67: Chapter 67 Su Wan's Choice, and the "Know-It-All" Who Knows Nothing

Lin Rui didn't keep them in suspense and directly showed Hu Jinsi and Su Wan his first skill at level 11.

[Iron Wall Carriage: Passive Effect. When you carry a tower shield on your back through "Multiple Carrying" or similar abilities, you gain the following effects—

Back Cover: You are always considered to be in half-cover. Your defense against attacks from the rear and rear-sides (approximately 180-degree range) is increased (+2).

Moving Cover: A willing Medium or smaller creature, if positioned adjacent to your front and moving in sync with you, is also considered to be in half-cover.

Stable Core: You are immune to "knockback" effects caused by ranged attacks.]

The text on the panel was long, but the core meaning was very clear: Lin Rui, with a tower shield on his back, was a mobile fortress himself.

Not only was he always protected by cover, but he could also include the person standing directly in front of him, who was adjacent and moving in sync, within that cover. Even more exaggerated was his immunity to the knockback effects of ranged attacks, meaning enemies' knockback skills were completely ineffective against him.

"Holy crap."

After reading this skill, Hu Jinsi rarely used such colorful language.

He looked directly at Lin Rui and teased with a mischievous tone, "Are you sure your school is called the Whirlwind Impact School? I think 'Turtle School' would also be quite fitting.

Think about it, just paint the tower shield on your back a camouflage green suitable for concealment, and when you lie flat on the ground with it on your back, wouldn't that be quite appropriate?"

Hearing Hu Jinsi's teasing, Su Wan couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. Lin Rui with a huge tower shield on his back, curled up, moving slowly on the battlefield like a giant turtle with a shell.

She couldn't hold it in and let out a laugh.

Lin Rui's face turned beet red, and he said desperately, "Don't talk nonsense! I didn't name this! If the big shot who named this school hears your teasing, none of us will have a good time!"

"Alright, alright, no more jokes." Hu Jinsi restrained his smile and began to carefully interpret the skill.

This skill was strong, but it seemed tailor-made for Lin Rui's school.

The prerequisites were too many; first, it required the [Load Expert] feat as a prerequisite, then it required carrying a tower shield on the back, and finally, it required the corresponding strength and carrying capacity to support this fighting style.

Moreover, there were hidden conditions. Unless it was someone like Lin Rui whose strength reached over 17 points, who could carry a shield on their back while still fighting with a shield and weapon in front? How much strength and stamina would it take to support such a load?

"That is, only if you have the [Load Expert] feat," Hu Jinsi analyzed. "If there wasn't a similar feat, I estimate that even with 17 points of strength and stamina, carrying two shields plus weapons would be hard to sustain in normal combat. You might be panting after two steps, let alone rolling and charging."

Lin Rui said proudly, "That's why after I showed the chosen feat to my father, he was willing to put aside his pride to help me coordinate this matter. This is also why I said that when I saw that feat, I felt it was definitely suitable for me. Not everyone can walk this path, but I happen to be able to."

"Just this one skill is so complicated," Hu Jinsi asked, "What about the other skill? Shouldn't you get another skill at level 11?"

"Don't be impatient, let me show you the other one."

[Spell Reflection: Through rigorous training, you have mastered the technique of deflecting lethal spells with your shield in the blink of an eye.

Prerequisite: You must be wielding a shield.

Daily Uses: Equal to your level / 5 (rounded down), recover 1 after a short rest, fully recover after a long rest.

Effect: Attempt to deflect an attack spell targeting you. The success rate depends on your strength and the spell attack intensity of the caster.

If you win: The spell is perfectly deflected and has no effect on you. You can choose to reflect the spell back to the original caster, and the original caster is considered the target of the spell.

If the caster wins: The spell takes effect on you normally, but the damage caused by the spell is halved.

Restriction: Cannot reflect area spells, spells that do not require an attack roll (such as Magic Missile), and spells cast by casters more than 10 levels above you.]

This skill description was perhaps the longest skill description Hu Jinsi had ever seen.

In reality, the effect of this skill was very simple: use a shield to deflect a spell back. But there were too many limiting conditions: it must be a single-target spell, it must have an attack roll, the caster could not be more than 10 levels above you, and the daily usage count was pitifully low—Lin Rui was level 12 now, so only 2 times a day.

