Chapter 187: Beyond Mastery

Chapter 187: Beyond Mastery



He never expected that by simply wanting to improve his Tokkar Hammer Technique to level 6 and then go kill the Scaled Ironback Turtle, he would unexpectedly gain the job change information for the Legendary Weapon Master!

At this moment, Rain felt like he had just been struck by a million-dollar jackpot!

You have to know that this is the 'Legendary' profession panel, and it is obviously a level higher than the 'Extraordinary' one!

Calming the excitement in his heart, Rain began to compare the prerequisites for the Legendary Weapon Master and the Great Knight (Extraordinary) item by item.

He was still curious as to why one was legendary and the other merely extraordinary.

"Looking at the latter conditions, the Legendary Weapon Master and the Great Knight (Extraordinary) are almost overlapping, so the biggest difference is actually the first condition!"

"Any three Extraordinary Combat Skills above level 10 in different weapon categories." Rain repeatedly pondered this statement.

This sentence suddenly brought enlightenment to his heart!

Obviously, it was because of this difference in conditions that the Weapon Master was a legendary profession panel, while the Great Knight was merely an extraordinary one.

Three Extraordinary Combat Skills at level 10.

Don't underestimate this single condition; Rain knew full well how challenging it was.

Rain roughly estimated that if he didn't have the system and relied solely on his own hard work, it would take twenty to thirty years to reach level 10 in an Extraordinary Combat Skill, and that's assuming everything went smoothly.

So, for three skills, it would take sixty to seventy years!

Damn!

No wonder it was rated as a legendary profession; it was incredibly difficult!

Ordinary people would grow old before even mastering it!

Bringing his thoughts back, Rain focused on the 'weapon categories' requirement. He rode his horse to a nearby estuary, which was also the waterway near Lachmond Fishing Port.

The reason why this place was chosen was that the estuary was where the freshwater and seawater met, making it an extremely rich source of food. Additionally, tall sea reeds, some reaching three to four meters in height, grew around the area, providing excellent cover.

At this moment, the sea breeze blew through, causing the dense sea reeds to rustle loudly.

Rain dismounted, carrying his greatsword and war hammer, and began searching carefully. Soon, he discovered the large and distinct claw footprints.

Rain cautiously followed the claw prints, and to his surprise, he found himself leaving the reed marsh and quickly arriving at a beach leaning against the foot of a mountain.

On the other side of the beach was a corner where a large mound of sand was visible. Although it was covered in sand, the exposed body and massive size of the creature were undoubtedly the Scaled Ironback Turtle that Has had mentioned.

Rain's excellent eyesight allowed him to carefully examine the giant beast from head to tail, even from a distance of a hundred meters. Its eyes were as big as an adult's fist and were currently closed tight, as if it was dozing off.

Rain now understood why it was called the Scaled Ironback Turtle.

Its eyes were the size of an adult's fist, and its exposed claws were covered in thick, green scales.

Additionally, its lower jaw had dozens of thumb-sized thick meat, seemingly serving no practical purpose but merely enhancing its ferocious appearance.

Since the creature was taking a nap, a stealth attack was the preferred option. However, with the experience of fighting the Coastal Plesiosaur in close combat, Rain was prepared for a direct confrontation if discovered.

Rain took off the pig-headed mace and quietly approached the Scaled Ironback Turtle from behind.

To avoid waking the napping turtle, Rain refrained from using fire-based magic like 'High Temperature Force Field' that would cause energy fluctuations.

Perhaps due to its inherent dullness, the Scaled Ironback Turtle remained unaware as Rain, holding his breath and focusing his mind, stealthily approached.

Rain's legs suddenly exerted force, and with a 'bang,' he leaped forward like an arrow, aiming straight for the turtle's shell, the hardest part of its body.

"Limit Break!"

"Gigantic Force lv3!"

"Power Surge!"

"Earthsplitting Hammer!!!"

