Chapter 90: Fang Hunt

The bone-white tooth chain swayed slightly, reflecting an orange-red sheen in the campfire’s glow.

A burly figure wrapped in a wolf skin cloak stood there quietly.

There was no attempt at concealment in his movements; he was even blocking the cave’s only exit.

Yet the goblins, who moments ago had been extremely sensitive to intruders trespassing into their lair, did not notice his presence at all.

It was as if they instinctively assumed he ought to be here, as if he were a part of the cave itself.

Of course, this was intentional.

【Barbarian】

【Grieffrost Oathbound】

As someone who had already completed a class transfer, stepped into the domain of “Transcendence,” and become a true high-level professional in the proper sense.

Foggon knew very well that if he did not restrain his breath and conceal his form,

even if he simply stood here, doing nothing,

the cold killing intent formed from the lingering wails of countless prey at the brink of death

would be enough to make these weak, frail, degenerate green skins before him become like snow rabbits locked by a wolf’s gaze, reduced to dazed idiots who did not even know to run.

He came from the Frost Moss Highlands, from a barbarian tribe that had dwelled for generations deep within the snowfields.

He did not possess the profound erudition of the old pedants at the Nium City Academy, nor did he understand “teaching processes” or “instructional models.”

He only knew this.

Amid roaring and the clash of muscles, a person’s personality, favored combat style, skills, and even their potential talent for the future

were all as clear as the bright red blood steaming upon ice and snow.

Plain to see.

The black-haired youth named Xia Nan, in terms of combat technique alone, might be considered quite good to most laymen or average adventurers.

But placed among the plateau tribesmen who had grown up amidst battles between great bears and ice serpents and been tempered by ice storms,

he was nothing particularly special.

Even the clearly “Mastery”-level cleaving techniques Xia Nan had displayed in battle earlier did not stir any change in his expression.

It was merely the foundation before gaining class levels, nothing worth much comment.

But there was one second.

In the entire battle, the most insignificant of all seconds.

When Foggon personally saw Xia Nan slip on moss underfoot and lose his balance,

only to use the arm shield in his hand to slam into the side wall to alter the direction and speed of his fall and thereby evade the enemy’s attack,

a faint light flashed in the depths of those ice-blue eyes of his, cold as a frozen lake.

“Interesting.”

Interlaced wolf maws, the silver-white down on the cloak’s surface gently swayed in the breeze.

The restrained aura and presence rose once more like flame.

He stepped forward, walking toward the sharp-featured, black-haired youth in the arena.

……

Thick brown leather boots stomped down, crushing and bursting the goblin eyeball rolling on the ground, spraying sticky fluid.

【Green Pine】 had already returned to its sheath.

Slightly out of breath, Xia Nan took two steps forward.

His right foot stepped on the corpse of the goblin whose chest had been run through by the sword body, now completely dead.

With both hands he heaved, pulling the Decapitation Long Sword that had been thrust diagonally into the damp muddy ground free with force.

Sss—

The withered, twig-like limbs twitched; still-warm blood water, mixed with mud spots, was flung up by the sword blade.

He gave it a few casual swings to fling away the filthy blood clinging to the sword body’s surface.

Sheathe.

The battle had just ended; it was not yet time to maintain weapons.

He only wiped his face with a still relatively clean part of his sleeve, brushing away the few drops of fresh blood on his cheeks.

The air was silent.

Xia Nan turned around and looked at the scattered goblin corpses on the cave floor.

He unexpectedly felt a complex sense of satisfaction laced with strong achievement.

Like pus squeezed from a pimple.

No longer troubled by the swelling pain it had caused, yet worried about the scar it might leave behind.

Thinking back to when he had just arrived in this world, he was still a pure novice rookie who would go blank and panic before a surprise attack from just two green skins.

Now, however, he could clear out an entire goblin lair by himself.

Before he crossed over, even watching others slaughter a chicken through a screen had felt unbearable to his conscience;

now, after butchering fifteen goblins, his only negative feeling was heartache over the fresh scratch carved into his newly repaired plate armor during the fight.

He did not know whether it was this world, filled with monsters and danger, that had changed him,

or whether he had always been this way by nature, and it was only the sudden change of environment and survival methods after crossing over that had catalyzed and exposed his true inner self.

“Clack, clack.”

The light clatter of a tooth necklace bumping together sounded at his side.

