Chapter 517 Proficiency and Reputation

Seventeen days ago, after killing "Carrion Vulture" Gerry and the fishman priest in the battle at Wild Berry Cliff, Xia Nan's practical use of combat techniques had earned him another point of proficiency, raising [Heavy Tide]'s upgrade progress to (32/100).

Now, however, that number on his Attribute Panel—which had been a long way from leveling up—had undergone a staggering change.

—[Heavy Tide] lv2: (72/100)!

That was an increase of a full forty proficiency points!

No one in this world understood the true value of that number better than Xia Nan.

The golden finger of his Attribute Panel allowed him to track the progress of every combat technique through quantified data.

He could clearly see exactly how much he had improved and how far he was from his next proficiency breakthrough.

For other adventurers in this world, however, training was an agonizing, day-after-day grind that felt like an endless road with zero visible progress.

They might actually be improving their proficiency through practice, but as the hidden progress bar ticked from "0" to "99", they couldn't feel a thing.

This led to a pervasive dread shared by every adventurer in this world.

Since genuine combat techniques weren't cheap knockoffs you could buy by the basketful for a few copper coins at a general store, how were they supposed to gauge their training progress? How could they tell if a technique even suited them? How did they weigh their sunk costs?

Take [Gravity Control], which Xia Nan was currently practicing, for example.

It had been quite a long time since he acquired the technique.

After hundreds of days and nights of bitter training, its proficiency level remained stuck at lv1.

Yet Xia Nan had never slacked off, maintaining his daily practice without fail.

Why?

On one hand, it was because of the inherent quality of [Gravity Control] and the promise of its future potential.

On the other, his Attribute Panel allowed him to see clearly that his proficiency in the technique was indeed growing. To date, the progress bar was nearing the halfway mark; it hadn't just stagnated.

But if you placed an ordinary adventurer without an Attribute Panel golden finger in the exact same situation, it would be terrifying.

Imagine practicing a combat technique for over a year without seeing a single sliver of progress.

What should they do?

Should they just give up?

But what if they were right on the verge of a breakthrough? By giving up, would they be throwing away all their hard work at the very last step before success?

Then—should they push through?

But what if the combat technique simply didn't suit them? What if their proficiency hadn't grown at all during that long period of training? Wouldn't persisting just be a pure waste of time and energy?

Crushed by sunk costs and a murky future, countless bottom-tier adventurers who lacked decisive, ironclad willpower simply faded away.

The Aifala Continent was littered with examples of people abruptly giving up right before a proficiency breakthrough, or endlessly pouring their precious time and energy into a combat technique that simply didn't suit them.

Many never even knew if their hard work was doing anything at all.

To some extent, Xia Nan's immense diligence in training since coming to this alternate world wasn't just due to his personal discipline; the Attribute Panel displaying his progress in real time was a major driving force.

Likewise, over these past seventeen days, Xia Nan had used his Attribute Panel to clearly witness the changes brought by the [Proof of Diligence].

Using the moment he acquired the [Proof of Diligence] from the collector Auriel as a dividing line, this period could be split into two halves.

For the first seven days, during the journey back to Barracuda Bay from Wild Berry Cliff, he gained about ten proficiency points in [Heavy Tide] alone.

That averaged out to 1.4 points a day—a normal pace.

But over the next ten days, after equipping the [Proof of Diligence], his training efficiency skyrocketed. He averaged an absurd three proficiency points a day, pushing the progress bar straight to its current "72/100".

Fortunately, [Heavy Tide] belonged to the "finesse" category required to activate the [Dust of Swaying Shadows], immediately granting its proficiency acquisition a fifty percent bonus.

Stacked with the [Proof of Diligence]'s inherent equipment effect of "+33% training efficiency."

1 1.5 1.33 = 1.995.

It effectively doubled Xia Nan's proficiency growth rate!

The euphoria in his heart was indescribable.

He wished he could pour every waking second into training the technique.

And in fact, that was exactly what he did.

The only pity was that [Gravity Control] and [Ember Echoes] did not belong to the "finesse" category required by the [Dust of Swaying Shadows], so they only benefited from the bracelet's base thirty-three percent bonus.

