76%—not bad, but it seems there’s room for improvement. William Carter carefully reflected on the previous battle, searching for flaws in his skill execution.

William Carter was like a man possessed, practicing the reverse backstab skill over and over, completely losing track of time.

System: Reverse Backstab skill completion rate 78%, deals 90% skill damage.

The result was decent. William Carter was becoming more and more proficient at using the reverse backstab skill, and his completion rate was steadily rising. But William Carter didn’t stop there; he kept practicing, determined to find the most suitable way to perform the reverse backstab before it became a habit.

Normal slashes don’t count as skill damage, but reverse backstab is different—it has a skill damage bonus. William Carter’s normal attacks could deal a bit over ten points of damage, but using the reverse backstab skill could deal more than twenty, and he could also use the momentum to get behind the enemy. So using the skill was definitely worth it.

A desert beetle lunged at William Carter. William Carter sidestepped, dodging the beetle’s frontal attack. The beetle’s body paused for a moment, and William Carter suddenly felt a spark of inspiration. At that instant, he unleashed a reverse backstab.

With a shift of his body, he moved to the beetle’s flank, spun smoothly, and drove his dagger backward, stabbing hard into the beetle’s back and piercing its tough shell.

William Carter’s eyes lit up—this was the feeling! William Carter seemed to have grasped something.

System: Reverse Backstab skill completion rate 89%, deals 100% skill damage.

Seeing this system prompt, William Carter was a bit surprised. Only 89% completion, yet it dealt 100% skill damage? What if he reached 100%? Could he deal even more damage?

This speculation excited William Carter. If he could consistently execute high-quality reverse backstabs, his leveling speed would increase dramatically!

A few attacks from William Carter finished off the desert beetle in front of him. He picked up the copper coins it dropped, recovered a bit, and continued searching for the next desert beetle, all the while recalling the feeling he had when performing the reverse backstab just now.

William Carter slowly snuck up behind a desert beetle, stunned it with a sneak attack, then slashed it a few times, taking out nearly half its health. When the beetle turned to attack William Carter, he retreated slightly, dodged its lunge, and, as the beetle was exhausted, shifted to its side, spun beautifully, and drove a reverse backstab deep into its back, hitting the exact spot he aimed for.

When William Carter completed this reverse backstab, he felt that this execution was far more perfect than any previous attempt. The moment the dagger pierced the beetle’s back, it felt smoother than ever before.

System: Reverse Backstab skill completion rate 93%, deals 150% skill damage.

Seeing the 150% value, William Carter couldn’t help but be moved. He hadn’t expected that increasing the completion rate of the reverse backstab skill would result in such massive damage.

Wow, this skill is incredibly useful. Not only can it dodge enemy attacks, but it also deals more damage than ordinary skills.

What puzzled William Carter was, why did he need to spin his body when performing the reverse backstab? Wasn’t that an unnecessary move? As long as he dodged the enemy’s attack and got to their flank, couldn’t he just perform the reverse stab? Was the spin just for show?

William Carter recalled some things his rogue mentor Alden had said when teaching him skills: a rogue’s combat techniques are the most effective, proven through centuries of real combat, and have been passed down because they are the simplest and most effective fighting methods.

So what was the purpose of spinning the body?

William Carter tried practicing the spinning motion in an open area. With a spin, he performed the reverse stab. Since there were no monsters around, it was easier for William Carter to do the move. The spin gave his side attack a lot of force, and his dagger whistled through the air.

With the spin, his right hand was filled with powerful force. Suddenly, William Carter understood: by spinning his body, he could increase the power of the reverse stab. William Carter kept experimenting and gradually discovered that during the spin, thanks to centrifugal force and inertia, his right hand generated tremendous power. If used properly, all the strength in his body could be focused into the dagger, unleashing devastating damage.

So the spin wasn’t a useless move at all—it was to help his hand generate more force! After realizing this, William Carter gained a deeper understanding of the reverse backstab skill, and also realized that he still hadn’t perfected it!

William Carter gradually grasped the essence of the skill. It had two steps: first, dodge the opponent’s attack; second, use the force generated by spinning to stab the enemy’s back with a reverse grip. William Carter was already very good at dodging attacks—the key was using the spin to generate force for the reverse stab after dodging. This was the hard part and required strong body coordination. The greater the force generated by the spin, the higher the skill completion rate!