Chapter 597, Keratinous Carapace
Lighthouse Street.
The bard Saban quickened his pace, heading towards the Golden Sail Tavern.
Even after finishing the newspaper, he rushed over immediately.
Outside the tavern, a crowd had gathered. Upon seeing Saban approach, they stepped aside, "Mr. Saban, we've been waiting for you."
"The newspaper is here, let's start right away."
Saban smiled and greeted familiar faces.
He quickly passed through the opened path and entered the tavern.
Walking past the patrons' seats, he stepped onto the wooden platform, unfolded the newspaper in front of him, and said, "Everyone, let's begin with intelligence reports from various places."
The tavern patrons instantly quieted down as Saban began reading.
...…
Island Lord's Manor, study.
Wu Heng swallowed the potion.
A scorching pain flowed from his throat down into his stomach.
Then, the burning pain instantly spread throughout his body.
It felt as if countless worms had burrowed into his veins, rampaging freely.
Sweat covered his entire body, and he began to tremble.
Minnie knew the potion had side effects.
But she was still startled. She quickly walked over and let him lean against her.
Holding an antidote potion in her hand, she was ready to administer it if things worsened.
Wu Heng gritted his teeth and endured it. His bones creaked, and his muscles seemed to tear apart before restructuring.
But it did not worsen further. The side effects were gradually weakening.
At this moment, a system prompt appeared in his ears.
[Constitution +3, Strength +4, Agility +2.]
Immediately, a sense of power surged through his body.
Wu Heng felt a surge of joy in his heart.
The effect of a Tier 3 potion was this strong, increasing attributes by so much.
"Master, are you okay?" Minnie asked worriedly.
Wu Heng sat up. "I'm fine, much better now."
Minnie stood up, took a towel from the side, and helped him wipe the sweat from his forehead and neck.
Wu Heng, however, focused on the system prompt.
A total of 9 attribute points had increased.
Based on the attribute gains from level-ups, this was equivalent to more than two level-ups.
That was quite a lot.
However, it was somewhat disappointing that he hadn't awakened an ability.
After wiping off his sweat, Minnie went to pour him a glass of water.
Wu Heng sat and rested for a while.
Chatting with Minnie, the lingering side effects of the potion gradually faded away.
After waiting a while and feeling that he was ready, he picked up the second bottle of potion and drank it down.
The intense pain struck once more.
Even though he had experienced it before, his body still tensed, and he began trembling uncontrollably.
Minnie gently held him, waiting for the side effects to subside.
[Constitution +3, Strength +3, Agility +2, Perception +2.]
[Unlocked Feat: Keratinous Carapace.]
A Feat had appeared.
The system prompt distracted him from the pain caused by the side effects.
He wiped off his sweat.
Opening his attribute panel, he glanced at it.
[Attributes: Strength 48, Agility 35, Constitution 53, Intelligence 50, Perception 31, Charisma 32.]
[Feat: Keratinous Carapace.]
[Keratinous Carapace]: Forms a thick keratinous layer on the surface, providing a degree of defense and impact resistance.
The attribute changes were quite significant.
Since this was a strengthening potion, specifically a power-type potion, it primarily increased Constitution, Strength, and Agility.
Now, his Constitution had risen to 53 points, making it the highest among all his attributes.
Constitution was just as important as Intelligence.
In addition to enhancing resistance to toxins, negative effects, and abnormal statuses, it also affected the body's burden from excessive spellcasting and the side effects of using mystical artifacts.
Constitution influenced all of these factors.
The higher the Constitution, the more it reduced the effects of these conditions.
Moreover, Wu Heng was using mystical artifacts more frequently.
He needed an increase in Constitution.
Intelligence remained unchanged at 50 points.
Strength at 48 points and Agility at 35 points weren't far behind melee-class Professionals.
Next, Wu Heng focused on [Keratinous Carapace].
This ability had previously been seen on mutated zombies. It created a layer of black keratin on their bodies.
This greatly increased the skin's defensive capability.
Wu Heng immediately looked at his hands—they still appeared normal.
Then, he stood up, took off his shirt, and exposed his shoulders and chest.
Minnie softly exclaimed, "Master, what are you doing?"
Wu Heng asked, "Minnie, do you see any changes in my skin?"
"It seems to have gotten whiter and much smoother," Minnie said with a smile.
Wu Heng nodded—it seemed the keratin did not appear directly on his body.
He willed it to activate.
Black keratin appeared on both hands, quickly spreading up his arms.
It was as if he was wearing long black gloves.
Controlling it with his mind, the keratin on his arms rapidly vanished and reappeared on his chest.
Wu Heng's eyes lit up.
Unlike the fixed keratin on zombies, his could be controlled at will.
"Master, are you okay?" Minnie asked cautiously, staring at the black keratin on his chest.
"I'm fine. This is my newly awakened ability," Wu Heng explained.
"Wow, Master is amazing!" Minnie cheered.
Wu Heng put his arm around her shoulder. "Only you would cheer for me. Let's head downstairs and test out this new ability."
"Okay!" Minnie nodded.
The two left together, heading downstairs.
...…
After finishing the intelligence report, Saban took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
There was a two-to-three-minute break for the bard to recover before continuing with the serialized story.
The tavern patrons began chatting.
"I heard that those planning to switch to Coroner as a profession are buying newspapers to study the forensic analysis—it's practically become a professional handbook," one man said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Not just that. The patrol guards are also copying the investigative insights. Now when they patrol, they scrutinize your clothes and hands, staring at people like they're undressing them with their eyes," another patron added.
Another chimed in, "I think the biggest impact is on the taverns. The island's taverns have never been this lively before. Now, you even have to fight for a seat."
"The Island Lord is truly impressive. A single newspaper has changed the entire island. The alcohol industry must have tripled in revenue."
"I hope today's story is just as exciting."
For most islanders, news about surrounding kingdoms was just for entertainment—they didn't care much.
They came mainly for the detective stories.
...…
As people chatted…
The bard Saban stepped onto the high platform and cast two positive buffs on himself.
He stood tall with confidence.
The moment he stepped on stage, the tavern instantly fell silent.
Saban swept his gaze across the crowd, recalling the short story he had just read.
A sense of indignation surged in his heart once more.
Taking a deep breath, he first saluted, "Everyone, today's newspaper doesn't have a serialized detective story, but instead a short story with a complete ending. It's just as thrilling—I'll tell it to you all."
...…
Rustle~!
"Not a detective story?"
"Why change the story? Did they switch writers?"
"I came here for the detective series. Do I really have to listen to something else?"
"Should we go to City Hall together and ask what's going on?"
The tavern erupted into chaos, filled with shouts.
...…
Saban ignored them.
With the amplification from his skill, his voice reached everyone's ears.
"Benny, orphaned at a young age, lost her only brother when he left the village with a passing merchant caravan—he never returned."
"At twelve, she followed the villagers to the city to sell furs. Due to her good looks and diligence, she became a tavern maid."
"By the age of nineteen, she had worked in the tavern for seven years. Laughing and flirting with guests, using charm to survive, her life was plain and uneventful."
As Saban spoke, the murmuring in the tavern died down, and brows furrowed.
A tavern maid's story?
Tavern maids were not considered respectable, especially those on Gold-Silver Island, who were known to be more uninhibited.
What was so special about this?
Why replace the detective story with a tavern maid's tale?
...…
Soon, a second character appeared in the story.
One day, a strangely dressed tavern guest entered—fair-skinned, with black hair as if he were wearing a black hat.
Benny instantly knew he was not a local.
Saban paused slightly at this point.
"It's the Island Lord!" someone exclaimed.