Furthermore, that thirty-three percent bonus came with the restriction that the "training duration must exceed 180 minutes".

Combined with the special adjustments Xia Nan had made to his training schedule recently, his proficiency growth in those two techniques was noticeably slower than in [Heavy Tide].

Even so, his progress was still significantly faster than before.

Xia Nan couldn't be more satisfied.

This also prompted him to add another goal to his long-term plans as an adventurer:

—find more accessories for the [Proof of Diligence].

The bracelet had nine slots in total, and eight of them were currently empty.

If he could find more accessories like the [Dust of Swaying Shadows] and extend that fifty percent bonus to all technique categories, his professional growth would skyrocket at an absurd pace.

Even the notoriously slow [Gravity Control] would finally have a hope of leveling up.

Staring at the Bugbear head he had placed atop the structure in front of him, Xia Nan finalized his decision to hunt down the rest of the bracelet's accessories.

Additionally, over the ten days since returning to Barracuda Bay, he had completely fenced off all the loot from his mission.

This excluded the three pieces of enchanted gear he had traded to Auriel Silverheart for the [Proof of Diligence].

The other odds and ends—harpoons from the elite fishman guards and the Fine-grade equipment from the Ebb Tide Gang's upper ranks—had sold for a combined total of over three hundred gold.

The two pirate ships he'd brought back from Wild Berry Cliff had also been pawned off through Barracuda Bay's black market. They were slightly discounted as secondhand vessels, and after deducting necessary expenses like handling and dock mooring fees, he netted eight hundred and ninety-five gold.

Finally, adding the two-hundred-plus gold he had scavenged from the Ebb Tide Gang's hideout, his total earnings for the Wild Berry Cliff expedition reached a massive 1,600 gold.

This allowed his bank savings—which had already bounced back somewhat thanks to the mission payout from the Blade of Vengeance Squad—to hit a truly reassuring sum once more.

—2,216 gold, 9 silver, and 3 copper!

He breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about being unable to afford armor replacements anytime soon.

Speaking of which, the [Abyssal Current] set's defensive capabilities as blue-quality armor were truly outstanding. It had taken almost no damage during the fights against the Sahuagin and "Carrion Vulture" Gerry. It would likely last him a long time.

With these thoughts in mind, Xia Nan walked out of the Goblin Lair.

He pulled the [White Flask] from his pocket by its chain, utilizing its fundamental function as a Pocket Watch, and checked the time.

It was already five in the afternoon.

Giving up on the idea of hunting down another Goblin tribe to practice his construction skills, he got his bearings and set off toward the main urban district of Barracuda Bay.

Evening had arrived, and the already lively Three-Legged Sea Dog Tavern was even more raucous than usual, the air thick with the scent of alcohol and food.

When Xia Nan walked through the front door with his two signature longswords strapped to his back, there was no dramatic, dead-silent pause like in the Western movies of his past life; the noise rolled on unabated.

But that didn't mean he went unnoticed.

In fact, a split second after he pushed open the wooden doors and strolled inside, Xia Nan clearly felt a wave of stares—some subtle, some blatant.

The battle at Wild Berry Cliff had further spread the reputation of his moniker, "Sea Fang"—a name that had already begun gaining traction after the incident with the Horned Shark Gang.

Hogen, the Ebb Tide Gang thug who had returned to Barracuda Bay with Xia Nan, along with the large group of rescued islanders, had quickly spread the tales of what they'd seen and experienced on the island.

This was backed up by the testimonies of merchant vessels and adventurers who had sailed past Wild Berry Cliff.

By now, a massive swathe of the adventurers in Barracuda Bay had a very deep impression of the name "Sea Fang".

They knew that not only had he annihilated the former Horned Shark Gang, but even the recently risen Ebb Tide Gang had been butchered by this ruthless figure. The gang's leader and a bulk of their upper echelon had all been wiped out.

Having achieved such notoriety in a core hub like Barracuda Bay, and given the transient nature of adventurers, it was entirely predictable that the title of "Sea Fang" would soon spread across the entire Southern Archipelagos. It would become the main topic of conversation at the tavern tables of countless bottom-tier adventurers.

