Southern Journey

Roger wouldn't attempt something as extremely dangerous as dismantling traps with his bare hands, even if the success rate was high.

He considered the skill to be practically useless.

In contrast, "Treading on the Moon" had significant potential for development.

Besides being used for travel, it could also be used in combat to create space.

Roger thought about it and casually maxed out the skill.

"Treading on the Moon (84): In areas with moonlight, your running speed increases by 27%."

An increase of nearly thirty percent was definitely not insignificant.

Combined with Roger's already agile footwork, it would undoubtedly produce unexpected results.

As his level increased, the point cap for his other skills, besides Treading on the Moon, also went up.

For a Hidden Hero, the skill point cap increase was segmented:

Within level 5, for every level gained, the skill point cap increased by 10 points; between level 5 and level 20, the skill point cap increase per level became 5 points.

Currently, his individual skill point cap was 84.

Ten years of accumulation had left him with a very generous amount of skill points.

He had selected the most practical life and combat skills and maxed them out.

For the rest, he would wait and see.

After dealing with the skills, he turned his attention to "Xia Yin Value."

He currently had 54 points of Xia Yin Value.

The number of secret techniques he could learn suddenly increased significantly.

After a simple calculation, Roger spent 39 points of Xia Yin Value in one go.

As a result, he successfully mastered the first three forms of "Nineteen Moon Bloom."

He also mastered "Cloud Mist Step" and "Superior Breathing Technique" to the second layer each.

The increase in secret technique layers directly boosted Roger's objective attributes.

Combined with the new skills and attribute points, his overall strength had taken a small leap forward.

However, while the benefits from leveling up were direct and obvious, Roger had no intention of investing more experience points.

On one hand, he wanted to conceal his strength.

On the other hand, he believed that the effect of "Charge Up" was far more powerful than leveling up! In Roger's opinion, unless it was a promotion that broke through a ring suppression—

like going from level 19 to level 20—the attribute changes from leveling up were definitely not comparable to a solid 100% power boost.

The fact that he held a large amount of experience points, allowing him to level up quickly, was Roger's true trump card.

The next day.

The Subjugation Squad returned to Tongma Town safely.

The remains of Corpse Demons and the corpses of Flesh Golems they brought back caused a huge stir.

Roger and the other members became great heroes in the eyes of the people.

The Lord's Manor took the opportunity to announce the official reconstruction of the Monster Extermination Squad.

Dorothy was appointed captain, Terry was the vice-captain, and Roger was the monster extermination expert.

The town residents spontaneously decorated the town and celebrated.

This celebratory feast lasted for nearly a week before it ended.

After the revelry, some townsfolk wanted to personally thank the great hero whose presence was so faint.

However, when they gathered under the old, dying Tongma Tree, they found that the place was already deserted.

In fact.

On the morning of the day after everyone celebrated.

Roger collected the bounty for the Corpse Demon from the Butler of the Lord's Manor and set off alone on the Southern Journey.

It was just before dawn, and a light rain was falling.

Roger, wearing a thick cloak, traversed the muddy paths of the Pumpkin Field.

Looking back, the familiar scenery of Tongma Town was no longer visible.

No goodbyes, no farewells.

He knew that this was destined to be a journey he had to take alone.

He spent a day traversing the Southern Mine.

Then, he resolutely walked into the seemingly endless, cold, and damp marshland.

13 days later.

The middle of the "Great Wetland," an unknown territory.

Dark clouds hung in the sky, never dissipating.

The thick fog that constantly rose from the center of the swamp severely impacted visibility, and the reeds, as tall as two men, grew wildly like demons.

Suddenly, a "whoosh" sounded from within the reeds.

A sharp White Feather Arrow pierced the monster's forehead, pinning it firmly to a not-so-thick haystack.

After a while, the reeds next to it were carefully pushed aside.

Roger expertly slung the Purple Bindweed on his back, securing it to the weapon strap.

He then slowly pulled the White Feather Arrow from the monster's corpse, separating the arrowhead from the shaft.

This arrowhead had exceeded its usage limit and required secondary sharpening.

Continuing to use it would not only make it ineffective but also lead to its complete destruction.

In this boundless marshland, he had to cherish every bit of his supplies.

After patiently completing the retrieval of the White Feather Arrow.

Roger then shifted his gaze to the monster's corpse.

It was a "Thornback Jackalwere," commonly found in the Great Wetland.

These jackalweres were usually gregarious, with levels ranging from LV9 to LV11.

It was said that elite Thornback Jackalweres could reach levels 13 or 14, but Roger hadn't encountered one yet.

Roger's unfortunate encounters with jackalweres began two days prior.

He had been resting at the time.

When he was attacked by these jackalweres.

Although he repelled the attackers, Roger soon found himself targeted by even more jackalweres.

To be safe, he decided to strike first.

After eliminating a squad of jackalweres, he followed their trail to their lair—

It was a small settlement built deep within the reeds.

Roger saw some human remains near the settlement.

This meant that after half a month of solo travel, he was finally close to human territory.

With a small trick, Roger smoothly cleared out the entire jackalwere settlement.

However, he was alone, and stragglers were inevitable.

To hunt down these stragglers, Roger wasted another half a day.

The jackalwere in front of him was the last one.

"Finally done. The stats it gave weren't great, but it ran pretty fast."

Roger carefully picked up the jackalwere's corpse and started walking back.

On the status bar.

"You have killed 1 Thornback Jackalwere, with a cumulative total of 27 Thornback Jackalweres killed."

"You have gained 4 XP."

"Your rheumatism resistance has slightly increased."

The first time he saw this stat, Roger's head was instantly filled with question marks.

How did jackalweres get linked to rheumatism? Roger's body had been optimized by the Hidden Hero class template, so the risk of such chronic diseases was practically nonexistent.

Killing jackalweres provided him with no stat benefits.

This made Roger a bit frustrated.

Ever since entering the wetland, the rich variety of monsters here had opened his eyes.

But there wasn't a single one like the Magic Explosion Frog that provided excellent stats.

Even those with superior stats didn't possess the Magic Explosion Frog's powerful reproductive capabilities.

The Sin Mark's stat-grubbing process was very long.

Individual monsters provided very few stats.

Only through the precipitation of time can a qualitative change in attributes occur.

"Take your time, we'll find suitable monsters eventually."

Roger adjusted his mindset and returned to the settlement with the jackalwere's corpse.

He hadn't even had time to scavenge while pursuing these stragglers.

He didn't expect any rare treasures where the jackalweres lived; it would be good enough to replenish some food and fresh water.

Just then, human voices suddenly came from the reeds near the settlement:

"Eric, look..."

"The jackalwere's corpse!"

"There's another one here! Oh my god..."

Roger's expression turned grim.

He immediately put down the fresh lettuce he was holding and grasped the Qing Fu Sword.