Taking a deep breath, I saw Diana, the elf who had lead me to the training grounds watching me out the corner of my eye. Just my luck that they were sticking around to see if I would generate some kind of quest for them. The fact that they hadn't received any rewards, notifications or achievements clearly didn't do anything to ward them off, probably leading her to believe there was still something coming for "completing" my hidden quest. Turning my attention back to the drills I had been running through for the past hour, I suppressed a smile at the thought that unlike me, players had to log off to sleep eventually, so all I had to do was to endure it until they left.
Not that this was a total waste of my time. Already I noticed the improvement in my form with the sword, and after I had completed fifty of the basic drills that Yarrick had the other people in the grounds doing, I had received a quest notification.
Quest Log
1. Overhead Slash: 50/500
2. Horizontal Slash: 50/500
3. Diagonal Slash: 50/500
4. Low Thrust: 50/500
Reward: Basic Swordsmanship Skill (Evolve)
While it wasn't uncommon for repeat activities to give skills to players, especially ones intended to develop a skill, Evolving skills were incredibly rare, and testing had revealed that they existed almost primarily as a drop from end game dungeons only. To be able to get one from doing Yarricks training was unheard of, and quite possibly the lifeline I needed. As I ran through the drill again, I noticed yet another one of Diana's guildmates enter the training ground, nodding at her briefly before they spoke to one of the assistants Yarrick had. Just another quest hand in then. At least they hadn't planned for when they had to logoff, and were giving me an opportunity to slip away when that happened.
A nearby player gave a shout of happiness, drawing my attention away from Diana and the issues she posed for a moment. As other players crowded around the one who had made a noise, he raised his axe into the air, where it glowed red for a moment, before swinging it down, the force of its passage creating enough wind to ruffle the clothes of nearby people. Powerstrike. One of the rarer skills you could get from a training ground. As the players clamored to find out what he had done to get the skill, I focused on continuing through my drills. An overhead downward slash. A horizontal cut. A diagonal cut that sweeps from upper right to bottom left. A upwards thrust that moves my sword back to a position to easily restart the drill.
A soft cough nearby grabs my attention, and I find Yarrick standing next to me. Lowering my sword, I turn to face my mentor.
"Your form has much improved since you arrived here. Glad you know how to listen." His words are gruff, but I can hear a hint of acknowledgement beneath the tone. He was genuinely surpised.
"Its because I have a good teacher." I say, hoping to prop his ego up enough for him to offer me more help.
"No, its because you have actual potential. Keep at it and you'll see. Sundown in two hours, I'll buy you a drink after the grounds close." A smile creases his otherwise weathered face, and for a moment I'm reminded of my uncle. Nodding at Yarrick, I readied my sword again, moving through the drill yet again.
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Diana frowned as she watched the npc mindlessly go through the drills Yarick had instructed them to. No quest notifications had appeared, no rewards had been granted. Instead for the past few hours she had watched an npc receive basic training. At least she could claim she was still doing her guild duties, as she was technically scouting the rookies here at the training ground. She smiled as she thought of the luck of picking up someone who had earned the Powerstrike skill before seeing any combat. That would be a nice accomplishment under her belt if she ever wanted to promote.
She had gotten excited for a moment when Yarrick had approached her npc, but after a short conversation, he had simply gone back to doing drills. Looking up at the slowly darkening sky, she couldn't help but wonder if she had wasted the day chasing nothing. It would be night time soon, both here and in the real world, since they operated on the same timescale, and she would have to logoff and sleep eventually. She had considered requesting the guild to help her monitor the npc, but had decided against it, especially if it was going to turn out to be a time sink with little return. After all, she knew where to find him now, and would be able to easily find an npc in the small village that Tozha was.
Watching as the npc began yet another set of drills, she saw a message notification popped up, this one originating from outside of Herald Online. Her mother, letting her know that dinner would be ready in a few minutes. Glancing once more at the npc doing his endless drills, she hit the button to log out and return to the real world.
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This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Seeing Diana log out, I instantly felt a wave of relief rush through my body. It wasn't that I was particularly worried about being abused by players here in the tutorial town, but more that I needed to quickly figure out my bearings, and being watched all day long wasn't going to help me. At least I had managed to finish my drills, and throughout the day I had slowly checked out the extent to which I was no longer able to access the system. The menu was gone, along with the inventory and other menu tabs, leaving me with access to only my status page and the quest log. I hadn't realized it back when I had woke up, but the HUD and other elements meant for ease of use were also missing. It was enough to make me understand that I wasn't anything special in this world anymore, but the fact I kept my status page and quest log was hope enough for me to understand that I could still take advantage of the system.
