Chapter 73: An Ability Written with Feet

"Why is there only half a sky?"

This was the first thing Blaze said after waking up, followed immediately by a wave of exhaustion.

The negative effects of [Adrenaline] had not yet passed, meaning he hadn’t been unconscious for a whole day.

"You’re awake?" Audrey smoothed the hair at her temples with feigned nonchalance, but she felt her own burning earlobes.

"Yeah," Blaze replied casually. He propped himself up from the ground and sat up, his head accidentally brushing against her chest in the process.

Audrey felt her face burning incredibly hot, but Blaze’s reaction was entirely bland. He simply rubbed the top of his head and began looking around.

"Where are the others? I haven’t properly thanked those Vice Aliens yet."

"You were unconscious for a little over an hour. They left first." Audrey patted her thighs, the intense heat in her face subsiding considerably.

She felt a bit dejected.

It was just as they said—when it came to matters between men and women, adolescent boys only had two states: a lustful monkey or a rock.

Thinking about it now, Blaze’s previous gesture—making a circle with his left hand and a fist with his right, then bringing them together—would have seemed quite vulgar through the filter of a thirty-year-old, battle-hardened warrior. But given the young boy’s youthful appearance, it seemed more like pure curiosity.

Sigh...

Audrey couldn’t help but sigh in her heart as she placed her hands on the ground, preparing to stand up.

However, providing a lap pillow for over an hour had put her into a [Sore/Exhausted] state. She felt as though both of her legs had lost all sensation.

Blaze quickly reached out, grabbing Audrey’s arms to help her up.

At that moment, Audrey noticed the boy’s slightly reddened ears and his evasive gaze.

Without his helmet to hide it, every change in Blaze’s expression was plainly visible.

In Blaze’s eyes, a lap pillow wasn’t an intimate act, and a girl’s thighs weren’t anything special.

But simply gripping the girl’s arms and feeling their softness was already more than he could handle.

Audrey narrowed her eyes. The boy’s shy expression was like a lethal bait to her, causing her to uncontrollably reveal the look of a Hunter.

Unfortunately, Blaze let go of her the moment she was steady, turning around to maintain a polite distance.

Audrey subconsciously wiped the corner of her mouth; it was slightly damp.

Blaze didn’t notice Audrey’s expression. He was currently checking his Blessing.

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[Blaze / Black Beast]

Level: 34 (13)

Profession: Soul Suppressing Knight (Incomplete) Level 5 / Great Sword Master Level 15 / Fighting Master Level 11 / Night Watcher Level 2 / Demon Hunter Level 1

Power: 460+ / Agility: 337+ / Intelligence: 284+ / Faith: 270+ /

Skill

*Lethal Execution? / *Danger Perception C / *Poison Resistance A / *Fire Resistance A / Butterfly Dance C / Bee Sting Fist C / Strangulation E / Forest Blessing D / Leo F / Low-level Contract F / Translation E / Soul Capture F / Soul Seed E / Adrenaline F / Deception Skill F / Dark Assault F / Guardian of the Dead F / Soul Sanctuary E / Black Shadow Stealth F / *Night Pupil E / Shared Vision E / Trap Making F / Throwing F / Counterpunch D / Bow Skill F / Moon God’s Curse A

Prayer: [If God Does Not Forgive, I Shall Suffer in Their Stead]

Equipment

Weapon: Twisted Evil God’s Name (Great Sword) / Head: None / Upper Body: None / Waist: None / Lower Body: None / Accessory: ???

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The Skill Level of some skills had increased. This wasn’t surprising; in fact, he felt they hadn’t increased enough.

However, his attributes had massively increased.

"Is it because of this [Demon Hunter Level 1]?" Blaze tapped the pixelated profession name.

[Demon Hunter]

[The attribute bonus provided by this profession is equal to remaining Skill Points * 10.]

"Isn’t this... a bit like cheating?"

Gaining a level would grant 2 Skill Points, meaning Level 99 would yield 198 Skill Points.

But this wasn’t the limit. Through profession sacrifices and Professional Advancement, one could lower their level and level up again to obtain more Skill Points. An advanced profession could be advanced again, yielding even more Skill Points.

Just from what Blaze knew, [Great Sword Master] could undergo Professional Advancement several times—from [Giant Sword Master] to [Super Heavy Swordsman], and then, after gathering other swordsman professions, a consolidated Professional Advancement into [Sword Saint].

Originally, the greatest hidden danger of advancing and sacrificing professions was that the drop in level led to a massive decrease in attributes. Now, with this special stat-allocation method from [Demon Hunter], being a low level would itself become a lethal disguise.

If there was a God in this world who designed professions, that God must have designed the attribute bonuses for [Demon Hunter] with their eyes closed.

Blaze took a few deep breaths, forcing down his excitement. After carefully reviewing his attributes several times to ensure he hadn’t misread them, he discovered a major problem.

He was missing a profession.

"My... my Hunter is gone again?"

Without a doubt, this [Demon Hunter] had eaten his [Hunter]. The last time something like this happened was when the Tree of Life arbitrarily sacrificed it on his behalf to obtain [Night Watcher].

Why did Special Professions always pick on his [Hunter]?

Blaze secretly vowed to get his [Hunter] back and train it to Full Level.

Getting back to the point, he clearly hadn’t fully obtained [Demon Hunter] yet; there were still some permissions he needed to figure out on his own.

But getting this remaining Skill Points attribute bonus was enough to leave Blaze thoroughly satisfied.

Next was the first skill—or rather, Prayer—that [Demon Hunter] had brought him.

[Prayer: If God Does Not Forgive, I Shall Suffer in Their Stead]

[Transfers all of the target’s negative statuses to oneself, and increases one’s own attributes based on the Skill Level of those negative statuses.]

Blaze knew it was this Prayer that had transferred the curse on Romeo onto himself, and he had absolutely no regrets about it.

He could even find joy in his suffering.

The negative impact caused by an inflicted curse was determined by the skill’s Skill Level. There was a world of difference between the continuous poison damage of [Highly Poisonous A] and [Highly Poisonous B]. The Skill Level of this [Moon God’s Curse] was A, meaning it could provide a massive attribute bonus.

Therefore, no matter what the contents of this curse were...

After mentally preparing himself several times, Blaze tapped on [Moon God’s Curse A] to verify the curse that had continuously plagued the Arcadians.

[Moon God’s Curse A]

[This is the curse bestowed by the Moon God in response to the prayers of Silver King Lycan. It taints silver with black, transforming a sacred body into a Wild Beast.]

[Within the range of moonlight, increases one’s own Life recovery speed and boosts resilience.]

"..."

Looking solely at these unpretentious effects, it was more like some sort of Racial Skill rather than a curse. It was similar to the Beastman Species’ [Beast Soul], making [Moon God’s Curse] the Racial Skill of the Arcadians.

In the past, the Beastman Species had been entirely hostile due to their [Beast Soul]. It wasn’t until Foreigners appeared and completed a certain trial that the Beastman Species overcame their [Beast Soul] and became neutral entities. Gradually, there were even Foreigners who spawned as the Beastman Species.

Blaze only knew about this because a Beastman Foreigner had once greeted him, which had given him quite a fright at the time.

In that case, what happened to the Beastmen could also happen to the Arcadians.

Blaze’s mood improved, and he stepped into the moonlight. He felt a surging Life Force erupting within him. Even the armor on his body began to self-repair in the moonlight, with the scattered armor pieces on the ground flying back to him one by one.

From the leg armor to the Chest Armor, then the Hand Armor, and finally, the helmet.

"Tch—"

For some unknown reason, Audrey clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.