A cold, robust figure entered his vision.

Still wearing that same silent, rock-like demeanor, the barbarian Foggon approached with unhurried steps.

He could not help feeling expectant.

If he had guessed correctly, the battle just now should have been some kind of “placement test” for assessing his strength.

Now that the fight was over and the “results” were out,

a conclusion should also have been reached on which combat technique among those previously offered suited him.

“I have changed my mind.”

A heavy voice, flavored with Northern Territory accent, came from the air.

“【Iron Wall Spin】, 【Frielan Spear Thrust】, 【Heavy Shield Bash】, 【Broken Blade Parry】.”

“For you, none of them work.”

Huh!?

A surprised expression appeared on Xia Nan’s face.

His mouth opened silently, but no words came out.

What did that mean?

Did he fail the test?

As usual, the barbarian before him offered no more explanation. He simply shifted his gaze away from Xia Nan and looked at the corpses lying in the blood water across the ground.

In fact, what Foggon meant was not the “no good,” “cannot learn,” “eliminated” that Xia Nan understood.

It was a phrasing deviation caused by Common Tongue passing through the colloquial speech of Northern Territory tribes.

In truth, the choices he had given Xia Nan were all basic combat techniques along the warrior path, suitable for close-quarters fighting.

As long as one was a normal person, no matter how poor their talent, they could make up the gap with time and effort.

They were the simple types that the vast majority of adventurers in this world could learn.

Foggon had important matters to attend to.

Coming to Valley Town was just a brief rest stop; he would not stay long.

For the combat techniques he needed to teach, naturally he favored those that were easy to pick up, and which could be quickly mastered after entry without needing further guidance.

But now, after watching Xia Nan’s entire battle performance,

he had changed his mind.

Not out of “cherishing talent,”

and certainly not out of any “appreciation.”

He had only known Xia Nan for two days; they were not even fully familiar with each other’s names. How could such extra sentiments arise?

It was simply because he owed an old friend a favor, which led him to take this commission…

So, of course, he would see it done properly.

Xia Nan was clearly self-taught.

In his eyes, Xia Nan’s fighting style lacked the “patterns” common among regular adventurers.

Many times, his movements and reactions relied purely on his body’s instinct.

He adapted on the fly, even using his weapon as a thrown item at times to win time.

Under such circumstances, 【Iron Wall Spin】, which required specific execution conditions and fixed body movements and postures, was excluded.

His style was extremely aggressive.

Though wearing two layers of armor, he carried only a small arm shield.

Even when using the arm shield to block an enemy’s blow, he aimed to further suppress his foe, using the shield’s sharp edge for a follow-up attack, rather than slowing the pace to give himself breathing room.

Therefore, 【Heavy Shield Bash】, which focused on defensive counterattacks, suited positional warfare and controlling the rhythm of battle, and worked best with a large shield, was excluded.

As for 【Frielan Spear Thrust】 and 【Broken Blade Parry】.

The former clearly did not fit Xia Nan’s habit of favoring cleaving attacks, while the latter clashed with his aggressive style that relied heavily on footwork and movement.

In summary: “none of them work.”

However, this did not mean there was no solution.

Given Foggon’s personality, for him to say such words to Xia Nan’s face after accepting an old acquaintance’s commission

meant he already had an answer in mind.

He slowly raised his hand and touched a certain bone-tooth pendant on the necklace around his neck.

Though it would be harder to learn and require considerable energy, based on Xia Nan’s performance in battle and that brief moment of flash-of-inspiration movement,

“Perhaps there is another combat technique more suited to you.”

Hearing this, Xia Nan, who had thought something had gone wrong, suddenly relaxed inside.

Good. Good.

As long as there was a combat technique to learn.

He had neither channels nor money.

The skill books of dubious authenticity in the General Store had nearly driven him mad over these days.

As long as he could learn something real, anything was fine.

Xia Nan licked his somewhat dry lips with his tongue, just about to ask further about this technique,

when a surge of dense footsteps, mingled with shrill laughter and strange howls, suddenly came from the corridor at the cave entrance.

His gaze followed the sound.

Coming into view was a hulking bugbear, its body covered in coarse reddish-brown fur!

It seemed to have just returned from hunting in the forest; the surface of the nail hammer clutched in its thick palm was still stained with fresh, glaringly crimson blood.

