Chapter 35: Infinite Loop

“The Adventurers' Guild!?”

The half-elf's answer caught Xia Nan completely off guard.

“How is that possible? I’ve been to the guild in Valley Town several times and practically scoured the entire hall, but I never saw anywhere selling skill books.”

“Could it be in...”

“That’s right.” Hean nodded, pointing his index finger upward. “On the second floor.”

Hearing this, Xia Nan’s confusion only deepened. He recalled his conversation with the alchemy shop owner a few days ago when he had gone to the guild to turn in a quest.

“Isn't the second floor of the guild restricted to those who have already become Professionals?”

“Exactly.”

“But without combat skills, how am I supposed to become a Professional?”

To Xia Nan, the response seemed contradictory, as if he had entered a logical loop.

The prerequisite for becoming a Professional was mastering combat skills, and combat skills could be purchased on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild—but to reach the second floor, one had to be a Professional.

At this, Wood, sitting beside the half-elf in his black leather armor, replied with implication

“The world needs adventurers, but it doesn't need *that* many.”

Xia Nan pondered the words carefully, countless thoughts racing through his mind.

Seeing that he seemed to be getting stuck in a mental loop, Hean quickly spoke up to continue

“There is, of course, more than one way to acquire combat skills.”

According to the information provided by the half-elf, there were several primary ways to master combat skills in the Kingdom of Servia

First, naturally, there were the large organizations distributed throughout the kingdom.

Whether it was the divine temples, the guild alliances, or even the military corps belonging to the kingdom itself, they all possessed their own complete and clear systems for advancement.

Not only did they hold the various combat skills required for basic job classes, but they also possessed vast reserves of the advanced classes necessary to eventually reach the "Transcendent" stage.

The price one had to pay was loyalty and faith.

Second was hiring an established "Professional" to help master combat skills.

The cost was a massive amount of gold—truly a "fortune"—or an equivalent amount of resources.

This was precisely how the vast majority of nobles within the kingdom acquired their combat skills.

Finally, there was the method most widely distributed, most frequently encountered, and most suitable for ordinary commoners who lacked both wealth and background.

A game of chance.

Even a farmer from a family with zero combat capability, like his predecessor, could "snatch" half a so-called skill book from a traveling bard in exchange for lodging fees.

Across the vast lands of the Kingdom of Servia, countless "combat skill recipes" were in circulation.

You could find an old man at any village entrance who might claim to possess several "Knight Training Secrets" passed down from his ancestors; he would charge you a few copper coins as if he were doing you a massive favor, boasting enthusiastically about his great-grandfather's glory.

Ninety-nine point nine percent of these "skills," which were as common as toilet paper, were worthless "fakes" of unknown origin.

Even after practicing for years, one would see no progress at all. Not only would it waste a vast amount of time, but one might even ruin their body due to incorrect forms.

Only a tiny fraction of lucky individuals, who happened to stumble upon a genuine, effective skill book through sheer luck and then dedicated immense amounts of hard, tedious training, had the chance to master true combat skills and take their first step toward becoming a "Professional."

Of course, these three were merely the most common methods.

Beyond these, there were other methods that required certain thresholds, such as traditional master-disciple relationships, patronage from benefactors, wilderness treasure hunting, or auction house transactions (which were slightly more reliable than roadside stalls).

This ensured that among "adventurers"—a group that dealt with various magical beasts and possessed certain channels and income—combat skills were not uncommon.

Hearing this, Xia Nan finally understood why the two men had appeared so surprised upon learning about his predecessor's experience.

It seemed his predecessor not only had decent talent but also incredible luck.

He had actually managed to learn from a random half-page of a skill book.

At the same time, he roughly understood the direction in which he should move forward in the future.

“By the way.”

Hean, who had shared everything he knew regarding professional advancement with Xia Nan, seemed to remember something.

“I didn't mention it before because I thought you had a mentor guiding you, but if that's the case...”

As he spoke, the half-elf suddenly lowered his voice, casting a cautious glance at the decapitation longsword by Xia Nan's side.

Fearing he might offend him, he asked tentatively

“That move you just used... it should be in the direction of a [Warrior], right?”

Xia Nan himself wasn't sure exactly which class the [Whirlwind Slash] belonged to, but referencing the characteristics of various class skills Hean had just described...

With some hesitation, he spoke slowly

“Probably? That half-page of the skill book didn't specify the source of the skill.”

Hean was not surprised by his answer.

He nodded and turned his gaze toward Wood beside him.

“While Wood is a Professional, a 'Rogue's' combat skills wouldn't match what you just demonstrated.”

“Unless you are willing to start from scratch and give up everything you have now, in which case Wood might be able to provide some help.”

“However... to be honest, it would be a bit of a waste.”

The half-elf's gaze swept over the iron-gray blade of the longsword.

“Judging by your performance in that fight, even if that skill hasn't reached 'Mastery' yet, it's not far off. It would be a shame to give it up now.”

He paused briefly, lifting his head slightly to look at Xia Nan with silver-gray eyes.

He said sincerely

“You saved me in battle, so I should return the favor. Please, do not refuse.”

“Even though I likely won't be able to leave for a while after returning to Neum... I have saved up quite a bit of money over the years.”

“If you are willing, I can use my family's connections to hire a reliable Professional to help train you in a [Warrior] type combat skill.”

“It might not necessarily work, but...”

Faced with the half-elf's proposal, Xia Nan couldn't help but feel tempted.

He hadn't helped Hean out of battle for any reward, but now that the other party was offering such a return, it would be unrealistic to refuse.

After a moment of thought, he nodded heavily and thanked him sincerely

“Then I'll leave it to you. Thank you very much!”

Hearing this, the half-elf actually let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face

“Good! Give me your address. Once the quest is over, I'll write to you when I get back to Neum.”

“But it might take a few days. I have some family matters to handle when I return, and it will take time to find a suitable person.”

“No rush,” Xia Nan replied seriously. “Handle your own business first.”

“I'll be in Valley Town.”