In mid-air, Rain's entire body inflated like a balloon, expanding by at least two sizes. His muscles and tendons tensed like a tightly drawn bowstring. With both hands, he raised the black pig-headed mace and fiercely struck the turtle's shell.

Just as Rain exerted force to leap, the Scaled Ironback Turtle's fist-sized eyes suddenly opened wide, sensing the danger.

But because Rain was attacking from behind and was already directly above the turtle's shell, he was in the blind spot of the Scaled Ironback Turtle's vision.

So, the Ironback Turtle stretched its neck and quickly looked around, but it couldn't find the enemy, causing a confused expression to appear in its large eyes.

But the next second!

A loud crash came from the center of its back shell!

"Clang!!!"

Sparks flew!

"Crack!!!"

The two loud noises were almost simultaneous. With the effects of 'Hammer Expertise lv3', along with the dual buffs 'Shockwave lv2' and 'Precision lv2', Rain's strike was almost as powerful as a 205mm grenade launcher.

"Roar!"

Along with the Scaled Ironback Turtle's pitiful cry, its seven to eight-meter-thick and sturdy shell was completely shattered into two pieces by Rain's ferocious strike, especially at the center.

If someone had witnessed Rain's entire ambush from a distance, they would have seen that if the Scaled Ironback Turtle's shell was compared to an iron pot, then the small black hammer that had just struck it would have sent the turtle's limbs and neck flying out like a nail being hammered into the pot!

It was quite comical!

But just as Rain was about to pursue his advantage, a dense layer of yellow energy particles covered the Scaled Ironback Turtle's body, blocking all of Rain's subsequent hammer strikes.

At this moment, the shockwaves from the battle sent the surrounding sand flying.

Rain got a clear view of the turtle's shell, which closely resembled the shell of the giant crocodile from his previous life, with over a dozen ring-shaped scales resembling mountain peaks. These 'peaks' were now emitting a yellow glow.

This mysterious energy particle wave?

It must be the Scaled Ironback Turtle's special ability, the yellowish shield that Has had mentioned.

Seemingly intimidated by Rain's combat power, the Scaled Ironback Turtle didn't seem to have much desire to continue fighting this 'tiny' opponent. Instead, it turned and fled towards the nearby sea, relying on its strongest defense.

This sudden development caused Rain's expression to change.

The sea was not his battlefield.

Rain immediately increased the frequency of his hammer swings, causing the yellow shield to rumble and shake, although it became slightly dimmer. The pale yellow shield stood firm like an immovable reef by the sea.

Indeed, could only be countered by magic?

However, Rain didn't believe this.

Attribute Points!

As the remaining skill points on the attribute panel decreased from 2 to 1, the Tokkar Hammer Technique instantly leveled up to lv7, reaching the same level as the Bear Swordsmanship.

Instantly, fragments of memory regarding the Tokkar Hammer Technique flooded Rain's mind.

These scattered memories of hammer technique training flashed through Rain's mind, quickly integrating into his muscle memory. It was as if he had personally undergone over a year of intensive training in a mysterious space.

However, the difference here was that the Hammer Expertise at lv3 enhanced the technique, making it the most powerful among his Extraordinary Combat Skills.

As Rain tightly gripped the Pig-headed Mace once more, a special feeling welled up in his heart.

This feeling was not the same as the feeling of mastery; instead, it was a deeper connection to the essence of the weapon.

"Boom!!!"

Another heavy blow landed!

The Scaled Ironback Turtle's eyes widened in terror as it desperately fled towards the sea. The yellow shield on its body violently trembled and nearly collapsed under the force of Rain's strike.

---

One day earlier.

Outside an interrogation room in the Myester County Prison.

A trusted subordinate was reporting the prisoner's situation to Magnus:

"His name is Viller, originally a bandit roaming the Wild Wolf Hills. A few days ago, he got drunk at Old John's Bar in the county town and got into a brawl. He was reported, and after verification by the county patrol, he was sent here."

"This guy was supposed to be executed by hanging, but last time you mentioned that we should gather information about the outpost through various channels. So, we also arranged informants among the prison inmates."

