Chapter 72

Zhao Futu looked at his remaining points and saw that he still had 19,180 survival points, one F-grade soul crystal, and three large soul fragments.

He still had a considerable number of survival points, but his soul crystals were running low. Currently, he had not yet upgraded his combat skills, leaving him with Basic Swordsmanship Level 1 and Grappling Combat Level 1. Both the Silver Cross Swordsmanship Level 1 and Mountain Lean Level 1 could be improved through practice. The progress bar for the Silver Cross Swordsmanship had already reached one-third, and at this rate, it would take at most two mission cycles to reach Level 2.

If he were to use survival points alone to upgrade the Silver Cross Swordsmanship, it would require a full 5,000 survival points and one F-grade soul crystal.

"Will I end up becoming a master of all trades in the Nightmare Space?" Zhao Futu smiled, then spent 10,000 survival points and two F-grade soul crystals to upgrade Basic Swordsmanship and Grappling Combat to Level 5. After this, he was left with only 9,180 survival points, and his soul crystals were completely depleted.

The advanced extensions of the two basic skills were as follows:

"Basic Swordsmanship Level 5: Passively increases the damage of sword-type weapons by 50%, and improves the mastery of any sword technique."

Optional additional abilities, choose one of the following three:

"Option 1: Lock this skill as Swordsmanship Specialization." [Specialization is unique!]

"Option 2: Additional 10% increase in sword-type weapon damage."

"Option 3: Passively improves the mastery of any sword technique, further enhancing proficiency."

...

"Grappling Combat Level 5: Passively increases unarmed combat damage by 50%, and when striking the joints of a target, increases the critical hit rate by 25%, with a chance to trigger effects such as stiffness, paralysis, and disability! (After specializing in Grappling Combat, this passive damage effect can be stacked with specific techniques, further increasing the chance of triggering special effects.)"

Optional additional abilities, choose one of the following three:

"Option 1: Lock this skill as Grappling Combat Specialization." [Specialization is unique!]

"Option 2: Additional 10% increase in unarmed combat damage and 5% increase in critical hit rate for joint strikes."

"Option 3: Passively improves the mastery of any grappling combat technique, further enhancing proficiency."

...

Zhao Futu looked at the options, recalling his combat style, and ultimately decided to choose Grappling Combat Specialization. Specialization skills are unique, and although he had learned the Silver Cross Swordsmanship, he was more familiar with grappling techniques. When he fought for his life, these close-combat techniques were more explosive!

For Basic Swordsmanship, he chose the second option, which increased the damage of sword-type weapons by 10%.

He had already chosen to improve his mastery of all close-combat techniques, so there was no need to further enhance his mastery. Instead, it was better to increase the damage of sword-type weapons.

When he chose to lock Grappling Combat as a specialization skill, his skill page immediately showed a change.

It's worth noting that ordinary skills also have levels. Basic skills are displayed in blue text, advanced skills in dark blue text, and the Silver Cross Swordsmanship in silver-gray text, which is why the space rated it as a silver-level skill. After Zhao Futu locked Grappling Combat as a specialization, the dark blue text for Grappling Combat Level 5 immediately turned silver-white, and the attached attributes were completely different.

The new advanced skill is as follows:

"Grappling Combat Specialization Level 1 [Locked Skill]: Passively increases unarmed combat damage by 50%, and when striking the joints of a target, increases the critical hit rate by 25%. When the cumulative damage to a specific part of the target reaches 25% of their total health, it will definitely trigger effects such as stiffness, paralysis, and disability! When you use a close-combat skill, any successful close-combat skill has a 5% chance of causing a target's attacked area to suffer a comminuted fracture!"

[Note: Comminuted fractures cannot be healed through conventional means!]

...

"Level 5 became Level 1?" Zhao Futu looked at the skill changes, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He currently had very few skills. The Silver Cross Swordsmanship was fine, at least it was a complete set of sword techniques. However, the Grappling Combat side still only had the 'Mountain Lean Level 1' recognized by the Nightmare Space. The other grappling techniques he knew in reality could be used, but they were only considered ordinary damage. He didn't know why they weren't recognized as special skills by the space.

Zhao Futu only remembered that when he obtained Mountain Lean, it was when a vampire lunged at him, and he didn't think twice before charging forward.

Then, this skill appeared.

"Phew!" Zhao Futu took a deep breath, stretched his limbs in the spacious room, and put on all his equipment: the Yellow Turban Headband (+1 to all attributes), two Iron Branches (+2 to all attributes), two Noble Circlets (+4 to all attributes), the Black Turtle's Power (+2 to Strength, +8 to Stamina), the Cloud Swallow Boots (+1 to Strength, +4 to Agility), and the Fine Steel Longsword (+2 to Strength, +1 to Agility).

With the full set of equipment, his Strength was 24 points, almost equivalent to a werewolf's. After stretching his limbs, Zhao Futu touched the sturdy wall and then delivered a powerful punch, leaving a slight indentation. After estimating the wall's sturdiness, he took a step forward, growled, and launched a 'Mountain Lean' at the right wall.

— "Bang!"

In the dull sound of the impact, the seemingly sturdy wall was covered with a network of cracks.

Before Zhao Futu could show any surprise, the cold voice of the Nightmare Space sounded in his ear:

"Contractor No. 1013 intentionally damaged public property, deducting 100 survival points!"

Zhao Futu: "..."

When Zhao Futu left the hall for upgrading basic skills, he was left with only 9,000 survival points. He didn't plan to use these points and kept them stored, intending to use them to buy military supplies when the gold main mission started. There were many military supplies, including recovery items and special items such as powerful stimulants, muscle enhancers, and pain reduction devices for the nervous system.

Good things are good, but they are a bit expensive.

Zhao Futu found a stall in the trading area and listed the few pieces of equipment he didn't need at a fixed price, about 120% of the usual market price, then returned to his room. This time, he didn't have the energy to stay in the space. He had spent over half a month on the Yellow Turban battlefield, and although his body was fine, his mind was very tired, and he hadn't had a good rest.

He directly chose to return to reality, kicked open the door to his room, and fell into a deep sleep on the bed.