Chapter 104: Procurement
Suppressing the impulse in his heart, Su Xiao temporarily refrained from purchasing blade-type weapons, as he had other matters to attend to.
After unlocking Skill Five, "Supreme Blade," Su Xiao prepared to unlock the next skill. However, when he attempted to do so, he discovered that he was temporarily unable to unlock any further skills.
A line of text appeared below the skill list:
[The currently unlocked skills have reached their limit. Subsequent skills can be unlocked after three main attributes reach 30 points; otherwise, the body will be unable to bear the subsequent skills.]
Su Xiao was taken aback. It seemed that this unlockable Skill Six was exceptionally powerful, as his current physical constitution was insufficient to withstand it.
Since he couldn't unlock a new skill, Su Xiao chose to first enhance his Blade Mastery specialization.
His Blade Mastery had already reached Lv.3, and even at Lv.3, it allowed him to engage in close combat with SSS-class ghouls like Takatsuki Sen.
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xiao took out two Soul Crystals (Small). He planned to temporarily raise his Blade Mastery to Lv.5 to see if any changes would occur.
However, he had a premonition that Blade Mastery might differ from the Heart Eye skill; the upper limit of Blade Mastery was definitely not as simple as Lv.10.
[‘Blade Mastery’ has been upgraded to Lv.4.]
[‘Blade Mastery’ has been upgraded to Lv.5.]
The Soul Crystals in Su Xiao's hand shattered, transforming into a large swath of light particles that merged into his body.
Unable to help himself, he closed his eyes and "saw" a figure formed from the fragments of Soul Crystals appear before him. The figure matched him in both height and appearance, standing in the void practicing blade techniques, as if the flow of time had stopped at that moment.
Slashing, thrusting, horizontal cuts—multiple movements changed continuously, and the figure's actions grew faster and faster.
After an unknown period, the figure finally stopped. It then suddenly rushed toward Su Xiao, ultimately shattering with a crash and merging into his body.
Su Xiao, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. At that moment, his gaze was exceptionally sharp, as if a blade aura flashed in his eyes.
His gaze gradually returned to calmness, and his Blade Mastery had been upgraded to Lv.5.
Although Blade Mastery had been raised to Lv.5, it did not trigger the same situation as when Heart Eye reached Lv.5, leaving Su Xiao somewhat puzzled.
He inquired with Reincarnation Paradise, and it provided an explanation.
[Because Blade Mastery is a high-level power system, level rewards will only appear after reaching Lv.10.]
Su Xiao understood. It turned out that Blade Mastery was a relatively powerful skill, and level rewards would only appear after reaching Lv.10.
This made Su Xiao look forward to what reward would appear when Blade Mastery reached Lv.10. Could it be the ability to slash out blade auras? Perhaps that was too early; it might be some other ability.
But one thing was certain: the reward for reaching Lv.10 in Blade Mastery would definitely be very strong.
Su Xiao checked his Blade Mastery.
Blade Mastery: Lv.5 (Passive)
Skill Effect: Increases melee attack power by 18% and proficiency with blade-type weapons.
...
Each level of Blade Mastery increased melee attack power by 2%, of course, only when he was using blade-type weapons.
2% might seem small, but if the level of Blade Mastery was high enough, the cumulative effect would be remarkably significant.
After enhancing Blade Mastery, Su Xiao toyed with the remaining two Soul Crystals (Small) in his hand.
He had obtained five in total, used one to unlock the skill, two to upgrade Blade Mastery, and now he hesitated over the remaining two—whether to continue upgrading Blade Mastery or use them to upgrade Azure Steel Shadow.
After a long hesitation, Su Xiao decided to upgrade Azure Steel Shadow first.
Azure Steel Shadow had performed excellently in battle, with considerable True Damage and the intense pain caused by burning the enemy's internal energy serving as a pseudo-control.
Lacking control skills for now, Su Xiao planned to develop Azure Steel Shadow more deeply.
With that decision made, Su Xiao consumed two Soul Crystals (Small) and 2000 Paradise Coins to upgrade Azure Steel Shadow.
Unlike enhancing Blade Mastery, when enhancing Azure Steel Shadow, the Soul Crystals (Small) shattered and directly merged into the special energy of Azure Steel Shadow. Su Xiao could clearly feel that the energy within his body had become much stronger.