"When this guy found out, he said he had important information to report!"

"After a preliminary review, it seems to be true. Additionally, this guy requested that if what he said is true, he hopes to be released. This is something I can't decide on, so we need you to come over in person."

"Well done!" Magnus patted his subordinate's shoulder.

Magnus entered the interrogation room and saw a middle-aged man with disheveled hair, wearing tattered gray linen, and emitting a foul odor. He was strapped to an interrogation chair.

Upon seeing Magnus and his subordinate enter, the man's eyes revealed fear, and his feet clenched tighter. This man, Viller, seemed to be terrified of Magnus, who was dressed in prison guard attire.

Magnus examined the man, noticing numerous whip marks and small burn scars on his body.

But this was a good thing!

The man's psychological defenses were on the verge of collapse, and getting some information out of him would be simple and easy to discern for truthfulness.

Magnus smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, Viller. Just repeat what you said before."

Viller glanced fearfully at Magnus's uniform shoulder patch, knowing he was the one in charge. "If you release me, I'll cooperate. That's what the other officer said he couldn't promise."

"This requires your full cooperation. Trust me, if what you say is true, releasing you will be an easy matter."

Magnus's deep voice and slow speech gave Viller a sense of trust.

But in reality, it was a psychological suggestion, making Viller feel like he had grasped a lifeline.

Viller hurriedly said, "That day, I was looking for suitable targets to rob in the abandoned mine area when I accidentally saw several people carrying a lot of things from the woods and loading them onto two carts. There was also a fancy horse-drawn carriage in front of the carts."

"Wait!" Magnus interrupted.

"Why are you going to the abandoned mines? You should know whose territory that is," Magnus said.

"It's a group of new bandits, supposedly very powerful. The boss told us not to provoke them, but we haven't had any business in a while, so I crossed the border. But I didn't go too deep, just a little bit," Viller explained.

Hearing Viller's words, Magnus nodded, it made sense, there were no obvious doubts.

So, he gestured for Viller to continue.

"This makes me very happy! I thought at the time that a noble must be hiding a lot of good things here, I'm going to get rich," Viller continued.

"So, after they left, I followed their tracks and came to the vicinity of the abandoned mine. At first, I was still hesitating, afraid to get close, after all, that was another group's territory."

"But later, I realized something was off, it seemed like the place was empty. So, I went forward and found that the group had been cleared out by someone."

After Viller finished speaking, Magnus thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any impression of those people? Or do you know them?"

"I've never seen them, but the young knight leading them had a big hammer and a big sword, very distinctive," Viller gestured with his hands.

Magnus nodded, this was something his trusted subordinate had just told him, it was most likely the new Baron - Li En.

"By the way, you mentioned seeing a luxurious carriage in front of the cart, right?" Magnus asked, thinking of something.

"Yes, sir," Viller nodded.

"Was there any distinctive feature or pattern on that luxurious carriage?"

"The carriage had a heraldic emblem. Although it was a bit far away, my eyesight is good, and I could barely make out that it seemed to be a falcon shield with a flower-like rose on it," Viller replied.

Hearing this, Magnus immediately waved his hand and turned to his trusted subordinate, saying, "Have you checked? Which noble family in the city has this coat of arms?"

"Sir, we just found out that it's the Crowley family's coat of arms," the trusted subordinate whispered.

"The Crowley family?" Magnus narrowed his eyes, thinking. He seemed to have never heard of this family.

Seeing Magnus' expression, his trusted subordinate knew that his master couldn't remember the family, so he quietly reminded him, "Sir, do you remember? The beautiful widow, Jennifer."

Magnus' eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said, "Her! The beautiful widow?"

At that moment, Magnus remembered the enchanting lady he had seen at the ball, who had made him feel quite smitten.

He recalled that her family had been oppressed by Alonso, so how could they have the strength to attack his organization's stronghold?

