Chapter 87: Upgrade, Unlocking Demon Body Techniques
"It’s fixed. Take a look."
The Blacksmith placed a newly restored Kite Shield and the re-sharpened Short Sword on the counter.
Lance picked up the Shield, slipped it onto his arm, and gave it a couple of swings.
The dents on the shield’s face had been hammered out, and the straps on the back were replaced with new ones that smelled of fresh leather. The grip felt incredibly solid.
The Short Sword’s edge had been re-honed to a cold gleam, the saw-like nicks completely gone.
"Nice work."
Lance promptly paid the repair fee and turned to leave.
He stopped again as he passed the smokehouse named "Old Hank’s."
This time, he didn’t hold back, pulling out two Silver Coins and buying more than a dozen strips of smoked Iron-skinned Wild Boar jerky in one go.
The jerky was as hard as wood, but its advantage was that it was made from Demon Flesh and was highly nutritious.
This was fuel specifically prepared for tonight’s high-intensity special training.
’Since I’ve decided to go out and clean up some enemies tonight, it’d be safer to see if I can upgrade my Skills first.’
’At Level 3, the Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style will unlock its Demon Body Technique aspects.’
Lance was all about being decisive and ruthless, never dragging things out.
It was just past six in the evening when he returned to his newly rented small house.
Lance locked the doors and windows, sat at the table, and shoved two hard strips of jerky into his mouth, chewing forcefully.
As the high-density food went down, washed down with a large bucket of fresh water, a wave of warmth instantly spread through his stomach.
After a simple rest, his training began.
Lance took off his shirt and went out to the empty space in the backyard.
He didn’t choose to practice Swordsmanship. Instead, he poured all his energy into harmonizing the [Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique] and the [Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style].
In the tight, complex confines of alley fights or night raids, a Longsword could sometimes be unwieldy. In contrast, these close-quarters, unarmed killing techniques were far more lethal and stealthy.
"Hiss... Whoosh..."
As he adjusted his breathing rhythm, the scorching stream of air once again exploded within his chest.
After a full day and night of practice, Lance’s control over the violent Ether in his body had clearly risen to a new level.
When he activated the Breathing Combat Technique, he no longer billowed white steam like before, looking like a red-hot branding iron.
He had locked that overflowing heat firmly within his body.
Only someone within half a meter of him would be able to feel a slight rise in temperature.
Time flew by in a tedious blur of punches and kicks.
He trained for a full four hours.
It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night that Lance slowly stopped.
He could clearly feel that as his Skill Level increased, the proficiency gained from this basic training had started to diminish to a certain extent.
It had decreased by about ten percent.
But this didn’t make him anxious.
Thanks to the High Tier Magical Beast Dried Meat he’d eaten tonight, his body’s recovery speed and stamina had greatly improved. The proportion of effective training time was actually higher than yesterday’s.
Between this increase and decrease, his efficiency had completely evened out.
’Looks like I won’t be able to save on food expenses from now on.’
Lance wiped away his sweat, but a clearer understanding of the "Skill Experience" rewarded for completing commissions was forming in his mind.
’For Low-Level Skills, I can still level them up quickly through hard training.’
’But once the Skill Level gets high, the returns from training will inevitably plummet.’
’At that point, the value of General Experience Points, which can be allocated directly, will become immeasurable.’
’I have to work hard to stockpile them. I need to save them for where they’ll count the most.’
Lance didn’t deactivate the Breathing Combat Technique completely. Instead, he deliberately controlled its rhythm, maintaining it at the low-power "Ether Resonance State."
He called up the system panel to check on tonight’s results.
[Ethereal Energy Pool: 3.4 marks → 6.0 marks]
[Dragon Hunting Breathing Combat Technique Proficiency +280, LV2 (371/600)]
[Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style Proficiency +310, LV2 (448/450)]
Lance raised an eyebrow, looking at the number stuck at 448.
’So close.’
He glanced at his still-plentiful experience reserves.
[Current Remaining: Skill Experience 170, Knowledge Experience 80]
Without the slightest hesitation, Lance focused his mind and invested 2 points of Skill Experience into the [Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style].
The system panel flashed with a faint light.
[Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style LV2 → LV3 (Skilled)]
Although he had only filled in those two small points of experience, there wasn’t a large influx of new knowledge, but rather a qualitative change in his sense of bodily control.
Before, limited by his unfamiliarity with the power-generation techniques, his punches always had a certain stiffness, a feeling that he couldn’t fully rein in his strength.
But now, those obscure blockages had been completely cleared.
He felt his control over every muscle had reached a much finer level. His Power was no longer a reckless, straightforward release, but something he could retract and unleash at will.
More importantly...
Having reached LV3 Master Level, the [Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style] finally began to reveal its true nature as a Demon Body Technique.
Lance stood before the stone wall in the yard and took a deep breath.
He tried to drive the surging Ether Energy within his body, guiding it to the fingertips of his right hand according to the technique in his mind.
He slightly curled his five fingers, locking the joints into a claw.
"Hah!"
Lance let out a low shout and swung fiercely at the courtyard wall.
SHIING!
Five extremely faint, golden-red streaks of light seemed to slice through the air—flaming tails produced by Ether Energy converting and creating friction with the air.
This was immediately followed by a grating sound that set one’s teeth on edge.
Lance pulled back his hand and looked closely.
On the hard, bluestone wall, five distinct claw marks had appeared.
Each mark was embedded a full inch deep into the wall.
Lance stared blankly at his own palm, then back at the claw marks on the wall.
’With this kind of destructive power, if it hit a person’s flesh and blood, they’d be instantly disemboweled, even if they were wearing Leather Armor.’
The might of this Skill was even more terrifying than he had anticipated.
But what he found strange was...
Even though this Fighting Skill was so powerful, when the [Illusory Iris Confession] first poured the Knowledge into his mind, none of the moves within it had any names.
All the movements were just pure killing techniques.
It was as if the person who created this ultimate technique had never thought about founding a school or passing it down to future generations.
He seemed to have simply compiled some moves he’d designed for slaughter, then tossed them to that Witch.
This contrast between casualness and power made Lance a little curious about the creator he had never met.
Looking at the faint red glow that hadn’t completely faded from his palm, Lance pondered for a moment.
"Since it doesn’t have a name yet, I’ll call it ’Flame-Splitting Claw.’"
As the thought crossed his mind, the data from the move he had just executed was immediately and faithfully recorded by the panel.
[Flame-Splitting Claw (Azure Dragon Extreme Intent Style · Demon Body Techniques)]
[Effect: Unarmed Sharpness +3, Armor Penetration +2.]
[Special Effect: When dealing damage to Unarmored or Light Armor targets, there is a 20% chance to trigger the "Rend" status (target continuously loses a small amount of stamina and blood per minute).]