Chapter 35 Infinite Loop

“Adventurer’s Association!?”

The half-elf’s answer surprised Shanan.

“How is that possible? I’ve been to the River Valley Association several times and walked around the entire hall, but I didn’t see any skill books for sale.”

“Could it be…”

“That’s right.” Hai’an nodded and pointed his index finger upwards.

“On the second floor.”

Hearing this, Xia Nan couldn’t help but feel even more confused, and recalled the conversation he had with the owner of the alchemy shop when he went to the association to hand in a task a few days ago.

“Aren’t the second floor of the association only accessible to professionals?”

“Yes.”

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

In Xia Nan’s opinion, the other party’s answers were self-contradictory and seemed to have become a vicious circle.

The prerequisite for becoming a professional is to learn combat skills, which can be purchased on the second floor of the Adventurer’s Association, but if you want to go to the second floor you must be a professional.

In response, Wood, who was sitting next to the half-elf and wearing black leather armor, said something meaningful:
“The world needs adventurers, but not too many.”

Xia Nan savored these words carefully in his heart, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Seeing that he seemed to be getting stuck in a rut, Hai An on the side quickly spoke up and continued:
“If you want to acquire combat skills, this is certainly not the only option.”

According to the information provided by the half-elf, in the Kingdom of Servia, there are mainly the following ways to master combat skills:

First, of course, are the large organizations spread across the kingdom.

Whether it is the Temple Church, the Guild Alliance, or even the army corps affiliated with the kingdom itself, they all have their own complete and clear promotion system.

Not only are there all kinds of combat skills needed for basic professions, but there are also large reserves of advanced professions necessary to become “supernormal” in the future.

What you need to pay is loyalty and faith.

Secondly, it is to hire “professionals” who have already completed their jobs to help master combat skills.

The cost is a huge amount of gold coins, or other materials of corresponding amount, which can truly be called a “huge sum of money”.

And this is exactly how most of the nobles in the kingdom learn their fighting skills.

Finally, it is the type with the widest distribution, the most frequent appearance, and the most suitable for ordinary civilians who have neither family background nor resources.

Lottery.

A farmer family that has no fighting power like its predecessor can also rely on accommodation fees to “grab” half of the so-called skill book from the bard who stays overnight.

In the vast land of the Kingdom of Servia, there are countless “secret recipes of combat skills” circulating.

Pick any old man at the entrance of a village, and you might find that he has a few books at home that he claims are the “secrets of knight training” passed down from his ancestors. When he asks you for a few copper coins, he will act as if he has gotten a huge bargain and excitedly brag about the glory of his great-grandfather.

Among these “combat skills” which are as numerous as toilet paper, 99.9% of them are completely worthless and it is unknown where they came from.

Even if you practice for a few years, there will be no progress at all. Not only will you waste a lot of time, but you may also damage your body due to the wrong force posture.

Only a very few lucky ones, who by chance get a truly effective combat skill book and put in a lot of hard and boring time to train hard, have the opportunity to learn real combat skills and take the first step towards becoming a “professional”.

Of course, the above three are just the most common ways to acquire combat skills.

In addition, there are also a large number of methods that require a certain threshold, such as traditional master-apprentice relationships, sponsorship from noble people, treasure hunting in the wild, auction house transactions (which are slightly more credible than roadside stalls)…

This means that at least among the “adventurers” who need to deal with various monsters and have certain channels and income, “combat skills” are not uncommon. Hearing this, Xia Nan finally understood why the two people who just learned about their previous experiences were so surprised.

It seems that the predecessor not only had good talent, but also had excellent luck.

He was able to learn it just by reading half a page of a skill book.

At the same time, I have a general idea of how I should move forward in the future.

“correct.”

Hai’an told Xia Nan all the information he knew about career advancement, as if he had thought of something.

“You didn’t tell me before, I thought you were under the guidance of a teacher. Now…”

As he spoke, the half-elf suddenly lowered his voice and cautiously glanced at the beheading sword in Xia Nan’s hand.

Fearing to offend the other party, he asked tentatively:

“The move you just used should be in the [Warrior] direction, right?”

Xia Nan himself was not sure what profession [Spin Slash] belonged to, but referring to the characteristics of each profession’s combat skills that Hai An had just described.

With some hesitation, he slowly said:

“Probably? The half page of the skill book didn’t specify the origin of the combat skill.”

Haian was not surprised by his answer.

He nodded and looked at Wood beside him.

“Wood may be a professional, but the fighting skills of a ‘Rogue’ are not comparable to what you just demonstrated.”

“Unless you are willing to start from scratch and give up everything you have now, Wood should be able to provide you with some help.”

“But… to be honest, it’s a bit too wasteful.”

The half-elf’s eyes swept across the iron-gray blade of the long sword.

“Judging from your performance in the battle just now, even if you haven’t yet reached ‘mastery’ of that combat technique, you are not far from it. It would be a pity to give up now.”

He paused for a moment, raised his head slightly, and stared at Xia Nan in front of him with his silver-gray eyes.

Sincerely:
“You saved me in the battle, so I should repay you. Please don’t refuse.”

“Although I will most likely not be able to leave Newme in the short term after returning to Newme… I have still saved a lot of money over the years.”

“If you are willing, with the help of my family’s connections, I can hire a reliable professional to help you train a [Warrior] type of combat skills.”

“Although it may not be useful, but…”

Faced with the half-elf’s proposal, Xia Nan couldn’t help but be tempted.

He had not rescued Hai’an in the battle for any reward, but now that the other party had offered him such a reward, it was not realistic for him to refuse.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded heavily and thanked sincerely:
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Thank you very much!”

Hearing this, the half-elf actually breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face:
“Okay! Give me the address, and I’ll write to you when I return to Neum after the mission is over.”

“But I may have to wait a few days. I have some things to deal with at home when I return, and I also need time to wait for the right person.”

“No hurry.” Xia Nan replied seriously, “Take care of your own business first.”

“I’m in Riverdale.”

(End of this chapter)