Goblin Dependency
Chapter 121 - 86 Frost Throat

Chapter 121: Chapter 86 Frost Throat

From the moment the barbarian appeared at the tavern’s entrance, Xia Nan immediately lowered his head to eat, trying his best to diminish his presence.

After all, during the midsummer night bonfire ritual earlier, the other party left an impression on him that was too profound.

The condensed aura in unity of body and mind was reminiscent of the hunched old man he had once met outside of Kalanfor.

Definitely not an ordinary professional.

Compared to the half-elf guard before, "Wood," who had already taken the role of a wanderer, gave him a certain feeling.

He even suspected that these two had reached the levels of high-tier adventurers, that legendary level known as "Transcendent."

With his current lowly strength, not even having attained a professional level, if he accidentally offended them or if they turned out to be madmen from some chaotic evil camp...

He feared he wouldn’t even know where to run.

To be safe, it was best to avoid contact.

But to his surprise, the barbarian who entered the tavern seemed to be looking for him.

With his head down, appearing focused on scooping soup, Xia Nan actually had his ears perked, observing the surroundings with the corner of his eye.

He just felt the imposing figure wrapped in white wolf fur, accompanied by slow and steady footsteps, gradually moving closer to him.

In the shadow, he could even hear the other’s long and powerful breathing.

"Are you Xia Nan?"

The Universal Language was spoken with a thick Northern accent, as if amidst a blizzard, vague and indistinct.

He felt a sudden surprise in his heart, not understanding why the other party would know the name of someone as obscure as him.

The sudden turn of events sent countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

Organizing his words in his heart, Xia Nan instinctively put down the spoon in his hand and lifted his head.

Before he could say a word, he felt the barbarian’s gaze sweeping over his black hair, eyes, and the iron-grey beheading longsword behind him.

Identity confirmed.

He heard the soft clink of the bone tooth necklace in his ears.

Looking again, the barbarian had already sat directly across the dining table.

"Hai’an, remember?"

With arms as thick as young trees resting on the table, he turned slightly, his gaze surveying the tavern’s interior.

Hai’an?

Xia Nan naturally knew the half-elf’s name. The reason he had stayed in town without going out for tasks to earn money was to wait for the battle skill master the other had arranged for him. Yet...

In a moment of realization, his mind quickly caught up.

Could it be...

In a cautious tone, he probed:

"In the letter, he mentioned you’d pass by River Valley Town only next month at the earliest."

"Something came up, so I’m early."

The barbarian glanced at him, responding casually.

Indeed!

Though he didn’t know what had happened specifically, the professional the half-elf sought for him had arrived in River Valley Town nearly a month earlier than expected.

Recognizing him at a glance was probably because Hai’an had mentioned his identifying features:

Adventurer attire, black hair, black eyes, sharp features, young, and an iron-grey dual handed sword...

Altogether, it was indeed not difficult to identify.

For a moment, Xia Nan felt a faint excitement in his heart.

He had originally thought that the mentor Hai’an contacted for him would be an ordinary professional like Wood.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.

"What a good person!"

"If I ever get the chance to visit Neum, I’ll probably have to make a special trip to visit."

Xia Nan praised the half-elf’s kindness in his heart.

At the same time, with anticipation in his eyes, he looked at the barbarian sitting across the table.

Intending for a brief conversation, he just opened his mouth but couldn’t even get a word out.

The other took this brief moment to scan the entire tavern thoroughly with his gaze.

Then turned back, going straight to the point:

"Fryland Spear Thrust, Broken Blade Guard, Heavy Shield Strike, Iron Wall Rotation."

"Which one do you want to learn?"

It took Xia Nan sitting on the chair two seconds to realize that the other was asking him which battle skill he wanted to learn.

His Adam’s apple moved.

The first thought that crossed his mind was naturally, "I want them all!"

Of course, that was just a thought.

No family or ties,

The barbarian, who seemed to be a high-level professional, was merely fulfilling the half-elf Hai’an’s request to teach him battle skills while passing through River Valley Town.

Recklessly making an abrupt request would only displease the other, which could lead to unforeseen consequences.

Be obedient, don’t overestimate, and learn the battle skills:

That’s what he should focus on to complete getting the professional level prerequisites to 2/3.

His brain worked quickly, recalling the names the barbarian had just mentioned, carefully analyzing the types of battle skills:

Fryland Spear Thrust was likely some kind of thrusting move, suitable for weapons like spears and rapier.

But considering he had already trained Vortex Slash to full level, even if he picked up a random branch on the roadside, he could easily perform it.

Not greatly affected, he could consider it as a backup choice.

Broken Blade Guard, evident from the name, was a defensive maneuver.

Probably similar to the "Block and Slash" he bought from the general store earlier, although he wasn’t sure if it could counterattack.

Since his combat style was still forming and he didn’t have a clear understanding of his future role,

Be it defense or offense, as long as they were genuine battle skills, Xia Nan remained open-minded to most of them.

He could learn them.

Heavy Shield Strike, the name was just as straightforward.

If it were half a month ago, without suitable equipment, he probably wouldn’t consider it.

But now, with the overpowered attributes of the Snake Scale Arm Shield, which could be upgraded to a piece of magic equipment in the future,

Preparing a shield strike battle skill in advance wasn’t out of the question.

As for the final Iron Wall Rotation...

Xia Nan was unsure.

Just from the last two words, the maneuver’s effect might overlap with his own Vortex Slash.

Yet the preceding "Iron Wall" suggested it might be a type of defensive battle skill.

At the moment, if he had to choose the one that best suited his combat style from the four battle skills, perhaps...

Furrowing his brows, falling into contemplation, the wooden spoon in the mushroom soup he had sipped from stirred subconsciously.

After careful consideration for quite a while, Xia Nan still hadn’t made a decision.

Unable to help it, he raised his head, looked at the expressionless barbarian in front of him, and softly asked:

"Could you introduce them a bit more, or do you think any would particularly suit a newbie like me?"

The deep blue eyes, akin to an ice lake, reflected the black-haired youth bearing dual swords standing across.

Silence.

Just as Xia Nan was wondering if he had unintentionally offended the other.

The barbarian suddenly stood up.

"Dawn tomorrow, in front of the tavern, bring your equipment."

The doubts in his heart seemed frozen by the chill exuding from the other, stuck in his throat.

Watching the barbarian walk towards the door, about to leave.

Xia Nan only had time to hurriedly ask:

"How should I address you?"

"Frogon."

"Forgan Frostthroat."