Bloodline Fruit

The Pumpkin Field trial wasn't too difficult for Xu Nan.

He basically treated it like real-life whack-a-mole.

Although the strange screams the pumpkins let out when struck startled Xu Nan at first,

he quickly calmed down and began mercilessly beating the life out of the pumpkins with the Innocent Staff.

It had to be said that Exxon's assessment of this staff had been quite objective.

This thing really was easy to use.

These weren't ordinary pumpkins, after all. They were genuine magical pumpkins. Xu Nan had identified them, and their rinds were protected by reinforcing spells similar to Stone Skin Spell.

But as soon as they were hit by the Innocent Staff, their heads immediately burst open.

The effect was remarkably obvious.

"What Innocent Staff? This is clearly a head-exploding staff."

"And that incantation—'I didn't mean to'—it's basically taunting them."

"Anyway, there's no way I'd use this thing to beat someone while shouting that I didn't mean to!"

Xu Nan rubbed his aching shoulder and continued Running through the Pumpkin Field, smashing pumpkins.

He smashed a full sixty pumpkins in one go before completing the trial Exxon had left behind. Overall, most of his stamina had been drained. This trial was probably meant to test whether the inheritor had enough patience and physical endurance.

Xu Nan's physical condition wasn't among the very best, but it wasn't bad either. Aside from his slightly low Constitution, his other attributes were quite good.

After completing the Innocent Staff trial, the two magical items changed owners and became Xu Nan's possessions.

He took off the Iron Gauntlets and put both pieces of equipment into the Storage Bag, deciding that he wouldn't use either weapon casually unless it was a critical moment.

After all, he was currently supposed to be a bard.

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell his senior that his true class was a Ron Sorcerer, but that class was simply too embarrassing. In front of the girl he liked, Xu Nan still lacked the courage to tell the truth.

For now, he would muddle through it. He could think of a solution later.

After leaving the pumpkin farm, he entered the final section of the house.

It was a genuine magical testing chamber. Every surface had been specially reinforced against spells, and first-circle spells absolutely could not damage the floors or walls.

The Smith Couple looked at Xu Nan with lingering interest. "Any more?"

Xu Nan searched through his backpack, then spread his hands. "No more."

"Then bring us more next time! We'll trade you gems and gold for them!"

The squirrel couple spoke regretfully, their eyes glowing green as they stared at Xu Nan, making his skin crawl.

Fortunately, they quickly got to the point. The final stage was actually a test of Xu Nan's combat ability.

The Smith Couple would use the Astral Creature Summoning Spell to summon a random first-rank Astral Realm creature, and Xu Nan had to find a way to defeat it.

Afterward, he would receive the final portion of Exxon's treasure: the Bloodline Fruit.

"In Pro World—the world about to merge with Earth—Astral Realm creatures are generally stronger than creatures from the Material Plane. What spell should I use?"

Xu Nan felt somewhat nervous and cast Shield Spell and Mage Armor on himself again.

The Smith Couple began chanting.

Bright light flickered across the floor. Mysterious runes and six-pointed stars appeared in alternation. At last, an enormous shadow appeared before Xu Nan!

Xu Nan took a deep breath and retreated to the corner, fully adopting a defensive stance.

The light faded.

The summoning circle vanished as well, and the enormous creature appeared before Xu Nan.

He had just been about to use Arcane Missile to test the monster's strength when a series of clattering sounds rang out!

Under Xu Nan's astonished gaze, the enormous skeletal creature suddenly began falling apart, bones dropping to the ground like an avalanche.

In the end, only half a wrecked body remained, crawling across the floor.

It no longer looked frightening. Instead, it was somewhat comical.

"Oh my, your luck is quite good. We originally prepared a Chalk Warrior for you, but it seems this one only has a breath left. It must have just gone through a fierce battle in the Astral Realm."

"Quickly finish it off, and you'll get the final reward!"

The Smith Couple pretended to sigh.

Xu Nan looked at them suspiciously.

"This thing?"

He sneered, strode forward, and kicked the Chalk Warrior's remains.

The next instant, his foot swelled up.

The Chalk Warrior's remains struggled to lunge at him, but it was too badly damaged. Xu Nan calmly dodged aside.

"I should use spells instead. I'll never try to show off again. That hurt like hell."

Xu Nan silently chanted Burning Hands.

Terrifying flames suddenly surged through the magical testing chamber, directly burning the Chalk Warrior's remains into bone ash!

Even Xu Nan himself was shocked by the power of Burning Hands.

Thinking it over carefully, after completing the Faithless Man quest, he seemed to have gained a bloodline ability that included Basic Flame Control. That might have been why his fire spells were abnormally powerful.

The Smith Couple revealed relieved smiles and handed Xu Nan a box and a map.

"We can finally leave this damn place."