"Have you used it since you got it? How is the effect?" Hu Jinsi asked.

"I tried it in a dungeon with a relative about our age," Lin Rui replied. "Most of the time, I can deflect the spells of small monsters, but for boss spells, it's completely up to luck."

"Many bosses start with area spells, so this skill has limited restrictions on bosses. However, it's not a useless skill. The main thing is that we really don't have any defensive means against spells right now, so this can be considered the only spell defense skill."

Hu Jinsi recalled the battles against the six-legged spiders in the Black Spider Forest these past few days. The lightning spell of that spell-casting boss started with a [Thunderstorm Prison] with a radius of more than 30 meters and a height of more than ten meters. Lin Rui's [Spell Reflection] simply couldn't play a role in such a battle.

"The range of that six-legged spider's lightning spell was too wide," Hu Jinsi said. "Your skill is indeed not very useful when facing that kind of boss. But it should still be quite useful when dealing with single-target mages, at least it can block two hits."

Lin Rui also knew that the effect of this skill was limited, which was why he didn't show it immediately.

Su Wan comforted him, "Lin Rui, don't pay too much attention to it. Every skill has its application scenario. We just haven't encountered a boss that mainly uses single-target spells yet. If we happen to encounter one later, your skill will be able to show its prowess."

"I hope so." Lin Rui smiled.

After persuading Lin Rui, and also to steer away from this awkward topic, Su Wan decided to start talking about her choices and the changes in her abilities over this period.

"In my initial plan, I originally wanted to choose the College of Lore direction for the Bard," Su Wan said. "But when I reached level 11, the [Siren's Voice Collar] on my neck sent me a message. Well, it should be called a message, it's hard to explain this feeling. Anyway, it gave me an additional new Bard college choice. This new direction is called the College of String Manipulation."

"College of String Manipulation?" Hu Jinsi frowned, "Never heard of it."

"This is a direction I've never heard of," Su Wan nodded. "So I consulted my father about this, which is why I didn't choose it immediately at that time, and didn't tell you guys immediately."

"My father has heard of this college, but he only learned about it after advancing to an extraordinary profession. Because some of the skills in his own Magic Lute Player profession overlap with the style and school of this college, he came into contact with relevant news."

"Normally, this option wouldn't appear when choosing at level 11," Su Wan continued. "It was during this holiday that my father took me to visit some music-related professionals related to the College of String Manipulation, allowing me to understand various aspects of knowledge more deeply."

"That's why I made up my mind to accept the choice given to me by the collar. In my heart, perhaps this is also a part of the reward given to me by the Water Blue Star world consciousness at the beginning."

As she said this, Su Wan smiled: "It's not the same as your situation, Lin Rui. Since I am the first known Bard to have the College of String Manipulation appear in the level 11 options, many music-related professionals, including my father, don't know what my future extraordinary profession will look like under this influence."

"They also advised me not to take the relevant risks. But at least I feel that since this equipment was rewarded to me by the Water Blue Star consciousness, and this information was conveyed to me in this form, I feel that this path is perhaps one that Water Blue Star hopes I will complete."

"Maybe a new extraordinary profession will be created after I complete it, so I still want to try it myself."

Hu Jinsi nodded. This was very much in line with Su Wan's personality; gentle and introverted on the surface, but with a stubbornness in her bones that wouldn't turn back once she set a goal.

And what she said made sense. The fact that Water Blue Star consciousness transmitted this information through the [Siren's Voice Collar] itself indicated that this path was recognized and even encouraged by the world.

As the first known Bard on Water Blue Star to obtain the College of String Manipulation choice at level 11, Su Wan had, to some extent, become a pioneer.

Her choice not only concerned her own growth path but might also open up a brand-new advancement route for those who come later.

"Didn't your father force you to choose a safer route?" Hu Jinsi asked. He knew that Su Wan's father was an extraordinary professional and usually had relatively conservative advice on such major choices.

"He was indeed a little worried at first," Su Wan said. "After all, this is an unprecedented situation, and no one knows what the end of this path is. But later he figured it out. He said that if you don't even have the courage to try a new path, what's the difference between you and an ordinary person living a mediocre life? Since you have talent, opportunity, and the support of equipment, why not give it a try?"