Behind it, the smashed-headed carcass of a black-skinned bovine beast was being carried aloft by more than twenty goblins clustered around it.

Knowing they would have another feast tonight, their high-pitched, shrieking laughter reached Xia Nan’s ears.

Understanding dawned in his heart.

No wonder this cave had been hewn out so spaciously, nearly twice the size of the one he had encountered before.

It turned out to be a goblin cluster with a bugbear leader as well, but this time with nearly forty green skins under its command.

The only exit of the cave was blocked by a large number of enemies.

The bugbear’s challenge rating of “1” far exceeded what he could currently handle.

Yet Xia Nan did not feel especially nervous.

After all, he was not the only one standing here.

With the suspected high-level professional Foggon present, he should be able to get out safely… right?

In an instant, the tavern boasts he had heard these days about “barbarians” made him a little less sure.

Strictly speaking, although Xia Nan had gone all out in the last battle, it had still been relatively easy overall.

If the other party mistakenly thought he still had energy to spare and wanted to test him with an even more intense battle…

His jumbled thoughts were cut off by the sudden chill rising in the air.

Foggon glanced at Xia Nan beside him.

He left only one sentence:

“Watch.”

Then turned and walked toward the cave entrance.

Whoosh—

A bitterly cold wind suddenly swept through the originally hot and filthy cave.

The chill in the air seemed to seep through his skin’s pores into muscles and bones.

Looking at Foggon’s back, Xia Nan shuddered.

It was as if he were imprisoned within the stone walls while the wind outside grew ever fiercer, to the point of a howling gale.

Vaguely, some kind of great beast’s long howl seemed to be brewing within that wind.

Tiny stone chips fell from above, while the blood pool, its heat fading, rippled layer upon layer.

The cave was trembling.

Standing behind the barbarian, Xia Nan could not see his expression.

Aside from that wolf skin cloak billowing in the wind, there was only the light clatter of bone chains striking with each step.

The air, heavy with the reek of blood, was driven from the cave by the invading cold.

This clearly alerted the bugbear at the cave entrance.

It let out a low growl, signaling the surrounding goblins to be on alert.

The nail hammer in its hand rose before its chest; its yellow-brown eyes shone with vicious, ferocious light.

But that was all.

Because in the next second, as that burly figure stepped into its line of sight,

all life and warmth in the corridor seemed to be devoured in an instant by freezing killing intent, turned into stiff, lifeless ice sculptures.

Then Xia Nan finally clearly heard the beast’s cry that had been building in the cold wind.

A wolf howl.

Awoo—

Stone walls cracked.

Frost patterns spread over the corridor floor like countless winding crystalline ice serpents.

Frosted breath seemed to surge with each exhale.

In Xia Nan’s vision, Foggon’s figure vanished from where he stood as if by teleportation.

What followed his rising doubt was an explosive roar.

“Boom!!!”

The mighty force honed by blizzards and ice storms compressed the air in its path into something like a solid vacuum.

The bugbear still maintained its previous posture, droplets of saliva still hanging from the tips of its sharp tusks.

Its hide, thick as ox leather, was the first to shatter.

Crimson blood burst from its pores.

Spiderweb cracks spread across its skin’s surface, then broke apart entirely, exposing the raw red flesh and stark white bone beneath.

The goblins, frail low-level monsters with such fragile bodies—

their light forms were tossed up by the shockwave like shoddy building-block toys, limbs scattering into fragments in midair, then ground into dust beneath the continuing thunderous impact.

The howling cold wind whipped the loose hair on Xia Nan’s forehead violently.

Before him,

Foggon slowly walked out from the corridor, surrounded by a crimson dust made of blood mist and ice crystals, faintly forming the shape of a winter wolf’s head.

The obsidian axe at his waist still had not been used.

The barbarian from the Frost Moss Highlands, with his icy temperament,

had shattered a monster cluster capable of wiping out an entire adventurer party using nothing but his body.

“【Fang Hunt】.”

“Will you learn it?”

His eardrums aching, Xia Nan heard the blurred words from the air ahead.

Blood mixed with tiny crystals flowed across the ground, and a wolf’s howl seemed to still echo above his head.

His Adam’s apple bobbed; he swallowed hard.

He nodded fiercely.

“I will!”

It is the last day of the month!

（There are only 20 minutes left）

but if you have any extra monthly tickets, don’t forget~