Chapter 10: Expertise

In many cases, due to scenes in movies and television, people often believe that those with sturdy builds and full muscles, while possessing specialized strength, suffer from defects in agility and dexterity.

To some extent, this is indeed the case.

Muscles that are so overly developed that they appear bloated can greatly hinder one's flexibility, and a body weight far exceeding that of an average person makes it impossible for their movements to be light.

But all of this comes with a prerequisite

That is, the opponent is at the same level of strength as you.

In modern society, this prerequisite might not be important; after all, there are no supernatural powers, and no matter how you train, you ultimately remain at the level of a mortal.

But in a fantasy world where legends walk the earth, saints manifest, and gods and demons coexist, this point becomes quite significant.

Compared to the eighteen-year-old "farm boy" Xia Nan, the bugbear could be said to be completely superior in every aspect except for intelligence and farming.

This even includes knowledge—it knows two languages: Goblin and Common.

Therefore, even though Xia Nan had temporarily forgotten his fear under the influence of adrenaline and had launched an attack immediately after dodging, the bugbear "Hunk" still reacted quite easily.

It didn't even bother to pull its morning star out of the ground where it had smashed; facing the incoming sword slash, it simply swung its thick, brown-furred arm with force.

*Bang—*

Xia Nan was sent flying backward instantly.

It felt as if he had collided head-on with a train. He felt a massive force surge from his chest, causing even his thoughts to pause. An extreme sense of dizziness, accompanied by intense pain, nearly scattered his consciousness.

"Damn it!"

He struggled to climb to his feet, his mouth filled with the thick, metallic taste of blood.

On the other side, Hunk’s hulking figure was already standing before him.

"Bug, not good!" The bugbear let the shallow wound on its neck bleed freely, its yellowish-brown eyes filled with rage and humiliation, as if it had been bitten by a rabbit about to be placed on a cutting board.

"Hunk is going to eat you alive!"

Bugbear tribes had not developed methods like "torture." With their primitive cognition, letting prey watch themselves being eaten while still alive was the cruelest act possible.

To this end, the tribe's shaman had even found a plant that could keep prey conscious even while in a state of severe injury.

Of course, Hunk didn't have the conditions for that right now, nor did it possess such sophisticated "culinary" skills.

Therefore, Xia Nan would likely be able to die relatively quickly.

Things had come to this.

Looking at the bugbear approaching him, and now clearly understanding the gap in strength between them, he didn't have any thoughts of begging for mercy.

On one hand, he didn't think the creature had the kindness to spare him based on its moral standards.

On the other hand, it was because Xia Nan noticed that not far behind the bugbear, the hunter Maji, whose leg had just been crushed and who was wailing in pain, was slowly sitting up against the wall, his right hand gripping his longbow tightly while his left hand reached for his quiver.

Their gazes met briefly and then parted.

Although they hadn't been together long and had no tacit understanding to speak of, at this moment, Xia Nan instinctively read the meaning hidden in the other's eyes.

*Buy time, attract the enemy's attention.*

His brain raced, and he opened his mouth to speak

"Hey, you won't find me tasty if you do it that way."

"Hmm?" Realizing the little bug was speaking, Hunk, who was holding his iron hammer high, couldn't help but pause. "No! Human, tasty!"

"If you want to eat me without roasting me first, I recommend a raw-marinated method."

Seeing that the creature seemed intrigued by his words, Xia Nan didn't care what he was saying and just rambled on.

"You can put me in a basin to wash me clean first, then add sea salt to sterilize and season me. After stirring for five minutes, add ginger, garlic, chili, and soy sauce, then seal it up for thirty minutes."

"The taste..." Seeing that Hunk seemed impatient with the steps he was making up on the spot, Xia Nan instantly caught on and shifted the focus of the conversation to the flavor.

"The texture is fresh and sweet. It not only preserves my original flavor but also lets you taste the sour and spicy notes of the seasonings. It's very appetizing."

"Sweet? Spicy... what are those tastes?" Hunk held the morning star high but didn't bring it down, asking instead with a hint of confusion.

But after all, it was a bugbear, not an ogre, which was more gluttonous and single-minded.

