“I suppose I should have mentioned that I’m in the middle of my beginner quests.” I pointed out as Nik and I walked towards El. The Arm Crossbow felt heavy on my arm and I was worried it might be a hindrance in combat. Alfred had assured me I would adapt in time and even said it would make a fantastic choice to go with my chosen style.

“F-f-ine with me. I may have to fight some m-mobs for my quests so I’d feel better if you had some more skills and XP anyway.” he replied. I was wondering if the stutter was nerves or a tic IRL that translated into the game. Either way it seemed rude to ask.

“Well, interesting choice, Jack!” El exclaimed as she looked at my new weapon. “And you made a friend? Hello Nik. I’m disappointed you declined my training.”

“Sorry, El, but direct combat isn’t for me and only other Gnomes can teach the skills for my gadgets.” Nik responded.

Weird. He seems less nervous when talking to NPCs

“That seems to be the case, sir. While I cannot reveal another Adventurer’s vitals, his body language is remarkably different when talking to NPCs such as El.”

That’s what I thought, but maybe not something I should bring up to someone I just met.

“Well, this means I finished your first task, right?” I asked my trainer.

“Very true, and how clever of you to realize it was only your first!” she said with her now signature evil smirk.

Quest Complete: Rogue 1

Received: 50 XP, Arm Crossbow, Beginner

My XP bar briefly appeared in my vision showing I was half way to level 2. Not bad.

Quest Received: Rogue 2

Recommended Level: 1

Objective: Train with El

Reward: New Combat Skills

Accept: Yes/No

Yes!

I eagerly accepted the new quest with a smile on my face. And this will get me to level 2! “Oh, someone thinks this will be fun.” El said with a sinister grin. Without warning, El was attacking with the pommel of her sword right to my temple!

-5 HP

OUCH!

“What the hell?” I managed to get out while holding the side of my head.

“Don’t swear at me, human! You didn’t even try to avoid or interrupt the attack! Your head hurts because of you.” she said without the anger I’d expect from her words.

Almost like speaking to a child who did something stupid that you expected them to do, but you’re still disappointed by. Well, I certainly felt like an idiot.

“So that’s how you teach me? Hitting me first?” I asked, still aching from the hit.

Her sinister grin came back. “Of course. Now that you’ve been hit and injured, I’m absolutely certain you will do what you can to avoid the experience in the future!” Well, she certainly had a point.

“OK, what do I need to learn first?” I asked, noticing her smile became less sinister and more genuine.

“Well, let’s start with the worst option.” she said matter-of-factly.

“Why the worst first?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“So when we finish on the best, you’ll fully understand why it’s the best!” she gave me an almost cheesy grin. Painful though they were, her methods made sense in a sort of sadistic way.

“First, blocking.” she instructed. “Hold your sword out like this for a horizontal attack from outside. And bend at the elbow a little. You want it to have some give.” I did as instructed and she attacked with her blade.

-3 HP

-2 SP

Wait. Only 40% damage reduction AND I lost stamina? I did not care for that result.

“That’s correct, sir.” Alfred explained. “Blocking with a weapon will reduce damage taken, but the damage you avoided will come out of your stamina. Blocking with a shield provides further reduction at a better ratio depending on the shield.”

Right. Blocking is worst. Got it. I said. El’s logic made sense now.

“Not a bad block, but since you aren’t geared towards blocking it’s going to be inefficient. Try with two swords now.” El said, interrupting the aside between Alfred and I.

-1 HP

-3 SP

Better ratio, but still awful.

“OK, now I see why you said it was the worst option. No blocking for me.” I said as I shook the soreness out of my arm.

“Don’t completely discard it. It’s not the best option in almost literally any instance, but sometimes it’s your only option.”

I really couldn’t think of a situation where I would want to go through this. “Well, what’s the next option?” I really hoped it was a solid improvement.

“Parrying, of course! Similar concept, except instead of absorbing the force with your weapon, you’re going to use it to redirect my attack.” she said before immediately launching into another assault.

After a few failed attempts and some slight cuts, I finally managed a successful Parry.

-7 SP

While I certainly appreciated not taking damage, the stamina drain was fairly intense relatively speaking.

“I don’t know that I’m a big fan of that technique, either.” I said as I watched my SP gauge slowly refill.

“Let me guess, too much stamina drain even though you don’t take damage? That’s because you’re using the wrong weapon for it. Still not your ideal defense.” she stated, matter-of-factly. I decided to take the cue

“And what, exactly, is my ideal defense?” I said, taking the bait. The sinister grin came back.

Uh-oh.

“That’s easy. Don’t get hit!”

After probably fifteen minutes of getting smacked with a sword (interrupted by several rest/healing breaks) I picked up my first skill!

New Skill!