Magnus asked again, "Have you checked? Who has the Crowley family been close to recently, or who have they been in contact with?"

"We're checking, but the current known information is that the Crowley family has been quite close to Li En. About two months ago, they became the Crowley family's guardian knights."

"Now that Li En has become a baron, the servants and guards in his new mansion are all from the Crowley family."

"As for other intelligence, we're still investigating, it won't be that fast."

"This is enough!" Magnus' face turned grim.

All signs indicated that the new Baron Li En was the reason for the stronghold's annihilation.

However, he still didn't know how they had managed it, because even with the addition of the Crowley family, their strength was still far from enough!

But with this clue, it was a good start, and with some more time, they should be able to investigate clearly.

Since the interrogation was over, Magnus decided to return to his office, after all, Alonso was still waiting for his response.

Seeing Magnus standing up, Viller couldn't help but show a look of urgency, "Sir, you haven't said if you can release me yet?"

Viller's words made Magnus pause, and he turned to his trusted subordinate and said, "Then grant his wish, release his soul."

Huh?

Release his soul?

As Viller was still pondering the meaning of these words, suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his neck, and he found that he could see the white wall behind him.

Back in his office, Magnus naturally wouldn't share the information with Alonso honestly. While in the corridor, he had already planned how to maximize his interests.

As soon as he entered the office, Magnus pretended to be furious and asked, "Sir Alonso, the new Baron Li En that you asked us to kill last time, he's not that simple, is he?"

"Because of your concealment, our organization has lost a Pinnacle Knight and several Senior Knights."

"Huh? So you've already taken action? Was it Li En alone who caused the loss, or were there others?" Alonso was slightly startled and spoke with a slightly unnatural tone.

He had indeed concealed something, the incident where the Beast Knight Giovanni was injured by an unknown Druid.

It wasn't that he really wished for the rebel army to fail, but Alonso didn't want them to raise the price.

Additionally, he had reminded Magnus before taking action, telling them to be careful. If something happened, it couldn't be blamed on him.

Magnus observed Alonso for a while but didn't see the expression he had expected, so he changed the topic, "No matter if it was Li En alone or with others, our organization can handle it."

"However, Sir Alonso, Li En's strength far exceeded our expectations, so naturally, the content of our transaction needs to be changed."

Still in Myester County.

Underground Hall.

The tall knight Giovanni, carrying a 'scythe' weapon, bowed slightly to the fat High Priest and said, "High Priest, my body has fully recovered. I heard from Maral that the Druid appearing in Shangjin Town was just a coincidence, right?"

"Yes, Maral has checked repeatedly, and the Druid's traces have never appeared again. It must have been a coincidence," the High Priest replied.

The obese High Priest nodded in agreement.

"If that's the case, then I'll take on the task of killing that newly appointed Knight, Rain!" Giovanni exclaimed.

"Giovanni, are you sure your body has fully recovered? Also, according to the latest news from Alonso, this Rain is no longer just a new Knight, but a newly appointed Imperial Baron!"

"What?!" Giovanni exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you find it hard to believe? I was skeptical at first too, but this news has been verified from multiple sources. It's true! Even Earl Habus has met with Rain."

"Actually, continuing to target Rain now might not align with our interests." The High Priest spoke in a low voice.

Hearing the High Priest's words, Giovanni stepped forward and said, "High Priest, the dignity of the Black Flame Church must not be challenged! I insist on handling this matter personally."

The High Priest fell silent for a moment.

Although it was no longer in the Church's interests to target Rain, they still had to consider the feelings of their capable general. This put the High Priest in a difficult position.

At that moment, the voice of Maral echoed from the entrance of the underground hall.

"High Priest, we've located Rain's whereabouts. He seems to have headed towards Rosby County."

"Additionally, according to reliable sources, Earl Habus has just issued an appointment, indicating that Rain will return to Myester County within five days to assume the position of the Executive Officer and Chief of Security in Fishing Harbor Town."

After a brief silence, the deep voice of the High Priest echoed again.

