Chapter Fifteen: Basic Swordsmanship

Wang Wu fiddled with the broadsword in his hand and said, "I've devoted my life to swordsmanship, integrating the strengths of various schools. But your foundation is too weak for me to teach you advanced techniques. For now, you'd better practice the basic sword forms."

"Player Chen Hao, congratulations on completing the 'Meal Delivery' quest issued by Zhang Yuanyuan. Broadsword Wang Wu is offering to teach you 'Basic Swordsmanship.' Do you wish to accept?"

Who but a fool would refuse such an offer? Chen Hao accepted without hesitation. In fact, learning swordsmanship was the reward for completing the bronze bracelet quest. Wang Wu refrained from teaching advanced skills because the quest itself wasn't particularly challenging. Balance is key in any game; those melodramatic scenes where a simple beginner's errand lands you a legendary artifact just don't happen here.

Basic Swordsmanship: Novice (0/100). The foundation of swordplay. At the novice level, grants +2 to melee when using swords; intermediate level grants +3 to melee; advanced grants +4. Once you've mastered advanced level, you may study greater sword techniques.

It was a very practical passive skill. At the advanced level, it gave a +4 to melee, perfect for players who preferred solo close combat. Chen Hao was at level 22, with 22 points in melee. If he wielded a broadsword that added +3 to melee, his stat would rise to 27. Combined with his Bloodbath special move, which gave a 20% melee boost, that would put him at roughly 33 points.

Currently, even players focusing on close combat rarely reached 20 in melee. With 33 points, Chen Hao would be a force to be reckoned with among his peers. Since War was a shooter game, Chen Hao's time in the spotlight wouldn't last forever. Once players started leveling up their gun skills, no amount of melee prowess would make him invincible. But for now, it would help him reach level 10 quickly.

Chen Hao now faced a problem: to benefit from the Basic Swordsmanship bonus, he needed a broadsword. Wang Wu's sword was no ordinary blade, but even after completing the quest, Chen Hao only learned the basics; Wang Wu would never just hand over his sword. Crafting a decent broadsword would cost about five silver coins, while Chen Hao had just over twenty copper coins in his pocket. Scraping together that much money would be no easy task.

In front of Wang Wu, Chen Hao practiced the basics once. Under Wang Wu's guidance, his swordsmanship proficiency rose by ten points. Wang Wu nodded approvingly, "Your aptitude isn't bad. From now on, you'll bring me my meals. Each day, I'll give you some pointers. Before long, you should have the basics down pat."

"Player Chen Hao, Broadsword Wang Wu has issued you the 'Meal Delivery' quest. Objective: deliver meals to Wang Wu every day. Reward: swordsmanship proficiency. Do you wish to accept?"

Chen Hao felt both relief and anxiety. The fact that Wang Wu continued to assign the meal delivery quest after teaching him the basics meant that the chain quest tied to the bronze bracelet was still ongoing. Training basic swordsmanship on his own would take ages, but with Wang Wu's instruction, he'd progress several times faster.

There was a catch, though. Wang Wu's lessons didn't come free; Chen Hao had to deliver his meals each day to receive instruction. It cost at least 60 copper coins a day to feed himself, and Wang Wu's meal had just cost him 112 copper. Even if he skimped a bit next time, it couldn't be less than 100. Three meals a day amounted to three silver coins.

By that calculation, Chen Hao would need to spend nearly four silver coins each day—an amount he simply couldn't earn right now. Still, he wasn't about to give up the chance to quickly improve his swordsmanship. After accepting the quest, he took his leave from the cellar, returning to Penglai County with a troubled heart.

It all came down to money. Chen Hao couldn't help but think of that pale-faced demon. Wasn't that guy eager to be power-leveled? In exchange for faster leveling, asking him to chip in for a broadsword wasn't unreasonable, was it? With a broadsword, his melee stat would hit 33; at that rate, earning four silver coins a day wouldn't be impossible...

Twice now, Butcher's Blade had sent his men to tail Chen Hao, but both times Chen Hao had shaken them off easily, and Butcher's Blade ended up losing four of his best men to serve as laborers in Huang Ba Tian's manor. Besides cursing his incompetent subordinates, he had no other way to deal with Chen Hao and was forced to set aside his grudge for now and focus on leveling up. So, when Chen Hao returned to the city gates this time, no other players were tailing him.

Chen Hao swaggered toward the Spring Fragrance House. The two bouncers at the door, far from being obsequious, looked at him with unfriendly eyes. They had assumed Chen Hao was some young master, so when Madam Lin returned, they told her about the oddly dressed "Young Master Chen" who had visited the brothel—only to be scolded harshly for their trouble.

When Chen Hao was about five meters away from them, he realized something was off and turned to run. The two bouncers shouted, "That damned scammer got us chewed out! Today we're going to skin you alive!"

Fortunately, Chen Hao knew Penglai County well, and after a short chase, the two bouncers failed to catch him. Since they couldn't leave the Spring Fragrance House for long, Chen Hao managed to escape. Hiding in a small alley, he let out a wry laugh. With the bouncers blocking the door, finding that pale-faced demon would be tricky.

Because of the constraints of wartime communications, players in War could not send direct messages to each other. Friends who wanted to contact one another had to use carrier pigeons if they were close by, or the post office if they were far apart. Only if both players had purchased a radio and mastered radio operation could they stay in touch at any time.

Chen Hao found a nearby pigeon station and spent five copper coins to write to the pale-faced demon, asking him to come level up in the southern part of the city. The pale-faced demon, who was inside the Spring Fragrance House sweet-talking NPCs, burst into delighted laughter when he received the letter. "Hahaha, finally my investment is about to pay off!"

When they met up, Chen Hao didn't mention money but led him outside the south gate, soon reaching the level 10 Bully training area. Monsters outside the south gate were much tougher than those outside the west, and an unwary player could easily lose their life. As a result, almost no one came here to train.

Seeing the Bullies in the distance, the pale-faced demon grew even more excited. He thought to himself, What a wise investment! Chen Ba Xian is actually able to take on level 10 monsters—won't the experience points just pour in?

Chen Hao stopped at a distance and pointed toward a Bully. "Demon, do you know what level those monsters are?"

The pale-faced demon nodded vigorously. "Of course, they're level ten! They're tough, but the experience is at least double that of fighting thugs. We'll level up much faster here."

Chen Hao nodded. "Exactly. If we keep grinding on these higher-level monsters, we'll be the first to reach level 10. I heard the first three players to reach level 10 and become Second Lieutenants get extra rewards, and there's even a worldwide system announcement..."

A worldwide announcement! The pale-faced demon's heart raced with anticipation. In real life, he'd spammed countless forums just to soak up that feeling of fame. If his name were announced server-wide in War, how glorious would that be? Thinking of this, he couldn't wait any longer. "Brother Chen, what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!"

(Last night I was still practicing driving at the test site at 11 p.m., so there was no update. The exam is tomorrow, so I'll upload a chapter this morning while I have some time.)