Ye Mingqiu: Could you do me a favor~
Broken Ice Sugar: Die!
Ye Mingqiu: Tang Ruobing, you wouldn't want your mom to find out you spent hundreds of thousands in the game, right?
Broken Ice Sugar: Already used, immune!
Ye Mingqiu: Huh?
Broken Ice Sugar: Hmph!
"Smack!"
Ye Mingqiu slapped his forehead with one hand, groaning in pain, as he looked up at the ceiling.
He never thought that once you used someone's secret against them, they could become immune to it… Damn you, Broken Ice.
But it makes sense; with her current background and assets, hundreds of thousands aren't a big number, at most she'd just get nagged by her mom. If it weren't for her strong self-esteem, this threat wouldn't work at all.
Actually, it shouldn't have worked in the first place.
Ye Mingqiu added silently in his mind.
He's not stupid; he can figure out lots of things on his own. Putting aside Tang Ruobing's seemingly bad attitude, she was actually quite nice to him, always replying instantly and even provided strategy tips and startup funds.
Sigh!
Might as well note this kindness in a mental little notebook, and repay her somehow in the future.
Ye Mingqiu: The head instructor said you could help me quickly improve my specialty level. Help me out~
Broken Ice Sugar: No!
Ye Mingqiu: You've put my face on the targets in the dedicated training room, infringing on my image rights. Just help me, and I won't press charges.
The other side paused slightly, seemingly pondering something.
Broken Ice Sugar: Then sell me the right to use your image for a hundred thousand. If not, go ahead and sue. I have all the time and money to drag this out with you.
Ye Mingqiu: Just one hundred thousand? Are you underestimating my world-shattering good looks!
Damn, you're taking advantage of a crisis, huh? Even a Lord Level support's image rights are worth more than a hundred thousand, let alone me with three talents guaranteed at Hero Level. Ye Mingqiu thought.
Broken Ice Sugar:.... One hundred and fifty thousand.
Ye Mingqiu: No, no, we're talking about selling my face here, my image. Such an important thing shouldn't be sold lightly!
Broken Ice Sugar: One hundred and eighty thousand.
Ye Mingqiu: Damn it, this concerns my most vital reputation!!
Broken Ice Sugar: Two hundred thousand. Or sue me!
Ye Mingqiu: Deal!
Broken Ice Sugar: Come find me this afternoon.
Ye Mingqiu: Okay.
....
In the afternoon, at Tang Ruobing's dedicated training room
Ye Mingqiu stood at the entrance, looking at each target with his face printed on them, riddled by magic attacks, feeling a bit anxious inside.
Not far away, Tang Ruobing, wearing a deep blue magic robe, approached slowly, her demeanor as cold as ever.
"You're a Spiritual Specialist; the only weapon with direct attack power you can use is the magic staff, and it falls under long weapons. I suggest you simply practice the Long Weapon Specialty a bit, since you won't be using it often in the future. Just get it to Level 1," Tang Ruobing said.
"Got it." Ye Mingqiu nodded.
"My training method is simple. See that wooden staff over there? Pick it up, good, then stand opposite me. Come on, let's practice properly."
As she spoke, an unkind smile appeared on Tang Ruobing's face as she looked at Ye Mingqiu, who was sweating coldly, and said, "Don't worry, my training room is well insulated. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one can hear you."
"!"
Ye Mingqiu's heart tightened; he felt that Tang Ruobing's specialty training was a bit unorthodox, but since he was on this pirate ship now, he couldn't run away...
"Click!"
She locked the door.
"Uh, wait, we're just raising Specialty levels, right? We don't need to lock the door for that, right?" Ye Mingqiu swallowed and said.
"In moments of life and death, one can gain the most enlightenment."
With that, Tang Ruobing swung the magic staff and charged directly, her momentum as fierce as a tiger coming down a mountain, the magic staff's sound cutting through the air like thunder.
Oh crap!
Ye Mingqiu quickly dodged; the magic staff hit the ground with a loud "boom," the shockwave from hitting the ground making Ye Mingqiu's feet numb. It's hard to believe what would happen if Tang Ruobing hit him directly with that magic staff.
He'd die, right? Totally die, right?
Tang Ruobing didn't stop her movements, brandishing the magic staff and attacking fiercely, every move containing immense power, like a startled dragon.
Not only that, her attack speed accelerated, each attack getting closer to Ye Mingqiu, seemingly trying to burst him apart completely, leaving him no chance to survive.
Oh crap!
Don't come near me!
Ye Mingqiu shouted internally, his body working at full power, desperately dodging the magic staff's attacks, not daring to block even once.
After all, Tang Ruobing was an ultimate powerhouse with a Power of 17, while he, even with the Filling Talent boost, had just over 3. He could never block it, and evading was extremely difficult too. How long he could survive was completely uncertain.
Despite this, Ye Mingqiu noticed some good news — Tang Ruobing seemed inexperienced with long weapons, she was just sloppily swinging the staff relying on her high attributes, chasing after him.
Moreover, she hadn't gone all out, at least not speed-wise, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to dodge so many times.
"Don't worry, my Healing Skill level is high. As long as you have one breath left, I can bring you back." Tang Ruobing said after a brief pause.
"You learned nanny skills too?"
Ye Mingqiu was shocked.
"Hmph! Easy peasy." Tang Ruobing answered confidently.
The Mage profession has a rather OP aspect, which is that as long as it can analyze a profession's skills, and replicate them using the elements and power they have, they can successfully deduce the abilities relevant to that attribute and profession.
Under appropriate conditions, a mage can learn supportive healing skills, and if they master the skill themselves, they don't even need to use up a new slot on the skill bar to accommodate it.
....
An hour later, Ye Mingqiu limped out of the training room, eyes dazed and body trembling uncontrollably, despite not having a single external injury, his heart was battered and bruised.
During the training, he had inadvertently been hit several times by Tang Ruobing, and the pain was excruciating.
It was too much!
Is this the shortcut to raising a specialty?
Can I not take the shortcut?
Despite the immense sorrow in his heart, Ye Mingqiu did learn a lot of useful things from Tang Ruobing's previous attacks, sensing clearly that his combat specialty improved, although it was not reflected in the Spirit Realm Interface Panel, so he couldn't see the exact improvement yet.
Ye Mingqiu hobbled around for a long time, eventually nearing class nine when he encountered Chen Ran, who had just returned from the restroom.
Seeing Ye Mingqiu in this state, he paused noticeably, then approached and asked: "Whoa, dude, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?"