Light Armor

Level 1

Too smart to charge in naked, but too lazy to wear real armor? Try wearing the skin of something tougher! Like a cow! Now that I say it like that, you sort of sound like a crazy person…

+1% Defense

-1% Stamina Consumption(Movement Only)

What does that mean, Alfred?

“It reduces stamina usage when running or climbing, but not attacking, defending, or dodging.”

Oh, good to know!

About 5 minutes later, I finally managed to avoid an attack without leaving myself even more open for the follow up.

-4 SP

“Yes!” I said with a fist pump.

I see now why she said this was best. No damage and less SP than a parry!

“Good job! Now attack.” I frowned at that.

“Exactly how am I supposed to do that?” I asked. It seemed impossible considering I was barely able to avoid her attacks, much less launch my own.

She shook her head in disappointment. “You’ve been watching me attack you with a short sword for half an hour and you haven’t picked up anything?” Well she had a point. I thought for a moment about her movements and how she held her sword and started doing my best to emulate it.

Not a single attack landed.

“Not bad. You won’t hit me like that, but you’re doing well. Now try with the other sword one after the other. The off-hand will feel awkward at first, but do your best to follow a similar motion.” she stated as if speaking to a small child trying to learn to write.

She basically said You’re going to suck at this so try not to suck too bad. On that, she was definitely right. My main hand missed by inches, but it felt like my off-hand missed by miles.

“It’s normal. Unfortunately dual-wielding is a very awkward style in the beginning, but maybe you’ll luck out and find something easier to hit for practice.” she said with a wink. With that, my next notifications appeared.

Quest Complete!

Rogue 2

Received: 50 XP, Short Swords, Dual-Wielding, Block, Parry, Dodge

New Skill!

Short Swords

Level 1

Not quite a long sword, but not quite a dagger. Some tend to consider these a nice balance between damage and speed, while others consider them to be the pinnacle of weapon mediocrity.

+1% Chance to Hit/+1% Damage per level

New Skill!

Dual-Wielding

Level 1

Some prefer a balanced weapon and a shield for defense. Some forgo the shield to carry an even bigger weapon. You decided the more the merrier!

+1% Off-Hand Chance to Hit/+1% Attack Speed per level

New Skill!

Block

Level 1

No one likes to get hit, especially you! That’s why you stick whatever you’re holding in between you and the weapon coming for you.

+1% Chance to Block/ -1% Stamina Drain per level

New Skill!

Parry

Level 1

It’s like attacking, but you’re hitting their weapon instead of them. In fact, why bother with the people? Just let the swords fight each other!

+1% Chance to Parry per level

New Skill!

Dodge

Level 1

You are a true genius of battle! You’ve discovered that long hidden truth: not getting hit by your enemy is, in fact, better than getting hit!

-Stamina Depleted:.5%

LEVEL UP!

You have reached Level 2

You are awarded the following:

+3 Agility

+5 Intellect

+1 Endurance

+5 Free Attribute Points

Woo!

“Now keep in mind, you’re going to learn tons of new skills just by trying to do whatever it is you’re trying to learn. EXCEPT primary weapon skills. You’re going to need a trainer for that. And I swear to the gods I will cry if you find someone else to train you in a weapon I can teach.” El explained with a wink. Somehow, I still didn’t think crying would be the real end result.

Alright, finally got my first Level Up points. Alfred, any suggestions? I asked, unsure of what route to take.

“Well, sir, your Intellect should grow quite well on its own based on your class and Traits. You also have a significant boost to Agility. I would suggest Strength and Constitution for now. This provides a boost to damage AND survivability that will serve you well early on. Additionally, higher end equipment will have certain minimum requirements to equip effectively.” he explained.

Fair enough. Let’s go with three Strength and two Vitality. I decided, adding the points and ending up somewhat disappointed I didn’t see bigger immediate gains. I guess it was to be somewhat expected after just a single level of stat gains. The boost to Stamina was more substantial considering I gained an increase in SP from two stats that increase every level.

“Well, guess you’re itching to try these new skills out, yeah?” El broke me out of my min-max reverie. “Hope so, because you’re next quest is to practice. However, it’s up to you to figure out what to practice on.”

Rogue 3

Objective: Raise Short Swords skill to 5, Dual-Wielding skill to 5, and at least one defense skill to 5

Bonus Objective: Raise all defense skills to 5

Reward: 100 XP, Class Weapon (??? for Bonus Objective)

Accept: Yes/No

Yes. Who wouldn’t want new weapons? I honestly don’t even know why it asks.

Turn on Auto-Accept for quests? (You can turn this feature off or modify which quests to accept later)

Yes/No

YES! Thankful for the mind-reading, I then turned my attention to Nik.

“Alright, let’s get you some nerd powers and find me a place to kill shit!” I said, rubbing my hands together eagerly.

“Wait.” Nik said in alarm. “N-n-nerd powers?”