Chapter 399: Skill Fusion
What amused Zhou Ning slightly was that even after leaving the teleportation gate, he could still faintly feel a few covetous gazes. But once he boarded the Black Pearl, those stares disappeared completely.
Perhaps that was the weight of the Northland pirates' reputation.
In a quiet corner of Temple Harbor, Zhou Ning switched back into Wayne Sturwell's signature black trench coat. He placed the fedora back on his head, looked up at the drizzling sky, and murmured to himself:
"What a fulfilling night."
Not only had he conducted two grand hunts in the Sea of Mist, but he had also taken part in a highly prestigious secret gathering.
Shaking off his thoughts, Zhou Ning oriented himself in the darkness toward the docks and made his way back to the Wings of Freedom.
About twenty minutes later, he returned to the ship's cabin. Both Richie Burke and Pluto next door were still out, so he entered his own quarters.
Exhaling softly, Zhou Ning opened the "Create New Class" panel and began reading the requirements for a third job advancement.
[A-Rank Quest: Demon Hunter (Job Change) — Completed]
[16 Class Specializations detected. Current count: 15 (click to view).]
[7 Core Buff Skills detected. Current count: 6 (click to view).]
[21 Active Skills detected. Current count: 19 (click to view).]
The progress was faster than he had imagined. After acquiring Mighty Strength and Thunder Strike in the Lord of the Rings world, he was only short of one specialization, one buff skill, and two active skills.
He still had nearly forty million experience points on his panel—plenty to spare—but after four rounds of fusion, the number of available skills had become limited.
Zhou Ning first tried fusing Mighty Strength with several other buff-type skills. However, perhaps due to poor compatibility, all attempts failed.
The next few trials also failed one after another. Whether it was Thunder Strike, Might, Two Snake Sleeves, the Navy Six Styles, or Dark Magic, they all belonged to completely different systems—making fusion nearly impossible.
After several failed experiments, he finally found a successful combination.
[Fuse Moon Step (Expert), Ripple Breathing Technique (Grandmaster), and Basic Swordsmanship (Grandmaster)? This fusion will consume 1,263,000 EXP. Success rate: 100%.]
"Yes!"
[Fusion successful! You have obtained the skill Silver Light Falling Blade (Beginner)!]
[Silver Light Falling Blade (Beginner): A slash infused with powerful ripple energy. Can be used mid-jump to deliver a downward strike, releasing a ripple shockwave that deals 175% weapon damage and may briefly stun enemies within range.]
Success! Zhou Ning glanced over the new skill and exhaled in relief. It was quite powerful—both offensive and controlling in nature. It was already clear that his new class would be versatile in both ranged and melee combat. He could easily imagine players debating whether to focus on ranged or close-quarters builds in the future.
Next, only one core buff and one active skill remained before his job change would be complete. Zhou Ning decided to push through and finish it all in one go.
After several more failed fusions and roughly three million experience points wasted, his pool of available skills had grown dangerously small.
After a few moments of silent thought, Zhou Ning took a Skill Fusion Card from his inventory and studied his skill list again.
To fuse a buff-type skill, the materials also needed to be buff-type—so the choice was critical.
"Fusion failed!"
"Fusion failed!"
After losing two Skill Fusion Cards in a row, Zhou Ning finally found a successful combination—it involved four Gun-Fu techniques.
[Fuse Gun-Fu: Psychic Counter (Grandmaster), Gun-Fu: Rapid Pursuit (Grandmaster), C.A.R.S. Shooting Method (Grandmaster), and Mozambique Shooting Style (Master)? This fusion will consume 1,763,000 EXP. Success rate: 100%.]
Zhou Ning confirmed without hesitation.
As the four skills' proficiency values dropped to zero, the system notification appeared:
[Fusion successful! You have obtained the passive skill Marksmanship Mastery (Beginner)!]
[Marksmanship Mastery: Passive. Increases job-related skill attack power by 25%. Flowing Sakura Shot, Ripple Shot, and Deadly Recoil gain separate bonuses to attack, critical rate, and penetration. Reduces the energy cost of all shooting skills by 20%, allowing for more frequent use.]
What a powerful passive! Zhou Ning felt a rush of excitement.
This fusion was undoubtedly a stroke of great luck—the result was near perfect, combining both offense and sustain. It was fully worthy of being a core buff for a third-job class.
With Marksmanship Mastery successfully fused, his final buff skill slot was complete. Now, he only lacked one specialization and one active skill.
He still had two Skill Fusion Cards left. Remaining calm and methodical, Zhou Ning conducted another round of tests before locking onto the combination of Shave, Flowing Sakura Shot, Deadly Shot, and Silver Bullet.
Shave provided mobility; Flowing Sakura Shot was a form of shooting imbued with powerful Conqueror's Haki that appeared as black-red energy; Deadly Shot offered critical bonuses; and Silver Bullet was a passive skill infused with Armament Haki and ripple energy.
According to Zhou Ning's reasoning, such a well-rounded combination would yield the highest chance of success.
[Fuse Shave (Expert), Flowing Sakura Shot (Master), Deadly Shot (Grandmaster), and Silver Bullet (Master)? This fusion will consume 1,363,000 EXP. Success rate: 87%.]
Since some skills weren't at max level, the success rate was only 81%. Zhou Ning didn't rush—he calmly spent more experience to raise Shave and Flowing Sakura Shot to Grandmaster before attempting the fusion.
[Fusion successful! You have obtained the active skill Seventh Wing Movement (Beginner)!]
[Seventh Wing Movement: Move through enemies at a speed too fast for the naked eye while firing upon multiple targets. The path you travel leaves behind red-black Haki feathers as afterimages, dealing double weapon damage. During traversal, your movement speed increases dramatically.]
Finally—success!
Only then did Zhou Ning exhale deeply, realizing his entire back was soaked with sweat.
Now, all that remained was a single specialization before his new class could be fully created. But without a quest, specializations were hard to come by—they were, in essence, luck-based.
A more reliable option was to acquire one through the simulator.
Zhou Ning opened the Traversal Simulator, entered Template Training Mode, and checked on the template he had been cultivating earlier.
[Your simulated character has died.]
[Because your simulated character—Demon Slayer Corps Commander Zhou Ning—had a major impact on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, you have received a refund of 40 Traverse Coins.]
His 550-coin template had actually died? Zhou Ning blinked at the message in mild surprise. Upon checking, he saw that indeed, one of the four profile icons had turned dark.
Could this be the downside of choosing an aggressive strategy?
-------
[Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxx_real.]
[WN Exclusive Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, +1 chapter.]