Goblin Dependency

"Skill Level +1"

"[Heavy Tide] Level 2 (94/100) → [Heavy Tide] Level 2 (95/100)"

"..."

Translucent characters vanished quickly in the void before his eyes.

Xia Nan glanced at it, then withdrew his gaze.

The expression on his face didn’t change much due to the increase in his Battle Skill level.

Nor did his heart experience much fluctuation.

On one hand, the acquisition of the [Proof of Diligence] brought an average of nearly three points of Skill Level daily, making Xia Nan accustomed to the current upgrade efficiency of [Heavy Tide];

On the other hand, his mood at present was not particularly pleasant.

As to the reasons...

The black-haired youth, holding a fishing pole, stared blankly at the small fish, as long as a forefinger, he had just pulled up from beneath the sea onto the deck, lost in contemplation momentarily.

This was all he had caught this entire morning.

Why?

This shouldn’t be the case...

Time, weather, temperature, location, technique... Xia Nan, combining his keen perception ability with a wealth of fishing experience learned and summarized over time, believed he had done everything he could.

Imagining one fish after another being caught seemed a matter of course.

Yet the pitiful catch before him forced him to abandon daydreams and return to reality.

"Wow! You’ve caught a fish, Xia Nan!"

Beside him, half orc Alton exclaimed joyfully.

He wasn’t being sarcastic; the small fellow always valued emotional support greatly, and seeing Xia Nan’s efforts bear some fruit genuinely pleased him.

"How about I help you use it to make a bowl of soup for lunch?"

Normally, skilled fishing masters disdain retrieving such small fish, often releasing them back into the sea once unhooked.

Yet, given the effort Xia Nan invested in catching it, even though it was indeed small, he was reluctant to simply let it go.

After a moment’s thought, he went ahead and unhooked the small fish, handing it to the half orc Alton beside him.

"Just put it in the cream mushroom soup, before that, you might sear it for a few seconds to enhance the flavor."

"Hehe, no worries! It’ll taste great!"

Alton cheerfully accepted the small fish, took quick strides with his short legs, and eagerly entered the cabin.

Retrieving the fishing line alone, Xia Nan mentally cheered himself up.

At least the training goal was satisfactorily achieved.

As mentioned before, having come to Suo Yu Bay from inland, he discovered that combining his Battle Skill with fishing provided quite effective training.

The efficiency even surpassed routine practice at times.

Taking [Heavy Tide] as an example, casting rods, pulling lines, and even using the Battle Skill to stir water and bait, simulating the movements of prey during waiting, all served as practice.

Even though training time during voyages was much less than at Suo Yu Bay, he still maintained a decent Skill Level acquisition rate.

Currently, they were on the seventh day since departing Wave-breaking Pier.

And Xia Nan had increased [Heavy Tide]’s Skill Level to Level 2 (95/100), forecasting an upgrade to Level 3 within a day or two.

As the Companion Battle Skill of [Fallen Blade Hunting], its Quality Level should be on par with [Gravity Etching].

Being a critical node in the entire Level System, when [Heavy Tide] upgrades to Level 3, Xia Nan expects to receive tangible attribute points, just like with [Gravity Etching] and [Teeth Hunting].

Thinking of this, his mood lifted considerably.

After arriving at Suo Yu Bay, despite acquiring several rare pieces of Equipment and greatly enhancing overall Combat Ability,

both Professional Level and physical Attributes remained in an accumulation phase, without substantive changes.

Currently, even a single Attribute Value is enough to invigorate him.

"Huff..."

The damp sea breeze blew between the rising and falling waves, making the dark hair sway.

His nostrils flared slightly, and Xia Nan’s brow furrowed lightly.

He sensed the humidity in the air changing quietly.

Instinctively, he lifted his gaze to the distance, where at the intersection of sky and horizon he faintly saw a very distant, weak gray-black.

Before he could alert anyone, druid Hai Yin at the bow, spotting unusual movements of the seagulls overhead, promptly shouted to the deck crew:

"Watch out for the storm!"

"Prepare to lower sail and reduce speed!"

Suddenly, the previously tranquil deck came alive with activity.

Thanks to Xia Nan and Hai Yin’s timely detection, the crew aboard the Vengeance Blade had ample time to prepare, plus experience from prior responses.

The scene aboard remained orderly, with sailors assuming their roles to prepare for the impending storm.

Each position already had assigned hands; interfering carelessly would only disrupt the sailors.

Therefore, Xia Nan collected his fishing rod and stood by the rail at the edge of the deck, gazing at the distant gray-black, trying to gauge the storm’s scale and trajectory to aid the fleet with his Perception Ability.

On the other side, as the Core Caster of the team, Hai Yin was equally unoccupied at the moment.

With the Silver Ring Snake "A Yin" retrieved to her wrist, having previously been sunning itself on her shoulder, she saw Xia Nan’s actions and stepped forward to inquire about the situation:

"How’s it looking, did you discover anything?"