"Your father is right," Hu Jinsi nodded seriously, "Only by not taking the usual path can you have unusual gains."

"Of course, the reason I finally made up my mind was also because of Jinsi," Su Wan looked at Hu Jinsi, "Since Jinsi chose the Life Stream Sect and further strengthened the team's healing ability, there is actually no need for me to provide too many healing abilities."

"Therefore, I can devote more energy to assistance or control, which is also the part the team currently lacks. Obviously, this is also what the College of String Manipulation is good at."

After finishing, Su Wan showed Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi the new feats she obtained after choosing the College of String Manipulation.

[Everything Has Strings: You can focus your mind to perceive the "String of Existence" (a kind of abstract frequency concept) of a specified object or creature within a 10-meter radius.

Effect: You can immediately perceive its "connection tightness" and "natural frequency" with the surrounding environment.]

(Link: Your Siren Songstress talent expands this perception range to a 20-meter radius.)

[Plucking·Initial Movement: When you cast Bardic Inspiration or use a counter-spell on a creature, you can choose not to give the regular effect, but instead try to "pluck" its "String of Existence."

Effect: If successful, you can make the target move one step in the direction you specify during its next move; or you can increase the probability of the target failing in its next attack.]

[Resonance Amplification: When you wear the Siren's Voice Collar and cast a spell with verbal components, the collar will resonate with your talent.

Effect: The casting distance of all your spells with verbal components increases by 3 meters. In addition, when you use this collar to satisfy the requirements of a spellcasting focus, your hands are considered free.]

Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui looked at Su Wan's new feats, their expressions a bit confused.

For them, the concepts were a bit abstract; "String of Existence," "plucking," "frequency"... it sounded more like a physics class than looking at combat skills.

Su Wan seemed to have anticipated their reaction and explained with a smile, "My father and some other music-related professionals have the first two feats, they are not rare. The first feat is the foundation of the entire series. You must first perceive the vibration frequency of an object before you can make all the subsequent movements."

"The second feat..." Su Wan thought for a moment, "Simply put, for you, it can be understood as: I now have some supernatural abilities in addition to casting spells."

"I can use my Bard skills to cause opponents to make mistakes in their attacks and movement, such as making them take a step in the wrong direction while moving, or accidentally missing their strike or varying their force during an attack."

"Isn't that just interference?" Hu Jinsi's eyes lit up. "In battle, making an enemy take a step in the wrong direction could be the difference between life and death."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Su Wan nodded. "And it's not just physical interference. When I 'pluck' the strings of the opponent's existence, I am actually disrupting their perception and judgment."

"For enemies that rely on precise movements, such as archers, a mage's casting gestures, or a monk's specific stances, the effect of this interference is even more pronounced. Although I can only influence one step or one attack at a time, at critical moments, that one step could be the distance between life and death."

Hu Jinsi agreed deeply. Battle changes in an instant; being able to make an enemy's attack miss by a few inches or make their footsteps falter by a single step meant that his side could take less damage and gain more opportunities for counterattacks. The value of this seemingly minor control ability in team coordination was far beyond imagination.

"As for the third feat, it's unique to me; my father and his peers have never seen it before. However, the effect of this feat has thoroughly and clearly liberated my hands."

"We have discussed the possibility of hands-free combat before. Now, through the enhancement of this feat, I can truly wield weapons with both hands while chanting, without them interfering with each other."

"My father said that if I want to keep working hard, there is even a special feat path called Dual Performance, where a Bard can simultaneously manipulate two instruments to play two different musical styles."

"The pinnacle of this feat can achieve casting Bard spells while simultaneously releasing Bardic Inspiration or chanting. But in the short term, this path is a bit too difficult for me, so I won't consider it for now."

"That's enough," Hu Jinsi said. "Liberated hands mean you can fight while singing, matching our rhythm to dish out damage. This is much stronger than before."

"As for spells," Su Wan continued, "after I reached level 11, my spell slots increased to 6. I chose a new spell, [Silence], and replaced my previous [Thunderwave] with the new [Shattering Sonic Wave]."