"Giovanni, I'll leave this matter in your hands. But I hope you can minimize the impact of this incident."

"Yes, High Priest! I'll try to take action during Rain's return journey and leave no traces behind. I assure you, the Church will not be implicated." Giovanni's words were firm.

He knew that he had convinced the High Priest.

Indeed, killing a newly appointed Imperial Baron would have severe consequences, and it was likely that the Imperial authorities would launch an in-depth investigation.

However, Rain had personally inflicted severe injuries on him, and he was determined to settle the score.

---

On a beach not far from Lachmond Fishing Port, a massive Scaled Ironback Turtle lay in a pool of blood.

A man was using a large two-handed sword to cut open the turtle's body, seemingly searching for something.

Suddenly, a cylindrical object rolled out from the turtle's body.

Huh?

What was this?

A drifting bottle?

Rain noticed a brown bottle that had fallen out of the turtle's body. Its material seemed to be glass, a rare sight in the current era, which piqued his curiosity.

Holding it up to the sunlight, Rain examined it carefully and discovered what appeared to be a piece of parchment inside.

After some thought, Rain cautiously opened the bottle's cork, and indeed, it was a drifting bottle!

The content inside was not parchment but seemed to be a scroll made of sheepskin.

Hmm, this felt familiar...

Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Rain's mind. He quickly took out a small iron box from his pocket and compared the two!

It turned out to be a quarter of the treasure map belonging to Pirate King Vincent Santburn, the one related to the Fireball Spell.

Could this Scaled Ironback Turtle have some connection to the Pirate King?

It was possible, as turtles were known for their longevity.

But it was still a highly unlikely event, and Rain felt both fortunate and anxious.

Having only half of the map before was manageable, but now with three-quarters...

Rain sighed, feeling both grateful for his luck and anxious about the remaining piece.

Rain started a bonfire and began processing the materials from the Scaled Ironback Turtle, all while contemplating the prerequisites for the 'Weapon Master' class change.

The second, third, and fourth prerequisites were: "2. Physical Limit Break value reaches 100%; 3. Any Breath Technique lv9 or above; 4. Strength, Agility, and Constitution all above 20 points."

For Rain, these requirements were either completely fulfilled or close to completion, posing no significant challenges.

As for the fifth prerequisite, "High-Grade Potion 'Beast Essence'," it was slightly more troublesome, but Rain already had two Beast Essence potions in his possession, and he could obtain the necessary materials from the beasts' hearts and then craft the potion through the Military Supplies Department in the county town.

If all else failed, Rain could contact the Imperial military through Hamilton, which shouldn't be a significant issue.

The most challenging prerequisite now was the first one: "1. Any three different Extraordinary Combat Skills above lv10."

In other words, before obtaining the 'High-Grade Potion 'Beast Essence,' it was best to accumulate enough skill points to raise three Extraordinary Combat Skills to lv10. This was the most pressing task.

Rain checked his attribute panel; he currently had 1 skill point remaining. Both Bear Swordsmanship and Tokkar Hammer Technique were at lv7.

With the help of the Crowley Family in gathering materials, leveling up Armorer lv1 (17/100) shouldn't take too much time, and accumulating 4-5 skill points shouldn't be a problem.

The key was the third combat skill.

Imperial Military Sword Technique was only at lv3 (122/500), and both Shield Defense and Archery were also at lv3.

Even with dedicated practice day and night, due to time constraints, the most he could achieve was lv5, leaving him with a 5-point skill point deficit.

Rain furrowed his brows, seemingly unable to think of a good solution.

At that moment, the flapping of wings filled the air!

A pigeon with a blue crest descended from the sky and landed next to the small pigeon cage on the brown horse, engaging in a friendly tete-a-tete with another Blue Helmet Pigeon.

Blue Helmet Pigeon!

Rain's pupils constricted, and he immediately approached the pigeon.

Before his departure, Rain had told the beautiful woman that if he encountered any trouble, she should contact him through the pigeon.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end