"10... 20..."

Lin Mo wielded the Wolf Bone Sword in his hand, weaving through the Goblin Army like a phantom.

Every strike claimed the lives of several Goblins.

Unfortunately, in order to conserve as much Physical Strength as possible, he couldn’t grind the Skill Level for Cross Slash at the same time.

Cross Slash was still over a hundred Skill Level points from upgrading and would need to be cast dozens of times. The cost was so great that even if he leveled it up, Lin Mo would have no Physical Strength left to fight.

Stealth, however, was different. As one of the Status Skills, the Physical Strength it consumed was basically negligible for Lin Mo now.

"35... 50..."

The slaughter continued. The Ordinary Goblins stood no chance against Lin Mo, and as he fought, the Skill Level of his [Stealth] skill steadily rose.

[Stealth] Skill Level +3!

With Lin Mo’s final strike—a single slash that lopped off the heads of three Goblins—the prompt he had been long awaiting finally appeared.

"Skill [Stealth] Level 5 (180/180) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Stealth] Level 6 (Max)"

’Finally, it leveled up!’

A look of delight crossed Lin Mo’s face. He retreated into the darkness and read the notifications that followed.

"Obtained attribute points: Agility +3!"

"Automatically evolved into the New Skill—Invisibility!"

Just like Tenacity before, raising Stealth to Full Level also granted Lin Mo 3 attribute points.

With these 3 additional points of Agility, Lin Mo’s Basic Agility reached 11. Adding the 3-point bonus from Professional Attributes, his total was 14 points, officially reaching the standard of a Professional Level Assassin.

Of course, that wasn’t all...

Upgrading a Green Excellent Level skill always came with a full package of bonuses.

Especially...

"Promotion conditions met. Profession obtained: Assassin (Lv1)."

"Obtained Professional Attribute Amplification: Strength +2, Constitution +1, Agility +3!"

"Obtained Class Skill—Assassin’s Heart!"

This was a case of slow accumulation leading to a sudden burst. Stealth was a skill Lin Mo had acquired the very day he arrived in this world. After all this time, he had finally maxed it out, which also pushed his Basic Agility over ten points and met the requirements for the Assassin Profession.

’So, what effect does Assassin’s Heart have?’

Lin Mo read on.

[Assassin’s Heart]: A venomous snake hiding in the darkness, ever in pursuit of a one-hit kill. An Assassin needs no defense, only the ultimate offense to pierce any iron wall!

Skill Effect: Melee attack damage increased by 10%!

’A pretty decent effect.’

If Knights represented defense and Warriors represented balance, then Assassins and Rangers were undoubtedly the primary damage dealers among the Physical Professions.

The effect of Assassin’s Heart was concise and to the point: a direct 10% boost to all melee damage. And as it happened, the vast majority of Lin Mo’s attacks were melee.

Besides this Class Skill, there was an even more important one.

That was [Invisibility], which had just evolved from [Stealth]!

"Acquired Excellence Level Skill—Invisibility. Obtained attribute points: Agility +3!"

As usual, it started him off with a welcome gift of 3 Agility points.

The skill’s specific effects were an even more pleasant surprise.

[Invisibility]: Having grown accustomed to hiding in the shadows, you begin to perceive the true meaning of "shadow." Consume Qi and Blood to briefly vanish and grant your next attack a 20% physical damage bonus!

Note: The Invisibility state is a purely visual effect; scent and sound will remain. Initiating or receiving an attack will cancel the [Invisibility] state.

’What a powerful skill!’

The previous Stealth only reduced his presence and required him to use obstacles to truly hide his whereabouts, but [Invisibility] was true, actual invisibility!

Without a doubt, whether for attacking or escaping, this was a Divine Skill.

With this skill, Lin Mo could proceed with his plan without any further reservations. Even if he encountered the unexpected, he could now escape directly.

The biggest weakness of [Invisibility] was that it still left a shadow, but at night, shadows were nearly impossible to see.

And just like [Resilience], Invisibility also had two optional enhancement directions.

Please select an Evolutionary Direction—

Evolutionary Path 1: Swiftness I: Movement speed increased by 10% while in the Invisibility state!

Evolutionary Path 2: Persistence I: Invisibility duration extended by 20%

’Which one should I choose?’

Lin Mo thought for a moment. He didn’t rush to choose, instead opting to first try entering the [Invisibility] state.

The next moment, he vanished completely.

Lin Mo tried reaching out a hand, but he couldn’t see it at all.

’It’s a little disorienting, to be honest.’

However, it was much better as long as he averted his gaze from his own body and looked elsewhere.

’The duration is about five seconds. An extra 20% would be one more second...’

In the end, Lin Mo chose the second option.

