Chapter 197: Second Job Advancement
During their earlier conversation, Zhou Ning kept sensing that Jacqueline wanted to say something but hesitated, as though something was on the tip of her tongue.
Since she didn't speak up, he didn't press her. He felt their relationship hadn't reached the level of candid honesty. So, he simply shut the door, lit the gas lamp, and began operating the alchemy station with practiced ease.
Time flew by during his crafting, and it wasn't until 3 a.m. the next day that Zhou Ning finally exhaled in relief—he had completed the production of Devil Fruits, special bullets, firearms, and potions. With his current Agility and the passive skill Dexterous Hands, his crafting speed was astonishing.
The completed items earned him around 90,000 crafting experience in total. Among them, the newly acquired formulas Petrification Potion and Treasure-Seeking Elixir were each brewed 20 times. As for the Mongoose Elixir, he attempted it three times and failed each time. The success rate was abysmal.
Zhou Ning sighed as he looked at the beaker filled with clumped black sludge.
This type of alchemical potion, which permanently increases stats, was already approaching the level of a Supernatural Potion. The crafting difficulty was sky-high; the techniques, inspiration, flame intensity, and timing all had to be perfect.
Finally, on his fourth attempt, the potion in the beaker stabilized and turned into a bottle of silvery-white liquid. Even Zhou Ning, usually calm and composed, couldn't help showing visible joy.
Mongoose Elixir
Ingredients: Windleaf, Essence of Nature, Leopard-Eared Cat Tail
Brewing Method: ...
Effect: Permanently increases Agility and Speed, with certain side effects.
Usage: Drink it!
Gulp gulp gulp!
After confirming the potion's integrity, Zhou Ning poured the liquid from the test tube into his mouth.
A notification appeared on his panel:
[You have consumed Mongoose Elixir. Agility increased by 4. Strength decreased by 1.]
That was the downside of the Mongoose Elixir. While it increased Agility, it also inflicted some random stat penalties.
Zhou Ning let out a breath and decided to continue brewing more of it.
He had purchased materials for 10 batches in total, and ultimately only succeeded three times—a 30% success rate, the lowest he'd ever recorded in alchemical crafting.
The three bottles of Mongoose Elixir gave him a total of +11 Agility, at the cost of -2 Strength and -1 Spirit—not a bad trade overall. The real surprise came from the Emerald Elixir.
Five bottles of Emerald Elixir granted him a whopping +26 Spirit, with zero negative effects. His Spirit stat finally broke into triple digits, reaching 113—on par with mages of the same level.
By the time he finished crafting, it was already past 3 a.m. Zhou Ning cleaned up his workstation and prepared to return to the main building.
But just then, he suddenly heard the faint shuffle of footsteps near the gate outside.
Turning around, he saw a hunched figure aimlessly wandering near the fence. It was an elderly homeless man, with gray hair, pale blue skin, and a lifeless expression.
A revenant?
Zhou Ning's pupils narrowed. He recognized this man—it was the same homeless person who'd frozen to death in front of his house in Darkland a few days ago and had been carted away by corpse collectors.
Once he confirmed it was an undead, he hesitated only briefly before pulling out his ebony gun and aiming it at the figure. But just then, the old vagrant sighed sorrowfully and vanished into thin air.
"Whew…" Zhou Ning let out a breath and turned his gaze away. Unable to help himself, he muttered Black Baldy's signature curse: "Motherfaker!"
What the hell kind of lunacy was this?
He suspected it was related to extreme elemental imbalances—like how extreme cold weather was a sign of Cryo Element intensification. This could be a case of Death Element Extremity, a type of supernatural event that should fall under the jurisdiction of the Sunwatchers. It needed to be handled by professionals.
Tomorrow was Saturday—not only the day of the Supernaturals' gathering, but also the scheduled time for trades with the Sunwatchers. He'd be sure to report it to them then.
Back in his room, Zhou Ning first went into the washroom to take care of personal needs in an almost idol-like manner. Then, he lay down comfortably on his bed, opened his game panel, and began studying the requirements for his next job advancement.