Although Xia Nan was starting to feel the reality of this fame, he wasn't particularly worried.

This wasn't some technologically advanced modern society with mass media. Just because people had heard the name "Sea Fang" didn't mean they could recognize his face. That alone shielded him from the vast majority of potential trouble.

Those who could actually identify him through distinct traits like "black hair", "twin swords", and "young man" were mostly well-informed veterans with strong information-gathering networks. They would be the last people to casually approach a dangerous figure like him.

It acted as an invisible barrier.

Ignoring the stares around him, Xia Nan walked straight to the bar. A quick sweep of his eyes immediately locked onto a familiar figure.

The Halfling Alton was sitting alone on a stool by the counter, his two short legs swinging in the air.

His bright hazel eyes gazed longingly at the various liquors displayed in the cabinet, but the counter in front of him was totally bare, save for a pitiful glass of plain water and a single copper coin resting beside it.

Knowing the little guy had probably just crawled out of some casino again, Xia Nan sat down beside him.

"Didn't I tell you to put all your meals on my tab lately?" Xia Nan said casually. "Order whatever you want. It's my treat."

Alton had participated in their last few missions, but he rarely showed any interest in the loot, yielding much of his share to Xia Nan.

Believing in give and take, Xia Nan had offered to cover the Halfling's living expenses in Barracuda Bay as a form of compensation.

"Xia Nan, you're back!" Seeing Xia Nan sit down beside him, Alton's already lively face grew even more animated. He grinned and said, "Hey, hey, I just heard from the others that the tavern's new 'Clam Wine' is pretty good—"

"Hera, two bottles of Clam Wine," Xia Nan called out to the tavern owner behind the counter. "And two Cream of Mushroom Soup combo meals."

"Hehe, you got it," Hera replied with a smile, setting down the glass she had been polishing. The strikingly featured woman possessed thick, dark green curls that tumbled down like sea kelp.

"Today's mushroom soup features grouper and baby octopus, is that okay?"

Xia Nan nodded in confirmation.

While they waited for their food, he looked toward the tavern owner, Hera.

"Has there been any reply from the Governor's Mansion?" he asked.

Having repeatedly encountered Sahuagin during his recent missions, he had realized that these violently racist, rabidly anti-human monsters were brewing a conspiracy. They were slaughtering humans en masse to use as offerings for a Sacrificial Ritual.

Even more bizarrely, they had actually struck a deal with a human faction—the Ebb Tide Gang—using the gang's network to abduct islanders.

Xia Nan had no intention of entangling himself in factional warfare, but since he had stumbled across the plot, he felt obligated to report it.

Thus, upon returning to Barracuda Bay, he had taken all the intelligence he'd gathered on the Sahuagins' strange activities and reported it directly to the local ruling authority: the Governor's Mansion.

As for the result—Hera's slight shake of her head made it clear that nothing had come of it.

Xia Nan felt a twinge of disappointment.

They were the official ruling arm of the Servia Kingdom, after all. He had assumed that even if they didn't place much weight on the word of an ordinary adventurer, they would at least dispatch a few peacekeepers to ask him for the details.

Instead, his letter had vanished like a stone dropped into the sea. Absolute silence.

Truthfully, considering how massive and blatantly obvious the Sahuagins' operations were, Xia Nan definitely wasn't the only one to notice.

He had frequently overheard other adventurers discussing the matter in the tavern recently.

Given the Governor's Mansion's tight grip on Barracuda Bay, there was no way they were blind to this.

Their total lack of action made Xia Nan suspicious that foul play was involved.

Was it a scheme, much like the "Hunting Day" back in Rivervale Town?

Or was the Governor's Mansion colluding with the Sahuagin—

Xia Nan shook his head, cutting off the train of thought.

Without enough hard evidence, letting his imagination run wild would only drag him into a mire of conspiracy theories and waste his mental energy.

He was just a small fry. He had neither the power nor the desire to involve himself in such massive events.

Rather than dwelling on all that, he was better off focusing on how to prepare for the fast-approaching Lunar Tide Banquet.