CHAPTER 03

Fortunately, the rest of the morning passed expeditiously. The merchants and their workers were obviously competent at their work as before long, the camp was reassembled and the horses fastened to their wagons.

For some reason, despite helping out, I didn’t receive a copper coin this time. However, after some deliberation, I decided to abstain from asking why.

Additionally, as the caravan leaders announced it was time to take off, a worrisome problem appeared

Dark and Atom were still offline.

When I asked the still drowsy Luna if she could contact them, she shrugged and explained that they had met in Easton and weren’t actually friends in real life.

Thus, it was with a heavy heart that we continued on our journey to Durnatel.

…

Luna wasn’t nearly as competent as Dark at conversing with other people. And since she didn’t show any interest in fostering a conversation, I similarly chose to focus on the journey we had ahead of us instead.

Looking around the caravan, it dawned on me that Atom and Dark weren’t the only players who’d missed the caravan’s take off.

“I hope they’ll survive.” So far, the roads had seemed safe to traverse, at least during the day. But then again, that might be because of the large group I was in.

“Hopefully, I’ll see them in Durnatel.”

The caravan continued without any obstacles or issues and despite my worst fears, no bandits attacked us. Then again, with the number of armed guards employed by the caravan, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.

A couple hours after midday, the caravan stopped to rest. Many of the players groaned as they collapsed to the ground, not used to this kind of physical labour. Unlike them, however, I actively approached Hou Wen’s guard detail.

When I arrived at their camp, the swordsman I had beaten up yesterday immediately glowered at me; yet, when he noticed that I wasn’t perturbed by his glare, he scoffed and ignored me.

“How petulant.” I sighed in disappointment.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the prodigy swordsman!” Hou Wen greeted me with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile. Around him, four other veteran guards sized me up like I was a lamb ready for slaughter.

“Hello Hou Wen.” I greeted with a clasped fist, an action which had an immediate positive effect on the group of mercenaries. “I’m here to request another spar.”

“Oh?” The leader looked at his men, some of whom seemed intrigued by the idea. “Are you looking to make another wager perhaps?”

Shaking my head, I clarified. “There’s no need for a wager, all I’m looking for is a way to improve my swordsmanship before the White Tiger Sect’s recruitment.”

Hou Wen smacked his knee in laughter before standing up to stretch his back.

“Spoken like a true swordsman indeed!” Hou Wen sized me up with a predatory smile. “I know I said it yesterday, but you truly do remind me of myself when I was younger.”

For some reason, no one groaned this time.

“I do not mind giving you a quick lesson, young man.” Hou Wen threw a look at one of his men, who nodded before walking away to one of their carriages. “But first, isn’t it time you introduced yourself?”

Realizing my faux pas, I quickly apologized.

“My apologies,” I said, feeling a bit chagrined. I still wasn’t used to having to introduce myself to NPCs. “You’re right of course. My name is Bishop.”

“Swordsman Bishop huh.” For some reason, the NPC showed no outward reaction over my foreign name, which obviously wasn’t of Chinese origin like theirs.

“Maybe the NPCs have been programmed not to notice it?” In the end, it didn’t matter.

“Well, hurry on then Bishop, draw your sword. I ain't got all day.” Hou Wen smiled, holding his scabbard in his hand, his sword still sheathed.

Looking around their camp, I raised an eyebrow.

“Here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t we move somewhere more suitable for a spar?” Moreover, there was the risk of accidentally hurting someone.

“That’s the first lesson I'll teach you today, Bishop.” Hou Wen took a step towards me, and something about his stance immediately put me on guard. “Sometimes, you will have to be ready to fight even in lousy conditions.”

Before I could answer him, he attacked.

Scrambling to deflect his scabbard, I winced as I realized it was a feint.

Dodging in panic, I barely avoided getting beaten into a pulp in the first exchange.

“Which brings us to my second lesson.” Hou Wen smiled as he renewed his attack, keeping me on the defensive and unable to launch an attack of my own. “An experienced swordsman will take advantage of your proclivity to look your opponent in the eye during a fight.”

Hou Wen glanced at my right arm, only to flick his wrist and swing at my left.

“Shit!” I panicked as his sword seemingly coiled like a snake before me. Acting on instinct, I blocked the blow with my arm; fortunately for me, Hou Wen’s scabbard wasn't sharp. Unfortunately for me, it still hurt like a motherfucker.

Off balance and in pain, I struggled to keep up with my opponent, who was already preparing another swing.

Lifting my sword to block, my eyes widened as a single collision was sufficient to fling it away from my grasp.

“And finally,” Hou Wen rested his heavy sheath on my shoulder. “When facing a physically stronger opponent, evade or redistribute, don’t try to block.”

Somehow, the spar was over before it even had a chance to begin.

Luckily, only the guard detail and Luna witnessed my embarrassing display of swordsmanship.

Before I could thank the man for his lessons, however, a consoling prompt materialized before me.

[“You have been taught a valuable lesson in swordsmanship by the Guard Captain, Hou Wen. As a result, your swordsmanship proficiency has increased immensely.”]

[“Results: +2 Swordsmanship Lv. (Beginner 2 > 4). Spatial combat awareness has improved marginally.”]

Dusting myself off, I clasped my hands in gratitude; meanwhile, I did my best to ignore the sharp pain that suddenly pierced through my aching arm.

“Thank you for the lessons, Hou Wen.” I said honestly. Though a bit unfair, the spar had given me a lot to think about.

