Chapter 198: Successful Job Advancement
Next, Zhou Ning experimented with fusing several different skills. For instance, he tried combining Conqueror's Haki with the Ripple Breathing Technique, or Armament Haki with Divine Departure. He even attempted several three-skill combos. However, due to poor synergy between skills, all attempts failed, resulting in wasted experience.
Eventually, when he fused the C.A.R.S. Shooting Technique, Dodge, and Shooting Mastery, he finally received a new prompt:
[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: Gun-Fu: Mind Rebuttal (Beginner).]
[Gun-Fu: Mind Rebuttal (Beginner): When an enemy engages in close combat, there is a certain chance to block the attack and counterattack. While the effect is active, there's a chance to forcibly interrupt the enemy's actions and launch a close-range counterattack. This includes, but is not limited to, point-blank gunfire or striking with elbows and knees. Does not mitigate damage already received.]
Excellent! Zhou Ning felt a rush of joy.
This was likely his second Gun-Fu skill after [Gun-Fu: Deadly Rhythm]. Not only did it look cool, but it was also extremely practical, allowing him to shift from defense to offense when enemies got up close.
After a few more rounds of testing, he tried fusing [Armament Haki (Advanced)], [Basic Swordsmanship (Expert)], and [Shooting Mastery (Expert)]—and successfully created another new skill.
[Fusion successful. You have acquired the combat skill: Sword Conceals Gun (Beginner).]
[Sword Conceals Gun (Beginner): During melee combat, you can draw a flintlock and deliver a point-blank headshot. Deals 135% of weapon damage and has a chance to inflict Stun, Armor Break, or Slow.]
Zhou Ning: …
He didn't comment on this skill. Let's just say it was better than nothing. His current close-combat capabilities were still quite limited, and this was more of a last-resort move.
Only one skill fusion remained—the final and most difficult one: a core buff skill.
Zhou Ning frowned. This last step was much harder than he'd expected. On the surface, there were many viable choices, but it reminded him of the rumors about his love life back in school: lots of talk, such as "four blondes, three redheads, five brunettes," listing names like "two Sabrinas, three Isabellas, three Barbaras, two Alices"…
But in reality, damn it, he didn't even have a suitable partner.
After repeatedly trying combinations of three different skills, he finally settled on Conqueror's Haki, Ripple Breathing Technique, and Armament Haki (Advanced).
This time, he finally got a result.
[Do you wish to fuse Armament Haki (Advanced) and Ripple Breathing Technique (Advanced)? This fusion will cost 68,000 experience. Success rate: 77%.]
"Yes!"
[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: Silver Bullet.]
[Silver Bullet: Passively enhances your shooting damage. When using firearms, attacks gain substantial light-element properties.]
Not bad. Although this passive skill somewhat overlapped with his Supernatural Bullets and Ripple Shot, it was still powerful.
More importantly, Silver Bullet was a core buff skill, making it the fourth one he needed to meet the advancement requirement.
Opening the control panel again, just like when he first created his class, the "Advance Job" button next to the Wandering Gunslinger class was now lit up. After clicking it for verification, the panel displayed:
[Job Advancement Mission 1/1 complete.]
[10 Class Specializations (click to view), verification complete. Current total: 10.]
[4 Core Buff Skills (click to view), verification complete. Current total: 4.]
[15 Active Skills (click to view), verification complete. Current total: 15.]
[Verification complete. Proceed with job advancement? Yes/No.]
"Yes."
A new prompt appeared:
[Please enter new class name.]
Zhou Ning hesitated slightly. He had originally intended to name it "Gun God," but considering that the archer equivalent "Arrow God" was a third-tier class, there was no need to stand out too much and invite unnecessary trouble. After a moment of thought, he settled on a new name.
"Demon Hunter."
[The new class name will be Demon Hunter. Confirm?]
"Confirm."
[Please confirm your new main attribute.]
"Spirit."
No hesitation there. Spirit was currently his second most valuable stat. In his vision of the Demon Hunter, the class would possess a degree of spellcasting ability, and his signature skill, Conqueror's Haki, also relied heavily on Spirit.
[Selection successful. Your Focus and Mana have been merged. Your new Focus value = (Agility × 3 + Spirit × 2). Most of your skills will now consume Focus to activate. Stamina consumption will be correspondingly reduced.]
[New class creation complete. You have earned the milestone: Class Mentor II. You now have a new equipable title (effective after simulator update). A new class badge has been sent to your inventory. Proceed with job change? Yes/No.]
"Yes!"
Zhou Ning felt a surge of energy flood through his body. His muscles contracted sharply, followed by waves of soreness and stinging heat.
[Job change successful! You have acquired the new class: Demon Hunter Lv30.]
[Agility +4 (Legendary Physique +1), Spirit +2 (Legendary Physique +1), Stamina +2, Willpower +1. Gained 5 free attribute points. Your level can now be raised further.]
[Your main class has changed. Your Stamina bonus has increased: 1 Stamina = 15 HP, 1 Stamina = 18 Stamina points.]
At the same time, his panel was flooded with updates.
[Your main attributes are now Agility and Spirit.]
[You now have a longer Focus bar. Initial value is based on Agility and Spirit.]
[You have gained a new talent: Occult Scholar (Blue).]
[You have gained a new specialization: Mental Fortitude.]
[You have gained a new specialization: Sword Master.]
Mental Fortitude: You possess golden-level courage and determination. Increases resistance to abnormal statuses by 25%.
Sword Master: You have attained high mastery in swordsmanship. Gain a 20% bonus to attack power when using sword-type weapons.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, trying to get a feel for the new power surging within. After advancing, his growth stats had leapt significantly. Combined with the retroactive bonus from Legendary Physique, his Agility, Spirit, and Stamina had all received a noticeable boost. His Focus value more than doubled.
The most impressive part was that his new Stamina ratio now granted 15 HP per point, which caused his total health to spike by over a third.
He reopened his character panel.
——————
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC
Level: 57
Class: Demon Hunter Lv30[30/45]
Sub-Class: Linguist Lv7[7/10] / Expert Alchemist Lv20[20/20]
Attributes:
[Strength 37, Agility 203, Stamina 102, Willpower 81, Spirit 122, Charisma 100]
HP: 2030 / 2030
Combat Power: 14,998
Evaluation: You're already among the elite of the Supernatural World—though still no match for your looks.
He still had about 700,000 experience left. Zhou Ning used it to raise Conqueror's Haki back to Expert level, and upgraded Ripple Breathing Technique, Gun-Fu: Mind Rebuttal, and Flowing Sakura Shot to Advanced.
With that, his combat power climbed to a whole new level. His Agility finally broke past 200, and his ranged output was without question. In melee, he now had a new specialization and several new skills to rely on. He was stronger than ever.
"I need to test this out in actual combat." Zhou Ning clenched his fists in anticipation. He was confident: at this point, his power was at least on par with Harrison Rivers.
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