Chapter 65: Chapter 61: Is He Human?
Once the principle was understood, everything became simple.
After casting the skill a few times, Lin Mo quickly grasped the so-called "Qi and Blood." Controlling and circulating it felt just as natural.
Once he had a clear grasp of these concepts, all he had to do was open the Skill Scroll, read the description carefully, and follow the instructions...
Learned Skill [Tenacity]! Constitution +2!
A message quickly floated before his eyes.
’Alright, it worked!’
Lin Mo eagerly checked the effects of his New Skill.
[Tenacity] Level 1 (1/10): Bolsters your defense, reducing the next two instances of physical damage you receive by 10%.
Note: A Knight should possess a guardian’s heart, but before you can protect others, you must first learn to protect yourself.
’This is a Green Excellent Level Skill!’
Every Profession has both offensive and defensive Skills. For example, Bain’s "Shield Strike" is an offensive skill, while "Tenacity" is a defensive skill from the Knight Profession.
This was a perfect fit for Lin Mo. After all, he already had the Warrior Profession’s "Slashing" and "Cross Slash" for offense and wasn’t lacking in that department for the time being.
Defensively, however, he’d only been able to rely on dodging. If he couldn’t evade an attack or was forced to trade blows, his only option besides his Leather Armor was to take the hit head-on.
But now, with this skill, that difficult situation would be much improved.
He would have much more confidence when facing unavoidable attacks or trading blows.
The skill’s value might only be 10%, but the tactical worth of a damage reduction skill like this couldn’t be measured by numbers alone.
At a critical moment, that 10% could be the difference between victory and defeat—between life and death!
Lin Mo tested the skill. Just as the Scroll described, his body felt distinctly stronger as his Qi and Blood circulated. The effect lasted for about ten seconds.
After ten seconds, he would need to cast it again to regain the effect.
...
Bain, watching from the side, was completely numb.
A genius takes far less time than an ordinary person to learn a skill. Instead of months or even years, it might take half a month, a few days, or even a few hours... but it should never be a matter of seconds.
Precise control over one’s Qi and Blood was difficult enough. When faced with a new skill, circulating that Qi and Blood according to a Scroll’s instructions was never a smooth process. For a normal person, just accomplishing that much required long hours of practice and exploration.
The gap between a first successful circulation and mastering it to the point of unerring repetition was vast. These difficulties were precisely why learning a skill took so much time.
Learning a skill in a matter of seconds... Not even a dead-drunk Minstrel spouting gibberish would come up with something so absurd.
And yet, here it was, happening right before his eyes.
In that dazed moment, a tangible feeling washed over him—he might be witnessing the rise of a Legendary Adventurer!
"Thanks a lot, Uncle Bain."
Lin Mo smiled and handed the Scroll to him. "This is a Knight Profession Skill. You should hold onto it for now."
Bain froze, his breath catching in his throat. With a trembling hand, he accepted the Scroll.
Bain was well aware that their party was already deeply indebted to Lin Mo, but faced with the offer of a skill, he simply couldn’t refuse.
On this Continent, Skills meant the potential for growth. Without new ones, even a Professional would stagnate, finding it nearly impossible to advance.
No one could resist the temptation of a skill, which was precisely why Skill Scrolls were so incredibly expensive.
"I’ll return it the moment I’ve learned it!"
Bain said with great solemnity.
"Also... you probably don’t need this, but..."
Bain removed his armor and carefully retrieved a yellowed Scroll from an inner lining.
"Here."
Lin Mo unfurled the Scroll. Emblazoned upon it were two words: "Shield Strike."
It was Bain’s own skill.
"Of course I need it. Why wouldn’t I?"
Just as before, Lin Mo tried to control his Qi and Blood, guiding it along the path described on the Scroll.
This time, however, it wasn’t quite as smooth. ’Something feels... missing.’ The main issue was at the final, crucial point of outputting the Qi and Blood; there was a stuttering, blocked feeling.
"Uncle Bain, may I borrow your Shield?"
Bain handed him the Shield at his side, as if he’d already guessed what was coming next.
Lin Mo took the Shield and tried again.
This time, the Qi and Blood throughout his body mobilized rapidly, pouring out smoothly.
Lin Mo, Shield in hand, thrust it out abruptly.
Learned Skill [Shield Strike]! Constitution +1!
’So that was it. I just needed a Shield.’
’Is he even human?’
Bain watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded. He remembered how he had struggled for months just to successfully cast "Shield Strike" a single time, and had been so excited he couldn’t sleep all night...
’How can the gap between people be so vast?’
Lin Mo tried again without the Shield, this time with other weapons. He could barely manage to execute the skill, but it felt awkward and its power was severely diminished.
This wasn’t surprising. The skill was called "Shield Strike," not "Sword Strike" or "Spear Strike," after all. With a high enough Skill Level, he might be able to master it to the point of perfectly executing it with other weapons, but there was no need.
Lin Mo didn’t need another attack, nor did he have the spare energy to grind the Skill Level for this one.
Learning a skill didn’t mean he had to train it. The 1 point of Constitution it granted was already its greatest value to him.
Counting that point of Constitution, plus the two points from [Tenacity], Lin Mo’s base Constitution reached 7. With the additional two-point bonus from his Warrior Profession, his total Constitution was now 9—surpassing even Bain, the Knight.
Now, Lin Mo’s Constitution was no longer a weak point. His Defense Power was enhanced, and his endurance had also improved significantly.
It was getting late. Cody had already gone back to his tent to sleep. Bain, still weak from his ordeal, said goodnight to Lin Mo and also turned in to get some much-needed rest.
Evan was still waiting for Millian to wake up and didn’t seem to have any intention of sleeping, so they let him take the first watch.
Lin Mo walked into his tent, a wave of drowsiness washing over him.
But before he slept...
Lin Mo took the Bronze Treasure Chest from the secret chamber out of his pack.
He still had one Treasure Chest left to open.
A moment ago, a similar Bronze Treasure Chest had yielded an Excellent Level Skill Scroll. This made Lin Mo look at the one before him with great anticipation...