[Silence: Range 40 meters, lasts up to 10 minutes. Centered on a point within range, you create a 7-meter radius spherical silent zone that moves with the anchor point (if the anchor is on a creature). Absolute Silence: No sound can be produced within the area, nor can sound pass into, out of, or through it. Spell Block: Any spell with verbal components cannot be cast within the area. Immunity and Status: Creatures and objects entirely within the area are immune to thunder damage; creatures are deafened while inside. Ritual Casting: Can be cast as a ritual in 10 minutes without consuming a spell slot.]

[Shattering Sonic Wave: Range 20 meters, target a point within range to unleash a deafening noise. All creatures within a 3-meter radius sphere centered on that point take 8–24 thunder/sonic damage. Targeting Weaknesses: Creatures made of stone, crystal, or metal (such as golems or elementals) take maximum damage. Destroying Objects: Non-magical objects within the area that are not worn or carried also take this damage (can shatter locks, glass, etc.).]

"[Shattering Sonic Wave] can definitely be treated as an upgraded version of [Thunderwave]," Su Wan explained. "The downside is that it lacks the knockback effect."

"And then [Silence], I probably don't need to explain much; it's a very classic spell. The only downside is—when casting Silence, you'd better not enter its range, because this spell doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Inside, no one can speak or cast spells."

"Both of these are 3rd-level spells that I started getting at level 11. [Silence] is a new spell chosen for an empty spell slot, and [Thunderwave] was replaced by [Shattering Sonic Wave]. Because each level only allows replacing one spell."

"When I reached level 12, I chose [Crown of Madness] and replaced my previously most-used [Tashas Hideous Laughter]."

[Crown of Madness: Range 40 meters, lasts up to 1 minute. Target one humanoid you can see within range; the target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, it is charmed until the spell ends. Forced Attack: Before the subject moves, it must use its action to make a melee attack against another creature of your choice. If the target is not within its reach, the creature acts normally. Maintaining Concentration: You must continue chanting or playing to maintain control, otherwise the spell ends early.]

"[Crown of Madness] has the advantage over [Tashas Hideous Laughter] in that it can last up to 1 minute," Su Wan added. "Previously, with [Tashas Hideous Laughter], I could only control them for 4 seconds, which often felt like a waste of a spell slot. Now, this one can at least last through an entire battle. Although it also has drawbacks, requiring me to continue chanting or playing to maintain it, for me now, even while chanting, it doesn't affect my ability to use a crossbow or wand for normal attacks."

"As for the later spells, none have been replaced yet because I'm only level 12," Su Wan looked at Hu Jinsi. "Unlike you, Jinsi, leveling up so fast. You were originally behind us in level, but after the break, you've surpassed Lin Rui and me by a full level."

"Just good luck," Hu Jinsi waved his hand.

"Finally," Su Wan concluded, "I also got a passive ability called [Jack of All Trades]. But this is the ultimate 'jack-of-all-trades' ability for a Bard; to put it bluntly, it's useless."

"If I had to say what use it has, it's that it allows me to achieve a 'semi-professional' level in all areas I'm not skilled in. Of course, this 'semi-professional' level depends on how skilled I am in my areas of expertise."

"With my current level of singing and performance, I doubt I could even pick a lock with this 'semi-professional' bonus. So, most of the time, you can just pretend this passive doesn't exist."

[Jack of All Trades: Passive effect. Allows you to achieve a "semi-professional" level in all areas you are not skilled in. Effect: When you make an attribute check, if the check is not a skill you are proficient in, you gain a minor (+1) or small (+2) positive bonus to the check (depending on your level).]

Hu Jinsi couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "Jack of All Trades, master of none?"

"You could put it that way," Su Wan also smiled helplessly. "The bonus it gives you is too small; a +1 or +2 to lockpicking is useless against complex locks. A +1 to item identification won't help you identify real, rare items."

"The only use might be that it makes it look like I know a little bit of everything, but without the support of foundational knowledge and long-term training, this state of knowing a little bit of everything just means I'm not good at anything."

"It's still pretty good," Lin Rui consoled. "Better than nothing. For example, when facing an unfamiliar recipe, at least you're not completely clueless? At least the food you make won't kill anyone."

"I'll take your word for it," Su Wan sighed.

The three talked to their hearts' content, and before they knew it, it was near dusk.

