Goblin Dependency

Xia Nan’s combat plan was not complicated.

With the knowledge that the Windkind Octopus’s vital point was located at the base of the spike on its head, breaking through the defense of its surrounding tentacles became the key to the breakthrough.

There were actually many methods, such as attempting to utilize [Teeth Hunting] with the underwater mobility and burst power boost from the [Abyssal Stream] armor to charge in from the front;

Or having teammates help to restrain it, while using defensive equipment like the Deflection Field from the Dead Line ring or the Snake Scale Arm Shield, to trade a certain level of injury for a charging opportunity.

Ultimately, Xia Nan’s choice was to request assistance from Druid Hai Yin on the deck.

Once again using the special "Combined Skill" that had been developed multiple times.

Having the other transform into the form of an Albatross, lifting him into mid-air, to launch a surprise attack on the demon from above.

As for the result...

Obviously, the Windkind Octopus, now in a frenzied state, could not have anticipated that the Black Wolf Beast, which just now was battling it underwater, would appear above its head in such a manner.

[Teeth Hunting] + [Gravity Etching] + [Heavy Tide] + [Gravity Control].

The scene of multiple Battle Skills stacking together is like that of a meteor crashing down into the demon’s body from high above.

Knowing the opportunity might only come once, with a determination to kill, Xia Nan at this moment used almost all his strength except the Second Stage.

Just the [Gravity Etching], after the blade pierced into the octopus’s body, was used continuously, directly exploding three times.

The ochre-red Force Field Energy erupted like bombs along the surface of the blade.

The physical toughness wasn’t particularly high among the same Tier demons; the Windkind Octopus truly excelled in its regenerative ability and resilience.

It had zero resistance to Force Field Damage.

Under the joint effect of [Gravity Etching] and the falling gravity, Xia Nan immediately plunged into the body of the Windkind Octopus.

It’s hard to describe his feelings at this moment, with darkness all around, his body seemed wrapped in some cold, highly elastic flesh, even able to feel the external flesh contracting and writhing against his skin.

As the blade stirred, mucus and fragmented soft organ tissues splattered onto him from all directions.

Xia Nan didn’t know if these were blood or something else like brain matter; he just kept slashing, wielding the [Ash Fall] Straight Sword toward what he perceived as critical organs over and over again, executing [Vortex Slash].

Until finally, from the outside, the Windkind Octopus’s "whimpering" screeches ceased, and the cold flesh encapsulating him seemed to lose its previous vitality, no longer spasmodically squirming.

Only then did he gasp for breath, halting the sword in hand.

Familiar translucent characters flashed before his eyes in the void.

"Skill Level +1"

"[Heavy Tide] lv2 (100/100) → [Heavy Tide] lv3 (0/100)"

"Strength +1"

"..."

After obtaining [Proof of Diligence], the training efficiency greatly improved, already close to the advancement threshold.

After such an intense battle now, the Skill Level of [Heavy Tide] naturally advanced to the "Skilled" level at lv3.

As one of the Companion Battle Skills of [Fallen Blade Hunting], the quality level of [Heavy Tide] might not match [Gravity Control] and [Embers Resonance], but it was on the same tier as [Teeth Hunting] and [Gravity Etching].

After being advanced to lv3, it provided Xia Nan with an extremely valuable extra strength attribute point.

Increasing by a single digit, pulling it straight from an original "9" to "10"!

It may seem like it’s only one point more compared to the original attribute, but in reality, if two clones with otherwise identical attributes had a single point difference in strength, the one with the higher point would crush the other effortlessly.

To some extent, discarding factors like equipment and battle skills, the key reason why high-level professionals achieve all-around dominance over lower-level adventurers lies in the attribute boosts provided by "Skilled" level battle skills.

From Xia Nan’s subjective perspective.

Almost at the moment when the translucent characters flashed before his eyes, the single strength attribute boost immediately manifested throughout his body.

All his muscles abruptly swelled, and then suddenly contracted.

In appearance, it seemed as if there was no change, but the strength and explosive power of the muscles in his actual body had already greatly increased.

If someone were able to remove the armor and shirt he was wearing, they would find that his already powerful muscular contour now appeared even more perfect and clearly defined.

Hardly requiring any adaptation, with the five-dimensional attributes developing in a comprehensive manner except for Intelligence, the body’s primary attributes, "agility" and "constitution," had also been previously enhanced, leaving no noticeable shortcomings, enabling Xia Nan to expertly control his rapidly surging strength.

As the basis of everything, the enhancement of physical attributes would further increase the power of [Teeth Hunting] and [Vortex Slash], which were already at Full Level.

Realizing an effect greater than a mere sum, pushing Xia Nan’s actual combat power even higher.

Truth be told, if outsiders could see his attribute panel, witnessing those "8 Constitution," "10 Strength," "11 Agility," and "12 Perception."

No one would believe this was a low-level adventurer with a professional level of only lv3, who hadn’t even begun to change jobs.

It’s also hard to imagine, as Xia Nan accumulates experience and raises his professional level to lv10, or even lv20, what kind of state his attribute panel would be in.

"Xia Nan? Xia Nan?"