Chapter 45: Entry
Putting away the [Black Abyss Invitation], Su Xiao took out the Gun Proficiency Scroll. This was an interesting gain.
Su Xiao's basic gun skill was Gun Proficiency, enhanced by the Duke of Annihilation's gem setting. With this enhancement, his basic gun skill reached Gun Proficiency Balanced Sequence (Gold Gem): Gun-type basic skill rank +1 (below Proficiency level).
Currently, Su Xiao's Gun Proficiency was a skill enhanced by equipment, not a skill he personally mastered.
There was one thing Su Xiao was curious about. The basic gun skill he personally mastered was "Gun Proficiency," which meant he could use the [Gun Proficiency Scroll] in his hand to raise his basic gun skill by one rank.
Basic, Proficiency, Expert, Master — these were the known ranks of basic skills. Basic was the level an ordinary person could achieve through hard training. Proficiency required high talent. Expert required dedicating one's life to a single pursuit to possibly reach that level. As for the Master rank, it required talent, hard work, dedication, and special opportunities.
Interestingly, Su Xiao's personally mastered gun skill could be upgraded using the [Gun Proficiency Scroll]. With a certain level of skill degradation, it could advance to the Expert rank.
But the Duke of Annihilation had already enhanced Gun Proficiency to the Expert rank. This was a technique-type ability. The Balanced Sequence gem was essentially another form of temporary skill scroll.
Su Xiao's thought was: what would happen if he used the [Gun Proficiency Scroll] while under the enhancement of the Balanced Sequence gem?
After weighing the pros and cons, Su Xiao decided to use the [Gun Proficiency Scroll].
[Yes/No to use Gun Proficiency Scroll. Using the scroll carries certain risks.]
"Confirm."
Su Xiao had already anticipated what the risks were, and they were within acceptable limits.
[You have used the 'Gun Proficiency Scroll.' Due to a conflict, the gem 'Balanced Sequence' set in the Duke of Annihilation has shattered.]
[Your basic gun skill has improved.]
[Gun Proficiency has advanced to Gun Expert.]
[Rank assessment in progress...]
[Due to the Hunter's long-term use of firearms and the additional enhancement from the Balanced Sequence gem (now shattered), the Gun Expert skill has increased by Lv.6. Current level: Gun Expert (Gun Expert Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Increases gun-type weapon attack power by 109% (weak point strikes, trajectory prediction, etc., not increasing the original lethality of the firearm). Proficiency with various firearms is greatly improved.
Branch Ability: Eagle Eye (Enhanced 5 times)
Eagle Eye Effect 1: Dynamic vision increased by 18% (this is a True Agility attribute bonus, True Agility attribute × 0.2).
Eagle Eye Effect 2: Bullet landing point prediction greatly improved.
...
A burning sensation spread across Su Xiao's eyeballs. He instinctively closed his eyes. After a moment, the burning sensation faded, and he opened his eyes.
In the dimly lit room, a few specks of dust drifted past Su Xiao's vision. This was a side effect of the sudden increase in dynamic vision. He needed to quickly adapt to his current dynamic vision.
Overall, Su Xiao's loot from opening the chest was quite good, with some luck involved. As for getting the [Gun Proficiency Scroll], luck wasn't a major factor there.
Chests dropped by strong enemies in the Blue Sea Star, especially officers of the Sun Kingdom, had the highest chance of yielding Divine Arts, followed by gun skills. That was their core combat method.
Having his gun skill improve right before preparing to snipe an enemy — such smooth progress was a first for Su Xiao. It felt like a dream start. As for whether things would continue smoothly, that remained to be seen.
However, two hours later, Su Xiao retracted his thoughts of a dream start. He was surprised to find that adapting to his current dynamic vision was no simple matter.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding an iron ball engraved with many numbers. He had made this on the spot.
Su Xiao tossed the iron ball into the air. It spun at an extremely high speed, even creating a small vortex of air around it. Su Xiao's pupils gradually contracted as he observed the numbers on the ball, using this to adapt to his dynamic vision.
Out of curiosity, Bubu Wang also stared at the terrifyingly fast-spinning ball. A few seconds later...
"Ugh~"
Bubu Wang dry-heaved, collapsed in a dizzy mess, then got up after a while, puffing out his tongue in frustration.
"Go cool off somewhere else."
Su Xiao squinted. Though he didn't dry-heave, his eyes were sore.
...
Around noon that day, Su Xiao had somewhat adapted to his dynamic vision. He lay directly on the sofa and fell asleep.
He didn't know how long he slept before a wet, warm, suspicious object approached his face. Su Xiao's eyes snapped open, and a dog face came into view. The wet thing was Bubu Wang's nose.
"What time is it?"
Su Xiao blinked. His eyes were no longer sore.
"Woof."
"It's already six, huh?"
"Huh?"
The assistant standing in front of the sofa was startled. She couldn't understand how Su Xiao could communicate normally with a canine.
After washing up, Su Xiao pushed open the door of the civilian house.
"Let's move out."
"Yes!"
The assistant in the black gauze dress instinctively gave a military salute. Su Xiao stopped and fixed his gaze on her.
"Alright, sir."
The assistant tried to act as elegant as possible.
"Too forced. Be natural, but don't let anyone see you're a soldier."
"Okay."
The assistant took a deep breath, trying her best to adjust her state, constantly hinting to herself: She was a young lady, elegant, must be elegant.
The group left the civilian house and headed straight for the Flower Tree Restaurant in the city center. This was the most luxurious restaurant in Ambera City, bar none.
The Flower Tree Restaurant had four floors. The first to third floors were dining areas, capable of accommodating thousands of guests simultaneously. The top floor housed entertainment facilities.
The layout of the first floor wasn't too complicated. The outer area was the front hall, behind which was a banquet hall that could hold a thousand people. Further back were numerous storage rooms, the kitchen, and so on.
A restaurant that could accommodate thousands of guests — its scale was unimaginable. Moreover, it was located in the city center. The financial backer behind it was, of course, the wealthy merchant Hennesson, who had invited Dubois Yis to the banquet.
...
In the center of Ambera City, on a bustling street, vintage cars and carriages were stuck in traffic. This scene surprised the commoners on both sides of the street. In their understanding, there was no concept of traffic jams. The entire Ambera City only had about a thousand private cars, so traffic jams were unheard of.
Yet at seven that evening, Central Street was jammed. No car horns blared. Most vehicles had their windows open, with people chatting to each other.
Inside a carriage, the assistant in the black gauze dress yawned.
"How much longer? I'm suffocating."
The assistant clutched her chest and spoke in a low voice.
"Hold on. You'll be entering soon. About ten minutes."
A voice came from the assistant's ear. She poked her ear canal, where an inconspicuous receiver was hidden.