the association's professional promotion missions.

Of course, his so-called "rest" did not mean lying in a hotel bed, doing nothing but sleeping and eating.

Xia Nan felt that he was quite diligent in his daily basic training.

Over the course of five days, my proficiency in combat skills, including [Fang Hunt] and [Gravity Etching], has improved to some extent.

After the upgrade, he became even more familiar with and proficient in the sudden surge in physical attributes and related passive abilities.

It is worth mentioning the third combat skill he has learned, [Gravity Control].

Perhaps it is because its development prospects are too bright, and the temptation of "manipulating gravity" is too great.

Xia Nan specifically set aside a large portion of his time to train this combat skill.

Even while eating, taking a walk, or resting, they practice in a similar way to controlling the speed of the coin's rise and fall, anytime and anywhere.

If his current gravity control wasn't only at level 1, which prevented him from exerting a long-term influence on his entire body, he would have even considered adjusting his own gravity to accelerate the improvement of his physical attributes.

After several days of arduous training, Xia Nan has made remarkable progress in his combat skills.

My gaze lingered on my reflection in the car window, and the attribute panel slowly appeared before my eyes:
[Gravity Control] lv1: (2/100)

Just tell me whether you added it or not!
Even a slight increase in proficiency would be a tremendous benefit to Xia Nan...

Ok.

Shaking helplessly, Xia Nan dismissed the attribute panel that was floating in his line of sight.

Even though the exaggerated effects of "gravity control" already gave me some expectation of its high quality.

But after practicing diligently for so many days, he only gained a little more proficiency, which was still somewhat unexpected for him.

He could naturally comfort himself with phrases like "at least it went up a little" or "it's better than nothing."

But when he actually looked at the pitiful number "(2/100)" on the panel, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

After all, Xia Nan knew perfectly well that, according to the patterns he understood, the higher the level of proficiency in a combat skill, the more difficult it became to acquire.

If progress is this slow at the very beginning, he doesn't even want to think about what will happen when his proficiency reaches fifty, sixty, or even seventy or eighty points...

Of course, there's also good news; let's be optimistic and look at it from another angle.

The reason why the proficiency of [Gravity Control] is so difficult to obtain is precisely because of the powerful potential and exaggerated effects of the combat skill itself.

It is foreseeable that the improvement brought about by upgrading such combat skills from level 1 to level 2 may even be much greater than that of upgrading [Whirlwind Slash] from level 1 to level 5.

Each level represents a qualitative change.

In addition, within five days, news also came from the "Rock Hammer" blacksmith shop.

It's a pity.

The bone club from the Redmane Bear Goblin is not a good match for the Serpent Scale Arm Shield.

If the two materials were to be forcibly combined, Barn's technology simply wouldn't be able to handle it, and the result would only be inferior goods.

Since the other party has said so, Xia Nan naturally cannot force the issue.

After considering it, they chose the alternative solution the blacksmith had offered that day.

Sell ​​a portion of the bone material to the other party to offset the labor cost.

Barn will then use the remaining bone to craft a defensive magical equipment suitable for him.

Xia Nan only needs to cover the cost of some auxiliary materials, which is very cheap.

——500 gold.

All I can say is that when he stood in the "Rockhammer" blacksmith shop and heard the price from Barn, he genuinely wondered if he had misheard.

After all, the bone rods used as the main material for the equipment were provided by themselves, and the expensive labor costs had already been offset.

It's clear that Barn has given him a discount, making it the lowest possible price.

He recalled the heavy plate armor priced as high as "1500 gold" in the blacksmith's shop, and the exaggerated figures he had heard drunks mention in the tavern about the prices of enchanted equipment.

Xia Nan's heart gradually calmed down.

"If that's the case, then the [Death Line] ring and the wooden sword [Green Pine] that I have on me would probably fetch astronomical prices if I were to sell them, right?"

If he sells these few pieces of equipment, given his spending power, he could really retire right away.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of distracting thoughts.

In today's world, if "wealth" is not backed by sufficient "strength," it will only be more dangerous for someone like me who comes from a farming family.

Looking out the window, watching the weary adventurers coming and going in the inn, I ran my fingers over the fine texture of the silver coin.

The Serpent Scale Arm Shield has been retrieved from "Rockhammer" and is currently being worn on the arm.

The "quality guaranteed" piece of equipment made of bone clubs that Barn mentioned will probably not be completed until the end of this mission at the earliest.

"Knock knock." A crisp knocking sound suddenly rang out from outside the carriage. The wooden door was carefully pulled open a crack, revealing the respectful face of the convoy captain.

"Mr. Xia Nan, we are about to depart. Is there anything else you need us to do?"

"Let's go." Xia Nan shook his head, indicating that there was no need to worry about him, and replied.

Having worked for many years and encountered countless adventurers, I could tell that the "Gray Sword" before me was not a talkative person.

The team leader didn't say anything more and gently closed the car door for him.

"Keep a close eye on your luggage. If it gets lost, our team will not be responsible!"

