As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

Things were arranged quickly, and in just one day, the once cheerful Blackberry Farm was deserted.

Alvin, along with Lily and Green, embarked on the archaeological journey she had longed for. Before leaving, he told Moen to hurry over, as they would be waiting for him at the border town.

Although Moen knew this was to ensure their safety, looking at the empty living room still made her feel a little empty inside.

Several days had passed by the time François publicly announced his intention to honor Gray and Mohn in Nohanville.

Just as previously suspected, Gray's every move was being watched secretly, intentionally or unintentionally.

Those sentries François had planted were like flies, impossible to shake off.

Gray could have left anytime he wanted, but François had to pull this disgusting stunt.

On the other hand, people would come to visit Moen's side for the first few days.

But after discovering that this rural adventurer spent his days eating, sleeping, and just spacing out in the square, most of the people monitoring him withdrew.

This suited Moen perfectly; he hadn't been idle these past few days.

During the day, he seemed to be idly strolling around the largest central square in Nohanville.

In fact, he was already considering the possibilities for the awards ceremony that would be held here in a few days.

For example, where will François stand to deliver his speech? Where will the procession of the Knights of Judgment be blocked off? Where is the best position for him and Gray to receive their awards?

He even considered which rooftops were suitable for ambushes and which sewer entrances were suitable for evacuation.

That evening, he instructed Sylvie to use the resources of the Secret Service to arrange for some skilled unofficial personnel to ambush on the surrounding rooftops on the day of the awards ceremony, so that they could create chaos at the opportune moment.

There are four days left until the ceremony.

The intelligence from Sylvie indicated that François was leading a small squad of fully armed elite Judgment Knights, marching in a grand procession toward Nohanville.

Even ordinary citizens could feel the tension that was brewing.

It's another night.

After receiving news of François' departure during the day, Moen once again considered the issue of improving his strength.

As the saying goes, even last-minute sharpening of a spear can be effective, though not necessarily quick.

Sitting on the bedroom floor, Moen stared intently at the two life stones he had acquired long ago but had never used, in the skill fusion panel.

After much deliberation, he felt that the only way to significantly improve his combat power was to unlock the last class.

The problem is that there are neither fragments nor pale life stones.

Although the Azure Life Stone is backward compatible, Moen felt a little heartbroken to use it to fuse two mortal skills.

He sighed and looked at the system panel.

He tried putting in the only two Holy Ritual skills he had, and then added the Fool's Life Stone.

[Success Rate: 38% + 5% (Azure Bonus)]

Moen glanced at it and saw that the Azure Bonus was a compensation given to Moen for using Azure Life Stones to fuse with Mortal skills.

Although he was a gambler, he understood the most basic profit and loss relationships.

Before your Holy Ritual skill slots are full, using Life Stones to gamble on a probability of less than 40% is simply a wasteful act.

Unless the fused skill is incredibly powerful, it's a huge loss.

"Sigh... You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

Moen gritted his teeth and turned his gaze to the azure life stone.

Although it's a bit heartbreaking, special measures are needed during this special period.

He casually tossed two completely unrelated mortal skills into the fusion slot.

[Success Rate: 31% + 5% (Azure Bonus)]

More importantly, a glimmer of starlight emerged beneath the life stone, slowly forming two characters.

【？？】

Moen frowned and tried adjusting several different low-level skill combinations, but the two words remained unclear.

"No, I think I've gone astray."

Moen slapped his forehead.

When he encountered this situation recently, the first thing he thought of was exhaustive search.

He seems to have forgotten the pure joy he felt when he first started playing Blood and Wine, spending countless days and nights researching skills and creating unique builds.

"Calm down, Moen, get back to your roots!"

Moen closed his eyes and began to re-examine his four core skills in his mind.

Both damage bonuses and defense increases depend on the low health state.

However, aside from being attacked by enemies, Moen currently lacks a proactive and controllable way to reduce enemy health.

【White Thorn Blossom】 Although it consumes health, it has a long cooldown, which does not meet Moen's requirements.

Moen suddenly opened his eyes and quickly walked to the statue gallery.

His gaze swept quickly over the statues, finally settling on the [Sulfur Crystal Self-Destructing Bat], which had been sitting on the sidelines the whole time.

