It's not bad, I guess. Although I didn't get intermediate Swordsmanship and Navy Six Styles, I did get the Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki that I wanted most, and I also gained a versatile skill, Evasion. It's a huge gain.
At least it's not a loss.
A vast amount of knowledge flooded into Zhou Ning's mind. His brain now held much information about Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki, such as how to project Conqueror's Haki outwards and how to use Observation Haki in combat.
And three new skills appeared on his panel.
[Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate)]: A qualification only kings can possess. Spirit +3. Can cause damage and deterrence to surrounding enemies by projecting aura. Effect judgment is based on the spirit difference between you and the enemy. Base duration is 0.36 seconds. If the spirit difference is too large, it can also cause a stun effect. (This skill cannot be used for fusion)
[Observation Haki (Elementary)]: Passive skill. Spirit +1. Can sharpen one's five senses and can also be used to predict and evade danger. (This skill cannot be used for fusion)
[Evasion (Elementary)]: General skill. Allows you a greater chance to evade enemy attacks.
A divine skill!
Zhou Ning looked at the description of Conqueror's Haki with some astonishment. Although it couldn't be used for fusion, its effect was equivalent to an area-of-effect damage and crowd control. When his spirit attribute was high, he would be at ease whether facing strong enemies or multiple opponents. This single skill alone could elevate his combat power by a level.
He checked his experience points. Although he had used up all his experience by upgrading Alchemist Apprentice earlier, after a few days of intense effort, his usable experience had returned to over 73,000.
He could spend a bit more now to further increase his combat power.
While life skills could also be fused, it wasn't necessary at the moment. With a major battle approaching, experience needed to be used wisely.
Currently, Zhou Ning had the following ordinary skills suitable for fusion: Shooting Mastery (Elementary), Ripple Breathing Technique (Elementary), Mozambique Drill (Elementary), C.A.R Shooting Method (Elementary), Evasion (Elementary), Armament Haki (Elementary).
Rapid Pursuit and Ripple Shot were already fused skills and could not be re-fused, so they did not appear on the list.
Zhou Ning spent 12,000 experience points to upgrade both Shooting Mastery and Evasion to Intermediate, then chose skill fusion. Since Shooting Mastery was being used for fusion a second time, the fusion experience cost an additional 4,000 points, but this expenditure was worth it.
[Do you want to fuse Shooting Mastery (Intermediate) and Evasion (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 12,000 experience points. Success rate is 50%]
Zhou Ning chose 'Yes' without hesitation. Evasion and Shooting Mastery's experience was cleared, and they reverted to Elementary.
[Fusion successful. You have gained the skill: [Evasion Shot] (Elementary).]
[Evasion Shot (Elementary)]: An extremely flexible shooting method. Consumes an additional 4 stamina when evading backward, and fires forward, dealing 135% normal attack damage.
"It worked!"
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. Evasion was indeed a versatile skill, very suitable for fusion. This Evasion Shot was the best combination he could think of, offering both offense and defense, and even bonus weapon damage. In terms of effect, it was even better than a warrior's Evasion Slash, because shooting was ranged output, which paired better with Evasion that created distance.
Striking while the iron was hot, Zhou Ning then turned his attention to Armament Haki. Upgrading Armament Haki to Intermediate cost three times more than regular skills, requiring 18,000 experience points. Zhou Ning spent 26,000 experience points to upgrade both Armament Haki and Mozambique Drill to Intermediate, and once again chose to fuse them.
[Do you want to fuse Armament Haki (Intermediate) and Mozambique Drill (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 12,000 experience points. Success rate is 36%]
Is that a bit low?
Zhou Ning hesitated for a moment, then chose 'No'. Gritting his teeth, he spent another 20,000 experience points to upgrade Mozambique Drill from Intermediate to Advanced. Looking at the fusion success rate again, it increased from 36% to 58%.
I'll go for it!
[Fusion successful. You have gained the skill: [Lethal Direct Shot] (Elementary).]
[Lethal Direct Shot] (Elementary): A close-quarters Gunfight Technique. Delivers a headshot to the target with a bullet imbued with Armament Haki, dealing significant damage.
Not bad, Zhou Ning was quite pleased. Although this skill wasn't as powerful as Evasion Shot, in terms of pure output, it might even be stronger than Ripple Shot.