As soon as it opened its mouth, Hunk realized what was happening.

"Little bug, trying to trick me, die!"

It lunged forward two steps, the muscles in its right arm holding the morning star bulging; it seemed that in the next second, it would smash this annoying bug into pulp.

And it was at this moment that Maji finally prepared himself once more.

He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed with all his might.

*Whoosh—*

The familiar sound of metal cutting through the air rang out again.

Compared to before, the distance between him and the bugbear was shorter this time, which meant that even if the opponent possessed reaction speeds far beyond a normal person, it would be difficult to dodge.

And that energy barrier, which could become the nightmare of all archers, did not appear.

And so...

*Squelch!*

Blood splattered.

Maji, with his crushed leg, had fired the arrow while sitting on the ground, pressed against the cave wall.

Although it remained precise due to his combat skills, the power was significantly reduced.

Therefore, even though the metal arrow pierced the bugbear's right eye—which had turned to look at the sound—almost instantly, only a small portion of the arrowhead sank into the eye socket.

Paralytic toxins quickly spread inward from the wound.

Severely injured, but not fatal.

Facing this final opportunity to seize a chance at life, Xia Nan did not flinch.

Just as the bugbear howled in agony from its pierced eyeball, he gripped his one-handed sword tightly, enduring the unspeakable soreness of his arm muscles tearing, and forcibly used [Spinning Slash] for the fourth time that day.

Cold light flickered.

The brown fur had no resistance against the sharp blade;

The thick, cowhide-like skin was the first obstacle, causing a slight drag;

The accumulated fat was like mud in a swamp; the blade remained smooth, but its force was invisibly consumed;

The rock-hard, sturdy muscles digested almost all the sharpness carried by the sword, but were still broken through with difficulty under the bonus of [Spinning Slash];

Then, the blade, having broken through fur, flesh, and blood, encountered the hardest line of defense in a biological body—

Bone.

*Snap.*

No longer needing to be passed between the hands of rookie adventurers, the battle-hardened one-handed sword finally met its deserved end.

In a fierce encounter worthy of being recorded in its combat history, it snapped in two.

The sudden feeling of emptiness in his hand meant the accumulated force could not be unleashed.

Xia Nan watched as cracks appeared and widened on the blade, and then his entire body flew off at an angle due to the momentum of the [Spinning Slash].

"ROAR!!!"

Howling, the intense pain he had never experienced before caused the hulking, bear-like beast to completely lose its remaining sanity.

Along with its eyeball, it pulled the arrow directly out of its socket. The gushing crimson blood dyed its body red like a waterfall, adding to its ferocity.

Facing this crazed beast, a weak hunter with a crushed leg, and a rookie adventurer with drained stamina and a broken weapon.

The fate of the "Stinky Fish and Rotten Shrimp" squad seemed clear.

Maji's face was filled with despair.

The second use of [Precision Strike] had left his body in a state of paralysis from overload.

It felt as if every muscle fiber was twitching and jumping; he couldn't even muster a shred of strength.

His gaze was hollow, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Perhaps he was regretting intruding into this cave out of greed, or hating himself for why he never learned his lesson and wasn't more cautious;

Of course, he might also be remembering the girl who looked at him with a smile under the white oak tree in his hometown.

Unexpectedly.

Compared to the hunter Maji, who had completely lost hope for life, Xia Nan, whose body was also on the verge of collapse, had a somewhat complex expression on his face.

Yes, complex.

It was like playing mahjong in his past life, intending to play defensively with a bad hand until the end of the round, only to unexpectedly complete a cheap hand before the draw; or spending thousands on a game without getting a gold card, only to pull an SSR on the very last free draw before quitting.

It was a strange emotion mixed with relief, surprise, and resentment, like, "Why the hell didn't you come sooner?"

Because just as he had used [Spinning Slash] and swung that sword a moment ago.

A long string of translucent characters flashed before his eyes like a scrolling screen.

"Proficiency +1"

"[Spinning Slash] lv4 (100/100) — [Spinning Slash] lv5 (Max)"

"Strength +1, Agility +1"

"Specialty [Cleave Expert] unlocked"

...

