Chapter Twenty-Four: Skill [Savage Outburst] (Second Update) Please vote and add to your favorites

Walking over to the corpse of the Steel Savage Giant Rat, Liang Jing was delighted to see a skill book shimmering with misty brilliance. He hadn’t expected a skill book to drop—it was well known that skill books always had an extremely low drop rate, and what he needed most right now were skills, especially offensive ones.

This lack had troubled Liang Jing for some time; in fact, both his support and attack skills were scarce, but as he kept encountering stronger opponents, the issue became more pressing. His weapons were inadequate, and he lacked skills capable of inflicting real threat and damage. Thus, offensive skills were urgently needed.

"Savage Burst!"

It turned out to be the Steel Savage Giant Rat’s own innate skill. To have it drop directly was an unexpected stroke of luck. Liang Jing was thrilled, thinking that with this skill, a sudden burst at the right moment would catch his opponent off guard, allowing him to overwhelm and crush them effortlessly. Just like the Steel Savage Giant Rat earlier—if Liang Jing’s physical attributes hadn’t been steadily improving, making him akin to a wild beast himself, and if he didn’t possess the ability to absorb a monster’s life essence for self-healing, he would have suffered much more than just a setback. Without the golden-grade skill "Violent Throw" and the ability to launch 40mm steel balls that forced the rat to hesitate, the outcome might have been very different. There was a clear gap between the rat and Liang Jing, but his lackluster weaponry made the difference appear smaller. "Savage Burst" could instantly multiply speed and greatly increase strength; if two opponents were evenly matched, a sudden use of this skill could turn the tide. Even when outmatched, the skill’s burst of speed could be used for a swift escape.

"Savage Burst: Instantly unleashes latent power, greatly increasing speed for a domineering charge or retreat. Learning requirement: Constitution 10."

He gazed at the blue skill book in his hand—this was a blue-grade skill, just one tier below gold. Though the Steel Savage Giant Rat hadn’t dropped anything else valuable, Liang Jing was more than satisfied. This skill was practically tailor-made for him. If he’d had "Savage Burst" during his fight with the black-clothed Dai Wu, he could have struck before the opponent escaped with invisibility. Just a split second would have changed everything, possibly even severely injuring or killing the enemy in the collision.

He didn’t hesitate; with both hands, he absorbed the skill book. Out of Ling Qinghe’s view, the blue skill book dissolved into a halo that seeped into Liang Jing’s mind, instantly creating a strange rune in his consciousness, radiating explosive energy like a wild beast—that was the "Savage Burst" skill rune. Witnessing this transformation, Liang Jing couldn’t help wanting to try it out, but seeing the dimming sky and Ling Qinghe’s anxious, peculiar expression, he let go of that tempting idea.

Savage Burst: Instantly unleashes latent power, increasing speed by 50% for a domineering charge or retreat; Beginner 0%.

Though he couldn’t immediately test his new skill, it didn’t dampen Liang Jing’s excitement. It was like when his mother, using her frail body to labor at a construction site, had bought him a bicycle as a child—he couldn’t resist taking it out to the sunlit drying yard, even before learning to ride.

Yet now, Liang Jing suddenly realized many issues. Since the "System" became reality, things that seemed normal and minor in-game now had tremendous impact. For example, skill grades: white, green, blue, gold, and so on. The green-grade skill "Corpse Enslavement" was extremely useful now, even more important in Liang Jing’s mind than the golden-grade "Violent Throw." In this perilous world, having an absolutely loyal, obedient "henchman" eased his psychological stress considerably—he could sleep soundly, knowing that with a single command, his servant would attack any approaching lifeform and alert him with a roar. Just imagining it brought comfort; even if he couldn’t completely let his guard down, it reduced his anxiety.

Not only ordinary people, but even Liang Jing felt the pressure of survival in this world was immense. The stronger he became, the more he saw and understood, the more terrifying the world seemed, filling him with awe. If things continued without change or release, he feared he would eventually break down. Ordinary people only knew that mutant monsters meant terror and death, and the monsters’ strength didn’t really matter—they faced only life or death, blindly following the strong. They never considered that mutant monsters were increasing daily, growing stronger and smarter; they didn’t wonder how the world would transform over time or what they would do then. Such waves of thought brought crushing pressure.

Ever since successfully enslaving the mutated Blackback Hound (zombie), Liang Jing immediately felt much lighter, valuing it far more than the golden-grade "Violent Throw." That was his current concern: the in-game ranking system couldn’t be used to judge skills in reality. There was no absolute hierarchy; the best skill was the one that suited him.

This skill was among the most suitable—and most urgently needed—right now.

Another issue was that it seemed he could learn skills without restriction. The "Savage Burst" had a learning requirement of Constitution 10, but there was no hint of a limit on the number of skills. In the game, he could freely learn skills as long as he met the requirements, though the number was capped based on level. In reality, there was no level distinction; perhaps, as long as he had a skill book and met the requirements, he could learn it and manifest the rune in his consciousness?

Liang Jing’s eyes lit up. Perhaps his consciousness was the limit—if the space in his mind was filled with skill runes, he wouldn’t be able to learn more? He considered the possibility, but shook his head and let it go. As his strength grew, his mind’s space had been expanding, and he hadn’t noticed any lack yet; if anything, he felt he still had far too few skills, and his mind was empty.

He mused blindly, unable to reach a conclusion, and decided not to dwell on it. He would see in the future once his skills increased; practice was the only test of truth.

“Liang Jing, are you alright? Did you get hurt just now?” Ling Qinghe saw Liang Jing acting strangely again, shaking his head, and thought he’d been injured in the fight with the monster, her expression tense.

Liang Jing’s brow twitched at her use of his name—she had always called him "boss" before—and replied calmly, “I’m fine. Wait here while I finish dealing with this monster, and then we’ll find Zhang Hu and the others.”

His hands moved deftly, expertly processing the Steel Savage Giant Rat’s corpse. Crunch, crunch... under Liang Jing’s control, the short blade sliced through the thick hide, emitting sharp scraping noises. Despite the noise, the results were satisfactory, but he frowned at his knife, growing more eager for "Baroque’s Sorrow."

Phew—

After a while, Liang Jing finally managed to cut and sort the entire hide of the Steel Savage Giant Rat. Then, from its skull—already cracked by the steel ball—he dug out a pitch-black, glossy orb: the rat’s energy core.

The orb was only two centimeters in diameter, round and jet-black, with a golden boss Baroque energy core’s half size, and larger than the Red-haired Stinger’s.

“Let’s go find Zhang Hu and the others. We need a place to spend the night.” Gathering the rat’s glossy black hide and energy core, he also picked up its claws and teeth, each over ten centimeters long. The rest he left behind—Liang Jing wasn’t fond of rat meat, especially after it had been soaked in blood.