The next day, early morning. The 6th day of the 11th month, Middle Earth Month.
This was the ninth day since Lyle entered the Valley of Despair, and the second day since arriving at the human Oasis.
Click! Lyle pushed open the wooden door, and a wave of scorching heat surged in along with the outside air.
Gurgle~ A pool five meters in size came into view first. The surface of the pool was "gurgling" as bubbles rose, and vegetation that blocked the sun was everywhere around it.
Somewhat similar to some oleaster and saxaul trees from his previous life, some of these plants had dewdrops hanging on their slender branches and leaves. It added a touch of coolness to the scorching air.
This scene before him felt somewhat incredible in the Valley of Despair, where there was nothing but dry yellow sand everywhere.
Lyle took a breath, feeling the rare moisture in the air, and a relaxed expression appeared on his face: "Yesterday's act of slaughtering the Gray Dwarfs was indeed a bit impulsive, but in this territory, there is no need to worry about being noticed."
If a situation like yesterday's had occurred on the Northwestern Continent where humans resided, it would likely have attracted the attention of certain factions.
Lyle walked forward and crouched down, cupped a handful of water from the source in his hands, took a sip, and then wiped the water stains from his mouth.
The water was cool, but it didn't taste sweet. On the contrary, it had a hint of bitterness, but in this kind of desert area, having a water source was already more than one could ask for.
"Lord Hero!" A familiar voice rang out from not far away. Accompanied by the sound of fast-running footsteps, Yaral hurried over, carrying a portion of food in her hands.
"Good morning, Yaral." Lyle stood up and greeted her with a smile.
Yaral was still wearing her revealing outfit that only covered the key parts, and a layer of fine sweat was glistening on her forehead and the skin of her long, slender neck.
"Lord Hero, this is your breakfast. I am very sorry for being a little late." Yaral stood before Lyle with a face full of apology, lowered her head in shame, and bowed deeply.
"There is no need for such formalities over a small matter like this. Besides, I have only just come out." Lyle took the food, picked up a unique roasted scorpion tail, found a clean spot to sit down, and casually began to eat.
Seeing that Lyle was indeed not angry, Yaral's flat abdomen tightened slightly, and she let out a sigh of relief. She then looked at Lyle with a face full of curiosity and admiration.
He clearly didn't look like he had much muscle, yet he could easily slaughter the Gray Dwarf army; it was truly incredible.
Under such a direct gaze, Lyle's eyelid twitched. After a brief contact, he had already come to realize that the humans here were direct in their speech and actions, and also somewhat stubborn. For example, regarding the form of address, Lyle had hinted several times last night, but couldn't get Yaral to change it, so he simply let her be.
"How is the recovery of your clansmen's injuries coming along?" Lyle asked.
"Thanks to the healing potion given by Lord Hero, everyone is already able to get out of bed and walk after just one night." Hearing the inquiry, Yaral spoke quickly, the look of admiration in her eyes growing more intense. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest and bowed again: "Some of the disabled clansmen have also recovered from their injuries under the treatment of Lord Hero's potion. Thank you so much, Lord Hero!"
Faced with this gratitude, Lyle did not decline again, but nodded: "That is good."
The alchemical potion refined from Troll blood had only average recovery effects, far inferior to the low-level red potion that "restores 50 HP" in the game.
... Item: Magic·Alchemical Solution (Regeneration Potion) Rank: Low-Rank Description: Can restore 20 HP, has excellent effects on wound recovery, and can remove the negative status of certain "limb loss"....
This was an alchemical potion refined from the blood of Gu the Troll, and its effects were better than potions refined from ordinary Troll blood. Especially for some ordinary people with relatively low strength.
"Father has already begun training everyone on how to use the Gray Dwarf armor and weapons. Everyone is working very hard, and we will be able to master them in two days at most." Yaral spoke again, her tone filled with excitement.
Attacking the Oasis where the Gray Dwarf clan resided was something they had never thought of before. Now that the opportunity was right in front of them, no clansman was willing to give it up. In the decades of fighting, who knew how many clansmen had died at the hands of the Gray Dwarfs? The hatred between the two sides was already irreconcilable.
Lyle nodded slightly; Clan Chief Dielong was quite capable. "Did you just finish training?" Lyle swallowed the food in his mouth, looked up, and sized up Yaral; there was still a layer of sweat on her forehead. Delivering food obviously wouldn't cause her to sweat.
