Chapter 26

"Killing the vampire baron, gained 650 survival points, 2 large soul fragments!..."

"Contractor No. 1013 has enhanced comprehension of the main material plane abilities, triggering basic skill comprehension judgment!... Contractor's secondary attributes pass the skill judgment exemption!... Basic skill comprehension judgment passed!..."

"Contractor No. 1013 comprehends [Basic Melee] advanced mastery skill branch — [Grapple Combat] Level 1!"

...

When Mo Fei thrust the short sword he had obtained from a vampire corpse into the heart of the injured vampire baron behind him, the battle finally ended. He panted and fell to the ground, taking out a piece of white bread he had casually picked up from a table and chair, and began to chew it. This was probably what was left over from dinner, and when Mo Fei picked it up, it was displayed as the lowest level gray item. However, eating it could restore stamina and increase the life recovery rate by 10%, with the effect disappearing after being attacked.

Although the battle lasted only a moment, the physical energy Zhao Futu expended in that instant was undoubtedly enormous!

It took him a full one or two minutes to gradually recover his strength, waving his slightly numb arm, and then he stood up. The body's recovery ability after being digitized in the space was astonishing. If this were in reality, his muscles would have been severely strained from such reckless bursts and heavy punches. The massive counter-shock from the punches hitting the enemy would not only have numbed his entire body but could have even injured his internal organs!

"This space is really forcing us to fight for our lives!" Zhao Futu swallowed the last few bites of white bread and looked around for something to drink.

After his stamina was mostly restored, he finally had the time to check the prompts from the Nightmare Space and see if the vampire he killed had dropped anything good. This mysterious space was like a game, where you could obtain special items after defeating powerful enemies, such as the 'Alpha Wolf's Fang' which greatly enhanced his combat power!

If it weren't for the agility and strength added by this item, he definitely wouldn't have been able to burst out and restrain his enemy so easily.

"[Grapple Combat] Level 1? Could it be that the space has digitized the martial arts techniques I learned before?" Zhao Futu looked at the new skill and pondered.

As a practitioner of Dao, he had learned some basic martial arts, mainly focusing on large and small grappling techniques and some simple combat skills. Since his learning was rather general, he always referred to himself as just having practiced a bit of free fighting. For some reason, during the battle, he suddenly recalled all the techniques he had learned in great detail and executed them with astonishing combat power!

"Just now, it was a super-level performance at my peak consciousness! Could this also be a passive enhancement of my sensory and consciousness abilities by the Nightmare Space?"

The more he thought about it, the more Zhao Futu believed it was possible. As an ordinary person living in the city, although he knew some free fighting, he didn't have many opportunities to use it. Even if two people with similar skills in grappling techniques, one who frequently fights and the other who just practices, their on-the-spot performance would be vastly different.

"No wonder the glasses guy and the pyramid scheme guy, who probably haven't fought much, can still go head-to-head with low-level werewolves."

"Turns out the space has consciously enhanced our on-the-spot performance abilities!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Futu couldn't help but remember the completely useless woman who had no combat ability. She was truly a rare find, and he wondered how she was doing. However, Zhao Futu had neither the time nor the interest to look for her. Since he was chosen by this damn Nightmare Space, he couldn't rely on anyone else; ultimately, he had to rely on himself. Saving her last time was an accident, and Zhao Futu didn't want to die, so he naturally had to avoid such accidents!

"Grapple Combat Level 1 [Passive Skill]: Passively increases unarmed combat damage by 10%. When striking the joints and vital points of the target, increases critical hit rate by 5% and has a chance to trigger effects such as stiffness, paralysis, and disability! (After advancing to higher levels of Grapple Combat, this passive damage effect can be stacked into specific techniques and further increase the chance of triggering special effects.)

"Mountain Lean Level 1 [Active Skill]: One of the techniques of Bak Mei, after hitting the target, a strength judgment is made. If the enemy's strength is not higher than your own, it will cause a short period of stiffness or even knockback. This skill has a chance to trigger an interrupt effect."

When Zhao Futu opened his attribute page, he immediately noticed that a new active skill [Mountain Lean] Level 1 had appeared below Grapple Combat. This skill was different from the other techniques in the *Silver Cross Swordsmanship*; it was a standalone active skill with its own specific level. This made Zhao Futu a bit surprised.

Moreover, this skill did not improve with practice; its level was locked by the Nightmare Space, and it required 1000 survival points and one F-grade soul crystal to upgrade to Level 2.

"Seems like I can already synthesize an F-grade soul crystal?" Zhao Futu checked his small space and found that he already had three large soul fragments. One was dropped when he killed the alpha wolf, and the other two were from the vampire baron. He wasn't quite sure about the use of soul crystals, but he knew they could be used to enhance skills and possibly absorbed.

"Soul Crystal (Strength: F-grade)"

"Origin: Any world."

"Item Rarity: White."

"Material: Concentrated soul energy."

"Weight: 10 grams."

"Form: Physical, rhombic, crystal."

"Effect 1: Combine three identical soul crystals to upgrade to a higher-grade soul crystal (with a chance of failure), or cut them into three large soul fragments. Note: Choosing this function will cost 100 survival points. You can sell this item to the space for 1500 survival points."

"Effect 2: An F-grade soul crystal is formed from the soul energy of some plot-strong characters when they die. It contains a small amount of soul origin energy and can enhance the contractor's abilities when converted by the Nightmare Space."

"Special Effect: Absorb it! (Insufficient ability)"

"Evaluation: It is electricity, it is light, it is the energy of the world, the core of the universe, the meaning of life. With it, you own the entire world!"

...

Zhao Futu looked at the F-grade soul crystal in his hand and eventually put it away. For him, enhancing the Mountain Lean skill was not very meaningful, and he had another skill that required an E-grade soul crystal to upgrade. Relatively speaking, the Reconnaissance skill, which had saved his life several times, was more valuable to enhance. However, upgrading it rashly was not wise, so he decided to wait until he returned to the space.

He searched the vampire baron's body but was disappointed to find that it had not dropped anything good.

Perhaps because its main injuries were inflicted by the werewolf on the ground before it died, Zhao Futu only found two large soul fragments and a few silver items, which could be exchanged for 236 survival points in the space. It was a small consolation, but better than nothing!

"Help!... Help!..."

Just as Zhao Futu was about to leave with his loot, he suddenly heard a weak moan from around the corner. Curious, he cautiously approached, but before he could get a clear view, the strange prompt from the Nightmare Space sounded.

"Contractor No. 1013, you have triggered one of the hidden main quests in this space. Please choose whether to accept it!"

...