Chapter 163: Chapter 116: Charm Art Sublimation, Purity Too Low, The Realm of Ultimate Skills (4K)
"Bang—Bang—Bang—"
By the large swimming pool on the deck, Xue Jing, clad only in a pair of beach shorts, lay on a lounge chair. His physique was perfect for a human being, flawless and fully exposed under the sun as he wore sunglasses.
The sounds of crew members repairing the cruise ship echoed in his ears. Half a day had passed since the Sea Bee Swarm attack, and it was now ten o'clock in the morning of the following day.
After dealing with the Sea Bee Swarm last night, the crew, too weary and scared to continue, had only roughly patched up the leak in the hull to prevent more water from coming in before they all went to rest.
It was only in the morning of the next day that the real repair work began.
In the meantime, several rescue boats had carefully approached and, after a discussion with the management of the Infinite Nova, took away many passengers who were psychologically traumatized or severely injured during the sheltering.
Xue Jing had initially planned to get on a rescue boat too, but none were bound for Maple City; they all aimed to take passengers to the nearest Qingcheng or other places.
The Infinite Nova was supposed to sail back, but after learning that Xue Jing, the great benefactor who saved the entire ship, was headed to Maple City, the captain decided to give him a lift and directed the Infinite Nova to Maple City for repairs.
And so, they came to the present moment.
Picking up a cup of freshly squeezed juice from the small table beside him and taking a sip, Xue Jing stretched languidly, sat up, and took off his large sunglasses.
"Splash—"
Water sprayed from the pool as Ning Fengwan's slender figure emerged. She reached for the ladder and climbed out of the pool.
The cat-eared girl wasn't wearing glasses, and at the moment, she was dressed in a black and white backless one-piece swimsuit that perfectly accentuated her figure.
As soon as she got ashore, she tilted her head, reached up, and patted her head, causing her cat ears to twitch as if trying to shake out the water.
Then, much like a cat shaking off water, she began to furiously fling herself about, sending her black hair into a flurry around her.
Droplets and mist exploded from her, soaking the front of Xue Jing's body.
Xue Jing wiped his face, looking at her somewhat speechlessly.
"Hmph~"
With a proud tilt of her chin, Ning Fengwan grabbed the juice from Xue Jing's hand and took a sip.
She then glanced around.
"...It really is just the two of us here, no one else."
They were the only two in the massive waterpark on the deck, utterly deserted.
If not for the sounds of the ship being repaired reaching their ears, the whole cruise ship would have felt like a ghost ship.
Shaking his head slightly, Xue Jing sighed softly, "I can't understand what these passengers are thinking."
Despite many passengers having been taken away by the rescue ships, there were still at least two thousand left on board.
Even after yesterday's Sea Wasp swarm attack, though most people weren't in the mood to frolic, there should still be some around.
In fact, when Xue Jing had first arrived at the waterpark, there were still dozens of passengers playing there.
However, as soon as they saw him approach, all the guests fell silent and bowed reverently to him.
Some even made praying gestures towards him, as if worshipping a deity.
Afterward, everyone gradually left the waterpark area, leaving only Xue Jing and Ning Fengwan behind.
"This Charm Art skill..."
Xue Jing opened his panel and took a look.
[Charm Art Lv10 (3221/?)
[Sublimation Conditions:
First, ????? (Fulfilled)
Second, reach Level Lv10 (Fulfilled)
Third, required Divinity: 1000]
Last night, after he killed the Soldier Bee and was standing on the deck striking a hero pose, numerous panel alerts popped up.
[Someone has begun to worship you with faith, Charm Art Experience Points +89]
[...Charm Art Experience Points +102]
[...Charm Art Experience Points +133]
[...Charm...]
The myriad of alerts pushed his recently leveled up Charm Art directly to Lv10.
Then, similar to the Fitness, a Skill Sublimation prompt was triggered.
Unlike Fitness, whose 'First Condition' remains a mystery, Charm Art's first condition was also a question mark, but it already indicated 'Fulfilled.'
Now, only the last condition, a thousand Divinity, was needed to sublimate the skill.
But ... it felt tiresome.
Xue Jing shook his head.
He always had some reservations about the Charm Art skill and didn't like it much.
Yet, ironically, it was the skill for which he most easily gained experience.
Just like yesterday, when he struck a hero pose and so many passengers witnessed it, pushing it straight to Lv10.
So much Experience Points, if only they could be applied to other Skills besides Cooking.
"Objectively speaking, Charm Art is useful," Xue Jing thought.
Since obtaining a panel after crossing, he had inadvertently reaped many benefits from Charm Art.
Many people's kindness and Favorability towards him were thanks to this skill... Although he had not specifically thought about it, he understood that this skill had brought him many advantages.
Nevertheless, he simply didn't warm up to this skill.
How to put it... it didn't fit his aesthetic.
There wasn't a pure kind of beauty in its strength.
This skill was powerful, but it was an 'impure kind of strong.'
Simply put, it was crooked and a bit annoying.
The purity was too low.
Even knowing how exaggerated this skill would become upon sublimation and the benefits that would follow, he didn't want to spend Divinity on it.
It was like playing a game where a skill, though very useful, wasn't cool enough, not likable, not something he wanted to use.
"I'll just leave it as it is for now. I'll sublimate it someday when there's an excess of Divinity to spare."