[‘Azure Steel Shadow’ has been upgraded to Lv.2.]
[‘Azure Steel Shadow’ has been upgraded to Lv.3.]
Skill One
Azure Steel Shadow: Lv.3 (Active Skill)
Usage Condition: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), the Hunter consumes 3 Mana Points per minute. It automatically deactivates when Mana Points fall below 1%.
Skill Effect: After activating (Azure Steel Shadow), each melee attack burns 20 Mana Points from the enemy and deals an equal amount of True Damage. The enemy will suffer intense pain from the mana burn.
...
The Mana Points consumed per minute by Azure Steel Shadow increased from 2 to 3, and the energy burned from the enemy and the True Damage dealt also increased, from the original 10 points to 20 points.
If fighting a warrior with low mana, after a few slashes from Su Xiao, the opponent would be reduced to basic attacks—a truly heartwarming scene.
After upgrading Azure Steel Shadow, Su Xiao let out a long sigh. Although he had upgraded various skills, his combat style had not become cluttered.
His main combat method was centered on Blade Mastery, supplemented by skills like Azure Steel Shadow and Heart Eye.
Su Xiao was a melee fighter. When engaging an enemy in close quarters, he had too many things to consider, so he wouldn't learn a bunch of messy abilities. At most, he would learn passive skills that didn't require activation. His combat style was to charge at the enemy and then slash.
Simple and crude, yet highly effective.
This differed from mages or other ranged classes, who would learn a large number of skills and keep throwing them during battle.
The two sides had different combat styles and different development paths.
Su Xiao rubbed his forehead. After returning from the derivative world, he had been constantly on the move, and now he inevitably felt fatigued. He had done most of what needed to be done; afterward, he only needed to purchase some blade-type weapons for sacrifice and then head straight to the Trial Grounds.
But his current state wasn't ideal. Proper rest would allow him to gain more from the Trial Grounds.
Lying on the bed, Su Xiao fell asleep within five minutes.
Without the pressure of the derivative world, in the absolutely safe exclusive space, Su Xiao completely relaxed. This sleep was incredibly sweet.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Xiao was awakened by the need to urinate. If not for that, he could have slept longer.
Going to the bathroom, Su Xiao relieved himself with great satisfaction. It was truly a torrential downpour, incredibly refreshing.
Picking up the clock by the bed, Su Xiao realized he had slept for 15 hours.
After taking a refreshing cold shower, Su Xiao left his room, heading straight for the Trade Square.
His target this time was blade-type weapons. He still didn't know how many white-quality weapons the Supreme Blade would need to sacrifice to fill the Edge Value of Dragon-Slaying Flash, but a conservative estimate was at least two or more.
There were many blade-type weapons in the Trade Market, at least plenty of white-quality ones, and green-quality ones could occasionally be seen. However, blades were somewhat scarce; most were firearms. In the early stages, firearms were far more popular than melee weapons.
They were quick to master and offered low investment with high returns, but later on, those people would have their regrets.
Su Xiao stopped in front of a stall.
This stall displayed a dazzling array of weapons—blades, guns, staves, clubs, everything imaginable. Su Xiao even spotted a white-quality rocket launcher.
"What does the customer need to buy? This is a worker's stall."
The stall owner was a slightly plump middle-aged man. Although he wore a full smile, it seemed somewhat eerie and terrifying. The guy had a pair of mechanical eyes, glowing red.
"Just browsing."
Su Xiao scanned the weapons on the stall and quickly found his target.
[Decapitation Blade] (White), Price: 850 Paradise Coins.
[Worn Wolf Fang Blade] (White), Price: 900 Paradise Coins.
He had previously observed the prices of white-quality melee weapons. Weapons with a rating of 5 or above were all priced over 800 Paradise Coins.
As for weapons with a rating below 5, their attributes were simply too poor. Su Xiao suspected that sacrificing those weapons would yield pitifully little Edge Value.
This small stall had fair prices, so Su Xiao directly bought two blades and turned to head back to his exclusive room.
He had no intention of using Supreme Blade to perform the sacrifice in the Trade Square.