For eight in-game days, Jinyang had camped out at the Training Hall, leaving only when he was about to be expelled by the system. He would then stop and hide Thorny before logging out. It would not do for Thorny to be picked up by someone else after he was forced to log out as Thorny was his meal ticket to easy stats with little work from him.

He had been rewarded with a system message soon after he started.

Skill: You learned the skill – Sword Mastery.

By the end of the eighth day, he had reached Beginner 4 in Sword Mastery plus the intensive training rewarded him with 40 points in Strength, Vitality and Agility, 20 Fame and 100 Health. The stats were the normal package that could be expected if you completed the Basic Training Program, which was itself the start of a chain of linked challenges that any player could attempt. However it was unheard of for someone to reach the end of the training in only eight game days. Even dedicated gamers would reach the stat cap only after about a game month of hard work. However, those gamers would also have to take regular breaks or control their speed as their stamina would be expended at too high a rate. Being possessed by a armour of evil had its advantages after all.

In addition to the standard stat gains, he had also gained 18 points in Luck, 40 Stamina points and 32 in intelligence. That seemed to indicate that any particular type of activity could only gain stats up to a limit cap. He had gained a total of 40 Luck since he had started but despite increasing the guessing range from one to a hundred to one to a thousand, he had not gained any more luck points over the last three game days. It seemed the number guessing game had hit its limit.

The Training Hall instructor handed over a sword to Jinyang.

“This blade is given as proof that you have completed the Basic Training Program. May you always strike true with it. Do you have any questions?”

“Free stuff, thanks! Also I would like to know if I can get more free stuff If I train using maces and bows?”

“Yes of course. Each course for the Basic Training Program is focused on a certain type of weapon. If you complete each course, you will gain the corresponding weapon.”

Ignoring Thorny, Jinyang thanked the instructor and went back to the scarecrow, this time picking up a heavy wooden mace.

“Thorny, you should know I’m not very strong right now. If we go right into battle without getting stronger, then it’s my blood that you would be soaking in”

“Yeah? Well then you would be alone in the wilds with no one to carry you around. It would be like in the cave but worse since monsters could poop on you or step on you. Anyway I have a review to research so I don’t have endless time to train either.”

“Just another eight days…”

After eight game days, Jinyang had reached Beginner 4 in Mace Mastery and gained additional stats though Luck had continued to languish with no improvement. After he had received a wicked looking morning star from the instructor, Thorny had reminded him.

“Yes it is, it’s time to practise Archery.”

“Yeah, but it’s just the second day. Its eight days of my world’s not yours.”

“Hey, the deal was eight days. Not my fault you didn’t ask about the details…”

“Really Thorny, as a representative of the Forces of Darkness, you really should be less gullible.”

It was something that Thorny had done a lot of, leaving out small details that could be used to cause mayhem, evil and chaos later. He had even used the same trick to kill the insane human by slapping him to death then drowning him in bread soup several days ago. He had not expected to be the victim rather than the double dealer though. Still, due to his personality, he was honour bound to fulfil the deal and deep down, Thorny felt more respect for the human for being a lying cheat of such quality. He would make a good addition to the Forces of Darkness.

Thus the next twenty four game days, were spent mastering Archery, Spear Mastery and Thrown Weapons Mastery, each reaching a level of Beginner 4. Each had given the same stat gains of 40 in Strength, Stamina, Vitality and Agility as well as points in Fame and Health. The poker card matching game that he had devised for raising his Intelligence had succeeded in adding an additional 48 points to that stat but after that, it had apparent reached its limit and nothing further was gained.

He had already used twenty real world days to train up his stats. He intended to slip in the method of gaining intelligence into his review. That would be a hot point to get the players of the game to read. However he still needed to find something that was added only in the expansion or the review would lack a centrepiece. The next few days would be important for finding exactly that.

“Stat window”

Character NameGimmeMoneyAlignmentNeutralLevel1ProfessionNoneTitleNoneFame100Health2750Mana920Strength255Agility255Vitality225Stamina245Wisdom10Intelligence92Luck40Leadership0Offense127Defence127Magic ResistanceNone

“Looks good enough. Should be able to handle low level stuff.”

