SK 7

(7: Learning New Things)

The Lesson with Master Sage lasted an hour at first. Dai Jin found that his proficiency increased from 5% to only 6% which sounded ridiculous but even he can understand that unlike learning something completely new, polishing and upgrading the skills is a completely different thing.

The Guidance which Master Sage provided was akin to the teachings of a saint. Each little detail he added to Dai Jin's movement and stance made him way more comfortable with doing it. How to stand up, how to lower your posture, how to face the opponent, how to lean away from a strike. Dai Jin's head was ready to absorb anything thrown in it like a sponge.

In truth, he quite enjoyed the lesson about Stances but after so little progress, he had to move on in order to learn more.

The only available lesson is "Footwork" while the rest of the lessons were simply locked until the one right before them was activated.

Dai Jin then went with "Footwork".

The explanation about "Footwork" was one of the richest words Dai Jin ever heard. It is not only the basis of Martial Arts but it is the basis of the man itself. Footwork came only after stances because of nature but it comes before it in importance and unlike the Stance lesson, the Footwork lesson was extremely spartan. Not only did he have to maintain his stance while taking a mix of simple and extremely complicated steps around, he had to do so in a timeframe else Master Sage would hit him on the head with the cane.

After the lesson, his body became sluggish and he collapsed on his ass with his legs dying from pain and in front of him, the System showed him the Lessons list again.

———————————
« Warfare Lessons » (2/30)
- Stance (6%)
- Footwork (3%)
- Basic Attacks
- <Locked>
- <Locked>
-.........
———————————

"Only 3%? Are you kidding me?!"

He held his face out of frustration but through his fingers, he noticed that the next lesson is about Basic Attacks.

"Oh! Ohohoho! The good stuff at last."

He wanted to select the Basic Attacks lessons and finally learn how to throw a proper punch but his hand stopped halfway through.

"Nah! I still move like a toddler. I should… tsk… I'll go back to Stances."

He was really dissatisfied with his attacks and wanted to do better but knowing his Stance and Footwork were already so sluggish, he felt guilty about skipping what is basic to what is secondary.

Now that he returned back to the Stance lesson after the footwork, he noticed even more shortcomings in his stance which were pointed out in the footwork lesson. By combining those tips from the Footwork lesson with the Stance lesson and trying to understand how to make them work together, his proficiency in Stances jumped from 6% to 8% in one go. Furthermore, when he returned to the Footwork lesson, he had more understanding of his stance and instantly raised his proficiency from 3% to 5%.

These actions which may seem like him learning how to walk and stand may look simple but in truth, everything about the Game World was happening in his consciousness and his Proficiency was rising at an incredible speed compared to any practitioner in Reality. His growth would make any so-called Genius feel like they want to spit out blood.

More to that, he understood the importance of perfecting the Basics before anything else and as early as possible. This way he can be much better at what comes later on without too much effort.

After this and that, he finally chose to learn how to throw a proper punch and went in the Basic Attacks Lesson.

"Attack that punching bag." Master Sage pointed with his cane at the punching bag dangling from the ceiling.

Dai Jin has tried attacking that punching bag before outside the lessons and it was pretty ordinary so he took a stance and approached it with the footwork he learned. He seemed like walking naturally but his moves were very calculated as if he was following a textbook. It wasn't by any means awkward or slow but he needed to focus in order not to break his stance, he wasn't at the level where he is natural yet.

Once he tried punching the bag, the cane of Master Sage descended on his arm like the wrath of heavens.

"Ouch!"

"Wrong! Do it again!"

It seemed that his performance didn't satisfy the Master so he tried to focus more before swinging a punch.

*Swoosh*

"Wrong! Do it again."

It happened again… and again… and again. No matter what attacked he tried to deliver, Master Sage was unsatisfied and kept beating him with the cane.

"Goddammit! What do you want me to do?" His frustration was expected but he soon cooled his head and just stood there raising his fist without punching the bag.

