Goblin Dependency
Chapter 47 - 47 35 Vicious Circle

47: Chapter 35: Vicious Circle 47: Chapter 35: Vicious Circle “Adventurer Association!?”

The Half Elf’s answer took Xia Nan by surprise.

“How is that possible?

I’ve been to the association in River Valley Town several times, and I’ve practically gone around the entire hall, but I didn’t see any place selling skill books?”

“Could it be…”

“That’s right.” Hai’an nodded, pointing upwards with his index finger.

“On the second floor.”

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn’t help but feel more puzzled, recalling the conversation with the alchemy shop owner a few days ago when he went to the association to submit a task.

“Isn’t it that only those who become professionals can go to the association second floor?”

“Yes.”

“But without battle skills, how can I become a professional?”

To Xia Nan, the answer seemed contradictory, as if it had become a dead loop.

The prerequisite for becoming a professional is to acquire battle skills, which can be purchased on the adventurer association’s second floor, but to get to the second floor, one has to be a professional.

In response, sitting beside the Half Elf, Wood, dressed in black leather armor, said with a hint:

“This world needs adventurers, but not too many.”

Xia Nan carefully pondered this sentence, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

Seeing him seemingly getting stuck in a dilemma, Hai’an quickly spoke again:

“Of course, obtaining battle skills is not the only option.”

According to the information provided by the Half Elf, in the Sevia Kingdom, there are several main ways to master battle skills:

First, of course, are the large organizations scattered throughout the kingdom.

Be it the Temple Church or the Guild Alliance, and even the troops belonging to the kingdom itself, all have their own well-defined and complete advancement systems.

Not only the various battle skills needed for basic occupations but also the advanced professions required to become “Transcendent” later have a large reserve.

And what you need to pay is loyalty and faith.

Secondly, it is to hire professionals who have completed their job to help grasp the battle skills.

The cost is truly an “astronomical sum” of gold coins, or other correspondingly valuable resources.

This is also the method by which the vast majority of nobles in the kingdom acquire battle skills.

Lastly, it is also the most widespread, frequently occurring, and most suitable method for ordinary people without family background or connections.

The lottery.

Even a farmer’s family with no combat power, like the former self, can “grab” half a supposed skill book from a Minstrel staying over for a lodging fee.

In the vast land of the Sevia Kingdom, there are countless “Battle Skill Secret Recipes” circulating.

Casually find an old man at the village entrance, and he might have a few so-called “Knight Training Secrets” passed down from his ancestors, and for a few copper coins, he’ll boast about his great-grandfather’s glory as if you’ve gotten a huge bargain.

These “battle skills,” as plentiful as toilet paper, are 99.9% completely worthless “junk” of unknown origin.

No matter the years invested, there will be no progress, merely wasting a lot of time and possibly even damaging the body due to incorrect force exertion postures.

Only a very few lucky ones, after obtaining a truly effective battle skill book by chance, can, through hard and tedious time and effort training, have a chance to learn true combat skills, taking the first step to becoming a “professional.”

Of course, the above three are just the most common ways to obtain battle skills.

Besides these, traditional master-apprentice relationships, patronage, treasure hunting, and auction transactions (a slightly more credible option than roadside stalls) exist and come with multiple methods requiring certain thresholds.

This makes battle skills not uncommon, at least among “adventurers,” a group that deals with various magic beasts and has certain channels and income.

Upon hearing this, Xia Nan finally understood why the two appeared so surprised after learning of the former self’s experiences.

It seems the former self didn’t just have decent talent; even luck was exceptionally good.

A random half-page of a skill book, and he really learned it.

At the same time, he now roughly knows how he should proceed in his future.

“Right.”

Having told Xia Nan all the information he knew about professional advancement, Hai’an seemed to have thought of something.

“I didn’t mention earlier that I thought you had some mentor guiding you.

But now…”

Speaking, the Half Elf suddenly lowered his voice, carefully glancing at the beheading longsword by Xia Nan’s side.

Afraid of offending the other, he cautiously asked:

“That move you just performed, should be in the direction of a [warrior], right?”

Xia Nan wasn’t clear about what profession [Vortex Slash] belonged to, but referring to the features described by Hai’an for various professional combat skills.

With some hesitation, he slowly said:

“Probably?

The half-page skill book at the time didn’t specify the source of the battle skill.”

Hai’an wasn’t surprised by his answer.

Nodding, he looked at Wood beside him.

“Although Wood is a professional, the ‘Wanderer’ combat skills don’t match with what you demonstrated just now.”

“Unless you’re willing to start from scratch and give up everything now, Wood might be able to offer some help.”

“But…

to be honest, that would be a bit too wasteful.”

The Half Elf’s gaze swept across the iron-gray blade of the long sword.

“Judging by your performance in battle just now, even if that battle skill hasn’t reached ‘Master,’ it’s not far off.

To give up now would be quite a shame.”

His words paused slightly, lifting his head a little, his silver-gray eyes watching Xia Nan in front of him.

Sincerely speaking:

“You saved me in battle, so I ought to repay you, and please don’t refuse.”

“Though after returning to Neum, I might not be able to come out for a while…

but I have saved quite a bit over the years.”

“If you’re willing, I can use my family’s connections to hire a reliable professional to help you train a [warrior] type battle skill.”

“Though it might not necessarily help, but…”

Facing the Half Elf’s proposal, Xia Nan couldn’t help but feel tempted.

Originally, he didn’t help Hai’an in battle for any reward, but now with such a reciprocal offer, it wouldn’t be realistic to refuse.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded heavily, sincerely thanking:

“Then I’ll leave it in your hands, thank you!”

Upon hearing this, even the Half Elf breathed a sigh of relief, showing a smile:

“Good!

Give me your address, and after the task ends, I’ll write you a letter when I return to Neum.”

“But it might take a few days, as there are some matters at home to deal with after I return, and it will take time to find a suitable candidate.”

“No rush.” Xia Nan replied seriously, “You take care of your things first.”

“I’ll be in River Valley Town.”