It would be hard to define what low level stuff he was talking about as his stats could easily give a warrior in the low hundred level range a run for his money. Still even if he was strong enough to roll over the opposition for his level range, there were still things he needed. After visiting the smithy to sell off his massive stock of common and uncommon ores in his cart, he visited the general store with around 10 and a half gold in hand.

“A backpack, fifteen sacks, a winter blanket, a bed roll, a kilogram of pepper, grappling hook, three hemp ropes, two spades, a hundred sheets of paper, a one man tent, twenty pitons, four buckets, a hundred pieces of chalk, ten pieces of charcoal, a sickle, a crow bar, three bottles of ink and five quills.”

The owner of the general store was a beefy man but he moved around rather quickly for his size and his hands moving several times faster, retrieving everything Jingyang had mentioned. Most players would not have paid attention and noticed the motion of his hands but it was something that roused Jinyang’s curiosity.

After the owner had placed everything that he had listed on the shop’s counter, he tried to butter the shopkeeper up.

“Wow, you’re amazing! You know exactly where everything is! You must have a photographic memory! I’ve never seen anything like it! Can you sign an autograph for me?”

“Hahahaha, no. It will be three gold, nine silver and twenty eight copper. No discounts, no credit.”

“… Oh you’re mistaken. Here’s four gold and no need to give me the change back. I’m just really admiring your speed and memory.”

His action was unexpected to the shopkeeper who was expecting him to weasel out of playing the full amount plus the free change he could pocket overcame his wariness. The store owner became more open and friendly.

“Well, it’s no big deal. I just arrange the things in a certain order so it becomes second nature to remember which item is in which area. I’ve been in business for over thirty years, these things come with experience.”

“Thirty? Really? Wow, you look no more than twenty five! Amazing! And your hands are so fast!”

“Heh heh, you noticed eh? I’ve been exercising more than last few years and drinking more water. You seem like an honest person so I don’t mind telling you. I’ve gotten faster with my hands ever since I bought this clay idol off a beggar a week ago. He said he had found a mound of gold and silver in a giant pyramid many leagues west of here but was chased out and his friends killed by some serpent monster. He only found the clay idol had accidentally hooked onto his belt during his mad dash for the exit.”

The shopkeeper showed Jinyang a small finger sized idol of a jaguar headed man, though he never let the idol fully free from his grasp. Seeing that the shopkeeper did not trust him with the idol, Jinyang simply kept his hands behind his back, looking at it this way and that. It wasn’t anywhere near a masterpiece of art but undoubtedly it was magical in some way.

“Can I touch it?”

“Alright but be careful with it.”

Touching the idol, Jinyang muttered under his breath with his other hand covering his mouth as if he was deep in thought and analysing the statue.

“Identify”

You have failed to identify the item

Since he had over nine hundred mana, failing was not a major concern as he spammed his Identification skill. On the seventeenth try, a different system message popped up

Idol of an Unknown Jaguar GodRecovered in an ancient ruin amidst a jungle, this idol was the only thing recovered by the sole survivor of a band of adventurers who had ventured into the ruin.

Durability: 8/8

Restriction:

Agility 20+

Effects:

+500% agility when performing any manual action of a non cobat related nature

Over a long period of use, other effects may appear

“A 500% increase! That would make a ton more ore drop with every mining attempt! Can’t rob this guy or I would be killed before I could step more than 5 meters from the door. That pyramid has got to be the answer. It’s in a jungle and is huge, which means it might be viewable from the tree tops. A jaguar god sounds like it’s a mythology from Africa or South America. This might be the centrepiece for the review so even if I die and don’t get a similar item it wouldn’t be a total loss...”

After pondering silently, with so many pull factors, there was only one way the decision could go.

“Thanks a lot. It’s a beautiful piece. I would suggest not showing it to anyone else though as from what I can tell, it’s worth at least three thousand gold as an antique alone. The more people who know about it, the bigger the chance that some misfit might try to steal or rob you.”

“Thre... Three thousand?! Really? You’re right, I’m not going to discuss this with anyone else. Thanks for your advice. If you drop in again, I’ll be sure to give you a 10% discount off the price.”

Jinyang had hit two birds with one stone. By dissuading the shop keeper from talking about the idol, he could ensure no one else would find out plus he gained a discount to boot.

