Chapter 10: Specialty

Often, due to scenes in movies or shows, people assumed that beings with massive physiques and bulging muscles, while excelling in strength, were deficient in agility and dexterity.

To some extent, this was true.

Overly bulky muscles could greatly hinder flexibility, and excessive weight could make movements less nimble.

But this came with a condition:

That the opponent was on the same strength level as you.

In modern society, this condition might not matter much, as supernatural forces didn’t exist, and no matter how much you trained, you remained within mortal limits.

But in a fantasy world with living legends, saintly avatars, and gods and demons coexisting, this was critical.

Compared to the eighteen-year-old “farm boy” Xia Nan, the bear goblin outclassed him in every aspect except intelligence and farming.

It even surpassed him in knowledge—it spoke both goblin tongue and Common.

So, even though I had adrenaline suppressing my fear and seized the moment to attack after dodging, the bear goblin “Hunk” reacted with ease.

It didn’t even bother pulling its mace from the ground. Facing my swinging longsword, it merely swung its furry, thick arm.

Bang—

I was sent flying backward in an instant.

As if I’d collided head-on with a train, a tremendous force hit my chest, freezing my thoughts. Intense dizziness and pain nearly shattered my consciousness.

“Damn!”

I struggled to my feet, the thick taste of blood filling my mouth.

On the other side, Hunk’s towering figure loomed before me.

“Bug, naughty!” The bear goblin let the shallow wound on its neck bleed, its yellowish-brown eyes filled with anger and humiliation, as if a rabbit headed for the chopping block had bitten it.

“Hunk will eat you alive!”

Bear goblin tribes hadn’t developed sophisticated “torture” methods. With their near-primitive cognition, letting prey watch itself be eaten alive was the cruelest act.

To this end, their priests had even found a plant that kept prey conscious despite severe injuries.

Of course, Hunk didn’t have such conditions or advanced “cooking” skills now.

So, I’d likely die quickly.

At this point, facing the bear goblin closing in, fully aware of our strength gap, I had no thoughts of begging for mercy.

For one, I doubted its moral standards included sparing me; for another, I noticed, not far behind Hunk, the hunter Maji, leg shattered and writhing in pain, slowly sitting up against the wall, his right hand gripping his longbow, his left reaching for the quiver.

Our eyes met briefly and parted.

Though we hadn’t known each other long and had no real rapport, in that moment, I instinctively understood the meaning in his gaze.

Stall for time, keep the enemy’s attention.

My mind raced, and I opened my mouth:

“Hey, eating like this won’t taste good.”

“Hm?” Realizing the bug was talking, Hunk, hammer raised, paused. “No! Human, tasty!”

“If you want to eat it raw without cooking, I suggest marinating.”

Seeing it seemed drawn by my words, I rambled on without caring what I said.

“You can wash me in a basin, add fine salt to sterilize and season, stir for five minutes, then add ginger, garlic, chili, and soy sauce. Seal it and wait thirty minutes.”

“That flavor…” Noticing Hunk growing impatient with my made-up steps, I quickly shifted to taste.

“It’s sweet and fresh, preserving my original flavor while adding a tangy, spicy kick—very appetizing.”

“Sweet? Spicy… what’s that taste?” Hunk, hammer still raised, didn’t swing but asked with curiosity.

But it was a bear goblin, not a single-minded, meat-obsessed ogre.

As soon as it spoke, Hunk realized.

“Little bug, trying to trick me, damn you!”

It lunged forward two steps, its right arm’s muscles bulging as it gripped the hammer, ready to crush the annoying bug beneath it.

At that moment, Maji was ready again.

Drawing the bow, aiming.

Swish—

The familiar sound of metal slicing through the air rang out.

Compared to before, the distance was shorter this time, meaning even with its superhuman reactions, the bear goblin could hardly dodge;

and that nightmare-inducing energy barrier didn’t appear.

And so…

“Splat!”

Blood sprayed.

Maji, leg shattered, shot the arrow while sitting against the cave wall.

Though still precise under the skill’s effect, the power was weaker.

So, while the metal arrow pierced the bear goblin’s right eye as it turned at the sound, only half the arrowhead sank into the socket.

The paralyzing venom quickly spread from the wound.

Severe injury, but not lethal.

Facing this final chance to seize survival, I didn’t hesitate.

As the bear goblin howled from the piercing pain in its eye, I gripped my one-handed sword with both hands, ignoring the tearing pain in my arm muscles, and forced out my fourth [Whirlwind Slash] of the day.

Cold light flashed.

The brownish fur offered no resistance to the sharp blade; the thick, cowhide-like skin posed the first resistance, slightly sticky; the accumulated fat was like swamp mud, the blade still smooth but its force subtly drained;

the rock-hard muscles absorbed most of the sword’s sharpness but were still breached under [Whirlwind Slash]’s enhancement; then, the blade, having cut through fur and flesh, met the body’s toughest defense— bone.

“Crack.”

No longer passed among rookie adventurers, the battle-worn one-handed sword met its fitting end.

In a fierce encounter worthy of its combat history, it snapped.

The sudden empty feeling in my hand left my gathered strength with nowhere to go.

