Mercenary Wars

Chapter 111 The Skin of the Earth
[Sacred Name: Musera Zane]

[Element: Earth]

[Buff: All attribute caps +6, Constitution +3, Spirit +2, Strength +2]

【Blessing - Skin of the Earth: When activated, greatly enhances your physical defense, making you more solid and heavy than granite, and grants you an additional 5 points of Strength, -2 points of Agility, and powerful resistance to toxins.】

……

Skin of the earth!

More durable than granite!

Upon seeing this holy name, Gao Jiano's eyes lit up.

Although Blood Regeneration already makes him quite capable of surviving, no one would complain about having too many survival methods, especially since the two can clearly complement each other, greatly reducing the cost of the "trading injury for life" tactic.

So very quickly, his heart began to lean towards the holy name of [Musera Zane].

The only drawback is that in the Earth Skin state, the body becomes stiff and cumbersome, inevitably reducing flexibility.

But compared to the fate of all kinds of people, this side effect is really insignificant.

After a moment's thought, Gaugano had basically decided to choose Muselazaen.

Of course, to be on the safe side, he also looked at some other holy names.

Another holy name caught his attention.

【Sacred Name: Tilson】

[Belongs to: Gods]

[Buff: Maximum Constitution +25, Maximum Strength +25]

[Blessing - Will of the War God: Immune to or able to perceive all non-divine attacks that violate the principles of honor, including curses, poisons, sneak attacks, charms... Each kill that violates the principles of honor will grant you +1 Constitution and +1 Strength. Once Constitution and Strength reach their maximum, you will gain the attention of the War God.]

[Destiny and Honor Principle: From this day forward, you may not launch sneak attacks, use poison, use curses, use charm, bully the weak, outnumber the few, betray your comrades, or surrender without a fight... Otherwise, you will be severely punished by the gods.]

The will of the God of War.

That's incredibly intense.

Despite the severity of this "fate," Gaucano was still quite tempted and considered it for a while.

But after careful consideration, he gave up.

Gao Gano asked himself honestly and felt that his principles were far from meeting the requirements of the Holy Name. Moreover, he did not really agree with this so-called "principle of honor" in his heart. At least, in his view, sneak attacks and curses were just tactics and not principles.

Even for someone as irreverent as him, a holy name still carries a certain value.

If values ​​don't align, you can't force it.

However, one thing did give him pause for thought.

According to the panel's evaluation criteria, [Tirson]'s value reached an astonishing 50 points, making it the first holy name that Gaucano had seen with a value exceeding 45 points.

Starting from this point, Gao Jiano browsed through the other holy names again and found that, compared to before, the value of the holy names and blessings that were refreshed this time seemed to have increased.

Even if the blessings are exactly the same, the attribute bonus will increase slightly.

For example, Sebastian's blessing this time is still "Touch of the Saint," but his constitution bonus is 1 point higher than before.

It seems that as the level increases, the gods' generosity also increases accordingly.

After carefully examining all the rare holy names and then briefly browsing through the common ones, Gaucano finally made his choice.

Muselazaen!
As expected, as the choice was made, another faint message drifted past his ears.

"Mother Earth is protecting you..."

After listening to Serazane's words, Gaugano re-examined his panel.

[Sacred Name: Edakandyanus Sandran Alextasasen Laerinis Muselazane]

[Level: Level 5]

【Physique: 26/46】

[Spirit: 28/46]

Strength: 26/46 Intelligence: 26/46

[Agility: 28/46]

[Experience: 69/6000]

[Blessing - Swift Breeze] [Blessing - Fair Curse] [Blessing - Skin of the Earth]...

……

After Gao Jiano completed the upgrade, everyone's rest was almost over, so they got up and continued on their way.

As they walked, Thomas said, "Gaucano, you're so skilled, why don't you consider becoming a full-fledged mercenary?"

“Pharmacists have more freedom,” Gao Jiano said casually, his attention still on the panel.

Thomas: "Then you could consider a 'custom contract'."

"I remember that the custom contracts for mercenary groups seem to have very high requirements, right?" Gao Jiano asked.

Thomas: "If you have a Level 3 Pharmacist badge, plus a recommendation from at least one vice-captain, you can sign a custom contract with the mercenary group, taking into account all the conditions you want to the greatest extent possible."

John said, "A Level 3 badge doesn't sound too difficult."

Thomas laughed and said, "You think it's a warrior's badge? A level three alchemist is also known as an 'apprentice alchemist,' and the basic prerequisite for participating in the assessment is to have a level two alchemist badge and a level one mage badge."

Ryan interjected, "Actually, it's not that strict. Mercenary groups don't have as many rules as churches. The real key is the vice-captain's recommendation and the captain's approval."

At this point, he changed the subject: "Gaucano, there's a question I've always wanted to ask you. Why do I feel like Vice Commander Cassandra is taking good care of you?"

Thomas chimed in, "I wanted to ask that question too. If it weren't for Cassandra's suggestion, this mission wouldn't have needed an apothecary at all."

Gao Jiano shrugged slightly: "It's probably because I study swordsmanship quite diligently."

Ryan: "Come on, you're definitely not the most hardworking one."

“Perhaps it’s because I’m the luckiest one.” Gaucano gave Ryan a meaningful smile.

Ryan felt a little guilty under her gaze: "..."

The group returned to the underground mine.

As Thomas had predicted, after the Gavin Chamber of Commerce confirmed that all the property was safe, no one investigated the overseer's death.

They were not only not punished, but were also rewarded with a bounty and a few days' leave for eliminating five Dibto spies.

In the past few days, Gaucano first tested the effects of the new blessing "Skin of the Earth".

As the panel description states, Earth Skin makes him stronger than granite.

In this state, ordinary iron tools can hardly harm him.

At least when he used ordinary iron tools to chop his own arm, he could barely feel anything when he used three or five tenths of his strength, and it took him eight or nine tenths of his strength to barely make a shallow cut.

However, the Earth Skin technique is quite taxing, similar to strenuous physical activity. If activated continuously, it cannot be maintained for too long; it must be activated for a while and then rested.

As for becoming heavier, Gaucano found it wasn't all a disadvantage. For example, after becoming heavier, the gales from inferior wind orbs had no effect on him.

Besides testing his blessing, he has also recently had some exchanges with Edwin.

Or rather, Edwin had some interaction with him, because ever since he helped catch the black peregrine falcon, Edwin's attitude towards him had become very friendly and enthusiastic.

During his conversation with Edwin, Gaucano learned some news that surprised him greatly.

"Has news of the silver mine already been leaked once?" He looked at Edwin in surprise.

Edwin nodded: "But it's only a general location, which is why Dibto's spies have been searching the area."

Who leaked it?

Edwin thought for a moment: "I forgot his name; after all, I've only heard about him."

He paused for a moment, then continued in detail: "It all started a few years ago. At that time, there was a high troll living near Siren Canyon. It wore a silver crown—actually, it was a piece of natural silver that it had shaped into the crown."

"Later, the crown was stolen by a thief."

(End of this chapter)