"Congratulations on clearing '407 Abnormal Creature Containment Facility'"
"Dungeon exploration rate 87%, receiving A-level reward, fixed reward 100%"
"Strategic Prowess: Random Card Draw Reward +30%"
"Monster Slayer: Extra Card Draw Reward +20%"
"Underdog Victory: Extra Card Draw Reward +25%"
"Minor Injuries: Fixed Reward +2%"
"BOSS Defeat: A-level 'Fallen Witch' Special Reward +5%; A-level 'Cursed Gambler' Special Reward +7%; A-level 'Shadow Demon' Reward +7%..."
"Completed hidden story exploration *3, Hidden Reward +15%"
"Overall rating S, received Clear Reward Chest *1, received Special Settlement Chest *1"
(Note: Chest draws items based on probability, the higher the settlement rating, the higher the probability of drawing high-quality items)
Ji Xun looked at the series of settlement evaluations, not quite understanding.
But thinking that they had killed several major bosses, the rewards should be good.
He touched the two floating chests in mid-air, and the story chest opened to reveal five hexagram cards.
There was also an indicator: "20% probability of drawing a White Card, 79% Black Iron Card, 1% Silver Card."
The second special chest contained only one card.
"Card draw?"
Ji Xun chuckled, another game of luck.
Five out of one.
He randomly selected one.
There was no golden legendary glow, but two cards appeared in front of him.
"Opened Clear Reward Chest, received 'Skill: Advanced Firearms Proficiency' *1"
"Opened Special Settlement Chest, received 'Relic: Clown's All-Purpose Mask' *1"
...
Ji Xun's eyes lit up as he looked at the attributes of the two cards in his hand.
The story chest did not draw the 1% Silver Card, but the rewards exceeded his expectations.
[Skill: Advanced Firearms Proficiency]
Details: Black Iron Skill Training Card, requires Intermediate Firearms Proficiency. Use or master Advanced Firearms Proficiency, you will have superb shooting skills.
He was just at the Intermediate level.
"Another skill training card..."
Ji Xun muttered as he looked at the card with a firearm pattern.
He remembered that Chujio had said skill training cards are extremely rare and the most valuable among cards of the same quality.
Unexpectedly, he obtained two of them in this dimensional space.
In other words, his luck with drawing cards wasn't bad?
Or was it that a high settlement rating led to a higher chance of drawing rare items?
Anyway, he drew it.
Looking at his attribute panel, he was just at [Intermediate Firearms Proficiency (654/800)], able to use this card.
With a thought, he crushed the card.
"Used 'Skill: Advanced Firearms Proficiency', you have mastered this skill."
Exaggeratedly, the skill panel updated to [Advanced Firearms Proficiency (1554/3000)].
"This skill card is amazing..."
Ji Xun had been carefully sensing the difference in his body before and after using the card to understand how it worked.
Clearly, he felt like some mysterious force had added something to his memory.
It was as if he had a short, fulfilling dream.
He learned to swim in the dream, and upon waking up, he really knew how to swim.
The feeling was excellent.
After fusing with the skill, his hand instinctively touched the revolver at his waist, feeling entirely different.
Previously, firearms were external tools to him. Now, with his hand on the revolver, it felt like an extension of his arm.
He had a feeling that if he drew the gun, it would hit wherever he aimed.
In his previous life, he had seen military interviews where top firearms experts described their level as feeling like the firearm was an extension of their body.
"This is Advanced Firearms Proficiency, amazing."
Ji Xun felt greatly rewarded.
Although firearms might not be the strongest in a world with supernatural powers, his current weak body meant that the most direct combat enhancement was his gun skill.
This skill card might not be the best, but it was the most practical right now!
Without lingering, he turned to the other card from the draw.
...
[Relic: Clown's All-Purpose Mask]
Description: The mask cannot be removed once worn.
Quality: Black Iron
Details: An ancient relic that has lost its divinity, possessing strong mental erosion; wearing it consumes 10 mental power per hour, can change appearance at will, and grants 35% illusion resistance, 20% curse immunity, 70% mental detection immunity, 30% mystery, and 20% dark affinity based on mental power attribute; insufficient mental power results in mental distortion; can absorb mental power boost attributes to enhance relic quality.