"Seriously, when you kicked it just now, I was worried you'd be killed by the Chalk Warrior's remains!"

"Kid, we'll meet again on the second floor. But next time, without the protection granted to novice sorcerers, you might not find us so easily!"

The Smith Couple winked. One of the squirrels thoughtfully came over and cast Powerful Healing Spell on Xu Nan's ankle, immediately returning the swollen ankle to normal.

They waved to Xu Nan and vanished directly from the magical testing chamber.

Xu Nan suddenly understood.

Those two probably hadn't wanted to stay here for a long time. They had obviously gone easy on him during that test.

A normal Chalk Warrior was a level-four Astral Realm monster. Xu Nan definitely couldn't have beaten one. They were afraid he would lose, so who knew what they had secretly done behind the scenes.

"Looks like Exxon's property isn't all that popular with Ron Sorcerers from other planes."

Xu Nan inferred a great deal from the squirrel couple's reactions.

Only Earth residents like him probably stumbled in here without knowing anything and accepted Exxon's inheritance. Otherwise, those squirrels wouldn't have been bored enough to eat all the monsters in Grayfrost Forest.

"Whatever. I cleared it smoothly, so it counts as my first real battle!"

Xu Nan encouraged himself.

He believed that he would slowly grow stronger, both in strength and in mentality. When the Chalk Warrior first appeared, he had even considered running away. But afterward, he had still gathered his courage.

That kind of change might not happen overnight, but he would keep forcing himself to work hard!

Xu Nan did not immediately leave Exxon's house.

He opened the box, and sure enough, inside was a round, plump purple fruit.

Bloodline Fruit

Condenser: Exxon Romang

Effect: Ron Sorcerer level +1; randomly awaken some bloodline abilities

Restriction: Only for consumption by first-rank Ron Sorcerers

According to the description, anyone below level four could consume this fruit to increase their level.

Xu Nan's first thought was to save the fruit until he reached level three, then consume it and jump directly to level four. That seemed like the best way to maximize its value.

But after thinking it over carefully, he was facing a dangerous new world full of constant threats. He might even encounter wanted criminals while Camping. Who knew when gods would be everywhere and legends would be as common as dogs?

A Ron Sorcerer's level was extremely important. He had to catch up as quickly as possible.

So he directly consumed the Bloodline Fruit inside the house!

Scorching power swept through every corner of Xu Nan's body.

A full ten minutes later.

He stretched lazily, feeling thoroughly refreshed, then opened his character sheet with satisfaction.

His Ron Sorcerer level had reached Lv. 2.

Unfortunately, he hadn't received any free attribute points. In D&D-like worlds, free attribute points were extremely precious. Usually, one could only obtain one after several levels. It seemed the approaching Pro World was no exception.

His feats had not changed either.

However, he had gained ninety-six skill points available for allocation. Looking at the densely packed skill list, Xu Nan's head began to ache. He decided to study it after returning before assigning them.

As for spells, the spells naturally awakened through his bloodline were all second-circle spells—

Melf's Acid Arrow, Protection from Arrows, Spiderweb Spell, Touch of Idiocy, and Darkvision.

Protection from Arrows was Xu Nan's favorite defensive spell, capable of resisting attacks from sharpshooters, whom casters feared most. Spiderweb Spell and Melf's Acid Arrow were also powerful spells: one provided control, while the other provided sustained single-target damage. Darkvision gave him some night vision ability, while Touch of Idiocy was rather unusual.

Xu Nan carefully checked the description and discovered that the spell required him to touch the target creature with his own hand. Its effect was to greatly reduce the other party's intelligence.

"Is this the legendary... intelligence-reduction strike?"

Xu Nan couldn't help complaining.

Second-circle spells could also be purchased with Shame Points, but they had become more expensive, costing 1.5 points each. Xu Nan was currently strapped for points and even somewhat regretted buying so many cantrips and first-circle spells before.

But the world was unpredictable. Who would have thought he wouldn't need to fight much at all in Lost Paradise?

Besides that, he also obtained several strange abilities from the Bloodline Fruit.

Bloodline Ability Awakened: Your Strength +1

Bloodline Ability Awakened: You have obtained Basic Flame Control III

"Why did I, a sorcerer, eat a Bloodline Fruit and gain Strength?"

Xu Nan looked at the nineteen points of Charisma on his character sheet, feeling somewhat unwilling to accept it.

But at this point, he could only pack up and leave Lost Paradise. The secret art's duration was almost over as well.

In the dark Maple Leaf Forest, Xu Nan's figure suddenly appeared.

The moment he appeared, however, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrating violently like it had gone mad!

He took it out and looked. Sure enough, WeChat had a number of unread messages!

Most of them were from Senior Zhang Yingluo!

Where did you go? Reply quickly!

We found information about the wanted criminal!

...!