Chapter 35 A Catch-22

“The Adventurers’ Association!?”

Xia Nan stared at Hai’an.

That answer made no sense.

“How is that possible? I’ve been to the association in Rivervale Town several times. I’ve looked around almost the entire hall.”

He frowned.

“I never saw anywhere selling combat technique manuals.”

Then something occurred to him.

“Unless…”

“Exactly.”

Hai’an raised one finger and pointed upward.

“Second floor.”

Xia Nan’s confusion deepened.

He immediately remembered a conversation from a few days ago, when he had gone to the association to turn in a mission and spoken with the alchemy shop owner.

“Isn’t the second floor restricted to class holders?”

“Yes.”

Hai’an answered far too easily.

Xia Nan stared at him.

“But without combat techniques, how am I supposed to become a class holder?”

That was a perfect deadlock.

To become a class holder, he needed combat techniques.

To buy combat techniques from the Adventurers’ Association, he needed access to the second floor.

To access the second floor…

He needed to already be a class holder.

What kind of ridiculous loop was that?

Wood sat beside Hai’an in his black leather armor.

After listening to Xia Nan’s question, he said quietly:

“This world needs adventurers.”

Xia Nan looked over.

“But it doesn’t need that many.”

The words were simple.

Their meaning was not.

Xia Nan fell silent, turning the sentence over in his mind.

He was starting to think himself into a corner when Hai’an quickly continued.

“The Adventurers’ Association isn’t the only place where you can get combat techniques.”

That finally pulled Xia Nan back.

According to Hai’an, there were several common ways to learn combat techniques in the Kingdom of Servia.

The first was through one of the major organizations spread throughout the kingdom.

Temples.

Churches.

The Guild Alliance.

Even the military corps directly under the kingdom.

All of them had their own complete advancement systems.

They possessed not only the combat techniques needed to acquire base classes, but also large reserves of advanced classes required for entering the Transcendent Tier.

The price was simple.

Loyalty.

Or faith.

The second method was to hire a class holder and pay them to teach you a combat technique.

That sounded straightforward.

The cost was not.

A true fortune in gold.

Or resources of equivalent value.

For most people, it was completely out of reach.

For nobles, however, this was the standard route.

Then came the third method.

The cheapest.

The most widespread.

And the one best suited to ordinary commoners without wealth, background, or connections.

Try your luck.

Xia Nan’s predecessor was a perfect example.

His family had been farmers with essentially no combat ability.

Yet in exchange for lodging, they had still managed to “snag” half a supposed combat technique manual from a traveling bard.

And across the enormous Kingdom of Servia, manuals like that were everywhere.

You could walk into some random village, find an old man sitting at the entrance, and there was a decent chance he had a few books at home claiming to contain ancestral “knight training secrets.”

For a handful of copper coins, he might happily sell one to you.

Then he would brag for half an hour about how glorious his great-grandfather had been, as if you had just bought the inheritance of some legendary warrior.

The problem?

Of all those so-called combat techniques, 99.9 percent were worthless junk.

No one knew where most of them came from.

Practice them for years and nothing would happen.

Worse, incorrect methods of exerting force could damage the body.

So not only did people waste years of effort, they might cripple themselves in the process.

Only the tiny handful of truly fortunate ones who stumbled across a genuine combat technique manual, then endured years of monotonous and painful training, had a chance to actually learn something.

That was the first step toward becoming a class holder.

Of course, those were only the three most common routes.

Other possibilities existed.

Traditional mentor-apprentice relationships.

Sponsorship from a benefactor.

Finding old manuals in the wilderness.

Auction houses, which were at least slightly more trustworthy than roadside stalls.

There were plenty of methods.

They simply required money, luck, connections, or opportunity.

That was why combat techniques were not exactly rare among adventurers.

Adventurers fought magical beasts for a living.

They had better access to information than ordinary people, and those who survived long enough usually had some income too.

By the time Hai’an finished explaining, Xia Nan finally understood why both he and Wood had reacted so strongly to his story.

His predecessor had not merely possessed decent talent.

His luck had been absurd.

He had picked up half a random manual…

And actually learned the technique.

At the same time, Xia Nan finally had a rough idea of what his own path forward might look like.

“Right.”

Hai’an suddenly seemed to remember something.

“I didn’t bring this up earlier because I assumed you had a mentor.”

His voice dropped.

“But now that I know you don’t…”

Hai’an glanced carefully at the Decapitating Longsword beside Xia Nan.

His next question came with obvious caution.

“That combat technique you used earlier should belong to the Warrior path, right?”

Xia Nan himself had no idea what class [Spinning Slash] belonged to.

He could only compare it with the characteristics Hai’an and Wood had described.

“Probably?”

He sounded uncertain.

“The half page I learned it from never said where it came from.”

Hai’an did not seem surprised.

He nodded, then glanced at Wood.

“Wood is a class holder, but his Rogue combat techniques don’t match the kind of technique you used earlier.”

“If you’re willing to start over and abandon everything you’ve already accomplished, then Wood could probably help.”

Hai’an paused.

“But…”

His gaze fell on the iron-gray blade.

“That would be a huge waste.”

“Judging by how you fought earlier, even if that combat technique hasn’t reached Mastery yet, it can’t be far away.”

“Giving it up now would be too much of a shame.”

He looked up.

His silver-gray eyes met Xia Nan’s.

This time, there was no teasing in his expression.

“You saved me during the battle.”

“So I should repay you.”

Hai’an spoke before Xia Nan could object.

“Please don’t refuse.”

Xia Nan stayed quiet.

“Once I return to Neum, I probably won’t be able to leave home again for some time.”

Hai’an’s smile weakened slightly.

“But over the years, I’ve saved quite a bit of money.”

“If you’re willing, I can use my family’s connections to hire a reliable class holder.”

“Someone who can teach you a Warrior-type combat technique.”

He hesitated.

“There’s no guarantee it’ll be useful to you, but…”

Xia Nan’s heart moved.

He had not saved Hai’an for the sake of being rewarded.

At the time, he had simply done what needed to be done.

But now Hai’an was offering him exactly the kind of opportunity he desperately needed.

And pretending he was not tempted would be ridiculous.

Xia Nan thought for a moment.

Then nodded firmly.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

His gratitude was genuine.

“Thank you.”

Unexpectedly, Hai’an seemed relieved by the answer.

A smile returned to his face.

“Good.”

“Give me your address. After the mission is over and I return to Neum, I’ll write to you.”

He added, “You may have to wait a few days. I have some family matters to deal with first, and finding the right person will take time too.”

“There’s no hurry.”

Xia Nan answered seriously.

“Take care of your own affairs first.”

Then he told Hai’an where to find him.

“I’m staying in Rivervale Town.”