The three decided to take some time tomorrow to head to the Burning Village, experience a 250% difficulty battle, and test whether their coordination had changed after their respective growth over the break. Aside from patching up any gaps and updating their equipment before school started, there were no other plans.

For the remaining time, they sat and chatted, gossiping about each other's experiences and new things, just to catch up.

Lin Rui talked about the awkward scenes during his visits to relatives where various elders pulled him aside to ask about his level, profession, and dungeon experiences. "Do you know what the most ridiculous part is? A distant uncle of mine, he's over 80. When he was young, his awakening rate hadn't reached 100%, so he missed the chance to awaken and wasn't even an Awakened. Later, as he got older, he just gave up on awakening."

"Now he actually wants to recommend dungeons to me, saying he saw online that such-and-such dungeon drops certain equipment and telling me to go grind it immediately. I explained for a long time that the dungeon is for level 20+, and I can't enter it yet, but he actually asked me why I don't work harder to level up!"

Su Wan shared her experiences from following her father to visit professionals in the music field. The performances of those high-level transcendent Bards had reached a realm bordering on magic; where the sound of their instruments reached, flowers would bloom, and when their songs began, flowing water would even reverse its course.

"I can't help but think, if one day I could reach that level, wouldn't I be able to change the entire outcome of a battle with just one song?"

Hu Jinsi talked about his various experiences in Bin City: the Lotus Pond Maze on Xianling Island, the medicinal herb treasury in the Black Spider Forest, the Generals Tomb maze at the Mass Grave, and the discovery and publishing of that hidden Blood Pool maze. "The funniest thing is that broom monster; it actually drops ordinary brooms after it dies. I picked up several; do you want any?"

"No!" Su Wan and Lin Rui said in unison.

The three talked for a long time. The topic gradually expanded from dungeon experiences. Lin Rui curiously asked about the taste of the seafood stalls in Bin City, and Hu Jinsi described the flavor of the seafood platter so vividly that Lin Rui kept swallowing his saliva.

Su Wan became interested in the Lotus Pond Maze on Xianling Island, saying that if she had the chance, she would like to experience what it's like to navigate that maze. Hu Jinsi quickly advised her to give up that idea. "That maze is simply torture. For someone like you without movement skills, going in would be pure suffering, unless you particularly enjoy drifting around on lotus leaves."

They also talked about their respective equipment upgrade plans. Lin Rui said that he received some lucky money while visiting relatives and planned to hunt for a better tower shield in the professional mall.

After all, his playstyle now revolved entirely around his shield, and the quality of the shield directly determined his combat effectiveness. Su Wan planned to equip herself with a new wand; her old wand was still gear from level 10 and was now a bit behind.

Hu Jinsi said his current weakness was his gloves. He had always wanted to get a pair of fingerless tactical gloves that could protect his palms without hindering his damage, but he hadn't found suitable ones yet.

The conversation shifted from equipment to skills, and from skills to future plans.

Hu Jinsi mentioned the upper levels of the Demon-Locking Tower dungeon in Bin City, the multiplayer dungeon for levels 13 to 20. Once his level increased a bit more, he wanted to drag Lin Rui and Su Wan along to try it out.

Lin Rui agreed, saying that his Revolving Impact playstyle could exert greater advantages in multiplayer coordination, especially the corresponding transcendent class; it was incredibly domineering during cluster attacks. Unfortunately, it hadn't been fully decrypted yet, so he couldn't show Hu Jinsi and Su Wan the internal video introduction he had seen at the time.

Su Wan also said she hoped her String Manipulation Academy control abilities would become increasingly important in team battles.

Finally, the topic inevitably returned to daily gossip. Fun stories at school, dungeon experiences of other classmates, and strange tales circulating online.

Sunlight slanted in through the windows of the fast-food restaurant, casting long shadows of the three across the table. Outside the window, the streets were bustling with traffic and pedestrians passing by. Everything seemed normal and ordinary.

But in Hu Jinsi's eyes, this ordinariness was the most precious thing of all.

"See you tomorrow," Hu Jinsi said when they parted ways.

"See you tomorrow," Lin Rui and Su Wan waved and turned to leave.

Hu Jinsi stood at the entrance of the building, watching their backs disappear around the corner, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

The vacation was coming to an end, and new challenges awaited them ahead. But at least for this moment, everything was fine.