The next promotion required 10 job specializations, 4 core buff skills, and 15 active skills. For his first job advancement, he had needed 7 specializations, 2 core buffs, and 10 actives.
After numerous adventures, he had picked up skills like Elegant Footwork, Revolver Mastery, and Cold Weapon Mastery, all of which qualified as job specializations. He'd also confirmed that although the incomplete clan code couldn't be taught, it still counted as a core buff.
At this point, he was only missing 1 more core buff and 5 active skills—not a tall order.
He still had nearly 2 million EXP on hand, more than enough. The skills in his fusion pool included:
Shooting Mastery (Advanced)
Ripple Breathing Technique (Intermediate)
Mozambique Drill (Intermediate)
C.A.R. Shooting Method (Intermediate)
Dodge (Basic)
Armament Haki (Advanced)
Divine Departure (Basic)
Basic Swordsmanship (Advanced)
Throwing (Basic)
Conqueror's Haki (Expert)
After three rounds of fusions, his choices were becoming limited. He was now considering fusing the newly eligible Conqueror's Haki, or fusing three skills simultaneously.
Just leveling Conqueror's Haki from Basic to Expert had already cost him around 270,000 EXP. Although fusing it now would mean starting over and temporarily weakening his power, sometimes you had to risk something to get results. As the saying goes, "No pain, no gain."
Zhou Ning made his decision. He first fused Conqueror's Haki (Expert) with Shooting Mastery (Advanced).
[Do you wish to fuse Conqueror's Haki (Expert) and Shooting Mastery (Advanced)? This fusion will consume 34,000 EXP. Success Rate: 92%.]
92% was a safe bet. Without hesitation, Zhou Ning confirmed. Both skills were reset to Basic level.
[Fusion successful. You've acquired the skill: Haki-Infused Shot (Basic).]
[Haki-Infused Shot (Basic): Wraps bullets with Conqueror's Haki to deliver a powerful shot. Deals 275% weapon damage with armor-piercing and true damage effects.]
Not bad. Although the cooldown was 12 seconds, this was now his highest-damage skill.
Next, Zhou Ning spent 100,000 EXP to bring Conqueror's Haki back to Advanced, and attempted a fusion with Basic Swordsmanship.
[Do you wish to fuse Conqueror's Haki (Advanced) and Basic Swordsmanship (Advanced)? This fusion will consume 34,000 EXP. Success Rate: 75%.]
[Fusion failed. Skill proficiency reset.]
Zhou Ning: "…."
Unexpectedly, even with a 75% success rate, he failed. It stung.
Fortunately, his second attempt right after was a success.
[Fusion successful. You've acquired the skill: Haki-Infused Swordplay (Basic).]
[Haki-Infused Swordplay (Basic): Wraps the blade with Conqueror's Haki for a powerful strike. Deals 305% weapon damage and inflicts true damage.]
Pretty standard, but the damage output was likely very high.
Now came the big one. Zhou Ning observed for a moment, then spent another 100,000 EXP to upgrade Conqueror's Haki to Advanced again, and 80,000 EXP to bring Shooting Mastery back to Expert, to boost the fusion success rate. He then selected Armament Haki (Advanced) for a three-way fusion.
[Do you wish to fuse Shooting Mastery (Expert), Armament Haki (Advanced), and Conqueror's Haki (Advanced)? This fusion will consume 63,000 EXP. Success Rate: 82%.]
"Yes!"
[Fusion successful. You've acquired the skill: Flowing Sakura Shot (Basic).]
[Flowing Sakura Shot (Basic): A powerful shooting technique that fuses Conqueror's and Armament Haki. Capable of shattering enemy defenses and delivering a critical blow to the head.]
Yatta-ze! Zhou Ning clenched his fist in excitement. This was undoubtedly his strongest skill to date—bar none. The only gripe was that the name sounded too cute, which didn't match his tough, rugged vibe.
Now, only 1 core buff and 2 active skills remained. With around 1.4 million EXP left, Zhou Ning was confident—he'd settle his job advancement in one final push.
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