"Yes, Lord Hero!" Yaral quickly replied: "Grandfather and Father have said that only by becoming strong can one protect the clansmen and allow them to live better lives."
"Um..." A look of nervousness appeared on Yaral's face. She glanced carefully at Lyle, bit her lip, and spoke cautiously: "Lord Hero, I want to become stronger. Can you teach me?"
After Yaral finished speaking, she twisted her slender fingers and looked at Lyle expectantly. She was already the strongest in the entire clan, and her father could no longer teach her. But with her current strength alone, she still couldn't truly protect her clansmen in this Valley of Despair, let alone step into that legendary "Hero" Domain.
Hearing this, a flash of realization crossed Lyle's eyes. He had long noticed that Yaral seemed to have something on her mind; so it was this. However! Lyle was very clear that the reason for his powerful strength was entirely due to attribute suppression, and his overall strength came from his class skills.
After a brief silence, "Show me the strongest Move you have mastered so far," Lyle said to Yaral. "Yes, Lord Hero." Yaral immediately spoke with excitement, but suddenly realized she wasn't holding her weapon, so she quickly said: "Wait a moment, Lord Hero." As soon as she finished speaking, Yaral ran off in a hurry.
Lyle shook his head helplessly. Not a few minutes later, Yaral came running back, holding a long spear in her hand, her face full of excitement.
"Lord Hero, I'm starting!" As soon as Yaral steadied herself, she raised the silver-white long spear with both hands without hesitation. Her entire aura changed!
"Earth Charge!" Yaral let out a low shout. A yellow light flashed over her whole body, and her figure suddenly rushed forward, disappearing from where she stood like a shot arrow. In an instant, Yaral appeared on an open space seven meters away, and the long spear in her hand smashed forward, emitting a piercing sonic boom in the air.
Seeing this, Lyle narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the information displayed on the status panel, and then continued to observe.
After Yaral finished this strike, she pressed down the white long spear with her wrist, held the tail end with one hand, and let out another delicate shout: "Precision Control!" In the span of a breath! Yaral's aura rose a notch, and the long spear in her hand turned into streaks of afterimages, rapidly thrusting forward.
"Combo?" Lyle saw this, a flash of surprise crossed his face, and then he shook his head: "It's not a combo, it's an attack method that rapidly increases one's own speed. It's somewhat similar to "Water Flow Acceleration" among Martial Skills."
With the completion of these two attacks, Yaral's breathing had become a bit rapid, but she still continued to demonstrate a few more attack methods before stopping completely, looking at Lyle with some expectation.
"Base Class Warrior, Knight, and a Intermediate Class Earth Knight." Lyle's gaze swept over the information appearing on the status panel, and he now fully understood the classes Yaral possessed. What surprised him slightly was that Yaral had actually mastered three classes, one of which was a Intermediate Class.
"Very good." Lyle looked at Yaral seriously and praised her. Based on the intensity Yaral had just displayed, although it didn't reach above Rank 20, it was at the level of about Rank 17 or 18. Possessing such strength at her age showed that her talent was very good; no, it should be described as quite excellent. Even if placed among the human nations of the Northwestern Continent, she would have the level of a "gold-rank" adventurer.
Yaral's cheeks flushed slightly as she put down the silver long spear: "This strength is far from enough to protect the clansmen. I also want to possess strength as powerful as Grandfather and Lord Hero. But I probably don't have that kind of talent." Yaral lowered her head as she said this.
"No." Lyle said softly, then added seriously: "You have that kind of talent." "Ah?" Yaral looked up, her silver pupils looking at Lyle in disbelief. If someone else had said it, she naturally wouldn't believe it, but since the powerful Lord Hero had said it himself, the meaning was extraordinary.
Lyle nodded; this was not perfunctory. Although he couldn't see the specific level of a person's talent, he could use the status panel to observe the number of classes the other person possessed. Although this couldn't be entirely called talent, the number of classes could represent a portion of potential. At the very least, a person who only possessed one Base Class, no matter how much they improved, would only reach Rank 15 at most. Yaral possessed two Base Classes and one Intermediate Class, so her upper limit would naturally be higher. As for whether she could really reach the "Hero" level, that would depend on opportunity and effort. "Warrior Captain" Gazef had several classes and also possessed this potential, but until his death, he never truly reached the point of stepping into the "Hero" Domain.