The skill he despised the most, [Crystallization Parasite], clearly stated in its cost bar that each attack consumes 5% of his health. Its effect is that attacks can implant crystals into the enemy's body and reduce the enemy's resistance. When it self-destructs, the crystals will also cause additional damage.

Moen felt he had vaguely grasped a line of thought.

Next, his gaze fell upon the skill "Smooth Skin" of the [Boiling Blood Red Salamander] that he had previously coveted but hadn't yet redeemed.

[Effect: Has a 40% chance to deflect physical attacks, halving the damage.]

One deals damage to gain a powerful effect, while the other offers a chance to reduce damage and increase survivability. Based on Moen's experience, these two should have good synergy.

"The only problem is that there aren't enough fragments."

Moen calculated that the two skills together would require 93 mortal fragments.

"There's no other way, I'll just have to suffer in silence."

The next morning, Moen took Sylvie out of the city.

This time, their goal was to clear out the remaining monsters from the Fallen Star Rift and the stragglers that had escaped from the outer perimeter of the Sulfur Cave.

Sylvie had by now become quite adept at disguising herself as Lily.

Wearing a cute little dress, the tiny girl followed closely behind Moen.

She seems to be in a good mood lately.

Since being influenced by Moen last time, she has looked much more energetic and no longer has the crazy energy she used to have.

According to Sylvie, the annoying babbling that had been bothering her had miraculously disappeared ever since Moen helped her convert to Christianity!

She is no longer afraid of sleep. Now every night is the time she looks forward to the most. When she is well rested, she feels refreshed.

After the two of them finished off a wave of monsters, Sylvie sat on a rock, swinging her legs, and shared her insights with Moen:

"Moreover, the ideals of our organization are really promising and align perfectly with my own."

Looking into her bright eyes, Moen recalled the information that players had unearthed in his previous life.

This infamous woman secretly used the dirty money she earned from intelligence gathering to fund several orphanages.

She was also an orphan and longed for a warm home more than anyone else, which is why that world where everyone was equal and there was no oppression was so attractive to her.

This is why even though many players have been tricked and killed by her countless times, they still shout the classic line on the forum: She's different!

"Brother Moen, why are we killing these dirty lizards at a time like this?"

Sylvie looked at the slimy corpse of the [Boiling Blood Red Salamander] on the ground, and with that cute face that belonged to Lily, she showed a disgusted expression that Lily would never make.

The contrast made Moen feel strange.

"First of all, this is not a lizard, but a fish."

"Secondly, stop talking nonsense and obey your superiors' orders!"

Moen wanted to tell her to stop making that expression with Lily's face on her, but he swallowed the words back.

Oh well, it's no big deal to be disliked a little.

Although Sylvie complained a lot, she was quite ruthless when it came to actually doing it.

Her unique physique, combined with the [Frosty Illusion] mark imprinted by Moen, makes killing monsters as easy as mowing grass.

When Moen saw the large wave of monsters he had lured fighting each other in the air or attacking other monsters, he felt that all the Judgment Knights brought by François should be able to be stopped by this move.

With the help of this powerful worker, Moen's mortal fragments and experience bar are soaring, and he has even reached level 18 in the past two days.

After spending two days outdoors in the wilderness, Moen finally returned to the manor with 118 mortal fragments.

Lying on the soft bed he had longed for, Moen did not rest, but eagerly opened the fusion panel.

As planned, he placed the [Crystallized Parasite] and [Smooth Skin] he had exchanged into the altar where skill crystals were placed.

Then he took a deep breath and took out the Fool's Life Stone, which emitted a bright blue light, from his pocket and embedded it in the groove.

[Compatibility: Extremely High]

[Success Rate: 92% + 5% (Azure Bonus)]

[Recommendation: This combination exhibits directional resonance and could be a priority for integration]

If the fusion fails, the Life Stone, as the main material, will shatter, and the skill will undergo an irreversible and malignant mutation.

Steady!

The fused font on the panel is not ordinary white, but has turned into a crystal-clear red glass.

The starlight beneath the destiny stone rapidly arranged itself, eventually settling into two characters: "[Reckless Actions]".