He knew that his attacks were obviously lacking but without getting pointers from Master Sage, he can't just learn how to do something right on his own. He wished he could check the scroll about this lesson from the library but he is already in the midst of the lesson, a lesson that won't end unless Master Sage judges it to be over.

"Hmmm… if Master Sage is not guiding me, then it is because it is something he already said. Something from the previous lessons."

Punching is not only about swinging the fist as it seemed. One must take into consideration the Stance and the Footwork so if he wanted to do it, he must move while minding his stance during the punch which adds the weight of the body on the attack.

The Stance adds the weight, the foot balances it, the hand delivers the power.

The hit landed, no further comment was said by Master Sage.

"Heh! Safe." Dai Jin smirked but…

*Swoosh*

"Ouch!"

"Don't lose focus during the lesson."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

***

The Basic Attacks lesson was by far the worst. It started with the mystery of how to combine everything he learned then how to add what is new to it. In the Stance Lesson, he learned how to Stand; in the Footwork lesson, he learned how to Walk; in the Basic Attacks lesson, he learned how to Breath.

"Breathing is of vital importance during delivering an attack of any kind…"

"Qi comes from breathing and it is how to regulate your breath and not tire yourself…"

"Taking the wrong Stance affects your breathing negatively and by consequence, harms your Qi…"

"Qi demands freedom, let it out with your breath like a waterway flowing straight. If you trap it, you are the only one getting harmed…"

The words of Master Sage continued to hammer him down from the point where he started to punch properly while the cane was either hitting him or fixing his shortcomings. From the whole thing, Dai Jin understood that Qi and Breathing are the same thing and breathing better is handling Qi better.

The scrolls mentioned that Spirit Qi and Qi are two different things while being the same in principle. Spirit Qi is the profound mystical energy that comes from the core while the Qi is the Vital energy of the dynamic essence of the human being controlled by Breathing, Moving and Standing in proper ways.

Spirit Qi is Magical in nature while Spirit Qi always exists and can be referred to as a Force of Life. It is simply the basics of the basics to Martial Practitioners of all sorts.

Dai Jin stopped after receiving those 3 lessons a few times each. The moral he learned is to Breath properly, Stand properly and Move properly. He must practice them day and night without stopping until they become the way he Breaths, the way he Stands and the way he Moves.

He lied on the floor of the Dojo simply watching its ceiling and thinking of everything he learned. Something still bothered him and he couldn't find answers for it in the scrolls no matter what. Brushing that away eventually, he headed outside the Dojo to the Fights Board.

"Alright, I think I am ready."

He looked closely at the table and found a glowing mark where the spot he was told there is a fight for him arranged by Scarlet. He touched it right away and a message appeared before him.

< Arena Fight: Easy - Confirm? Y/N >

"Yes."

Dai Jin agreed and nothing really happened, he then felt space around him shift and all of a sudden he was standing on a road with rice paddies on the left and the right. The time was still day and opposite to him, he could see a small village made of traditional looking houses while not far from him, a Ninja-like figure showed up.

< Dai Jin vs. Thief >

< Round 1 >

< Ready! >

< Fight! >

The fight started and the enemy charged towards Dai Jin with bare fists. Dai Jin simply moved away as the enemy was trying to get him with a flying kick. The guy was not even better than that Weasel guy that Viper brought.

"You're called Thief? You are one of that Viper guy people, the Thieves Guild, he called it? So you are just a generic enemy. Nice!"

Seeing his enemy not much of a challenge, Dai Jin poured his efforts on going towards the offense rather than the defense and now that the teachings he took are still fresh in him, he performed them to the best of his ability.

With only four attacks of his Dagger, the enemy collapsed down.

< You Won! >

"Hahaha! My pleasure."

< Round 2! >

< Fight! >

Unlike Ash and Weasel who are named NPCs, the genetic named NPCs were not that smart and round 2 went to Dai Jin almost effortlessly. He was even worried about losing his footing due to using kicks but his fears were useless in front of that kind of opponent.

