Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

“It’s fixed. Take a look.”

The blacksmith placed a fully restored Kite Shield and the freshly sharpened Shortsword on the counter.

Lance picked up the shield, slipped it onto his arm, and gave it a couple of test swings.

The dents on the shield surface had been hammered flat, and the straps on the back had been replaced with new ones that emitted the scent of leather. The grip felt solid and reliable.

The edge of the Shortsword had also been polished to a cold gleam, the jagged nicks completely gone.

“Nice craftsmanship.”

Lance paid the repair fee without hesitation and turned to leave.

As he passed by the smoked meat workshop called “Old Hank,” he paused again.

This time, he didn’t hold back at all. He directly took out two silver coins and bought over a dozen strips of smoked Ironhide Boar jerky in one go.

This kind of jerky was as hard as wood, but its advantage was that it was made from magical beast meat, giving it extremely high nutritional value.This was fuel prepared specifically for tonight’s high-intensity special training.

Since he had decided to go out tonight to clean up enemies, it would be safer to see if he could level up his skills beforehand.

Once Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow reached Level 3, it would unlock part of the Magic-Body Technique.

Lance’s approach was simple—swift and decisive killing, never dragging things out.

When he returned to the newly rented small building, it was just past six in the evening.

Lance locked the doors and windows, sat at the table, picked up two tough strips of jerky, and stuffed them into his mouth, chewing forcefully.

This kind of high-density food, combined with a large bucket of water, quickly generated a wave of warmth in his stomach.

After a brief rest, training began.

Lance removed his shirt and stepped into the open space in the backyard.

He did not choose to practice swordsmanship. Instead, he poured all his energy into synchronizing 【Dragon-Hunting Breathing Technique】 and 【Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow】.

In narrow and complex alley combat or nighttime ambushes, a Longsword sometimes couldn’t be fully utilized. Instead, this kind of close-range hand-to-hand killing technique was more lethal and concealed.

“Hiss… ha…”

As his breathing rhythm adjusted, that scorching airflow once again exploded within his chest.

After a full day and night of exploration, Lance’s control over the violent Aether within his body had clearly risen to a new level.

When activating the Breathing Technique, he no longer emitted rolling white steam all over his body like before, nor did he resemble a red-hot iron.

That overflowing heat was now firmly contained within him.

Only when someone came within half a meter of him could they slightly feel the rise in temperature.

Time passed rapidly amid the monotonous repetition of punches and kicks.

This training session lasted a full four hours.

It wasn’t until ten at night that Lance slowly came to a stop.

He could clearly feel that as the skill level increased, the proficiency gained from this kind of basic training had diminished to some extent.

It had probably decreased by about ten percent.

But this didn’t make him anxious.

Thanks to the high-tier magical beast jerky consumed tonight, his recovery speed and endurance had greatly improved. The proportion of effective training time was actually higher than yesterday.

Between the gain and loss, the overall efficiency had been completely balanced out.

“Looks like I won’t be saving on food expenses anymore.”

Lance wiped his sweat, while gaining a clearer understanding of the “Skill Experience” rewarded from completing commissions.

For low-level skills, diligent training could still rapidly improve them.

But once skill levels rose, the returns from training would inevitably plummet.

At that point, those general experience points that could be directly allocated would become immeasurably valuable.

He had to accumulate them diligently and use them where it mattered most.

Lance did not immediately shut down the Breathing Technique. Instead, he deliberately controlled the rhythm, maintaining it at the lowest output—the “Aether Resonance State.”

He summoned the system panel and reviewed tonight’s results.

【Aether Energy Pool: 3.4 units → 6.0 units】

【Dragon-Hunting Breathing Technique Proficiency +280, LV2 (371/600)】

【Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow Proficiency +310, LV2 (448/450)】

Looking at the number stuck at 448, Lance raised an eyebrow.

Just one final push away.

He glanced at his still relatively abundant experience reserves.

【Current Remaining: Skill Experience 170, Knowledge Experience 80】

Without hesitation, Lance directly invested 2 points of Skill Experience into 【Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow】.

The system panel flashed faintly.

【Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow LV2 → LV3 (Mastery)】

Although it was only filling in those last two points of experience, there wasn’t much influx of new knowledge. Instead, it was more like a qualitative transformation in his control over his body.

Previously, due to unfamiliarity with force application techniques, his punches always carried a sense of stiffness, as if the power couldn’t be fully contained.

Now, those obscure bottlenecks had been completely cleared.

He felt that his control over every muscle had reached a finer level. Power was no longer a reckless, straight-line release—it could now be freely controlled, released, and withdrawn at will.

More importantly—

Upon reaching LV3 Mastery, 【Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow】 finally began to reveal its true nature as a Magic-Body Technique.

Lance stood before the stone wall in the courtyard and took a deep breath.

He tried to drive the surging Aether Energy within his body, guiding it to the fingertips of his right hand according to the techniques in his mind.

His five fingers curved slightly, joints locking tightly into a claw shape.

“Ha!”

Lance let out a low shout and slashed fiercely toward the courtyard wall.

“Shh!”

It seemed as if five faint streaks of golden-red light cut through the air—that was the fiery trail formed by Aether Energy converting and rubbing against the air.

Immediately after came a grating, teeth-aching scraping sound.

Lance withdrew his hand and focused his gaze.

On the hard bluestone wall bricks, five extremely clear claw marks had appeared.

Each mark had sunk a full inch deep into the wall.

Lance stared blankly at his hand, then at the claw marks on the wall.

This level of destructive power—if it struck human flesh, even someone wearing leather armor would be instantly ripped open.

The power of this skill exceeded his expectations.

But what puzzled him was—

Despite how powerful this combat technique was, when 【Confession of the Phantom Iris】 had originally infused the knowledge into his mind, none of the moves had names.

All the movements were purely killing techniques.

It was as if the person who created this ultimate art had never intended to establish a school or pass it down.

It seemed they had merely organized some movements designed purely for killing, then casually handed them to that Witch.

This contrast between casualness and overwhelming power instead sparked a trace of curiosity in Lance toward that unseen creator.

Looking at the faint crimson glow that hadn’t fully dissipated from his palm, Lance pondered for a moment.

“Since it doesn’t have a name, I’ll call it ‘Blazing Rending Claw.’”

As his thoughts moved, the data of the move he had just performed was faithfully recorded by the panel.

【Blazing Rending Claw (Azure Dragon Ultimate Flow · Magic-Body Technique)】

【Effect: Unarmed Sharpness +3, Armor Penetration +2】

【Special Effect: When dealing damage to unarmored or light-armored targets, there is a 20% chance to trigger the “Rend” status (target continuously loses a small amount of stamina and blood every minute).】