And the fact I had earned a skill was reassuring, even though it wasn't as powerful as I had first expected it to be. Leaving the training yard with a brief greeting to Yarrick, I made pulled open the skill explanation as I moved towards the edge of town.
Basic Swordsmanship (Evolve)
Boosts your ability to use one handed swords of various types. Can be evolved to Beginner Swordsmanship through practice.
Current boost: 7.5%
I had mixed feelings about this. In theory, anyone who was equally skilled with a sword to me, would lose in a direct one on one situation, as I would have a slight edge, but the wording of the skill was vague enough that I wasn't sure what it boosted specifically. I was assuming speed, technique and strength, but without testing it out, I wouldn't know. Running through a few extra drills hadn't told me anything, as I hadn't seen a noticeable increase in speed after earning the skill, Having reached the edge of town, I nodded at the nearby gate guard, who merely nodded back at me. His job was to prevent suspicious people from entering, not people from inside the town from leaving when they wanted to.
Checking my equipment, a basic shortsword, and not much else, I rolled my shoulders while I mentally hyped myself. The plan was to quickly glide into the forest nearby, fight a goblin or other low level mob, and see if the sword was worth using further. I wasn't trying to win a war or take on a gang of them by myself, so I would be looking for just a single isolated goblin before returning to the town before the night got too late. Then I'd head to one of the taverns, grab some food and rest, and leave the town in the morning, hopefully before Diana logged back in and came looking for me. Failing that, I'd find something else to do in town.
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About an hour had passed since I had set out for the forest, and I was beginning to regret my decision to go hunting at night. While I hadn't run into anything that was directly dangerous to me yet, I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach as I stalked around, looking for an unsuspecting victim. Coming up to a small clearing, I could see the flickering light of a campfire, and as I watched the camp, I wondered for a moment if it was a group of players busy enjoying a camping trip. Feeling a strange chill run down my spine as I watched the camp, I suddenly became aware of the sound of movement near me, and gripping the hilt of my shortsword tightly, I prepared to draw it, only for four or five goblins to slip out of the underbrush near me and into the clearing, heading towards the campfire. However, they were staying low and quiet, and as I realized the people at the camp were about to be ambushed, I felt a rush of adrenaline fill my body.
Drawing my shortsword in a smooth movement, I rushed up behind the closest goblin as quietly as I could, appreciating for the first time the need of all game designers ever to make their "fantasy" armor dark. Mostly hidden under the cloak of night, I drew close enough that I knew I could stab the goblin without effort, and as I plunged my sword towards its neck, I shouted, hoping to warn the camp members.
"Ambush!" It felt stupid to just scream the one word, but I couldn't think of anything else to say, nor did I have time to, as my sword punched into the unsuspecting goblin. Desperately pulling the blade free from the suddenly limp corpse, I could hear the camp reacting to my warning, as they rushed around, yelling among themselves before bursting into the clearing. The goblins on the other hand, reacted much faster, with three of the survivors dashing towards the camp, shrill cries and yells filling the air, as the closest goblin leapt at me instead, its hatchet swinging viciously and wildly towards me. I managed to step away from the first two swings, my footwork carrying me out of immediate danger, but my lack of experience in actual combat betrayed me, as the goblin lunged for me yet again, its axe aimed directly for my head. My arm moved, out of reflex but guided by desperation, and I felt the shock of the blow ring through my body as my sword intercepted the haft of the axe.
Unfortunately, unlike in the movies, the goblins weapon was not rendered useless immediately, and as it snarled at me, I felt a surge of panic rise in my heart. My sword moved seemingly on its on, as some small muscle memory from the days training took over, and as I launched a horizontal slash at the goblin, it dodged away, only for my follow up downswing to slice clean into the side of its neck and chest. A sudden spray of blood from its mouth caught me in the chest, before the goblin slumped over, dead. Hearing a rush of footsteps approaching me, I pulled my sword free and into a ready stance, only to see the concerned faces of a duo of players instead.