The boy who crawled his way up the Temple like a worm is now fighting his opponents with confidence. Nothing felt better than being in control.

And as soon as he won, he was returned back in front of the Fights Board.

"Congratulations, junior brother. You won again…" The beautiful senior sister, Scarlet, showed up and slammed his back almost kicking his soul out.

"Th- Thank you, Senior Sister."

"… But remember! You need to earn Spirit Stones in the Real World in order to Buy or Upgrade your weapons to face Viper and his Lieutenants."

"Oh! So it is a Pay to Win system. Typical!"

Dai Jin sighed seeing Scarlet off as he returned to the Fights Board again. He still can fight 3 more times.

< Arena Fight: Easy - Confirm? Y/N >

"Let's go."

***

For the second and third fights, Dai Jin had to meet two generic opponents called "Thief" as well. After defeating them, he received the thing he hoped for the most.

< LEVEL UP! >

———————————
« Profile »
Name: Dai Jin
Level: 2
Rank: Early Spirit Novice
Spirit Qi: 2.6 Years
Mind: 9.1
Energy: 1/5
———————————

"The Rank and the Mind are still the same. I wonder how to train my Mental Power or what does 9.1 even stand for."

Dai Jin had a moment of thinking as he strolled back to the Dojo. He remembered seeing a scroll about Mental Power on one of the shelves but it was the nigh impossible to understand.

He stood in front of the shelves and started sorting out the scrolls he could move. The majority were martial scrolls but he found one about plants and another about the human body. The scroll that spoke about the mental power was still very cumbersome and impossible to decipher.

"So, if I understand things right. There are three kinds of classes aside from the Warfare class which Master Sage teaches. I suspect that both Ash and Scarlet can teach me a thing each but who is the forth?"

The question seemed eerie and made Dai Jin look around himself in a worried manner. Still, he couldn't figure it all out on his own. The existence of the Game World and the reason why it treats everything like a game while it is in fact very useful is mind-boggling to him.

But one thing is certain, this Game World is conscious and such a thing must have some conscious being behind it.

"Whoever it is, I hope you mean me well." Dai Jin prayed in his mind before returning the scrolls he can't understand back and reading the Warfare Scrolls about Footwork.

He noticed the shortcomings he needed to fix and went ahead for the last fight today before logging out, but when he exited the Dojo, he saw Scarlet calling for him at the gate of the Temple.

"Junior brother, get over here." She said while waving cheerfully at him from a distance.

Seeing the jiggly wiggly bounce when she raises her arms up, Dai Jin had a little bit of redness covering his face but the moment he stared for more than a couple of seconds, the world turned cold all of a sudden.

Dai Jin could swear that he felt a murderous stare piercing through his chest. Right away, he ran to Scarlet bowing to her.

"Junior Jin greets Senior Sister!"

The cold feeling disappeared and Scarlet appeared to be warmly smiling.

"Congratulations on leveling up, junior brother. I wanted to tell you that you are permitted to go down to the Jungle now to gain experience."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry! You have already survived it once and you are not weak anymore. The Jungle down the Temple is very beautiful but also very deadly, you will be facing multiple opponents at once so make sure your equipment is up to the challenge. The Jungle does not only offer experience but you may find secrets out there that help you against Viper." She then leaned ahead warmly, "If you find anything lovely then don't forget about your senior sister here, deal?"

Her smile caused the little heart of Dai Jin to go badum badum and to feel a bit cold in his nose. As she walked past him he quickly stole a glance and looked away instantly.

"Senior Sister is the best."

He held himself from starting to nose bleed over his athletic and well endowed senior and proceeded ahead to open the Temple's Gate.

< Survival Mode is now Available. Hunt the Shadow Fiends which terrorize the Valley until you collapse or forfeit. There are also secrets lying around the Zone so make sure to explore. >

< It is advised to check the Store at the workplace if you have any Spirit Stones. >

< Proceed to Survival? Y/N >

"Let's visit the store first." Dai Jin changed his mind and went towards Scarlet.