Although the increased movement speed was also a powerful attribute, the duration of Invisibility was simply too short. Since it would end as soon as he attacked or was attacked, a 10% speed boost for five seconds wasn’t very significant, strategically speaking.

In comparison, one extra second of Invisibility could potentially change everything.

’After all, five seconds is sometimes just too short...’

With his skill enhanced, it was time to move.

The situation back in Falling Leaves Village was dire. Everything—and everyone—was waiting for him to save them.

----------

In the rearmost area of the Goblin horde, a Goblin with blue-gray markings was being protected by several Mutated Goblins.

It was no taller than its ordinary brethren, yet the strong, sturdy Goblins surrounding it all regarded it with expressions of reverence.

If this was a world of Extraordinary Strength, then Magic was the extraordinary among the extraordinary.

Casters were a noble existence in any race, especially one that possessed wisdom incomparable to its kin. The title of "Royal Family" for the Goblin Caster was, one could say, quite fitting.

Zorn considered himself a cautious king.

It never took risks. Even when the cheers of its brethren told it their side had an absolute advantage, it still wouldn’t rashly dispatch the hulking figures at its side.

The Mutated Goblins were like the "generals" of the Goblin Race. Soldiers were expendable, but generals were not. While far from being as rare as the Caster "king," they were still beings that required an Alien Race "vessel" to be born.

It was best not to deploy such Combat Power if it could be helped. To lose them in such a minor skirmish would be a regrettable loss.

They should be shining on a grander stage—for instance... attacking a city.

Several bound young women were placed to one side, trembling in terror, their faces streaked with tears.

The stories they’d heard from the adults since childhood made it horrifyingly clear what they were about to face: being violated by the Goblins before them, reduced to their breeding tools, until they died in endless agony...

"Hee—"

The Goblin, barely over a meter tall, suddenly looked over, its gaze locking onto a girl with a sturdy, rounded figure.

The Goblins favored this type. They weren’t as easy to break and could survive several breeding cycles.

As for the ones who were as skinny as twigs, their bones would often snap with just a few touches. Sometimes they would stop breathing before a single breeding cycle was complete. Then, the only option was to forcibly cut out the undeveloped Goblin infant, and its survival was left entirely to chance.

The army had already taken shape and no longer needed his command. All that was left was to wait quietly for victory.

So, it was time to relax a little, to leave behind its noble seed. If it could breed a new Caster descendant, that child would become a powerful asset.

Of course, even at a time like this, Zorn didn’t completely let down his guard. He commanded several Mutated Goblins to form a circle, protecting him within it. Conveniently, once he was done, they could continue where he left off.

The young women watched the leering Goblin slowly approach. They wanted to cry for help, but their mouths were gagged, rendering them unable to speak. They could only let out desperate, muffled sobs.

Zorn reached for the snow-white flesh before him, his grin growing even more wanton. His other hand began to pull at his shorts.

However, just at that moment, a terrifying premonition seized it—a feeling like the Sword of Damocles hanging over its head. Its sharp Insight made it instinctively raise a hand, enveloping itself in an invisible force field.

"CRACK—!"

With the sound of something shattering, two streams of Sword Qi carved ghastly, bloody lines across its body.

Fortunately, it had the protection of the force field. Otherwise, that single strike would have cut it into four pieces!

"GAAAAH—!"

The injured Zorn shrieked. The surrounding Mutated Goblins instantly moved to shield it, glaring fiercely at the figure that had suddenly appeared before them.

Lin Mo stared in surprise at the creature hiding behind the Mutated Goblins. ’So this is the Goblin Caster that Harlek mentioned...’

’My last attack didn’t actually kill it?’

Lin Mo thought back to the moment of his attack. At the instant he had unleashed [Cross Slash], he seemed to feel something invisible blocking his target, greatly reducing the power of the blow.

’A Mage’s defensive measure?’

Lin Mo frowned. If Knights represented protection, Warriors represented balance, and Assassins represented damage... then a prepared Mage represented omnipotence!

Offensively, the power of Magic was far beyond that of Physical Skills at the same Level. Defensively, by using protective Magic, a normally fragile Mage could gain defensive power not far inferior to a Knight. And on top of all that, they had large-scale AOE Skills. The most powerful Mages even had a variety of bizarre and unpredictable tricks up their sleeves.

If this kind of Profession balance existed in a game, the developers would be flamed into oblivion at least ten thousand times a day.

Furthermore, thanks to their high Spiritual Attribute, Mages also possessed clearer minds and sharper Perception. Just moments ago, for instance, Lin Mo had been launching a sneak attack from a state of complete invisibility, yet his opponent had still detected him at the last moment and cast a defensive skill to block the damage.

This was Lin Mo’s first time fighting a Caster. As expected, there was a reason this Profession was held in such high regard...