"Exclusive relic?"
Ji Xun looked at the card depicting a mask.
The mask was flesh-colored, resembling freshly peeled skin.
An equipment card.
Ji Xun didn't understand why equipment had to be sealed in a card.
But when he held the mask, he immediately guessed the reason.
The mask appeared as a thin, light human skin mask, feeling weightless but making his vision blur slightly.
An indicator appeared: "Mystic erosion, mental power..."
Like the extraordinary materials from those monsters, this mask had energy pollution similar to nuclear radiation.
Ji Xun now had a better understanding of "extraordinary pollution." It wasn't something to be feared but seemed to be about his weak body being unable to withstand certain strong energies.
Like sun exposure—too close or too long would harm the body.
Sealing equipment in cards probably protected the user and prevented the leakage of extraordinary properties?
Like a kitchen knife exposed to air rusting, keeping equipment in cards prevented the loss of extraordinary attributes.
Ji Xun didn't think too much.
He had plenty of time to explore this magical world later.
Ji Xun calculated the usage time of this equipment, thinking, "Wearing it continuously consumes mental power. So, my current mental power allows for about ten minutes?"
Normally it should last around twenty minutes, but he thought draining his mental power completely wasn't a good idea.
The attributes of the mask were filled with terms that Ji Xun couldn't quite grasp, so he wasn't sure if it was powerful or not.
However, as soon as he put on the mask, he saw a very straightforward change in the series of status buffs on his panel: Dark Affinity 35.
His original Dark Affinity was only 5, and the mask temporarily added 30.
"Hmm... With Dark Affinity reaching 35, can I now learn that [Skill: Shadow Sneak]?"
Ji Xun took out the skill training card he had obtained from killing the Shadow Demon and gave it a try.
The prompt showed that he could indeed use it!
Compared to the mask, he felt that [Shadow Sneak] was the real lifesaving skill for now.
Without further hesitation, Ji Xun used the training card.
As the card disintegrated into dust in his hand, an inspirational dreamlike sensation swept over him, and a new entry, [Shadow Sneak Lv0], appeared on his skill panel.
He had really learned it!
Unlike Firearms Proficiency, a skill he had in his previous life, [Shadow Sneak] was truly a supernatural ability.
Ji Xun found it quite fascinating.
He tried using the skill, and a magical scene unfolded before his eyes.
His body gradually blended into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.
How to describe the sensation...
It was like swimming underwater; the dark elements wrapped around and concealed his body, and he felt as if he had submerged himself in the dark elements.
Previously, he thought the dark elements were intangible, but now they felt as real as water, something he could clearly interact with.
However, a few seconds later, a staggering figure emerged from the darkness.
Ji Xun, having just reappeared from the darkness, was still immersed in the wonder of using a supernatural ability for the first time.
It was like a fish in water.
But then, suddenly, he found himself back on land.
He quickly realized: he was out of mana.
The data panel showed: Curse Power 1/13.
This bit of Curse Power was the residual extraordinary characteristic he had absorbed from the two corpses earlier.
Ji Xun thought to himself, "Curse Power is the equivalent of a mana bar for using spell cards... There must be some breathing techniques or secret cultivation methods in this world."
He had seen Chujio meditate before, and the rhythmic breathing might be a method to cultivate Curse Power.
It seemed he needed to pay attention to this aspect once he got out.
Ji Xun had a lot of ideas from just a few seconds of experience; if he could stay hidden in the darkness for a long time, this ability would be incredibly useful.
...
With the Clown's Mask, his mental power was quickly consumed, so Ji Xun took it off, and his Dark Affinity dropped back to 5.
He then noticed that the [Shadow Sneak] skill turned gray.
Without sufficient Dark Affinity, he could no longer sense the dark elements.
The skill was imprinted in his mind, but his body couldn't perform it.
It was like swimming movements but in the air—not feasible.
As expected.
Ji Xun didn't think much about it and walked towards the twisted light gate to leave the dimensional space.
It was time to see this new world.