12 Chapter 12: First Specialty

Yamanbako couldn't react in time and instinctively bent over.

Hiss!

But the long, gorgeous and lush pink hair floating in mid-air was not so fortunate. A large portion of her hair was ruthlessly sliced off by Adrian's merciless blade, scattering and falling sporadically to the ground, tainted with mud.

Instead of lamenting her hair loss, Yamanbako clenched her teeth and quickly moved forward to avoid a potentially fatal blow.

Adrian sheathed his sword and coldly remarked, "Take this seriously, Instructor Yamanbako, or you'll end up dead."

'Damn brat!'

Yamanbako remained silent, feeling cold sweat on her back.

Dawson stood next to Yamanbako, realizing he couldn't face Adrian alone and needed to cooperate with the instructor.

At this moment, Adrian took a step back with his left foot, slightly bent his right leg, bowed his upper body, left hand holding the scabbard, right hand resting on the hilt.

"One Sword Style..." "一刀流..." "Ittō-ryū..."

"Drawing Technique..." "居合..." "Iaido..."

"Red Leaf Slash!" "红叶切!" "Red Leaf Cut!"

Suddenly, power erupted, and in the air, a faint trace of icy blade light lingered.

Yamanbako only felt a coolness around her neck.

She turned her head, and Adrian stood right behind her, holding a long knife against her neck.

"How could it be, how could it happen so quickly?" Whispered Yamanbako, unable to believe what was happening before her eyes. "I couldn't even see…"

Dawson was even more stunned. His speed couldn't keep up with Adrian's pace. In an instant, he saw Adrian holding a knife at the instructor's throat.

Adrian wasn't interested in continuing to engage with them. He asked, "How about it, do you want to continue?"

Iaido is a special technique in swordsmanship for instantly drawing and cutting down enemies. The level 8 skill, "Shave," takes this move's speed to an unparalleled level. With both factors combined, if he hadn't stopped in time, he probably would have only seen the headless corpse of the old mountain witch.

However, due to the first attempt to test the skills on a real person, there were inevitably some improper actions. The sharp blade grazed the slender and fair neck of the mountain hag, leaving a shallow bloodline. The bead-like red blood slowly seeped out, appearing particularly poignant (evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret) and moving.

Yamanbako reluctantly signaled Dawson to stop by waving her hand. She asked Adrian, "What do you really want to do?"

"I just want to leave. If you hadn't appeared and blocked my way, I would have left this small island already." He sheathed his sword, turned around, and told Yamanbako, "You can act like nothing happened, or you can report to your superiors that 'Reserve Trainee Adrian died in the line of duty.' I don't want to end up on a pirate wanted poster, and that's why I'm letting you go. Remember my words."

"Adrian!" Dawson angrily growled, but he didn't know why he was angry.

"Congratulations on joining CP9 soon. Stay safe on your future missions," Adrian waved his hand and left the alley. "Goodbye, Dawson. Instructor Yamanbako."

Five minutes later.

Adrian reappeared at the dock after 'borrowing' a map and some money from the local mafia. He chose an unmanned fishing boat and sailed away from the small island.

About thirty nautical miles away, the system panel buzzed.

[D-rank mission [Fieldwork] failed!]

[No rewards]

??

Meow?

When did I even take on this mission?

Adrian blinked,

It seems like I could only leave the island by taking on this mission in the first place.

Well, whether I fail or not, it doesn't matter; after all, it's just a D-rank.

The real focus is on something else!

['Freedom' Completed]

[You have received a reward: Acquire one enemy's skill or expertise]

[Random selection in progress... Selection complete]

[Please choose one of the following five abilities as your reward:]

[1: [Presence Concealment] - Skill: Converge breath, evade enemy attention, enhance personal concealment]

[2: [Six Forms · Iron Block] - Skill: Iron block! Ha! Ah!]

[3: [Low-Level Resilient Life] - Expertise: Extra conversion of stamina into health and vitality, at a ratio of 1:10]

[4: [Basic Shooting] - Skill: biubiubiu]

[5: [Life Return · Hair Binding Technique] - Skill: Ninja Art · Chaotic Lion's Mane]

"Is it because I'm finally free that the system has also decided to let loose?" Adrian scratched his head, "What kind of weird skill introduction is this? And it overlaps with my original skills, not one, but three!"

Iron body, basic shooting, and Life return are all skills Adrian has already mastered, and he really doesn't need one more.

Concealing my presence is a good skill.

So, I choose [Low-Level Resilient Life].

This skill is something special!

[You have obtained [Low-Level Resilient Life]!]

A tingling sensation spread through Adrian's body like an electric current, intensifying into a pain resembling millions of needles piercing every part of his body.

After an unknown amount of time, the intense pain gradually subsided. Adrian's bloodshot eyes conveyed a feeling that the system had ruthlessly impacted this budding flower, which hadn't fully bloomed yet.

"It never said gaining a specialty would cause such intense pain! This is simply outrageous!" Adrian exclaimed, exhaling a heavy breath. "Wait a minute, this specialty is from Dawson. I won't turn into a muscle freak, will I?"

Startled, Adrian sat up on the ship and checked his reflection in the sea. Luckily, there were no changes in his body, and he still looked like his regular self, very handsome.

"The first specialty, it's really powerful!"

He relaxed and clenched his fists. Although he couldn't see the specific numbers of his "HP" (Health Points) and "Stamina," he had 61 points of endurance, which he could proportionally convert to 610 points – a considerable number.

Adrian used his Life Return skill and felt a significant boost in vitality, expressing satisfaction with a nod. This skill's effect could also increase with enhanced stamina, consistently providing extra health.

"In this case, it seems that those monsters in Great Seas in the future will each have similar specialties, right?" Adrian silently pondered, "After all, even one or two of them seem to be like invincible cockroaches..."

Today's unexpected reward inspired Adrian.

Since valuable specialties can be obtained through the character 'Dawson,' who didn't appear in the original work, then the things that can be obtained from monsters in the original work are probably even more valuable!

'Low-Level Resilient Life' exists, then there must be 'Intermediate-Level Resilient Life', 'Advanced-Level Resilient Life', like Kaido, who holds the title of 'Strongest Creature.' His vitality and physical strength are probably boundless...

"Being able to gain strength from one enemy after another, this is forcing me to challenge the whole world!"

Adrian felt no fear at all; on the contrary, his confidence surged.

Not causing trouble, not making enemies, focusing on development – what's the point of being a transmigrator then?!