Chapter 22: Comprehending a Skill

“If I don’t go all out on attribute allocation, then won’t my SSS-grade talent, which boosts all attributes by one tier, be underutilized?” Xu Feng muttered to himself.

“But now I only have two Free Attribute Points. Even if I add them to any single attribute, it won’t break through immediately,” Xu Feng thought.

Currently, all of Xu Feng’s attributes were at F-grade. In reality, his actual attributes were similar to an average person’s, roughly around 5 points each. However, because of his talent, each attribute was forcibly increased by nearly ten points. So, his talent currently gave him a bonus of about fifty Attribute Points in total.

Once all his attributes broke through to 15 points, his talent would boost them by one tier, forcibly raising them to E-grade, which meant an average of 50 points per attribute. Then, the five attributes would give him 35×5, totaling 175 Attribute Points.

Therefore, the first effect of this talent, “boost all attributes by one tier,” provided greater benefits as his strength increased.

Since his talent dictated that Xu Feng could only choose professions that used sword techniques, he allocated his two Free Attribute Points: one to Strength and one to Agility.

After adding the Attribute Points, a warm flow coursed through his body, but compared to when he gained his talent, this warm flow was very slight.

“Next is the skill, Cleave.” Xu Feng pulled out the “Cleave” Skill Card and fell into thought.

In his previous life, there was always a rumor: if you used a limited-use skill and could perform it again from memory, there was a chance to comprehend the skill and permanently master it.

Because of this rumor, for a time, the price of limited-use Skill Cards skyrocketed. At its peak, they nearly matched the price of permanent mastery Skill Cards of the same type. But soon, people realized the rumor seemed to be a scam. Almost no one could use a limited-use Skill Card to gain permanent mastery of the skill.

However, Xu Feng knew the rumor had some truth to it because he had once comprehended a skill himself. In fact, when he comprehended that skill, he hadn’t used any Skill Card at all.

“But this Skill Card revived some of my past memories. In my previous life, I could comprehend skills on my own. In this life, I definitely can too.” A determined look flashed in Xu Feng’s eyes. He gripped the Skill Card tightly, and soon, it turned into a beam of white light that entered his forehead.

The next day, Wang Ying got up yawning, planning to cook breakfast herself to thank Xu Feng.

But as soon as she left the bedroom, she saw Xu Feng swinging a long sword, practicing sword techniques with great focus.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Wang Ying asked curiously. Among the Skill Cards they bought yesterday, only Cleave was for Xu Feng, but that Skill Card had limited uses. Clearly, what he was practicing now couldn’t be that skill.

“Heh, it’s nothing. I woke up a bit early and had nothing to do, so I’m just exercising,” Xu Feng said with a tired look in his eyes, ending his last move and smiling.

Obviously, Xu Feng hadn’t rested all night. He had been practicing sword techniques the entire time.

“In the early stages, the monsters are weaker, so it seems like there’s plenty of time. But if I don’t hurry to improve my strength now, I’ll struggle later.” Xu Feng felt constant pressure. Because of his ten years of experience, he knew what a difficult path he had chosen.

The monsters’ strength increased much faster than humans’. Moreover, since Xu Feng had decided to improve all attributes, he had to put in more effort and sweat than others.

“However, this night’s hard work wasn’t in vain.” Xu Feng smiled slightly as he looked at the new skill in his skill list.

“Basic Swordplay (Beginner): When using sword-type weapons, damage dealt +5%. Skill Description: Great buildings rise from the ground. No matter how advanced sword techniques are, they are built on Basic Swordplay. Familiarize yourself with it quickly and make it your instinct. Proficiency: 180/1000.”

The skill was simple, but it didn’t cost Xu Feng any Cosmic Gold Coins or Fate Points. It was a skill he comprehended on his own.

There was a major difference between self-comprehended skills and bought skills: self-comprehended skills were easier to advance to higher realms and required no cost. Bought skills could only be purchased for one realm. For example, this Basic Swordplay could also be bought at the Fate Store run by Earth’s Will, but only at the Beginner level.

When you maxed out the proficiency, to advance to the next realm, Basic Swordplay (Intermediate), you would need to buy the “Basic Swordplay (Intermediate)” skill book. But Xu Feng’s self-comprehended skill didn’t require waiting for full proficiency or an intermediate skill book to advance.

“As for Cleave, I didn’t know this skill in my previous life. To master it permanently, I must perform a correct Cleave once, then rely on memory to have a chance to replicate it.” Xu Feng glanced at the Cleave skill in his skill list and thought.

To comprehend a skill on your own, you had to perform the skill correctly under extreme emotions to have a chance of comprehending it. For example, using a limited-use skill under intense joy, fear, or excitement gave a certain probability of permanently mastering the skill.

“Compared to other extreme emotions, I lean more towards calmness…” Xu Feng smiled slightly. Under extreme calm, performing the same skill correctly hundreds of times gave a much higher chance of comprehension than other emotions. After all, no one could maintain those extreme emotions for long, but extreme calm could be sustained.

“Alright, go take a bath and rest. I’ll make breakfast,” Wang Ying said to Xu Feng with a smile.

“Okay, thanks for your hard work.” Xu Feng nodded, watching Wang Ying’s back, feeling a bit moved.

…

At the Wandering Merchant’s spot, sunlight had just filled the alley. The Wandering Merchant was packing his last bundle, looking like he was about to leave this place.

“If it weren’t for posting that damn task, I would have left here long ago. It’s been so long; haven’t they all died yet? Or… have they completed the task? Haha, impossible. A bunch of guys who haven’t even reached One-Star Strength, how could they complete that task…” The Wandering Merchant stroked the tentacles at the corner of his mouth, his eyes flickering with an inexplicable expression.