I watched the cracks appear and spread on the sword, my body sent flying diagonally by [Whirlwind Slash]’s inertia.

“Roar!!!”

Screaming, the unprecedented pain drove the bear-like beast into complete madness.

It yanked the arrow from its eye socket, blood gushing like a waterfall, staining its body red and adding to its ferocity.

Facing this crazed beast, a crippled hunter with a shattered leg and a rookie adventurer with depleted stamina and a broken weapon, the Rotten Fish and Shrimp team’s fate seemed sealed.

Despair filled Maji’s face.

The second use of [Precision Strike] left his body in a paralyzed, overloaded state.

Every muscle seemed to twitch and spasm, unable to muster even a sliver of strength.

His gaze was vacant, lost in thought.

Perhaps regretting entering this cave out of greed, or cursing himself for never learning to be more cautious;

or maybe recalling the girl smiling at him under the white oak tree back home.

Surprisingly, compared to Maji, who had lost all hope, I, equally on the verge of collapse, had a complex expression.

Yes, complex.

Like playing mahjong with a terrible hand, planning to play defensively to scrape by, only to unexpectedly form a small win before the game ends; or spending thousands in a game without pulling a rare, only to get an SSR with the last free pull before quitting.

It was a strange mix of relief, surprise, and resentment, like, “Why didn’t this happen sooner?”

Because as I swung that [Whirlwind Slash],

a flood of translucent text flashed before my eyes like a screen refresh.

“Proficiency +1”

“[Whirlwind Slash] lv4 (100/100) — [Whirlwind Slash] lv5 (Max)”

“Strength +1, Agility +1”

“Specialty [Chopping Master] unlocked”

…

[Chopping Master]

Type: Specialty

Effect: Chopping damage +5%

Description:

Day after day of practice has led you to grasp the secrets hidden within the blade.

Note 1:

“Back in the day, with this sword in hand, I carved my way from Celestial Mountain to the Ninth Hell. Five years and six months, back and forth, without blinking once.”

—Twilight of the Gods, 35th Contractor of “Sword of Final Extinction,” The Forsaken, Julius

Note 2:

“Sweat will never betray you!”

—Stone Saint, Legendary Monk of “Tempered Virtue Sect,” Yongwu

…

Facing a life-or-death crisis, I had no time to examine this information.

A quick glance confirmed that in the fight, I’d gained the final proficiency point for [Whirlwind Slash], leveling it to lv5 (Max) and earning a series of boosts.

Then, a mysterious force surged from deep within me, like a spring, spreading through my body.

My exhausted muscles relaxed as if soaked in a hot spring; my slightly flabby frame tightened, strength and explosiveness markedly enhanced; the ground beneath my feet felt softer, my shoes like they had springs, agile and light.

As if I’d swapped bodies, the fatigue and pain vanished instantly.

I raised my head, my dark eyes fixed on the ferocious figure charging at me.

I tossed aside the broken hilt of my one-handed sword.

A glint of silver caught my eye—I glanced over.

Gagu’s corpse lay on the ground, his half-man-high double-handed axe planted beside his feet.

A thought flashed, and I made my decision.

The bear goblin “Hunk,” crippled by severe wounds, was in an uncontrollable frenzy.

Driven by endless destructive impulses, it would tear even its dead goblin minions to shreds.

In this state, it naturally didn’t notice the transformation in the frail human youth before it.

Hunk merely followed its instincts, repeating the hunting steps it had used countless times over the past decade.

Charge, aim at prey, raise the hammer, smash…

Buzz—

A purer, briefer silver arc flashed through the dim cave.

It carried greater explosive power and refined technique.

The now maxed-out lv5 [Whirlwind Slash] let me fully master every aspect of the skill.

How to maximize power with minimal stamina, the angle for greatest damage, the perfect timing…

It had become part of my body.

And the 5% boost from [Chopping Master], though small, applied unrestricted to every attack’s damage.

Not to mention the critical two-point gain in Strength and Agility.

Muscle power, physical potential, reaction speed, dexterity…

From “5” to “6” wasn’t just a 20% numerical increase but a complex, multifaceted growth across all levels.

Together, in mere seconds, my combat strength leaped several tiers.

The [Whirlwind Slash] unleashed with this foundation had a qualitative leap in power.

The heavy double-handed axe felt surprisingly manageable after my body’s enhancement.

Abundant strength surged from my legs, quickly channeling upward.

The axe blade swung diagonally upward, focusing all my power into one point, then erupting fiercely!

“Roar!”

The foul, blood-tinged breath hit my face, the shadow of the raised mace enveloping me.

I could clearly see the bloodshot threads in Hunk’s murky yellowish-brown eyes, feel the faint air tremors from its roar.

But that was all.

Because the next second, my hand felt the now-familiar sensation of a blade cutting through flesh.

Fur, flesh, bone… the defenses that had stopped my broken sword were effortlessly breached.

After a brief pause, it was pure smoothness.

The axe blade drove my body through a 180-degree spin.

Screech—

The bear goblin’s massive head spun off its neck, its face still frozen in a roar.

The iron hammer fell.

Scarlet, scalding blood gushed like a fountain, and the towering body collapsed.

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