With a self satisfied smile, Jinyang exited the shop and saw a small ring of people surrounding a single man. The person was wearing steel breastplate and had a sword with a dragon headed hilt. Walking over to satisfy his curiosity, Jinyang saw that the man was explaining to the surrounding crowd, which were made up of newbies or low levelled characters from their equipment, on which weapon was the best.

“Listen up! I’m Golden Blade, a powerful 152 level warrior from the Shining Light guild and I can tell you right now that swords are the best weapon. You don’t need anything else. You are all too low level to know this yet but the other weapon skills were all put in for the sake of variety but if you’re smart and experienced, you’ll find out that they are all much weaker in ability!”

Jinyang sighed and shook his head. This was advice that would be true if you only looked at the superficial qualities of the various weapons. Spears and polearms did not display their length in their stat block but in actual use, the length of a polearm allowed you to hit an enemy before you entered the strike range of the opponent’s blade. It was also very useful against cavalry charges as the enemy was adding to the damage done with his own momentum.

Maces and other blunt weapons ignored the damage resistances of enemies like skeletons, zombies and other undead and slimes that had no critical internal organs that could be damaged. The wider spread of the blunt trauma inflicted on the undead or slime allowed for faster kills compared to the targeted slicing of Sword Mastery or pinpoint piercing of Spear Mastery. Axe Mastery was probably the only weapon style that could keep up and then only if the axe wielder scored critical hits consistently. Even so, with creatures like slimes, which were immune to critical hits, Mace Mastery was still on top. Another benefit was that clubs were everywhere. A tree branch, a piece of rock, a door, etc were all blunt weapons and thus fell into the category of the Mace Mastery. For the dirt poor newbie or someone specialised in fighting the undead, Mace Mastery was actually the better skill.

The weapons under Axe Mastery were all heavy duty ones with a high base damage and a slightly slower attack speed. However, because of the high base damage, it meant that critical hits gave out more damage as they were all based off percentages. Additionally the various weapon masteries all give percentage bonuses to damage, from which Axe Mastery enjoyed the greatest benefit. For characters that had high luck or somehow could perform critical hits regularly, Axe Mastery was the undisputed champion.

As he was sighing, he heard two other sighs. Looking up, he saw two poorly dressed characters standing separately from each other, shaking their heads. The other two had apparent also heard him as they looked at his direction. Apparently Golden Blade had heard as well. Ignoring Jinyang (probably due to his expensive armour), the warrior turned to the other 2 and shouted.

“You think you know more than me newbie? Come up here and I will show you. I’ll thrash you until you understand that the sword is best weapon.”

The taller of the 2, with a iron spear strapped to his back, stepped up aggressively.

“Hey mister, so what if you win. You’re higher level than me. You won a level 1, I’ll be sure to spread the story *all* around. You tell me if you can hit a spearman before he hits you. And tell me how you’re chopping a Ent or other plant creature better than an axman.”

“Waa?! So what if you get hit first by a spearman, you’re going to hit him back even more and then he’s going to be dead with a weak weapon like a spear and axes are slow and useless, you can’t even… girk....”

Even though he was still arguing, Golden Blade could not miss the feeling of having a blade to his neck. The second person had apparently moved behind him and now had a large double bladed battle axe to his neck. How he managed to move behind Golden Blade and where the axe had been hidden, was a mystery.

“Axes are not useless, nyaa. It’s a definite critical hit from this position, nyaa”

Since it looked like it would degenerate into a brawl, Jinyang moved up into melee range. If he took a hit from Golden Blade first, he would not be marked as a murderer. He was confident that he had sufficient health to survive a single hit. Then in the ensuing chaos, a good quick strike or three and he could grab some of Golden Blade’s stuff without having the murderer’s mark on him. He would need Golden Blade to be enraged enough to hit him though.

“You know, they are right. You’re really ignorant for a level 152. I don’t know what this Shining Light guild is, but I really hope you’re not the best guy in that guild.”

A few well placed insults and that should kick things off. Except it didn’t…

“May... maybe you’re right. I was not humble enough, I’m sorry. I will learn more about the other weapons…”

“?!?!”

