Goblin Dependency

Unlike the other adventurers in the field, Xia Nan, who was holding a resonating stone at this moment, seemed to blend and connect with the luminous glow it emitted.

One by one, the scattered light spots across the island were sensed by him in an instant.

They were fleeting.

Without carefully counting them, a thought flashed in his mind, and he instinctively realized:

—There are a hundred of them.

What does this mean?

Is it a hundred specially processed Deep Sea Resonating Stones, or a hundred adventurers chosen like himself, floating in mid-air?

Or perhaps... both?

Xia Nan didn’t have time to think more.

As the light curtain shrouding the island gradually stabilized, the bluish light enveloping his body surface became brighter, and his spirit seemed to be affected by something.

His consciousness gradually sank.

In a daze, Xia Nan suddenly felt a familiar sensation.

This sense of being guided out of reality, like falling into a dream.

Isn’t this the feeling he had when he previously activated the [Dream Weaving Corridor], entering the story simulation?

Could it be...

His consciousness sank to the deepest depths.

Darkness swallowed the last glimmer of light in his vision like a tide.

...

...

At the same time, in the center of Stod Island.

The powerful beam of light rising to the sky drove a strong air current, stirring up dust and grass clippings, turning them into tangible waves, surging in all directions.

It stood almost close to the beam.

The loose cloak originally covering "Algae Scale" Dodd was ignited by the burning wind unleashed by the beam, turning into fragments of burning cloth, completely swept away.

Revealing the features and form originally hidden by the cloak.

As a Dragon Descendant, his bloodline was obviously thin.

Completely lacking the hideous appearance akin to "Lizardman" usually associated with Dragon Descendants in memory.

Though he had translucent scales visible on parts such as his hand back, neck, and cheeks, his facial features and body structure mostly retained distinct human traits.

Only the long, scaled tail behind him seemed a bit incongruous.

At this moment, the most conspicuous was not "Algae Scale" Dodd himself.

Rather, it was the strange necklace hanging on his neck, floating and radiating bright light.

The chain for hanging it was nothing special, clearly assembled for convenient wearing.

The true core was the pendant at the end of the necklace—a silver-white metal ring.

The ring itself had a gentle, smooth texture, with no discernible specific metal material. Although it had no obvious decorative patterns, it appeared very simple, yet its sleek design and distinct material from ordinary metal gave it an inexplicable sharp, mysterious aura.

Its size was awkwardly in-between a ring and a bracelet.

Too loose as a ring, yet too tight as a bracelet.

Because of this, "Algae Scale" Dodd had a craftsman custom-make a chain for it, wearing it as a necklace on his neck.

To speak of it, many years ago, the first time he saw this silver ring, he didn’t think much of it.

Only considering it as some item of undetermined value, with no practical use, merely a collector’s item.

However, the man named "Lailo moerton", reportedly from some noble family in the inland, whose actions before death drew attention, seemed to regard the silver ring as something extremely important.

Dodd thus paid more attention to it, not throwing it casually into some corner or rewarding it to a meritorious subordinate.

Instead, he researched it for a period through some means.

This led him to discover the silver ring’s peculiarities.

Firstly, he discovered the most easily noticeable peculiarity.

It was the hardness of the silver ring itself.

Though its surface appeared gentle and smooth, without any feeling of toughness,

its hardness exceeded any metal Dodd had encountered so far.

For this, he even used a good enchanted scimitar, renowned for its toughness, which he had seized from a fellow pirate, for a strength test comparison.

The final outcome was the scimitar shattered completely, rendered useless, while the silver ring remained intact.

Next, was the ring’s unique material.

The metal used to forge the silver ring seemed like some special material not belonging to this world.

Despite its exaggerated hardness that outdid even finely processed enchanted equipment, it was completely impervious to the magic particles in the air, unable to generate any reaction.

Although he noted the peculiarities of the silver ring, for the great pirate "Algae Scale" Dodd who had collected many incomprehensible items over the years, it was merely an unremarkable piece among his numerous collectables.

Until an unexpected discovery during a certain test ritual.

This unadorned silver ring, though unable to react with any form of magic particles, might be precisely because of this feature and some other undetectable unique attribute.

When used as a ritual medium, its performance exceeded any material he had ever seen in this world.

Particularly when utilized in Illusion Secret Realm type rituals, its effect could be enhanced to an epic level of exaggeration.

This made Dodd ecstatic.

For at that time, he was at a critical juncture in his life.

Like at the beginning of a forked path, just one step forward could change his future trajectory.

Like most low level adventurers in this world, before Dodd made a name for himself as "Algae Scale" on the sea, he was just an ordinary person with no background and no foreseeable future.

But fortunately, Dodd had good fortune and sufficiently exceptional talent.

With a few mastered Battle Skills acquired from various sources, he successfully took up the world’s most common warrior profession, becoming a true professional.

Then, rapid progress ensued.

Outstanding talent, above-average leadership ability, unexpectedly reasonable combat skill pairing, formidable actual combat prowess... Despite encountering countless hardships, he ultimately made a name for himself in the Southern Islands, earning the title "Algae Scale".

When Dodd seized the metal silver ring from Morton, his professional level had reached Level 9, one step away from Level 10, then onto "Transcendent".

Unlike Xia Nan who, with an attribute panel, could choose his desired career path with a clear forward path,

Adventurers on the Aifala Continent, when reaching the professional level cap, had limited choices.

Often, supporting Battle Skill choices lacked a cohesive system, not to mention career advancement.

Thanks to the wealth and connections "Algae Scale" Dodd had accumulated over the years, he knew of two paths to "Transcendent".

Using the warrior profession as a foundation.

The first, an ordinary step-by-step choice.

—[Duel Master].

Abandoning heavy armor, focusing on killing, mastering various weapons as an advanced warrior class.

"Prejudice", "One-on-One", "Weakness Strike", "One-Hit Kill" are the related concepts of this profession.

The advantage is perfect alignment with Dodd’s years of combat style and matches his constructed combat skill system.

If he took up the profession, it would require little adjustment time to quickly wield its powerful extraordinary profession strength.

Yet, one must admit.

At the "Transcendent" level, there were distinct differences between professions.

Higher-level extraordinary professions provided far greater combat bonuses than ordinary professions.

But [Duel Master]...

Not the lowest in the extraordinary profession hierarchy, but only of average standard,

Not lagging too far behind, yet not overly exceptional either.

For a professional of ordinary origin like "Algae Scale" Dodd, ascending to Transcendent was something he never dared to dream of before.

How could he be discontent?

But perhaps due to a deeply hidden ambition, or an unrealistic fantasy about his future.

After having fully acquired the method for [Duel Master] profession advancement, Dodd did not stop there.

He spent substantial resources and gold coins to find another method for extraordinary profession advancement:

—[Scale Changer]