"The projection mirror is still in your hand, and once I go out, you’ll be able to see your homeland," Huang Yi said as he left the Heroes’ Prison and stepped onto the vast Dandelion Plains outside.
Afterward, he took out his projection mirror and shone it on the expansive Dandelion Plains, where countless dandelions floated in the air. Instantly, the image was cast before Slark inside the Heroes’ Prison through the small mirror.
Slark immersed himself entirely into the projection mirror, the floating dandelions flooding his vision, his gaze grew dull and misty. As he watched the dandelions, it seemed as if his eyes pierced through the vast river of history, through the merciless passage of time, reaching the Ancient Era.
Back then, he was a normal human, an ordinary man laughing and frolicking with his beloved woman among the sea of dandelions. The golden morning sun once bathed their snuggled figures, and perhaps the red sunset had once lit their way home.
Unfortunately, everything became immensely distant following a fall from grace, ultimately turning into a distant memory. He was no longer that human man, but had turned into an ugly monster, forced to leave his homeland and hide in the dark, cold depths of the sea, away from anyone’s sight.
Now, he had returned here, but his homeland had long since vanished without a trace, the ancient village obliterated by the sands of time. His beloved woman had also died long ago, her remains nowhere to be found, turning completely to nothingness, like a dream eroded by the passing of time. Yet, whenever he dreamed at midnight, he could always remember her figure. In the darkness of his dreams, he chased after her relentlessly, but he could never catch up.
"I rush forward in the darkness but can never catch up to your departing silhouette."
...
Slark was completely lost in his memories, incarcerated for countless years in the Heroes’ Prison, and today he had finally fulfilled his dream to glimpse his homeland just once.
Just then, Slark’s projection mirror went pitch black, and Huang Yi re-entered the Heroes’ Prison.
"Did you see your homeland? I must say, it is indeed beautiful." After a while, Huang Yi returned to Slark’s cell, holding a dandelion he had dug up from the ground. He then placed the dandelion inside Slark’s cell and said, "This dandelion is from your homeland. Plant it here in the cell. Though there is no sunlight here, with your abilities, it shouldn’t be a problem to keep it alive."
"Thank you!" Slark immediately picked up the dandelion and cradled it carefully in his arms. His embrace was as huge as a mountain, and the tiny dandelion, like a beacon of hope, was planted in his embrace, close to his heart.
"Thank you for helping me fulfill my dream. Here is the complete Talent Blood·Shadow Dance, I’ll give it to you!" With that said, another drop of purple blood, even bigger than the last, flew out from his body.
Huang Yi eagerly checked this new batch of Talent Blood.
[Talent Blood·Shadow Dance](B rank, Functional Treasure)
Required Level: 10
Blood containing part of the Shadow Dance ability. Upon absorption, you will gain part of the [Shadow Dance] ability, which increases your movement speed by 25% during non-combat states.
25%, that’s an even higher increase! Huang Yi immediately absorbed the drop of Talent Blood into his body!
[System Prompt]: Congratulations on absorbing the complete Talent Blood·Shadow Dance and obtaining the Exotic Skill [Shadow Dance]
[Shadow Dance]: Increases absolute movement speed by 10%. Increases movement speed by 50% in non-combat states and recovers 3% of Health Points every second; effects cease when entering combat. Activating this skill grants Invisibility, where attacking or spell casting does not reveal you, lasting 10 seconds. Each use consumes 3% of Health Points, with a cooldown of 5 minutes.
Exotic Skill! Huang Yi took a deep breath, the richness of the reward far exceeded his expectations!
Normally, players only possess Racial Skills and Class Skills. However, in The Second World, there is another type of skill, which is the Exotic Skill!
As the name suggests, Exotic Skills are gained through external objects, typically coming from three main sources. The first source is Skill Books, which teach players new skills written within them. The second source is Legendary and above-grade equipment, with Legendary Equipment providing one skill and Epic Equipment two skills. The third source is Talent Blood, and Huang Yi’s Shadow Dance skill was obtained this way.
However, these three sources are not easy to come by, especially Legendary Equipment. Players like Dao Feng, who were among the top echelon, struggled for two years in The Second World without getting any Legendary Equipment, which shows the level of difficulty. Though Skill Books and Talent Blood are not as rare as Legendary Equipment, they are still treasures that are hard to find.
The [Shadow Dance] skill undeniably increased Huang Yi’s strength significantly. Previously, Shadow Dance solely increased his non-combat movement speed, and provided no help in combat. Now, the complete [Shadow Dance] has a huge impact on combat ability. Ordinarily, as a brute warrior-type class, he would never have stealth abilities like an assassin, but now he truly possessed it, and it was even stronger than the stealth of assassin-type classes. Generally, assassins’ stealth abilities are greatly limited; they reveal themselves if they attack, cast a spell, or are attacked. However, Huang Yi’s [Shadow Dance] does not, offering real invisibility!
Additionally, Shadow Dance increased his absolute movement speed by 10%! Absolute movement speed is higher than movement speed and is not affected by external forces, representing a forced increase in speed. If an enemy were to slow down Huang Yi, this absolute movement speed portion would remain unaffected. Moreover, if Huang Yi had a mount, the absolute movement speed would enhance the mount’s speed as well, giving it an additional 10% movement speed, which regular movement speed does not do.
By nature, Huang Yi’s Beast King Race already possessed a Racial Talent [Beast’s Shadow Trace], which increased absolute movement speed by 20%, and with Shadow Dance, that increased to 30%! This level of speed is already quite high among current players!
Lastly, [Shadow Dance] boasts a powerful non-combat state effect, increasing movement speed by 50% and regenerating 3% of Health Points every second, which is greatly helpful for recuperation after combat.