[Cleave Expert]

Category: Specialty

Effect: Cleaving damage +5%

Description

Day after day of practice has allowed you to gradually comprehend the mysteries hidden between the blades.

Note 1

"Back in the day, I took this sword in my hand and hacked my way from the Celestial Mountain all the way to the Nine Hells. Five years and six months, back and forth, without blinking once."

— Ragnarok, 35th Contractor of the "Sword of Final Extinction," The Forsaken One, Julius

Note 2

"Sweat will not let you down!"

— Stone Saint, Legendary Monk of the "Li-Jie Sect," Yongwu

...

Facing a life-and-death crisis, Xia Nan had no chance to carefully examine this information.

He just took a hurried glance, knowing that in the battle just now, he had gained the final point of proficiency for [Spinning Slash], raising it to lv5 max level, and thereby gaining a series of improvements.

Immediately, an inexplicable power surged from deep within his body like a spring, rapidly spreading throughout his entire being.

His exhausted muscles felt as if they were bathing in a hot spring, relaxed and soothed; his slightly sagging posture instantly tightened, and his strength and explosive power were significantly enhanced; the ground beneath his feet seemed to suddenly become soft, as if his shoes were fitted with springs, making him agile and light.

It was as if he had changed into a new body; the previous exhaustion and pain were swept away in an instant.

Xia Nan raised his head, his dark eyes fixed on the savage figure charging straight at him with a roar.

He threw the handle of the one-handed sword aside.

A flash of silver-white caught the corner of his eye, and he glanced over—

Gabo's corpse was lying on the ground, his half-man-tall two-handed axe stuck in the ground beside his feet.

Thoughts flashed, and his decision was made.

The bugbear "Hunk," due to its heavy injuries, had completely fallen into an uncontrollable state of madness.

Its brain was manipulated by an endless desire for destruction; even if its dead goblin minions were standing in front of it, they would be torn to shreds without mercy.

In this state, it naturally wouldn't realize what kind of changes had occurred in the weak human youth before it.

Hunk simply repeated the hunting steps it had performed countless times over the past dozen years by instinct.

Charge, aim at the prey, raise the morning star, smash...

*Hum—*

A silver-white streak, purer and shorter than before, flashed through the dim cave.

What it signified was further explosive power and more exquisite technique.

The [Spinning Slash], now raised to lv5 max level, allowed Xia Nan to fully comprehend everything about this move.

How to exert maximum power while saving the most stamina, from which angle to swing to cause greater damage, the most appropriate timing...

It had almost become a part of his body.

And the 5% bonus brought by [Cleave Expert], while the number seemed small, was a damage increase that was effectively added to every attack without restriction.

Not to mention the most critical two points of precious attributes gained in "Strength" and "Agility."

Muscle strength and physical potential, reaction speed and agility...

From "5" to "6" was by no means a 20% increase on a numerical level, but a more complex, all-around growth involving every aspect.

Combined, in just a few seconds, Xia Nan's combat power had jumped several tiers.

And the [Spinning Slash] unleashed on this basis also possessed a qualitative change in power.

The two-handed axe, which should have been incredibly heavy, was quite handy after his body was strengthened.

Abundant power rose from beneath his legs, quickly gathering and transmitting.

The axe blade swung diagonally upward, gathering all his strength into one point, and then burst forth!

"ROAR!"

The foul, blood-scented stench rushed toward him, and the shadow of the morning star held high above his head engulfed him.

Xia Nan could even clearly see the bloodshot streaks in the bugbear's murky yellowish-brown eyes and feel the air waves vibrating slightly from its roar.

But that was all.

Because in the next second, his hands felt that familiar, sluggish sensation of a sharp blade piercing a body, which he had grown accustomed to through many battles.

Fur, flesh, bone... the defenses that had just blocked his broken sword blade were broken through with ease.

After a momentary lag, it was incomparably smooth and satisfying.

The axe blade drove Xia Nan's body to complete a 180-degree rotation.

*Squelch—*

The bugbear's massive head spun away from where it should have been, its face still maintaining the expression of a roar.

The iron hammer hit the ground.

Crimson, scalding blood pumped out like a fountain, and the hulking body collapsed.