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First, I realized I was way too trusting of strangers. Hou Wen’s attack startled me more than it should have. I wasn't in civilized society any more, and it was time I started acting like it. Moreover, it would be a waste of my brand new sword if I wasn’t prepared to use it at a moment’s notice

Second, I wasn't an experienced swordsman. I had some sparring experience, sure, but when it comes to actual fights, I struggled to keep up with my opponent.

Third, unlike the majority of people in the real world, these NPCs actually know how to fight. Hou Wen's advice about not relying too much on my opponent’s eye-movements was something of an eye-opener; pun intended.

After some self-reflection, a new goal emerged. I had to adopt a more holistic approach in my swordsmanship moving forward. Although it would be difficult, in order to avoid falling for feints so often, I had to start paying more attention to my opponents’ hips and and shoulders.

“But I have no idea how to defend myself against that coiling sword art of his…” I sighed in defeat.

“Don't be too hard on yourself, Bishop.” Hou Wen smiled encouragingly. “As a matter of fact, I would be a lousy guard captain if I couldn't even teach a brat a thing or two every now and then.”

“That's right kid!” One of the observing guards whistled in agreement. “You still did better than Tan Fang usually does.”

“Hey!” One of the other guards, probably Tan Fang, immediately raised his voice and defended himself. “You ought to take a long and hard look in the mirror before you start critiquing others, Jian. Also, I wasn't the one whose overconfidence lost him a sword yesterday.”

The young man I defeated yesterday grumbled something incoherent, probably an insult of some kind.

“Oh come on. You are not still touchy about your loss, are you Huan? I say get over it already. Honestly, you should probably take a page out of the kid's book. At least he knows how to lose with integrity and honor.”

“What you know about honor wouldn't even fill a page, Jian.” Huan, the swordsman I defeated yesterday, snapped harshly at his fellow colleague.

Jian stood up looking ready to throw hands when Hua Wen suddenly interrupted the bickering men with a loud whistle.

“That's enough useless posturing out of the two of you.” Hou Wen spoke with a tone that begot compliance. “You will act in accordance with your stature, especially when in the presence of outsiders. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yessir.” To their credit, neither Huan or Jian hesitated to comply.

“Oh and by the way, Bishop.” With his guard detail in order again, Hua Wen turned his attention back to me. “If, for some reason, you do not pass the White Tiger Sect’s recruitment tests, know that you are always welcome to join my merry little band of miscreants. We could always use another sword prodigy or two.” Hou Wen said with a wink.

Thanking him again for the lessons, I retreated to lick my wounds in solitude. Though I'd done my best to show a good face, underneath the surface, I hated how easily the guard captain had dismantled my swordsmanship.

“I never should've stopped practicing.” I grumbled to myself.

“That sure was a… spectacle.” Luna said as I returned to ‘our’ wagon. “I thought you knew how to use that thing.” She said, gesturing to the sword tied to my waist.

Glaring at her, I bit my tongue in an effort to not say something stupid. Unlike the young guards, I was in control of my emotions, and not the other way around.

After a few seconds of breathing, I found that the anger had lessened greatly.

“I can always become better.” I muttered dismissively.

“And mark my words, I will.”

…

Overhearing some of the other players’ conversation, I heard something quite interesting. Apparently, our trip hadn’t been as effortless as I had assumed.

Earlier, some of the guards and players walking in the front of the caravan had had to fight an ill-tempered boar that some of the players claimed had been absolutely massive. Though personally, I doubted the credibility of their words. If the boar really had been the size of a horse, I bet I would’ve at least seen it. The fight had ostensibly ended quickly when the guard NPCs had joined the fray.

Still, the appearance of a wild beast reminded me of Dark and Atom’s setback.

“They’ll make it.” I tried to persuade myself. According to my friendlist, they were both online now at least. Hopefully, they will catch up with us soon.

While waiting for the caravan to resume, I wanted to practice with my sword, but since my arm was still aching, I refrained from doing so. Thus, like Luna, I sat down in the lotus position, trying various sorts of breathing patterns in hopes of creating an original cultivation method.

Before long, I caught the caravan leader’s yelling. It was time to pack up.

…

The sun was beginning to set when we finally arrived at the walls of Durnatel. When I first started playing this game, I didn’t think I’d immediately spend two days travelling with a caravan. And although it had been tiresome at times, I actually found the whole experience to be quite enjoyable. Not only did I improve my swordsmanship proficiency, but I also got to experience nature in a way that I very rarely got to in the real world.

And so, we entered the Durnatel town gate.

“Wow.” My eyes darted around to gape at the bustling activity.

Despite being substantially smaller than the starting city of Easton, Durnatel was absolutely packed with people, especially teenagers frolicking around. And according to Quan Zan, the reason was obvious: it was all because of the White Tiger Sect’s forthcoming recruitment.

Luna left without saying anything, and honestly, good riddance. The standoffish attitude she’d begun displaying during our trip made me glad that I hadn’t bothered to add her to my friendlist.

After exchanging some grateful goodbyes with the caravan’s NPCs, I left the caravan to do my own thing.

A plethora of food stalls sold a variety of meat skewers and confectionery, some of which looked and smelled really appetizing. But with only four copper to my name, I reluctantly moved on. Sugary sweets were my one true weakness out in the real world, it didn’t need to be my vice here as well.

My miserable financial situation didn’t stop me from window shopping however.

Some teenagers were scuttering around the streets playfully, greatly irritating a few stall owners. From the 2nd floor windows of the adjacent buildings, NPCs were staring down at the crowd, chit-chatting about god knows what. The only inn I could find had a wooden sign that said “NO VACANCIES” hanging on the door.

And then, just as I was wondering where to go, I saw him.

My first cultivator.

…