Quickly, Jinyang understood what had happened. He was wearing Thorny and had covered up the hole in front with a tabard. For anyone who had played enough of the game, he looked like a level 400+ player. That had intimidated Golden Blade into not starting a fight. Since he had only picked on the other 2, his personality was probably more of a bully’s, unwilling to face equal or superior opposition.

The axman lowered his blade. Jinyang sensed some sort of disappointment from the 2. Without even looking around, Golden Blade hurried off away from the crowd. The crowd seemed disappointed there would not be secrets or other important information that would be divulged to help them get ahead. The taller spearman turned toward Jinyang.

“Bro, thanks for the assist. My name’s GimmePower.”

“Ehh… My name’s GimmeMoney.”

Both turned to the axman, seemingly waiting for his answer as well. The axman looked on wordlessly, not answering but both Jinyang and GimmePower stood like statues barely blinking, looking on. It was against their nature to give something out without receiving something back, even if it was something as minor as a name.

“…”

The seemingly frozen scene continued for a good five minutes before the axman’s stoic demeanour finally crumbled under the stress.

“GimmeGirls…er…nyaa…”

Instantly the frozen scene became unstuck as if someone had pressed the “continue” button of a video player. The spearman started off the conversation.

“Well, I’m 27, you?”

“I’m 29.”

As both turned again towards the axman, the scene again became frozen…

“…”

Five minutes later…

“23… nyaa…”

“Well bro that means you’re the oldest.”

“Why do you keep calling me bro?”

“Oh it’s a term of respect in my culture.”

“Ahh… System, turn off translation for the word bro for all conversations with player GimmePower”

Translation for the word bro has been turned off.

“Hyung, so where do you come from?”

“I’m from Hong Kong, China. How about you?”

“Busan, Korea.”

Both turned towards the axman

“…”

Five minutes later…

“Chiyoda, Japan… nyaa…”

“Well hyung, that takes care of introductions.”

It was time to test the waters. Jinyang could feel that these 2 were not normal gamers.

“Yes… I would like to apologize for spoiling that setup just now.”

“Hyung, no problems. It was just something spontaneous rather than planned. It’s not like the guy was carrying anything expensive…”

“Except for his Incendiarius blade… and his Mirrored armour… nyaa….”

“Well, his boots were only a rather common Boots of Longstriding and his Lesser Necklace of Dissipation was a bit low level for his actual level.”

“Yeah, hyung’s right. His Ring of Health Regeneration was only sapphire level and that ogre design on the Bracelet of Greater Impact means it’s only a three or four percent bonus.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Do you think if I take off my armour, we can goad him into hitting us?”

“Probably not, unless his memory is like a fish nyaa…”

“Hyung, since its fate that brought us together, maybe we could help each other…”

The test had went well. All that innuendo and item naming had verified to each of the three that the other two were both lacking in morals as well as being knowledgeable in the game.

“Yes well, we could all chip in information to show our sincerity that would be useful. I’m level 1 but I have a mule and cart.”

A mule and cart for a level 1 player was unheard of. Those who were rich enough to buy stuff that they wanted off trading sites would not be level 1 for any amount of time and most would simply purchase an existing high level account.

“Hyung, that’s great! I’m level 1 too but I have 200 health.”

“I’m level 1 too nyaa. My health is only 150.”

“…We need more sincerity and honesty. Lets party up to view each other’s stats…”

Both the spearman and axman looked at each other.

“Hyung, I forgot that I recently had some minor adventure so my health may be more than 200.”

“Err… Me too… nyaa…”

After Jinyang created a party and invited the both of them into it, their lies became obvious

“GimmePower stat window”

Character NameGimmePowerAlignmentNeutralLevel1ProfessionNoneTitleNoneFame20Health3700Mana100Strength300Agility200Vitality300Stamina300Wisdom10Intelligence10Luck0Leadership0Offense100Defence100Magic ResistanceNone

“GimmeGirls stat window”

Character NameGimmeGirlsAlignmentNeutralLevel1ProfessionNoneTitleNoneFame20Health1800Mana100Strength120Agility380Vitality170Stamina180Wisdom10Intelligence10Luck250Leadership0Offense190Defence190Magic ResistanceNone

As each viewed the stat windows of the others, they silently reappraised their view of each other.

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