With some experience remaining, Zhou Ning thought for a moment and decided to upgrade Ripple Breathing Technique. According to his career plan, there was no rush to improve combat skills for now. Ripple Breathing Technique not only increased Strength and Agility, but also passively increased Strength and Agility with daily practice. In just a few days, Zhou Ning's Agility had increased by 1 point, so investing points here was definitely worthwhile.
Experience was once again depleted. He decided not to save the remaining 11 free points, going all in.
He allocated 8 points to Spirit and 3 points to Willpower, slightly compensating for the weakness in abnormal resistance.
After investing a large amount of experience, Zhou Ning's current panel was completely refreshed, especially his Spirit, which had reached a level comparable to a mage.
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Strowell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC [Closed Beta Countdown: 42 days 0 hours 22 minutes]
Level: 14
Profession: Student / Teaching Assistant [1 / 10]
Sub-profession: Linguist [3 / 10] / Alchemist Apprentice [10 / 10]
Natural Force Affinity: 0
Arcane Affinity: 0
Talents: Tony Stark (Purple), Gunfight Art: Lethal Tempo (Blue), Athletic Genius (Blue)
Personal Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 27, Stamina 19, Will 25, Spirit 40, Charm 99 (Hall of Curiosities item bond, all attributes +1 except Charm)
Health: 190 / 190
Stamina: 208 / 208
Willpower: 17 / 25
Mana: 0
Free Points: 0
Life Skills: Alchemy (Intermediate), Mysticism (Intermediate), Precision Mechanical Crafting (Expert), Gambling (Intermediate)
Normal Skills: (Click to view)
Personal Specialties: Dexterous Hands (Elementary) — Your hands are extremely agile and can perform tasks requiring fine manipulation.
Erudition: Your knowledge reserve far exceeds that of most people. Spirit +1.
Extreme Calm: You maintain a calm mind at all times. Learning speed +10%.
Intermediate Endurance: Stamina growth coefficient +0.15, Will +2. The influence of negative debuffs such as hunger, thirst, and cold is slightly reduced.
Firearms Knowledge: You are intimately familiar with the construction of firearms.
Extraordinary Physique (Elite): Your physique is unusual. When leveling up, gain 0.35 bonus to primary attributes per level.
Clan Edict (Ability): None
Influence: 200
Legendary Rating: 3
Combat Power Rating: 1295
[Description: Your combat power surpasses that of most mortals. Even against a professional, you have a chance to contend.]
Zhou Ning:...Damn it, I finally got a positive evaluation!
His combat power directly soared from 399 to 1295. Wearing the phoenix battle suit, it's estimated to break 5000. He was incredibly strong now!
Wanting to test the effect of Conqueror's Haki, Zhou Ning shifted his gaze from Sherlock to XB.
XB was currently filled with excitement, waiting for the next part of the story to begin, when he suddenly felt a terrifying gaze sweep over him from the opposite side. He looked up and saw Zhou Ning's gentle smile.
"What's wrong, Boss?" XB, unaware that he had narrowly escaped the fate of being a guinea pig, asked cautiously.
"Nothing," Zhou Ning smiled.
The carriage stopped near Witsel Church Square. It was a place for welcoming foreign dignitaries, holding celebrations, or for the public to pray, and carriages were not allowed inside.
As Sherlock lifted the curtain and prepared to dismount the carriage, Zhou Ning suddenly had an almost certain intuition: Sherlock was about to stumble!
Then he watched Sherlock land lightly, turn around, and say to Zhou Ning, "Let's go, they should be in the square."
Subsequently, perhaps due to his eagerness, he unfortunately stepped on a protruding stone, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
Indeed, Zhou Ning was slightly pleased and reached out to help him up.
Observation Haki was indeed stronger than he had imagined. Even at elementary level, he could predict the target's next move based on intuition.
Although this intuition might be fleeting in real combat and couldn't be grasped every time, grasping it even once could potentially decide the outcome of a battle.
Crossing the bridge, Witsel Church Square was not far ahead. The music "Matilda," played for the reception of foreign dignitaries by the Blystone Kingdom, was currently playing, and it sounded as if nothing was amiss.