"Junior brother, are you here for supplies or for lessons?"

"Oh! There are options! Ehem… Supplies."

———————————
« >All< - Weapons - Armor - Headgear - Ranged - Magic - Consumables - Miscellaneous - Upgrade »
- Lv.2 Knuckles [5 SS]
- Lv.2 Conical Hat <Protection> [22 SS]
- Lv.2 Swordsman Doublet [5 SS]
-
- ………
———————————

"Ooooooooooh… look at all that!"

The list went on and on for multiple pages. Dai Jin used the category tab to sort out everything before exploring it bit by bit and getting his priorities straight. There were things he wanted to buy and things he wanted to upgrade but the problem that isn't still solved…

< Balance: 0 SS >

"Being poor in a Pay to Win game is so fucked up. I'll hit the limits soon enough so I better go out and figure out what the hell are those Spirit Stones and how to get my hands on a bunch of them."

Dai Jin felt determined to try out the Store Items but for now, he will do the last fight for the day and keep the Spirit Stones issue for tomorrow.

Empty-handed as he went, empty-handed as he returned to the Temple's Gate. He pushed it open and accepted to proceed with the Survival Mode.

***

The Valley of Thieves is a very spacious zone. There was no time limit for Survival but as Dai Jin descended the stairway from the Temple's Hill, he made sure to capture the most important landmarks before going forward.

He was conflicted between hiding like before or simply just wandering around so he kept a low profile and tried scouting first before advancing further. No matter, he was spotted the soon he came close to a Shadow Fiend.

Thankfully it was a single Lv.2 Hyena type Shadow Fiend which had no rider. It saw Dai Jin and mindlessly charged at him without thinking.

Dai Jin was already traumatized by that kind of monster but now that he can fully see the creature's movement, he hurriedly stepped aside when the creature jumped and with his dagger, he sliced the creature all the way from the side.

< Critical! >

It was rare to see a critical hit land but always a pleasure. From one hit, a Lv.2 Shadow Fiend dissolved in black smoke.

Dai Jin hurriedly ducked down avoiding a surprise attack coming from behind and launched himself with a flying kick towards the goblin-like Shadow Fiend which tried to sneak upon him. This one was a Lv.1 Fiend and it didn't last two attacks after that.

Defeating two Shadow Fiends after getting chased by them and getting reduced to a worm the other day is a sign of his change for the better. Dai Jin's confidence got boosted so much so he felt like avenging himself from all those Shadow Fiends that tormented him.

During the next half an hour, he traveled to the lake where he woke up in the world and fought 3 Lv.1 Shadow Fiends and a single Lv.2 in the way. He was only hit a couple of times which didn't mean a lot to him.

The problem however arrived the moment he strayed further into the Jungle. He stumbled upon a Lv.4 Shadow Fiend from the beast type.

The battle which broke out afterward was something of a marvel itself as Dai Jin switched between running away and ambushing the beast with any attack. He managed to deliver a decisive blow with the dagger to the beast's eye scoring a critical hit but taking a hit in his chest which made him howl from pain like the beast he is hunting.

No matter how disadvantaged he was, Dai Jin learned the important lesson of when to throw dirt on the eyes of the enemy and back away. He knew he can't outrun the Lv.4 Shadow Fiend so he hid in a bush by crawling down in its shadow and using the same tactic he used after he was killed for the third time.

The Shadow Fiend tried searching for Dai Jin by following his scent which led it to the place where Dai Jin was hiding, only difference is, Dai Jin has switched his hiding up to a nearby tree. The beast followed forth and at that moment, Dai Jin took the chance and jumped off the branch on the beast.

The jump was accurate, the dagger attack was critical and the timing was exquisite. Everything was perfect except for the fact that when a Shadow Beings die, they completely disintegrate leaving the free-falling Dai Jin will nothing but to face the fall head-on… and by head-on, it literally meant head-on like head on the ground and the rest of the body's weight on it.

All in all, he broke his neck and died.

Moral of the story, air assassination is not as fun as it sounds.