Before Moen could even ponder the deeper meaning of the word, a system notification suddenly popped up like a thunderclap.

[Keyword resonance detected!]

This entry can be combined with Swan Song, Reignite, Wither, and Unyielding to unlock the hidden class "Martyr".

Moen did not mourn for the Azure Life Stone for a moment, and pressed the fusion button without hesitation.

The cracking sound of crystals breaking echoed in my ears as two skill stones, enveloped in red light, slowly shattered.

【Successful integration】

[Gained Skill: Glazed Blood Burning]

[Skill: Glazed Blood Burning]

[Rank: Mortal - Reckless Actions]

[Cost: After activation, each attack will forcibly consume 5% of your current health]

Cooling: None

[Description: Only by embracing death can one refuse it. You transform your blood into the sharpest glass, exchanging wounds for wounds, until death do you part.]

[Skill Effect]

【The Fool's Sacrifice】: When this state is activated, every attack you make (basic attack or skill) will forcibly deduct 5% of your own health and gain 20% omnipotent lifesteal.

[Glassy Deflection]: This layer of glassy blood-red armor is extremely smooth and hard. There is a 45% chance that physical damage you receive will be deflected (damage reduced to zero). If the deflection is successful, the attacker will be splashed with "Explosive Crystal Powder", reducing the target's physical and magical resistance by 30%.

【Crystal Thorns】: Each attack leaves a "Glassy Thorn" inside the enemy. When Moen actively deactivates this skill, all "Glassy Thorns" detonate simultaneously. Each thorn deals true damage equal to (your missing health x 10%).

[Entry already included: Reckless behavior]

[Martyr class development progress: 5/5]

[Job Unlocked: Martyr]

An unprecedented sense of power surged within Moen's body.

Moen hurriedly opened the panel to check the class bonuses.

"Goodness."

In addition to the extra 6 points of stamina, 2 points of strength, and 2 points of spirit gained per level, the unfamiliar template bonus made his eyes widen:

[Template Bonus: Each point of stamina grants an additional 20 health points]

Moen glanced at his current attributes:

Name: Moen Kalix

[Level: 18]

[Occupation: Martyr]

[HP: 3840/3840]

[Mana Points: 495/495]

【属性：体力96、奥术33、力量33、技巧18、敏捷37、精神25】

3840 HP!

Looking at the number, Moen felt a little nauseous at the sight of his own flesh.

He remembered that in his previous life as a player, a level 18 tank's maximum HP was only a little over 1,000, and that was with a full tank build.

Although I'm currently building almost entirely tanky, his health is nearly four times that of others!

"Is this the value of an NPC template? I love it!"

Further down is the class trait granted by the [Martyr] class, called [Ash Shield].

When Moen consumes health or takes damage, 30% of the lost value does not disappear, but is converted into a layer of white [Ash Shield].

The shield can negate all damage, including true damage.

Meanwhile, the shield value has no upper limit and lasts for 10 seconds, but the timer will refresh whenever you lose health.

"this……"

Moen couldn't describe the excitement he felt at that moment.

In gaming terms, this build is a complete success!

For a seasoned data enthusiast and BD building fanatic, this was more exciting than anything else.

"No, I can't hold back anymore."

Moen jumped right off the bed, almost putting his shoes on backwards.

"We need to test the current intensity."

He thought of Gray.

That stubborn old man has been staying at the Ember Camp lately.

Disliking the feeling of being secretly watched in the Trial Division, he simply moved to the camp outside the Rift Valley.

At the same time, although everyone was aware of Gray's surveillance, they couldn't just openly wander around outside the camp.

So those responsible for keeping watch found a spot in the forests on both sides of the rift valley to observe the situation around the camp.

As for why they didn't look directly at Gray, it's because Shank built the camp in a way that blocked out the light on all sides, making it impossible to see inside from above the rift.

When Moen arrived, he waited at the door for a long time before going in.

I don't know where the old man came from, but he moved a huge rock to block the camp entrance. With Moen's current strength, he couldn't move it at all.

"What are you doing here so late, kid?"

Gray sat back down on the stone bed covered with hay, holding a whetstone and sharpening the greatsword in his hand.

"Old man, I challenge you!"