"Jack, Jack, damn it, where's that bastard?!"

"Hey you over there, get away from my horse!"

The loud voice outside the door gradually faded away.

Sitting in the carriage, Xia Nan once again felt the power of so-called "fame".

Gap-toothed Bennett, goblin bear... His outstanding achievements combined with his status as a "professional" and some outrageous rumors that are half true and half false.

His nickname "Gray Sword" gradually spread, especially among people like the caravan leader who frequently interacted with adventurers at the bottom of society, and he gained considerable fame.

Of course, this reputation is short-lived and superficial.

Just like a washed-up star who hasn't released any works in a long time, what if Xia Nan leaves River Valley Town and never comes back?

It won't even be long, maybe two months at most. In River Valley, besides Adeline and Abby, probably only Barn will remember hosting a god-like person with an extremely high probability of armor breakage.

On the other hand, the reason why the team leader behaved this way was because Xia Nan had given him the gold coins he was entitled to.

The journey from River Valley to Newme will take at least half a month, including the time needed for rest and resupply.

In addition to carrying people, the convoy also carries a lot of goods—which is one of their main sources of income.

In this situation, a carriage would typically be crammed with four to six passengers, making the space enclosed and extremely crowded.

If you happen to encounter a fellow traveler who doesn't pay much attention to personal hygiene, then you're in for a rough ride.

In addition, Xia Nan may need to practice combat skills during his journey, so the equipment he carries is quite valuable.

He spent a few gold coins to book an entire carriage.

To be honest, after spending 500 gold at the Rockhammer shop, he had become somewhat numb to such amounts and felt no pain at all.

The spacious private room, where one can sit alone, gives one a sense of value for money.

"I wonder if the Adventurers' Guild will reimburse the expenses incurred during these missions."

"Go ask Jasmine later."

Xia Nan pondered for a moment, then took out a small piece of paper from his pocket.

[No. 32, Huishu Lane, Yahui Street, Xicheng District]

This is his destination for this mission.

……

……

Unlike the misty forest where every breath is filled with trepidation, two or three minutes here feel like hours.

The journey from River Valley to Newme passed very quickly.

One is an adventure town with an guild stationed there, and the other is the core city of the Panyun Province of the Kingdom of Servia.

Throughout the year, a large number of merchants and adventurers traveled through the area, and the roads were always open.

Except for a few special areas, you rarely encounter monsters, let alone bandits.

Seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

evening.

The carriages were parked along the roadside, forming a line to guard against possible attacks.

On the open ground nearby, there were scattered tents, and around the campfire, the sounds of travelers could be faintly heard.

With multiple passengers sharing the vehicle, the cramped space is insufficient for all passengers to rest.

Therefore, whenever night fell and the caravan stopped to rest, most of the passengers would get off the carriages and camp overnight.

"Crack."

The campfire flickered, and Jimmy held two freshly baked flatbreads in his hands.

Carefully weaving through the travelers sitting around the campfire on both sides, we approached.

"Brother, it's time to eat."

She called softly, but received no response.

My gaze followed that direction.

My cousin was clutching the package tightly in his arms, his eyes fixed on the orange-red flames ahead, his gaze unfocused.

Without thinking much, Jimmy reached out and shook the other person's shoulder, then spoke again:

"Brother, let's eat!"

"Oh...oh, oh."

Seeing that the other person had just realized what was happening, they picked up the flatbread and started eating it voraciously.

Jimmy felt a sense of confusion.

For some reason, he felt that his cousin had been getting increasingly absent-minded lately.

Previously, it only occurred when I first woke up in the morning or after lunch when I was slightly drowsy. But in the last two days, it has gradually spread to any time of day. Sometimes, I even have to shake his body, like I did just now, to wake him up.

"Perhaps it's due to too much mental stress?"

Jimmy thought to himself.

After all, my cousin sends money home every month, and the amount is not small. I originally thought it was because he earned a lot as an adventurer, but after observing him these days, I found that his wealth is not as substantial as I imagined. He probably sends most of his income back home.

Even my cousin sponsored a small portion of my outfit.

He had a big meal at the White Tit restaurant a few days ago, and then did a lot of shopping, so he probably doesn't have much money left.

And recently, the hunting days have just ended.

The number of goblins in the forest has decreased significantly, and many of the ferocious demons that originally fed on goblins have become more violent and irritable due to hunger.

Some even dared to break free from the protection of the fog and hunt for food in human villages near the forest.

The usually shrewd adventurers of River Valley Town would naturally not go out on missions during this time of heightened danger.

My cousin has also recently lost his source of income.

"I hope this trip to Newme will be fruitful."

I couldn't help but recall the gray, stone-like statue that my cousin had shown me.

Jimmy had previously thought it looked weird and a bit ugly.

Now let's think about it again.

Like swarms of mosquitoes on a pond at dusk in summer, ripples and buzzing, countless tiny black dots swaying in the dim light.

I felt a strange and indescribable beauty.

(End of this chapter)